KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Top, Mark Avery stands near the final resting place of Andrew Boyd Cummings at Wildwood Cemetery.

When Andrew Boyd Cummings donated his 43-acre hay field to the City of Williamsport in 1889, key stipulations were that it’d be a public park “for all time” and would be named Brandon Park, in honor of his beloved sister, Jane Brandon.

Through the years it has hosted community sings, concerts, Easter egg hunts and Christmas and Arbor Day programs. Now area historian Mark Avery would like the community to honor the man who gifted us Brandon Park some 137 years ago with a proper gravestone.

The fund drive was established by Wildwood Cemetery, who also serves as the custodian of the funds. The goal is to collect enough money to provide a respectable marker for a man that gave such a valuable piece of land and a park that has meant so much to so many over the last 137 years. And what makes his gift especially significant is the fact that Cummings was prepared to sell the land, which was prime real estate, to a development company but changed his mind at the last minute, shared Avery.

In 1889, 81-year-old Cummings was a very wealthy man living in Philadelphia. In February of that year, his long-time friend and attorney, Robert P. Allen, travelled to Philadelphia to discuss plans to sell the land to the Packer Land and Improvement Company for $40,000, which would be $1.5 million today. A big part of that plan was for the land to become the site of the new Williamsport Hospital. But Andrew had other plans. When Allen arrived, Cummings explained that he had decided to not sell the land after all and would donate it to the citizens of Williamsport, shared Avery during a talk at the Taber Museum about the park last year.

Andrew Boyd Cummings died in March of 1891 and is buried in a plot at Wildwood Cemetery, along with his three nieces and nephews (Jane’s children).All four are in unmarked graves. Jane and John Brandon were the parents of the three children who all died young. An infant died in the summer of 1829 (likely of tuberculosis), Mary Boyd Brandon died on January 1, 1837, at 8 years of age, and James Edwin Brandon died just three months later on March 30, 1837, at 9 years of age, added Avery.

In the late summer of 1905, when the Williamsport Sun reported that all four didn’t have grave markers, a community fund drive was established to get a proper headstone for Cummings and the children. It quickly gathered a lot of community support, and the donations were soon rolling in. But their efforts were thwarted by Mary Boyd Cummings, the niece of Andrew and Jane, who said that she would be the one to take care of all the arrangements for a headstone. But Mary passed away two years later, and no markers were ever procured, according to Avery.

Avery has a long history and love for Brandon Park.

“I grew up in Brandon Park, like so many people. My grandfather (Lone Hock) was the caretaker there, the superintendent from 1962 to 1974. So part of our childhood was just always going over there. And every time I am in town, I make sure I go through there, and I clean off the plaques every now and then at the entrance,” said Avery.

One of the plaques Avery helps keep clean is one of Andrew Boyd Cummings.

Inscribed on the Brandon Park gateway is “Erected by the Citizens of Williamsport to the memory of A. Boyd Cummings 1807-1891. In appreciation of his gift of Brandon Park to the City of Williamsport in loving memory of his sister, Jane Cummings Brandon 1804-1840.”

“I wanted to visit his grave one day and pay my respects,” said Avery.

He then discovered through Find A Grave that there was no gravestone.

Lou Hunsinger Jr. had also made this discovery a few years ago.

Avery visited the Wildwood Cemetery office and spoke with Caleb Hipple, general manager of Wildwood Cemetery and was informed of the most likely location that held Cummings remains.

“A lot of our records prior to 1917 have been lost to fires and floods, so we had to do a bit of research,” said Hipple.

Local historians Mark Garverick and Brian Fagnano had, along with Hipple, determined that location the year prior.

” We found the four lots that Andrew Boyd Cummings owned, a lot being 20 feet by 20 feet,” added Hipple.

“Mark did a bit of metal detecting and found a spot that is most likely where he’s buried,” said Hipple.

The spot is marked with a very small stone that reads “perpetual care.”

Avery had planted a small group of purple flowers near the stone that he pointed out during a recent visit to the cemetery.

The goal of the fund raiser is $10,000, which would include a nice stone, delivery, inscription and placement.

The Brandon Park Commission has donated $1,000 and remaining funds may come from additional public donations that can either be sent to the Wildwood Cemetery business office, Attention: A.B. Cummings grave marker fund, 1151 Cemetery Street, Williamsport, Pa. 17701 or through the link to the Wildwood webpage that was created specifically for the fund drive. https://wildwoodcemeterypa.com/headstone-fundraiser-for-brandon-park-donor-a-b-cummings/

The Lycoming Joy and Memories Facebook page provides monthly updates on the fund total.

Hipple appreciates the interest that historians such as Avery take in the care of Wildwood Cemetery.

” I think that so often people have a really gloomy perception of cemeteries. I think having initiatives like this, where even if you passed away in the 1800s there are people that still care about you, they’re still saying your name, you know, that brings a little bit of more positivity, and I think it proves that as long as you do something worthwhile with your life, there’s going to be people that are still going to caring about you even after you pass,” shared Hipple.

Today Brandon Park still serves as a gift to Williamsport’s citizens and a reminder of a brother’s love for his sister.