One of the Clan is said to have come over in 1627 to Plymouth, MA.  Isaac Cummings came to Salem, MA in 1687.  His sescendants are numerous in New England.

            Our Ancestor, William Cummings, came to Shippenburg, PA, 1766.  Later his son lived near Canonsburg, thence to Hollidays Cove, West VA, moving to Waterford, now Uhrichville, Ohio about 1835.

            Lydia Porter’s family was headed by Captain Andrew Porter who fought on the American side during the American Revolution.  The Porters of Cadiz were her relatives.  Peggy Buchanan was a full cousin of President Buchanan.

Harlan Thomas and Sarah Margaret Cummings-Snyder Family

          Harlan Thomas Snyder was born September 8, 1861 at Mount Pleasant, Iowa.  He was a son of Curtis Asahel and Lorinda Wildman-Snyder. Curtis A. Snyder’s grandfather was an immigrant from Frankfort, Germany in the late 1700s, settling in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, near Carlisle.  Later Cumberland County was divided and a part of it became Perry County.  It is believed the family lived in this section.  This is where Curtis A. Snyder’s father John Snider was born July 13, 1801.  John Snider had a brother George, who settled across the state line at Sharpsville, PA, while John Snider married and settled west a few miles at Hartford, in Trumball County, Ohio.  John Snyder lost tract of his brother George over the years, when they moved west to Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri. The name Snyder was originally spelled Schneider and changed over time from Snider to Snyder.

Mayme Caroline Bevier and Ivan Charles Snyder’s Biographical Information:

            Mayme BeVier is the way grandma spelled and signed her first and maiden name.  Mayme Caroline BeVier and Ivan Charles Snyder were married December 2, 1912, at Lebanon, Missouri, Laclede County by Reverend W.C. Dunn, the same minister that married her parent’s Clement and Josephine Craig-BeVier on November 28, 1888. At that time, Mayme was teaching at a rural school northwest of Lebanon in the wilds of the Ozarks Highlands.  Her parent’s home where Mayme lived was 45 to 50 miles away at Springfield, Missouri, from where she was teaching.  That was a great distance in horse and buggy days.  Because of the distance, her homesickness, and the fact that they loved each other and could not bear to be separated, they moved their wedding date up from June the following year to December.  Mayme’s sister Jessie BeVier and cousin Forrest Richard stood up with them as witnesses, at the Laclede Court House in Lebanon, Missouri late in the evening after Mayme had ridden all day on the mail hack from her schoolhouse.

            The newly weds made their home at the farm of his parent’s Harlan and Margaret Cummings-Snyder, east of Pomona, Missouri about one-hundred miles from Springfield, Missouri, so much for being homesick.  Harlan T. Snyder had one of the leading peach orchards in Howell County.  Ivan and Mayme built a house west of his father’s farm on twenty acres, minus the road and for over 50 years this little cottage styled house was “Home Sweet Home. For a short time, Ivan worked as a mail carrier on Route 2, west of Pomona.  Because of bad health, Ivan resigned from the Post Office and they went west near Hill City, Kansas, where his mother’s sister Ella Cummings-McVey and Uncle Walter farmed, then to Colorado.  After a time, they returned to Pomona, Missouri. Ivan worked for the Frisco Railroad at Springfield, Missouri, in the shops on the north side of Town; in the oil fields of Oklahoma, and on the oil well east of Pomona, Missouri.  This work lasted on and off for ten years.  In 1936 or 1937, Ivan went to work for the Union Pacific Railroad out of Kansas City, west to Ogden, Utah and into Northern California.  Times were hard during the Great Depression.  Many men had to find jobs away from home and their families.  Mayme and the two youngest children, Mary Louise and George Roy stayed home on the farm, so the children could attend school at College Hill Elementary and Willow Springs High School.  Eldest son, Harlan Ivan left home and went to work in West Chester and Washington, Iowa with his Robertson cousins.  Harlan later went to work at Kansas City, Kansas for the Union Pacific Railroad, where he became an apprentice switchman and a foreman in the switchyards. Previously, he worked at odd jobs at Milgraham Grocery Store, sold vacuum cleaners, worked at the Pomona Bank as a teller, (Guess he didn’t have a job when the banker, Mr. Babb ran off with the town’s money and left a note saying, “By, by, Birdies,”) and done odd jobs to make a living during hard times.  It was Uncle George Roy Wilcox who helped both Ivan and Harlan in obtaining the jobs with the Union Pacific during the Great Depression.  Roy Wilcox worked out of Kansas City, Missouri and he was married Clara Catherine BeVier, Mayme’s aunt.  When he retired they moved to Los Angeles, California.  Harlan the oldest son, like his father, liked trains and the second son loved airplanes. Airplanes were Francis’ life.

             Francis Edward Snyder started work at Montgomery Wards then went to work in the shop at TWA.  Several years later, he was transferred to Laguardia Field in New York with TWA.

            Ivan’s work took him west with the work train.  He ran a tamper, an atzer, and operated a crane for the Union Pacific.  Ivan retired in 1955 and returned to the farm at Pomona, Missouri, the place he called “Home Sweet Home.”

As a child growing up in the Ozarks during the 1950 and 1960, I spent many a day with Grandpa Ivan and Grandma Mayme.  When Grandpa Ivan plowed the garden in the spring with the horse and plow, he would set me atop Duke to let me ride as the horse plowed.  When he milked the cow every morning and every evening, he set me atop of Duke as the horse stood tied and ate in his stall.  Grandpa would squirt the milk at the cats and they would stand up and lap at the milk. Then Grandma would take the milk, strain it through a filter, let it set, then skim the cream off to make butter.  Grandma had a butter churn that she cranked and the paddles in the glass jar would whip the butter until it was hard.  Then she run cold water through the butter, washing it, added salt to taste, then she stored it in containers in the refrigerator or freezer for later use.  The butter tasted much better than what is in the grocery store, as it was made with sour cream, instead of sweet cream. After so many days, the sweet milk would sour and she made cottage cheese by heating the milk until it was warm, not hot.  Then the curds were strained through a cloth and saved for cottage cheese with sweet cream added to it.  Grandma Mayme told a story about Uncle Harlan, her oldest son helping to make butter when he was 3 or 4 years old.  She said, “the churn was setting on the stairs, as a small child, he watch her make butter also.  She had used another churn that had a dasher in a stone jar.  She caught Harlan churning butter with his sock and foot.” Boy was he in trouble.  She said, “Harlan like to imitate the minister at the Presbyterian Church, at Pomona when he got wound up.  Harlan was standing in the pew waving his hand and carrying on just like the minister.”  So Harlan was in trouble again.  Mayme told other stories, one was about the “OLD HILL WOMAN, who had a family and lived in the Ozarks hills.  I don’t know if it was one she made up, if it was a story passed on by the oral tradition through the generations, or if it was the story of her and her children living in the hills while her husband worked so far away.  She told how Ivan sent her love letters to Aunt Nora’s address in Springfield, Missouri when she attended the Normal School.  (Aunt Nora was her mother’s sister.) And how her and grandpa met, that he had been her sister’s boyfriend in the beginning. He met Jessie first, and she introduced him to her sister and she lost her beau.  Aunt Jessie Bevier married an older man Albert Steinberg who was 20 years older than she. The story that I remember best is about the doctor who came to deliver one of her babies.  The men folks were waiting for the baby to come and they were outside shooting the gun.  One of them didn’t hit the target, but accidentally shot the sow pig.  They missed the birth, and the midwife delivered the baby. Maybe they were busy dressing the pig.  When one of the other children was born grandpa and the doctor were busy chasing the pregnant cat up the tree and grandpa accidentally swallowed his chewing tobacco, then he was sick,” never a dull moment.

 December 2 1962, Ivan and Mayme celebrated 50 years of marriage with their children and grandchildren. A little over a year later on December 31, 1963, Ivan passed away in the kitchen of his home. He had spells of passing out, from hypertension.  The last time he passed out, he never woke up.

            Mayme lived seven more years after Ivan’s death at their home on the family farm.  Then July 1, 1970, she passed away of heart failure at age 78 years and a little more than a month from her 79 birthday on August 28. In about 1965, Mayme had deeded the property over to Mary Louise and her daughter, Charlene who had helped to take care of her and the farm.  Therefore, the farm of Ivan Snyder, the farm of Harlan T. Snyder, and the farm of Bryce Corman are still in the family with the 4th, 5th, and 6th generations from Harlan T. Snyder.  It had been Mayme and Mary’s wish that the farm stay in the family.  Therefore, it will for as long as it can.

        Another Scottish Connection has been found in the BeVier Family through Rachel Auchmoody BeVier, wife of Samuel BeVier.  Rachel's father James Achmoody married Maria Deyo whose line is a direct decendant back to Queen Margaret of Scotland who married King Malcolm III Canemor. This information is from FAMILY MATERRS p. 14, Winter/Spring 2002-03 published by Anne BeVier-Goin and submitted by Mary Ann BeVier. This is line that Mayme Caroline BeVier Snyder also traces her decent. What is so awsome about this link is that Mayme's husband Ivan Snyder traced his family through the Cummings family back to Malcolm and Margaret and beyond, also. In this life neither knew that they both had decended from the same Scottish line.

            Harlan Thomas and Sarah Margaret Cummings-Snyder, Ivan Charles and Mayme Caroline BeVier-Snyder, Bryce Berry Curtis Corman and Mary Louise Snyder-Corman are buried at Mackey Cemetery east of Pomona, Missouri about 3 miles more or less, and beside Highway N.  A stone is set for Francis E. Snyder, however, he was cremated and his last wife, Ruth took his ashes to California.

Johnston Craig Jr. came to Missouri from Maury County, TN leaving his father Johnston Sr. and mother Martha Blackwood-Craig in TN.  Johnston II, born July 8, 1812, died 1883 was a grandson of David Craig that served in the Revolutionary War.  Johnston and wife Angelina Bebe Warren-Craig came to Missouri with a wagon train with his brother William, his family, and other relatives.  Angelina and Johnston settled about 8-miles West of Lebanon, Missouri in 1852.  This was once called the Buffalo Road now Highway 32.  Johnston Craig Jr. helped with the organization of Laclede County, serving as one of the first county Judges and collector in 1858.  They had 9-children:  Thomas, Joseph H., Edward James, Elizabeth, Samuel, Amanda j., Neil S., Martha Angelina Craig-Ivey, George J., John, and Rufus.  Nathanal White and second husband Joseph Windle.  Amanda was the mother of Delia Fuller that is associated with newspapers of Lebanon, Missouri.

            Johnston Jr. and Angelina had 2-sons active in the Civil War supporting the Union side were Edward J. known as James Edward and Neil S. in 1861.  Two other sons supporting the confederacy were Joseph (Joel) and Thomas, said to have been an active sympathizers.  Thomas was killed near Lebanon by scouts and Joseph was wounded in the Battle Pea Ridge Arkansas.  Some of the sons were captains and some lieutenants in the Civil War.  Daughter, Elizabeth married Hartwell Ivey who came from Tennessee but from another County.  They raised a family of 11-children:  Lew, Frank, James, Emma, Herman, Hartwell Jr., Amanda, Anna, Ada, and Nellie.

Information written by Ada Marley and Nell Young, granddaughter and great-granddaughters,

Received from Pat Bevier, Cordova, TN.