Life In Boston

How the couple met

Lawrence and Mary both ended up around 1934 doing domestic work, and Lawrence took the occupation as a chauffeur from an Irish man that was going back to Ireland to visit his family. As Lawrence was working as a chauffeur, he would stop by his cousin's restaurant in the Boston area to visit her. The more he visited his cousin Mary Gately, the more he would see Mary Feeney (soon to be Mary Cummings), a maid at the restaurant. He got to know Mary more and more from stopping at his cousin’s restaurant, and they would both go to the Hibernian Hall together. The Hibernian Hall was a building with a community of Irish descendants where social gatherings were held and everyone was surrounded by people who shared the same stories of coming to America.

Brighton, Boston

The couple were married in 1934, and shortly after they moved into a two story house in Brighton right outside of the heart of Boston. Brighton is a neighborhood of Boston, and in the 1930s when they first moved to Brighton, the Irish were still looked down upon and treated poorly just because a lot of them were new to America. In Brighton, since there was a high Irish population, the Irish stuck together and created communities all around Brighton. Lawrence and Mary had their first baby, Claire Cummings in 1936 and had their next baby Lawrence Cummings II (my grandfather) in 1941. Lawrence and Mary raised their kids Claire and Lawrence II to go to Catholic schools in Brighton (St. Columbkille), and made sure their kids kept religion in their lives from a young age.

Brighton in the 1920s

West Roxbury in the 1970s

West Roxbury

Once Lawrence and Mary were empty nesters and their children Lawrence and Claire went off to college and were out of the house, they moved to West Roxbury, and were there for 15 years. They lived in a two story house where Lawrence continued his chauffeur job and Mary retired and became a stay at home wife. They both lived independent lives and were very much in love with each other even after all this time. They still went to the Hibernian Hall and had various Irish friends that they met from when they first arrived in Boston.

Needham

In the early 1980s, Lawrence and Mary bought a house in Needham, which is a surrounding suburb right outside of Boston. The house was right across the street from their daughter Claire on Livingston Circle, and down the street from their son Lawrence R on South Street, who both had started families. They were now closer to their adult children, and were able to help watch and care for their grandchildren. They were the most nurturing, caring and loving grandparents to their grandchildren and watching such a wonderful family that they created in a new country was “such a successful feeling” (Lawrence II).

Needham Town Hall

Lawrence Cummings (Papa Larry) with his two grandsons

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