The Cummer Family
The family of Elizabeth (née Fisher) and Jacob Cummer (Kummer) was important to the founding of Willowdale (North York). Among the area's early settlers of German descent, they arrived from Pennsylvania in 1797. By 1801, Jacob had acquired 80 hectares of land, later known as Cummer's Settlement, on the east side of Yonge Street. He was a successful farmer, entrepreneur, and craftsman. Originally Lutheran, the family founded an Episcopal Methodist chapel and cemetery at Yonge Street and present-day Church Avenue. By 1819, they had built a sawmill on the east Don River, later adding both woollen and gristmills. One of their six sons, Joshua, constructed his farmhouse on this site circa 1830. Upon Jacob's death in 1841, each son was given a farm nearby. The family contributed to this community well into the 20th Century.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.