Everett Cephas Bumpus was born on November 28, 1844, in Plympton, Massachusetts, to Cephas and Amelia Bumpus. His father was a shoemaker and station agent who owned $1,000 of real estate and $300 of personal property by 1860. The family moved to Braintree, Massachusetts, sometime in the 1850s, and Bumpus grew up and attended school there.
He enlisted in the Union army on April 16, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company C of the 4th Massachusetts Militia Infantry alongside his brother Edgar on April 22. According to his service record, he was 5 feet, 11 ½ inches tall, with brown hair and grey eyes. The regiment spent the next few months on garrison duty around Fortress Monroe, and Bumpus mustered out on July 22, 1861.
He returned to the Union army on September 12, 1862, mustering in as a private in Company H of the 44th Massachusetts Militia Infantry. The regiment was stationed in North Carolina, and it mustered out on June 18, 1863. Then, in September 1863, he received a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the 10th Unattached Company, Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, which later became part of the 3rd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on October 28, 1864, and he mustered out for a final time on September 18, 1865.
He moved to Quincy, Massachusetts, after the war. He married Emma F. Russell on September 22, 1868, and they had at least three children: Arthur, born around 1870; Everett, born around 1874; and Edward, born around 1876. They lived in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and Bumpus worked as a lawyer. By 1870, he owned $2,500 of personal property, and he employed at least one white domestic servant. In 1872, he became the judge of the East Norfolk district court. He held the position until 1882, when he became district attorney for the southeastern district of Norfolk.
His wife died on May 27, 1887, and he married Mary Bates around 1889. They had at least two children: Morris, born around 1890; and Foster, born around 1892. By 1900, he employed at least five domestic servants. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 21, 1920.
Image: Everett C. Bumpus (Courtesy Parker Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Thomas Crane Public Library, Quincy, MA)