James Cunningham b. Abt 1812 Pennsylvania, USA d. Aft 1870: Our Family History

Abt 1812 - Aft 1870 (~ 59 years)

Name	James Cunningham [1, 2, 3]
Born	Abt 1812	Pennsylvania, USA [1, 2, 3]
Gender	Male
Census	1840	Elkhart County, Indiana, USA [4]
	1 male of 5 and under 10 [unidentified eldest child?] 1 male of 20 and under 30 [James Cunningham, abt 28] 2 females under 5 [Betsy 3; Emeline 2] 1 female of 20 and under 30 [Martha H. (Hayden) Cunningham, abt 28
Census	17 Sep 1850	Elkhart township, Elkhart County, Indiana, USA [1]
	1. Cunningham, James, 38, male, miller, [no real estate value], Pennsylvania 2. _____, Martha, 37, female, Pennsylvania 3. _____, Betsy, 13, female, Indiana, attending school 4. _____, Emeline, 12, female, Indiana, attending school 5. _____, Adaline, 6, female, Indiana, attending school 6. _____, Geo W., 4, male, Indiana 7. _____, W. H., 2, male, Indiana
Census	3 Aug 1860	Elkhart township, Elkhart County, Indiana, USA [2]
	1. Cunningham, James, 5[7?], male, labor, real estate value $300, personal $60, Pennsylvania 2. _____, Martha, 47, female, housework, Pennsylvania 3. _____, Adaline, 16, female, housework, Indiana 4. _____, George [M.? W.?], 13, male, Indiana 5. _____, William, 12, male, Indiana 6. _____, Sophia, 9, female, Indiana 7. _____, Emeline, 21, female, housework, Indiana
Census	28 Jun 1870	Eldora (post office), Grant township, Hardin County, Iowa, USA [3]
	1. Cunningham, Jas, 67, male, white, farmer Rented, [no real estate value], personal $1400, Pennsylvania 2. _____, Sarah, 59, female, white, keeping house, Pennsylvania 3. _____, William, 23, male, white, working on farm, Indiana 4. _____, Sophia, 20, female, white, no occupation, Indiana
Note	The Eldora Cemetery has a stone for an S. B. Cunningham, who may or may not have been related to James Cunningham. No dates are offered on his stone, but his entry on FindAGrave offers the transcription of his biography in the 1883 History of Hardin County states that he was born in Pennsylvania to Samuel A. Cunningham and Julia A. Boyd, both natives of Maryland. The bio indicates that Julia A. (Boyd) Cunningham died at age 58 in Maryland, and Samuel A. Cunningham died in Indiana at age 98. James Cunningham's som William H. in the 1900 census indicates that his father was born in Maryland and his mother in Pennsylvania. Could these have been among the family members of James Cunningham? [5]
Died	Aft 1870 [3]
Person ID	I1672	Full
Last Modified	19 Feb 2015

Family Martha Hayden, b. Abt 1812, Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania , d. 30 Dec 1874 (Age ~ 62 years)

Married 13 Apr 1835 Elkhart County, Indiana, USA [6]

Who is Sarah Cunningham, age 59, in the home of James in the 1870 census? Could it be Martha? The letter from her son indicates Martha's death in 1878. Could they have divorced and James remarried? Could it be an error on the part of the census enumerator?
George Hayden's letter to his niece Emeline Cunningham regarding her inheritance (dated 25 June 1878, from Eldora, Hardin County, Iowa), stated that the deceased "Aunt Jane Hammon" had left one-third of her estate to "the heirs of your grandmother." He went on to say "as your mother is now dead, you will be heir to one-sixth of one-fifth. . . . "

This makes it clear that in 1878 there were 6 living children of Martha (Hayden) Cunningham.

Children

	1. [male] Cunningham, b. Abt 1836, Elkhart County, Indiana, USA , d. Before 1850 (Age ~ 13 years)
	2. Betsy Cunningham, b. Abt 1837, Indiana, USA , d. Yes, date unknown
+	3. Emeline Cunningham, b. 1838, Indiana, USA , d. 1878, Missouri, USA (Age 40 years)
+	4. Adaline D. Cunningham, b. Abt 1844, Indiana, USA , d. Between 1893 and 1895, Gove County, Kansas, USA (Age ~ 49 years)
	5. George Washington Cunningham, b. Abt 1846, Indiana, USA , d. Yes, date unknown
+	6. William H. Cunningham, b. Feb 1848, Indiana, USA , d. Yes, date unknown
+	7. Sophia Cunningham, b. Abt 1851, Indiana, USA , d. Yes, date unknown

Last Modified 26 Feb 2016

Family ID F657 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Documents		James Cunningham, marriage to Marthy H. "Haden," 1835, Elkhart County, Indiana Elkhart County, Indiana, Marriage Book A: 90, James Cunningham-Marthy H. Haden [Hayden] (1835); "Indiana Marriages, 1811-1959," digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 17 February 2015); FHL film no. 1845,552. [https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XXBH-5RM]
Documents		James Cunningham and Martha Hayden, census, 1860 Elkhart County, Indiana 1860 U.S. census, Elkhart County, Indiana, population schedule, Elkhard township, Goshen (post office), p. 189 (penned), p. 367 (penned), dwelling 1768, family 1768, James Cunningham household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 18 February 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 256.

Notes

Elkhart County, IN probate records, filmed by LDS, 1830 - 1920. Index does not reference dates.

Film Name: 22 Cook, James
#101 Vault A-69
Vs. Cunningham, James

Film Name: 26 Cook, James
# 37
Vault B-10
Vs. Cunningham, James
(Research):A homestead file for a James Cunningham of St. Joseph Indiana exists. The land office was Fort Wayne, and the legal description "North half of the Northeast quarter of Section 15, Township 35, Range 7." Dated 24 April 1837. Containing 80 acres. Patented 20 Aug 1828. File no. 19051.

It is not clear whether or not this is our James Cunningham.

Sources

[S4746] 1850 U.S. census, Elkart County, Illinois, population schedule, Elkhart township, p. 180 (penned), p. 90 (stamped, verso), , dwelling 1222, family 1201, James Cunningham household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 17 February 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 144.
[S4748] 1860 U.S. census, Elkhart County, Indiana, population schedule, Elkhard township, Goshen (post office), p. 189 (penned), p. 367 (penned), dwelling 1768, family 1768, James Cunningham household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 18 February 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 256.
[S4749] 1870 U.S. census, Hardin County, Iowa, population schedule, Grant township, El Dora [Eldora] (post office), p. 4 (penned), p. 429 (stamped, verso), dwelling 27, family 27, Jas. Cunningham household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 18 February 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 394.
[S4750] 1840 U.S. census, Elkhart County, Indiana, [no township stated], pp. 63-64 (penned), p. 32 (stamped), line 15, James Cunningham household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 18 February 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 79.
[S4753] SLGMSD, creator, ?S. B. Cunningham,? database, Eldora City Cemetery (Eldora, Hardin County, Iowa, USA) memorial no. 88660730, FindAGrave (http://www.findagrave.com/ : viewed 19 February 2015). .
[S4747] Elkhart County, Indiana, Marriage Book A: 90, James Cunningham-Marthy H. Haden [Hayden] (1835); "Indiana Marriages, 1811-1959," digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 17 February 2015); FHL film no. 1845,552. [https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XXBH-5RM].