Cunningham, James, 1788-1867

James Cunningham (February 26, 1788-February 27, 1867) lived in Liberty Township, Pennsylvania; Emmitsburg, Maryland; and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His parents were Robert Cunningham (1740-1823), an Irish immigrant and lieutenant in the First Pennsylvania Regiment in the Revolutionary War, and Martha Watt, a Scottish immigrant. He had five siblings: John (1770-1838), Elizabeth (b. 1774), Susan (1776-1778), David (1780-1809), and Robert (1784-1789). John married Polly Waugh, Elizabeth married Samuel Cobean, and David married Mary Stewart. James Cunningham's nephews included Alexander Stewart, John S. Cunningham, and Alexander Cobean; he had at least one niece, Elizabeth Lyle of Perry County, Pennsylvania. James Cunningham and his wife, Elizabeth Stewart (1791-1858), had seven sons: Alexander (d. 1830), Robert (ca. 1821-1824), John (1822-1919), David, James, Francis, and Leander.

Alexander Stewart was the son of Elizabeth Stewart's brother, John Stewart, and Rosanna Sheeler. He was born in Maryland on September 28, 1809, and attended Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he studied medicine. He received his medical degree from Washington Medical College in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1831, and moved to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, where he resided until his death on January 4, 1894. He had three wives: Margaret Grabill (d. 1833), Elizabeth Hamill (1813-1853), and Eunice G. Wilson (1822-1901). He and Elizabeth Hamill had six children: George Hamill (b. 1837), John (b. 1839), Alexander (b. 1843), Mary Augusta (1845-1900), Robert Cochran (1850-1899), and Charlotte Louisa.

Alexander Cobean, son of Samuel Cobean and Elizabeth Cunningham, was born August 16, 1819. He moved from Pennsylvania to Euphemia, Ohio, in 1851, and later settled in Baltimore, Ohio. He served with the 48th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, and was captured at the Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) in April 1862. Alexander Cobean died a prisoner of war at Camp Oglethorpe, Georgia, on August 20, 1862.

From the guide to the James Cunningham family letters, Cunningham, James family letters, 1821-1851, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)