John Cunningham

John Cunningham was born about 1781 in Pennsylvania. He was listed as head of family in the Census of 1820 of the newly created Grant County, Kentucky. At this time his household consisted of one male under 10, three males 10 to 16, one male 26 to 45, one female 10 to 16 and one female 26 to 45. John Cunningham also appeared on the Grant County tax list for 1820, taxed on 150 acres located on the waters of Sugar Creek. He was not listed as a tax payer in 1819 or earlier in Pendleton County, Kentucky (the county from whose territory Grant County was taken in 1820). He continued on the Grant County tax lists for 1821 and 1822, but is not taxed on any land for these two years. In 1823 he was taxed on 50 acres. He continued to be taxed on 50 acres in the Eagle Creek watershed through 1830. In 1831, he was reported to have in his household two white males age 21 or over, and is taxed on 77 acres on Ten Mile Creek. In 1833 there was only one white male over 21 in his household. John Cunningham is taxed on 10 acres on Ten Mile Creek and 100 acres on Grassy Creek. Through the 1830s he was taxed on 40 acres. alternately identified as being on Grassy Creek or Ten Mile Creek. Obviously, one or the other location appears to be incorrect.

It is reported that John Cunningham married Elizabeth Padgett about 1803. She was born in 1777 and was a native of Virginia. The Grant County Kentucky Census taken in September 1850 shows in the household of John and Elizabeth Cunningham, James, age 40, born in Missouri, and John T., age 20, born in Kentucky. Elizabeth Cunningham died January 29, 1854 at age 77. In July 1860, John Cunningham was living in Grant County with his son, Thomas G. P. Cunningham. John Cunningham died September 3, 1860 at age 79 years, 5 months, and 29 days. John and Elizabeth Cunningham are buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery in Grant County, Kentucky. They were the parents of four sons and one daughter in 1820. Based on the best available information, their family is believed to consist of the following children:

1. Thomas G. P. Cunningham, born December 7, 1804 in Kentucky, is a known son. A resident of Grant County, he married three times. See the family history on Thomas G. P. Cunningham.

2. William Cunningham, born circa 1807, may be a son. He was first listed on the Grant County tax rolls in 1829. He was listed in 1835, apparently having moved out of the State, returning in 1841.

3. Matilda Cunningham, born circa 1809 in Kentucky, may be the unnamed daughter reported in the 1820 Census. She married Mason Brown Mach 31, 1830. They raised a family of at least five children in Grant County.

4. James Cunningham, born circa 1810 in Missouri, is a known son residing with his parents in 1850. There is no record of marriage.

5. Johnson Cunningham, born July 2, 1813, is a known son. He married Mary Cunningham (relationship unknown) in Grant County November 3, 1835 (bond date). Johnson died July 1841 or 1842 and is buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery in Grant County, Kentucky. His widow, Mary, is probably the widow Mary Cunningham who was taxed on 62 acres in 1843 through 1847 in Grant County. There is no record of any children.

By Beulah Wiley Franks
Published in Footsteps of the Past, March 22, 2001.

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