Individual Details
John CUNNINGHAM (caution: not verified)
(Abt 1800 - 18 Oct 1887)
John's family is definitely related to my Cunningham family but we have no documentary evidence to prove that John was a brother of Myles and Daniel. However, we do have a letter written in 1956 by Jack Hudson (1878-1960) of Kilbaha, Moyvane, Co. Kerry (a great grandson of Myles Cunningham, John's putative brother) to his relative Bill Hudson of Florida in which Jack states that "I have never heard of Edward Cunningham but he could be one of the Cunninghams of Irremore that were first cousins of Johanna Hudson's husband." Johanna's husband was Bryan Cunningham, son of Myles, indicating that John's children (who were raised in Irremore) were indeed first cousins of Bryan. Note: the Edward Cunningham mentioned above (1856-1924) was actually a son of Bryan Cunningham and Johanna Hudson. He emigrated to the United States, which is probably why Jack had not heard of him.
John and his wife, Catherine (Kate), lived in the parish of Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick. In the Abbeyfeale parish registers the baptism records of three of their children (the Mary who was born in 1829, Patrick and Bridget) give the mother's name as Mary rather than Catherine. As John appears to have been the only Cunningham living in the Abbeyfeale area at the time, I am inclined to think that in these three cases, the mother's name was incorrectly recorded, or perhaps Catherine also used the name Mary.
We do not know for sure where exactly John farmed in Abbeyfeale, but Fitzgerald researcher and Abbeyfeale resident Tom Moloney has looked at the Tithes for clues: "There is only one mention of a Cunningham and only his surname is given: Denis Lean and Cunningham farmed 160 acres in Knocknasna. That 160 acres are Irish Acres and when translated to statute acres it comes to 259. Now on Griffiths Valuation there is a 261 acre plot in the name of Catherine Collins. On it are two substantial houses - sub-rented from Catherine Collins; they are valued at £12 and £15. One is vacant and the other is occupied by Denis Lane who is probably the same Denis Lean from the Tithes. I think it highly likely that this is the farm that John Cunningham shared in the 1830s."
It appears John moved from Abbeyfeale with his family in the late 1830s or early 1940s to a farm in Irremore near Listowel, Co. Kerry. At some point the family was evicted from this farm, which I am told may have been located near Irremore church. I have also been told that John farmed in Mountcoal near Listowel. As Mountcoal and Irremore seem to be adjacent to each other could the Mountcoal and Irremore farms have been one and the same?
John died at the age of 96, according to his obituary in the Kerry Sentinel of 21 October 1887, although a family source has told me he was 86 years of age when he died. The obituary also tells us he died "at the house of Mr. John Troy, T.O., where he resided a considerable time, being Mrs. Troy's uncle. The funeral was a splendid one, all the respectable inhabitants attending. The coffin, which was a beautiful oaken one, was conveyed to the place of interment in a hearse, where his gransdon, the Rev. J. Cunningham [who died in 1885], was interred not very long since." It therefore appears that John's fortunes had changed considerably since the time of the family's eviction decades before.
The obituary goes on to say the chief mourners were "Messrs John Troy, T.O., J. Nolan, J. Harrington [presumably John's son-in-law John Harrington], J. Cunningham, Kilbaha, B. Cunningham, do. [presumably one of the three Bryan Cunninghams in Kilbaha whom we know of and who were alive at the time]".
Regarding the statement in the obituary that John was an uncle of Mrs. Troy, this is in fact untrue as the Irish Census Search Forms of 1851 (used by the Irish government to prove the age of people who were applying for the Old Age Pension and who were born before Civil Registration began in 1864) show that Mrs. Bessie Troy's mother was Annie Thornton and not a Cunningham. Perhaps John was a more distant relative of Bessie's than an uncle, or perhaps John's connection to Bessie was through his wife, Kate Fitzgerald. Any help in identifying the exact relationship between John and Bessie would be appreciated. Please email HelensFamilyTrees@gmail.com. Thank you.
John and his wife, Catherine (Kate), lived in the parish of Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick. In the Abbeyfeale parish registers the baptism records of three of their children (the Mary who was born in 1829, Patrick and Bridget) give the mother's name as Mary rather than Catherine. As John appears to have been the only Cunningham living in the Abbeyfeale area at the time, I am inclined to think that in these three cases, the mother's name was incorrectly recorded, or perhaps Catherine also used the name Mary.
We do not know for sure where exactly John farmed in Abbeyfeale, but Fitzgerald researcher and Abbeyfeale resident Tom Moloney has looked at the Tithes for clues: "There is only one mention of a Cunningham and only his surname is given: Denis Lean and Cunningham farmed 160 acres in Knocknasna. That 160 acres are Irish Acres and when translated to statute acres it comes to 259. Now on Griffiths Valuation there is a 261 acre plot in the name of Catherine Collins. On it are two substantial houses - sub-rented from Catherine Collins; they are valued at £12 and £15. One is vacant and the other is occupied by Denis Lane who is probably the same Denis Lean from the Tithes. I think it highly likely that this is the farm that John Cunningham shared in the 1830s."
It appears John moved from Abbeyfeale with his family in the late 1830s or early 1940s to a farm in Irremore near Listowel, Co. Kerry. At some point the family was evicted from this farm, which I am told may have been located near Irremore church. I have also been told that John farmed in Mountcoal near Listowel. As Mountcoal and Irremore seem to be adjacent to each other could the Mountcoal and Irremore farms have been one and the same?
John died at the age of 96, according to his obituary in the Kerry Sentinel of 21 October 1887, although a family source has told me he was 86 years of age when he died. The obituary also tells us he died "at the house of Mr. John Troy, T.O., where he resided a considerable time, being Mrs. Troy's uncle. The funeral was a splendid one, all the respectable inhabitants attending. The coffin, which was a beautiful oaken one, was conveyed to the place of interment in a hearse, where his gransdon, the Rev. J. Cunningham [who died in 1885], was interred not very long since." It therefore appears that John's fortunes had changed considerably since the time of the family's eviction decades before.
The obituary goes on to say the chief mourners were "Messrs John Troy, T.O., J. Nolan, J. Harrington [presumably John's son-in-law John Harrington], J. Cunningham, Kilbaha, B. Cunningham, do. [presumably one of the three Bryan Cunninghams in Kilbaha whom we know of and who were alive at the time]".
Regarding the statement in the obituary that John was an uncle of Mrs. Troy, this is in fact untrue as the Irish Census Search Forms of 1851 (used by the Irish government to prove the age of people who were applying for the Old Age Pension and who were born before Civil Registration began in 1864) show that Mrs. Bessie Troy's mother was Annie Thornton and not a Cunningham. Perhaps John was a more distant relative of Bessie's than an uncle, or perhaps John's connection to Bessie was through his wife, Kate Fitzgerald. Any help in identifying the exact relationship between John and Bessie would be appreciated. Please email HelensFamilyTrees@gmail.com. Thank you.
Events
| Birth | Abt 1800 | possibly Monagea, Co. Limerick | |||
| Marriage | Prob 3 Apr 1827 | Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick - Catherine (Kate) FITZGERALD |  | ||
| Death | 18 Oct 1887 | Church St., Listowel, Co. Kerry | |||
| Burial | Murhur Cemetery, Moyvane, Co. Kerry |
Families
| Spouse | Catherine (Kate) FITZGERALD (1810 - 1842) |
| Child | Ellen CUNNINGHAM (1828 - 1919) |
| Child | Mary CUNNINGHAM (1829 - 1838) |
| Child | Margaret CUNNINGHAM (1830 - 1901) |
| Child | Patrick CUNNINGHAM (1833 - 1877) |
| Child | Bridget CUNNINGHAM (1834 - ) |
| Child | Bryan Patrick CUNNINGHAM (1835 - 1910) |
| Child | James CUNNINGHAM (1836 - 1900) |
| Child | Mary CUNNINGHAM (1838 - ) |
| Child | Daniel (Dan) J. CUNNINGHAM (1841 - 1919) |
| Child | John Francis CUNNINGHAM (1842 - 1919) |
| Father | Bryan CUNNINGHAM (caution: not verified) ( - ) |
| Mother | Maria FLANAGAN (caution: not verified) ( - ) |
| Sibling | Myles CUNNINGHAM (1777 - 1879) |
| Sibling | Daniel CUNNINGHAM ( - ) |
| Sibling | Timothy CUNNINGHAM (caution: not verified) ( - ) |