U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cunningham, Thaddeus S. (1842-1925) --------------------------------------------------------------------- A History of Preston County West Virginia Biographical Department, Supplied by J. R. Cole Kingwood, W. Va., The Journal Publishing Company, 1914 by H. S. Whetsell Pages 813-814, THADDEUS S. CUNNINGHAM. The ravages of war caused by the late Rebellion have left many scars not yet obliterated. One of the victims of that fratricidal strife, Mr. T. S. Cunningham, a greatly respected Prestonian, was born in Somerset county, October 16, 1842. He was one of a family of seventeen children, and the third son of Robert Cunningham by his first wife, Sarah Pinkerton, a relative of the great detective of Civil Ware fame, and a member of a family of twelve children, ten of them daughters. The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm and educated in the district school. In 1859, during the year of the great July frost, the parents moved to Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and in 1862 the young man, not yet of age, ran off to war. In August he enlisted in Company H, 142nd Penna. Infantry, and that regiment participated in twenty-four battles before the great conflict closed. Its first service was guarding a fort near Washington, D. C., but orders being given, "On to Richmond," the regiment moved forward, and the first engagement with the enemy was in the battle of Fredericksburg, fought December 13, 1862. In that conflict Mr. Cunningham was wounded, taken to the hospital, and discharged from the service March 6, 1863, minus his left arm amputated at the shoulder joint. It is worthy of mention, probably, to say that Mr. Cunningham received a pension from the time of his discharge, and that it was only $8.00 a month for several years, and that he had to make application in person for that pittance at Pittsburgh. To get there he had to walk sixteen miles to reach the nearest depot in order to get to the place of his destination. Mr. Cunningham had two other brothers in the Civil War, and two sons who participated in the Cuban conflict. Of the brothers, Frank served in the 1st West Virginia Cavalry and won a medal of honor for capturing a rebel flag at the battle of Sailors Creek, April 6, 1864. James served in the 1st Ohio Cavalry. He was captured near the close of the war, and died in Andersonville prison. Of the sons, Edward was an orderly two years under Gen. Fred Grant in the Philippines, and A. D. served eight months in the West Virginia Home Guards, but did not get farther than Georgia. In 1868 Mr. Cunningham was married to Eliza Jane Liston, daughter of Everhart Liston, of Fayette county, Pennsylvania. From this union came a family of seven children and nineteen grand-children, sixteen of whom are now living. The eldest of this family is Katie, who married T. M. King; (2) Belle, who married J. W. Wheeler; (3) Emma, who married L. W. Conner; (4) Frank, who married Jessie McNair; (5) Edward, who married Effie Yeast; (6) Albert, who married Lulu Bowermaster, and (7) Emmett, the railroad engineer, who never married. In 1908 Mr. Cunningham bought his present residence in Kingwood. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., the G. A. R., and during the McKinley administration was postmaster of Bruceton. He was also a member of the Board of Education and trustee of the M. E. Church. Though a poor man he has been a liberal supporter of the cause of Christ, having given hundreds of dollars toward building the churches in the lower end of the county. He calls his pension his blood money and wants to use it in a good cause, and thinks Christian churches one of the best ways to act as one of God's stewards. He never allowed a minister to leave his work without receiving his full pay. --------------------------------------------------------------------- From Death Certificate, Preston County, WV #1105 FULL-NAME: T. S. Cunningham BIRTH-DATE: October 16, 1842 BIRTH-PLACE: Pa. DEATH-DATE: January 22, 1925 DEATH-PLACE: Brandonville, Grant District, Preston County, WV MARITAL-STATUS: Married OCCUPATION: Retired Farmer FATHER: Robert Cunningham (born in Pa.) MOTHER: Sarah Pinkerton (born in Pa.) CAUSE-OF-DEATH: Apoplexy INFORMANT: Mrs. T. S. Cunningham (of Brandonville) BURIAL: Bruceton Mills There are tombstones in the Bruceton Mills Cemetery, Preston Co., WV THADDEUS S. ELIZA J. CUNNINGHAM CUNNINGHAM 1842-1925 1849-1930 --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access other biographies for Preston County, WV by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/wv/preston/bios.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------