Cunningham, Thomas

Kathleen:

I checked the Roots Ireland indexes for Co. Down for the years 1823-1829 and there were four Thomas Cunninghams baptised in that time period. Keep in mind that some parishes are not on Roots and other parishes do not have records that far back.

Any idea of his parents names?

Roger McDonnell

Roger,

I've just had another go round on the computer and found a family tree posted (Serchio Valley) that shows his parents were John Thomas Cunningham and Mary Graham. I would love to search my Irish roots and have proof of all. I've always known that there must be some Irish in my past, but family members have been doubtful until I searched Thomas Cunningham after seeing his name on the 1861 & 1871 census for Ayrshire, Scotland where it stated that he was born County Down, Ireland. So exciting.

Thanks again

Kathleen Mary (good old fashion Irish name?)

Kathleen:

I did a little more checking. None of the three records had a father named John. Two had a father named Thomas and the mother was named Mary. Both records were in 1823. I went through the Catholic parishes and found that one of the records was in the Newry RC church.

What denomination was your family?

Roger

Did Thomas die in Scotland, after 1855? If so, his parents names should be on his death certificate (which you can obtain on the Scotlandspeople site for ?1.20.). 

How difficult will it be to search his ancestry in Ireland?

Roger,

My Scottish roots from the Cunningham line were Presbyterian I believe.My Irish roots, unfortunately, I don't know. But I was able to verify that his parents were "Thomas" Cunningham and Mary Graham.

Kathleen

Than You. I did manage to access his death record and it is confirmed that his parents were Thomas Cunningham and Mary Graham.Not sure where to go from here.

Kathleen,

It?s going to be quite challenging trying to find anything on the family. Not all church records from the early 1800s have survived and not all of what does exist are on-line.

I looked for a marriage between Thomas Cunningham and Mary Graham on rootsireland. There?s none listed (but that could be for the reasons given above).

It?s a pity we don?t know Thomas?s denomination. Looking at the 1901 Irish census there are 1346 Cunninghams in the county. 950 were RC, the others a mix of protestant denominations, mainly Presbyterian & Church of Ireland. For Graham there are 1500, only 137 of whom were RC, so that makes Mary Graham significantly more likely to be Protestant than RC. (The Grahams are mostly of Scottish reiver origins, from the Scottish borders who came to Co Down in the Plantation).

You say that Thomas?s family by Elizabeth Bullen were Presbyterian. I see that their marriage on 13.12.1846 was Church of Scotland (ie Presbyterian). Tradition was to marry in the bride?s church, so it doesn?t prove he was Presbyterian too, but I think he probably was or failing that Church of Ireland. So I?d probably suggest you focus on Presbyterian and Church of Ireland records in Ireland.

That said, Thomas?s baptism is well before the start of statutory birth registration in Ireland (1864) and so it?s a question of trying to find him in church records. There?s an awful lot of church records in Co Down.

Firstly, what was Thomas senior?s occupation in Ireland (it should be on his sons death cert) and was he alive or dead when his son died? And when was that? That might just give something to search for.

The usual advice in this situation is to try and exhaust all sources in Scotland. So check every possible census in case you get a more detailed place of birth; search for obituaries. Does he have a gravestone which mentions a place of birth? Did he serve in the army, and if so, do his military papers say where he came from? Did his family ever claim under the Poor Law? If so, the Scottish Poor Law files usually record parish of origin in Ireland. (Ayrshire Poor Law records are in the county record office, I think. Not sure how complete they are).

There?s loads of Cunninghams and Grahams on this Co Down site. Have a look and see if any might fit your family (bear in mind the father?s occupation when searching:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/%7Erosdavies/

Elwyn

PS If your Cunninghams are also Presbyterian or Church of Ireland, then given that they resided in Co Down (which was swamped with Scottish settlers) it's pretty likely they too originated in Scotland in the 1600s.

Elwyn,

My heartfelt thanks for the info that you have provided me. I will follow your advise and see where the trail leads. Happy New Year and all the best to you and yours.

Kathleen