I have two branches of Cunningham ancestors who came to Canada from County Tyrone in the 1820s. Both these families settled in the same township in the province of Ontario (then called Upper Canada). It seems likely that there is a strong connection between the two families.
In 1822, James Cunningham (b. abt 1756) came to Canada with his wife Mary Smith (b.abt 1770) and sons William Smith Cunningham (b. abt 1804) & Robert Cunningham.
In approximately 1827, William Cunningham (b.abt 1771) arrived in Canada with his wife Frances (Noble?) (b.abt 1771) and their nine children. All these Cunningham ancestors were recorded in multiple historic records as being born in County Tyrone, Ireland. The names of the nine children of William & Francis Cunningham, and their approximate birth years, are as follows: Andrew (04 Nov 1800), Joseph (abt 1801), Rebecca Jane (abt 1804), Robert (abt 1805?), Elizabeth (abt 1807), James (abt 1809), William (abt 1810), Sarah (abt Apr 1812), Matilda (abt 1813), Mary (5 Apr 1821).
I would greatly appreciate any assistance in determining where these ancestors came from in Tyrone, or any suggestions on how to proceed with my search. Thank you so much - Lynn
LynnFGM
Sunday 17th Mar 2019, 10:55PMMessage Board Replies
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Lynn,
Birth registration didn’t start in Ireland till 1864. Prior to that you are heavily reliant on church records for tracing families. You haven’t said what denomination your ancestors were, but whatever they were, very few churches in Tyrone have any records for the 1700s or early 1800s.
Looking at Griffiths Valuation of Ireland in 1860 there were around 178 Cunningham households listed. They were in practically every parish in the county. (And not every family was listed in Griffiths).
Researching in Ireland in the 1700s is very hard going due to the general lack of records. If you don’t know where they lived it’s a needle in a haystack. Ideally you need to know the person’s exact denomination and the townland or parish they lived in to have any chance of finding them, and even then there may not be any records for that location.
Possibly DNA testing may be a way of matching with others who have additional information about where the family originate. Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.
The North of Ireland Family History Society is running an Ulster DNA project in conjunction with FTDNA and can offer testing kits at a reduced price. http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).
Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Monday 18th Mar 2019, 01:22AM -
Hello Elwyn.
My Cunningham ancestors were all Protestant. At the time they came to Canada, the farming communities were very young, and families often affiliated with the nearest Protestant community. On census and death records, my ancestors are most often recorded as Methodist (or Methodist Episcopal), although some were (or were recorded to be) Anglican (Church of England). I have done DNA testing with FamilyTree DNA, and am awaiting results from DNA testing through Ancesty. Unfortunately, after four generations, my Cunningham ancestors are not on my direct female line.
I have Jacksons in Armagh (possibly Antrim?) that are on my direct maternal line, and so I hope to have some luck there in the future.
Thank you for the information that you provided. It confirms the difficulty of researching such a common surname, and not knowing the parish where they lived.
Best wishes, Lynn
LynnFGM
Monday 18th Mar 2019, 06:35PM