In 1983, I was in Vancouver, BC for a few months. I took an evening course in genealogical reserach offered by the Department of Library Science at the University of BC. This was before computers, and one of the field trips included an overview of what was available in the card files. In one of the drawers, I found a card that referred to a manuscript of interest. As I recall, it was a manuscript of "the Cunningham family of County Tryone". I only saw this reference once, moved away from the city, and have never been able to find another reference to this manuscript - even, online - in the nearly 40 years since.
I have two direct lines of Cunningham ancestors who came to Canada from County Tyrone in the 1820's. I do not expect to find a family history that would lead directly to my ancestors, but am interested in the Cunningham family in general and their history in Ireland, and especially County Tyrone. I would greatly appreciate any direction or information about this manuscript or any other source material that would help in this regard. Thank you!
LynnFGM
Tuesday 28th Dec 2021, 11:44PMMessage Board Replies
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Lynn,
MacLysaght’s “The Surnames of Ireland” says Cunningham is: “The name of Scottish settlers, widely adopted as the modern form of Irish surnames. Matheson in his report on synonyms in birth registrations gives no less than 20 for Cunningham eg Cunnegan, Kinnegan and even Coon. See also under Dongan.” (That explains that in Co Down Mac Donnagain became Cunningham).
So Cunninghams in Tyrone were mostly descendants of Scots who settled in the area in the 1600s, either as part of the Plantation of Ireland or later waves, eg in the 1690s large numbers arrived due to famine in Scotland. A large percentage of the population of Tyrone has similar origins. A clue to Scots origins can be if the family was Presbyterian.
There is an area in Ayrshire named Cunninghame and it’s possible there is a connection. Known as topynomical names.
The Muster Rolls c 1630 list 1 Cunningham in Tyrone then (A John who lived near Strabane), so there was evidently a presence in the county by that year.
The public record office in Belfast (PRONI) has an e- catalogue you could search. It lists 2442 documents which mention Cunningham. If you search under “Cunningham Tyrone” it goes down to 265. More manageable. You might find something there.
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/search-pronis-ecatalogue
The manuscript of the Cunninghams sounds to me as though it might be a piece of research on one or two specific families. To research every Cunningham family in Tyrone would be an immense task. I doubt it could cover that. (There were 272 in the county in Tyrone in 1901). And they are not all going to be related. It’s just a common Scottish name.
This link takes you to a site specializing in Co Tyrone ancestry. Searching their database I found over 1000 references to Cunningham. Just in that county.
https://cotyroneireland.com/index.html
Researching ancestors who left Ireland in the 1820s can be difficult. Not many records exist from that period (and the few that do are not always on-line). I assume you have no idea where in the county the families lived. If so, that will make it challenging.
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 ☘
Wednesday 29th Dec 2021, 12:37AM