This collection (21 items) contains letters written to James Cunningham of Adams County, Pennsylvania, by members of his family, and several early letters from family members concerning the Cobean family of Adams County, related to Cunningham through marriage. The early letters include 1 from Polly Waugh Cunningham to her daughter Betsy (June 2, 1821) and 4 from John Cunningham to his brother James and to their brother-in-law, Samuel Cobean. Cunningham offered his condolences following the death of James's son Alexander and mentioned a recent land purchase by John W. Cunningham (May 23, 1831).
James Cunningham received 9 letters from his nephew, Dr. Alexander Stewart of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Stewart mentioned his medical practice and the growth of his family and occasionally commented on political issues, such as his thoughts about the Anti-Masonic Party (March 19, 1840) and the Locofoco presence in Pennsylvania (October 28, 1845). John S. Cunningham, another nephew, wrote 5 letters about his life in Pulaski, Pennsylvania, addressing topics such as agriculture and his financial troubles. He wrote about the health of his family and in one letter described a person experiences a lengthy trance (February 24, 1844). A third nephew, Alexander Cobean, wrote to James Cunningham of his trip from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Euphemia, Ohio, where he found work as a teacher. Cobean provided insight into his life as new arrival among strangers in the Midwest, discussing local land prices, the landscape, and the corn crop (February 8, 1848). In the final letter, dated October 27, 1851, Cobean reported that he had to abandon his teaching career because of his poor health.
James Cunningham (February 26, 1788-February 27, 1867) lived in Liberty Township, Pennsylvania; Emmitsburg, Maryland; and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His parents were Robert Cunningham (1740-1823), an Irish immigrant and lieutenant in the First Pennsylvania Regiment in the Revolutionary War, and Martha Watt, a Scottish immigrant. He had five siblings: John (1770-1838), Elizabeth (b. 1774), Susan (1776-1778), David (1780-1809), and Robert (1784-1789). John married Polly Waugh, Elizabeth married Samuel Cobean, and David married Mary Stewart. James Cunningham's nephews included Alexander Stewart, John S. Cunningham, and Alexander Cobean; he had at least one niece, Elizabeth Lyle of Perry County, Pennsylvania. James Cunningham and his wife, Elizabeth Stewart (1791-1858), had seven sons: Alexander (d. 1830), Robert (ca. 1821-1824), John (1822-1919), David, James, Francis, and Leander.
Alexander Stewart was the son of Elizabeth Stewart's brother, John Stewart, and Rosanna Sheeler. He was born in Maryland on September 28, 1809, and attended Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he studied medicine. He received his medical degree from Washington Medical College in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1831, and moved to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, where he resided until his death on January 4, 1894. He had three wives: Margaret Grabill (d. 1833), Elizabeth Hamill (1813-1853), and Eunice G. Wilson (1822-1901). He and Elizabeth Hamill had six children: George Hamill (b. 1837), John (b. 1839), Alexander (b. 1843), Mary Augusta (1845-1900), Robert Cochran (1850-1899), and Charlotte Louisa.
Alexander Cobean, son of Samuel Cobean and Elizabeth Cunningham, was born August 16, 1819. He moved from Pennsylvania to Euphemia, Ohio, in 1851, and later settled in Baltimore, Ohio. He served with the 48th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, and was captured at the Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) in April 1862. Alexander Cobean died a prisoner of war at Camp Oglethorpe, Georgia, on August 20, 1862.