2 Beaty Sisters/I.W.Cunningham in KY/TX
First, my relatives have been searching for the wrong man for over 50 years. We have an original Civil War letter signed by who we thought was “J.W”. Cunningham (and that is who everyone has been looking for) written from Ft. Bliss in 1862 where he was Asst. Surgeon with the 7th TX Mounted. It turns out that his name was actually Dr. Isaac W. (“I.W.”) Cunningham. After his death, his first initial was misinterpreted by everyone, including census transcribers, as a “J” since he brought the lower loop of the “I” below the “invisible” line. Several weeks ago, I hit the jackpot in Gonzales Co., about an hour south of Austin where I found his grave and over 100 pieces of paper in probate/guardianship/family files. Briefly, what I have is the following:
Dr. Isaac W. Cunningham, b. 1827 perhaps in either AL or KY (census records and death certificate of daughter reflect both locations) and d. 1868 in Gonzales, Gonzales Co., TX (murdered by rogue Union soldiers) who m. 1) Elizabeth Lillard Beaty in 1855 in Gonzales Co., TX. She was b. 1822 in Wayne Co., KY and d. 1858 in Belmont, Gonzales Co., TX five days following the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth Lillian Cunningham (my g grandmother). Dr. Cunningham then married 2), Antoinette Amanda Beaty (Elizabeth Lillard Beaty’s sister) in Gonzales Co. in 1859. She was b. 1835 in Wayne Co., KY and d. 1871 in Belmont, Gonzales Co., TX. Isaac and Antoinette had the following children: Joseph C., Lilla/Lilly Webb and Martin Beaty W. Cunningham, born 1860, 1864, 1866, respectively. Dr. Cunningham, his two wives and son Joseph C. are buried together in the Beaty section of the Belmont Cemetery in Gonzales Co., TX. Joseph died in 1869. Lilla/Lilly was sent to live with Freeman/Beaty relatives in St. Louis, MO. I’m still trying to find her. The youngest son, Martin Beaty W. Cunningham died in El Paso Co., TX in 1887. The first born child, Elizabeth Lillian Cunningham, (my g grandmother) was sent back east to attend school in KY, and then returned to Austin where she married Robert Monroe Gillespie.
Additionly, I have a copy of a chattel which outlines the sale by I.W./J.W. Cunningham of a male slave to who appears to be a Thomas G. Pilgrim in 1857-58.
Again, I’m not sure where Isaac W. Cunningham was born. Nor do I know who his parents/siblings were. Land records indicate that Isaac was in Gonzales Co., TX as early as 1854. He may have been employed in 1850 by the Eastern KY Lunatic Asylum in Fayette Co., KY as a “J.W.” Cunningham (the correct age) was enumerated on the 1850 census there as a medical doctor.
Additionally, while I don’t know if there are any connections here, there are some other Cunninghams in Gonzales Co. during the same approximate time frame that may be of interest to you (i.e., in particular, a Judge Leander Calvin Cunningham and his son Dr. James Louis Cunningham). According to the Gonzales Co. History Book, Judge Cunningham was born in 1810 in Shelby Co., TN, the youngest of nine children of Margaret and James Cunningham. Judge Cunningham went to TX with two of his brothers( John Alexander and David A.) in 1833. (The other six children were not named in the history book) Judge Cunningham and his brothers settled in Bastrop, Gonzales Co., TX, where they were joined by their father in 1837. The Judge’s son, Dr. J.L. Cunningham, was born in Bastrop, Gonzales Co., TX in 1839.
I would be very interested in hearing back from you as to whether my Isaac W. Cunningham is on your radar scope or perhaps the other Cunninghams in the paragraph above.
Jeri