William Smith Cunningham was one of my Cunningham ancestors who emigrated to Canada in about 1822. He came with his parents - James Cunningham (abt 1755-1855) and Mary (nee Smith) Cunningham (abt 1770-1845), and his brothers Robert and James, and possibly other siblings. Unfortunately I don't know the parish in Tyrone, or their religion, but they were definitely protestant. They settled in Halton County, Ontario in approximate 1822-1825. I have been calling this family "Line A".
A clue to finding my Cunningham ancestiors may be provided by one of my other Cunningham lines. William Smith Cunningham's son, Robert Hamilton Cunningham (Line A - born in Halton County 25 Dec 1837), married Anne Cunningham (Line B - born in Halton County 16 Mar 1836). There is no known connection between these two Cunningham families, however they settled in the same general area and there were obvious ties between the two.
This second Cunningham family (Line B) emigrated from County Tyrone to Halton County, Ontario in about 1827. They were William Cunningham (abt 1771-1854) and Frances (nee Noble? - abt 1772-1861) and at least ten of their children - presumably all born in County Tyrone. These children were Andrew (b. 4 Nov 1800), Joseph (b. 1801-1802), Rebecca Jane (b. abt 1804), Robert (b. abt 1805), Elizabeth (b. abt 1807), James (b. abt 1809), William (b. abt 1810), Sarah (b. Apr 1812), Matilda (b. abt 1813), and Mary (b. 5 Apr 1821). The Anne Cunningham, that married Robert Hamilton Cunningham, was the granddaughter of William C. and Frances Noble, and daughter of their son Andrew Cunningham (above).
A third Cunningham family (Line D) arrived from Tyrone in or before 1853. They were Archibald Cunningham (b. abt 1807-09) and his wife Jane (b. 1820-21) with 3 children who were born in Ireland (presumably Tyrone) - Ann (b. abt 1844), John (b. abt 1846) and James (b. abt 1848). They had 3 more children in Ontario from 1853 to 1858 according to the 1861 Canadian census. On this census Archibald and his family are living next to William Smith Cunningham - on the same farm or adjoining. William Smith Cunningham is listed as a farmer and Archibald as a farm labourer (perhaps on William Smith C.'s farm?). A possibility is that Archibald C. (b. abt 1808) is the younger brother of William Smith C. (b. abt 1804), and Archibald joined his immediate or extended family in Halton County at the end of the Irish Famine. If they were brothers, then James Cunningham and Mary Smith would be Archibald's parents. However, I do not have any proof of these connections.
There are two other Cunningham lines in Halton County that could have a possible connection to Line A or Line B. These connections are through marriage (1) a Line C Cunningham married a Line A Cunningham - a relative or a coincidence?), and (2) through place of orgin - Line E also immigrated from County Tyrone. Since Cunningham is quite a common name, if may be too much to assume a connection between these last two lines (i.e. C & E) to my confirmed Lines A & B. All my possible Cunningham ancestors are protestant, however congregations were few and far between in the early days of settlement in Ontario, so I cannot say which denomination they would have been in Ireland.
Any assistance and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
