[p. 511] a well known resident of New Castle, is prominent among the younger members of the bar of Lawrence County. He was born where Ellwood City is now located, in Wayne Township, and comes of a family which has been closely identified with the affairs of the county since it became established within its boundaries about the year 1776. He is a son of James W. Cunningham former treasurer of Lawrence County, and grandson of Hon. Joseph Cunningham, at one time an associate judge and a resident of New Castle.
Captain Cunningham was reared in Wayne Township until 1876, and attended the local schools. He then attended different educational institutions, receiving a thorough classical education, after which he attended the law department of Ohio Northern University of Ada, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1895. After reading law one year in the office of Dana and Long, of New Castle, in 1896 he was admitted to the bar. He has since engaged in active practice and with uninterrupted success, except for such periods as his military duties called him from home. Having attended a military school at Ada, Ohio, for three years, he was thoroughly familiar with military tactics, and in 1898 was elected captain of Company B, Sixteenth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He was in command of his company throughout the campaign in Porto Rico, during the Spanish-American War, and was mustered out of service in December, 1898. In the summer of 1899, he was appointed by the president captain of Company L, Forty-second Regiment United States Volunteers, and served in the Philippine Islands until 1901, being mustered out of service on June 27th of that year. Upon the organization of Troop F, N. G. P., on May 11, 1904, he was made captain and has efficiently served as such to the present time. In his profession he has been very active, and from January 1, 1903, to January 1, 1906, discharged the duties of the office of district attorney of Lawrence County. He has shown great capability, and is held in high esteem by his many acquaintances throughout the county.
In October, 1906, Captain Cunningham was united in marriage with Miss Jessie F. Westlake, and they reside in a comfortable home in New Castle. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic Order, and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of which he is the present Exalted Ruler.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
Previous Biography | Table of Contents | Next Biography
Explanation/Caution | Lawrence Co. Maps | Lawrence Co. Histories
Updated: 31 Oct 2001