Ms. Sue Howard August 16, 2007 Dear Ms. Howard, Yesterday I wrote several paragraphs relative to James Cunningham & family, clicked on "Send," but really on I know not what, and my nice message went "Poof." Trying to get it back, I messed up e-mail for several hours that fortunately corrected itself. I am better about settlement times than about mechanics. I moved to Wordpad & "Save." Since you are interested in the Bass Cemetery - and Basses were very early settlers - I suspect that you may well be involved with the pioneer Cunninghams. Furthermore, the 1850 census of Jefferson County contains only one related small clump of Cunninghams, James' family. James Cunningham was a well-remembered settler in statehood times who appears in various publications. These Cunninghams settled first on what is now Cunningham Creek not so far west of Pinson right close to a big nest of my ancestral families. I know the creek, as my brother attended Scout camp on it for some years. A pretty area, at least then. Among the sources about Cunningham is Mary Gordon Duffee in her Sketches of Alabama (University of Alabama Press, 1970). This published version is a much edited, much reduced version of the transcript available in the Tutwiler Collection, BPL, from which I made copious notes in the 1950s. It should still be there, probably, I guess, not one of the volumes put in the dumpster over some weeks or more (witnessed & photographed at the time). I vaguely recall asking a friend to check, and it was still there. I was even able to get physical descriptions of some family members in this much amplified version. It is a typescript of Miss Duffee's articles in Birmingham's Weekly Iron Age, 1885-1887. The Duffees lived in Tuscaloosa. Each summer they progressed up the Huntsville Road (now HWY. 79) very close to Cunningham Creek to Blount Springs where they operated a "watering place." She knew some of these folk and heard about others. >From Sketches in Alabama: Page 39. " The neighborhood of Ruhama [now East Lake/Woodlawn] lay further northeast. Soon after the Creek Indian Wars were settled, Thomas Barton {my great-great-great-grandfather], Williamson Hawkins, Old Father Bayliss, and James Cunningham moved their families, horses, cows, and sheep to Ruhama. Here they built a substantial blockhouse for security against the few roving bands of Indians who still remained and hunted in the section. They pitched their tents and cleared the fields nearby. After the overthrow of Indian domination, these pioneers were able to locate their homes widely apart, and their blockhouse became a Baptist church {Ruhama Baptist, founded 1819, closed recently] and school." Page 49: "Near Grimes Spring in the Hagood's Crossroads [now Pinson] neighborhood we passed the ruins of the home and mill of James Cunningham on the creek named for him. Born in Ireland [1850 census gives S. C from which Barton came via Tennessee later], he immigrated to Tennessee and from that state volunteered to fight with Jackson [as did Barton & others] against the Indians. Later he explored Jones Valley and settled at this wild and secluded spot amid the hills. This truehearted old soldier brought with him his religion as well as his household goods, and in his cabin home by the roar of the waterfall was preached in 1816 the first sermon ever delivered in the valley. The minister on this notable occasion was the Reverend Ebenezer Hearn, whose name and labors glow brightly in the history of Methodism." This church was later moved up on the Huntsville Road. It was called Smith's Chapel. It lasted to about 1900. Manuscript quarterly conference minutes survive for 1842-1850s. The presiding minister at an 1842 quarterly conference was the renowned Reverend Eugene Vidot Levert, son of a surgeon in French Admiral deGrasse's fleet at Yorktown. A number of locals were named after him including my Grandfather Erwin. Smith's Chapel, like Ruhama Baptist, was founded in territorial days. Page 53: "Soldiers under Jackson who later came to Jones Valley were William Perkins, Thomas and John Barton, Jonathan Simmons, Draper Revis, Benjamin Tarrant [his family cemetery just north of downtown Tarrant] John Hanby, Robert Baird, and James Cunningham." Page 87n: " West [Anson West in his history of Methodism in Alabama] states that at Cunningham's as early as 1818 the first sermon was preached, and the first log church was built in 1819." Look at Historic Alabama Maps (ask thusly on Google or whatever). There you will see John LaTourrette's fabulous map of 1837. On the Huntsville Road northeast of Elyton (just above the hole in the map) you will see marked the residence of settler George Nash, my ancestor. Nearby was Smith's Chapel. Closer was the settler Nash/Greene Cemetery founded by Mr. Nash on property he patented in 1823. I mention this, because, unless the Cunninghams buried at home, they likely are in unmarked graves in Greene Cemetery where the settler families from Greene's (now Tarrant) to Hagood's Crossroads (now Pinson) buried during 1820s-1880s including their slaves who occupy about one-third of the cemetery. Mr. Nash and sons moved westward in the late 1830s, and Robert Hardy Greene bought this property. Do look at Mellish's 1818 map with its inscription written on Jones's Valley. Let me know if these Cunninghams are yours. Enjoy! Bill Erwin

Okay, this is what I'm really interested in: The possibility that my 3rd great grandmother was a Cunningham because she and my 3rd great grandfather, Duncan Johnson/ston, named one of their sons George Cunningham Johnson. Her given name was Ann or Anna according to one source of information, but we don't know her maiden name. I would be willing to bet that it was Cunningham. Of course, I might very well be wrong on that one! Duncan Johnson came to Jefferson Co. from Tennessee also, just like James Cunningham, but I don't know what county or town. He was in Alabama by 1816, I believe, as he is listed on the tax list for Monroe Co., which I understand included most counties in Alabama back then. He was in that part of Jefferson Co. which was Blount at the time, by 1818/19 and was a Justice of the Peace. All of Duncan and Ann's children were born in Tennessee - my 2nd great grandfather - Randolph Johnson - was born in TN in 1800, so I'm thinking that Duncan Johnson was probably born about 1770-1775, thereabouts, and was about 25 when Randolph was born in 1800. I also am trying desperately to find out WHERE in TN they came from, so if I knew where in TN James Cunningham came from, that might be helpful. Another brick wall for me, of course, is Randolph's wife, Elizabeth Ashby, as far as who her parents/siblings/etc. were. She was supposedly born in North Carolina in 1799/1800, but that's all I know. She witnessed Duncan Johnson's will in Jefferson Co. in 1823, and a few months later, she and Randolph married. They lived in the Hueytown area of Jefferson Co., but I don't know that Duncan, the father, lived there or not. You see what I'm up against, right - like everybody else in the world, working on genealogy!! Thanks for all the information you have sent to me, and if you can come up with where James Cunningham came from in Tennessee, that would probably be most helpful! Sue (Johnson) Howard (Randolph and Elizabeth lived in Jefferson until around 1844/45 and they moved to Pontotoc Co., Mississippi. They were members of the Mud Creek Baptist Church and I believe they lived very close to that church. ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Erwin" <wrerwin@nc.rr.com> To: <aljeffer@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2007 6:36 PM Subject: [ALJEFF] Bass Cemetery - Cunningham Family > Ms. Sue Howard > > August 16, 2007 > > Dear Ms. Howard, > > Yesterday I wrote several paragraphs relative to James Cunningham & > family, > clicked on "Send," but really on I know not what, and my nice message went > "Poof." Trying to get it back, I messed up e-mail for several hours that > fortunately corrected itself. I am better about settlement times than > about > mechanics. I moved to Wordpad & "Save." > > Since you are interested in the Bass Cemetery - and Basses were very early > settlers - I suspect that you may well be involved with the pioneer > Cunninghams. Furthermore, the 1850 census of Jefferson County contains > only > one related small clump of Cunninghams, James' family. James Cunningham > was > a well-remembered settler in statehood times who appears in various > publications. These Cunninghams settled first on what is now Cunningham > Creek not so far west of Pinson right close to a big nest of my ancestral > families. I know the creek, as my brother attended Scout camp on it for > some > years. A pretty area, at least then. > > Among the sources about Cunningham is Mary Gordon Duffee in her Sketches > of > Alabama (University of Alabama Press, 1970). This published version is a > much edited, much reduced version of the transcript available in the > Tutwiler Collection, BPL, from which I made copious notes in the 1950s. It > should still be there, probably, I guess, not one of the volumes put in > the > dumpster over some weeks or more (witnessed & photographed at the time). I > vaguely recall asking a friend to check, and it was still there. I was > even > able to get physical descriptions of some family members in this much > amplified version. It is a typescript of Miss Duffee's articles in > Birmingham's Weekly Iron Age, 1885-1887. The Duffees lived in Tuscaloosa. > Each summer they progressed up the Huntsville Road (now HWY. 79) very > close > to Cunningham Creek to Blount Springs where they operated a "watering > place." She knew some of these folk and heard about others. > >>From Sketches in Alabama: Page 39. " The neighborhood of Ruhama [now East > Lake/Woodlawn] lay further northeast. Soon after the Creek Indian Wars > were > settled, Thomas Barton {my great-great-great-grandfather], Williamson > Hawkins, Old Father Bayliss, and James Cunningham moved their families, > horses, cows, and sheep to Ruhama. Here they built a substantial > blockhouse > for security against the few roving bands of Indians who still remained > and > hunted in the section. They pitched their tents and cleared the fields > nearby. After the overthrow of Indian domination, these pioneers were able > to locate their homes widely apart, and their blockhouse became a Baptist > church {Ruhama Baptist, founded 1819, closed recently] and school." > > Page 49: "Near Grimes Spring in the Hagood's Crossroads [now Pinson] > neighborhood we passed the ruins of the home and mill of James Cunningham > on > the creek named for him. Born in Ireland [1850 census gives S. C from > which > Barton came via Tennessee later], he immigrated to Tennessee and from that > state volunteered to fight with Jackson [as did Barton & others] against > the > Indians. Later he explored Jones Valley and settled at this wild and > secluded spot amid the hills. This truehearted old soldier brought with > him > his religion as well as his household goods, and in his cabin home by the > roar of the waterfall was preached in 1816 the first sermon ever delivered > in the valley. The minister on this notable occasion was the Reverend > Ebenezer Hearn, whose name and labors glow brightly in the history of > Methodism." This church was later moved up on the Huntsville Road. It was > called Smith's Chapel. It lasted to about 1900. Manuscript quarterly > conference minutes survive for 1842-1850s. The presiding minister at an > 1842 > quarterly conference was the renowned Reverend Eugene Vidot Levert, son of > a > surgeon in French Admiral deGrasse's fleet at Yorktown. A number of locals > were named after him including my Grandfather Erwin. Smith's Chapel, like > Ruhama Baptist, was founded in territorial days. > > Page 53: "Soldiers under Jackson who later came to Jones Valley were > William > Perkins, Thomas and John Barton, Jonathan Simmons, Draper Revis, Benjamin > Tarrant [his family cemetery just north of downtown Tarrant] John Hanby, > Robert Baird, and James Cunningham." > > Page 87n: " West [Anson West in his history of Methodism in Alabama] > states > that at Cunningham's as early as 1818 the first sermon was preached, and > the > first log church was built in 1819." > > Look at Historic Alabama Maps (ask thusly on Google or whatever). There > you > will see John LaTourrette's fabulous map of 1837. On the Huntsville Road > northeast of Elyton (just above the hole in the map) you will see marked > the > residence of settler George Nash, my ancestor. Nearby was Smith's Chapel. > Closer was the settler Nash/Greene Cemetery founded by Mr. Nash on > property > he patented in 1823. I mention this, because, unless the Cunninghams > buried > at home, they likely are in unmarked graves in Greene Cemetery where the > settler families from Greene's (now Tarrant) to Hagood's Crossroads (now > Pinson) buried during 1820s-1880s including their slaves who occupy about > one-third of the cemetery. Mr. Nash and sons moved westward in the late > 1830s, and Robert Hardy Greene bought this property. > > Do look at Mellish's 1818 map with its inscription written on Jones's > Valley. > > Let me know if these Cunninghams are yours. > > Enjoy! > > Bill Erwin > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ALJEFFER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message