Anthony Cunyngham

Of Lille in France, claimed unsuccessfully for Cunnynghams and for Spring (the latter as heir of mortgagor [sic]) on St Kitts.

Very little has been traced on this Anthony Cunyngham the claimant, and his relationship to Anthony Cunyngham (1746-1828) may be as son but is not clear.

1. Anthony Cunyngham son of Daniel of Hampton Middlesex matriculated Balliol Oxford in 27/10/1763 aged 17. A death certificate dated 1829 but referring to a death-date of 15/08/1828 posted on a genealogical website shows the death at Lille of an Antoine Cunyngham 'rentier gentilhomme anglais, age de quatre-vingt deux ans ne a Kingston pres de Londres' and identifies him as the son of Daniel Cunyngham and Elizabeth Hodges. This must be the same man as the man matriculating at Balliol. The same site does not, however, identify any Anthony Cunyngham as the son of Anthony Cunyngham (1746-1828). Nevertheless, Henrietta Susan Faille of Lille, described in the compensation records as the sister of Anthony Cunyngham of the claim, made a counterclaim on Cunynghams. She is shown in the same genealogical source as the daughter of Anthony Cunyngham (the latter's birthdate is given as 1764, which is clearly erroneous for 1746). Therefore the Anthony Cunyngham of the claim must have been the son of Anthony Cunyngham (1746-1828), and the cousin of the Pearce Hall sisters (q.v.) who also counterclaimed. No baptism has been found for this second Anthony Cunyngham; however there is a death of an Anthony Cunningham, son of Anthony Cunningham and Harriet, in Shropshire 14/09/1794 - it seems unlikely that Anthony Cunyngham (1746-1828) and his wife Harriet Rocke had another son also called Anthony.

2. A letter to the Commissioners from Jarvis and Smith 12/10/1836 expressing their surprise that the Commission had disposed of this claim (on Cunynghams) by appropriating £1556 5s to Messrs Smith Payne & Smith, and £500 to the Misses Hall says - ambiguously - that Anthony Pogson had been acting for Mr Cunnyngham 'up to day of his death in August last', and was negotiating with Smith Payne & Smith and the Misses Hall towards a settlement of claims. The firm had been waiting for instructions, but now found the compensation money had been awarded. It is not clear whether the death refers to that of 'Mr Cunnyngham' or to Anthony Pogson. The will of Anthony Preston Pogson gentleman of the island of St Christopher was proved 05/07/1839, suggesting that the earlier death referred to by Jarvis and Smith was probably that of Anthony Cunyngham of Lille. The family's links to Lille went back to the mother of Daniel Cunyngham (1704-1776).

T71/879 St Kitts nos. 296 and 333

1. Ancestry.com, Oxford University Alumni, 1500-1886 [database online]; ttp://www.rootsandleaves.com/family/cunyngham/cunynghamHomePage.html;

2. T71/1609 letter to Commissioners from Jarvis and Smith 12/10/1836.

We are grateful to Ruth Hecht for her assistance with compiling this entry.