William Cunninghame 10th of Craigends

Son of Alexander Cunninghame, 9th of Craigends (1690-1742) and his first wife Anne, daughter of Sir John Houstoun. His father's second wife was Katherine Campbell, one of two sisters of Sir James Campbell of Grandvale, Jamaica. There were no children from his father's second marriage so William inherited half of Grandvale.

William Cunningham was listed in the Jamaican Quit Rent books for 1754 as the owner of 1534 acres of land in Westmoreland.

In 1755 he married his first cousin, Margaret Cunninghame. Margaret's father William Cunningham (b. 1693) had married as his second wife Agnes Campbell, also a sister of Sir James Campbell of Grandvale, and Margaret was the sole heiress to the second half of Grandvale. Thus the marriage brought William whole ownership of the Jamaican property.

William and Margaret had three sons, who became 11th, 12th and 13rd lairds of Craigends.

Will of Sir James Campbell of Houstoun, PROB 11/674/380 . Extensive Cunninghame family genealogy at http://www.ourlocalhistory.co.uk/geneology3.html and http://www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info/genealogy/TNGWebsite/getperson.php?personID=I37507&tree=CC [both accessed 08/12/2016].

'A List of landholders in the Island of Jamaica together with the number of acres each person possessed taken from the quit rent books in the year 1754', TNA CO 142/31 transcribed at http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Samples2/1754lead.htm.

"William Cunnyngham of Craigends Esquire in [?] & Miss Margaret Cunnyngham D[aughter] of the D[eceased] Willm Cunnungham Mect. in Glasgow" married in Edinburgh, 02/02/1755 (GROS OPR Marriages 685/1 480 262).

We are grateful to Sara Broadbent for her assistance with this entry.