When Did Cunningham's Arrive In America?

[Kamilavalamp]

My Grandfathers Surname was Cunningham until for unknown reasons (Knowing my family he probably got in trouble with the law and had to leave the state) he left the family farm and decided to change his name and pretend his family never existed. I would like to know when the Cunningham's first came to America. I know they were here at least before the civil war. I know that around 500 AD some Immigrated from Ireland to Scotland. Did they come to America during the Famine?

[Taskr]

I'd think here would be a good start http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=cunningham
There is also the very real question of "which Cunningham do you mean?" since your GFather would be from a particular line. Happy searching.

[Tarheel]

I discovered a few "black sheep" family members when searching my ancestry. That happens.

I also went to a site: Olive Tree Genealogy and read the Ships Passenger lists of immigrants entering America for more help. I found several groups of relatives that entered at different dates, ports and places of departure (then did the math) on different reasons for leaving the Islands, be it wars, famine, the Clearance, indenture servitude, etc.

Good hunting.

[cessna152towser]

It is highly unlikely that Cunninghams emigrated from Ireland to Scotland as early as 500AD as the name is believed to be of more recent origin. The earliest known use of the name is thought to be Wernebald, a Norman Knight born about 1090, who took the name Wernebald de Cunynghame. It is doubtful whether the Welsh name Cunedda, found from around 500AD had any connection with the Scottish name Cunynghame.
There was certainly an emigration of Cunninghams from Scotland to Ireland in the seventeenth century, but these were Scottish settlers who were placed there by the British Government. Many subsequently emigrated to USA, some possibly during the famine. There are some Cunninghams of Irish descent along the Pacific coast.
My own Cunningham lineage is from Scotland as far back as I can trace, and I am a Clan Cunningham Armiger, recognised here in Scotland by the Lord Lyon. The only record I have found of one of my Cunningham relatives emigrating to the USA was a John McKenzie Cunningham, born in Paisley Scotland in 1855 who emigrated to USA with his wife after 1881. He would have been a brother of my great-grandfather and he died in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in 1929.

[Profane James]

I also went to a site: Olive Tree Genealogy and read the Ships Passenger lists of immigrants entering America for more help.

Whew! What a rabbit hole I just went down with that site! No help personally, but very interesting info. Thanks for sharing.

[ctbuchanan]

I do not know specifically for the name Cunningham, but many, many Scottish names were in the Colonies by the early 1700's.

To say that the Cunninghams "emigrated" from Ireland to Scotland around 500 AD is probably too modern an interpretation of what happened. There was no customs and immigration back then. You can literally see Scotland from Ireland (and vice versa) so Celts (Gaelic speakers) went back and forth at will.

Be careful not to apply modern standards on that which happened before recorded history.

[Reiver]

The once generally accepted notion that many eventual Scots were once from Ireland has been recently seriously questioned by investigative historians that study migration.

The lack of ancient Irish place names, traditions, and cultural habit that traditionally follow mass migration lead them to believe the similarities in language had more to do with constant back/forth trade. A common language to conduct business in. There is some difference tho in q/p celt and there are no ancient examples of q celt being adopted in Scotland rather more Pict influence.

The q celt (Irish) and p celt (England/Scots) expansion is, today, thought to have been a south to north migration with the language tradition staying alive in the sea port areas and far north due to trade and difficult terrain leading to a semi exclusion.

Ewan Campbell at Glasgow University has written some interesting papers on the lack of physical evidence to support the older thesis.

He goes further that many families/clans (pre/post medieval) even embraced this Irish/Scots migration to support imaginary claims to old Royal bloodlines in Ireland that never really existed.

His conclusion (based upon much more than I've touched) is that the Scots are not of Irish decent.

Interesting stuff.

[Bruce Scott]

Very interesting!

I went on a Google hunt and found this article by Dr Campbell:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...scotsirish.htm

[Reiver]

To the original post.
The Irish immigrated in large numbers during the Potato famine years but the Scots came much earlier. Matter of fact the large numbers of Irish did not come until that period.

In/on my family Scots tree in 1719.

If you look at the names of towns on the South eastern coast you'll find a mini Scotland.

Many Scots immigrated thru Irelands seaports starting in the mid 1600's and that continued up to and thru the Revolution and beyond.

Some very good books out about the Scot's and their huge participation in the Revolution.

[freep]

Mine got here around 1770.