Dr. Abelard Vincent Cunningham, M.D. and Jane B. "Jennie" Wallace

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Husband Dr. Abelard Vincent Cunningham, M.D. ^{1 2 3}

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           Born: 14 Jan 1837 - North Sewickley Twp, Beaver Co, PA 1 2
     Christened: 
           Died: Apr 1924 3
         Buried: 

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         Father: Dr. Robert Cunningham (1806-1860) 1 4
         Mother: Jane Allison (1808-1851) 1 2

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       Marriage: 16 Sep 1869 3 5

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Wife Jane B. "Jennie" Wallace ⁶

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           Born:  - Zelienople, Jackson Twp, Butler Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: Aft 1927
         Buried: 

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         Father: Francis Wallace (      -Bef 1927) 3 6
         Mother: Adeline Ferguson (      -      ) 3 7

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Children

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1 F Nora Viola Cunningham ⁶

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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2 M Dr. Francis Wallace "Frank" Cunningham ^{6 7 8}

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           Born:  - Zelienople, Jackson Twp, Butler Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: Bef 1927 - Zelienople, Jackson Twp, Butler Co, PA
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Sadie Thomas (      -      ) 7 8
           Marr: 1899 7

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3 M Abelard Vincent Cunningham ^{5 6 8}

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Aft 1927
         Buried: 

         Spouse: [Unk] Kerr (      -Bef 1927) 8

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4 M Leon Cunningham ⁸

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: in infancy
         Buried: 
         Status: Twin

         Spouse: Did Not Marry

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5 M Charles Cunningham ⁸

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: in infancy
         Buried: 
         Status: Twin

         Spouse: Did Not Marry

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6 F Jennie W. Cunningham ^{6 8}

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Aft 1927
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Brant Sankey (      -      ) 5 8

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7 M Lee Smith Cunningham ^{6 8}

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Aft 1927
         Buried: 

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8 M Walter C. Cunningham ^{6 8}

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Aft 1927
         Buried: 

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9 M Ralph Cunningham ⁶

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Aft 1927
         Buried: 

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10 F Adaline F. Cunningham ⁶

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            AKA: Ada Cunningham 9
           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Aft 1927
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Sidney Mount (      -      ) 8

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General Notes: Husband - Dr. Abelard Vincent Cunningham, M.D.

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He was reared in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and was educated at the North Sewickley and Beaver Academies, but was prevented from taking a collegiate course because of an injury. He read medicine with Dr. Goucher, of Pittsburgh, and commenced the practice of his profession at Wampum, Lawrence County, in 1863, thence removed to Poland, Ohio, and in 1867 located at Zelienople, Butler County. Over the course of more than twenty-seven years he built up a lucrative practice. He was a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and was appointed one of the censors of the Medico Chirurgical College of that city in May, 1894. During his early life he studied dentistry, under Dr. M. E. Gillespie, of Pittsburgh, and was thus enabled to conduct the dental business in connection with his regular profession.
Dr. Cunningham was identified with the oil interests for some years, and was the pioneer in the Harmony and Zelienople fields, where he was quite successful. In politics, he was a Republican early in life, and acted with that party for many years, after which time he was an independent voter, casting his ballot in favor of those who in his judgment would add dignity to the office to which they aspired, claiming that it is better to swear allegiance to principle than to party. Consequently he associated himself with the Prohibition party for a time, received the nomination of his district for Congress, and, as anticipated, was defeated. He typically acted with the Republican party, except when the other parties presented better material.
He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his family was identified with the Presbyterian church. Dr. Cunningham was appointed on the board of examining surgeons of pensions for Butler county, August 1, 1894, without solicitation on his part. [HBC 1895, 1085]

He was educated at North Sewickley and Beaver Academies and graduated from the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1880, having previously attended that college during 1863 and 1864. He first began practicing at Wampum, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, after which, for about one year, he located at Poland, where he became an intimate acquaintance of President McKinley. In 1867 Dr. Cunningham moved to Zelienople, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession for over forty years. Dr. Cunningham made a wonderful discovery of a cure for cancerous growths, one of the worst maladies to which mankind is heir, and treated hundreds of cases with success. He had testimonials as well as growths preserved, which seem almost incredible to one who has not seen the results of his work. He has in his possession specimens of all kinds of the malignant growth. This remedy was known to Dr. Cunningham for many years, but owing to the ethics of his profession he refused to make it known to the world until in later years, when impelled from a sense of duty to mankind and humanity. Dr. Cunningham was of an inventive turn of mind and invented an instrument for administering chloroform to his patients. He has also invented a single-tree which holds the trace by a patent spring known as the Resilient Spring, for preventing the trace from leaving the single-tree.
Dr. Cunningham was for a number of years a member of the Butler County Medical Society and was examining surgeon for a number of the large life insurance companies including the Equitable of New York; the Montpelier of Vermont, formerly the New York Life, and the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. He was for some years local surgeon of the B. & O. R. R. He was religiously a member of the Methodist Church and in politics independent.
He served multiple terms as a member of the Board of Pensioners. He served several terms as a member of the school board and as burgess and clerk of the borough council.

1 —, History of Butler County, Pennsylvania (R. C. Brown & Co. Publishers, 1895), Pg 1085.

2 James A. McKee, 20th Century History of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and Representative Citizens (Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., 1909), Pg 931.

3 C. Hale Sipe, History of Butler County, Pennsylvania (Topeka - Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co., 1927), Pg 1182.

4 James A. McKee, 20th Century History of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and Representative Citizens (Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., 1909), Pg 929, 931.

5 James A. McKee, 20th Century History of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and Representative Citizens (Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., 1909), Pg 932.

6 —, History of Butler County, Pennsylvania (R. C. Brown & Co. Publishers, 1895), Pg 1086.

7 James A. McKee, 20th Century History of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and Representative Citizens (Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., 1909), Pg 929.

8 C. Hale Sipe, History of Butler County, Pennsylvania (Topeka - Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co., 1927), Pg 1183.

9 C. Hale Sipe, History of Butler County, Pennsylvania (Topeka - Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co., 1927), Pg 1193.