Script Frenzy Update
Script Frenzy 2008 is now officially over. A big congrats to all those people who finished their script!
I didn’t get much done on the script project I mentioned earlier, but I’m happy with what I did do. Unlike the past times I’ve tried to write this story, I finally got across what I’ve always wanted to, at least in the part that I’ve written. Even though Script Frenzy is over I plan to continue working on it in the coming months.
For those curious, the story is a loose fictionalization of how Indians kidnapped Phoebe Tucker-Cunningham and murdered her children, her time with the Indians up until the time she was ransomed by Simon Girty, and her husband’s three year search for her. My daughter is descended from Phoebe Tucker and Thomas Cunningham. She is their 6th great-granddaughter:
1 Thomas CUNNINGHAM
+ Phoebe TUCKER
2 Sira Leah CUNNINGHAM
+ Benjamin HARDMAN
3 Thomas HARDMAN
+ Sarah FLING
4 Henry Green HARDMAN
+ Florinda Alice WOODFORD
5 Walter William HARDMAN
+ Ermal Jane VANHORN
6 Living HARDMAN
+ Paul Emerson WOLF(E)
7 Mother-in-law
+ Father-in-law
8 Husband
+ Me
9 Daughter
This came to my attention recently. I am quite familiar with the story of Phoebe Tucker Cunningham. She was my great-great-great-great Aunt by marriage. Her husband Thomas Cunningham was a brother of my great-great-great grandfather Edward Cunningham. The brothers had adjacent cabins on Cunningham Run in northern Harrison County, WV. Edward shot one of the Indians who abducted Phoebe; the Indian reportedly died soon after. I’ve been to the site of the cabins, Phoebe’s gravesite in Calhoun County, WV, and Thomas’ gravesite in Wirt County, WV. I am interested in learning what information you have concerning these families. REC
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Amanda reply on October 20, 2008:
Well… I have a lot of basic info, like birth and death dates for her (well, I don’t have birth info for her) and her children, grandchildren… and so on. As far as what happened to her, I got the Revolutionary War records for Thomas Cunningham and in it is a copy of what was recorded in the book “The Chronicles of Border Warfare.” If you haven’t read this you should look it up. I’ve found it in quite a few places on the internet. I’ve also just done some basic research on Wyandot indians and Simon Girty. The rest of the info, I’m just winging. Like I said, it’s a fictionalization of what happened. I’m going to include as many facts as possible, but much of it will still be pure fiction.
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I am a descendant of Thomas and Phoebe Cunningham. Phoebe is my 6th great-grandmother.I am very intersted in Phoebe’s capture by the Indians. Rachael Cunningham Collins is my 5th great-grandmother. From what I have research, Rachael is the first child she had after being released from captivity.
I have heard for years that my great grandmother Lenora Collins Ayers was Native American. Is there any chance that Phoebe was pregnant with my 5th great grandmother when she was released?
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Amanda reply on October 29, 2008:
It’s actually been a while since I’ve looked at info on the children that she had after she was released, so all I can give you is the basic info I have in my genealogy program (I have more detailed info elsewhere that I would have to dig up and at the moment I have no idea where it’s at.): Rachael was born circa 1794 and Phoebe was released in 1788, so… No. Rachael could not have been half Native American.
Incidentally, I also have info that places Rachael as the third child born to Phoebe and Thomas after she was released, but some of my data might be wrong, b/c I have them having a total of 13 children and a written statement by Leah Hardman Beall (Phoebe’s granddaughter) says that they only had 11 children, so either two children died as infants and she didn’t count them (or know about them) or I have some wrong data.
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Robert Cunningham reply on November 12, 2008:
There are several sources of information about Phoebe Tucker Cunningham and her abduction and captivity by Indians. The best account of which I am aware is in “Long Ago and Far Away”, a history of Marion County, WV, written in part by Mr. Jack Sandy Anderson. The book contains a chapter on Phoebe’s captivity that is narrated by Mrs. Leah Beall, Phoebe’s granddaughter, who supposedly heard the story directly from her grandmother. Her story ends with Phoebe still in captivity, but the chapter concludes Phoebe’s ransom from the Indians and return to her husband Thomas by relating that portion of the story taken from Minnie Kendall Lowther’s book “History of Ritchie County WV”. Mrs. Lowther’s book and also Colonel Alexander Withers’ book “Chronicles of Border Warfare” contain the story of Phoebe’s abduction and captivity, but the version told by Mrs. Beall may be the most accurate. The story and the genealogy of their children and descendants is also related in an extensive genealogy prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Blech of Kendallville, Indiana, entitled “Colonial Cunninghams of the Virginias and Their Descendants”.
There was also a version of this event published in the Spring of 1994 in a publication titled “Traditions” (the origin of this publication is unknown to me) which was titled “Red Deer: The Story of Phoebe Tucker Cunningham”. This story contains numerous errors or anachroisms, which lead me to believe it is a complete fable.
Phoebe and Thomas had a total of either 10 or 11 children. There is some disagreement on the number in the records that I have. The first four were murdered by the Indians during the raid in which Phoebe was abducted. After she was reunited with her husband they had either six or seven more children. William was the first born, followed by John and then Rachel.
The story surfaces from time to time that Phoebe had children during her captivity, fathered by an Indian. In all the accounts of her captivity that I know about there is no indication that this happened. Some accounts state that she was fairly well treated by the Indians. I personally do not believe that she gave birth to any such child or children. The location of the village to which she was taken, by the way, is supposedly on or near Big Darby Creek southwest of Columbus, Ohio.
Simon Girty played a role in her ransom from the Indians. There is a new biography of Girty that has just been published, written by Mr. Phillip W. Hoffman, in case anyone interested in Phoebe Cunningham’s story might want to read about Mr. Girty. (There is mention in this book that Indian males did not sexually molest captive white women.)
I have several photographs of Phoebe’s gravestone at the Gainer Cemetery in Calhoun County, WV, as well as photos of the valley of Cunningham Run where the raid took place in Harrison County, WV, and also a photo of a brass plaque that is mounted on a stone in the Cunningham Run valley noting the location of the cabins where Thomas and his brother Edward were living at the time of the raid. I also have a photograph of the gravestone of Phoebe’s husband Thomas, who is buried on a farm near Fonzo, WV, if anyone is interested.
Robert Cunningham, Akron, Ohio
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sharon grogg reply on February 7, 2010:
Hi. I am the daughter of Mary Pursley…I think you are the distant cousin who helped her in her research. I would be very interested in receiving copies of pictures you have…my son is doing a report on grandpa thomas and phoebe at school this month. he has to dress up as thomas and tell of his life and I thought having some pictures to put on his project board would be great, if I could get my hands on some.
I will look forward to hearing from you.
Sharon Grogg
I am a grandson of Samual Cunningham. Samual managed and operated a gas plant near Bonds Creek, which is west of Pike about 1 mile.[Ritchie County] I have no information on his family. Can anyone help with additional info. Samual died in 1938. His wife was Hattie. There children were Ben, Ralph, James [my father] and about 3 or 4 girls.
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Amanda reply on January 5, 2009:
Sorry. I don’t have any information on a Samual Cunningham.
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Thomas and Phoebe Tucker Cunningham are my 4th Great Grandparents, through their son Benjamin. I, too, am working on a fictionalized story of these two pioneers. I have been working on it off and on for about 11 years. Phoebe’s story, I feel, would make a great TV movie.
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March 27th, 2009 at 10:22 pmI am also a great,great,great granddaughter of Thomas and Phebe Cunningham. My grandmother Ethel Kemp Maze used to tell us kids the story of Grandma Phebe and the Indians. We all just thought she was making it up most of the time til I visited Grandma Phebe’s grave marker and I realized maybe she wasn’t making it up. I just put flowers on her grave last Saturday and am very interested in anything I can find on her or Thomas. Also I would love to visit his grave. Does anyone have a photo of her or Thomas? We have our annual Kemp reunion the Saturday before Fathers Day and all talk about our famous Grandparents. Love the history. Carol keep me posted about your book. would love to read it.
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May 21st, 2009 at 9:13 amAs I stated previously (November 12, 2008) I have photos of Phoebe’s gravestone in the Gainer Cemetery near Freed, WV, and of Thomas’ stone in a small cemetery which is reportedly on the “Barker Farm” on the road to Fonzo, WV. Thomas died in 1826, long before the invention of photography, and Phoebe died in 1845 when photography was in its infancy so there was almost certainly no photo of her ever taken, especially since she was living at that time in a rather remote area of northwestern Virginia, far from any center of civilization that might have had an early photographer.
Robert Cunningham, Akron, Ohio
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July 31st, 2009 at 1:42 pmHere is a FindAGrave.com site for Thomas Cunningham.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=78124&GRid=19196612
Here is Phebe’s site too… but it has no photo.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Cunningham&GScid=2176397&GRid=14288428&
If anyone has a photo of her grave, it would be great if you would post it at FindAgrave.
I descend from Thomas’s brother Edward.
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August 17th, 2009 at 8:26 pmTo Mr. DeWitt: What is your line of descent from Edward Cunningham? I have two books of genealogy that detail the descendants of Edward Cunningham – “Colonial Cunninghams of the Virginias and Their Descendants” by Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Blech, and “Adam and 500 More Cunninghams of the Valley of Virginia, c.1734 – c.1800″ by Betty Cunningham Newman. Both books are thoroughly indexed and neither contains anyone with the name DeWitt. I am a fifth generation direct descendant of Edward Cunningham, from his youngest son Enoch.
Robert Cunningham, Akron, Ohio
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August 25th, 2009 at 9:10 am[...] … Donald Cunningham. Tobolowsky, Stephen. Christopher Maynard. Jason, Peter. Millie's Father …Script Frenzy Update Random RamblingsMy daughter is descended from Phoebe Tucker and Thomas Cunningham. … 1 Thomas CUNNINGHAM + Phoebe [...]
April 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 amI desend from William, first born after Phoebe’s return to civilization. I have wondered if I have Native American blood in my veins, as some important dates seem not to have been recorded. Seems remarkable that her date of return from captivity would not be known.
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Robert Cunningham reply on July 26, 2010:
A new, entirely different, authenticated history of Phoebe Tucker Cunningham’s captivity and release has come to my attention in the past year. I’ll try to post details soon. There appears to be no evidence that she bore a child fathered by one of her Indian captors.
Robert Cunningham, Akron, Ohio
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All history records that I have seen concerning the captivity of Phoebe Tucker Cunningham state that she was abducted by a small party of Indians in August, 1785, and ransomed during a prisoner exchange at the rapids of the Maumee River in august, 1788, thus giving her captivity as three years. Simon Girty reportedly had a hand in her release from the Indians.
In 2008, Mr. Phillip W. Hoffman published a detailed biography of Simon Girty entitled “Simon Girty Turncoat Hero”. In the book there is a brief mention of Girty’s role in the release of Phoebe Cunningham. The following is a direct quotation from Mr. Hoffman’s book:
“In early October [1785], according to journal entries by American emissaries, Daniel Elliott and James Rinken, Girty ws at the Shawnee town called Maquashake (on Mequaschaik Creek, just east of present West Liberty, Ohio) when the two Americans arrived there for a council. Serving both sides as an interpreter, Simon participated in the return of a captive white woman, Mrs. Thomas Cunningham:
October 8. Was informed by simon Girty of a prisoner woman that was
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Robert Cunningham reply on August 10, 2010:
Typo error. Ignore. Retyped below.
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All history records that I have seen concerning the captivity of Phoebe Tucker Cunningham state that she was abducted by a small party of Indians in August, 1785, and ransomed during a prisoner exchange at the rapids of the Maumee River in august, 1788, thus giving her captivity as three years. Simon Girty reportedly had a hand in her release from the Indians.
In 2008, Mr. Phillip W. Hoffman published a detailed biography of Simon Girty entitled “Simon Girty Turncoat Hero”. In the book there is a brief mention of Girty’s role in the release of Phoebe Cunningham. The following is a direct quotation from Mr. Hoffman’s book:
“In early October [1785], according to journal entries by American emissaries, Daniel Elliott and James Rinken, Girty ws at the Shawnee town called Maquashake (on Mequaschaik Creek, just east of present West Liberty, Ohio) when the two Americans arrived there for a council. Serving both sides as an interpreter, Simon participated in the return of a captive white woman, Mrs. Thomas Cunningham:
October 8. Was informed by simon Girty of a prisoner woman that was
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Robert Cunningham reply on August 10, 2010:
Duplicated in error. Redone below.
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Robert Cunningham Says:
All history records that I have seen concerning the captivity of Phoebe Tucker Cunningham state that she was abducted by a small party of Indians in August, 1785, and ransomed during a prisoner exchange at the rapids of the Maumee River in august, 1788, thus giving her captivity as three years. Simon Girty reportedly had a hand in her release from the Indians.
In 2008, Mr. Phillip W. Hoffman published a detailed biography of Simon Girty entitled “Simon Girty Turncoat Hero”. In the book there is a brief mention of Girty’s role in the release of Phoebe Cunningham. The following is a direct quotation from Mr. Hoffman’s book:
“In early October [1785], according to journal entries by American emissaries, Daniel Elliott and James Rinken, Girty ws at the Shawnee town called Maquashake (on Mequaschaik Creek, just east of present West Liberty, Ohio) when the two Americans arrived there for a council. Serving both sides as an interpreter, Simon participated in the return of a captive white woman, Mrs. Thomas Cunningham:
October 8. Was informed by Simon Girty of a prisoner woman that was
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August 10th, 2010 at 4:35 pmAfter the above computer glitches and mistakes, I carefully retyped all of my detailed information on Phoebe Cunningham’s release from captivity with aid from Simon Girty. However when I attempted to submit it, it was rejected apparently because I had already posted the three times above. Hence I am not going to do all of that over again. Suffice to say that Phoebe was released by the Indians on October 9, 1785, after only two months captivity, not three years as all previous stories about her captivity have claimed.
Robert Cunningham, Akron, Ohio
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August 14th, 2010 at 1:12 pm