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John Cunningham was born in Hudson on April 5, 1840, but moved to Willsboro, New York as a child. At the age of 4, he was lucky to meet Martin VanBuren. At the age of 20 he met the Prince of Wales. He entered Union University Law School of Albany at the age of 21 (1860) and received his degree on May of 1861. He also began his practice of law at age 21 when it was legal for him to do so. At the age of 22 he enlisted into the Adirondack Regiment (118th Reg.) in Plattsburgh, New York to fight in the Civil War. He earned $11 a month. He was elevated from 1st Lieutenant, to Captain, to Major. He was wounded at South Anna Bridge and again at Fort Harrison. Cunningham was Provost Marshall at Portsmouth and Williamsburg, Virginia. He was with the first troops to enter Richmond after the surrender of Lee, and heard of Lincoln's assassination while in Richmond. He saw Lincoln several times and met him twice, once at a White House visit, and again at a photo gallery in Washington D.C. While at the photo gallery, he tried on Lincoln's top hat. He listened to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation while standing at attention in dress parade, but was hardly able to stand due to typhoid fever. For his meritorious service he was made Brevet Lieutenant Colonel by the president, hence "Col" Cunningham. While in an army hospital he was quoted as saying, "It seems as if all the awfulness of yesterday's battle is gathered at this hospital; out there are the dead rudely buried in the enemy's hands; the same things in the experience of the enemy; and by no means least, the broken hearts; bereaved affection and agony of the souls as the awful particulars reached soldiers' homes, North and South." After the war he returned to practice law. He was Collector of Internal Revenue for Clinton, Essex and Warren Co., but based in Glens Falls. In 1873 he married Elizabeth Fowler in Chestertown and had one daughter, Beth. He was in the field operation for the Glens Falls Insurance Co. from 1869 - 1892. This company was the third largest employer in the area after lumbering and limestone. He was secretary of the Glens Falls Insurance Co. for 23 years. He was publisher of "Now and Then," an insurance trade magazine respected above all others with its humor and sound insurance stories. Cunningham was president of the company from 1892 - 1924 as the assets grew from $1.9 million to $3.2 million with a surplus of over $2 million. At the age of 80 he published Three Years with Adirondack Regiment in a good-humored style. He became a resource to local newspapers for obituary notices because he knew and respected everyone. He was an elder, trustee, and attendant at the First Presbyterian Church. Cunningham was a member of Republican Party and often spoke at political meetings. He knew Charles Evan Hughes personally. He gave a speech at the ground-breaking for the YMCA on Glen Street and served on its board while it was located on Warren Street. Cunningham was fond of sense and nonsense. He died in 1924.
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Monument of Col. John Cunningham |