Evelina (Smith) Cunningham (1804 - 1867)

Born 27 Dec 1804 in Virginia

Wife of Pleasant Theodore Cunningham I — married 13 Jun 1829 in McMinn County, TN

Descendants

Died 17 Apr 1867 at age 62 in Salt Creek, Polk, Oregon, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Berwyn Dodson [send private message]

Biography

Evelina was born to Bolin Smith and Sarah “Sally” Bagby ^[1] in 1829 at Athens, McMinn, Tennessee. She married Pleasant Theodore Cunningham on 13 June 1829 in McMinn County, TN ^[2]. Her sister Sarah Smith was slightly older and already married to Marshall W. Cunningham, brother of Pleasant T. Cunningham. ^[3] There were two pieces of land in McMinn Co., 160 acres in all, that belonged to Margaret Cunningham and her three sons before Pleasant T.’s death that had been a part of the estate of James Cunningham when he died in 1820.^[4] His widow, Margaret, took possession of the land in 1821 and in 1823-24 she petitioned the Legislature to buy the the land for $1.25 an acre. It appears that her deceased husband, James, had secured the property as a land grant and hadn’t proved up on it by the time of his death and she didn’t have full title to it. She asserted that she was capable of making the purchase since she was a midwife and that her work was a source of income for her. The petition was granted. James also had land in Blount county TN at the time of his death. The records I have reviewed so far have not revealed the disposition of that property. After Pleasant T. died unexpectedly in MO in 1834 his estate was left to Evelina and their two children. The property that his mother Margaret had purchased after the death of Pleasant’s father, James, had been sold without her knowledge. Her brother-in-law Marshall had taken it upon himself to secure guardianship of Evelina and the children through the Chancery Court in Madisonville. There was also property belonging to Pleasant Sr. and Evelina that was a land grant by the State of Tennessee and signed by the Governor which Pleasant Sr. acquired for doing in 1829 . After Pleasant Sr. died in Missouri, Evelina left her parents and younger siblings and was assisted in returning to McMinn county TN by her brother-in-law, Marshall W. Cunningham, and she reclaimed and occupied the property that her husband had rented to Thomas Beavers before they left McMinn county. After the death of Pleasant Sr., his brother Marshall was appointed guardian of for she and the children by Pleasant’s will. Marshall took liberties with some of the property in his role as guardian and had failed to give her the money from its sale and had justified in his own mind and then before the judge, that he was right in doing so. The court case was adjudicated and she ultimately regained ownership and lived on the property. This proceeding took several years to sort out and I suspect had the effect of causing distrust and hard feelings. The whole mess was cleaned up by an agreed upon a solution that was accepted by the court and all parties. ^[5] Evelina’s father, Bolin Smith, moved sometime in the 1830s from McMinn Co. TN to Lincoln Co. MO and his household is counted in the census there is 1840. I am guessing that Bolin may have moved there at the same time as Evelina and Pleasant T. and he and his family stayed there in Linclon Co. MO after P. T.’s death. Her sister Sarah, married to Marshall Cunningham PT’s brother, stayed in McMinn Co. when Evelina and Pleasant Sr. left for Missouri. During the early 1840s Evelina made a plan with Marshall and Sarah, her sister, to go to Iowa and settle there. ^[6] Somehow that plan died due to Marshall feeling less healthy and the fact he had many depending on him for help and support. His failure to follow through became a factor in the court case brought by Evelina. Time is moving on and her daughter Sarah D. and her son Pleasant Jr. are of marriageable age. Sarah D married McMinn Dodson of Athens TN in 1847, and P.T. married Rachel in 1850. Then in Oct. of 1851 Evelina’s father dies in Lincoln Co. MO. They all three were already making a plan to go west to the Oregon Territory where they will secure land grants and start over. They get permission from the court to sell Evelina’s property and they make preparations to leave in 1852 which meant going to St Louis MO for the winter and depart for Oregon in the spring. The land grants in Oregon were to end in 1853 so it was imperative they be ready to leave by the fall of ‘52. Evelina’s daughter Sarah D not only was married but she had two sons already and would was in need of help with them on the trip. In 1852 Sarah D. was 22 and Pleasant Jr. was 18. Evelina herself was 47 and when she arrived in Polk County, OR, she lived with her son and daughter-in-law on the adjoining farm to her daughter Sarah D and McMinn Dodson. In a few short years Pleasant Jr. and Rachel decided to move to north-central Oregon and Evelina went with them, leaving Sarah D and her husband and children at Salt Creek. She may have returned to her daughters home before her death since her remains are buried in Salt Creek Cemetery in Polk County.

Sources

• Biographical Source: Online search for: “Zachary T. Dodson.” by Jeffrey L Elmer. on the U.S.A. message boards of (www.home.rootsweb.ancestry ) Quoted history from: An Illustrated History of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas Counties, Interstate Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., 1904' Roots Web, Message Boards, U. S. A.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #52814916
• United States Census, 1850 – Eveline Cunningham Age: 46 was living in McMinn, Tennessee with her son Pleasant Cunningham age 16 born in Tennessee. Additional information on Eveline Cunningham Birth Year (Estimated): 1804 Birthplace: Virginia.
• United States Census, 1860 – Shows P T Cunningham in Dallas Precinct, Polk, Oregon with the family of his sister S D Dodson age 31 born in Tennessee; Also living with the family was his mother E Cunningham age 55 born in Virginia.

1. ↑ Birth: Family written record by Julia (Wells) Dodson, hand written by her on lined and numbered sheets of paper found with her diary, passed along in the family and now in my possession [Dodson-3592]
2. ↑ National Banner subscription website: newspaper collections from all over the region including McMinn county Tennessee. discovered by Zachary T. Dodson, researcher, (http://www.board.rootsweb.com) sent to: shannonyocum41
3. ↑ Ibid. Natiional Banner
4. ↑ Siblings: Bowling Smith, Lincoln County, Missouri, probate file 294, footnote found in: Marsha Hoffman Rising, CG, FASG Smith Families of Lincoln County, Missouri (http://www.alvyray.com/riggs/papers/others/SmithFamiliesofLincolnCountyMO.pdf) [Thank you Marsha for your fine work as a researcher.]
5. ↑ Chancery C - L Records of McMinn Co. TN 1844-1894
6. ↑ Ibid. Chancery Record file June 25, 1948