Eagle County CO Archives Biographies.....Cunningham, Joseph LeRoy  August 26, 1853 - ?
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Judy Crook jlcrook@rof.net December 20, 2005, 1:50 am

Author: Progressive Men of Western Colorado

     Of Irish and Canadian parentage, and inheriting the commendable traits of

the two peoples, Joseph LeRoy Cunningham, of near Avon, Eagle county, where he

conducts a prosperous and profitable ranch and cattle industry, has made good

use of his faculties and opportunities, and in so doing has contributed

essentially and substantially in helping to open to settlement and cultivation a

new region in the wilds of this state, and causing it to bloom and fructify with

all the products of civilization.  He is the son of Conn and Ellen Cunningham,

the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Canada, who moved to Illinois

many years ago and there ended their days in the peaceful and independent life

of a good farm, the mother dying in 1888 and the father in 1895.  Their son

Joseph, the last born of their six living children, came into the world on

August 26, 1853, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  He attended the common schools and

the Christian College at Abingdon, Illinois, remaining with his parents until

1880, assisting on their farm and farming other land in addition.  In the year

last named he left the parental roof and came west to Carson, Iowa, where he

passed two years in profitable farming, then, in 1882, came to Colorado, and

locating at Leadville, conducted a grocery in partnership with his brother

Thomas H. five years.  They prospered in the enterprise, and in 1887 Joseph

returned to Illinois, where he remained nearly a year, coming back to Colorado

in the spring of 1888, and taking up his residence at Gilman and there starting

another grocery store.  This happened to be a credit community, however, and

lack of payments by his patrons obliged him to give up the business.  From 1892

to 1897 he worked at quartz mining for wages, and in the latter year purchased

his present ranch of one hundred and thirty acres, all tillable land and well

supplied with water.  Since buying the land he has made many improvements on it

and largely increased its arable acreage, and he now has a good farm which is

cultivated with ordinary ease and yields good crops of the products usual in the

neighborhood, hay and cattle being his main reliance.  Politically he supports

the Democratic party, but he is too progressive and broad-minded to be bound in

party chains where matters of local improvement are concerned.  On January 1,

1879, he united in marriage with Miss Mary F. Tippett, a native of Fulton

county, Illinois.  They have seven children, Alberta I., Mary E., Genevieve,

Charles F., George C., Josephine and Roy.  Mr. Cunningham has four sisters,

Elizabeth, Mary, Margaret and Isabella, and one brother, Robert.  

Additional Comments:
From Progressive Men of Western Colorado.  Chicago:  A.W. Bowen & Co., 1905

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/eagle/bios/cunningh83gbs.txt

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