Shuman/Kendall/Cunningham
Marriages
mentioned in the “Kendall Book”

From the History and Genealogy: Kendalls, Cunninghams, Snodgrasses, by Norman Festus Kendall. Published ca 1940.

One piece of well documented information is the unusually high number of Kendall—Shuman marriages which occurred among the first generation of families settling in the Minister’s Run area. This should not be so surprising, however, when one considers the sparseness of the population, and the difficulty in traveling any great distance. People tended to select spouses from the neighbors within a radius of a few miles. With two large families in the area, it is not unusual that they would look to each other for marriage partners.

The Kendall book provides the following information:

pp. 27-28: "Mary Kendall (Polly), daughter of Rev. William [and Elizabeth Simmons Kendall, born 1808, died Nov. 6, 1886,] married Jesse Shuman, a son of Philip or the Revolutionary soldier."
 
p. 28: "Sarah, a daughter of James and Catharine Shuman Kendall, married a Levi Shuman, brother of Jesse."
 
p. 29: "Matilda Kendall, 1804-1891, oldest daughter of Rev. William and Elizabeth Simmons Kendall, married William Shuman, born 1807, died Jan. 20, 1882. He was one of John and Elizabeth Shuman's 14 children." A summary on page 158 refers to him as "James (Wm.) Shuman." From other evidence this man has been identified as a son of Henry Shuman, probably John's brother. According to his will, John apparently had no son named William.
 
pp. 29-30: "Mildred Kendall, 1811-1891, daughter of Rev. William and Elizabeth Simmons Kendall, married John Shuman, son of John and Elizabeth Smith Shuman, born on Minister's Run, near Arnettsville, Marion county, W. Va., April 11, 1803, died Feb. 12, 1875."
 
p. 30: "Samuel Kendall 2nd, (1781-1854), son of Samuel and Mary Smith Kendall (twin), married Mary Shuman in 1809, born March 10, 1786, died February 5, 1854. Lived on Dent's Run, west of Mannington, W. Va. They sleep in the Kendall Cemetery near the Kendall homestead."
 
p 42: "Mansfield Kendall (born 1804), son of Ransom, Sr., married Hannah Shuman, youngest daughter of John and Elizabeth Smith Shuman, of Minister's Run, Marion county, W. Va., on Dec. 29, 1829."
 
pp. 43-44: "James Kendall, born June 2, 1784, died 1868, son of Samuel, twin, and Mary Smith Kendall, in what is now Fauquire county, Virginia. married Catharine Shuman, born 1788, died 1848, at Amos, Paw Paw Creek, Marion county, W. Va. Catharine Shuman Kendall was born on Minister's Run, Marion county, W. Va., daughter of John and Elizabeth Shuman. Mrs. Kendall was named for her aunt Catharine Shuman Cunningham, wife of John Cunningham (1745-1799) of Indian Creek, Monongalia county, W. Va., and she was a sister of John Shuman."

The Kendall book also provides some information regarding this older Catharine Shuman, who married John Cunningham. It states:

p. 74: "John Cunningham, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Harris Cunningham, born in Ireland in 1745, died on Indian Creek, Monongalia county, Va. January 15, 1799. Catharine Shuman, born 1749, died 1821, age 72 years, sister of John Shuman, of Minister's Run, Marion County, W. Va. Her parents came from Germany. Lived near Philadelphia, Pa., where Mr. Cunningham married Catharine on June 5, 1769."

Another source of information regarding the first Catharine Shuman who married John Cunningham comes from Historical Sketch of America's First and Second Colonial Settlers by John Neason Cunningham, 1940, pp. 46­48:

While his father and mother were living in Mayo County, Ireland, John, as a boy, got sail on a German vessel for America, landing in Philadelphia, to visit his uncles, the Harrises. John, however, while in Philadelphia, and before leaving to visit his relatives in the west, fell in love with Catharine Shuman, a German girl, and on 6-5-1769 married her. They soon joined the procession west to the Indian Country, landing on Red Stone Creek, and locating near Red Stone Fort in what is now Brownsville, Penn'a.

David Cunningham, a grandson, was 18 years old when in 1821 he received the following information about his grandfather John Cunningham's family. He wrote:

My Great-grandfather, Joseph Cunningham, b. 1717, died 1789. Married Elizabeth Harris in Mayo County Ireland in 1743. His son John, b. 1745, d. 1-15-1799, on Indian Creek Monongalia County, Va. He married Catherine Shuman at or near Philadelphia, Penn'a, 6-5-1769. She was b. 1749, d. 1821. She was a well informed and a highly cultured lady, a lovely character, a real German mother and home-maker. She said my grandfather was a high class gentleman in every sense of the word; that during the Revolutionary War he belonged to the Colonial Virginia frontier Guards and was a trusted Scout, as against Indian raids on defenseless settlements. His headquarters were in the frontier forts.
 
She said, "most of my children were born in, or close to these forts. After we were married we started our wandering career."

David quotes her detailed description of their travels from Fort Red Stone, Fayette County, PA to several sites in VA and WV, including longer stays at Fort Paw Paw and Fort Amos. He documents that John bought, on September 8, 1796, 200 acres in Indian Creek Valley adjoining the site on which Fort Amos was built, and it was there that he died in 1799.

The record of Catharine Shuman Cunningham's life is well documented, after her marriage. What went before is a mystery. Is she, as some of the records indicate, the sister of John Shuman, who lived on Minister's Run? If so, we are faced with explaining some unusual family statistics: her birthdate is given as 1749; John's as 1764; and Henry's as 1781. This is a span of 15 years between Catharine and John, and 17 years between John and Henry. While either span by itself is not unusual, the two together are: 32 years between Catharine and Henry, which is highly unlikely. But, if she is not John's sister, then are they even related? Again, the evidence is circumstantial, but their paths must have crossed many times as both families moved between Fayette County PA and Monongalia County WV. There are a number of transactions in the Monongalia County court records in which both the Cunninghams and the Shumans held an interest, particularly in the matter of road improvements. It seems more likely that Catharine is the sister of John's father.

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Updated September 20, 1998.   Send comments to: James Shuman


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