Cunningham, Joseph O.

Born: 1830-12-12 New York

Died: 1917-04-30 Urbana, Illinois

Born in Lancaster, New York, Joseph O. Cunningham was a teacher, newspaper owner, editor, and publisher, an attorney, county judge, and a Whig turned Republican. His family relocated to Huron County, Ohio, when he was a young child. He labored on the family farm throughout his childhood, and attended school only during the winter months until he turned eighteen. After that, he attended Baldwin Institute in Berea, Ohio, as well as Oberlin College. He taught school for a time in Eugene, Indiana. In October 1853, he married Mary M. McConoughey. The couple moved to Urbana, Illinois, and eventually had at least one child together. From 1853 to 1859, as a member of Cunningham & Flynn, he helped publish the Urbana Union. He eventually purchased the newspaper and edited it. He was a strong supporter of Abraham Lincoln, and during his time as owner and editor of the Urbana Union, the paper was Republican in orientation. In August 1858, he partnered with J. W. Scroggs to publish the Central Illinois Gazette. In April 1855, Cunningham was admitted to the bar, apparently having studied law independently. In 1859, he graduated from the Union Law School of Cleveland, Ohio. He opened a law office in Urbana on May 1, 1859. Soon after, he partnered with Joseph W. Sim. During his years practicing law, he belonged to the law firms Sim & Cunningham, Cunningham & Weber, and Cunningham & Boggs. In 1861, the citizens of Champaign County, Illinois, elected him judge of the Champaign County courts, a position he held until 1865. After retiring as judge in 1865, he returned to the practice of law.

The Urbana Daily Courier (IL), 1 May 1917, 1:7; 4:4; J. R. Stewart, ed., A Standard History of Champaign County Illinois (Chicago: Lewis, 1918), 2:527-28; U.S. Census Office, Ninth Census of the United States (1870), Urbana, Champaign County, IL, 5-6; Gravestone, Mount Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum, Urbana, IL.