CUNNINGHAM-Andrew B. - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

Andrew B. CUNNINGHAM, dentist, Attica, son of Adam and Mary (BASKIN) CUNNINGHAM, was born in Island county, Ohio, January 31, 1835. His early life was spent in tilling the soil and in merchandising. In 1856 7 he took a partial course of medical lectures at the Ohio College, in Cincinnati, and afterward a full course at the Ohio Dental College, graduating in the spring of 1858. He immediately located at Leesburg, Ohio, and in June, 1859, removed to Attica. He has lived in this place since, excepting one year spent at Decatur, Illinois. In the time of the war he was county agent to procure men for the military service to fill the quota of Fountain county. He obtained upward of fifty. He held the appointment of deputy United States marshal several years, beginning about 1874. He is a member of the State Dental and the Wabash Valley Dental Associations, and president of the latter body. In politics he is firmly attached to the principles, and is a warm advocate, of the policy of the democratic party. Mr. CUNNINGHAM has been connected with the detective business some time, and has rendered very important service in that capacity. Of the numerous occasions on which he has shown ability for such work, one or two may be mentioned. The principal one, perhaps, was the discovery and arrest of John JONES, the murderer of James HALL. The tragedy was committed in Attica in the autumn of 1870, and HALL was apprehended, but escaped. The marshal offered a reward of $150 and the city $500. He had been at large a week when Mr. CUNNINGHAM began the pursuit. But he soon got upon his track, and refusing to be misled by the deceptive arts which the fugitive employed to conceal his true character, he followed steadily the route he had taken, and finally discovered his hiding place in Ford county, Illinois, where he recaptured him. The captor divided the rewards with the men who accompanied him. On May 25, 1875, he did a good day's work in discovering four illicit stills and capturing the distillers. Two of them were situated in the southern part of this county, and the others were across the line in Parke county. These operations were not a little dangerous, on account of the hostility of the neighborhoods to the interference of the law, but they were swiftly and skillfully performed and completely successful. In 1873, the safe of the Revere House, in Attica, was robbed most mysteriously and the case was confided to this detective to work up and ferret out, which he did in a short time in a successful manner, recovering the stolen property, and arresting the culprit, and obtaining the evidence of his guilt at every step of his progress. Mr. CUNNINGHAM was married January 17, 1859, to Emily KING of Attica, daughter of Jackson KING, who emigrated to Richland township about 1827. They have an only son living, named William.