Green Cunningham was born on May 22, 1817 in Jackson County, Georgia, to James Cunningham and Mary McNees Cunningham.[1] He was the eldest of six children.
By 1850, Cunningham was living in Floyd County. The 1850 Census lists him as a 33-year-old farmer married to 35-year-old Judy Cunningham. His real estate was valued at $3,000.[2] Though the census record lists his wife’s name as Judy, this is believed to be a misinterpretation of the name Jincay Ware Cunningham, Green Cunningham’s only known wife.[3]
By the time of the 1860 Census, Cunningham’s household had grown to include Jane J. Cunningham, age 14, and Permelia W. Cunningham, age 7.[4] Permelia is believed to be the daughter of Willis Bobo and Sarah Cunningham (Green Cunningham’s sister).[5] Jane J. Cunningham may have been an older sibling of Permelia, though that name is not an exact match for any known sisters. She was not listed as part of the Cunningham household in the 1850 Census, and does not appear to be a child of Green and Jincay Cunningham.
Cunningham’s occupation as of the 1860 Census was listed as “farmer.” His real estate was valued at $8,000 and his personal property at $26,000. In the slave census conducted that same year, Cunningham was listed as the owner of 19 slaves ranging in age from 2 to 47.[6]
During the Civil War, Cunningham participated in a meeting to determine the propriety of appropriating funds to equip volunteers going into service and the support of their families during the soldier’s absence.[7] In 1861, he was listed as a Floyd County road commissioner.[8] In 1862, he was appointed to a militia committee to determine the number of men available for home defense and to assess availability of arms and ammunition.[9] During the war, his wife and daughter were listed in the newspaper as having made donations to the Soldiers Aid Society. His wife contributed 30 yards of jeans for Capt. Towers company, 21 pairs of socks, one homemade blanket and one pair of mittens. His daughter was credited with contributing a homemade blanket.[10] He was listed as a member of Floyd Legion (State Guards) in 1863.[11]
Also in 1863, he served as a “messenger” representing the Bush Arbor Church at the Cherokee Baptist Convention and was a member of a standing committee on preaching.[12]
After the war, Cunningham continued farming. His prominence in the occupation is illustrated by an 1868 advertisement for a product titled Flour of Raw Bone. According to the ad, the product “hastens the ripening of all crops, gives strength to the stalk and weight to the grain and promotes the growth and increase the product where ever applied. Judge Samuel Mobley and Green Cunningham of Floyd County have tried it, and you can apply to them for reference.”[13]
In 1870, Cunningham served as a member of a state railroad committee.[14] That same year, a new post office was established on the Selma, Rome and Dalton Road near his home. The post office was named Cunningham Station.[15]
In 1873, Cunningham was elected president of the Cave Spring Farmers’ Club.[16] The following year, a newspaper article reported his arrival in St. Louis by way of the St. Louis and Southeastern Railroad. Cunningham was described as being part of a “large party of influential business men and prominent citizens of Rome, Ga. who are on their way to Texas, seeking new homes and opportunity for the investment of their large capital in some enterprise which promises to be remunerative.”[17] That same year, Cunningham was reported as having served as a grand jury member of the Floyd County Superior Court.[18]
In 1876, Cunningham served as a delegate to a senatorial convention. The purpose of the convention was to nominate a candidate for the Democratic party for the 42nd state senate district.[19] Cunningham was also endorsed for a proposed Floyd County board of appraisers in 1876 due to his character and judgment. The suggested board’s purpose was to convene every five years to prepare a digest of the real estate in the county, assessing a fair value to serve as the basis for taxation.[20]
Cunningham served at least one term as a trustee of the Cherokee Baptist Female College.[21] In an 1878 newspaper article, Cunningham was listed as one of the trustees who signed an agreement with Col. Alfred Shorter, which would eventually lead to the institution being renamed Shorter College.
In 1879, Cunningham purchased the 160-acre plantation and residence described in the newspaper notice as the “Lake Place”[22] from William T. Gibson for $5,000[23]. Cunningham was 62 years old at the time. Cunningham reportedly was on his way to Mississippi when he passed by Gibson’s house. He was “so taken with its beauty and the valley that he would go no further. He vowed to buy the place and establish his home there. He did just that! He built a beautiful and productive farm, opened a store in Rome, and became a great influence in Floyd County.”[24]
In addition to farming, his business interests at the time included leasing iron ore beds. A newspaper article listed Cunningham as the owner of an iron ore bed leased by Mr. Samuel P. Ellis of Pennsylvania. According to the article, Ellis “proposes to commence at an early date to mine the ore and ship it to Northern furnaces, The ore is said to be of a superior quality.”[25]
Apart from farming and other business interests, Cunningham was also interested in politics. In July 1881, he served as a delegate to the state temperance convention.[26]
Less than two years later, on February 23, 1883, Cunningham’s wife Jincay Ware Cunningham died at the age of 69. According to her obituary, she was a member of the Baptist church for 40 years, was remarkable all of her life for activity and fine business qualities. She was a twin sister of Mrs. Culbertson, mother of Dr. W.A. Culbertson, prominent physician. She was buried in Cave Spring Cemetery.[27]
Cunningham was living in the home when Cave Spring was struck by a tornado during the “Enigma Outbreak” of February 19-20, 1884[28]. The tornado was 400 yards wide and traveled approximately 35 miles from Jacksonville, Alabama to Cave Spring, Georgia. The tornado “dealt great destruction to property and human life,” according to the news reports. “Many buildings were blown down in and around Cave Spring and four people were killed at that town,” one article stated.[29] The impact on Cunningham’s residence, if any, is unknown.
Green Cunningham passed away on February 13, 1885 at the age of 68. According to the Columbus Daily Enquirer, he died at home after a lingering illness. He was described in various newspaper accounts as a successful farmer,[30] president of the Cave Spring Farmers’ Club,[31] and one of the area’s earliest settlers. He was buried in Cave Spring Cemetery.[32]
At the time of his death, Cunningham’s estate was valued at $40,000.[33] In his will dated October 31, 1883,[34] Cunningham bequeathed his “plantation in Van’s Valley 10 miles south of Rome containing 620 acres. Share and share alike” to Wade Culbertson, J. Courtney Brown, Jincay J. Montgomery, wife of Hugh Montgomery, and Mrs. Francis Barker. He left the balance of his estate, both real and personal, to his niece (and adopted daughter[35]) Willie Permelia Bobo Montgomery,[36] daughter of Willis Bobo and Sarah Cunningham (Green Cunningham’s sister).[37] Willie was married to James Middleton Montgomery,[38] who served as an executor of Cunningham’s estate.
Willie Permelia Bobo Montgomery became the owner of the property when she was 34 and her husband James was 41.
[1] Ancestry.com. Georgia, U.S., Census for Re-Organizing the Georgia Militia, 1864 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data:Cornell, Nancy J. 1864 Census for Re-Organizing the Georgia Militia. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2000.
[2] "United States, Census, 1850", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZYL-JRQ : Wed Jan 22 01:33:57 UTC 2025), Entry for Green Cunningham and Judy Cunningham, 1850.
[3] "Green Cunningham." FamilySearch. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/KH8Z-YVJ.
[4] "United States, Census, 1860", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZMY-FX7 : Mon Jul 08 04:38:43 UTC 2024), Entry for Green Cuninghan and Jincey Cuninghan, 1860.
[5] "Sarah M. Cunningham." FamilySearch. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/LCY4-ZD8.
[6] "United States, Census (Slave Schedule), 1860", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WKV4-LNN2 : Fri Mar 08 20:40:40 UTC 2024), Entry for Green Cunningham and , 1860.
[7] The Rome Weekly Courier, June 21, 1861, Image 2
[8] Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, February 28, 1861, Image 2
[9] The Rome Weekly Courier, May 09, 1862, Image 3
[10] Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, November 09, 1861, Image 2
[11] "Georgia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFCQ-QV5 : Wed Feb 19 20:15:40 UTC 2025), Entry for Green Cunningham, 1863.
[12] The Baptist Banner, July 11, 1863, Image 2
[13] Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, December 15, 1868, Image 3
[14] Columbus Enquirer, August 02, 1870, Image 1
[15] Tri-Weekly Constitutionalist, June 26, 1870, Image 1
[16] Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, April 19, 1873, Image 2
[17] Weekly Chronicle & Sentinel, May 20, 1874, Image 1
[18] Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, November 28, 1874, Image 3
[19] Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, September 12, 1876, Image 2
[20]Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, January 27, 1876, Image 2
[21] Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, January 3, 1878, Image 3
[22] Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, September 11, 1879, Image 3
[23] Cedartown Advertiser, Sept. 18, 1879, Image 3
[24] History of the Wesley House, page 3. Author and date unknown. Item is a photocopied typed article with several pages of handwritten notes in the author’s possession.
[25] The Weekly Sumter Republican, February 14, 1879, Image 2
[26] Atlanta Weekly Constitution, July 12, 1881
[27] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6440726/jincy_cunningham
[28] The National Weather Service: https://www.weather.gov/bmx/event_02191884
[29] Columbus Daily Enquirer-Sun, February 21, 1884, Image 1
[30] The Barnesville Gazette, February 19, 1885, Image 5
[31] Rome Tri-Weekly Courier, April 19, 1873, Image 2
[32] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6440725/green-cunningham: accessed May 23, 2025), memorial page for Green Cunningham (22 May 1817–13 Feb 1885), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6440725, citing Cave Spring Cemetery, Cave Spring, Floyd County, Georgia, USA; Maintained by Blue Rose (contributor 47119163).
[33] The Atlanta Constitution, February 18, 1885.
[34] Ancestry.com. Georgia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:Georgia County, District and Probate Courts.Wills; Author: Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Floyd County). Wills, Vol C-D, 1871-1918.
[35] History of the Wesley House, page 3.
[36] "Willie Permelia Bobo." FamilySearch. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/9KD5-WDV.
[37] "Sarah M. Cunningham." FamilySearch. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/LCY4-ZD8.
[38] "James Middleton Montgomery." FamilySearch. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/KZV5-NQ3.