I was able to go to a family reunion and meet some distant cousins, including my third cousin once removed, Helen, who has been a wealth of information with regards to the branch of my Cunningham family who stayed behind in Georgia (mine moved to Texas). I really enjoyed talking to my cousin Walter Burkhalter and his son Ed Burkhalter, who are my second cousins twice removed and third cousins once removed respectively. I don’t have a lot of pictures yet. I didn’t bring my camera, but my mother and her father’s cousin did. The three of us—my mother, her father’s cousin, and me—were the only representatives from the Texas Cunninghams.
Helen said the reunion takes place every year, and has for as long as she can recall. Indeed, I have some pictures from a reunion in the early 1950’s (there seems to be some dispute as to whether it’s 1952 or 1953), which might be the last time any of the Texas Cunninghams came to the reunion.
This first photo is my great-great-grandfather and his sister.
In this photo, Amos Cunningham appears to be saying grace. His sister Cadelia Burkhalter is seated.
I like how the food is set on the back of a wagon in this picture; my cousin Helen said she was at this reunion, so she might be in this photo somewhere:
In the following picture, Amos and Cadelia (seated) appear with Johnson Franklin Cunningham, whose mother (possibly both parents) had been slaves in the Cunningham family. My father’s cousin Mary Elder Davis, who came with us to the reunion yesterday, is the girl standing to the right of Cadelia.
Finally, here is a picture my mother took at yesterday’s reunion of Helen and me (I’m in the turquoise shirt) looking at photos on my computer while my grandfather’s cousin Mary Elder Davis examines one of the genealogy books Helen has created. Alas, we weren’t able to identify who the subjects of the photos were, so they will comprise a future post in the hopes someone can identify them.
