NameRev John William CUNNINGHAM, 9097
Birth1780
Death1861, Harrow on the Hill
EducationSt John’s College Cambridge
Notes for Rev John William CUNNINGHAM
Vicar of Harrow. Editor of Christian Observer. Started career as John Venn’s curate at Holy Trinity Clapham. Wrote “The Velvet Cushion”
Rev. John William Cunningham, Venn's entry reads: Cunningham, John William. College: ST JOHN'S Entered: Michs. 1801 Born: Died: Sept. 30, 1861 Adm. pens. (age 18) at ST JOHN'S, Apr. 14, 1798. Of Middlesex. B. Jan. 3, 1780, in London. Scholar, 1798; matric. Michs. 1801; B.A. (5th Wrangler) 1802; M.A. 1805. Fellow, 1805 (Apr. 2-July 30). Ord. deacon (Winchester) May 8, 1803; priest, Dec. 18, 1803; C. of Send and Ripley, Surrey, 1803. C. at Clapham up to 1811, to John Venn, the well-known Evangelist and member of the Clapham sect. V. of Harrow, Middlesex, 1811-61. Domestic Chaplain to Lord Northwick. Married (1) Sophia, dau. of Robert Williams, Esq., of Moor Park, Surrey, July 30, 1805; (2) Mary, dau. of Gen. Sir Harry Calvert, Bart., G.C.B., July 24, 1827. A strong supporter of the Evangelical party; said to have taken great pride in the fact that he had influenced the election of headmasters of Harrow belonging to the Evangelical school. Nick-named `velvet Cunningham,' after the publication of his book The Velvet Cushion, in which John Venn is described as `Berkely.' Editor of the Christian Observer, 1850-8. Author, miscellaneous; a voluminous writer. Died Sept. 30, 1861, aged 81, at Harrow. Brother of Francis (1809); father of Francis M. (1834), Charles T. (1828) and the next. (St John's Col. Adm., IV; Boase; D.N.B.)