My Children's Family Tree


‎Ezra Cunningham‏‎, son of John Hamilton Cunningham and Jane McCrum‏. Born ‎01 Oct 1857 at Milford, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States, died ‎16 Jun 1945 at Walker Township, Juniata, Pennsylvania, United States‎, age 87 years, buried at Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery, Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States Above Green Right: Row 13 No 1. Occupation: Farmer, two term Union Township Supervisor. Religion: Lutheran Ezra’s Mother died when he was two weeks old, from burns when her dress caught fire from an open, outdoor fire to heat "wash water." His great-aunt came to live with his father but said she couldn’t live with a newborn baby. He went to live with his aunt Mary (McCrum) Dressler - who he always considered his parents.@S195@S30@S194@S22@ Married ‎1885, age 27 or 28 years (married 59 or 60 years) to: ‎Esther Farley‏‎, age by marriage 16 or 17 years, daughter of Morris F Farley and Rebecca Jane Dunlap‏. Born ‎26 Mar 1868 at Rockton, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States, died ‎02 Aug 1962 at Walker Township, Juniata, Pennsylvania, United States‎, age 94 years, cause of death: Fall down stairs, buried at Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery, Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States Nick-name: Jennie Children: 1. ‎John Cunningham‏‎ Born ‎22 Sep 1886 at , Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States, died ‎02 Apr 1937 at Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States‎, age 50 years 2. ‎Nellie Cunningham‏‎ Born ‎20 Aug 1888 at Home Camp, Union Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States Birth Certificate lists "Home Camp" as birthplace, which is a neighborhood within Union Township., died ‎10 Jan 1982 at Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, United States‎, age 93 years, buried at Alto Reste Park Cemetery, Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States Appears in 1910 census as Ella M Kauffman Cemetery: http://alto-reste.com, the Garden of Prayer or Garden of the Last Supper section 3. ‎James Cunningham‏‎ Born ‎14 Aug 1892 at ,, Pennsylvania, United States, died ‎01 Feb 1965 at , Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States‎, age 72 years 4. ‎Mabel Cunningham‏‎ Born ‎23 Sep 1894 at ,, Pennsylvania, United States, died ‎1 Mar 1992‎, age 97 years 5. ‎Lottie "Lottie" Cunningham‏‎ Born ‎13 Apr 1897 at ,, Pennsylvania, United States, died ‎1944‎, age 46 or 47 years 6. ‎Norman Arthur Cunningham‏‎ Born ‎01 Nov 1898 at ,, Pennsylvania, United States, died ‎24 May 1993 at Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States MIFFLINTOWN Norman A. Cunningham, 94, of 128 Riverview Ave., Yardley, formerly of Mifflintown, died Monday in the Mercer Medical Center, Trenton, N.J. He was a former store manager for the former S. S. Kresge Co. (now K mart Corp.) for more than 40 years and a member of Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Yardley Historical Society, Friends of Lake Afton and Community Action Senior Citizens, all of Yardley. Surviving are his wife, Evelyn Bashore Cunningham; a son, Richard of Stockton, N.J.; a sister, Virginia of Mifflin; two grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in Centre Lutheran Church, Centre. Burial will be in the Presbyterian Cemetery, Mifflintown. There will be no viewing. Guss Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to the Resurrection Building Fund, 1706 Makefield Road, Yardley 19067-1416, or to any charity. The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA. Wednesday, May 26, 1993‎, age 94 years 7. ‎Jinks "Jinks" Cunningham‏‎ Nickname: Jinks (‎28 Sep 2022), born ‎31 Mar 1902 at ,, Pennsylvania, United States, died ‎07 Nov 1996‎, age 94 years 8. ‎Harry Cunningham‏‎ Born ‎23 Jul 1907 at ,, Pennsylvania, United States, died ‎12 Nov 1992 at West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States‎, age 85 years New York Times obit: Harry Cunningham, 85, Pioneer And Developer of Kmart, Is Dead By DEAN BAQUET Published: Friday, November 13, 1992 Harry B. Cunningham, who pioneered discount mass-merchandising in transforming Kmart Corporation into a retailing giant, died Wednesday night at his home in North Palm Beach, Fla. He was 85 years old. He died in his sleep, the company said. Mr. Cunningham displayed his early knack for retailing in 1951, when, as sales director of the S.S. Kresge Company, he proposed that the variety store chain start using the same checkout system that was winning popularity in supermarkets. Six years later, Frank Williams, then the company's president, decided to free Mr. Cunningham from the grind of daily operations, and sent him off to scout new strategies for the company's future. For the next two years, Mr. Cunningham studied a variety of operations around the country, looking for ways to expand what had become a stagnant business. Kresge, founded in 1899, was then a chain of so-called five and dimes, relatively small, sparsely furnished stores that sold small, inexpensive items. Larger Stores Mr. Cunningham and an aide visited most of the Kresge stores, as well as those of the competition. Particularly intriguing to him was a new discounting operation in Garden City, L.I., called E. J. Korvette. Mr. Cunningham came back from his explorations convinced that discounting -- low prices and margins, high-volume turnover in much larger stores -- was the way of the future. His recommendation: the old Kresge variety stores, with 4,000 to 6,000 square feet of space, were not nearly big enough. An entirely new operation had to be conceived to sell a wide variety of household items at discount, not just the few staples of the variety stores. "He set the pace," said Kurt Barnard, former head of the National Mass Retailing Institute, now known as the International Mass Retailing Association. "Kresge's business was not growing. He perceived that the five and dime industry was going to decline. He was one of the pioneers." By Mr. Barnard's account, other businesses were moving into discount stores. But Mr. Cunningham dramatically altered the industry by pushing Kresge, with its vast resources, into the business. "To his great credit, he recognized the incredibly enormous potential of pushing such a big company into mass discounting," he said. In 1959 Mr. Cunningham was elected company president. And in 1961 he started a new retail division that in 1962 built the first Kmart discount department store. Under Mr. Cunningham's direction, the first stores typically sprawled for 75,000 square feet on one floor. They were situated in the suburbs, amid heavy traffic, and included ample parking space. In 1991 Kmart sales totaled $35 billion. There are now 4,000 Kmart-owned stores in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Australia, Canada, and Czechoslovakia. In his best-selling autobiography, another discounting pioneer, Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, paid homage to Mr. Cunningham. Mr. Walton wrote, "Wal-Mart wouldn't be what it is today without a host of fine competitors, most especially Harry Cunningham of Kmart, who really designed and built the first discount store as we know it today, and who, in my opinion, should be remembered as one of the leading retailers of all time." Management Training Mr. Cunningham became chairman of the board in 1967. He held the two most powerful positions at the company -- chairman and president -- until 1970, when he resigned as president. He gave up the chairmanship in 1972, remaining a director and a member of various board committees. Mr. Cunningham was born on a farm in Home Camp, Pa. He left Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, after his sophomore year to take a job as a reporter at the Harrisburg Patriot. A year later he started out in Kmart's management training program in Lynchburgh, Va. He became a store manager in 1940, and a district manager in 1947. He is survived by his wife, the former Margaret Diefendorf; three daughters, Jane Herrington, Sally Downey and Ann Glime; a brother, Norman; three sisters, Virginia, Mabel Graham and Nellie Kauffman; and grandchildren. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/13/business/harry-cunningham-85-pioneer-and-developer-of-kmart-is-dead.html Return to the Interesting People page Founder of K Mart retail stores, previously owned by the SS Kresge Co. From Wikipedia: Harry Cunningham (born 1907 in Pennsylvania — died 1992) was an American businessman and retailer who founded Kmart in 1962, a firm that was previously known as S. S. Kresge. Cunningham had a vision to convert the retail chain into a discounter. He worked at Kmart from 1959 to 1972. Cunningham was credited by Sam Walton as being the first to design a discount store. Walton added that Cunningham should be remembered as one of the leading retailers of all time.