For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 197
JOHN CUNNIFF.....Although over eighty years of age, John Cunniff, a respected citizen of West Liberty, now retired, enjoys a goodly measure of health and strength. He can look back upon a long life of usefulness and honor during which he has contributed to the extent of his ability toward the progress of his adopted state. Coming to America as a young man, he has witnessed great changes and has llived to appreciate the bebefits which are the results of many discoveries of the last half century and also of the remarkable adaptation of the soil to the uses of man.He was born in County Galway, Ireland, January 6, 1830, a son of Luke and Sarah ( Carr ) Cunniff, also natives of the Emerald isle, where they spent their entire lives. There were eight children in their family: Patrick; John, of this review; Roger, now a resident of Chicago; and Edward, Mary, Margaret,Hannah, and Catherine, all of whom are deceased.
John Cunniff received his early education in the select schools of his native land and continued at home with his parents until twenty-one years of age, when he went to England for three years and then came to America. Possessed of a good constitution and of a worthy ambition to perform his part manually in the world, he decided to seek his fortune in a foreign country and accordingly bade farewell to familiar scenes and turned his face toward the United States. He crossed the ocean in a slow-going sailing vessel and after landing in New York, traveled by rail to Dunkirk, then by boat to Chicago, where he joined an emigrant train which came as far as Rock Island, Illinois. Going aboard a steamboat, he proceeded to his destination, which was Muscatine, and remained there for one year, when he removed to West Liberty, living in the town or its vicinity for the next nine years. About 1864 he became a citizen if Cedar county and engaged for more than forty years as a farmer and stockraiser. By the application of industry and good judgment he gained a responsible position in his chosen calling and attained a financial independence that would scarcely have been possible had he remained in his native land. In 1902 he took up his residence in West Liberty, where he has since remained, being the possessor of a commodious and well appointed home, surrounded by two acres of ground.
In 1861 Mr. Cunniff was united in marriage to Miss Helen Dobson and thirteen children blessed this union, namely: Edward, Roger, Daniel and David, of Chicago; Thomas, of Portland, Oregon; Luke, deceased; Mary E., and Sarah, also of Chicago; Catherine, of Denver, Colorado; Margaret, deceased; Luke J., of Chicago; James, deceased; and one who died in infancy.
As the head of a large and promising family Mr. Cunniff endeavored to set an example of industry, patience and perseverance and it is a pleasure to know that his efforts were not in vain. He inherited many of the genial qualities of his ancestry and a spirit of helpfulness has won for him many friends whose esteem is one of the rewards which he now receives as the result of his many kindly acts. Politically he is affiliated with the democratic party, and in religious belief he and his estimable wife give their earnest support to the Catholic church.
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