Today in Wheeling History: October 27 — Annie Sinclair Cunningham, future Wheeling religious reformer and founder of the West Virginia Home for Aged and Friendless Women, is born in the West Highlands of Scotland (1832).
Annie Campbell Fraser Sinclair Cunningham (b. October 27 or October 29, 1832 – d. February 17, 1897) was a pioneering religious and social reformer whose legacy in Wheeling, West Virginia, endures through her charitable work and leadership. Born in the West Highlands of Scotland, Annie was the fifth of nine children of Rev. John C. Sinclair and Mary Julia MacLean, a descendant of the noble Duart and Lochbuy clans. Her family emigrated to Nova Scotia and later Prince Edward Island, where her father served as a missionary. Annie received a robust education, including studies in Boston and Philadelphia, and developed a strong commitment to religious and social causes.
After marrying Rev. David Ayers Cunningham, pastor of Wheeling’s First Presbyterian Church, Annie became a central figure in the city’s religious and philanthropic life. She co-founded the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church and led the Washington Presbytery Mission Society. Her most enduring local contribution was founding the West Virginia Home for Aged and Friendless Women in 1890 at 37 Thirteenth Street, where she served as its first president and was hailed as its “best friend.”
Annie died in Wheeling in 1897 and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery. Her work exemplified the power of faith-driven civic engagement and women’s leadership in 19th-century America.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – Wheeling Hall of Fame: Annie Sinclair Cunningham (https://tinyurl.com/3774694f), Wikipedia – Annie Sinclair Cunningham (https://tinyurl.com/mryc693e), Wikisource – Woman of the Century: Annie Sinclair Cunningham (https://tinyurl.com/muupukta), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/uexbxxhs)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wikimedia Commons
Annie Campbell Fraser Sinclair Cunningham (b. October 27 or October 29, 1832 – d. February 17, 1897) was a pioneering religious and social reformer whose legacy in Wheeling, West Virginia, endures through her charitable work and leadership. Born in the West Highlands of Scotland, Annie was the fifth of nine children of Rev. John C. Sinclair and Mary Julia MacLean, a descendant of the noble Duart and Lochbuy clans. Her family emigrated to Nova Scotia and later Prince Edward Island, where her father served as a missionary. Annie received a robust education, including studies in Boston and Philadelphia, and developed a strong commitment to religious and social causes.
After marrying Rev. David Ayers Cunningham, pastor of Wheeling’s First Presbyterian Church, Annie became a central figure in the city’s religious and philanthropic life. She co-founded the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church and led the Washington Presbytery Mission Society. Her most enduring local contribution was founding the West Virginia Home for Aged and Friendless Women in 1890 at 37 Thirteenth Street, where she served as its first president and was hailed as its “best friend.”
Annie died in Wheeling in 1897 and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery. Her work exemplified the power of faith-driven civic engagement and women’s leadership in 19th-century America.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – Wheeling Hall of Fame: Annie Sinclair Cunningham (https://tinyurl.com/3774694f), Wikipedia – Annie Sinclair Cunningham (https://tinyurl.com/mryc693e), Wikisource – Woman of the Century: Annie Sinclair Cunningham (https://tinyurl.com/muupukta), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/uexbxxhs)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wikimedia Commons
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