2. | Waddell Cunningham Douglas was born on 6 Oct 1809 in County Down, Ireland. (son of James Douglas and Elizabeth Pollock); died on 2 Oct 1896 in Newton Breda, Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland. Notes:
He lived at Bellevue, Killowen, County Down, Ireland
Waddell Cunningham was certainly a prosperous merchant but uncomplimentary stories about him and his business practices abound He was born in 1729 and made his fortune largely by trading with America However he also had interests in a vitriol works, malting and brewery, his stores being with his house and garden in Hercules Lane, approximately where the Provincial Bank and St Mary's Hall now stand He was a member of the Second Presbyterian Congregation in Rosemary Street, He was a magistrate and in 1770 during the Hearts of Steel land agitation was responsible for the arrest of David Douglas from the Templepatrick area Douglas was lodged in the town barracks and on Sunday 23 December angry farmers marched in from Templepatrick Meeting House to organise a rescue bid They looted and burned Waddell Cunningham's house and only ceased when 5 of their number had been shot and the prisoners given up by the soldiers One cause of the violence was the fact that Waddell Cunningham with others was involved in buying up large areas of land Altogether he acquired 150 acres in Ballynagarry [Belfast] and 370 in Ballypalliday [Templepatrick], though it seems that this was not snatched from tenant farmers but had already been in the possession of other middlemen Although the amount of the fines for new leases and the rises in rents has been greatly exagerated, the transfers of leases were to raise money for the fifth Earl of Donegal] and Cunningham incurred much of the wrath of the farmers Waddell Cunningham was made a Freeman of Belfast on 21 September 1773, The next phase in Waddell Cunningham's life which is reported is the statement by R M Young that At the time of the American Revolution, he [Cunningham], sent out numerous well found vessels consigned to the British; but invariably they were captured afterwards that he had insured them well, and by a business like arrangement got not only the insurance, but the price of the hulls and cargo from the Americans, who captured them as prearranged The most celebrated reference to him is in connection with his trying to raise funds for a slave trading venture c 1786 However any documentation on it dates from a reference of 1806 to an alleged letter from Thomas McCabe to Dr William Drennan
Waddell married Lydia Louisa Turner on 13 Dec 1842 in Greeting, Suffolk, England. Lydia (daughter of Maj. Gen. Charles Turner and Harriett Ann Stevenson) was born in 1823; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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