Waddell Cunningham Douglas^{[1, 2]}

1809 - 1896  (86 years)

• Name	Waddell Cunningham Douglas  [2]
  Birth	6 Oct 1809	County Down, Ireland.   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Death	2 Oct 1896	Newton Breda, Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland   [2]
  Person ID	I11086	First tree
  Last Modified	28 May 2016

  
  

  Father	James Douglas,   b. Donegal Place, Belfast, Ireland d. Yes, date unknown
  Mother	Elizabeth Pollock   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F4989	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Lydia Louisa Turner,   b. 1823   d. Yes, date unknown
  Marriage	13 Dec 1842	Greeting, Suffolk, England   [2]
  Children	1. James Cunningham Douglas,   b. 1844   d. 20 Nov 1891, Newton Breda, Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland (Age 47 years)   2. Charles Douglas,   b. 1846, County Down, Ireland d. 11 Jun 1898, Newton Breda, Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland (Age 52 years)   3. Louisa Douglas,   b. 1852   d. Yes, date unknown   4. Elizabeth Douglas,   b. 1860   d. 9 Aug 1947 (Age 87 years)
  Family ID	F5080	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	28 May 2016

  
  

• 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

  
  

• Sources

  [S3403] . [S1877] .