The first sheriff of Lawrence County, Alabama was Hance McWhorter Cunningham. He was the son of James Cunningham (1755-1808) and Jane (McWhorter) Cunningham. (1765-1829). James Cunningham was the son of Humphrey Cunningham.
His parents lived in Bedford County, Tennessee where his father died in 1808 leaving his wife Jane with several children. Hance and his mother purchased land in Bedford/ Rutherford, Tennessee in 1812.
His mother was the sister of John and Moses McWhorter a very respectable family into which Dr. Robert M. Clark married. The McWhorter’s and Cunningham’s moved into Lawrence county in 1817 and Jane and her family moved with them. Jane died there in 1829.
Hance married Mary Tiggs and they had at least one daughter Rhoda (b. Oct. 22, 1824 – d. Jan 1, 1881)
Hance was elected sheriff and Esquire Hogan was his deputy. He was listed on an 1820 jury report on a new road layout in Lawrence County, Alabama. He was appointed as a commissioner 1819 to help decide the route of Byler ‘s Old Turnpike, the first State of Alabama road.
SOURCES
Cunningham, Russell, [email protected] on Thu Mar 25 19:36:34 EST 1999
Col. James Edward Saunders, EARLY SETTLERS OF ALABAMA WITH NOTES AND GENEALOGIES
Reports of cases argued and determined in the Supreme Court of Alabama, Volume 1 By Alabama. Supreme Court, George Noble
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