Buck Creek-Nov. 9, 1939.--One-half mile east of Americus on a little knoll on the south bank of the Wabash and Erie canal, is a little family burial plot 20 by 30 feet, enclosed by a strong iron fence.  It is the only cemetery or burial plot in Washington township which is not on record.  John Cunningham located on this land in 1831, one year before the town of Americus was platted by William Digby, and lived there until he died, in 1859.  Within the little enclosure are seven monuments and eight graves, those of himself, his wife Sarah, and four children, and the graves of two near relatives, James Gates and Mrs. Lucinda Goldsberry.  A daughter, Margaret, died in 1833; Gates died in 1835, and Mrs. Goldsberry in 1837.

Mr. Cunningham enlisted in the war of 1812 under the command of Gen. Hull, who surrendered his army to the British at Detroit.  He and six companions narrowly escaped with their lives and reached Chillicothe, O., in a starving condition.  In 1832 he was elected justice of the peace in Washington township and served in that capacity several years; until his death, he was one of the leading citizens of Washington township.
Source: Lafayette Journal and Courier, November 9, 1939

Read and Submitted by:  Mike & Mary Ann McCarty, Lafayette, Indiana
Last visited:  April 27, 2002
Notes: John Jr. & Salome are buried in the Battle Ground Cemetery - [Bio]
Andrew Gates is buried in the Fink Cemetery, Lafayette, IN - [Bio]
It is unknown where Eliza Gates is buried

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