William J. & Elise Cunningham - Locomotive Engineer/Grand Trunk Railway
308 Cobourg Street
Stratford, ON
1924

William James Cunningham was born on May 29, 1888, in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario.

His father, Thomas Cunningham (1858 - 1934) was born in Scotland and his mother, Sarah Jane Woods (1868 - 1930) was born in Nova Scotia.  Thomas owned a farm near the village of Innerkip.  He and Sarah raised 6 children.  William was the second oldest.

 William was first married on November 16, 1912 to Elvira Adeline Dorothy Thurston. Elvira was born in England and grew up in the Woodstock, Ontario area.  The newly married couple lived in the Woodstock area and William worked as a miller.  Sadly, in February of 1913, Elvira passed away from double pneumonia.

 William married his second wife, Elsie Wraith on September 9, 1914.  Elise was born in England in 1895.  She was one of 6 children born to Edward and Kate Wraith.  The Wraith family immigrated to Canada in 1912 and by 1914 lived in Stratford.

In 1916, William and Elise had their first child, Audrey Marguerite Cunningham, followed on July 23, 1917 with the birth of their son, Raymond Victor Cunningham, and on September 2, 1920 their third child, Kenneth Basil Cunningham.

 By 1921 William and Elsie were living in a home they owned at 27 Milton St. Stratford.  William was a Locomotive Engineer for the Grand Trunk Railway. A locomotive engineer worked closely with the engineer to decrease fuel consumption, to keep the temperature of the furnace at a level to effectively produce steam and at the same time was prepared to turn off the furnace quickly if there were any safety issues.  For this work, William’s annual income was $2400.  In 2021, that translates to approximately $61 000 (US). 

 1924 was an important year for William and Elise Cunningham.  They built and moved into their new house at 308 Cobourg Street.  Elise’s name was on the tax assessment which means she was legally recognized as an owner of the house which was unique for those times.  1924 also was the year that unions were started to protect railway workers. 

 While living on Cobourg St., William and Elsie saw many changes to their family of 3.  Sadly, Raymond passed away on February 27, 1931, from Tubercular Meningitis.  Audrey married Harry Carse (1911 – 1982).  Harry worked for CNR.  Audrey and Harry did not appear to have had any children and spent most of their married life in the Waterloo area. There is no evidence that Kenneth Cunningham married.

 William and Elsie Cunningham remained living at 308 Cobourg St. until William retired from the railway in 1942.  It appears that, with Kenneth, they moved to the West Vancouver, British Columbia area for their retirement years. 

 William Cunningham passed away on March 4, 1961. His remains were returned to Stratford where he was buried in Avondale Cemetery in the same area as his son Raymond.

Audrey passed away before her mother and is buried in the Waterloo area.

Elise Cunningham passed away in 1984.  Kenneth Cunningham passed away on April 21, 1989, while living in Vancouver B.C.