The word serendipity is taken from Sarandip, the Persian word for Sri Lanka. The characters in the fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip experience the phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought in their travels, from which emerged our modern use of serendipity.
For the past six months I've been immersed in researching the stories of fifty-eight students and alumni of the University of Washington who died during World War I as part of an exhibit I curated, Washington on the Western Front: At Home and Over There. Their stories are varied and encompass all aspects of the war, including a number who died of the devastating influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. I found something about nearly all the UW's casualties. (Except one, but he's a story for another time.) I had limited success with several of them, however, and I had a hard time putting aside their incomplete stories and moving on to the next one.
One of those whose story proved difficult was Edward C. Cunningham. I knew from the 1919 Tyee – the University of Washington's yearbook – his rank was that of Musician and he served in the 161st Infantry, within the 41st Division. The 161st was a Washington National Guard unit and because I was never able to locate a draft card for Edward I believe he may enlisted before the war began. Another detail was that his hometown was given as St. John, in Whitman County, located in the state's southwest corner.
* Barth, John. The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1991.
For the past six months I've been immersed in researching the stories of fifty-eight students and alumni of the University of Washington who died during World War I as part of an exhibit I curated, Washington on the Western Front: At Home and Over There. Their stories are varied and encompass all aspects of the war, including a number who died of the devastating influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. I found something about nearly all the UW's casualties. (Except one, but he's a story for another time.) I had limited success with several of them, however, and I had a hard time putting aside their incomplete stories and moving on to the next one.
One of those whose story proved difficult was Edward C. Cunningham. I knew from the 1919 Tyee – the University of Washington's yearbook – his rank was that of Musician and he served in the 161st Infantry, within the 41st Division. The 161st was a Washington National Guard unit and because I was never able to locate a draft card for Edward I believe he may enlisted before the war began. Another detail was that his hometown was given as St. John, in Whitman County, located in the state's southwest corner.
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| Edward Charles Cunningham 18 Mar 1899-1 Dec 1918 |
Despite my efforts, I wasn't able to definitely identify Edward's parents or locate him in the federal census and it was time to publish my findings on Facebook in a brief biographical sketch. Resigned, I moved on to the next student casualty. Then, just this week a gentleman visited Special Collections interested in learning more about... you guessed it! Edward Cunningham.
He was coming at it with the knowledge that Edward was a member of Foster High School's second graduating class in 1916. Foster is in Tukwila nowhere near St. John! No wonder my research wasn't leading to anything conclusive. I still don't know what Edward's connection to St. John was but, thanks to a wonderful instance of serendipity, I was able to identify Edward's parents, locate him in both the 1900 and 1910 census, and gain a more complete understanding of his short life. I look forward to the next happy accident and wherever it might take me in my genealogical pursuits!
He was coming at it with the knowledge that Edward was a member of Foster High School's second graduating class in 1916. Foster is in Tukwila nowhere near St. John! No wonder my research wasn't leading to anything conclusive. I still don't know what Edward's connection to St. John was but, thanks to a wonderful instance of serendipity, I was able to identify Edward's parents, locate him in both the 1900 and 1910 census, and gain a more complete understanding of his short life. I look forward to the next happy accident and wherever it might take me in my genealogical pursuits!
* Barth, John. The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1991.
