The New York Times, Friday, January 23, 1953 “E.S. Cunningham, Ex-Consul, 84, Dies”

Veteran of 37 Years in US Foreign Service Held Post in Shanghai from 1919-’35

Edwin Sheddan Cunningham, retired member of the United States consular service, died on Tuesday in his home in Maryville, Tenn. He was 84 years old. During his thirty-seven years in the service, he represented this country in many parts of the world. Mr. Cunningham, who was born in Tennessee, was graduated from Maryville College in 1889 and received an LL.B. from the University of Michigan in 1883. He started his career as a lawyer in the latter year, but after several years' practice in Maryville received an appointment as consul at Aden. He was there when part of the victorious American fleet of Admiral George Dewey called at the port on its way home from Manila and afterward recalled the enthusiastic reception given to the American ships at the Red Sea coaling station by the British, who had feared that Germany would annex the Philippines. Transferred to Bergen, Norway in 1901, he served there for five years. Then came periods of service at Durban, South Africa (1906-1910); Bombay (1910-1912), and Singapore, where he was consul general from 1912 to 1914. Mr. Cunningham went from Singapore to Hankow, China, and spent all the remaining years of his service in the latter country. From 1919 to 1935 he was consul generalin Shanghai, the last two years as hold-over beyond the customary retirement age of 65, at the special request of Cordell Hull, then Secretary of State. The owner of an unusual library of books on China, he was well known also as a collector of art objects. In 1932 Maryville College conferred on him an honorary LL. D., and six years later the University of Michigan gave him an honorary M. A. His wife, the former Elizabeth Rhoda Israel, died in 1934.

1889