Last Updated : 5 May 2016

The Sailor's Home that was in Canning Place was designed by John Cunningham who spent most of his working life in Liverpool. The foundation stone of this palatial lodging house for Liverpool seamen had been laid by Prince Albert in July 1846. Sadly, like so many fine Liverpool buildings it was demolished, this one going in the 1970s. Other examples of his architecture include:- Crown Street Station (1836), Saint Annes Church (1846), The Philharmonic Hall (1849) and Mason's Bulding (1868). The Philharmonic Hall was destroyed by fire in 1933 and later replaced with a different design.

Joseph Cunningham, the Liverpool born flour dealer and baker founded Cunningham's Camp on the Isle of Man, together with his wife Elizabeth. He was a staunch Presbyterian and keenly interested in youth work and moved to the Island in mid 1890's, after encountering difficulties with his employers over organising (or rather subsidizing) a summer camp whilst superintendent of the Florence Institute in Toxteth.

From the Ellis Island records of arrivals, we can see that between 1892 and 1901, 12 Cunninghams, who were resident in Liverpool, made the journey from Liverpool to New York.