James A. Cunningham (1830-1892) of Gloucester was a Civil War general with the Army of the Potomac and a political figure in Massachusetts. The Annisquam Historical Society has his and his wife’s correspondence concerning the Old Soldier’s Home in Chelsea, which they managed during Cunningham’s retirement. Included in the collection are the papers of his grandson, James H. Cunningham (1886-1963), who served with the AEF in France in World War I and also was a general in World War II. The Cunningham papers fill one archival records storage box and include correspondence, military papers and certificates, James H. Cunningham’s wife’s guest book and diaries, photos, and ephemera. The date range of this collection is 1865 to 1945.

J. Franklin Dyer (1826-1879) was a surgeon on Civil War battlefields, later elected mayor of Gloucester. His Civil War Journal was published in 2003 by Michael B. Chesson and the University of Nebraska Press, but without the benefit of the Dyer Collection found in the Annisquam Historical Society. The collection includes Dyer’s correspondence, orders for hospital supplies, reports of battlefield casualties in Virginia, papers pertaining to his service as mayor, correspondence and documents pertaining to his widow, and 56 letters and ephemera to and from his son Edward Dyer. There are approximately 125 pieces of paper in this collection plus genealogical data and a photo album. The date range of this collection is 1860 to around 1900.