Anyone researching their family history in Dedham may have an easier time of it now, thanks to a new walking-tour brochure created by Tim Cunningham Jr.
A University of Chicago freshman, Cunningham organized the effort for his Eagle Scout project as a member of Dedham’s Boy Scout Troop 1. He worked with the Dedham Historical Society to create the self-guided tour of veterans monuments and memorials. The 16-page brochure is divided into three neighborhood walks totaling 5½ miles. It was funded by a grant from the Dedham Institution for Savings.
“One really interesting thing I researched was the stone marker across from St. Paul’s Church, where French soldiers camped on their way back from the Battle of Yorktown during the Revolutionary War,” Cunningham said.
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Containing information on 16 locations, the walking guide “is mostly focused on Dedham Square, but there were some farther away, so I split it into three tours that can be connected,” he said.
His work earned him not only his Eagle Scout badge but also the historical society’s first Joseph F. Pagliuca Scholarship, named after a longtime society volunteer and World War II veteran who died in 2012.
“The walking tour is a wonderful piece for us to have,” said Vicky L. Kruckeberg, the society’s executive director. “Many people come by to do genealogical research, and to give them a map where the monuments are [honoring] the people who have served our country is a great help.”
After finishing the brochure, Cunningham volunteered to help the society upgrade archival information on veterans buried in Old Village Cemetery.
He said his parents, Tim and Cathy Cunningham, “always encouraged me to read as a child, and I read a lot of historical fiction.” Another factor, he said, “was having great history teachers in school.”
Cunningham attended Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmouth, R.I. He has not declared his college major, he said, but he expects continue to study history, and down the road may pursue law, or go on to academia, getting his doctorate in history.
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The brochure is available for free at the Dedham Historical Society, 612 High St.
Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at pkandarian@aol.com.