Person:Albert Sullivan (1)

!Baker County Historical Society, HISTORY OF BAKER COUNTY, OREGON; 1986, pages 304 and 305. [NOTE: Sidnie Merrill Wilson Stone (SMS) believes this article was written by A.P.'s daughter, Mabel Sullivan Erickson.]

                                                        "THE A. P. SULLIVAN FAMILY
   In mid-October of 1864 John and Barbra Stewart arrived in Powder Valley after a long and arduous travel in an ox drawn covered wagon. They decided to settle there. Nine children were born to them. The seventh was Lulu who was to become the mother of the Sullivans.
   By the early 1890's the Sullivan brothers, John, Morris, Timothy, Edward, William, Mike and young Albert Patrick, who was known as Ab, had been induced by their uncle, Dan Kane of Auburn, to come west.
   Ab Sullivan and Lulu Stewart were married on New Year's Eve of 1895. A short time later, the young couple acquired land near Bridgeport on Burnt River and began a life of farming and cattle raising.
   Times were very hard but by thrift, hard work, and good management they gradually began to prosper and acquired more land and cattle.  Ab worked at whatever employment presented itself. He and a partner, Milton Eddy, built the first country road down Mill Gulch on the Burnt River side of Dooley Mountain.
   By 1905, three children had been born and Lulu and Ab were faced with the problem of educating them. Having been deprived of all but the most elementary education themselves, it was the ambition of their lives that all of their children should become high school graduates. They decided that Lulu and the children should spend the school term in a rented house in Baker each year and return to the ranch for the summers. The family increased and they bought a small place on G Street. After that Lulu and the smaller of the children stayed in Baker the year around. Later they purchased a fine granite house. It was the pride of Lulu's heart and remained her home until her death in 1965.

!"Ancestors," (Barbara) Mabel Sullivan Erickson; Dec 1972; copy in possession of Sidnie Merrill Stone.

  "A. P. Sullivan's parents came from Ireland. His mother was Honora Kane, a tall beautiful woman--married young. She had 9 children and died at age 38. She had all boys except her last girl, Mary Ellen--but lived only 18 months to enjoy her longed-for daughter. She was a devout Catholic.
  I am not sure I can name all of her children--Dan, John, Morris, Timothy (Tade), Edward, Albert P., and William Mike--Mary. Some of them did not come west. Uncle Dan farmed in Wyoming near Green River. The brothers brought their sister to Baker and boarded her in St. Francis Academy. At age 18 she married James Chord. Marie Haycox was her child.
  A. P.'s father was Timothy from County Cork--near Dublin. His brother Pat was already in America. A polite man in New York asked the newly-arrived Timothy, "Where are you going?" "Faith and I'm going to Americky where Pat is." This has been a family saying ever since. He went to an Irish settlement who were farming in Nebraska.   They came to America in the 1840's during the potato famine in Ireland. They remained faithfully Irish and English-hating. Even until now we find it hard to forgive England for her harsh treatment of the Irish. After A. P.'s mother died--when he was only 5--his father remarried a Swedish woman. There were several half-brothers--but the original family looked down on them as lesser beings. A. P. later told me that an angel from heaven could not have pleased those boys who resented her. She was not a Catholic and the religious training was neglected--but the tenderness for the church lingered on in each son.
  The family was poor, but no more than their neighbors and much better than in Ireland.  A.P. went to school up through the fourth grade. He love Arithmetic and liked to spend time doing far more than was required--on a slate of course. He never had socks but got a new pair of shoes each fall. He went barefooted from spring til fall. All of his peers fared the same so he did no feel deprived. He learned to read and write--he was very left-handed and always critical of his hand writing.   When he was about 15 a neighbor's horse got what appeared to be lock-jaw. They called A. P. because he was supposed to be a "doctor by nature." [He was the seventh boy in a row in his family.] He was bewildered--not having an idea of what to do. The trusting, superstitious Irish stood around and A. P. had to act. He spat on his hands and began to massage her jaws--after a while she began to eat. What ever held her jaw was evidently relieved. A. P. himself knew he had no power and was amazed at his good luck. The neighbors and family began to call him Doc.
  He always was to my knowledge very resourceful. He could measure hay for his neighbors--he was the man to call to castrate bull calves and he was a pioneer at "dehorning" cattle. He was often called upon to help in these cases. Neighbors respected him.

! A. P. Sullivan--Albert Patrick

   He was born June 19, 1873 in Kearney, Nebraska [sic]. He was the 7th son of Honora and Timothy Sullivan. By Irish tradition the 7th son (no girls between) was destined to be a doctor by nature. When he was a boy his family called him Doc and later when the other brothers came West they called him Doc at first. He was generally always called Ab. He came West in 1893 or 1894 and worked at whatever presented itself, usually "teaming."
  He met and married Lulu Stewart on New Year's Eve of 1895. They began a life of farming and cattle raising. Times were very hard and by our standards life seemed incredibly hard.  Gradually A. P. acquired property--the Henry Albert place, the Mill ranch, and the Alex McPherson place (now owned by Shumway). These were near Bridgeport. Much later he acquired the Elliot ranch near Hereford and that became the home ranch (still occupied by Ed's sons, 1972).
  Since the family had begun to grow and schools were so far away, A. P. rented small houses in Baker for Lulu and the children during the school year. Ed and Mabel were started in the first grade in the Old Central School in October 1905. It must have been unsatisfactory, but he made Baker headquarters, coming in about once a week to spend a night and transact business.
  Ed was with his father on the ranch during all vacations. Mabel often helped with the cooking during the summer vacations--later Mayme then Ethyl spent summers on the ranch. All of them loved it and felt privileged to be allowed to go.
  In 1914, A. P. bought his first car, a Buick. He did not learn to drive. Mabel and Ed were taught and became the official drivers. No serious accidents ever occurred. Much later A. P. learned to drive. He was nervous and so used to horses that he would shout "Whoa" instead of pressing the brake. Only a few minor accidents are remembered.
  As Mabel remembers her father was the brightest individual she ever met. This includes teachers and college professors. He had a natural gift for figures, and could keep track of large addition sums in his head.   When they were selling cattle someone would call off the weight of each steer as he went down the chute and A. P. sitting on his horse kept the totals added mentally. After work, when Myrtle added them on the adding machine, all were surprised to find that A. P. was NEVER off more than a few pounds. He never had much formal school and he always spoke with a brogue but he was a reader. Usually only newspapers but his grasp of affairs was wonderful. He had a natural grasp of philosophy which must have been a gift. He had a charming personality and wit.   He was generally very well liked and respected by everyone. (Still as I remember there was a sadness about him in his quiet moments). All of his children loved him VERY much. During his last days, the Depression was most oppressive and he stood to lose all that he had worked a lifetime to accumulate. He had borrowed heavily and debtors were pressing hard.   His heart was weakened by worry. He died at age 64.
  After his death on August 17, 1938--Ed was by a miracle and lots of grit and hard work to save the Ranch and make it pay. Times improved and the prosperity brought on by W. W. II created markets for cattle. By the end of W. W. II (1946) Ed had the ranch on a firm foundation and was able to pay off the heirs.  Now he became sole owner of the ranch at Hereford. Ed was a worker and a business man--well respected by all. He died in December 1958."

!"Historic Homes of Baker City Vol. 1" The Baker's Dozen. It is written by Pearl Jones and illustrated by Laura Hayse and second and revised printing in in 1988 by Baker Printing & Lithography, Baker, Oregon.

                                                                 Burr Home, 2604 Eleventh Street
    The granite building stone and the ancient construction methods of this home make it unique in the field of Baker City architecture.  Built in 1904 by George Burr (1874-1964).  It was seven years in construction.  Mr. Burr, a master stone mason, was assisted by Robert Neuhaus, a local carpenter and  brick mason.  Build on the lines of a Scottish castle, but with Queen Anne overtones, the construction is so designed that if the interior were ever destroyed by fire, it could easily be rebuilt.  The granite is notched for floor support beams and strips for nailing trim.  Interiors of original castles were probably replaced many times in the life of the stone exterior.  The house is supported on granite slabs, wider than the walls, laid flat on the hardpan, leaving small chance for any settling.  This type of stone construction is a lost art.
    Mr. Burr built his home on Eleventh Street thinking the highway would pass that way and his home would be a grand advertisement for his workmanship, but Tenth Street won the highway bid and this home was seldom seen.  The house was sold in 1918 to A.B. [sic] Sullivan, pioneer rancher, for his family home."
    Several attempts have been made in recent years at restoration, and now the Tom Bootsma family hope to complete the work and have it placed on the Historic Register.  It is one of the few granite homes in the Northwest.

1. ↑ World War I Draft Registration.

   Albert Patrick Sullivan; born: 19 Jun 1873; White; , Baker, OR.

2. ↑ Newspaper.

   THE BAKER DEMOCRAT-HERALD, Baker, Oregon,Saturday, August 20, 1938.
   "Here from Portland--Mrs. Etta Clements and Mr. and Mrs. Al Combs of Portland are here in Baker having been called here because of the death of A. P. Sullivan, prominent Baker county and Burnt river cattleman. Mrs. Clement and Mrs. Combs are sisters of Mrs. A. P. Sullivan. While here, Mrs. Clements is visiting her brother Lee Stewart and Mr. and Mrs. Combs are visiting Miss Gladys Hardesty, principal of the Churchill school. They will return to Portland Monday."

3. ↑ Cemetery.

   Headstone Inscription; Mt. Hope Cemetery, Baker, Baker, Oregon; picture in posession of Sidnie Merrill Wilson Stone.
   "A. P. Sullivan; 1873; 1938"

4. ↑ Funeral Home Records.

   1938_DEATH-BIRTH: Baker Co. Mortician's Record (FHL #020,308)
   Albert Patrick Sullivan; 65 years, born 19 June 1873 at Watsaki, Ill.
   Died ? Aug 1938 at Baker, Oregon; Catholic; Wests Obit
   Survived by Lulu Sullivan, Mabel Erickson, Mrs. Reves Lonzway, Mrs. Ethyl Hill, Mrs. Allen Braswell all of Baker. Edward, James, Stewart and William Sullivan of Hereford, Oregon, and Pat Sullivan of Baker.
   Three Brothers: John and Edward Sullivan of Unity; and M. M. Sullivan of Baker.