Person:John Sullivan (52)

When our great grandfather John Sullivan decided to come to America he sold his farm and set sail with three sons and two daughters, leaving his wife, Bridget, Daniel and Thomas at home to finish the harvest and sell the produce and livestock. They then would set sail for America. John Sullivan's brother Jeremiah had gone to the land across the sea several years earlier and had bought a farm near New Mount Millerary, a Trappist monastery which was not far from Garryowen, Iowa.

It was in the summer of 1849 that John and his five children arrived at the port in New Orleans, after four weeks in a sailing vessel. From there they took a crude boat for the trip up the Mississippi to Galena, Illinois, where Jeremiah was to meet them. However, he was not at the dock when they arrived. They were alone in a strange land and with no idea as to where to go to wait for Jeremiah. The cholera was raging in Galena, and not even the innkeepers wanted to be hospitable. They decided to stay at the dock and used their wooden boxes containing their clothing as couches and took turns getting a few hours of sleep. When Jeremiah finally arrived, he took them to his home.

In the next few months a cabin was built on a farm of 160 acres near Washington Mills, close to Garryowen. The land had been purchased from the government. In the fall of 1849 John sent word to his wife that their new home was ready. She started for America with the three children, landing in New York. From there she went by boat to St. Louis, planning to get the Mississippi boat there for Galena. By the time she reached St. Louis, the river was frozen over and she had to wait there until the river was opened to navigation again.

The farm that John Sullivan purchased for his family in 1849 is still in the family. His son Michael continued to live there after his parents' death. His son Michael came to St. Paul as a young man and joined the police force. When we moved here in 1909 he was on the mounted police patrol and was a well known figure along Summit Ave., which was part of his "beat." He had three children, and his daughter Ethel married Frank Dion. Their sons are Dr. Richard Dion and Jerry Dion.

The other children of Michael Sullivan in addition to his son Michael are, in so far as we - know, Margaret who married a Mr. Cole from Los Angeles. She inherited a fortune from him, and at the time of her death in 1957 she was well over ninety years old. Her estate was valued at over a million dollars. She was always interested in the old homestead and finally purchased it. She deeded it to her single sister Bridget with the understanding that it always be kept in the name of Sullivan. Her sister Bridget and a brother, whose name we do not know, are living in the Home for the Aged in Dubuque.

The history of the Sullivan family was given to me by Michael's daughter Bridget. She stated in her letter "one thing my father stressed was that he was related to Lord Fitzgerald from his mother's side..." he also mentioned the book of Samplers that she had worked. She had written her name and the date it was finished... it was perfect handwriting. Bridget also mentioned the sampler that her aunt Bridget had made when she was a child. Her father liked his brother-in-law, Dennis Courtney. He said he "was a bright, good looking man and much respected." This then is the story of the Courtneys and the Sullivans.