Mary Sheehan, the wife of Jeremiah Sullivan and mother of my great-grandfather, John H. Sullivan, was born in County Cork in Ireland. Her place of birth was consistently written as Ireland and her tombstone in Motley Cemetery in Todd County, Minnesota states County Cork. Like many Irish-born illiterate immigrants, the date of birth is fuzzy. Records of her birth in records recorded in the United States range from 1822 to 1832. She was 38 in 1870, living with her 40-year-old mining husband, Jeremiah, in Franklin township in Houghton County, Michigan.[ 1 ] This suggests an 1832 birth. In 1880, the family lived on a farm they homesteaded in Todd County, Minnesota and she was 53 years old.[ 2 ] This suggests an 1827 birth. Her husband was 61, causing him to age 20 years. Five years later, she was 60 years old. She now has an 1825 birth. Now “Jerry” was 70, certainly more than five years older.[ 3 ] Her tombstone's death date of 24 Feb 1892 and age of 70 years calculates to a birth
My Trails into the Past
Researching: Davey, Gleeson, Gorrell, Hork, Hutson, Johnston, Jones, Lundquist, Nilsen, Selman, Sievert, Sullivan, Tierney, & Wollenweber.