Jerry & Mary Sullivan’s Family – 12 for ‘26

The last post discussed Jerry and Mary’s life in the United States, living in Michigan and Minnesota. I do not yet know when they arrived. None of their records point to the place where they came from. But the records of their children do point to both questions, though there is conflict.

His children were all named in the probate file:

• Mary Sullivan, age 47, resided at O’Neal City [O’Neill], Holt County, Nebraska  
• Julia Murphy, aged 44, resided Atlantic Mine, Michigan 
• Eugene Sullivan, aged 40, resided at Motley, Todd County, Minn  
• John Sullivan, aged 38, of Anaconda, Montana  
• Johanna Sullivan, age 35, Motley, Minn
• Jerry Sullivan, age 32, Detroit, Minnesota 
• Dan Sullivan, age 30, Minn  
• Peter Sullivan, aged 28, residence unknown  
• Mike Sullivan, aged 26, Montana.[1]

Below are vignettes about each child of Jerry and Mary. I will start with the youngest children first, as they appeared in censuses with their parents.

Michael J. Sullivan
Michael J. Sullivan, Jerry and Mary’s youngest child, was born in Houghton County, Michigan, on 11 August 1869.[2] The family was living in Franklin Township, where his father worked in the mines. He lived with his parents at least through 1885 in Villard Township in Todd County, Minnesota.[3]

The trail picks up for Michael when he married Sarah Ryan on 30 April 1900 in Anaconda, Deer Lodge County, Montana, where she lived. He lived in Butte and he named his parents Jerry Sullivan and Mary Sheehan. Sarah named only her father, Daniel Ryan.[4]

A newspaper item described the wedding:

“A pretty wedding was solemnized at St. Paul's Catholic church this morning at 7:30 o'clock when Mr. Mike Sullivan and Miss Sarah Ryan were united in wedlock Father Follet officiating. A large number of their relatives and friends were present. Mr. Sullivan who was formerly one of Anaconda's electricians, but now resides at Butte, was attended by Mr. John Sullivan as groomsman. The bride has resided in Anaconda some time and is a lady of many charms. She was attended by Miss Agnes O'Boyle as bridesmaid. After the ceremony a wedding breakfast was served at the home of Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien at 311 East Park Avenue. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan left for Butte on the morning train where they will reside.”[5]

It appears that Michael may have met Sarah when he worked in Anaconda as an electrician. The groomsman could be his brother, John.

He lived in Butte the rest of his life and operated the Sullivan Electrical Company. He and Sarah had three children:

• Margaret M. Sullivan, born 24 May 1901[6] and died 21 January 1983.[7] She worked at Continental Oil Company for many years as a bookkeeper, and never married.[8]
• Daniel J. Sullivan, born 7 January 1903.[9] He died 1 March 1971.[10] He was a Catholic priest.[11]
• John M. “Jack” Sullivan, born 3 July 1909.[12] He died 11 April 1975.[13] He operated an electrical contracting business.[14]

Michael died 31 October 1931 at home.[15] The obituary names his surviving siblings: Dan Sullivan of Minnesota, and John Sullivan of California.[16]

COMMENT: From Michael’s records, we learn his mother’s name was Mary Sheehan. Only two siblings were living at the time of his death: Dan in Minnesota and John in California.

Peter Sullivan
Peter Sullivan was born in Ireland, sometime in July 1860. He was baptized on 22 July 1860 at the Eyeries Village Church.[17] He appeared in Jerry and Mary’s household in 1870, 1880, and 1885.[18] In the 1888 probate record of his father, he was reported 28 years old but his location unknown.[19]

COMMENT: He has been searched in census records in the localities of his siblings but has not been found.

Daniel Sullivan
Daniel Sullivan was born in Ireland about November 1859/1860 depending on the source.[20] He moved with his parents from Houghton County, Michigan, to the homestead farm in Villard Township, Todd County, Minnesota, in 1873.

He received the homestead farm from his mother’s will.[21] In 1930, he was living at the Fergus Falls State Hospital in Otter Tail County.[22] He died 5 April 1932. His parents were named Jerry Sullivan of Ireland and Mary ?? also of Ireland.[23]

He never married. No obituary was found, probably due to being in the state hospital and the last surviving child of Jerry and Mary living in Todd County.

Jeremiah “Jerry” Sullivan
Jerry was baptized on 20 November 1858 at the Eyeries Village Church.[24] Stated birth dates in records created in the United States differ on his birth. In 1870, Jerry was 12.[25] In 1900, he said he was born November 1861.[26]

He married Eunice Belle Sabin on 1 September 1889 in Wadena, Wadena County, Minnesota.[27] At the time of his marriage, he worked as a line repairer on the Northern Pacific Railroad.[28] He worked as a lineman for the Western Union Telegraph Company.[29] They had six children” Mary Louise, Fannora, Minerva, Evelyn May, Gene P, and Helen Elizabeth.

He died 24 April 1926 in Tacoma.[30] His death certificate named his parents Jerry Sullivan and Mary Sheehan.

A cousin collected two obituaries but neither of them is in the same-named paper on found on Newspapers.com. My guess, they were printed in a different edition that wasn’t microfilmed. In one obituary, his siblings were not named, only said that a sister lived in Seattle and three brothers lived in California, Minnesota, and Montana.[31] In the other, his siblings were named: sister, Miss Johanna Sullivan in Seattle; Michael in Butte; Daniel in Minnesota; and John in California.[32]

Johanna Sullivan
Johanna never appeared with her parents. However, her death certificate names her parents Jerry Sullivan and Mary Sheehan. She died 7 November 1926 in Seattle, in the same year as her brother, Jerry. She was listed as 70 years old and born in December 1855.[33] If that date is correct, she would have been 15 in 1870 and could possibly have left the family to work with another family.

She was widowed when she died and her husband was John Sullivan. It is unclear at this time, when they married, who John Sullivan was, and when John Sullivan died. Her obituary does not answer these questions, nor does the death certificate. More research is needed.

“Sullivan---At the family residence, 1110 Fourth Ave. N, November 8, 1926, Johanna Sullivan, aged 70 years, beloved daughter [sic should be mother] of Mrs. J. M. Schmelz and sister of Michael Sullivan of Butte, Mont; Daniel Sullivan of Motley, Minn; and John Sullivan of Los Angeles, Cal.  Remains at the parlors of Bonney Watson Co.  Funeral Services at St. Anne's church this Tuesday morning at 9 a.m.  Friends invited. Interment Calvary Cemetery. Kindly omit flowers."[34]

“Mrs. Sullivan, 70, Is Dead”
Funeral services for Johanna Sullivan, 70 years old, a resident of Seattle for thirteen years, who died yesterday at her home, 1110 Fourth Ave. N, will be held tomorrow morning from St. Anne’s Church, with burial in Calvary Cemetery. Surviving her are a daughter, Mrs. J. M. Schmelz, Seattle, and three brothers, Michael Sullivan, Butte, Mont.; Daniel Sullivan, Motley, Minn.; and John Sullivan, Los Angeles. Funeral arrangements are in charge of the Bonney-Watson Undertaking Company.[35]

Since she lived in a city, and possibly lived there 13 years as stated in the obituary, we can hope to find her from 1913 to 1926 in a city directory. She does appear in the Seattle City Directory in 1917 living at 1315 1st Avenue West, the widow of John.[36]

• In 1920, she lived with her daughter, Mary and her husband, John S. Schmelz.[37]  Going back in time, I found her in several documents:
• In 1910, she lived her son-in-law and daughter, Mary, in Staples, Todd County, Minnesota as a widow.[38]
• In 1900, Johanna did not live with Mary and John Schmelz.[39]

Following hints on Ancestry pertaining to Mary, she is enumerated in the 1880 census in Hampden, Kittson Co, Minnesota, with farmer, John Sullivan and mother Johann.[40] This leads me to the 1905 Minnesota state census, where John and Mary Sullivan were enumerated next door to John and Mary Schmelz.[41] They were also enumerated in the 1875 state census. John was 32, Johanna 21, and Mary Ann, 3.[42] If this is Johanna, daughter of Jerry and Mary Sullivan, then she was in Minnesota about the same time as Jerry and his son, Eugene.

John and Mary Sullivan must have married between 1870-1872. Was she already in John’s household in 1870?

COMMENT: This is all I know about Johanna. Their names are common without enough other detail. Luckily, I found them near her daughter and son-in-law.

John H. Sullivan
I have already written about him. See Timeline Reveals a Conflict: Which Daughter Did John H Sullivan Live With? His death certificate names his father as John Sullivan, which is a conflict, and his mother as Mary. No siblings were mentioned.

Eugene Sullivan
Eugene was born on 9 October 1851 in Ireland.[43] He was not enumerated with his parents, but did have homestead land adjacent to Jerry in Todd County, suggesting a relationship,[44] and was the administrator of his father’s estate.[45]

He was enumerated next door to Jerry and Mary in 1880. Eugene already had four children, the oldest 5 years old.[46] This suggests he married his wife, Catharine before 1875. All the children were born in Minnesota. He filed for the land on 26 March 1873.[47]

He lived in Todd County the rest of his life. He died 27 October 1922, at age 71 and the full birthdate was listed on the death certificate. The informant was Mary Sullivan, his eldest daughter. She named his parents as Jerry Sullivan and Mary Shehan.[48]

His obituary did not name his siblings, only his living children. He came to America when 12 years old, making that year about 1863, settling first in Providence, Rhode Island.[49] He married his wife, Catharine Shea in Providence on 27 November 1873. His parents’ first names were listed as Jeremiah and Mary.[50]

COMMENT: This gives us a clue that the family may have settled first in Providence before Jerry and Mary headed off to the mines in Michigan. Providence was a large city and a listing of militia in Providence has multiple Eugene Sullivans. It may be impossible to sort them out.[51]

If he arrived in 1863, settling in Providence, and didn’t marry until 1873, he should be enumerated in the 1870 census, however, I have not found any candidates born between 1849 and 1851 in Ireland living in Providence. There are multiple Eugene Sullivan’s in city directories during this time but they have occupations typical of a city: bootmaker, bartender, carriagemaker. As a young man, he would likely be a laborer, an occupation that would eventually lead him to move to Minnesota and take up homestead land.

Catharine died on 17 February 1911.[52]

Julia Sullivan
Julia was born in 1846. She was baptized on 17 Aug 1846 in the Eyeries Parish in County Cork.[53] Not much is known about her. After her parents’ death, she and her husband Patrick Murphy, quit claim their share of the inherited land to her brother, Daniel Sullivan.[54] She and her husband signed before a Notary Public in Houghton County, Michigan on 9 January 1905.

Full-text search in Houghton County, brought up some records. Jermimah R. Murphy died by accidental drowning on 17 July 1904. He was 17 years old and his occupation was coachman. Patrick J Murphy and Julia Sullivan were named as parents.[55] If he was 17 years old, then Jermimah was born about 1887.

I also found an 1880 census in Portage Township, Houghton County, Michigan. If Patrick was 33, that makes his birth about 1847. Julia’s birth would be about 1853, which doesn’t match her baptism date of 1846.

Murphy, Patrick, 33, husband, miner, Ireland
            Julia, 27, wife, keeping house, Ireland
            Mary, 55, mother, widow, Ireland
            Patrick, 6/12 (Jan), son, Michigan[56]

I also found some births of children born to Patrick & Julia Murphy. No way to tell, as these records do not name the maiden name of the mother:

• John Murphy, born 9 April 1882 in Houghton.[57]  
• Agnes Murphy, 19 Nov 1883 in Portage with parents Patrick and Julia Murphy.[58]
• Mary Murphy, born 10 February 1884 in Smithville.[59]

This family had not been found in 1900 in Houghton County, even though the son died in 1904 and they signed a deed in 1905.

There is a cemetery memorial for a Julia Elizabeth Sullivan Murphy on Find a Grave. Her birth is listed as 1 May 1855 and the death as 15 November 1909. This burial is listed as in Forest Hill Cemetery in Houghton, Michigan. A note was added “daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (Sheehan) Sullivan.[60] However, there is no photo of the stone. The memorial was created by Anonymous and is currently maintained by Genebug, who manages over 14 thousand memorials.

None of the above records confirm any relationship to the Julia Sullivan Murphy, daughter of Jeremiah (Jerry) Sullivan and Mary Sheehan. Julia was not in Jeremiah’s household in 1870. She would have been 24 and possibly already married.

Patrick was living in Portage in 1910 with daughters Agnes and Mary. He was 63, married first 31 years.[61] That would make his marriage date 1879, which would be about right for the births of Agnes and Mary.

I found a marriage between Timothy Donovan and Kate Murphy, who was from Hurontown, married in 1887 and Patrick and Julia Murphy were the witnesses.[62]

COMMENT: There are too many Murphy and Sullivan people in the mining communities in Houghton County. At this point, all I know about Julia is she was married to a Patrick J. Murphy and they lived in Houghton County in 1905.

Mary Sullivan
She is the oldest child of Jeremiah and Mary Sullivan. She was born 1 November 1843 and was baptized at Eyeries, County Cork on 5 November of the same year.[63] However, her death certificate claimed she was born 1 December 1844. Her parents were named Jeremiah Sullivan and Mary Sheehan.[64]

She married James Sullivan on 8 May 1870 in Houghton County. Cornelius and Johanna Sullivan were witnesses.[65] Her obituary stated she married James in 1869 in Calumet, Michigan.[66]

They moved to Holt County, Nebraska sometime in the 1870s. They appeared in the 1880 census in Center Precinct, and from the births of the children, they may have moved to Nebraska between 1877 and 1879.

Sullivan, James, w, m, 36, father, mar, Co Commissioner, IR
Mary, w, f, 33, wife, mar, keeping house, IR
James, w, m, 9, son, school, Michigan
Philip, w, m, 7, son, school, Michigan
Kate, w, f, 6, dau, school, Michigan
Mary, w, f, 5, dau, school, Michigan
Julia, w, f, 4, dau, school, Michigan
John, w, m, 3, son, Michigan
Jeremiah, w, m, 4/12, Jan, son, Nebraska[67]

Two more children were born between 1880 and 1900.

Sullivan, James, head, May 1844, 56, mar 30 yr, Ireland, 1863, 37 yr, na, Farmer
Mary, wife, Dec 1849, 52, 10/8 living, Ireland
James H., son, Jan 1871, 29, Michigan, farm laborer
Mary, daughter, Dec 1874, 25,  Michigan
Julie E, daughter, Apr 1876, 24,  Michigan
Daniel A, son, Oct 1881, 18, Nebraska, farm laborer,
Eugene, son, May 1884, 16,  Nebraska, farm laborer, 4 mo. school[68]

James died 24 March 1908. He had worked as an accountant.[69] The obituary described his life:

Old Settler Passes Away.  
Another old settler has passed to the great beyond.  James Sullivan, one of the pioneers of Holt county passed away at his home one mile north of O'Neill last Tuesday morning.  The cause of death was heart failure.  

"Uncle Jim" as he was familiarly called by both old and young around the court house where he worked for many years in the recorder’s office, was born at Castletown, Berehaven, County Cork, Ireland, May 1, 1842.  In 1863, he came to America and in February, 1877, he came to O'Neill from Calumet, Michigan and settled upon a farm a mile north of this city where he resided up to the time of his death.  In the early days he was a prominent political factor in the county's history and in the early eighties he served three years as county commissioner, during two of which he was chairman of the board.  After retiring from the commissionership he was for several years one of the most efficient recorders in the county recorder’s office where he served until about six years ago.  Never a robust man, his health has been poor the past five years and he retired from active labor.  

He leaves a widow and six children, five boys, Philip, Jack, Jerry, Daniel, and Eugene, and one daughter, Miss Mary , to mourn his demise.  The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock as Philip is expected to arrive from Anaconda, Mont at 10:30 tomorrow morning.[70]

This is the first clue of the location in Ireland for the family: Berehaven in County Cork. The parish Eyeries is in the vicinity.

Mary died on 20 September 1910.[71] Her obituary also described her life:

Death of Mrs. Sullivan.  
Mrs. Mary Sullivan, one of the pioneer residents of this vicinity and county, died at her home in this city last Tuesday morning after an illness of three weeks of creeping paralysis.  

Mary Sullivan was born at Castletown, Barehaven, County Cork, Ireland, in 1844, and was 66 years of age at the time of her death.  At the age of 12 years she came to America with her parents and located in Providence, R.I., the family moving from there to Calumet, Michigan, where she was married to James Sullivan in 1869.  They lived in Calumet until the spring of 1877 when the family moved to this county and took a farm one mile north of this city where they resided until the death of Mr. Sullivan three years ago when they moved to this city.  

Deceased was the mother of ten children, six of whom are living to mourn the death of a kind and loving mother.  The children are:  Phillip of Diamondville, Wyo; John, Jerry and Eugene of Butte, Mont; and Daniel of San Francisco, Cal; and Miss Mary of this city.  All of the children were present at her bedside when she passed away, except Daniel who did not arrive until the evening of her death.  

The funeral will be held from the Catholic Church tomorrow morning upon the arrival of two brothers of Mrs. Sullivan from Butte, Mont.[72]

Her obituary mentions only two brothers who came from Butte, Montana. One was certainly Michael Sullivan, who had the electrical business there. The other was likely John H Sullivan, who lived in Anaconda, but if traveling by train, would have had to start from Butte.

Another obituary, gave the names of some out of town visitors.

"Mrs. James Sullivan.  
Mrs. James Sullivan died at her home in this city, Tuesday morning at 3:30 o'clock of paralysis, aged 65 years, 9 months and 19 days.  The deceased had been ailing for some time having suffered with a partial stroke of paralysis about two months ago and from which she did not rally.  

She was born in Castletown, Ireland, December 1, 1844.  She was married to James Sullivan at Calumet, Michigan, in 1869, and moved to this county in 1877, where she has lived and reared her family of five sons and one daughter.  Her husband, James Sullivan, died in this city on April 24, 1908.  

Her remains were laid to rest from the Catholic church here this morning.  The five sons, Philip, Jerry and Eugene from Montana;  Daniel from San Francisco, and Jack of this city, and her daughter Mary who lived with and took care of her.  They were all present at the funeral together with a brother, J. H. Sullivan of Anaconda, Montana, and a sister, Mrs. John Sullivan and daughter, Mrs. John Smeltz of Staples, Minnesota."[73]

 The date of birth are consistent between the two obituaries and the death certificate, likely all from the same informant, Mary Sullivan, the daughter. It is interesting that only one brother was named from Montana and this time the sister, Mrs. John Sullivan and daughter Mrs. John Smeltz were mentioned. This was her sister, Johanna. She is one of the least documented child of Jerry and Mary Sullivan. This gives a clue that they were still in Minnesota in 1910.

Correlation
Below is a table correlating the information from obituaries and death certificates that name parents and siblings.

Correlation of Information Found in Records of the Children of Jerry & Mary Sullivan
	Parents in Death Cert	Parents in Baptism	Siblings named in Obituaries	Found with parents in Census	Found near neighboring parents
Mary	Jeremiah Sullivan Mary Sheehan	Yes	2 bros in Mt; J.H. Sullivan, Johanna Sullivan
Julia		Yes
Eugene	Jerry Sullivan Mary Sheehan				Yes
John H	John Sullivan Mary Sullivan
Johanna	Jerry Sullivan Mary Sheehan		Michael, Butte, Daniel, Motley, John, LA
Jeremiah	Jerry Sullivan Mary Sheehan	Yes	John, Calif., Daniel, Minn, Michael, Mont. Johanna, Seattle	1870
Daniel	Jerry Sullivan and Mary ??			1870, 1880, 1885	Received father’s land
Peter		Yes		1870, 1880, 1885
Michael J	Jeremiah Sullivan Mary Sheehan	Birth	Dan, Minn,  John, Calif	1870, 1880, 1885
Sources in text

Conclusion
Those children whose death certificate named the parents, all but John’s named them Jerry Sullivan and Mary Sheehan. John was the outlier, but the table shows no records associated with his parents other than the estate record of his father. The obituaries of several of the siblings named surviving siblings. Four of the children named John as a sibling and connected him to the locations where he lived. The siblings seemed to have lost contact with Julia and Peter or perhaps they died young, or died in locations that the informants did not know of their origins. 

Jeremiah and Mary Sullivan had nine children, eight born in Ireland and one in Michigan. They may have come to the United States in the 1860s, though the year is not known for sure. Mary, the eldest child, said she was 12, making the year about 1865. Eugene’s obituary said he was 12, making the year 1853. John’s naturalization record said he arrived in October 1865. He would have been 11. Jeremiah said he was 5, making the year 1861. Jeremiah’s obituary in 1888 said he arrived 27 years ago from Ireland, making the year 1861.

The arriving ship list has not been found yet. With varying arrival dates, varying ages for Jeremiah and Mary, and the common names, it has been difficult to locate the record. Perhaps one day, full-text search can be done where multiple names could be searched at once. It is also possible that the family did not come together.

---

[1] Todd Co, Minnesota, Probate Court, Estate Records, Estate of Jerry Sullivan, case file 174, Petition for letters of administration, 31 Jan 1891; Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

[2] Houghton Co, Michigan, birth records, 1867-1880, p. 33, no. 485, Michael Sullivan, 1869; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBZC-WMQ : accessed 12 Oct 2026), IGN 005191184, image 42 of 608.

[3] 1885 Minnesota State Census, Todd Co, Villard, p. 398, fam 2, Jerry Sullivan household. Michael was 14 years old.

[4] Deer Lodge Co, Montana, marriages, v. 3, p. 255, Sullivan-Ryan, 1900; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6QS7-7FL : accessed 12 Oct 2026), IGN 004351356, item 2, image 130 of 328.

[5] "Sullivan-Ryan," The Daily Inter Mountain, 30 April 1900, p. 6, col. 3.

[6] Silver Bow Co, Montana, delayed birth certificates, no. 53565, Mary Margaret Sullivan, 1901; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9B2K-9W1B : accessed 14 Oct 2026), IGN 005204270, image 434 of 2388. Margaret’s mother was the informant.

[7] Montana, Certificate of Death, no. 83 0474, Margaret M. Sullivan, 1983.

[8] “Margaret M. Sullivan, 81,” The Montana Standard (Butte, Mont), 23 Jan 1983, p. 2, col. 3.

[9] Silver Bow Co, Montana, school census, School District no. 1, 1910, Donald Sullivan, 1903; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-J38J-R9C6-9 : accessed 2 Jul 2025), IGN 008701207, image 1800 of 2036.

[10] “Sullivan,” The Albuquerque Tribune, 2 Mar 1971, p. 2, col. 8.

[11] “St. Patrick’s Church Ceremony Opens with Ordination of Priest,” The Montana Standard (Butte, Mont.), 7 June 1930, p. 1, col. 5.

[12] Silver Bow Co, Montana, birth record, 1906-1913, p. 244, line 11 (unnumbered), John Sullivan, 1909; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-LB2L-3QN : accessed 2 July 2025), IGN 005204465, image 630 of 860.

[13] “Jack Sullivan Dies at 66,” The Montana Standard (Butte, Mont), 12 Apr 1976, p. 2, col. 3.

[14] 1940 U.S. census, Silver Bow Co, Montana, Butte Prec 22, ED 47-18, sht 3b, dwell 116, John M. Sullivan. Also, 1950 U.S. census, Silver Bow Co, Montana, Butte Prec 22, ED 47-50, sht 78, line 24, Jack M. Sullivan.

[15] State of Montana, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death no. 8206, Michael J. Sullivan, 1930.

[16] "M. Sullivan is Taken by Death.," The Butte Daily Post, 31 October 1931, p. 10.

[17] Research conducted by Riobard O’Dwyer, November 2003.
According to Irish Genealogy, church records, it is in Eyeries 2, page 120, entry 3. ID KY-RC-BA-229612.

[18] 1870 Houghton Co, Michigan, Franklin twp, p 22, dwl 152, fam 162, Jeremiah Sullivan household. 1880 census, Todd Co, Minnesota, Moran Twp, ED 133, sht 15b, dwl 6, fam 6, Jerry Sulivan household. 1885 Minnesota State Census, Todd Co, Villard, p. 398, fam 2, Jerry Sullivan.

[19] Todd Co, Minnesota, Probate Court, Estate Records, Estate of Jerry Sullivan, case file 174, Petition for letters of administration, 31 Jan 1891; Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

[20] 1870 census gave age as 11, see 1870 Houghton Co, Michigan, Franklin twp, p 22, dwl 152, fam 162, Jeremiah Sullivan household. 1880 census gave age as 20, see 1880 census, Todd Co, Minnesota, Moran Twp, ED 133, sht 15b, dwl 6, fam 6, Jerry Sulivan household. 1900 census gave his age as 30 and birth Nov 1860, see 1900 U.S. census, Todd Co, Minnesota, Villard twp, ED 200, sht 7a, p 215 (stamped), dwl 111, fam 112, Daniel Sullivan. The outlier was the death certificate which gave his age as 71 and birthyear as 1851.

[21] Todd Co, Minnesota, Probate Court, Estate records, Estate of Mary Sullivan, will of Mary Sullivan, written 8 Feb 1892, probated 8 Aug 1892; Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

[22] 1930 U.S. census, Otter Tail Co, Minnesota, Fergus Falls State Hospital, sht 19a, p. 252 (stamped), line 17, Daniel Sullivan.

[23] State of Minnesota, Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, #10725, Daniel Sullivan, 1932.

[24] Research conducted by Riobard O’Dwyer, November 2003.
From Irish Genealogy, church records, book is Eyeries 2, page 107, no 4. ID KY-RC-BA-229401.

[25] 1870 census gave age as 11, see 1870 Houghton Co, Michigan, Franklin twp, p 22, dwl 152, fam 162, Jeremiah Sullivan household.

[26] 1900 U.S. census, Pierce Co, Washington, Tacoma, ED 182, sht 1b, dwelling 14, Jerry Sullivan.

[27] Wadena Co, Minnesota, marriage, v. 2, p. 277, Jerry Sullivan to Belle Sabin, 1889; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9CG-MLGL : accessed 14 Oct 2026), IGN 007413094, image 396 of 1077.

[28] Wadena Pioneer Journal, 5 Sep 1889, p. 4, col. 2. Also, 1895 Minnesota State Census, Becker Co, Detroit, p. 3, Jerry Sulivan.

[29] “All About Wadena,” Wadena Pioneer Journal, 15 Dec 1892, p. 3, col. 3.

[30] Washington State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, no. 406, Jerry Sullivan, 1926, Pierce County; imaged, “Department of Health, Death Certificates, July 1, 1907-2001,” Washington State Archives Digital Archives (https://digitalarchives.wa.gov/Collections/TitleInfo/2597 : accessed 14 Oct 2026).

[31] “Railway Employee for 53 Years Dies at Home in Tacoma,” Tacoma Daily Ledger, Sun Apr 25, 1926, p. A8. 

[32] “Jerry Sullivan,” Tacoma News Tribune, Sat, Apr 24, 1926, p. 2.

[33] Washington State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, no. 2987, Johanna Sullivan, King County.

[34] “Funeral Announcements Sullivan,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 8 Nov 1926, p. 20, col. 1.

[35] “Mrs. Sullivan, 70, Is Dead,” The Seattle Daily Times, 8 Nov 1926, p. 24, col. 8.

[36] Seattle City Directory For the Year Commencing May 1st 1917 (R. L. Polk & Co, 1917), p. 1519, Johanna Sullivan; imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/12765239 : accessed 14 Oct 2026), image 743 of 946

[37] 1920 U.S. census, King Co, Washington, Seattle Prec 85, ED 151, p. 210 (stamped), dwell. 171, John S Schmely.

[38] 1910 U.S. census, Todd Co, Minnesota, Staples, ED 184, sht 2b, dwell. 28, John Schmelz.

[39] 1900 U.S. census, Todd Co, Minnesota, Staples, ED 201, p. 233 (stamped), dwell. 303, John Schmeltz.

[40] 1880 U.S. census, Kittson Co, Minnesota, Hampden, ED 215, dwell 51, John Sulivan.

[41] 1905 Minnesota State Census, Todd Co, ED 29, Staples, no. 1044-45 & 1047-48, Schmelz & Sullivan.

[42] 1875 Minnesota State Census, Clay Co, Moorhead, p. 342, John Sullivan.

[43] “Eugene Sullivan Passed Away,” Staples World, 2 Nov 1922 p. 1.

[44] Homestead Affidavit, Eugene Sullivan, 26 Mar 1873, application 7871, final certificate no. 4847; Land Entry Papers, 1800-1908; Record Group 49: Records of the Bureau of Land Management; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[45] Todd Co, Minnesota, Probate Court, Estate Records, Estate of Jerry Sullivan, case file 174, Petition for letters of administration, 31 Jan 1891; Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

[46] 1880 U.S. census, Todd Co, Minnesota, Moran Twp, ED 133, p 15b, p 296b (stamped), dwelling 7, family 7, Eugene Sulivan.

[47] Todd Co, Minnesota, Probate Court, Estate Records, Estate of Jerry Sullivan, case file 174, Petition for letters of administration, 31 Jan 1891; Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

[48] State of Minnesota, Certificate of Death, no. 14780, Todd Co, Villard Twp, Eugene Sullivan, 1922.

[49] “Eugene Sullivan Passed Away,” Staples World, 2 Nov 1922 p. 1.

[50] Providence, Rhode Island, Marriages, 1873, v. 11, p. 22, Eugene Sullivan--Catherine Shea; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C955-RYMP : accessed 14 Oct 2026), oo414635, item 2, image 25 of 247. 

[51] Providence, Rhode Island, enrolled militia 1873-1874, unpag., S surnames; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-V38V-JL45 : accessed 14 Oct 2026), IGN 008702678, image 713 of 925.

[52] Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com : ), Memorial# 40119892, Evergreen Hill Cem, Staples MN, Catherine J Sullivan.

[53] Research conducted by Riobard O’Dwyer, November 2003. According to church records at Irish Genealogy
https://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/ Baptism of JULIA SULLIVAN of CAHERKEEM on 19 August 1846, the record is found in Book Eyeries 2, page 43, no. 21. The record identifier is KY-RC-BA-228108.

[54] I have a copy of the deed and I have transcribed the deed, but I don’t have the information on how I got the Todd County deed, so I cannot write a full citation, other than it was no. 51636, Mary & James Sullivan, et al to Daniel Sullivan, 1905.

[55] Houghton Co, Michigan, Record of Death, v. 3, p. 180, no. 811, Jermimah R. Murphy, 1904; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89V3-QXKW : accessed 16 Oct 2026), IGN 007608482, image 187 of 514.

[56] 1880 U.S. census, Houghton Co, Michigan, Portage Twp, ED 12, p. 449b (stamped), dwelling 227, Patrick Murphy.

[57] State of Michigan, Return of Births, Houghton Co, 1882, p. 150, no. 758, John Murphy; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBZF-3XT : accessed 16 Oct 2026), IGN 005191185, image 160 of 520.

[58] State of Michigan, Return of Births, Houghton Co, 1883, p. 375, no. 844, Agnes Murphy; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6GK5-6K : accessed 16 Oct 2026), IGN 004207053, image 16 of 850.

[59] State of Michigan, Return of Births, Houghton Co, 1884, p. 230, no. 95, Mary Murphy; imaged FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-8BZF-3JL : accessed 16 Oct 2026), IGN 005191185, image 240 of 520.

[60] Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179881705/julia-elizabeth-murphy : accessed 16 Oct 2026), memorial 179881705, Julia Elizabeth Sullivan Murphy (1855-1909). There is no photo of a stone.

[61] 1910 U.S. census, Houghton Co, Michigan, Portage, ED 136, p. 11 (stamped), dwelling 202, Patrick Murphy.

[62] Houghton Co, Michigan, marriages, v. 1, p. 223, 1887, no. 75, Donovan-Murphy; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-JB9C-M : accessed 16 Oct 2026), IGN 004674054, image 587 of 603.

[63] Research conducted by Riobard O’Dwyer, November 2003. According to church records at Irish Genealogy
https://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/ the book was Eyeries 2, p 8, entry 4, ID KY-RC-BA-227348.

[64] State of Nebraska, Certificate of Death, no. 7802, Mrs. Mary Sullivan, 1910, Holt County.

[65] Houghton Co, Michigan, marriages, v. 1, p. 21, 1870, no. 280, James Sullivan – Mary Sullivan; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-JB7F-L : accessed 16 Oct 2026), IGN 004674054, image 365 of 603.

[66] "Death of Mrs. Sullivan,” The Frontier (O’Neill, Nebraska), 22 Sep 1910, p. 4, col. 4.  

[67] 1880 U.S. census, Holt Co, Nebraska, Center, ED 149, p. 495 (stamped), dwelling/family 5, James Sullivan.

[68] 1900 U.S. census, Holt Co, Nebraska, Grattan, ED 115, p. 146 (stamped), dwelling 125, James Sullivan.

[69] State of Nebraska, Certificate of Death, no. 2037, James R. Sullivan, 1908, Holt County.

[70] “Old Settler Passes Away,” The Frontier, 26 Mar 1908, p. 1, col. 4.

[71] State of Nebraska, Certificate of Death, no. 7802, Mrs. Mary Sullivan, 1910, Holt County.

[72] "Death of Mrs. Sullivan,” The Frontier (O’Neill, Nebraska), 22 Sep 1910, p. 4, col. 4. 

[73] "Mrs. James Sullivan,” Holt Co. Independent, 23 Sep 1910, p. 4, col. 4.  

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