In this connection it may be well to say a few words about his descendants, to show how strong was the hereditary force that came down from Master Sullivan. General Sullivan’s son John was a prominent and able lawyer in one of the Southern states, but died young. His son George was attorney-general of New Hampshire twenty years. His grandson, John, son of George, was attorney-general ten years or more, and his grand nephew, John S. Wells, held the same office several years. They were all able attorneys, and no family in the state has the equal of this illustrious record.
IV. James, the fourth son of Master Sullivan, was born in Somersworth in May, 1744, and died in Boston, Dec. 10, 1808. He was thoroughly educated by his father, quite the equal of a Harvard graduate of that period; he studied law with his brother John; opened an office at Saco about 1767 and practised his profession there until about 1780; he was very successful, and with his brother John did the larger part of the law business in York County. When he was twenty-six years old he was appointed attorney-general for the district of Maine and held the office until the Revolution began; he was delegate in the first Continental Congress, when he was thirty years old; when he was thirty-one he was appointed judge of admiralty; the next year he was promoted to a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court, which office he held several years; he removed to Boston in 1782. While he was in Maine, John Adams, who used to go down there once or twice a year to attend court at Saco and Portland, said that he always found the Sullivans in possession of all the best and most important cases.
In 1783, ’84 and ’85 he was delegate in the Continental Congress, and also was representative from Boston in the Massachusetts General Court; he was member of the Executive Council in 1787; judge of probate from 1788 to 1790; attorney-general from 1790 to 1807; in 1804 he was presidential elector, casting his vote for Thomas Jefferson, of whom he was a great admirer. The Federalist abused him fearfully for so voting. He was governor of Massachusetts in 1807 and 1808, dying a short time before his term expired. Notwithstanding he gave so much time to official business, he was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Historical Society and its president many years; he wrote and published a history of Maine; he published numerous pamphlets on various questions that concerned current business affairs; he was a clear and forcible writer and an eloquent advocate; he delivered innumerable addresses on public occasions and stood in the front rank of literary men and the legal fraternity of Boston.
V. Mary Sullivan was the fifth child of this remarkable family; she was born in 1752; her father as carefully educated her as he did his sons; she was tall and handsome, like her father, and inherited his fondness for books; she was brilliant and attractive, mentally and socially; like her father she was a successful teacher several years, at a time when most women thought they were highly accomplished if they could write their own names. She married Mr. Theophilus Hardy and resided in Durham near her brother John. To them were born several daughters; one of these, a very gifted woman, married Edward Wells, Esq., and they also resided in Durham, which was then one of the liveliest business centers of the state. They had a large family of children, and several of the sons manifested those strong traits of intellectual power of their Sullivan ancestors; one son, Samuel Wells, was governor of Maine two years, 1858 and 1859; another son, John Sullivan Wells, whom many of you may remember, lacked only fifty votes of being elected governor of New Hampshire in 1856, the Know-Nothing tidal wave being a little too much for him to overcome; he was attorney-general several years; United States senator; speaker of the House in the New Hampshire Legislature, and also president of the Senate. He was an able lawyer, a brilliant and fascinating public speaker, and one of the most popular men in his party and he was generally popular with all parties. Another brother, Joseph Bartlett Wells, was a distinguished lawyer in Illinois, where he was attorney-general several years, and was lieutenant-governor at the time of his death; had he lived he would undoubtedly have been governor of the state. A fourth brother was consul at Bermuda several years and died there. These were great-grandsons of Master John Sullivan.
VI. Ebenezer was the sixth child and youngest son of Master Sullivan and his wife Margery; he was born in 1753, and died in 1797. He was educated by his father and studied law with his brother John. Before he could get established in his profession the Revolution commenced, and he engaged earnestly in the cause of the colonies; starting as a private, he rose to be captain of a company and did valiant service.
He was taken prisoner and narrowly escaped being burned at the stake by the Indians. After the war he married and resided at South Berwick, and engaged in the practice of his profession. He was the leader at the bar in York County, a thorough lawyer and a powerful advocate. He was a tall, handsome, powerfully-built man, whose presence was commanding wherever he stood.
Such were the children of Master Sullivan. What say you, Mr. President, are these boys worthy for the New Hampshire Historical Society to claim them as sons of New Hampshire?
Seven cities claimed the honor of being the birthplace of Homer. Other great men in later times have honored the cities where they were born by their great deeds; should not New Hampshire feel everlastingly honored by having such a family born within its borders? I will take it for granted that you will answer all my questions in the affirmative. Then what proof have I that they were born in New Hampshire and not in Maine? I will tell you shortly.
On page 356 of McClintock’s History of New Hampshire Fred Myron Colby has the following concerning Master John Sullivan:
The grandfather of the New Hampshire Sullivans was Major Philip O’Sullivan of Ardea, an officer of the Irish army during the siege of Limerick. His son John, born at Limerick in 1692, was one of the company that in 1723 emigrated from Ireland and settled the town of Belfast in Maine. At this place he hired a sawmill and went to work. Two or three years afterward another vessel of Irish emigrants landed at Belfast. On board was a blooming young damsel, who, after the custom of those days, had agreed with the shipmaster to be bound out at service in the colonies in payment of her passage across the Atlantic. She was bright and witty, with a mind of a rough but noble cast. During the passage over a fellow-passenger jocosely asked her what she expected to do when she arrived in the colonies. “Do?” answered she with true Celtic wit, “why raise governors for thim.” Sullivan saw the girl as she landed, and struck with her beauty, made a bargain with the captain, paying her passage in shingles. He wooed and won her, and the Irish girl entered upon her initiatory steps to make good her declaration. Immediately after his marriage (1735) Mr. Sullivan settled on a farm in Berwick and began clearing it for the plow.