The journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. V, 1905Various
History
The journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. V, 1905
Various
American-Irish Historical Society -- Periodicals; Ethnology -- United States -- Periodicals; Irish Americans -- Periodicals
From what his great-grandson says, and from what I gather from other
sources, I draw the conclusion that Master Sullivan was a tall,
fine-looking man, who had a lofty and fine spirit. He had an excellent
education in his youth, which he enlarged and improved in his later
years, making him one of the best scholars in New England in the
eighteenth century. He evidently was not satisfied with his lot in life,
but never complained. The magnificent success of his sons was the source
of great pleasure to him in his old age. He probably was the teacher of
more men who took a distinguished part in the Revolution than any other
one teacher in New England, and in that way he exercised a powerful
influence in shaping the turn of events in that great contest.
Master Sullivan died the first of June, 1796, aged 105 years; his
remains were interred in a field on the hillside, about 50 rods from
where his house stood in Berwick. His wife died in 1801, and was
interred at the same spot. Soon after his death, Gov. James Sullivan had
a stone, with suitable inscription, erected there; some years later
their great-grandson, Governor Wells of Maine, had the spot enclosed
with a substantial iron fence. Thus it remained till October, 1877, when
Mr. Ricker, the present owner of the land, got permission to remove the
remains to the Sullivan cemetery in Durham, as he wanted to run a new
street through his land directly over the grave.
The head of the old grave is now marked by a cherry tree, which stands
by the sidewalk. When Mr. Ricker and Mr. Stillings, who lives near
there, opened the grave, they found the skull perfect, also the hair and
some of the large bones of Master Sullivan; over the forehead a root of
the cherry tree had grown so that it half encircled the skull, and had
to be cut before the bones could be removed. The skull was very large,
with a high forehead, and the hair was long and perfect, being a dark
brown mixed with slight sprinkle of gray. The remains had been interred
there 81 years.
When Master Sullivan died, some one, presumably his pastor, Rev. Matthew
Merriam, wrote an obituary of him, which was published in a Portsmouth
paper, _The Oracle of the Day_. His death occurred on Saturday, June 3,
1796, and the article is in the publication of the week following.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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