22d April, 1744. The cellar of the house occupied by his parents is
easily distinguished by some portions of its walls still remaining
in a field near Salmon Falls river, and within half a mile of Great
Falls village. The barn which served to store away their harvests
for the long winters of New England climate has only quite recently
(1858) been destroyed by fire. Near by, but separated from the old
dwelling by a public road, laid out in comparatively modern times
across the farm, is the ancient cemetery, where Master Sullivan and
Margery his wife, when their long protracted lives were over, were
laid to their last repose amid the scenes of their humble labors and
of the pleasures and various vicissitudes of more than half a
century.
The above is incorrect in one particular: Gov. James Sullivan was not
born in Berwick, Me.; he was born in Somersworth, N. H., then a parish
in Dover. Mr. Amory made the mis-statement because he had not all the
facts at hand in regard to the question. That particular part of
Somersworth in which Master Sullivan lived is now in the town of
Rollinsford, having been set off from Somersworth in 1849, and is now
the village at Rollinsford Junction.
This village is one mile from Salmon Falls village and one mile from
South Berwick village, at the lower fall where the fresh water meets the
tide water; this is the ancient Quamphegan, and the point where the
river changes its name to Newichawannick, which it holds till it gets to
Dover Point, where it joins the Pascataqua, six miles from Quamphegan.
The settlers on Dover Neck did not use the Indian name Newichawannick,
but called it Fore River, and the river on the west side of the Neck
they called Back River.
The Somersworth village in the days of Master Sullivan was much larger
than the modern village of Rollinsford Junction; this is distant about
four miles from the depot in the city of Somersworth. For more than a
century it was the home of several of the leading men of New Hampshire.
It was the home of Master Sullivan from 1723 to 1754. Here his children
were born; here he did the most important part of his teaching; here he
educated his sons to be governors, and leaders in the Revolution, and
leaders after the American government was formed.
They were important factors in forming the state governments of New
Hampshire and Massachusetts. At this village school of Master Sullivan
the sons of many other men were taught in a way that fitted them to
enter Harvard College, and fitted them to be leaders in the great
struggle for independence. Here Master Sullivan not only kept school,
but was also the scribe and counselor for his neighbors and
fellow-citizens.
He was a fine penman, and wrote wills, deeds, mortgages, and such other
legal documents as the needs of the parish demanded. Here he served in
the local military company; here he swept the parish meeting-house and
rang the bell for services on the Lord’s day; here he sat under the
ministrations of Rev. James Pike, who was the faithful and able pastor
of this parish for more than sixty years.
The farm which Mr. Amory speaks of in Berwick was purchased by Master
Sullivan in August, 1753. He bought it of Mr. Samuel Lord, and there is
no record that he bought any land anywhere before that date. It is on a
beautiful elevation which overlooks the city of Somersworth, a mile
away, across the Salmon Falls River. Much of the land is now cut up into
streets and house lots in the fast-growing village of Berwick. A garden
occupies the spot where Master Sullivan’s house stood; a street crosses
the spot where he and his good wife were buried. Their remains were
removed to the Sullivan cemetery in Durham, and now repose near the
grave of their illustrious son, Gen. John Sullivan.
It is not known precisely when he moved his family to Berwick, but
probably in 1754, and there they resided more than forty years. In
Berwick he was a farmer, as well as a schoolmaster and scrivener for his
townsmen. Tradition says that his wife was the better farmer of the two.
He was so fond of his books that the weeds oftentimes got the better of
his crops. His wife Margery cared nothing for books, and delighted in
out-door work.
The town of South Berwick was set off from Berwick in 1814; the First
parish is at South Berwick, and recently celebrated its two hundredth
anniversary with an elaborate and interesting service. In 1754 the
present Berwick was established as the North parish, on petition of 39
freeholders (landowners). This petition for an enabling act to choose
parish officers was granted by Governor Shirley and the council, April
17, 1754, the house concurring on the next day. One of the 39 signers to
that petition was Master John Sullivan. He helped organize the parish
and owned a pew in the meeting-house; later two of his sons owned pews
there.
Because Master Sullivan spent the last 40 years of his life in this
parish of Berwick, the writers of cyclopedias, biographical
dictionaries, and biographies of his sons have taken it for granted that
he always lived there, hence say his sons were born there. If Master
Sullivan’s sons were like the ordinary sons of men, nobody would care or
take the trouble to inquire whether they were born in Maine or New
Hampshire. They are not like ordinary sons; they are extraordinary, and
that is why New Hampshire should claim the honor which is its due, just
as we delight to boast that Webster and Chase, and a host of
distinguished men, are the sons of New Hampshire. The Sullivan family is
one of the most notable families in the history of New England. There
were five sons and one daughter. I will give a brief summary of their
lives.
I. Benjamin was born in 1736; he received a thorough education from his
father; he enlisted in the British navy and rose to be an officer, when
most young men would be only ordinary seamen; he was tall, handsome and
brilliant, and walked the decks as one who was born to command.
Unfortunately, he and his ship, with all on board, were lost at sea just
previous to the Revolution.
II. Daniel, the second son, was born in 1738; after being carefully
educated by his father he engaged in mercantile business in Berwick and
was very successful; about 1770 he was leader of a company of gentlemen
who founded a town at the head of Frenchman’s Bay in eastern Maine; this
town is called Sullivan in his honor. When the Revolutionary War
commenced he organized and commanded a company which did valiant service
for the Patriot cause; he was leader in the defense of Castine against
the attacks of the British navy. Captain Sullivan was so conspicuous and
efficient in the defense that the officers of the fleet marked him for
special revenge; one ship went up from Mt. Desert to the head of
Frenchman’s Bay specially to capture the captain; a sortie of marines at
midnight went to his house, when all the family were asleep, caught the
captain, drove his family out of doors and burned the house and
contents; the British officer offered to release him if he would swear
allegiance to the king; the captain positively refused to accept freedom
on such condition; he was then carried to New York city and confined in
a prison ship several months; he was then exchanged but died on his way
home, from disease contracted while in prison. He has the reputation of
being a man of extraordinary ability, both as a military leader and a
business man. Before the war he had acquired large possessions in land,
lumber, and sawmills.
III. John, the third son, was born in 1740; after thorough training by
his father, he studied law with Judge Livermore in Portsmouth; he
commenced practice of the law in Berwick in 1761, and was married about
that time. He removed to Durham in 1763, much against the wishes of some
of the good people in that town, who feared a lawyer would make trouble.
General Sullivan was the first lawyer the town ever had; but the people
soon learned to love and respect him; although his office was in Durham,
his practice soon extended throughout Rockingham and Strafford counties
in New Hampshire and York County in Maine; his success was remarkable.
Before 1775 he was acknowledged as leader at the bar in all of those
counties, where John Adams, the second president of the United States,
was for several years one of his competitors; not only was he a great
lawyer but he also engaged extensively in business, owning several mills
and much real estate; at the opening of the war it was estimated he was
worth £40,000; most men with such holdings would have hesitated much
before rebelling against the king of England; John Sullivan did not
hesitate; he took the lead and was commander of the expedition which
committed the first overt act of war in the Revolution, by capturing and
removing the gunpowder from Fort William and Mary at Newcastle, Dec. 14,
1774; of course you all know the story; the hundred barrels of powder
were taken up the river to Durham and hid in various places; a larger
part was placed in the cellar of the old church near General Sullivan’s
residence; the monument to his memory now stands on the spot.
Some of that powder was used at the battle of Bunker Hill; all of it was
used in the Revolutionary War, except a small bottleful which Maj. John
Demeritt of Madbury now has, being handed down to him as an inheritance
from his ancestors; this capture of the powder was four months before
the Lexington and Concord affair.
While attending to his law business and his sawmills and lumbering, he
had taken a hand in the local military affairs, and in 1774 was major of
the regiment of militia in his section of the province; Governor
Wentworth could not persuade him to hold it after the little affair at
Fort William and Mary; he was delegate to the first Continental Congress
in 1775; he was appointed brigadier-general in the Continental army in
1775; a major-general in 1776; commanded the New Hampshire troops at
Germantown and Brandywine; commander-in-chief in the Rhode Island
campaign in 1778; commander-in-chief in the great and hazardous
expedition against the Six Nations in 1779, which resulted in the
overthrow of the most complete organization of the Indians ever effected
on this continent. To commemorate this great service of General Sullivan
the state of New York has erected costly tablets on the spots where the
most important encounters took place.
This was General Sullivan’s closing service in the military operations
of the war. I think he should be ranked second only to Greene and
Washington as a military leader. His services in civil affairs which
immediately followed were quite as valuable and important as his
military service. In 1780 he drafted the bill, which the Legislature
adopted, to regulate the militia; in 1781 he was delegate in the
National Congress; in 1782, ’83 and ’84 he was attorney-general of New
Hampshire; he was president of the state in 1786, ’87 and 89; he was the
Federal candidate in 1788 but was defeated by John Langdon, the
Republican candidate. Sullivan had defeated Langdon in the two years
previous, and in the year following; Sullivan was a Washington
federalist; he was a presidential elector when Washington was elected
the first time; he was president of the convention that adopted the
Federal constitution, June 21, 1788, which was the act that established
the Federal union; the vote stood 57 in favor to 42 against adoption; it
was largely through the influence of General Sullivan that the 57 votes
were secured and the Federal union was formed.
September 26, 1789, President Washington appointed him United States
district judge for New Hampshire, and he entered upon the duties of that
office Dec. 15 of that year; he remained in that office until his death,
Jan. 23, 1795, being nearly fifty-five years old, having been born on
the 17th of February, 1740. A better American, a more capable, a more
useful, or more fearless citizen than John Sullivan, New Hampshire never
had.
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.
Following this is a statement that John was the oldest son of this
couple, and a lot more of fictitiously interesting biography of the
general. Now what are the facts?
Master Sullivan landed in York, Me., from Limerick, Ireland, in the
winter of 1723; he hadn’t a cent to pay the captain for his passage
across the Atlantic. After working at farming a week or so he got weary
of it, and applied to Rev. Dr. Moody, pastor of Scotland parish, to help
him. He made his application in a letter written in seven languages, so
the doctor might know he was an educated man. The worthy doctor was
favorably impressed, and loaned him the money to pay his fare and then
helped him to a school in Dover. May 20, 1723,[11] Master “Sullefund”
was chosen one of the two teachers of the town of Dover, at £30 salary
per year. Just where he kept that school is not stated in the record,
but it undoubtedly was in that part of Dover then called the “Summer
parish,” from the fact that meetings were held in a barn there during
the summer and fall by Parson Cushing, then pastor of the First parish.
These summer meetings were held to accommodate the people who objected
to walking or riding five or six miles to attend meetings at Cochecho,
where now is the center of the city of Dover. As this is the place where
Master Sullivan spent thirty years of his life, I may as well explain
further in regard to this name, Somersworth, which is unique in the
history of towns and cities in the United States, no other place in the
country having that name.
The people had become familiar to having the village called the “Summer
parish,” so in 1730, when this district was separated from the First
parish as a distinct parish, it was the most natural thing for the
leaders, who were educated men, to retain the familiar name, and they
did it by changing “parish” to “worth,” and they had “Summersworth.” The
word “worth” is the old English termination for names of places, so
Summer parish and Summersworth mean precisely the same thing. You will
notice that the present spelling is Somersworth.
The ancient spelling of the parish was Summersworth, and when the
citizens petitioned for an act of incorporation as a town they asked to
have it spelled that way, but when they got their charter they found
that the clerk of the General Court, or somebody else, had changed “Sum”
to “Som,” so they let it go that way. This change in orthography made no
change in the meaning of the name. According to Dr. Samuel Johnson,
whose large dictionary was published in 1755, the year after this town
was chartered, “Sumer” is Saxon and “Somer” is Dutch for the English
word “Summer.”
Before Summersworth was made a separate parish the town of Dover looked
after the schools; but after it became a parish the people managed their
own schools by votes in parish meetings. July 2, 1734, the parish “Voted
that Hercules Mooney be the schoolmaster here for one month (viz) from
July 4^{th} to Aug^t 4^{th}, 1734 next ensuing at three pounds fifteen
shillings per month.”
“Voted that Capt. Thomas Wallingford and Mr. Philip Stackpole be the men
that Joyn with the Selectmen at the months end above to agree with Mr.
Mooney or any other suitable person to keep school in this Parish for
the Residue of this Sumer and autum.”
In 1735 it was “Voted that Mr. Jon^o Scrugham be school master for one
month in this Parish at the Descression of the Selectmen.” Also, “Voted
that there be thirty pounds raised to Defray the Charge of a school this
sumer and autum.”
In 1737 the parish “Voted sixty pounds for a school master.”
“Voted that Mr. John Sullivan be the schoolmaster for the ensuing year.”
“Voted that John Sullivan to sweep and take care of ye meeting house &
to have thirty shillings.”
From that date to 1752 no schoolmaster is named, but from year to year
the parish would vote to have a school and leave the matter with the
selectmen to hire a teacher. As they had voted Master Sullivan in once,
it was taken for granted that he would be the teacher. April 6, 1752,
“Voted Mr. Joseph Tate twenty three pounds old tenor to keep ye Parish
School one month.” The record does not show that Master Sullivan kept
the parish school after Mr. Tate began work there.
Master Sullivan was married to Margery Browne in 1735. Soon after that
he commenced to sign his name as witness to documents as “John Sullivan
of Summersworth.” Their third child, John, was born in 1740. In 1787,
when he was the Federalist candidate for governor, then called
president, his opponents charged him as guilty of being born in Berwick,
Me., hence was not eligible for the office.
The _New Hampshire Gazette_, March 10, 1787, replied to this as follows:
Surely the collector of intelligence has not consulted all the
people in this state, or he would have found out that President
Sullivan was born in Somersworth, in the county of Strafford.