OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List ----------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List January 27, 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 52 Today's Topics: #1 WILLIAM S SULLIVANT [LeaAnn ] #2 MICHAEL L. SULLIVANT [LeaAnn ] #3 LUCAS SULLIVANT [LeaAnn ] ------------------------------ X-Message: #1 Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 22:39:27 -0600 From: LeaAnn Subject: WILLIAM S SULLIVANT History of Franklin and and Pickaway Counties, Ohio Pub by Williams Bros. 1880 WILLIAM STARLING SULLIVANT William S. Sullivant, the eldest son of Lucas Sullivant, was born January 15, 1803, in Franklinton, the village, literally in the midst of a wilderness, which his fathers indomitable energy, more than that of any other one man, had set on the road to empire. His boyhood was exposed to all the real dangers, and beset by all the so-called hardships, incident to pioneer life in those early days. In 1812, when the subject of this sketch was nine years old, the shameful surrender of General Hull to the British forces at Detroit, exposed the whole frontier to an irruption of bloody savages, the allies of Great Britain. For months, the inhabitants of this new settlement, in common with others still more exposed, were harassed with fears of such an invasion, and of the cruelties and barbarous atrocities which distinguished savage warfare. Happily, however, this danger was averted, and peace and prosperity ensued. At a proper age, young William, mounted astride of a bag of wheat on one horse, and leading another, on which also was strapped a well filled bag, was often sent along the blazed bridle paths through the forest to Sell's Mill, near Dublin, to Dyer's Mill, on the Darby, and sometimes to Kinnikinnick, in Ross County, to procure flour for the family. These expeditions frequently involved two or three days waiting for the grist, and necessitated sleeping in the mill, wrapped in a blanket, where he was fortunate who had a pile of corn or wheat for his couch instead of the hard floor. But, dear reader, waste no sigh of pity for our young friend, William, and doubt not that in these and similar experiences were fruitful in producing, not only the fine physical development and graceful carriage which distinguished him in his maturity, but also in arousing those latent tastes and capacities which have made his name an honor to his family and to his country. In those quiet journeyings through the leafy aisles of "Gods first temples," and in those days of "waiting for the grist," when forest and stream and bird and flower wooed him to their companionship; to such a nature as his, how entrancing must have been this sweet communion with nature! And who can say that his chosen pursuit, in later life, was not the result of the bias given in these days of his boyhood? It is said, also, that he accompanied his father upon some of his shorter surveying expeditions, where he gained that knowledge which tended to make him an expert, rapid, and accurate surveyor, when, after his return from college, and after his fathers death, he had occasion to exercise his skill in attending to the large landed estate of the family. When old enough to be sent from home, he was placed in a celebrated private school, in Jassamine County, Kentucky. Afterward pursued his classical studies, under Professors Lindley and Dana, at the Ohio University at Athens. Here he was prepared for Yale College, from which he graduated in 1823. Though almost immediately immersed in the cares and duties of active business life, while yet in early manhood, he found time to acquaint himself most thoroughly with the flora of central Ohio, discovering, in his botanical researches, several species hitherto unknown, to one of which his eastern botanical associates gave the name "Sullivantia Ohionis." Dr Asa Gray, the distinguished botanist, and long the intimate friend of Mr. Sullivant, speaks thus of his scientific researches: "As soon as the flowering plants of his district had ceased to afford him novelty, he turned to the mosses, in which he found abundant scientific occupation, of a kind well suited to his bent for patient and close observation, scrupulous accuracy, and nice discrimination." And it was in this field that his world wide reputation was won; some of the most valuable contributions to the bryology and hepaticology of North America being the result of years of quiet but earnest labor. In the same article by Dr Gray, already quoted, occurs the following estimate of the value of these labors: "His works have laid such a broad and complete foundation for the study of bryology in this country, and are of such recognized importance everywhere, that they must always be of classic authority. Wherever mosses are studied, his name will be honorably remembered. In this country it should long be remembered with peculiar gratitude." In accordance with his wishes, his bryological books, and his exceedingly rich and important collections and preparations of mosses, are to be consigned to the Gray Herbarium building of Harvard University, with a view to their preservation and long continued usefulness. The remainder of his botanical library, his choice microscopes, and his remaining collections, are bequeathed to the State Scientific and Agricultural College of Ohio, and to the Starling Medical College, founded by his uncle, of which he was himself the senior trustee. Did space allow an enumeration of all of Mr. Sullivant's botanical labors and publications, it would give emphasis to the reflection that such achievements in science, on the part of one whose life, so far from being given to the pursuit of literature, was marked by great business activity, are, to say the least, of very rare occurrence. His death, which occurred on the thirteenth of April, 1873, was thus noticed in the annual report of the Council of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences of that year: William Starling Sullivant died at his residence in Columbus, Ohio, on the thirteenth of April, ultimo. In him we lose the most accomplished bryologist which this country has ever produced, and it can hardly be said that he leaves behind him anywhere a superior." Mr. Sullivant was thrice married. His widow and several children survive him. ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 23:10:48 -0600 From: LeaAnn Subject: MICHAEL L. SULLIVANT History of Franklin and Pickaway Counties, Ohio Pub by Williams Bros, 1880 Michael L. Sullivant, second son of Lucas Sullivant and Sarah Starling, was born August 6, 1807, in the village of Franklinton, and educated at the Ohio University, and Center College, Kentucky. Very early in life, Michael manifested a very decided predilection for rural affairs, and after leaving college, instead of studying a profession he determined to marry, and deliberately chose farming for his life long vocation. The fine body of land which he inherited in the immediate vicinity of Columbus, afforded an opportunity for him to carry out his purpose on a then unusually large scale. He engaged in farming at a time when there was but a limited price, as well as a limited demand and a circumscribed market for all kinds of farming products, and he at once saw that the only remunerative method was to consume the corn, hay and grass, through the medium of stock. He consequently became a grazier and stock feeder, "stall feeding" as it was termed, many hundred fat cattle during the fall and winter months. This was, however, a laborious, and often uncertain business; for cattle, when ready for market, must be driven over the mountains to Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New York, and the fluctuations in price from the time of starting until the journey was ended, was often of a most vexatious kind, making all the difference between a handsomer profit and an unhandsome loss. These cattle had generally been grazed in the "Barrens", or Sandusky plains, in Ohio, or even on the prairies of Indiana and Illinois, where they were picked up in lots by the enterprising feeders in Ohio, principally located in the Scioto valley. Mr. Sullivant remained in his native state, occupying his ample inheritance, until about the year 1854, always showing himself independent and progressive, a man of large views, and taking the lead in many innovations upon fossilized ideas. He was one of the originators of the Ohio Stock Importing company, and one of the organizers of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, of which he was twice the president. He introduced new methods and machinery on his farm here, being the first to buy and put in operation a power threshing machine in Franklin county; also a reaper and a mower, and was always interested in everything that concerned agriculture. Seeking a wider field of operations, if not marked out by destiny to inaugurate a stupendous experiment, he disposed of his large estate in Ohio, and removing to Illinois, where he had secured a vast domain at government prices, he gave his attention to establishing the great farm of "Broadlands," which in connection with that of "Burr Oaks, has given him fame wherever there is an English speaking people "One of the most striking traits in the character of Mr. Sullivant," says one who knew him well, "was the tenacity of purpose with which he pursued his scheme, when once it was deliberately planned." He was twice married, and his domestic relations were always happy, for, says the same friend, he was good tempered, and of a liberal and generous disposition. Mr. Michael Sullivant died February 29, 1879, leaving a widow and several children. ------------------------------ X-Message: #3 Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 22:41:10 -0600 From: LeaAnn Subject: LUCAS SULLIVANT History of Franklin and Pickaway Counties, Ohio Pub by William Bros. 1880 LUCAS SULLIVANT Lucas Sullivant, the leading pioneer in that territory which afterward became Franklin County, was born in September, 1765, in Mecklenburgh County, Virginia. His starting out in life reminds us strongly of the youthful career of the greatest of all the Virginians, Washington. At the age of sixteen he joined, as a volunteer, an expedition against the Indians, who were threatening the western counties of his native State, and his good conduct and manly intrepidity were such as to gain for him the public commendation of his commanding officer. Left alone in the world by the death of his parents and only brother, he used his small patrimony in acquiring a more liberal education, and especially in mastering the science and practice of surveying, which he adopted as a profession. The new and unsurveyed lands of Kentucky, then an outlying county of the Old Dominion, offering a wider field for his enterprise, he went thither, while quite a young man, and soon found his talent and skill in constant demand. The officers and soldiers of the regular Continental army having, under legislative authority, met and appointed Colonel Richard C. Anderson, a distinguished officer of the Revolution, surveyor-general of the Virginia military land district, Mr. Sullivant received from him an appointment as deputy surveyor, and at the age of twenty-two, became one of that band of dauntless band of pioneers who penetrated into the unbroken wilderness, and opened one of the richest portions of Ohio to the advancing wave of settlement and civilization. Defeated, in his first attempts, by the wily savage, he was compelled to organize a stronger force, which was equipped at Limestone (now Maysville), Kentucky. With a party of twenty men, he advanced into the wilderness, and, in due time, having arrived upon the banks of the Scioto, he commenced his operations in the territory of the present Franklin County. The outfit of this surveying party betokened an occupation of the disputed territory, rather than a flying assault; and, in fact, though constantly in the neighborhood of hostile villages, and passing through many exciting scenes and hair-breadth escapes, Mr. Sullivant brought his work to a fortunate conclusion. In the summer and fall of 1797, ten years after the commencement of this adventurous and dangerous career between the Scioto and the Miami, Mr. Sullivant, having obtained possession of the surrounding lands, laid out the town of Franklinton, believing that, situated as it was in the region of the greatest fertility, on a then navigable river, and so near the center of the State, if it did not become the capital, it would be near it, and could not fail to become a great center in the progress of the State. This was five years before Ohio was set off from the great northwest territory as an independent State, and six years before Franklin was separated from Ross County. About this time Mr. Sullivant was married to Sarah Starling, daughter of Colonel William Starling, of Kentucky, and building the first brick house in his proprietory town of Franklinton, he resided there during the remainder of his life. Though devoting himself principally to the care of his own estate, he was liberal and public spirited, and the projector of many of the most valuable improvements of those early times; and his influence, counsels, and pecuniary aid, shaped very materially the destinies of Ohio's capital. He was the builder of the first bridge over the Scioto between Franklinton and Columbus; the president of the first bank established in Columbus; built the first church of the first Presbyterian congregation, and presented it as a free gift; was one of ten to build the church for the congregation on its removal to Columbus; and was never second in any enterprise which had for its aim the intellectual or material advancement of the community in which he lived. Firm and positive in his opinions, but courteous in manner and expression, prompt and decisive to act upon his own convictions; he was altogether a man of forcible character, exercising a great influence over those with whom he came in contact. In the full maturity of his powers, and his natural force not abated, he died, August 8, 1823, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. From tributes written by those who knew him well, a few extracts will close this imperfect sketch: "He possessed a great spirit of liberality, which an ample fortune, acquired by his own industry, enabled him to gratify to an uncommon extent. He was a man of strict integrity, of the most persevering industry and rigid economy. He was a kind and indulgent father, a sincere and hospitable friend, and a generous neighbor; and the poor were never turned away empty from his well-filled granaries." "He showed in his last illness, the same invincible fortitude which had sustained him in the midst of the privations and dangers incurred in the early settlement of the State." Dr. John Edmiston, his physician and friend, used to say of him: "Take him all in all, with his strong and vigorous intellect, his knowledge of human nature, his decision of character, good judgment, and high sense of personal honor and integrity, he is one of the most remarkable men I ever knew. He seemed born to be a leader, and in whatever direction he had turned his attention, he would have distinguished himself and become a man of mark." -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V99 Issue #52 ******************************************