Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 869 - 870

G. G. SULLIVAN, farmer and stock-raiser, living on section 29, Kechi Township, is one of the very earliest settlers of Sedgwick County, coming here in 1869, before the organization of the county, and pre-empting the land he has since developed into a fine farm, on which he still resides, profitably engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was born in Canada, Jan. 5, 1840, and was the seventh in order of birth of the children of Thomas and Adaline (Rude) Sullivan, natives of Canada and Vermont respectively. His father was a mechanic in his younger days, and later followed the furniture trade in connection with farming as long as he remained a resident of Canada. In 1870 he removed with his family to Kansas, and located on section 22, Kechi Township, where his death occurred in the month of December the following year, at the age of seventy-seven. The venerable mother of our subject is now living at the advanced age of eighty-three, making her home with her daughter, Mrs. McMurchy.

            Our subject was bred to a farmer's life in his Canadian home, receiving a good training from his parents in habits of honesty and industry, which have since made his life a successful and an honorable one, and he also received a fair education in the district school. In 1869 he left the home of his youth and came directly to Kansas, and in Kechi Township pre-empted the 160 acres of land on which he still dwells. In the following spring he actively commenced its improvement, and now has it in a fine condition, so that it yields him bountiful harvests; he has it well stocked with good cattle of a mixed breed; he has ample farm buildings, and a fine residence which is an ornament to this locality. This property has increased in value many fold since it first came into his possession, partly on account of his skillful management and the numerous valuable improvements he has made, partly on account of the greatly increased valuation of all landed estates with the rapid settlement of the county, and also because of its nearness to the great centers of trade and its easy access to the city, the Motor Line passing directly by his residence, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad on the east line.

            Mr. Sullivan was married at Wichita, in February, 1872, to Miss Lettie Hunt, a native of Canada, where she was born in 1847. Her parents were Thomas and Sarah (Needham) Hunt, and she was the fourth in order of birth of their twelve children. Her paternal grandparents were John and Lettie (Gehlan) Hunt, and her maternal grandparents were Samuel and Catharine Needham, natives of Ireland; her grandfather Needham was a soldier in the British army, and took part in the battle of Waterloo, and after coming to this country he took part in the War of 1812, and was crippled for life by an explosion at the battle of the Windmill, for which he was pensioned by the British Government. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan have three children, all of whom are living, namely: Thomas A., Maggie Elizabeth and William Robert. They are all attending school, as their parents are desirous that they shall start in life with a good education.

            Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan are prominent among the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and their daily lives show that they strive to live up to the teachings of the Gospel as far as in them lies. Mr. Sullivan is a Republican in politics; he does not care to take an active part in public life, but cordially supports any measure that will benefit the community or the State at large. For a number of years he has served on the School Board, has taken a deep interest in educational matters, and has used his influence to secure the present effective system of education in Kechi Township. Mr. Sullivan, socially, belongs to the K. of P., at Wichita.

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