Daniel Sullivan 1821-1886
Pick and Gad
Shullsburg, Wisconsin
October 1886
Died at his home in the town of Seymour, Lafayette County, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, October (??), 1886, Daniel Sullivan, in the(?) year of his age.
In the death of Daniel Sullivan our county has lost one of its oldest settlers and the community one of its most honest and upright men. He was a native of Wayne County, Illinois, having been born there on the 6th day of March, 1821, and was the oldest of eleven children of Patrick Sullivan, a well known citizen of this county, who died in 1858. In the spring of 1828 Patrick Sullivan and his family left their home in Illinois and with an ox team started for the then wild prairies of Lafayette county, attracted here by the glowing reports of the vast mineral wealth of this region. After a few weeks of toilsome travel they struck camp at Ryan's Grove a few miles northwest of this village and after looking over the prospects they located in the fall at what was then called 'Dublin' which was really the original settlement of Shullsburg. Dublin was located along the south side of the branch which has its rise in Judge Blackstone's farm adjoining this village and which runs through past Schulte's Brewery and back of the Deppie farm, entering Shullsburg Branch below Copeland's mill. The town then consisted of from fifteen to twenty miners cabins mostly constructed of logs and sods, many of them having a small garden patch adjoining. The family remained here about two years, the father being mostly engaged in teaming and at the end of that time they removed out about two miles to what was known as the Fawcett farm and afterwards settled on the Sullivan homestead. It was while the family were at the latter place in the summer of 1832 that the Black Hawk war broke out and in July of that year six horsemen came galloping in from East Fork; below Galena and startled the entire neighborhood with the report that the Indians were coming in large numbers to drive out the white settlers. The history of those days is well known to most of our readers.
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....families in the neighborhood were (hurredly?) taken to Galena for protection until a fort could be built for their safety ? homes, stout arms and courageous hearts soon engaged in the construction of a fort which was located on the westerly side of Shullsburg branch; a few rods to the left of the present bridge near the furnace adjoining this village. The fort was simply a large enclosure surrounded by a stockade about twelve feet high of heavy split timbers set upon end in the ground, in which were a number of tents. When the fort was completed the women and children returned from Galena and occupied the fort while the men who had not enlisted pursued their daily labor in the surrounding neighborhood, returning at night to sleep within the protection of the fort. Patrick Sullivan enlisted under Col. Hamilton and at the close of the war in the spring of 1833 he commenced improving the homestead farm, which he had pre-empted and upon which he resided until his death in 1858. Daniel remaining upon the farm until 1849 when he removed to the farm upon which he died. He was married in 1848 to Ellen Mead, who still survives him and by whom he had five children, three of still live, Mrs. Charles Boyle, Mrs. T. J. O'Neill, and Patrick C. Sullivan. No kinder hearted man than Dan Sullivan ever lived. Reared as he was amid the danger and privations of pioneer life in the lead mines he knew and appreciated all of its vicissitudes and no unfortunate miner ever vainly appealed to him for aid. His funeral on Thursday last was one of the largest which ever took place in this neighborhood, showing the esteem in which he was held by all who knew him. Thus the early settlers of our county have passed over to the great silent majority beyond, until but few are now left to relate the stories of pioneer life. Their memory will be cherished by future generations and the name of Daniel Sullivan will never be mentioned except in Kindness.
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~Submitter: Rose