Peter Arthur Sullivan of Saratoga Springs, NY

PETER ARTHUR SULLIVAN

B. April 1858 in Saratoga Springs, NY, Peter was nine months younger than sister Kate, Irish twins.

About 1877-1878, Margaret and children leave Florennce for “good cause” https://drive.google.com/file/d/16UVa0Aoczvbpk6X0EfOlVsobGq4yT2pY/view?usp=sharing

Peter’s mother and six siblings left Florence Sullivan in Saratoga Springs and moved to Cornell Street in Amsterdam. Amsterdam was thriving with factory work, etc.

After Florence’s death in 1882, The Saratoga Sentinel reported, “Sullivan has lived alone for some years, in his shanty. His wife and children having left him for good cause and had gone to live in Amsterdam.”

From 1878 to 1882, any funds from the will were not available requiring Peter and Margaret to work. As the eldest son, Peter, was forced to leave school and go to work to help support his family.

In the 1880 census, at age 18, Peter’s occupation is listed as an “Apprents Boiler Making”. While his mother was listed as a domestic worker, his sisters were listed as working in the carpet mill. Only the two youngest in school.

As the family's situation improved in Amsterdam, the Sullivans were able to send the younger siblings to college. Peter possessed the intelligence to join them had he been allowed to finish school. He was a gifted mathematician and when designed to speak - a passionate debater about the issues of the day.

Peter’s OCCUPATIONS in Amsterdam:

o    1880 census lists occupation as apprentice boilermaker

o    1883 directory lists him as a boilermaker

o    1886 directory lists him as a coachman

o    1887-88 - can’t read (possibly in this directory but not available)

o    1889 directory lists him as a carpenter

o    1890 directory lists him as a farmer

o    1891 Supervisor of Ward 6

On September 22, 1886, Peter Arthur married Elizabeth Frances Smith in Amsterdam, NY

From local paper - “Peter and Elizabeth were married at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church with the Reverend John McIncrow celebrating the Mass. After a reception at the bride’s home, the married couple left on the 5:23 train for NY where Peter worked as a customs inspector.”

They had eight children:

Helen E. Sullivan 1897 - 1989

Charles A. Sullivan 1899 - 1991

Daniel S. Sullivan 1901 - 1902 (Edward’s twin)

Edward V. Sullivan 1901 - 1974

Elizabeth Sullivan 1904 - 1905

Mercedes R. Sullivan 1906 - 1998

Julia M. Sullivan 1909 - 1910

Frances Sullivan 1911 - 1987

He lost his reappointment to the Customs House due to his refusal to write a thank you note to the “ward heeler” who secured him the job, a kind of loyalty oath. Guided by his inflexible moral absolutes, he felt it was wrong to write a “petty bit of fawning.” Out of work, he found work as a salon manager and later a milkman in Harlem, NY

After the infant deaths of two children in Harlem, Elizabeth insisted on moving the family out of the city. In 1906, Peter Sullivan, scraped together the funds to move the family to a working-class town of Port Chester, NY where Peter found a job working in a livery as a stablehand.

Peter felt frustrated by not having achieved more. He felt he was a failure.

Excerpt from NY Journal-American 3.17.56: “The strongest and most important influence on Ed Sullivan was his father, Peter Sullivan, who has been described as stern, brooding and moody.”

Ed Sullivan described his father as brilliant, introspective and the most fearless man he ever knew. His father felt cheated by life’s role of the dice. He was not able to finish his education because he had to work to raise money for his family. After losing his job as a customs officer in Manhattan due to a moral conflict, Peter worked as a saloon keeper and a milkman, guiding a horse-drawn milk wagon through the streets of Harlem.

The fact that his father was never able to realize his potential was a driving force in Ed Sullivan’s thirst for success. He strived harder to be a noted American, and he wanted to be known as an honest and good man. Everything was carefully weighted on his father’s scale.