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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

SULLIVAN, JEREMIAH, late of Madison, Indiana, was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, July 21, 1794. His maternal grandfather, James Irwin, removed with his family from near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to Augusta County, Virginia, in the year 1780. There his daughter Margaret was married to Thomas Sullivan, a young Irishman who had come to this country to escape the oppressive laws forbidding Catholics to hold any office of honor or trust in Ireland, by which his father, a prominent barrister, had lost his position. The young couple settled in Harrisburg, Rockingham County. Two children were born to them, a son and a daughter, but the death of the latter in infancy left the subject of this sketch an idolized only child. His father, being a Catholic, early destined his son for the priesthood, an the greatest care was exercised in his education and the formation of his character. His mother, a woman of superior ability, was a devout Methodist, and wielded an influence over him which, long after her death, controlled him in both his public and private life. Her principles and example were sufficient to give him a distaste for the life marked out for him. He evinced great thirst for knowledge, and, after receiving all the instruction in the power of the village schoolmaster to impart, he entered William and Mary's College, where, after a thorough course of study, he graduated with honor. Having chosen the law as his profession, he became the pupil of George Harrison, of Harrisonburg, and remained with him, not only as a student, but as a confidential friend, until the year 1816, when he received his license to practice from the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the mean time, with a number of other young patriots of Virginia, he enlisted for the War of 1812, and was commissioned captain for his "bravery and good conduct." When Captain Sullivan finished his legal studies, Mr. Harrison offered, as an inducement for him to remain in Virginia, to make him his partner; but, having resolved to carve out his own fortune, he followed the "star of empire" in its course westward. In company with two young friends, he started on horseback for Louisville, Kentucky. On arriving at Cincinnati, he was advised to go to Madison, Indiana, as a location in every way desirable for a young lawyer. Acting upon this advice, he was so well pleased with the advantages offered that he decided to remain. He opened a law office there, and soon became a leading spirit in the legal fraternity of that day. After securing a comfortable home, he returned the following year to Virginia for his father and mother, and the same year was married to Miss Charlotte Cutler, of his native town. Madison now being his home, and Indiana his field of labor, he applied himself with great diligence to his profession, and the success which intelligent perserverance always brings marked him for a more prominent position. In politics he supported Monroe, and in 1820 was elected to the state Legislature, at that time held in Corydon. It was during this session that the act was passed appointing commissioners to lay off a town on the site selected for the permanent seat of government. To Mr. Sullivan belongs the honor of bestowing the name upon the future capital of the state in legislative baptism. To quote his own words:
      "I have a very distinct recollection of the great diversity of opinion that prevailed as to the name the new town should receive. The bill was reported by Judge Polk, and was, in the main, very acceptable. A blank, of course, was left for the name of the town that was to become the seat of government; and during the two or three days we spent in endeavoring to fill that blank there was some sharpness and much amusement. General Marston G. Clark, of Washington County, proposed 'Tecumseh' as the name, and very earnestly insisted on its adoption. When that failed, he suggested other Indian names, which I have forgotten. They also were rejected. Somebody suggested 'Suwarrow,' which met with no favor. Judge Polk desired the blank to be filled with 'Concord;' that also failed. Other names were proposed, but they were all voted down; and the House, without coming to any agreement, adjourned until the next day. There were many amusing things said during the day, but my remembrance of them is not sufficiently distinct to state them with accuracy. I had gone to Corydon with the intention of proposing 'Indianapolis' as the name of the town; and, on the evening of the adjournment above mentioned, I suggested to Mr. Samuel Merrill, the Representative from Switzerland County, the name I preferred. He at once adopted it, and agreed to support it. We together called on Governor Jennings, who had been a witness to the amusing scenes of the day previous, and told him to what conclusion we had come. He gave us to understand that he favored the name we had agreed upon, and that he would not hesitate to so express himself. When the House met, and went into committee on the bill, I moved to fill the blank with 'Indianapolis.' The name created a shout of laughter. Mr. Merrill, however, seconded the motion. We discussed the proposition freely and fully; the members conversed with each other informally, and the name gradually commended itself to the committee, and was accepted. The principal reason given in favor of its adoption--to wit, that its Greek termination would indicate the locality of the town--was, I am sure, the reason that overcame opposition to the name. The town was finally named Indianapolis."

      The above is an official letter to Governor Baker, and is among the archives of the state. In 1824 Mr. Sullivan was nominated for Congress, but was defeated by his opponent, William Hendricks. He had now established his reputation as a lawyer whom no hope of reward, whether of gold or glory, could ever tempt to betray his trust. He was identified with every prominent enterprise of Church or state, and his profession was valued only so far as he could through it advance the cause of morality and religion. In 1828 he was ordained an elder in the Presbyterian Church; but, while his attachment to his own Church, her doctrines, forms, and polity, was sincere, he was no sectarian bigot, and was ever willing to co-operate with Christians of other denominations. The cause of missions among the Romanists he regarded as of vital importance, and followed with money and prayers the operations of one of his favorite societies, the American and Foreign Christian Union. In 1829 he was appointed by Governon Ray commissioner, with full power to adjust the terms upon which the land granted to this state by act of Congress, March 2, 1827, should be conveyed to the state of Ohio for the construction of the Wabash and Erie Canal. This position of trust he filled with such judgment as to elicit commendation from the executives of both states. Until 1836 he was conspicuous in negotiations of the canal and fund commissioners for Indiana, as a man of unblemished integrity. It is not to be wondered at then, that, upon the death of Judge McKinney, Governor Noble should appoint Mr. Sullivan to fill the vacancy upon the Supreme Bench, with Judges Blackford and Dewey as associates, which place he occupied for nine years. During the term of service of this bench, the Supreme Court rose to a dignity and reputation unequaled by any of the newer states, and unsurpassed by any of the older. Their decisions have been, and are yet, quoted on the Queen's Bench, England, as embodying clear and well-defined principles of common law. The characteristics of the three judges were entirely different, yet, combined, served to secure for the bench this high reputation. As a man, Judge Sullivan's character was one of purity and integrity; as an advocate, he was a deep thinker and plain speaker, commanding great power over a jury; as a jurist, his keen appreciation of equity in our own jurisprudence was such that his decisions possessed unusual weight and authority. Like every good magistrate, he bowed to the majesty of the law, yet was always desirous that justice should be administered. Soon after his retirement from the bench he was solicited to accept the nomination of the Whig party for Governor, but he preferred to resume the practice of law. Although for twenty-five years the servant of the public, and away from home the greater part of his time, the training of his children was not overlooked. The loving, tender care of the father was combined with dignity and firmness; and probably no family in the West was more thoroughly conversant with the purest literature of the day than his. Two of his sons followed him in his own profession; the third entered the navy of the United States, where he remained until he passed his final examination. He afterward served with distinction in the late Civil War, rising from the rank of captain to that of brigadier-general. Judge Sullivan remained a very decided Whig until that party was broken up, after which he became a Republican, though taking no active part in political affairs until the commencement of the war, 1861. Then, with all the ardor of loyalty and patriotism, he lent his abilities and influence to the suppport of Mr. Lincoln and his policy. In 1869, upon the formation of the Criminal Court of Jefferson County, Judge Sullivan was appointed, by Governor Baker, to organize the court and hold it until the general election; at that time, by the voice of the people, he was again made judge of the same court. The first term of the new court opened on Tuesday, December 6, 1870, when he was to be sworn into office, but on that morning the citizens were startled with the intelligence that Judge Sullivan has passed from time to eternity. The angel of death had been sent to summon him to attend a higher court, and peacefully, painlessly, and without objection, he had passed from earth, in the ripeness of his years and the maturity of his wisdom and usefulness. The resolutions of the Supreme Court of the state show in what respect he was held by the community at large. Hon. Joseph E. McDonald said:

      "May it Please the Court:    I have been deputed by my brothers of the bar to make formal announcement of a sad event, by the news of which you have already been pained. Hon. Jeremiah Sullivan, who was one of the judges of this court from the year 1835 to the year 1846, died suddenly at his home, in Madison, on the sixth day of December, 1870.    It is the sentiment of my brothers of the bar, that the death of one to whom the jurisprudence of the state owes so much, should be noticed in fitting terms upon the records of the high court to which his labors in former years contributed so much of character and respect. As a judge, he was learned and inflexibly just, and an ornament to the bench. As a practicing lawyer, he was able and honorable, and an ornament to the profession. As a sincere Christian, he was an ornament to the Church. As a man of exalted personal character, he was an ornament to society. I respectfully move, your honors, that the accompanying resolutions of the bar be ordered spread upon the records of the Court:
      "At a meeting of members of the bar of the Supreme Court of Indiana, held a the Supreme Court room, on the second day of January, 1871, convened because of the recent death of Jeremiah Sullivan, a former judge of the court, the following resolutions were adopted:
     "Resolved, That it is fitting that some suitable expression of regard for the memory of Judge Sullivan should be preserved among the records of the high court over which he once presided.
      "Resolved, That, in the sense of the legal profession of this state, the name of Jeremiah Sullivan should be prominently inscribed in the list of those learned and able judges to whom Indiana will ever remain indebted for their services in laying the firm foundation of its jurisprudence.
      "Resolved, That we will cherish the memory of Judge Sullivan as that of a learned and upright judge, a devoted Christian, and a man of unsullied purity and integrity of character."