Algernon Sydney Sullivan
Encyclopedia
For the Louisiana
Republican
politician
, see Algernon Sidney Badger
.
Algernon Sydney Sullivan (1826–1887) was a New York
lawyer
. Sullivan, together with William Nelson Cromwell
, founded Sullivan & Cromwell
in 1879.
Sullivan was born at Madison, Indiana
April 5, 1826, son of Jeremiah and Charlotte Rudesel (Cutler) Sullivan. He was named in honor of the British politician, Algernon Sidney. His father (1794–1870) was a lawyer, a major in the war of 1812, a member of the Indiana legislature in 1821, and judge of the criminal court of Jefferson County, Ind., and a judge of the supreme court (1837–46). His grandfather, Thomas Littleton Sullivan, the son of an Irish barrister, emigrated from Charleville, County Cork, Ireland, in 1791, to Augusta County, Va. Algernon S. Sullivan was educated at Hanover College
, Hanover, Ind., and at Miami University
, Oxford, O., where he was graduated in 1845. While a law student, about the age of twenty, he made a tour of Indiana, speaking with marked success in advocacy of taxation for the maintenance of public schools. After studying law in his father's office, he was admitted to the bar in 1848, and for eight years practiced in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1857 he moved to New York city, and soon took a prominent position as a lawyer and public spirited citizen. He was retained to defend the officers and crew of the Confederate schooner Savannah, the first vessel to be captured during the civil war, who were on trial for their lives on the charge of piracy. Owing to some inimical reports about him, he was arrested and imprisoned, but soon released. After the trial began, public feeling ran so high that his life was threatened if he should appear in their defense. He nevertheless did so, telling his friends that, having been appealed to as a lawyer, he could consider no other course, and the ultimate result of the trial was that the men were exchanged as prisoners of war. From 1870-73 Mr. Sullivan was assistant district attorney for New York city, and upon leaving that office he formed a partnership with Hermann Kobbe and Ludlow Fowler. In 1875 he was appointed public administrator, during which he instituted many reforms, reducing the charges upon estates administered, and, in spite of pressure, retaining in his service efficient assistants of a political party different from his own. In 1878 the firm of Sullivan, Kobbe & Fowler was dissolved and he formed a partnership with William Nelson Cromwell
, under the name of Sullivan & Cromwell
, which firm name is still retained by the successors to his business. Mr. Sullivan was recognized as one of the strongest, readiest and most successful jury lawyers in New York, and he was admired and revered by both bench and bar. His kindness, candor and fairness, even during the heat of a trial, were always the subject of remark. Judge Bookstaver, of New York, in speaking of him, said: "He was always welcomed by the court in any case in which he appeared, because it was felt that his learning, ability and absolute truthfulness would assist the court in the trial of any question of law and fact with which it had to deal." He was noted for seeking opportunities for helping and encouraging younger lawyers. His interests were very broad, and his sympathy both deep and active. No individual ever appealed to him without receiving what was needed, either money, service, guidance or encouragement. There were few movements for public welfare, alleviation of suffering or the upholding of high ideals that did not receive his efficient aid. He was a brilliant and convincing orator, and was often chosen to speak at public gatherings because of his prominence and eloquence. One of his most famous orations was at the laying of the cornerstone of the Produce Exchange, made at an hour's notice. In all of his work there was great readiness, versatility and ease. On the platform he was peculiarly attractive and effective. He was tall, handsome in face and form, graceful in movement, impressive and most winning in manner and presence. His voice was full, penetrating, musical and sympathetic. His style was direct, simple and vividly realistic. He was a Whig
in politics until 1856, when he became a Democrat
, in which party he remained until his death. He was active in party work, but with great independence.
Sullivan was concerned with the affairs of charitable organizations and of the First Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the American and New York State Bar associations, many social and scientific clubs, and was the first president of the Southern Society of New York. Upon his death many of the city courts were adjourned, the last time that such an adjournment was taken for a private citizen, and the flags of the city were at half-mast in respect to his memory. Although he was a most able and brilliant man, the most prominent feature was his character, which was noble, generous and singularly pure. In 1851 he was married to Mary Slocum Groesbeck, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who died in the same year. He was married again, in 1855, to Mary Mildred, daughter of George W. Hammond, of Winchester, Va. She survived him with one son, George Hammond Sullivan, a lawyer of New York city. Sullivan died December 4, 1887.
He was the son of Jeremiah Sullivan
, a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. He was married to Mary Mildred Hammond Sullivan, who was an influential civic leader and philanthropist in New York.
In 1926 The New York Southern Society established the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award
which is presented to undergraduate seniors at colleges and universities across the eastern United States. The participating institutions present the award as determined by a vote of the faculty. The recipient is one who exhibits Sullivan's ideals of heart, mind, and conduct as evidenced by a spirit of love for and helpfulness to others, who "excels in high ideals of living, in fine spiritual qualities, and in generous and unselfish service to others.
After the New York Southern Society closed its doors, the awards were continued by the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation
and grew to include many institutions throughout the country, such as Campbellsville University
, in Campbellsville
, Kentucky
, which awarded one of its first two honors to the physician Forest Shely
, who was a CU trustee from 1954 until his death in 2010.
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, see Algernon Sidney Badger
Algernon Sidney Badger
Algernon Sidney Badger was a colonel in the Union Army who became an important Republican carpetbagger government official in New Orleans, Louisiana, during and after Reconstruction.- Early years :...
.
Algernon Sydney Sullivan (1826–1887) was a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. Sullivan, together with William Nelson Cromwell
William Nelson Cromwell
William Nelson Cromwell was an American attorney active in promotion of the Panama Canal and other major ventures.He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised there by his mother, Sarah M. Brokaw, a Civil War widow...
, founded Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm has approximately 800 lawyers in 12 offices, located in financial centers in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Sullivan & Cromwell was founded by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson...
in 1879.
Sullivan was born at Madison, Indiana
Madison, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,004 people, 5,092 households, and 3,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,402.9 people per square mile . There were 5,597 housing units at an average density of 654.1 per square mile...
April 5, 1826, son of Jeremiah and Charlotte Rudesel (Cutler) Sullivan. He was named in honor of the British politician, Algernon Sidney. His father (1794–1870) was a lawyer, a major in the war of 1812, a member of the Indiana legislature in 1821, and judge of the criminal court of Jefferson County, Ind., and a judge of the supreme court (1837–46). His grandfather, Thomas Littleton Sullivan, the son of an Irish barrister, emigrated from Charleville, County Cork, Ireland, in 1791, to Augusta County, Va. Algernon S. Sullivan was educated at Hanover College
Hanover College
Hanover College is a private liberal arts college, located in Hanover, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio River. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The college was founded in 1827 by the Rev. John Finley Crowe, making it the oldest private college in Indiana. The Hanover...
, Hanover, Ind., and at Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
, Oxford, O., where he was graduated in 1845. While a law student, about the age of twenty, he made a tour of Indiana, speaking with marked success in advocacy of taxation for the maintenance of public schools. After studying law in his father's office, he was admitted to the bar in 1848, and for eight years practiced in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1857 he moved to New York city, and soon took a prominent position as a lawyer and public spirited citizen. He was retained to defend the officers and crew of the Confederate schooner Savannah, the first vessel to be captured during the civil war, who were on trial for their lives on the charge of piracy. Owing to some inimical reports about him, he was arrested and imprisoned, but soon released. After the trial began, public feeling ran so high that his life was threatened if he should appear in their defense. He nevertheless did so, telling his friends that, having been appealed to as a lawyer, he could consider no other course, and the ultimate result of the trial was that the men were exchanged as prisoners of war. From 1870-73 Mr. Sullivan was assistant district attorney for New York city, and upon leaving that office he formed a partnership with Hermann Kobbe and Ludlow Fowler. In 1875 he was appointed public administrator, during which he instituted many reforms, reducing the charges upon estates administered, and, in spite of pressure, retaining in his service efficient assistants of a political party different from his own. In 1878 the firm of Sullivan, Kobbe & Fowler was dissolved and he formed a partnership with William Nelson Cromwell
William Nelson Cromwell
William Nelson Cromwell was an American attorney active in promotion of the Panama Canal and other major ventures.He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised there by his mother, Sarah M. Brokaw, a Civil War widow...
, under the name of Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm has approximately 800 lawyers in 12 offices, located in financial centers in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Sullivan & Cromwell was founded by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson...
, which firm name is still retained by the successors to his business. Mr. Sullivan was recognized as one of the strongest, readiest and most successful jury lawyers in New York, and he was admired and revered by both bench and bar. His kindness, candor and fairness, even during the heat of a trial, were always the subject of remark. Judge Bookstaver, of New York, in speaking of him, said: "He was always welcomed by the court in any case in which he appeared, because it was felt that his learning, ability and absolute truthfulness would assist the court in the trial of any question of law and fact with which it had to deal." He was noted for seeking opportunities for helping and encouraging younger lawyers. His interests were very broad, and his sympathy both deep and active. No individual ever appealed to him without receiving what was needed, either money, service, guidance or encouragement. There were few movements for public welfare, alleviation of suffering or the upholding of high ideals that did not receive his efficient aid. He was a brilliant and convincing orator, and was often chosen to speak at public gatherings because of his prominence and eloquence. One of his most famous orations was at the laying of the cornerstone of the Produce Exchange, made at an hour's notice. In all of his work there was great readiness, versatility and ease. On the platform he was peculiarly attractive and effective. He was tall, handsome in face and form, graceful in movement, impressive and most winning in manner and presence. His voice was full, penetrating, musical and sympathetic. His style was direct, simple and vividly realistic. He was a Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
in politics until 1856, when he became a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, in which party he remained until his death. He was active in party work, but with great independence.
Sullivan was concerned with the affairs of charitable organizations and of the First Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the American and New York State Bar associations, many social and scientific clubs, and was the first president of the Southern Society of New York. Upon his death many of the city courts were adjourned, the last time that such an adjournment was taken for a private citizen, and the flags of the city were at half-mast in respect to his memory. Although he was a most able and brilliant man, the most prominent feature was his character, which was noble, generous and singularly pure. In 1851 he was married to Mary Slocum Groesbeck, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who died in the same year. He was married again, in 1855, to Mary Mildred, daughter of George W. Hammond, of Winchester, Va. She survived him with one son, George Hammond Sullivan, a lawyer of New York city. Sullivan died December 4, 1887.
He was the son of Jeremiah Sullivan
Jeremiah Sullivan
Jeremiah C. Sullivan was a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from 1836–1846 and coined the name "Indianapolis" for the new state capital....
, a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. He was married to Mary Mildred Hammond Sullivan, who was an influential civic leader and philanthropist in New York.
In 1926 The New York Southern Society established the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award
Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award
In 1925, the New York Southern Society began presenting the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for excellence of character and service to humanity in honor of prominent New York lawyer, Algernon Sydney Sullivan. The first award was presented at Peabody College in Nashville, now part of Vanderbilt...
which is presented to undergraduate seniors at colleges and universities across the eastern United States. The participating institutions present the award as determined by a vote of the faculty. The recipient is one who exhibits Sullivan's ideals of heart, mind, and conduct as evidenced by a spirit of love for and helpfulness to others, who "excels in high ideals of living, in fine spiritual qualities, and in generous and unselfish service to others.
After the New York Southern Society closed its doors, the awards were continued by the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation
Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation
The Sullivan Foundation was formed by the New York legislature on March 30, 1930, with the mission of promoting:"The welfare of mankind...and to continue, carry out and further the philanthropies and philanthropic aims of the late Algernon Sydney Sullivan and Mary Mildred Hammond Sullivan, and more...
and grew to include many institutions throughout the country, such as Campbellsville University
Campbellsville University
Campbellsville University, also known as CU, is a private university in Campbellsville, Kentucky, the seat of Taylor County. Founded as Russell Creek Academy, a Baptist institution, the university currently enrolls more than 3,000 students and is open to students of all denominations...
, in Campbellsville
Campbellsville, Kentucky
Campbellsville is a city in Taylor County, Kentucky, United States. The population within city limits was 10,498 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Taylor County, and the home of Campbellsville University...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, which awarded one of its first two honors to the physician Forest Shely
Forest Shely
Forest Franklin Shely was a physician from Campbellsville, Kentucky, who served as a trustee at the Baptist-affiliated Campbellsville University for fifty-six years.-Background:...
, who was a CU trustee from 1954 until his death in 2010.