Description

Jerry Sullivan (1843 - 1929) was born November 28, 1843, in Picton, Ontario, Canada; died October 24, 1929 at the St. Michael Hotel, Prescott, Arizona. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Sullivan. He moved to Astabula, Ohio in 1864-5. From there he moved to Pennsylvania and then Leavenworth, Kansas where he was employed by the government as a wagon master hauling goods to outlying posts. There he met John Duke who became a lifetime friend and who became the proprietor of the St. Michael Hotel in Prescott, Arizona.

Jerry came into Yavapai County from New Mexico in summer 1868 with a party of 16 men, known as the Hance-Sullivan party. Jerry first worked providing wild grass hay for the horses and mules at the Whipple, Verde and Camp Wollapaito posts. At that time the government was using lots of shingles at various posts. Having grown up in lumber country, Jerry knew how to run a shingle machine and worked at shingle making during the winter of 1868 and1869 while continuing to provide hay in the summer. He survived several Indian attacks.

In 1870 he went to Oregon (and Alaska, Hawaii and South America) and returned to Prescott in 1872 deciding to stay in Arizona. In 1873 he returned to Oregon, purchased 500 head of cattle and 125 horses, drove them down to Arizona crossing the Colorado River about where Needles, California is now located. He started the 0-0 brand in Williamson Valley with the animals that survived the trip. It was claimed that these were the first cattle located in Williamson Valley. In a short time, Sullivan built up the outfit until it included thousands of cattle and a range of 150,000 acres or more.

Prominent in livestock and civic affairs, he was a supervisor of Yavapai County, a director of the Bank of Arizona, a two-term state legislator from Yavapai County and a member of the Masonic Lodge. On his death he left an estate valued at close to $500,000. He never married and was survived by one brother and one sister.

In this photograph he is shown with his horse, Montee.