Autograph Letter Signed.
This prominent Boston businessman and partner in the import/export firm Sullivan and Barbour may have been the son of the Revolutionary War general John Sullivan, according to some sources, though other evidence suggests not; he was also secretary of the United States Land Company and other similar concerns; his wife, Marian Dix (1802-60), was sister of General John A. Dix and a noted composer best known for her hit song "The Blue Juniata"; together, the Sullivans were well-known Boston socialites. Item #36132
ALS, 1p + integral address leaf, 7 3/4" X 9 3/4", Washington, DC, 1865 March 13. Addressed to Brigadier General Edward A. Wild (1825-91), commander of the famed black infantry brigade popularly known as "Wild's African Brigade." Near fine. Wild married Sullivan's daughter, Frances Ellen, in 1855. Sullivan writes to his son-in-law (in part): "I commend to your acquaintance & regard, my friend Geo. May Powell, Esq, of the Internal Revenue Department; who is the son of an excellent and lamented friend of mine. Mr P. has attracted attention and favor in the highest quarters, by his very able writings upon finance & taxation -- and for his superior genius as an inventor of note, and his many excellencies as a gentleman + a christian...." Powell (1835-1905) was a statistician with the U.S. Treasury Department during the Civil War, after which he became a noted social reformer, philanthropist, publisher, "Bible geographer" involving his travels through Egypt and Palestine, and inventor. An intriguing item from this Boston noteworthy to his famed son-in-law regarding a renowned Renaissance man of the day. Interestingly, Sullivan writes just after the end of the Civil War and about one month after Abraham Lincoln's famed visit to Richmond shortly before his assassination -- Wild's men were among those troops who witnessed this event. Since this letter was given to Powell (who could have read it) rather than sent my mail (it’s not cancelled), it’s formal, with the father-in-law addressing his son-in-law as “My dear General.”.
Price: $195.00