Another Postscript on Thomas

As exhaustive searches go, the one for Thomas F. Sullivan in the city directories of nineteenth century Denver certainly put us through our paces. But it wasn’t exhaustive enough for me to wave the white flag and give up. Not just yet. I still wanted to know the exact date of Thomas’ passing and the cause of his death.

I thought—oh, silly me—that perhaps, now armed with both addresses and occupational details, I would be able to isolate our Thomas from the many Thomas Sullivans mentioned in Denver city newspapers. How wrong I was. Despite searching five different specific name entries—Thomas Sullivan, Thomas F. Sullivan, Tom Sullivan, T. F. Sullivan, and even Thos. Sullivan—I failed to locate any obituary or even fleeting mention of the man’s passing.

I did, however, discover that there was a sought-after tenor soloist by name T. F. Sullivan who was often mentioned in Denver newspapers. And legal proceedings by some sue-happy Thomases. And a few rogue Thomases as well, having for their claim to fame a night or so in the local jail. All for the joy of chasing after one of those enigmatic ancestors-by-marriage.

I am now officially exhausted.

I will agree with the Mount Olivet cemetery in which he has been listed and finally lay this particular Thomas F. Sullivan to rest. Perhaps, some day in the future, when online resources are even zippier and more thorough than they are today, I may be tempted to take up the pursuit again. For now, though, I’ll let the few things I’ve discovered about this Thomas—and his wife Julia, our Kelly family descendant—suffice me and my almost-insatiable curiosity.

Meanwhile, as the date for our upcoming travels to Ireland draw even nearer, it’s back to the books for those final—desperate—touches on my research. If I find nothing else in the Dublin research leg of the journey, I hope to at least gain some direction on exactly where to go to wander the turf of our forefathers. There are, thankfully, still many online resources to tap for these last minute searches on the rest of our Irish surnames.