Jeremiah C. Sullivan (July 21, 1794 – December 6, 1870) was a justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dec ...

from 1837 to 1846 and coined the name "

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

" for the new state capital. Sullivan's father, Thomas Littleton Sullivan, was the son of an Irish

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and emigrated from Charleville,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, in 1791 to

Augusta County, Virginia Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and ...

. Jeremiah began his studies at

The College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institut ...

in Virginia. After serving in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, during which he rose to the rank of major, he returned to Virginia to study law. He was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1816. Believing that there was more opportunity in the newly opened West, he ventured out to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. On his way, he was told of the opportunities offered by

Madison, Indiana Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the large ...

, a new and growing town on the banks of the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. He built his home in 1818 and from this base went on to carve a career as state legislator, state supreme court judge, county judge, Presbyterian elder, and Mason. He helped found nearby

Hanover College Hanover College is a private college in Hanover, Indiana, United States, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Founded in 1827 by Reverend John Finley Crowe, it is Indiana's oldest private college. The Hanover athletic teams participat ...

and the

Indiana Historical Society The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies. It describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Stree ...

. Sullivan's public career was immediately successful.

Jonathan Jennings Jonathan Jennings (March 27, 1784 – July 26, 1834) was an American politician who was the first governor of the State of Indiana and a nine-term congressman from Indiana. Born in either Hunterdon County, New Jersey, or Rockbridge County, Vi ...

, the first Governor of Indiana, quickly appointed him prosecuting attorney in Madison and within three years of his arrival he was elected a member of the state legislature. While in the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

, he gave Indianapolis its name. He was a member of the Indiana Supreme Court from 1837 to 1846. In 1869, a criminal court was created for Jefferson County, and he was appointed judge. Judge Sullivan's house, the Jeremiah Sullivan House, in Madison, is acknowledged to have been the first brick mansion built in the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

. It is now on tour and is a component of the Madison Historic District. Among his sons were Algernon Sydney Sullivan, founder of the

Sullivan & Cromwell Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1879 by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson Cromwell, the firm advised on the creation of Edison General Electric and the formation o ...

law firm in New York, and Jeremiah C. Sullivan, Civil War general.

References

* *
Indiana Supreme Court biography
*https://sites.google.com/view/historicmadisoninc/hmi-properties/sullivan-house

References

See also