Lucas Sullivant
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Lucas Sullivant (September 22, 1765 – August 28, 1823), was the founder of Franklinton, Ohio, the first American settlement near the Scioto River in central Ohio.


Biography

Lucas Sullivant was of Irish descent; the original family name was of the ancient surname Ó Súilleabháin of southwestern Ireland. In 1795 Lucas Sullivant was employed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to survey the Central Ohio portion of the Virginia Military District. Sullivant, along with approximately 20 men surveyed the western side of the Scioto River at the confluence of the Olentangy and Scioto Rivers. As payment for his work, Sullivant was given 6000 acres. Sullivant, after surveying the land, returned to Kentucky where he courted Sarah Starling, the daughter of his mentor Colonel William Starling. In 1797, Sullivant returned to the Ohio and laid out a village of 220 lots in Franklin County, which he named Franklinton in honor of the recently deceased Benjamin Franklin. This original settlement was abandoned a year later in 1798 when a flood submerged most of the town. Sullivant relocated the town less than a mile away, off of the banks of the Scioto River. He also served as the first Recorder of Franklin County, Ohio from 1804 to 1807. The replatted town was laid out in blocks that contained four lots in a square, with each lot measuring 99’ wide by 115’ deep. To encourage people to move to the new settlement, Sullivant offered free land for anyone willing to build a house along Gift Street, near the eastern edge of his plat. Along with platting and settling the town, Sullivant also built several structures out of brick and glass from Philadelphia. These buildings included a courthouse, a brick home to impress Starling (who was wed to Sullivant in 1801), a brick church and the first bridge across the Scioto River.


Personal life

Lucas Sullivant married Sarah Starling, the daughter of Sullivant's mentor. They had four children,
William Starling William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norm ...
, Michael, Joseph, and Sarah Ann. Lucas died on August 28, 1823 and was buried at the
Old Franklinton Cemetery The Old Franklinton Cemetery is a cemetery in the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The cemetery is the oldest in Central Ohio, established in 1799. Other names for it include the Franklinton Cemetery or Pioneer Burying Ground. Franklin ...
. He was later reburied at Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.


See also

* ''Celebration of Life'' (Tibor) *
Lucas Sullivant House The Lucas Sullivant House was the house of Lucas Sullivant, founder of Franklinton, Ohio. Franklinton, where the house was located, was Central Ohio's first white settlement, and a predecessor to and current neighborhood of the city of Columbu ...
*
Statue of Lucas Sullivant A statue of Lucas Sullivant by Michael Foley is installed in Columbus, Ohio's Genoa Park, in the United States. The sculpture was commissioned by the Franklinton Historical Society in 2000, and unveiled on May 6. The plinth depicts scenes from Fr ...
,
Genoa Park Genoa Park is a urban park along the west bank of the Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The park, located between Broad and Rich Streets as part of the Scioto Mile park grouping, is named after Genoa, the birthplace of Christopher C ...


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivant, Lucas 1765 births American people of Irish descent 1823 deaths American surveyors Burials at Green Lawn Cemetery (Columbus, Ohio)