by Linda L. Esterson, photography by Nikola Tzenov
In early April, Torry Sullivan brought her father, Larry Sullivan, to the Jerusalem Lutheran Church cemetery on Bachmans Valley Road, located north of Westminster.
It was there that he saw tombstones of many of his ancestors and met Ann Sullivan Groft — his third cousin — for the very first time A man of few words, Larry was touched by the chance to meet Groft — their great-grandfathers were brothers. “I’m delighted,” he said with a smile.
Groft, who carried a bag full of articles, artifacts and family photos to share, estimates she finds a new family member every five years. “You never, ever, until the day you die, find all your people,” she says.
Their meeting seemed to be determined by fate. On Larry’s 84th birthday in early March, Torry brought him to the Carroll County Public Library’s Westminster branch. Larry had visited Ireland more than 20 years ago and expressed a desire to continue his research into the family’s roots.
Coincidentally, that first library visit fell on a Thursday, when the Carroll County Genealogical Society meets to help members of the public seeking information about their ancestors.
Larry and Torry connected with Roger Siedel, the society’s library chairperson. Within 15 minutes, he had listed Sullivan ancestors dating back to Cornelius Sullivan, who came to Carroll County in 1749 from Ireland.
Torry didn’t have “a lot of contact” with Larry in her youth. She was raised primarily by her mother, who was adopted.
“I really felt like we were on a raft floating in the big world right then to get here and find all of the information about my father’s family… I was blown away,” she says. “That moment sealed my obsession right there.”
At the library, they discovered an old notebook with dozens of pages of handwritten descriptions of the Sullivan ancestors. Torry has combed through ship logs and many historical books that include mention of the Sullivan family since that visit.
Torry learned that Cornelius’ son, Michael Sullivan, served as an Orphan’s Court judge in 1837 and was a member of the first grand jury organized in Carroll County.
Larry and Torry visited the courthouse and found a courtroom restored to that time period with historic photos of judges. Michael’s photo was missing, however. After research, the law librarian confirmed Michael’s tenure and, thanks to Larry and Torry’s visit, added his photo to the wall.
Society members uncovered information for Larry, whose father passed away when he was 5. The society traced records back to an ancestor of Larry’s in the Revolutionary War.
“The goal [Carroll County Genealogical Society] was to provide the kind of information that was really reliable and to meet standards of reliability and consistency.” — Ann Horvath
Connecting with the Carroll County Genealogical Society has also opened the door to many questions for Torry.
She’s returned to the library with her father and brother, Brad Sullivan, to learn more and is particularly curious about the women who married into the Sullivan family.
“I want to add to the folder that’s in the library so future generations can come in and have the same experience I did,” she says. “I want to put together a notebook for each of us — myself and my siblings — so that our children will have this to go through.”
