Recently, a Sullivan cousin (Mary Elizabeth Sullivan Dreger) sent me a scan of an old photo that has been in her family for years. The photo is of Mary's grandfather (my great-grandfather) patrolman Maurice Sullivan. Standing next to him, Mary had been told, is the Mayor of Boston - James Michael Curley.Looking at the photo, I assume it was taken during Curley's first term as mayor. But the man in this photo looks too old and I can't find any images of James Michael Curley with a mustache. Could this instead be a photo of a different Boston Mayor - George Albee Hibbard (served from 1908 - 1910)?
Digging into the latest box of Sullivan family photos my parents dropped off at my house, I found this image which has marked on the back: Brother Maurice going off to war. Hand shake by Mayor James Michael Curley. - Helen S. SullivanThis photo does indeed look like James Michael Curley from his first term (1914 - 1918).
Unfortunately this second photo is not marked with the date. But I did find Maurice A. Sullivan's WWI draft card from 1917. So this photo was taken sometime in 1917 or 1918.
So what do you think? Is the first photo Mayor Curley? To be fair, he is squinting into the sun, which could be making him look older than he should be. Any other guesses on who the man in the first photo could be?
- Boston Globe May 30, 1910 article about death of Ex-Mayor George Albee Hibbard
Labels: Sullivan
Hi Jane -
Based on the shape of the man's nose in the photo, I would definitely say that this is Mayor Hibbard and not Curley.
I stumbled across your blog looking for photos of my great great grandmother, Ellen (Nellie) Sullivan. She had a questionable relationship with Mayor Curley, and I'm hoping to find a photo of her somewhere. No one in the family has one.
If you run across any sort of reference, I'd love it if you'd drop me a line. :)
Thanks, Kimberly Coutts
Kimstrezz@aol.com