The Murray Sullivan Papers, 1907-1932

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Utah State Historical Society
The machine-readable finding aid for this collection was created by the Collections Management staff, Utah State Historical Society.

Utah State Historical Society
Salt Lake City, Utah

Copyright, 2005, Utah State Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Reproduction, storage or transmittal of this work, or any part of it, in any form or by any means, for commercial purposes, is prohibited without prior authorization of the Utah State Historical Society. This work may be used for scholarly and other non-commercial use provided that the Utah State Historical Society is acknowledged as the creator and copyright holder.
Summary Description | Background | Scope and Content | Administrative Info | Container List

Summary Description
Repository:Utah State Historical Society
Call number:Mss B 1587
Creator: Murray Sullivan
Title:Murray Sullivan Papers, 1907-1932
Quantity:10.5 lin. ft. (20 boxes)
Note: Three photographs (one of Arthur, one of Nancy, and one with both children) were included in a letter to Murray in October 1918. The photos are located with the letter in Box 2, Folder 2. Two photos from Nancy are located in Box 12, Folders 5 and 12.
Abstract:This collection includes letters from Sullivan's wife and children while he was on business in China and California, letters from his sisters, brother, and father, and a few letters from Sullivan to his family. There are also a few of his business and legal files.

Topics:
Railroad
College Life
Utah Social Life

Persons:
Murray Sullivan
Edna Bumiller Sullivan
Arthur Bumiller Sullivan
Nancy Adair Sullivan

Places:
Salt Lake City, Utah
China
California

Form or Genre:
Correspondence, newspaper clippings, news journals, legal file
Summary Description | Background | Scope and Content | Administrative Info | Container List

Background

Background Note

Murray Sullivan was a prominent civil engineer in Utah from the 1910s to the 1930s. This collection includes letters from Sullivan's wife and children while he was on business in China and California, letters from his sisters, brother, and father, and a few letters from Sullivan to his family. The letters were found in the attic of the garage at 5340 S. Cottonwood Lane, the last residence of Murray Sullivan

Biographical Note

Murray Sullivan was a prominent international and local civil engineer.
Murray was born into privilege and raised his own children in the upper echelons of Utah society. He was born in Oxford, Mississippi, 29 October 1881, to William Van Amberg Sullivan (also known as William V. Sullivan or W. V. Sullivan) and Belle Murray Sullivan. William V. Sullivan (1857-1918) was an attorney who became a U.S. representative from Mississippi from 1897-1898. In 1898, he was appointed as a senator to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Edward C. Walthall, a position in which he served from 31 May 1898 to 3 March 1901. He did not run for reelection. A graduate of the University of Mississippi engineering school, Murray married Edna Bumiller Sullivan (b. 24 December 1881 in Los Angeles) on 25 April 1906. Shortly thereafter, Murray joined the Oregon Short Line in Utah after doing railroad work in New Mexico and Mexico. The couple eventually settled at 1341 Second Avenue.
In 1916 Murray became the senior engineer for the American Railway Enterprise, American International Corporation, with headquarters at Peiping, China. Murray helped build 3,100 miles of railroad in China. His main objective was to build a railroad line from the eastern coast of China to the Szechwan province. Access to this large and rich province had been limited to the Yangtze River, which could be unreliable and perilous to navigate. Murray also assisted in reconstructing the Grand Canal while in China. During World War I, Murray was the general purchasing agent in northern China for the Siberian commission of the allied powers. The collection includes letters from Murray during his first few years in China.
The Sullivans ensured that their two children, Arthur and Nancy, were highly educated. Arthur studied at Yale in the mid-1920s; Nancy boarded at Rowland Hall and finished her high school education at the Low and Heywood School, a boarding school in Stamford, Connecticut. She pursued her college education at Vassar College, an elite female college. The collection includes letters from Nancy and Arthur as they experienced college life in the East during the 1920s.
While visiting their daughter, a motorcyclist struck Murray and six other people as they were leaving a dinner party at Vassar College. On 20 February 1930, a motorcycle with a sidecar drove into the crowd as they were crossing the street, injuring seven people, two of whom were in critical condition. Three of the injured were Vassar students. The motorcyclist had two passengers in the sidecar, one of whom sustained injuries when the motorcycle hit a tree 175 feet beyond the crowd. The driver, Edward Terrell, was driving too fast, and the lights on the vehicle were too dim, disabling the driver and preventing the pedestrians from seeing the motorcycle until it was too late. Murray suffered a compound fracture of the skull, a fractured left leg, left pelvis, collarbone, and sustained internal injuries. When one of the students died because of the injuries she sustained in the accident, Terrell's charge of Third Degree Assault was raised to Second Degree Manslaughter. After his recovery, Murray was able to return to work at the Salt Lake and Utah Railroad as general manager until 1939. Murray's files concerning the accident, including newspaper clippings, legal files, correspondence, and medical documentation, are also included in the collection.
In the late 1930s Murray and Edna moved into their home at 6310 S. Cottonwood Lane (now 5340 S. Cottonwood Lane), where the letters were found almost sixty years later. Murray died of a heart attack on 14 December 1941. Edna moved out of the Cottonwood Lane home soon after Murray's death. From 1942 to 1955 Edna lived in her own apartment. She died at Nancy's home on 18 March 1955.
Nancy married Arthur's Yale friend, Alexander D. Moffat, on 31 August 1931. A graduate of Yale, where he received his B.A. and his L.L.B. degree, Alexander was a partner at the firm of Parsons, Behle, Evans & Moffat. He was found dead on 23 May 1961 in a room at the Desert Inn of Salt Lake City, at the age of 52. He left behind two children, a Rev. A. D. Moffat, Jr. in Wichita Falls, Texas, and a daughter, Mrs. William G. (Adair) Langston, Jr., in Brooklyn, NY. Nancy stayed in Salt Lake City until 1962, a year after her husband's mysterious death.
Edna's obituary located Arthur in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Presumably, he had two children.

Biographical Chronology

1857William Van Amberg Sullivan born in Winona, Mississippi, 18 December
1881Edna Bumiller born in Los Angeles, California, 18 March
1881Murray Sullivan born in Oxford, Mississippi, to William Van Amberg Sullivan and Belle Murray Sullivan, 29 October
1906Murray Sullivan and Edna Bumiller married, 25 April
1906Murray and Edna Sullivan move to Salt Lake City
1907?Murray and Edna have a son, Arthur Bumiller Sullivan, 2 August
1908Alexander D. Moffat born to D. D. Moffat and Josephine Wells in Hayden, Arizona
ca. 1909Murray and Edna have a daughter, Nancy Adair Sullivan
1916Murray becomes senior engineer for American Railway Enterprise, American International corporation in China, where he will work for approximately five years
1918William Van Amberg Sullivan dies in Oxford, Mississippi, 12 March
1925Arthur begins school at Yale in the fall
1925-1926Nancy boards at Rowland Hall
1927Nancy finishes high school education as a boarding student at Low and Heywood School, Stamford, Connecticut
1927Nancy begins her studies at Vassar College in the fall, Class of 1931
1930Motorcyclist injures Murray and six others in Poughkeepsie, New York, 20 February
1930In a report about the accident, the Salt Lake Tribune (21 February 1930) notes that Arthur is still an undergrad at Yale
1931Nancy marries Alexander D. Moffat, 31 August
1941Murray Sullivan dies of a heart attack at age 52, 14 December
1955Edna Bumiller Sullivan dies at Nancy's home (1612 Yalecrest Ave.), 18 March
1961Alexander D. Moffat found dead in a room at the Desert Inn, Salt Lake City, 23 May
Summary Description | Background | Scope and Content | Administrative Info | Container List

Scope and Content

This collection includes letters from Sullivan's wife and children while he was on business in China and California, letters from his sisters, brother, and father, and a few letters from Sullivan to his family. There are also a few of his business and legal files.

Series Descriptions

Correspondence
Accident File
Miscellaneous
News Journals
Envelopes
Summary Description | Background | Scope and Content | Administrative Info | Container List

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation:

Murray Sullivan Papers, 1907-1932, Utah State Historical Society.

Acquisition Information:

Gift of Norman Blair, 1999.

Restrictions on Use

The Murray Sullivan Papers are the physical property of the Utah Historical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah. Literary rights, including copyright, may belong to the authors or their heirs and assigns. Please contact the Historical Society for information regarding specific use of this collection.

Processing Information:

Collection processed by Melissa Ferguson, 2005

Finding aid compiled by Melissa Ferguson, 2005

Finding aid edited by Linda Thatcher, 2005

Collection cataloged by Linda Thatcher, 2005

Finding aid encoded for the World Wide Web by Craig Ringgenberg, 2005

Sources Consulted

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, William Van Amberg Sullivan Biography, available at http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S001062. Accessed March 2005.

Information gleaned from the documents in the collection.

LDS Genealogy Library, available at www.familysearch.org. Accessed March 2005.

Alexander D. Moffat Obituary, Salt Lake Tribune, 26 May 1961.

Polk Directories, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Rowland Hall Yearbook, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1925 and 1926.

Salt Lake Tribune, 17 September 1918.

Edna Sullivan Obituary, Salt Lake Tribune, 19 March 1955.

Murray Sullivan Obituary, Salt Lake Tribune, 15 December 1941.

Separations

Blueprints and photographs for a proposed resort at Antelope Island have been removed and filed as Mss C 1587.

Box 16 containing Chinese newspapers (in English) is located in the oversize collection.
Summary Description | Background | Scope and Content | Administrative Info | Container List

Container list

Box

Folder

Contents

Correspondence

Letters from Edna to Murray

1

1

1915

1

2

January 1917

1

3

February 1917

1

4

March 1917

1

5

June 1917

1

6

July 1917

1

7

September 1917

1

8

June 1918

1

9

July 1918

1

10

August 1918

2

1

September 1918

2

2

October 1918

2

3

November 1918

2

4

December 1918

2

5

January 1919

2

6

February 1919

3

1

March 1919

3

2

April 1919

3

3

May 1919

3

4

July 1919

3

5

August 1919

3

6

December 1919

3

7

1920

3

8

June 1921

3

9

July 1921

4

1

August 1921

4

2

January 1922

4

3

June 1922

4

4

October 1922

4

5

November 1922

4

6

December 1922

4

7

January 1923

4

8

February 1923

4

9

March 1923

4

10

April 1923

5

1

May 1923

5

2

June 1923

5

3

July 1923

5

4

August 1923

5

5

September 1923

5

6

October 1923

5

7

November 1923

5

8

December 1923

6

1

January 1924

6

2

March 1924

6

3

July 1924

6

4

August 1924

6

5

September 1924

6

6

January 1925

6

7

March 1925

6

8

May 1925

6

9

June 1925

6

10

August 1925

6

11

October 1925

6

12

December 1925

6

13

January 1926

6

14

March 1926

6

15

April 1926

7

1

August 1926

7

2

September 1926

7

3

January 1927

7

4

March 1927

7

5

April 1927

7

6

August 1927

7

7

October 1927

7

8

January 1928

7

9

February 1928

7

10

March 1928

7

11

April 1928

7

12

October 1928

7

13

n.d.

Letters from Arthur

8

1

July 1917

8

2

1918 (no month identified)

8

3

July 1918

8

4

August 1918

8

5

September 1918

8

6

October 1918

8

7

November 1918

8

8

December 1918

8

9

January 1919

8

10

February 1919

8

11

March 1919

8

12

April 1919

8

13

July, August 1921

8

14

November 1922

8

15

February 1923

8

16

May 1923

8

17

June 1923

8

18

July 1923

8

19

September 1923

8

20

November 1923

8

21

December 1923

8

22

August 1924

8

23

June 1925

8

24

August 1925

8

25

October 1925

8

26

November 1925

8

27

December 1925

9

1

January 1926

9

2

February 1926

9

3

March 1926

9

4

April 1926

9

5

May 1926

9

6

June 1926

9

7

August 1926

9

8

October 1926

9

9

November 1926

9

10

December 1926

9

11

January 1927

9

12

February 1927

10

1

March 1927

10

2

April 1927

10

3

May 1927

10

4

June 1927

10

5

September 1927

10

6

October 1927

10

7

November 1927

10

8

December 1927

10

9

January 1928

10

10

February 1928

10

11

March 1928

10

12

April 1928

10

13

May 1928

10

14

n.d.

Letters from Nancy

11

1

April-July 1918

11

2

September 1918

11

3

December 1918

11

4

1919

11

5

1921

11

6

1922

11

7

1923

11

8

1925

11

9

January, March, August, September 1926

11

10

October 1926

11

11

November 1926

11

12

December 1926

12

1

January 1927

12

2

February 1927

12

3

March 1927

12

4

April 1927

12

5

May 1927

12

6

June 1927

12

7

September 1927

12

8

October 1927

12

9

November 1927

12

10

January 1928

12

11

February 1928

12

12

March 1928

12

13

April 1928

12

14

May 1928

12

15

June 1928

12

16

n.d.

Letters from Murray

13

1

To Edna, 1917

13

2

To Edna, 1918

13

3

To Edna, 1919

13

4

To Edna, 1926

13

5

To Edna, n.d.

13

6

To Arthur, 1927

13

7

Miscellaneous, 1917, 1925

Other Correspondence

14

1

Ellen Woodward, 1919-1926

14

2

Bess (either Bess Dutcher or Bess Fair, Murray's sister), 1918, 1924

14

3

Belle (Murray's mother?), 1918

14

4

W. V. Sullivan (Murray's father), 1917-1918

14

5

W. V. Sullivan, Jr., 1925

14

6

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, 1907

14

7

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, 1908

14

8

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, 1916

14

9

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, 1918

14

10

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, 1919

14

11

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, 1922

14

12

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, 1924

14

13

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, 1925

14

14

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, 1926

14

15

Miscellaneous letters to Murray Sullivan, n.d.

14

16

Solicitations, 1913, 1925

Box

Folder

Contents

Accident File

15

1

Correspondence, February 1930

15

2

Correspondence, March 1930

15

3

Correspondence, April 1930

15

4

Correspondence, May 1930

15

5

Correspondence, June 1930

15

6

Correspondence, July 1930

15

7

Correspondence, August 1930

15

8

Correspondence, September 1930

15

9

Correspondence, October 1930

15

10

Correspondence, November 1930

15

11

Correspondence, March 1931

15

12

Newspaper Clippings, February-December 1930, May 1932

15

13

Legal File, 1930-1932

15

14

Murray Sullivan, X-Rays, 1930

15

15

Financial Statements, February 1930-January 1931

Box

Folder

Contents

Miscellaneous

15

16

Miscellaneous, 1919-1925

Box

Folder

Contents

News Journals

16

1

Asia: The Journal of the American Asiatic Association (New York City), Vol. XVII, no. 5 (July 1917)

16

2

The Far Eastern Review (Shanghai, Peking, Manila), Vol. XIII, no. 13 (June 1917)

16

3

The Far Eastern Review (Shanghai, Peking, Manila), Vol. XIII, no. 15 (August 1917)

16

4

North China Star (Tientsin), 12 August 1920

Box

Folder

Contents

Envelopes (located in the vault)

17

1

Box 1, Folder 1

17

2

Box 1, Folder 2

17

3

Box 1, Folder 3

17

4

Box 1, Folder 4

17

5

Box 1, Folder 5

17

6

Box 1, Folder 6

17

7

Box 1, Folder 7

17

8

Box 1, Folder 8

17

9

Box 1, Folder 9

17

10

Box 1, Folder 10

17

11

Box 2, Folder 1

17

12

Box 2, Folder 2

17

13

Box 2, Folder 3

17

14

Box 2, Folder 4

17

15

Box 2, Folder 5

17

16

Box 2, Folder 6

17

17

Box 3, Folder 1

17

18

Box 3, Folder 2

17

19

Box 3, Folder 3

17

20

Box 3, Folder 4

17

21

Box 3, Folder 5

17

22

Box 3, Folder 6

17

23

Box 3, Folder 7

17

24

Box 3, Folder 8

17

25

Box 3, Folder 9

17

26

Box 4, Folder 1

17

27

Box 4, Folder 2

17

28

Box 4, Folder 3

17

29

Box 4, Folder 4

17

30

Box 4, Folder 5

18

1

Box 4, Folder 6

18

2

Box 4, Folder 7

18

3

Box 4, Folder 8

18

4

Box 4, Folder 9

18

5

Box 4, Folder 10

18

6

Box 5, Folder 1

18

7

Box 5, Folder 2

18

8

Box 5, Folder 3

18

9

Box 5, Folder 4

18

10

Box 5, Folder 5

18

11

Box 5, Folder 6

18

12

Box 5, Folder 7

18

13

Box 5, Folder 8

18

14

Box 6, Folder 1

18

15

Box 6, Folder 2

18

16

Box 6, Folder 3

18

17

Box 6, Folder 4

18

18

Box 6, Folder 5

18

19

Box 6, Folder 6

18

20

Box 6, Folder 7

18

21

Box 6, Folder 8

18

22

Box 6, Folder 9

18

23

Box 6, Folder 10

18

24

Box 6, Folder 11

18

25

Box 6, Folder 12

18

26

Box 6, Folder 13

18

27

Box 6, Folder 14

18

28

Box 6, Folder 15

18

29

Box 7, Folder 1

18

30

Box 7, Folder 2

18

31

Box 7, Folder 3

18

32

Box 7, Folder 4

18

33

Box 7, Folder 5

18

34

Box 7, Folder 6

18

35

Box 7, Folder 7

18

36

Box 7, Folder 8

18

37

Box 7, Folder 9

18

38

Box 7, Folder 10

18

39

Box 7, Folder 11

18

40

Box 7, Folder 12

18

41

Box 7, Folder 13

19

1

Box 8, Folder 1

19

2

Box 8, Folder 3

19

3

Box 8, Folder 4

19

4

Box 8, Folder 5

19

5

Box 8, Folder 6

19

6

Box 8, Folder 8

19

7

Box 8, Folder 10

19

8

Box 8, Folder 12

19

9

Box 8, Folder 13

19

10

Box 8, Folder 14

19

11

Box 8, Folder 15

19

12

Box 8, Folder 16

19

13

Box 8, Folder 17

19

14

Box 8, Folder 18

19

15

Box 8, Folder 19

19

16

Box 8, Folder 20

19

17

Box 8, Folder 21

19

18

Box 8, Folder 22

19

19

Box 8, Folder 23

19

20

Box 8, Folder 24

19

21

Box 8, Folder 25

19

22

Box 8, Folder 26

19

23

Box 8, Folder 27

19

24

Box 9, Folder 1

19

25

Box 9, Folder 2

19

26

Box 9, Folder 3

19

27

Box 9, Folder 4

19

28

Box 9, Folder 5

19

29

Box 9, Folder 7

19

30

Box 9, Folder 8

19

31

Box 9, Folder 9

19

32

Box 9, Folder 10

19

33

Box 9, Folder 11

19

34

Box 9, Folder 12

19

35

Box 10, Folder 1

19

36

Box 10, Folder 2

19

37

Box 10, Folder 3

19

38

Box 10, Folder 4

19

39

Box 10, Folder 5

19

40

Box 10, Folder 6

19

41

Box 10, Folder 7

19

42

Box 10, Folder 8

19

43

Box 10, Folder 9

19

44

Box 10, Folder 10

19

45

Box 10, Folder 11

19

46

Box 10, Folder 12

19

47

Box 10, Folder 13

20

1

Box 11, Folder 1

20

2

Box 11, Folder 2

20

3

Box 11, Folder 3

20

4

Box 11, Folder 4

20

5

Box 11, Folder 5

20

6

Box 11, Folder 6

20

7

Box 11, Folder 7

20

8

Box 11, Folder 8

20

9

Box 11, Folder 9

20

10

Box 11, Folder 10

20

11

Box 11, Folder 11

20

12

Box 11, Folder 12

20

13

Box 12, Folder 1

20

14

Box 12, Folder 2

20

15

Box 12, Folder 3

20

16

Box 12, Folder 4

20

17

Box 12, Folder 5

20

18

Box 12, Folder 6

20

19

Box 12, Folder 7

20

20

Box 12, Folder 8

20

21

Box 12, Folder 9

20

22

Box 12, Folder 10

20

23

Box 12, Folder 11

20

24

Box 12, Folder 12

20

25

Box 12, Folder 13

20

26

Box 12, Folder 14

20

27

Box 12, Folder 15

20

28

Box 13, Folder 2

20

29

Box 13, Folder 3

20

30

Box 14, Folder 1

20

31

Box 14, Folder 2

20

32

Box 14, Folder 3

20

33

Box 14, Folder 6

20

34

Box 14, Folder 8

20

35

Box 14, Folder 9

20

36

Box 14, Folder 11

20

37

Box 14, Folder 12

20

38

Box 14, Folder 13

20

39

Box 14, Folder 16

20

40

Miscellaneous Envelopes, 1913, 1917, 1923-1925