Monday, June 3, 2013

Rev. Alexander M. Sullens



Rev. Alexander M. & Martha Ritter Sullens
Rev. Alexander M. Sullens (1830-1905)  = Christian (Campbellite; Disciples of Christ) Minister. Union Soldier in Civil War.
Alexander, born in Mill Springs, Wayne county, Kentucky on Oct 15, the third of thirteen, to John (1804-1883) and Malinda Thompson Sullens (1805-1867), emigrated from Kentucky to Miller county, Missouri where his brother was born the following year. Alexander's grandparents were Peter & Mary Carson Sullens, Sr. Alexander's first cousin, Judge John H. Sullens of Adrian, Bates County, MO.,  born in Kentucky the year before he was, was elected to both circuit court and as a Missouri state legislator. As a victim of the Burnt District, John, along with other representatives, asked the editor of the St. Louis Republican paper to publish George Caleb Bingham's letter concerning General Thomas Ewing's Order No. 11.
Alexander married Martha (1831-1914), daughter of Abraham and Nancy Ritter on May 19, 1849 in Cole County, MO and to this union six children were born -- William Jasper  (1850-1829); John Thomas (1852-1935); Mary E. (b.1857); George Washington (1859-1896); Ezra L. (1861-1930); and Lewis Pinkney "Pink" Sullens (1867-1945). Their son, William, played a fiddle and it is said that he could play all night and not play the same song twice. William's son, Loyd Carl would accompany his father on his banjo.
Alexander pastored the Spring Garden Christian Church, the mother church of all the Disciples of Christ churches in Miller County. The church was organized in 1840 and two church houses were built in the northwest corner of the present day cemetery in 1845 and 1870. When his granddaughter, Cora Lee (1875-1955), daughter of William Jasper and Nannie C. Scrivner (1857-1901) Sullens, married William Thornton Rush (1874-1954), son of James M. (1826-1892) & Theresa Jane Loveall Rush (1835-1909), on March 30, 1902,  he officiated at their wedding ceremony.

 More to Read:
1.) Bingham: Fighting Artist. By Lew Larkin. School of the Ozarks Press, Point Lookout, MO. 1971. P. 293.
2.) The History of Cass and Bates Counties, Missouri. St. Joseph, Mo. National Historical Company, 1883. p. 1299-1300. Repository: Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, MO, www.mymcpl.org
3.) Miller County, MO. Marriages, Bk. E. P. 137 By A. M. Sullins.
4.) The Rush Report. Compiled by Gaynelle Jenkins Moore with research assistance by David W. Rush. Historical Data Services, Glens Falls, NY; 2003.
5.) Peter Sullens and Mary Carson and Two Hundred Years of Descendants. By Maude Sullens Hoffman. Printed by J.W. Brown. 1971.
6.) A Photo of William Jasper & Loyd Sullens playing their instruments.
7.) Miller County, Missouri Communities: Spring Garden
8.) See the "Leaf" labeled biographies for more information.
9.) Findagrave Memorial  # 61286760 and Find A Grave Memorial # 60413035


Places to Visit:
1.) Spring Garden Cemetery, AA Hwy & Binkley Road (north of 54 Hwy), Spring Garden, Miller County, MO. 



Alexander Sullen's Civil War Tombstone
Spring Garden, MO. cemetery

Certificate that came with Civil War tombstone
signed by US President

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Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ~ Ephesians 1:15-17.