My Other Museum Related Project- Part 2

Part 1 of this post discussed not only the basics of what I did for my thesis, but also who John Ronayne was (as he was the head of the household at the time when the ceramics were deposited). I realized that I could not let Ellen Sullivan get lost in the telling of my thesis because she is a big part of it as well. Sadly, because she is female and because of the era in which she lived, little can be traced of her through historical records. I found myself wondering who she was throughout writing my thesis and now that I am expanding upon it, I have been able to spend more time on her and her family.

Ellen Sullivan and her family were among the first wave of Irish immigrants to come to Newport. This was due to available work in the area, mostly in construction. One of the more prominent projects was building Fort Adams. Construction began around 1825.

Ellen Sullivan was born in Cork, Ireland, reportedly in the same parish as her husband John Ronayne in 1829. Based off of Census records, her family soon came to America as her siblings were listed as having been born here, one, her brother John (b. 1832), in New York and the rest in Rhode Island, suggesting an arrival to Newport date of around 1833. She was the oldest of six children, and one of three girls.

Little is known of Ellen’s father, part of this is due to the commonality of their surname. What is known is that he had died sometime between 1846 and 1850, the time between the birth of Ellen's youngest brother Michael and the 1850 Census. He does not appear on that Census and Ellen’s mother Julia is listed as the head of the household. In 1840 Census Records only indicated the name of the head of the household at which time Ellen’s father was alive. There is a possibility that his name was John, as it is the name of her eldest younger brother, but this is only a theory at this time.

In the Census records for 1870 and 1880 Ellen is listed as Keeping House. After John Ronayne died, Ellen was left with the use of two houses as well as many of the household goods and $500. She was granted a life lease by her brother-in-law David at his house, left to him by Ellen's husband John Ronayne, presumably so that nieces Kate and Mary Ronayne could have access to their new homes. Ellen died on June 12, 1895 and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery on Warner Street in Newport.

A picture of part of John Ronayne and Ellen Sullivan's grave marker. They share a monument with John Ronayne's father Thomas.

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Part 3 will include information about the ceramics found during the excavation of the trashpit linked to Ellen Sullivan and John Ronayne.