COIMBATORE: Thanks to the sustained efforts of the Nilgiris Documentation Centre (NDC), the grave of John Sullivan, British Collector of Coimbatore and founder of Ooty, was located in a church in the United Kingdom last week.
The authority of St. Laurence Church, located at Upton near Heathrow airport in the UK, cleaned up bushes and weeds around the grave and sent its photo to the NDC here appreciating its interest in Sullivan’s history.
Meanwhile, the British Council in Chennai has sponsored the visit of NDC’s director Dharmalingam Venugopal to the UK, from July 13 to August 2, 2009, to conduct a research there on conservation of the Nilgiris. Venugopal will pay homage at the Sullivan grave on July 14.
“I had been searching for Sullivan’s grave after his wife Henrietta’s grave was located at St Stephen’s Church near Ooty collectorate a decade ago. A month ago, the grave of John McIvor, founder of Government Botanical Garden, was found in St Stephen’s Church. My search was through genealogical groups in the UK but I could zero in on the grave now thanks to the digitalisation and amalgamation of most of the information on British India or British rule in India. India Office Family History of Archives in the UK has also been helpful for searching and locating the graves of British functionaries who developed the Nilgiris,” Venugopal said.
Venugopal, who has been collecting information and documents related to Sullivan, and other important persons, who also had a role in the development of the Nilgiris, hopes to collect more information during his stay in Britain.
Sullivan joined the East India Company in 1804 as a writer. In 1807, he became an assistant to the chief secretary in secret, political and foreign department, and two years later, he became acting assistant to the Resident at Mysore. He worked as collector of Chingleput for one year before becoming collector of Coimbatore in 1815. In 1821, he became the principal collector of Coimbatore and held the post till 1830. In 1835, he became a senior member of board of revenue.
At the age of 32, he married 17-year-old Henrietta in 1820. Henrietta died in Ooty at the age of 35 after giving birth to nine children. After the death of his wife and two children, who were buried in Ooty, Sullivan went back to England. He died in England on January 16, 1855.One of his children Henry Edward Sullivan became collector of Coimbatore in 1869.