My great uncle, Herbert James O'Sullivan, was born September 16, 1908, at Revere, Massachusetts. He was baptised at Immaculate Conception Church in Revere on September 30 of the same year by Fr. Marcus J. Sullivan. His godfather was William E. Egan. He may have been the same William Egan who married Herbie's cousin, Madeline McPike. His godmother was Ellen Harrington. I'm not sure who Ellen was, but the Harringtons were connect to the O'Sullivan's somehow in Bantry, County Cork. Madeline McPike's godmother was Helena Harrington.
I remember meeting Herbie only once, when I was very young. He was home and visiting my parents in Lynn. It was time for me to go to bed, but when my mother tried to put me to bed, I said, "No, I want HIM to put me to bed!". So Herbie did. Obviously he made a big impression on me!
Herbie was a Chief Engineer in the Merchant Marine. He traveled all over the world from 1928 until his death in France in 1960. In over 30 years he traveled to India, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Morocco, Cuba, Wales and Bermuda.
I recently found a document on Ancestry.com that shed new light on what we knew about his death. We had always been told that Herbie died when he fell in the engine room of the ship. As a child, I always pictured this as if he fell down a long stairway, and maybe broke his neck.
The document I found is Report of the Death of an American Citizen, issued by the Vice Consul in Le Havre, France. Herbie died on September 20, 1960 at 7:45 on board the S. S. Sooner State in port at Le Havre. He was a seaman-marine engineer. He had just turned 52. His body was shipped home for burial on the S. S. Keystone State which was scheduled to leave Le Havre on September 28 and reach New York on or about October 8.
An autopsy showed evidence that he had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage shortly before his death. Although it was not the cause of his death, it was very likely the cause of his fall.
Photo courtesy of June Casaletto
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