Edward Sullivan (1832-1899) was born August 18, 1832 in Lurgan, Ireland and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 1857. He came to Canada and was ordained by Benjamin Cronyn, first Bishop of Huron in 1858 and 1859. He was curate in London Township then assistant at St George's, Montreal before becoming Rector of Trinity Church, Chicago in 1868. He returned to Canada after 10 years to become Rector of St George's, Montreal, where he was when elected Bishop of Algoma in 1882. The following year he was elected third Bishop of Huron but turned down the position to continue his work in Algoma.
At the start of his episcopate there were 12 missionaries which in 1895 had increased to 34 clergy. By 1893, 26 new churches had been built, 10 rebuilt and the 68 churches in the diocese were debt-free. During the first ten years of his episcopate Sullivan traveled extensively throughout Algoma, Canada, and England on fundraising trips.
By the fall of 1892 Algoma's finances were again strained. The majority of the settlers in the region were not wealthy leaving the diocese heavily dependent on external charity. The bishop first became ill in the autumn of 1893 and he began spending winters in the south of France. During this period of enforced absence the diocese did again fall into debt. In 1896 he resigned as Bishop of Algoma and took a position as rector of St. James' Cathedral in Toronto. In June of 1899 he died at the age of sixty-six.
Sources:
- Sullivan, Edward. Dictionary of Canadian Biography [accessed 14 August 2015]
- "Fallen Asleep," The Algoma Missionary News 11, no. 2 (1899): 10-12.
- Harry Huskins, "Bishops of Algoma The Sullivan Years", The Algoma Anglican 37, no. 5 (1990): 4.
