Susie is the loving daughter of Sarah Jane Hickinson and Edward Cullen who married 14 September 1868 in Manhattan. Sarah is the daughter of John Hickinson (1790-1871) and Susanna Neale (1816-1874) both of England. Edward is the son of Thomas and Elizabeth who may have been from County Leitrim, Ireland.

Susie is one of Edward's and Sarah's eleven children: John F. 1869-1904, Ellen (aka Nellie) 1873-1894, Elizabeth (aka Bessie) 1871-1951, James 1877-1924, Edward Jos. 1878-1950, Susanna 1880-1966, William 1881-1916, Mary 1883-1888, Sarah 1884-1885 (the infant held in the family picture shown within her parents' memorials – links below), Catherine 1886-1971, Francis J 1888-1918.

Susie first shows within the 1880 Census when the family was living at 97th Street and 4th Avenue, along with her maternal uncle James, his wife Aunt Maria and his family and brother William. Her dad Edward was now an electrician, while her uncle James was still a drover. Uncle William was suffering from “Hip Disease”, which may have been multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer (as of 2014) of the blood and bone marrow, rarely recognized prior to 1889. At this time her brothers and sisters were:

Sibling - Age
John Cullen 8 yrs.
Bessie Cullen 6 yrs.
Nellie Cullen 4 yrs.
James Cullen 3 yrs.
Eddie Cullen 1 yr.
Susan Cullen 2 mos.
Note that second oldest sister Ellen was already being referred to as Nellie.

Toward the end of 1881, the family would be joined by their brother William Francis and sister Mary on 03/19/1883. Christmas of 1884 was blessed by the birth of baby Sarah on 12/05/1884. She would return to the angels in just over six (6) months’ time on June 17th, 1885.

The 1890 census was substantially lost in 1921 causal to fire at the Commerce Building. However, by this time Susie would have lost her father to a fatal fall from a flag pole on 11/29/1888. She also lost her baby sister Mary, who, as stated, was born on St. Joseph's Day in 1883, to tuberculosis. This was further compounded by the fact that Mary's passing was just three (3) days after that of their father Edward. What a heart-breaking time and it truly had to be stressing as the family had grown in late 1884 by the addition of Sarah, then Catherine in the summer of 1886. And, in less than four (4) months before their dad's passing the birth of their youngest sibling, Francis Joseph.

In two years’ time her older sister Ellen "Nellie" would give birth to a baby girl that she named after her mom Sarah and baby Sarah who, as stated, returned to Heaven after visiting for a half of year. Two years after that Nellie would pass on at the tender age of 21 on Jan. 13, 1894.

Some six (6) years thereafter, by the time of the next census at the turn of the century, Susie was still at The Cullen Homestead, the house that their dad last called home, at 110 East 97th Street in Manhattan and where his wake took place. Refer to her parents’ links below for a picture. Susie was now a young woman of 20 years and a milliner. At the same time, her oldest sister Elizabeth was a dressmaker.

On April 16th, 1904 the family lost their oldest sibling, John Francis at the age of 34-1/2. A year later, in 1905 the family had moved to 164 East 100th Street, between 3rd and Lexington Avenues. I wonder how they felt about and dealt with making this move – a separation factor. Susie was still a milliner.

It’s probably a good bet that Susie made the very stylish hat of the times that she’s wearing in the posed sitting photo of this memorial. Say, c.1905-10, and likely wearing a summer dress, as it appears to be a soft cotton with a fine pastel check, possibly with equally faint swirls. Note the embroidery, even down around the knees - indicating a “hobble skirt” look (not that it was). The high neck collar, popular at this era, calls out her fine neck line. Note the coordinated wrappings, of the same cloth, above the elbows and around the waist line. It’s not a far leap to take that the colored trim around the collar bone of her blouse was color coordinated with that wrapping assembly. The attention to detail of the fine chain necklace, the gold bracelet dropped down to her right forearm bringing attention to full sleeve gloves, the pintucks, popular at the time, exhibited by her left upper arm down to the elbow. The soft puffiness of the top portion certainly representative of the full bosom look of the time. I think she more or less represents what is known as a “Gibson Girl” during this Edwardian style era. I would venture to guess around 1909-10, near her 30th Birthday. Did Bessie, her older sister by 9 years, make the dress for her? Did Annie Cullen, sister of dress maker Maggie who was around Bessie’s age, curl the feathers for her? Did she purchase the fabric at the dry goods store where her sister Kitty, younger by six years, worked as a store fitter?

By 1910 they were residing at 122 East 98th Street. Susie was still a milliner, Elizabeth a dressmaker and Kitty a store fitter. Granddaughter Sarah, Susie’s niece, was now 18 and working as a clerk in a department store. Edward (buildings) and Frank J. (jobber) were plumbers, William was a painter of houses. Edward was listed as a plumber within Trow’s Directory of Manhattan and the Bronx for Period Ending August 1st, 1914. That year’s directory also contained a listing for an Edward J Cullen, an electrician, with a home address of 346 East 42nd Street in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan, down by where the U.N. complex is and where, if memory serves, John Duffy lived during the latter part of the twentieth century (refer to Michael McElroy, Sr. Memorial No. 102159944, our maternal grandfather). Duffys are also on our paternal side of the family via our Dad’s mom. I’m thinking that this Edward J. may possibly be the son of Edward’s brother Thomas.

Over the next several years, Susie would be in for a big life change.

Susanna M. (Susie, Sue) married Edwin J. Dorgan in 1916, both she and Edwin J are interred together, next to her father Edward in 2nd Calvary. Months before her marriage, she became the Godmother to younger brother Frank’s oldest son, James Edward on January 16th, 1916.

In 1918 Susie and Edwin were residing at 607 Eagle Avenue in the Woodstock-Mott Haven sections of the Bronx. They were blessed March 2nd, 1918 with the birth of their baby daughter Eileen Anne. A year after that, on June 16th, 1919, son Edwin would enter their lives. At least since 1917, Susie's youngest sibling, Frank J., along with his wife, Mary Haskins Cullen, and their then family of two, was residing around the corner to Westchester Avenue and down the block just off the corner of the diagonal intersection of Westchester Avenue with St. Ann’s Avenue. Trow's General Directory of the boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx, City of New York lists Frank J. as a steamfitter, which is correct.

The year before, the Edwin Jos. and Susie Dorgan family were not listed within the 1917 edition of the directory. Down in Manhattan, Susie's mom, Sarah J. is listed as a widower residing at 122 East 98th Street, Edward Jr. is listed as a clerk residing at the rear of 122 East 98th Street. As some historic insight, the Cullen Homestead as far back to at least 1868 and until at least 1900 resided at 110 East 97th Street, a.k.a., The Cullen Homestead. In 1905 they were at 164 East 100th Street and by April of 1910 at the 122 East 98th Street address.

There were other Cullens residing within a few blocks up in the Woodstock-Mott Haven sections of the Bronx (or as we say in New York, with a bobbing head: Da Bronx); as of now I don't know whether or not if they were all related. There was a Theo residing at the rear of 883 Cauldwell Avenue. This would be 1 block over (east) from Eagle and up 3 blocks, from the north side of Westchester Avenue, just south of 160th Street. Susie's brother Frank J. and family were on the southern side of Westchester Avenue, just off (east) of the corner with St. Ann's Avenue, which is the next block west of Eagle Avenue.

Several blocks further north, Susie’s maternal aunt, the widow Maria (Donovan) Hickinson, was residing at 1052 Trinity Avenue, a block and a half east of Boston Post Road between 165th and 166ths Streets. With her were oldest and now married daughter, Susie’s namesake, Mrs. Susie (Fred) Tilley, along with Maria’s other daughters Margaret and Katherine, and Margaret’s daughter Florence Isabelle (Hickinson) Brunner.

Moving southwest, four (4) blocks west from 3rd Avenue, just east of Park Avenue, at 282 East 156th Street was a James J. Cullen, age 61. With him was his wife of 37 years Margaret F., age 57. They were the parents of 2 children none of which were surviving by April 1910.

William and Catherine (nee Cullen) Nelson, Susie's sister and brother-in-law, had set-up home down Eagle Avenue, across Westchester Avenue, and just 3 blocks east, across 149th Street, at 532 Jackson Avenue. This is 1 block east of St. Mary's Park. By at least 1920, Bill’s aunt Rosanna (nee Hughes, born circa 1856) was living at 463 East 158th St. with her husband James Hough. Bill became the Godfather to James Edward Cullen, the oldest son of his wife’s youngest brother Frank J., on January 16th, 1916.

There's a William listed at 694 Eagle Avenue, needless to say, straight up Eagle Avenue, across Westchester Avenue, toward 156th Street. In other words, up the block from the Dorgans. He had also been listed within Trow's 1909 Directory of Manhattan and Bronx at the same address, along with a John Cullen, an ironworker, at 233 East 94th Street, down by the other family members in Manhattan.

I found the listings for William interesting, because Sarah Jane and Edward Sr. did have a son William who, according to the records I uncovered, passed on January the 9th, 1916 from Staten Island. The William living on Eagle Avenue is listed as a policeman, the same as Edward’s and Sarah’s William. The William on Eagle Avenue was also listed within Trow’s 1914 Directory at the same address. This 1914 Directory also had a William listed as a “supt”, which I take to be a building superintendent, at 320 West 96th Street.

The 1910 Census, enumerated on the 19th of April, resolves the issue about the William residing at 694 Eagle Avenue. He is a 45-year-old patrolman married to Margaret, age 37, with daughters Marion, age 14, Dorothy, age 6, and Agnes age 3. Residing with them was 65-year-old mother-in-law Ellen Madden, who was the mother of 9 children with 5 surviving at the time.

Back up by Frank J and Mary Cullen’s, there was also a Mrs. Nellie Cullen going southward, down three (3) blocks on St. Ann's Avenue and over westerly two (2) blocks at 412 East 147th Street. Returning back up to Frank J.'s residence, around the corner from Nellie, was a Patrick Cullen living at 424 East 148th Street. To me, this is an unusual clustering of Cullens. Of course, the 1917 Directory listed the regular characters of Clan McElroy down in Manhattan that I've come across. For example, see memorial no. 128710597 for John (Mary's Husband) McElroy and links therein.

Susan's memorial is continued along within her husband's.