Mary Sullivan née Currie, daughter of Henry Currie Esq. of West Horsley Place, Surrey, at one time the Member of Parliament for Guildford. On 29 September 1859 she married Edward Robert Sullivan (1826-1899), the son of Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Sullivan, 3rd Baronet Sullivan, of Ember Court, Ember [a hamlet in the parish of Thames Ditton, Surrey]. Her husband, who was a journalist and travel writer, succeeded his older brother as 5th Baron Sullivan on 3 December 1865.

Sir Edward Robert Sullivan was a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron from September 1868 until his death; he owned four yachts, the largest being the 297 ton schooner Shamrock, which he built. Apart from his contributions to various periodicals, his literary output includes Rambles and Scrambles in North and South America (1853), The Bungalow and the Tent, or A Visit to Ceylon (1854), From Boulogne to Babel Mandeb (1855), Trip from the Trenches (1855), Beaten Paths (1855), Letters on India to John Tremayne Esq. (1858), Conquerors, Warriors and Statesmen of India (1866) and many others.

Sir Edward Robert Sullivan died in London on 22 July 1899 and was buried at St. Barnabas, Hove [Sussex].