Name/Title
Descendants of children of Sarah Wells - 1796Entry/Object ID
001910Tags
William Bull, Sarah WellsScope and Content
This is a fascinating historical document! It appears to be a genealogical record of the family of William Bull and Sarah Wells, who were prominent early settlers in Orange County, New York (specifically Goshen and Wallkill).
The document is written in a mix of standard dates and Quaker-style dating (e.g., "5th mo 3d"). Below is a transcription of the main sections, following the layout of the columns and the historical narrative on the left.
Narrative (Left Margin)
In the Meanwhile these two enterprising young People William Bull and Sarah Wells became acquainted with each other and were the first civilized Couple that was Married In the Goshen of Wawayanda and as they were Bred Episcopalians they were married according to the forms of the Church as near as Circumstances would admit in the witnesses in the 8th month 1718 and the same month Commenced and Improvement on or near the Wall-kill river and called the place Hamptonburgh where they lived to have 12 children.
Parents (Vertical Center Column)
William Bull, Born 2nd mo 1689. Deceased 2nd month 1755 aged 66.
Sarah, his wife, born 4mo 6th1694. Deceased 4th mo 21st1796 aged 102 yr 15 days.
Note in margin: of a second marriage with Johannes Miller senior of Montgomery who was called Miller by name.
A List of the Names of the Children of William and Sarah
Name Birth Date Children Gr. Child G. G. Child Spouse/Notes
John Bull 5mo 3d 1721 12 61 4 wife was Hannah Holly of Goshen
William Bull 2mo 13th 1723 6 15 0 wife was (Ann) Booth of Wallkill
Sarah Bull 9mo 4th 1725 8 23 3 husband was (George) Booth of Wallkill
Thomas Bull 12mo 27th 1727 12 22 0 wife was (Mary Kerr)
Isaac Bull 11mo 17th 1729 6 21 0 wife’s Maiden Name was Mulliner of Little Britain
Esther Bull 5mo 29th 1731 8 18 6 Husband John Miller of Montgomery
Mary Bull 2mo 3d 1733 10 17 0 Husband (Benjamin) Booth of Wallkill
Margaret Bull 5mo 1st 1736 7 7 0 Husband (Silas) Horton of Goshen
Catherine Bull 5mo 24th 1738 7 2 0 Husband (James) Faulkner of Wallkill
Ann Bull 11mo 4th 1740 10 17 0 Husband Eager Montgomery
Richard Bull 5mo 29th 1743 5 6 0 wife Jemmima Budd of Goshen
Eleanor Bull 3mo 4th 1745 7 3 0 Husband (Wilhelmus) Weller of Montgomery
NB: This catalogue was selected from the Relatives of this aged woman on the Day of the Funeral which was 4th month 23rd 1796 by Peter Bull and Jesse Booth and Extracted from their Catalogue the 26th day of 5th month 1832 by Stephen W. Bull.
Note on Dating: Since this uses the Quaker/Old Style calendar, the "1st month" usually refers to March prior to 1752, though by 1832 when this was copied, the transcriber may have been using the modern January start.
The "Booth" Connection: Notice how many Bulls married Booths? Three of the children (William, Sarah, and Mary) married into the Booth family of Wallkill. This was very common in frontier settlements where only a few large families lived nearby.
The "Aged Woman's" Funeral: The note at the bottom explains this list was compiled on the day of Sarah Wells' funeral in 1796. This explains why the "Children/Grandchildren/G.G. Grandchildren" columns exist—they were counting her living descendants at the time of her death.
The Grandchildren Tally: According to the table, at the time of Sarah's death in 1796, she had 98 children, 212 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren (though the math in the document varies slightly by row).
Historical Context Note
The document mentions they were "Bred Episcopalians" but the dating format (5th mo 3d) is distinctly Quaker. It’s possible the family converted or the person who transcribed this in 1832 (Stephen W. Bull) was a member of the Society of Friends.