Name/Title
66th Bull Picnic in August 1932Entry/Object ID
002995Tags
Bull PicnicScope and Content
66th BULL PICNIC
Innovation was the order of the day
at the Picnic held at the Stone House
in Hamptonburgh last Wednesday.
Members who cannot get away in the
middle of the week determined to
have their own New Deal and caused
the Association to vote to change the
date of the Picnic to Saturday, for
one year as an experiment.
The first Picnic was held on September 18, 1868, and the next four
were also held in September. Since
1873 the last Wednesday in August
has always been the date and some
of us have experienced a shock to our
sense of continuity by Wednesday's
vote, but we hope to recover from it
before next August.
Mrs. Mary Ostrom White of Pittsfield, Mass., (formerly of Goshen)
offered a resolution to change the
date to the last Saturday in August,
saying that she had not been able to
come since her marriage 30 years ago,
until this year, and that she managed
it now only because she was on for
a nephew's wedding. E. Norman Bull
of Albany, a former member of the
Board of Managers, spoke in favor of
the change, saying he could come this
year only because he happened to be
having his vacation, but he suggested
that if the last Saturday should fall
on the 30th or 31st, the Picnic be
held the preceding Saturday. Mrs.
White agreed with this suggestion
and the resolution was debated in
that form. Mrs. John I. Brush, Miss
Dolly W. Booth, Albert C. Bull, Louis
Thompson Brush and Miss Edna
Twamley spoke in support of the resolution, and Miss Jane H. Bull and Mrs.
Elizabeth S. Wilson in opposition. Mr.
Brush said that as the Picnic had
been held in the middle of the week,
he had been able to attend but three
times in 60 years, and this year only
because he was not employed.
At this point Andrew Wilson proposed as an amendment that the
change be tried for one year as an
experiment; Miss Jane H. Bull seconded the amendment, and thereupon
the resolution as amended was carried
almost unanimously.
Another change was to hold the
business meeting at 12 o'clock noon
this year instead of after luncheon
as previously. This experiment was
tried to leave the afternoon free for
visiting and may be followed again
in 1934.
The Secretary announced the following gifts to the Association: a
chandelier for the sitting room from
Mr. Albert C. Bull and Miss Cornelia
F. Bull; a chandelier for the parlor
from Mrs. Jesse Booth and family; a
mother of pearl buckle worn by Mary
Ann Mills at her wedding to James
White about 1840, given by Mrs. John
J. Jenkins of Jackson Heights; a hand
wrought iron frame designed by Elliott McClung of Campbell Hall for
the sign which Mr. McClung had previously given. The design had been
executed by Silas H. Williams of
Campbell Hall, who joined in the gift.
A post had also been given and set
up by Mr. McClung and the way to
the Stone House is now marked by
this appropriate and artistic sign. A
silver token used for admission to
communion at the Associate Reformed
Church of Neelytown, founded in 1765,
was given by William Seton Hoffman,
formerly of Goshen, now of Hartsdale,
N. Y.
Elwood Roberts of Goshen had presented the Association with several
original ancient Bull deeds, some of
which included the Stone House property and had never been recorded.
A resolution thanking the donors
was adopted.
Mr. W. W. Tears of Peekskill was
present and gave the Association a
copy of a Betsy Ross flag which was
raised forthwith. Miss Jane Bull
led those present in giving their
pledge to the flag and then Mr. Tears,
who wholly belied his 80 years, led in
three vigorous cheers.
Greetings were received from Wm.
Edgar Bull of Charleston, S. C., An-
drew S. Beyea of Smithtown, N. B.,
Mrs. Phoebe Miller Edsall of War-
wick and Rutherford in her 95th year,
Minnie Bull Blandin, Miss Rachel
Ward Farrington and the Rev. Mr.
and Mrs. J. McCarrell Leiper.
A letter was read from Arthur W.
Osborn, of Delaware Road, Riegelsville, Penna., who wishes to
communicate with descendants of Samuel Bull
(son of John I) who married Margaret Gale in 1787 and of Samuel, Jr.,
who married Mary Osborne.
Mr. Roe, the president, spoke of
the loss we had sustained in the death
of Mrs. Ebenezer Bull and the following resolution was unanimously
adopted:
RESOLVED: That this Association
record its appreciation of the late
Mrs. Ebenezer Bull and of the part
which she took in preserving the
Stone House and helping to make
possible its acquisition by this Association. Coming to the house as
she did in 1894, she was its mistress for almost thirty-nine years,
or nearly one-fifth of its entire existence. During this time Mrs. Bull
grew to take as great a pride in
the house as did her husband; had
she held the place in trust for the
benefit of the descendants of the
builders, she could not have done
more than she did to make us welcome at this historic house. She
recognized the special interest
which we felt in her home and generously opened it to us as though
it were our home, whenever any
of us chose to visit it.
When in 1920, the subject of the
family's acquiring the Stone House
was broached to Mr. and Mrs. Bull,
both wanted to make it their home
as long as they should live, yet
both co-operated with the Association's aim. After the property was
bought in 1921, the house continued
without change as the private residence of Mr. and Mrs. Bull, and at
the same time served fully every
purpose of this Association in regard to it.
From 1920 the picnics were held
at the Stone House at the joint invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Bull, until
the former's death in 1925. After
her husband's death, Mrs. Bull
maintained the home in the same
spirit as Mr. Bull had always done.
Both in 1931 and 1932 it was felt by
many that for the sake of Mrs. Bull's
health the picnic should be held
elsewhere, but ill and weak as she
was she overruled all such suggestions and invited us here. On each
occasion, superior to physical handicaps, she was a gracious hostess to
us all.
Mrs. Bull not only won an enduring place in our affectionate
remembrance, but also established a standard of excellence
as the mistress of the Stone House which will be
an example and an inspiration to those who follow her.
President Roe then spoke of the
many others who had died during the
year, several of whom he described as
specially noted in the family, including W. Jesse Booth,
Frederick H. Bull,
Joseph D. Bull, Wm. F. Draper, Miss
Mary Duryea, Eliza Weller Harris,
aged 94 years, Sarah Bull Dickerson,
aged 84 years, and Howard W. Connelly. Special
mention was made of Edna Beakes Dickerson, who had last
year initiated the giving of different
colored ribbons to the members of
the twelve tribes.
At Mr. Roe's request the gathering
stood for half a minute in honor of
those who had died during the year.
The blue ribbon for coming the
greatest distance was awarded to Car-
ter Gibbes and his wife (the former
Dr. Helen Slaughter), of Phoenix,
Arizona. A ribbon was also awarded to Geo.
E. Beakes of Middletown as being
the oldest member present, in virtue
of his 90 years. The youngest member in attendance was
Barry Slaughter, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Slaughter of Darien, Conn.,
born June 22, 1933.
A contest over the new member of
the Board of Managers aroused interest. Messrs. Roe and Zabriskie
were nominated to succeed themselves
and Mrs. Julia Parry of Highland
Falls and Miss Dolly W. Booth of
Campbell Hall were also named; only
three managers were being voted for.
Miss Booth's well known leadership
and record of efficient service for the
Association made her a very strong
candidate. Mrs. Parry's good qualities, as well as her descent from the
late beloved William Bull V, the sage
of Stony Ford, insured her of a sage
support. The result of the ballot was
the reelection of Messrs. Roe and Zabriskie and the victory of Miss Booth
with 113 ballots against Mrs. Parry's
97. We shall hope to see the latter
on the Board in the future.
The Picnic committee were reelect-
ed as follows:
Bartow W. Bull, Chairman; Wm.
Bull, John Bull, Vernon Hawkins,
Thompson Hawkins, Philip Crist, Geo.
Crist, James A. McClung.
Those named below were chosen as
the Reception Committee for 1934:
Dolly W. Booth, Chairman; Jane H.
Bull, Jean Jackson, Mary E. Bull,
Helen Ackerly, Annie Link.
Below is a list of the family statistics coming to the
Secretary's attention since the last Picnic:
Births
Jan. 17, 1933-Bull, Mary Jane, daughter of Mary Elizabeth Cocks
and Henry Pierson Bull, of Middletown, N.Y.
May 18, 1933-Bement, Sarah Wells,
daughter of Olive Dickerson and
Norwood Bement of Pine Bush, N.Y.
Oct. 5, 1932-Clarke, Glenn Sherwood,
son of Ruth Sherwood and Glenn
Curtis Clarke of Milton, N. Y.
Oct. 29, 1932-Drewsen, Edmond Titus
Jr., son of Edmond Titus Drewsen
and Dorothy MacDonald of Brooklyn, N.Y.
June 1, 1931-Faulkner, Marlene Priscilla, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Lionel E. Faulkner now of Hillside N. J.
July 8, 1933-Faulkner, Charles Harris, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lionel E.
Faulkner of Hillside, N. J.
Feb. 8, 1933-Haney, Jeanne Adelaide,
daughter of Katherine Weller Bull
and George B. Haney of Bronxville, N.Y.
July 4, 1933-Hardenburgh, Annina
daughter of Louise Ruhe Hottenstine and
Albert Henry Harden
burgh of Bronxville, N. Y.
June 18, 1933-Hopper, Joan Helen,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eber H.
Hopper, of Nauwigewauk, New Brunswick, Can.
Aug. 24, 1933-Hulse, Charles Edward,
son of Dorothy Thew and Everett
H. Hulse of Campbell Hall, N.Y.
Sept. 13, 1932-Knight, Charles Richard, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Charles Bull Knight of Monroe, N.Y.
June 24, 1933-Littlefield, Sarah Jane,
daughter of Dorothy Kernochan and
Meredith Littlefield, of Franklin, Penn.
Feb. 3, 1933-Miller, Patricia Jane,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James
Miller of Franklin Square in the
Town of Wallkill, Orange County,
New York.
Aug. 20, 1933-Mills, John Edgar, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Mills of
Scotchtown, N. Y.
March 26, 1933-Presler, Lawrence
Wilton, son of Dorothy Josephine
Alexander and Dr. Donald J. Pres-
ler of Victor, N. Y.
August, 1932-Thomas, Rodney, son of
Evelyn L. Gill and Gleason Thomas
of Deposit, New York.
May 26, 1933-Rowe, Cornelia, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
William Rowe of Montgomery, N.Y.
June 22, 1933-Slaughter, Barry, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Booth
Slaughter of Darien, Conn.
Aug. 30, 1932-Smith, Gladys, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Smith
of Nauwigewauk, New Brunswick, Canada.
June 14, 1933-Smith, Ivan Ashley,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar A. Smith
of Lakeside, New Brunswick, Can.
June 27, 1933-Smith, --------- , son
of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. O. Smith of
Hampton, New Brunswick, Can.
July 31, 1933-Smith, Lorna Doreen,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar
Smith of Titusville, New Brunswick,
Can.
July 7, 1933-Vandervort, John Wolcott, son of Helen Bull
and John Vandervort of State College, Pa.
Sept. 24, 1932-Whitaker, Duane Harold, son of Mr. and Mrs. Murray
Whitaker of Campbell Hall, N. Y.
Marriages
Feb. 19, 1931-Ball, Mrs. Phebe Drew,
of Milton, N.Y., and Frederick W.
Vail, Sr., of the same place.
Dec. 8, 1932-Bull, Wallace D., of
Middletown, N.Y., and Grace Kuntz
of Pine Bush, N.Y.
Dec. 28, 1932-Bull, Elizabeth Greene,
of Stony Ford, N.Y., to Herman H.
Schuerholz of Middletown, N.Y.
Apr. 15, 1933-Burch, Katharine, of
Saint Paul, Minn., to Glen Seymour
Taylor.
July 1, 1933-Booth, Jesse Wellington,
to Jeanne Winslow White, both of
Scranton, Pa.
July 12, 1932-Dill, Johnson H., of
New York City, to Olive Kain, of
Middletown, N.Y.
Sept., 1932-Dickerson, Olive Evelyn,
of Thompson Ridge, N.Y., to Nor-
wood Bement of Pine Bush, N.Y.
Oct. 1932-Hill, Vera, to Robert Jamieson, both of Pine Bush, N.Y.
July 4, 1933-Hoffman, Mary Seton,
of Short Hills, N. J., to Giustino
Enrico Cosio of Florence, Italy.
Dec. 1, 1932-Hynard, Dr. William H.,
of New York City, to Madelaine Alden.