Name/Title
1869 Bull Picnic & Newspaper article date Aug. 25, 1949Entry/Object ID
000422Tags
Bull PicnicScope and Content
The desire of a California man for a picture of one of the early Bull family picnics, of which often had heard from his mother brought to light this delightful print among the countless mementoes and relics cherished at the ancient family seat in Hamptonburgh. A few of those who appear in it have been identified, and the photograph will be on display at the family’s 82nd annual reunion at the Stone House next Wednesday in the hope that visiting Bulls may recognize others. Any suggestions from reader of The Independent Republican also will be welcomed.
The inquirer was Forrest K. Libenow of Oakville, Napa County Cal., whose mother, Louise B. Terbell of Walden, had attended with her grandparents, Josephus and Hilah Bodine Terbell of Walden.
The photograph was labelled in 1897 by the late Amy Bull Uptegrove as having been taken on Wednesday, September 1, 1869, and Robert L. Jackson, secretary of the family association concluded this Summer, after consulting old calendars, that the year was 1869 since September 1 of (continued on page 7)
Additional Notes: Summary
This document is a continuation of an article from The Independent Republican (a local publication likely serving the Montgomery/Hamptonburgh area) dated August 25, 1949. It commemorates the history of the Bull Family Picnic, a tradition that had reached its 82nd anniversary by the time of publication.
Historical Context: The text focuses on the 1869 picnic, which was the second in the series and notable for being the first time the family was photographed.
Key Individuals: It mentions Miss Cornelia Hawkins of Rutherford, NJ, who was a baby in the 1869 photo and still alive in 1949. It also mentions a mystery regarding who was holding Louise Terbell in the original photo.
Geographic Reach: The roster illustrates the diaspora of the Bull family by 1869. While many remained in local strongholds like Hamptonburgh, Bullville, Montgomery, and Newburgh, others traveled from New York City, Long Island, Mississippi, Illinois, and Ohio to attend.
Key Narrative Points:
The Catalyst: The search for the photo began with Forrest K. Libenow of Oakville, California. He was seeking a visual record of the picnics his mother, Louise B. Terbell of Walden, had described from her childhood.
The Discovery: The print was found among the archives at the Bull Stone House in Hamptonburgh, the "ancient family seat."
Dating the Image: There was initial chronological confusion; Amy Bull Uptegrove had labeled the photo in 1897 as being from either 1868 or 1889. However, Robert L. Jackson (Secretary of the Family Association) used "old calendars" to confirm the date was actually September 1, 1869, as that was the year the date fell on a Wednesday.
The Reunion: The photo was slated for display at the 82nd annual Bull family reunion in 1949 to help attendees identify more of the 160 people present in the image.
INDEPENDENT REPUBLICAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 1949.
The Bulls in Picnic Attire of 1869; One of the Company is Living Yet
[Photograph depicts a large group of men, women, and children of the Bull family in 19th-century attire standing outdoors in a line and grouped in front of a wooded background.]
The desire of a California man for a picture of one of the early Bull family picnics, of which he often had heard from his mother, brought to light this delightful old print among the countless mementos and relics cherished at the ancient family seat in Hamptonburgh. A few of those who appear in it have been identified, and the photograph will be on display at the family's 82nd annual reunion at the Stone House next Wednesday the hope that visiting Bulls may recognize others. Any suggestions from readers of The Independent Republican also will be welcomed.
The inquirer was Forrest K. Libenow of Oakville, Napa County, Cal., whose mother, Louise B. Terbell of Walden, had attended with her grandparents, Josephus and Hilah Bodine Terbell of Walden.
The photograph was labelled in 1897 by the late Amy Bull Upton as having been taken on Wednesday, September 1, 1869 or 1869; and Robert L. Jackson, secretary of the family association, concluded this Summer, after consulting old calendars, that the year was 1869, since September 1 of
(Continued on page 7)
[Bottom Left Column]
THE GLEANER -
The Bulls in Picnic
(Continued from page 1)
that year fell on Wednesday. Furthermore, the register of the 1869 picnic party included the Terbells of Walden and their granddaughter, Louise. The 1869 picnic was the second in the annual series that next week will reach 82, and it was the first time the large family group was photographed.
Although it is 80 years since the picture was made, at least one who appears in it is still living, Miss Cornelia Hawkins of Rutherford, N. J. Neither she nor the Terbell child were among the little girls in pantalettes standing so primly in the front row. Miss Hawkins, then a baby, is in the arms of a woman near the center of the picture; and Louise, also a small child, appears in the back row, but there is a question about the identity of the man holding her. Mr. Libenow was under the impression she was held up to view by her grandfather, but one or two persons who remember him say the man holding the child is not Mr. Terbell of Walden.
For the second picnic, as for those of this era when travel is much easier, Bulls came from afar as well as from nearby for a day with other Bulls. Only about half the 160 at the 1869 picnic appear in the picture. The entire roster, copied by Mr. Jackson with faithful adherence to the old and erratic spellings, follows:
Jesse Bull, Oxford Depot; Rich'd H. Bull, New York; Jno. McBride, Camble Hall; George Conning, Camble Hall; John M. Bull, Monroe; Samuel W. Eager, Sophia M. Eager, William H. Pierson, Lizzie Pierson, Anna B. Weekes, Joseph C. Eager, David H. Booth, all Hamptonburgh; Alanson T. Sears, Montgomery; Sarah J. Connelly, Mary A. Connelly, Henry M. Connelly, all Newburgh; Helen A. Whitmore, Boston, Mass.; Bertie J. Spaulding, Newburgh; Elizabeth Hawkins, Montgomery; Mary Ann Booth, Campbell Hall; Will D. Spalding, Newburgh; Milton Bull, David C. Bull, Horace Bull, all Bullville; Nathaniel Conkling, Mahala Conkling, G. M. Newman, J. R. Newman, all Middletown; W. H. Newman, Daniel H. Bull, both Hampton; James C. Bull, Coldenham; Ira, Bull, Chester; Sam'l S. Bull, Monroe; Jas. M. Bull, Chester; Anna H. Sears, Matilda H. (?) Mowbray, Montgomery; Horace Booth, Mo (?); Sarah I. Bull, Bullville; Ida B. Copley, New York City; J. Erskine Crawford, Bullville; Samuel C. Brush, Martha T. Brush, New York City; Matilda B. Booth, Campbell Hall; Moses B. Miller, Wallkill; Isaac V. Wheeler, Phoebe A. Wheeler, Juliett P. Wheeler, Carrie B. Wheeler, Mary B. Harlow, Annie M. Harlow, James W. Harlow, all Warwick; Mary (?) L. Spaulding, Newburgh; Richard B. Roy, Hannah M. Roy, Warwick; John N. Roy, Mary Roy, Sarah J. Roy, all Cleveland; Franklin Bull, Ann E. Bull, Anna M. Bull, all Blooming Grove; Mary A. Bull, Monroe; Clara Roe, Mary C. Roe, Chester.
[Bottom Middle Column]
Sarah J. Smith, Goshen; John P. (?) Bull, Mrs. Minerva Bull, Bullville; Mary E. Bull, Blooming Grove; Sarah A. Purcell, Monroe; Susan C. Bull, Oxford Depot; Hannah L. Bull, Mary A. Bull, Chester; Josephus Terbell, Hilah Terbell, Walden; William Purcell, Monroe; Ebenezer Bull, Hamptonburgh; Milton F. Bull, Cecelia G. (?) Bull, Esther E. Bull, Bullville; Milton C. Bull, Coldenham; Ruth C. Bull, Bloomingburgh; Anna S. Connelly, Jane J. Connelly, Virginia Connelly, E. L. Upright, Newburgh; Daniel Mould, Lettie B. Mould, Milton B. Mould, Mary C. Mould, Montgomery; Martha M. Van Keuren, Newburgh.
Phebe E. Bull, Ida I. Weller, Circleville; Esther Van Keuren, Montgomery; Caroline B. Woodruff, David W. Woodruff, Bull Hack (now Circleville); Anna M. Bull, Newburgh; Mary Esther Mould, Christopher J. Mould, Martha B. Mould, Montgomery; Sarah Jane Bull, Middletown; Emily Bull Youngs, Oxford; Louisa B. Terbell, Walden; Edmund Bull, Rutledge Bull, Charleston, S. C.; Lewis M. Hawkins, Sarah Hawkins, Harry A. Hawkins, Jennie B. Hawkins, Cornelia C. Hawkins, Goshen; A. H. Corwin, Alice I. Corwin, New York; Phebe H. Bull, Chester; Caroline Bull, Charles R. Bull, Hattie N. (?) Bull, Emma L. Bull, Blooming Grove; Rachel C. W. Bull, L. M. Weller, Bullville; Anna L. Bull, Hamptonburgh; Lemma Mould, Christopher Mould, Montgomery; Martha B. Craft, Benjamin W. Craft, Glen Cove, L. I.; Jennie H. Thew, John G. Thew, Hamptonburgh; Elizabeth H. Sears, Montgomery; Anne E. Bull, Goshen; Charles Bull, Newburgh; Charles Bull, New York; Lizzie H. McBride, Campbell Hall; J. E. Bull, New York; Edgar F. Dill, Hamptonburgh.
S. C. Weekes, New York; Abbie Eager, Dr. Wright, Mary A. Wright, William B. Wright, Kate M. Wright, Mrs. Clarkson, Hamptonburgh; Elizabeth R. Clarkson, Woodridge; Helen C. Phillips, New York; Mrs. W. L. Chapman, Newburgh; Mrs. W. B. Andruss, Amboy, Ill.; Charles Wood, Caroline J. Wood, R. Paul Wood, Sarah I. Wood, Middletown; J. Franklin Bull, Bloomingburgh.
Mary B. Mills, near W. B. (?); Amy Bull, Hamptonburgh; William Bull, Phebe Bull, Keturah Bull, Elizabeth Bull, Sarah Wells Bull, William Bull, Ebenezer Bull, Richard Bull, John Conning, Emma Conning, Hamptonburgh; R. H. Bull, Jr., New York City.
[Bottom Right Column]
[Handwritten date at top of clipping:]
Sept 1. 1949
N. Y., THURSDAY, SEPTEM
350 Attend 82nd Annual Bull Reunion
HAMPTONBURGH - The 82nd annual Bull family reunion and picnic was attended by over 350 descendants of the family at the old homestead on Wednesday afternoon. Cadwell Tyler of Goshen, was reelected president of the organization known as the William Bull - Sarah Wells Association.
Other officials reelected were Miss Laura Craft of Chester, vice president; Robert Jackson, Campbell Hall, secretary, and Myron Bull of New York City, treasurer. Mrs. Corinna Bull Brown of Campbell Hall, and Silas Patterson, of Monroe, were reelected as members of the board of directors, while Mrs. Sarah Wells Duffy of New York, was elected to this board.
Traveling the longest distance to attend the annual event was Mrs. Harry Sinclaire of Honolulu. She was awarded the blue ribbon significant of the honor. The youngest person attending was Linda Ann Bull, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Culver Bull of Sarah Wells Trail, while the oldest in attendance was Mrs. Elizabeth Bull Greene of Sidney, N. Y., who is 85 years old.
Due to the large attendance the business session was held in the old barnRelationships
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Bull Picnic
