Name/Title
Aug 11 1925 Bull Picnic Births/Death/MarriagesEntry/Object ID
000452Tags
Bull Family, Bull PicnicScope and Content
The Press, August 11, 1925
BULL FAMILY REUNION
At the re-union of the Bull family on Thursday, at the homestead, on the original grant to the Bull family at Bull's Creek, His Worship Mayor Belyea presented the visitors with a copy of the late Dr. Raymond’s history of the Bull family, which reads as follows: Captain George Bull came to Woodstock about the year 1790 and settled on the property at Bull's Creek which has ever since remained in possession of his descendants. Capt. Bull was born in Ulster County, New York in 1852. About the close of the year 1780 he was commissioned Lieutenant in Captain Nathan Frink's troop of cavalry in General Benedict Arnold's American Legion. The other officers of the troop were P. C. Waterbury, Cornet, and Gershom Lockwood, Quarter Master. In the course of a few months Capt. Frink's troop numbered upwards of sixty officers and men, many of the recruits whose names appear in the muster roll of Feb. 1871, were enlisted by Lieut. Bull. The troop ac- companied General Arnold in his celebrated New England raid, and Capt Frink was his aide-de-camp at the burning of New London. Lieut. Bull was sometimes detailed as escort to Madam Arnold who was a lady famed for her beauty and refinement. The General, according to Lieut. Bull's observation, was never cordially regarded by the British officers, Though outwardly civil they regarded him as a renegade. At the peace Lieut. Bull came to New Brunswick and on the disbanding of his corps was placed on the half-pay list for the rest of his days. The rates of half-pay allowed the officers of the disbanded provincial regiments were as follows: Colonel, Cavalry, $2.22; Infantry $2.28. Lieut.-Col. Cavalry, $2.40; Infantry $2.04. Major, Cavalry, $1.32; Infantry $1.80. Captain, Cavalry, $1.32; Infantry $1.20. Lieutenant, Cavalry, .72; Infantry .56. Cornet or Ensg., .60; Infantry .44 Chaplain, Cavalry, .80; Infantry .80. Surgeon, Cavalry, .48; Infantry .48. At the door way of the house built by the late Mr. Abner Bull at the old homestead may be seen a small brass plate that was formerly on Capt. Bull's army chest which accompanied its owner through all his campaigns. It is inscribed "Lieut. Bull American Legion Cavalry." Mr. Bull proved a useful and influential man in the Woodstock settlement. He accumulated considerable property and filled various parish offices, his name first appeared in the list of seers of the poor. He married, in November 1784, Nancy McKeen of Maugerville, who came from the province with her parents from Litchfield, Mass. Their children were: William Richard Howe, born July 2nd, 1785. George Horatio Nelson, born Dec- ember 19th, 1788. Peter Duncan, born October 3rd, 1791. Cadwallader Jervis, born February 10th, 1795. Mary Ann, born February 8th, 1804, and three sons, Warren Col- lingwood, Charles Cochran and Abner, the dates of whose births are not at present known to the writer. It is related of Captain Bull that being fond of a joke he used to rouse the ire of some of his neighbors who were strong tories, by occasionally expressing republican notions. It would appear however from the names selected for his sons that Captain Bull was a pretty staunch Britisher; but the wonder is that he was not himself a sailor. The names if no less than six famous Admirals are perpetuated in his sons showing that the triumphs of the British fleet under Lord Richard Howe, Horatio Nelson, Sir Peter Duncan, Lord John Jervis, Admiral Collingwood and Sir Charles Cochran were greatly appreciated by our old veteran of the revolutionary war. A lord now about Captain Bull's children. Wm. Richard Howe married Sally Ketchum and settled at Richmond. They at one time with his brothers Charles and Warren owned land above the Nackawick but it is not certain that they ever lived there. George H. N. married Maria, daughter of Captain Jacob Smith, and settled on the lower part of the property originally granted his father-in-law now included within the bounds of the lower part of the town of Woodstock and on a part of which Mr. Richard Bull and others of the family still reside. The first house built by George H. N. Bull just in rear of the present homestead was the third house to be seen for many years the old stone chimney of the log house built by Captain Jacob Smith. Peter Duncan Bull married Eunice Beckwith and lived at Presque Isle. Warren C. Bull married Caroline Perley and lived at Northampton. Charles C. Bull married Mary Woolverton and lived at Northampton. Abner Bull the youngest of the family and its last survivor married Francis Elizabeth Perley and lived and died on the old homestead at Bulls Creek. Capt. Bull’s only daughter, Mary Ann, married Paul Micheau Bedell who lived on the lower part of the farm formerly owned by his father-in-law. The marriage of two of Captain Bull's sons into the Perley family recalls the fact that at one time there prevailed anything but an amiable feeling between the old Maugerville families and the Loyalists; the causes of which we have no difficulty in understanding. Some of the Maugerville people probably the majority, sided with the "rebels" during the war, and the loyalists upon their arrival treated them rather superciliously and in some cases attempted to appropriate their land which in many instances the origin- al settlers had no good and sufficient title. The older inhabitants in their turn resented their claim to the special favor of government. The intensity of the feeling that prevailed is evident from the fact that it has not entirely died out yet. Many of the old people of Sheffield today express themselves in terms that show little veneration for the virtues commonly attributed to the loyalists and on the other hand the loyalist historian, Mr. Hannay (editor of the St. John Telegraph) expresses an equally pronounced opinion as regards the merits of the "Maugerville rebels." Despite the old prejudices there are numberless cases however like that before us, in which we find two sons of Capt. Bull the loyalist wedded two ladies descended from Israel Perley the founder of the Maugerville colony. Capt. Bull and his wife like many others of Woodstock's founders seemed to thrive upon the difficulties and privations they were compelled to undergo and lived to a ripe old age. The former died Oct. 18, 1838, aged 86 years and the latter Aug. 14, 1855, aged 87 years.
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Transcription: Clipping 2 (Right Side)
THE INDEPENDENT REPUBLICAN Sept 2. 1925
At the re-union of the Bull family on Thursday, at the homestead, on the original grant to the Bull family at Bull’s Creek, His Worship Mayor Belyea presented the visitors with a copy of the late Dr. Raymond’s history of the Bull family, which reads as follows: Captain George Bull came to Woodstock about the year 1790 and settled on the property at Bull’s Creek which has ever since remained in possession of his descendants. Capt. Bull was born in Ulster County, New York in 1852. About the close of the year 1780 he was commissioned Lieutenant in Captain Nathan Frink’s troop of cavalry in General Benedict Arnold’s American Legion. The other officers of the troop were P. C. Waterbury, Cornet, and Gershom Lockwood, Quarter Master. In the course of a few months Capt. Frink’s troop numbered upwards of sixty officers and men, many of the recruits whose names appear in the muster roll of Feb. 1871, were enlisted by Lieut. Bull. The troop ac- companied General Arnold in his celebrated New England raid, and Capt Frink was his aide-de-camp at the burning of New London. Lieut. Bull was sometimes detailed as escort to Madam Arnold who was a lady famed for her beauty and refinement. The General, according to Lieut. Bull’s observation, was never cordially regarded by the British officers, Though outwardly civil they regarded him as a renegade. At the peace Lieut. Bull came to New Brunswick and on the disbanding of his corps was placed on the half-pay list for the rest of his days. The rates of half-pay allowed the officers of the disbanded provincial regiments were as follows: Colonel, Cavalry, $2.22; Infantry $2.28. Lieut.- Col. Cavalry, $2.40; Infantry $2.04. Major, Cavalry, $1.32; Infantry $1.80. Captain, Cavalry, $1.32; Infantry $1.20. Lieutenant, Cavalry, .72; Infantry .56. Cornet or Ensg., .60; Infantry .44 Chaplain, Cavalry, .80; Infantry .80. Surgeon, Cavalry, .48; Infantry .48.
John R. Sparrow, who drove up from Ridgewood, N. J., with her little daughter, Joyce, one recalled it was her grandfather, D. Kerr Bull, who delivered the address at the first picnic in 1868. The mention first names again Mrs. and Mrs. William Rutledge Bull, of Bridgeport, Conn. who came over from Sharon, Conn., where they were summering. William L. Whitaker was present for the first time with his five children, who are descendants through their late mother, Lizzie McBride, the younger. Mrs. Whitaker recalled coming with the late J. Frank Bull, of Passaic, was present for the first time with her husband and children, also her sister, Mrs. Lawrence Knapp, from South Orange, N. J. After grace by the Rev. Clarence A. Bull, luncheon was enjoyed. At the treasurer’s suggestion Dairymen’s League ice cream was sold, greatly to the convenience of the picnickers. However it was apparent that the very effective ice cream committee in the charge of Wm. Roe Conklin, Jr., necessarily had to assist to render the service, and it was agreed to this that it inadvisable to continue this innovation unless a stranger can be engaged to attend to the work. After luncheon the business meeting was held under the presidency of Harry Bull, of Hamptonburgh in the unavoidable absence of President Charles M. Bull, of Poughkeepsie. Mr. Ebenezer Bull welcomed the visitors to the "Stone House" on behalf of himself and Mrs. Bull. Ernest M. Bull, the treasurer, delivered his report. Robert McLeod Jackson, the secretary, reported that there were 622 legal members of the Association; 23 junior members; 8 honorary members; that 27 members had died; that gifts had been made in memory of Frank Bull, of Warwick, by members of his family; of his family Russell Wellman Moore, deceased, of New York City, by courtesy of the trustees; of Princess University, his residuary legatee, and $50 by bequest of Miss Susanna Haines, late of Honebrook, Pa. The greater part of the portion of the "Stone House" and its yard had been borne by Mrs. Margaret Dill Hallagan, of Campbell Hall and New York. The following births, marriages and deaths were announced:
BIRTHS Omitted last season. IVORY, Edith Shirley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Forrest P. Ivory, of Goshen, born March 3, 1923. WILSON, Rosalind, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Wilson, of New York City, born June 10, 1923. ROGERS, Charles R., son of Mr. and Mrs. (Martha Bull) Charles Rogers, of Monroe, born November 11, 1923. WILSON, Harry Donald, son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Wilson, 8th, of Scarsdale, born November 21st, 1923. (Scotchtown) and Elsie J. Terwilliger, October 13, 1923. BROWN, Marjorie, of Norfolk, Va., to Russell Frantz, of Lynchburg, Va., January 3, 1924. SEAMAN, Raymond Valentine, of Washingtonville, N. Y., to Gertrude Wells, of Friendship, N. Y., August 4, 1924. CLARK, Elizabeth Milton, of Milton, N. Y., and Vera Elizabeth Mickley, January 30th, 1924.
DEATHS Omitted from 1923 list. SIMONDS, Clarissa, at Bingham- ton, N. Y., February 22, 1923. CONNER, Mrs. Henrietta M., of Middletown, N. Y., February 22, 1923. BULL, James Edgar, of New York City, October 2nd, 1923. COLEMAN, Charles Boeringer, of Goshen, N. Y., October 22nd, 1923. McMONAGLE, Matilda, Rogers widow of Rev. J. H. McMonagle, at Witt, C. McMonagle, October 27th, 1923. JACKSON, James H., of Montgomery, October 31st, 1923. STANTON, Mrs. Elliott H., of Madison, Minn., to November 1923. WILSON, Miss Charlotte, of New York City, December 6th, 1923. WALTERS, Miss Lillian, of Philadelphia, Pa., December 24th, 1923. WALSH, Stevenson Hockley, of Philadelphia, Pa., December 28th, 1923. Mr. Walsh was a member of the Bull HOWELL, Charles J., of New York City, husband of Mary J. Johnston, of Newburgh, N. Y., deceased, January 20th, 1924. BULL, Mrs. Fred, of Passaic, N. J., March 20th, 1924. CRIST, Marjorie, aged 8 years, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benoni Crist of Middletown, N. Y., April 18th, 1924. McMONAGLE, Charles A., of Montgomery, N. Y., April 26th, 1924. BULL, Martha Shorter, wife of John T. Bull, of Circleville, N. Y., March 28th, 1924. MOFFAT, William T., of Blue Point, L. I., April 27, 1924. HAWKINS, Pliny, of Coldenham, N. Y., May 26th, 1924. DECKER, Adelaide B., of Chicago, Ill., May 28th, 1924. BARKLEY, Mrs. Alfred E., (Elizabeth Bull) of Brooklyn, N. Y., July 23rd, 1924. HILL, Cornelia Ann Jordan, widow of James C. Hill, at her late home in Carlisbad, Cal., in 1924. JOHNSTON, Wm. R., of Fanwood, N. J., May 4th, 1924. CRIST, Mrs. Lillian Evans, widow of the late Captain Crist, of West Montgomery, N. Y., May 30th, 1924.The property committee consisting of Hamlet S. Roe and Harry Bull reported some very considerable work done on the private roadway to the "Stone House" and also the roofing of the shed and built up Messrs. Chas. W. and John G. Thew, Wm. R. Conklin, Jr., Wm. Bull, VII, Bartow W. Bull and Jesse Booth and the committee did the work. sought information from him. Mr. Walsh was a staunch supporter of the work involved in acquiring the "Stone House" and also a genial friend who will be greatly missed. The Secretary is instructed to spread this minute on the records of the Association and to send a copy of it to Mrs. Walsh with the expression of the sympathy of the members of the Bull the Association in her husband’s death." Wm. Rutledge Bull, of Bridgeport, Conn., and Col. Landon, of Bordentown, N. J., addressed the gathering, the latter aroused enthusiasm by his appeal to bring out the vote this fall. Frederick Cooney, of Staten Island, gave a brief talk. The little silver cup given the member coming the greatest distance to the picnic, or that if sufficient funds were not available for a cup a ribbon will be substituted, and his motion was enthusiastically carried. The financial situation was laid before the meeting and showed that the $13,500 required to purchase the "Stone House" property had all been raised and paid in cash except for a balance of $2700, which still remained under a balance of something over $700 in the treasury and proposed to reduce the mortgage by at least $300. An endowment should gradually be provided to enable the Association to face the indefinite future with confidence, the Board of Managers recommended to the Association what is in effect a private insurance program viz: that the members of the family should provide some gift for the Association in their wills, or by codicil. The secretary reported two of the man- agers had already made such a provision and that others had given their assurance that they would do so. Also that 5 others had already made wills or codicils in accordance with the proposed plan. Many present expressed a desire for further information on the subject, which was left with the family for consideration throughout the year. Charles W. Thew was added to the property committee for the coming year. After the election of the managers the board held an organization meeting, re-electing Harry Bull, of Goshen, president; Ebenezer Bull, of Chester, Vice-president; Ernest M. Bull, treasurer and Robert McLeod Jackson, secretary. It is estimated that about 400 were present. Messrs. W. D. Van Vliet & Son, of Goshen, lent campstools for the occasion.