Name/Title
August 25, 1937 70th Bull Picnic Births/Deaths/MarriagesEntry/Object ID
000477Tags
Bull Family, Bull PicnicScope and Content
70th ANNUAL BULL FAMILY PICNIC
That delightful book "The House of Exile" deals with a family of southern China, one of whose members had gone to the north and settled there. This northern branch was said to be still living in exile, "temporarily from home", after 650 years; and through the centuries the two branches of the family kept in touch. In our country, however, a family sense of solidarity after three or four generations is the exception. In fact most of us cease to consider, say, third cousins as a part of our family at all; but a different fate was in store for the descendants of Wm. Bull and Sarah Wells. Today these descendants to the 7th and 8th generations recognize their kinship, and, feeling the bond of common blood, no matter how remote, are predisposed to see the good in each other, and overlook the bad. There may be other families so bound together but we do not happen to have heard of them.
We have often wondered why sometimes the descendants of a great man have not thus been linked in long association. Evidently the appeal of an intangible bond is not sufficiently strong, and if it were not for the "stone house" in Hamptonburgh, it is improbable that the descendants of Wm. Bull, who died in 1755, would still be conscious of themselves as a group. This house draws hundreds as a magnet and their common interest in it gives them an opportunity to work and play together; from all over the country and from Canada they gather with pleasure once a year. The house is of course a care, and not an inconsiderable expense, but generous contributions come not only from those near by, but from Maine to California, as has been literally the case this year.
The 70th Picnic, held on the customary last Wednesday of August, was a jolly party. Sunny skies, but not too sunny, furnished perfect weather, in contrast to the day before and the day after. Luncheon was had soon after 12 o'clock. We believe the women of this family have been good cooks for 200 years, but we know they are "tops" today.
Soon after luncheon the business meeting was held. The president, Amy Bull Crist, presided. Her task was not all social, for an oil burner must be installed in the house. Some $600 had already been subscribed, but $400 more was needed. Some of us can ask for money and get a cold stare, no matter how good the cause; but not so with our president. She definitely has "it" to use the vernacular; few can resist her and none could give her a cold stare. Mrs. Crist spoke of the huge amount of work which the treasurer, Ernest M. Bull and his wife and daughters had done with their own hands in getting out a letter to the 1400 odd units on the mailing list; she then mentioned the need for further contributions and suggested that some one might like to subscribe $25. Several such subscriptions were made and a sort of follow the leader game ensued, even the children vying with their small gifts in response to her words, with the result that nearly $200 was added to the treasury, assuring the needed central heat.
The ribbon for coming the greatest distance was awarded to Mrs. Jesse N. Roe of Riverside, Calif.
Greetings were received from Minnie Bull Blandin of Los Angeles; Sara Bull Foster of Miami; Mary Emma Ackerly Holt of Jacksonville; Harriett Bull Greer of Woodbury, N. J.; and Andrew S. Beyea of Smithtown, N. B. Canada.
The death was announced of William Edgar Bull of Charleston, S. C., who had endeared himself to the family by his devotion to it and his annual greeting for many years. He was 80 years old and will live for many more in the memory of us all. The death of Joseph C. Eager of Hamptonburgh was also spoken of—Mr. Eager had attended every picnic until his death.
Ernest M. Bull and Harry Bull of Hamptonburgh were reelected managers to succeed themselves, and Harry C. Bull of Chester was elected to succeed Phebe Bull Slaughter.
The chair appointed Bartow Wright Bull as chairman of the Picnic Committee for 1938, and Dolly Watkins Booth, of the Reception Committee, with power to each to name the other committee members.
Later in the afternoon the new Board of Managers met and elected the following officers for the coming year: Amy Bull Crist, president; H. S. Roe, vice-president; E. M. Bull, treasurer, and R. McI. Jackson, secretary.
The following is a list of the family statistics which have come to the secretary's knowledge since the Picnic of 1936:
Births 1935 Mar. 8—Bull, Milton David, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wendall Bull of Woodstock, N. B., Canada. Mar. 19—Deyo, Alice, daughter of Jean Gerow and Thomas Deyo of Wallkill, N. Y. Oct. 12—Bull, Julie Frederick, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jule Bull, also of Woodstock. Bement, Margaret, daughter of Olive Dickerson and Norwood Bement of Pine Bush, N. Y. 1936 Aug. 16—Carman, Harry Buckley, son of Eleanor Earle and William Carman of Southfields, N. Y. Sept. 4—Hawkins, Ann Bull, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Hawkins of Goodwill, Montgomery, N. Y. Oct. 3—Flummerfelt, Robert Reeve, son of Mildred Reeve and Ray Flummerfelt of Albany, N. Y. Dec. 2—Wheeler, Leroy Jasper, III, son of Helen Booth Williams and Leroy Jasper Wheeler of Houston, Tex. Dec. 19—Conklin, Robert Elliot, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. R. Conklin, Jr., of Chester, N. Y. Dec. — Slaughter, William Harrison, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Booth Slaughter of Gilbertsville, N. Y. 1937 Jan. 13—Sanford, John W., III, son of Dorothy Ackerly and John W. Sanford, Jr., of Warwick, N. Y. Jan. 18—Lopez, Donna Edith, daughter of Edith Earle and Don Jose Lopez of Burnside, N. Y. Mar. — Reinhardt, John Joseph, son of Elizabeth May Earle and Joseph Reinhardt of Orange, N. J. May 22—Deyo, Anne, daughter of Jean Gerow and Thomas Deyo of Glen Rock, N. J. June 4—Taber, Jane Elizabeth, daughter of C. Kenneth and Edna Vosse Taber of Milton, N. Y. Aug. 23—Bosio, Pierre Vittorio, son of Mary Seton Hoffman and Giustino E. Bosio of New York City.
Marriages 1934 Dickerson, Geo. Beakes and Virginia Tarrant, both of Ann Arbor, Mich. 1936 Apr. 26—Couser, Douglas, of Sears-ville, N. Y., and Katherine Mae Leahey of Hancock, N. Y. May 4—Earle, Edith and Don Jose Lopez of Burnside, N. Y. June 27—White, James Royal, Jr., (son of Mary Ostrom and James Royal White, of Pittsfield, Mass.) and Adele Janet Lawless of Glen Ridge, N. J. Aug. 8—Chamberlain, Willard Burton, of Hartford, Conn., and Dorothy Foote of Wilson, Conn. Sept. 13—Smith, Ada, and Harry William Behrent, both of Goshen, N. Y. Sept. 16—Bull, Henry Harding and Janice Roche, both of San Francisco, Calif. Oct. 25—Jackson, Richard Conover, of Kansas City, Mo., (grandson of the late James H. Jackson, originally of the town of Hamptonburgh, Orange Co., N. Y.) and Lillian Mason Cornford of Salem, Neb. Nov. 7—Thew, Charles Gregory, and Pauline Anna Hoffman, both of the town of Hamptonburgh. Nov. 15—Collier, Miss Jamie Polk, and J. T. Barnes, both of Corinth, Miss. Dec. 24—Roe, Muriel, of Riverside, Calif. (daughter of the late Dr. Jesse N. Roe, son of Alfred Booth Roe, sr., dec'd.) and Ralph L. Merrill of Santa Paula, Calif. 1937 Jan. 2—Booth, Alfred, of Campbell Hall, N. Y., and Eleanor Mowbray VanKeuren of Montgomery, N. Y. May 15—Gregory, Ruth Marietta, of Goshen, N. Y., and James Anderson of Newburgh, N. Y. May 24—Bowne, Raymond Conger and Marguerite Nichols Hollingsworth, both of Walden, N. Y. June 5—Bull, John Pierson, of Stony Ford, N. Y., and Virginia Herbert of Campbell Hall, N. Y. June 26—Gerow, Clarence H., Jr., of Washingtonville, N. Y., and Anna Gibson of Cornwall, N. Y. June 29—Senior, Mary, of New York City, and Morton Fearey of Garden City, L. I. Aug. 7—Dickerson, Eleanor, of Thompson Ridge, N. Y., and Dr. Clifford H. Hoppenstedt of Pine Bush, N. Y.
Deaths 1935 Dec. 8—Tyler, Margaret Mills, of Washington, D. C., widow of Cadwell Tyler. 1936 Aug. 31—Teed, Anna Elizabeth Storms, of Montgomery, N. Y., widow of Horatio Teed, in her 77th year. Oct. 1—Shaw, Ada Beardsley, of Brooklyn, N. Y., widow of Frank E. Shaw. Nov. 12—Woolsey, Marianna Booth, of Phoenix, Ariz., born Sept. 18, 1848. Nov. 15—Mitchell, Harriett R., of Detroit, Mich., aged 82 years, widow of Keating K. Mitchell. Nov. 16—Merrifield, Elizabeth H. McBride, of Pasadena, Calif. Nov. 24—Reeve, Clara L. Green, wife of Charles A. Reeve of the Town of Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y., in her 62nd year of her age. Nov. — Booth, Clara Hickman, of Ann Arbor, Mich., widow of Wm. Jesse Booth. 1937 Feb. 1—Bull, William H., of Brooklyn, N. Y. Feb. — Stratton, Virginia Conning, aged 90 years, of Nelsonville, N. Y. Mar. 10—Parry, Julia Wells, wife of Henry G. Parry of Highland Falls, N. Y. Mar. 14—Thompson, Robert Oliver, of Campbell Hall, N. Y., Honorary Member of the Family. Mar. 21—Bull, Dr. Sidney W., of Brooklyn, N. Y., son of the late D. Kerr Bull of Middletown, N. Y. Mar. 23—Eager, William C., of Hamptonburgh, Orange Co., N. Y., born Aug. 21, 1859. Mar. 24—Wilson, Susan Colston Minor, of Lewisburg, W. Va., widow of John Wilson, Esq., aged 73 years. Apr. 13—Bull, William R., of Portchester, N. Y. Apr. 25—Bull, William Edgar, of Charleston, S. C., in his 81st year. May 20—Slaughter, Eugene Wells, of Crystal Run, N. Y. —Storms, Josephus, of Newburgh, N. Y. May 30—Van Alst, Wm. H'y, of Montgomery, N. Y., in his 67th year. June 2—Perkins, Florence Augusta Bull, wife of Charles H. L. Perkins, of Woodstock, N. B., Canada, aged 85 years. Mrs. Perkins was a granddaughter of the Loyalist, the late Capt. George Bull of Woodstock, son of Thomas. June 8—Allen, Harriet B., of New York City, aged 65 years, widow of Harry Beardsley Allen. June —Moore, Lucilla Hortensia Leverett, of Santa Barbara, Calif. June 12—Mills, Nathan Denton, of Middletown, N. Y., aged 63 years. June —Connelly, Florence, of Jackson Heights, L. I., N. Y., widow of Howard W. Connelly. June 21—Carter, Oliver Goldsmith, of Brooklyn, N. Y. July 1—Bull, Clara Wells, of Monroe, N. Y., daughter of the late Samuel and Emily Young Bull, aged 73 years. July [text cut off] W [text cut off] wi [text cut off] Miss [text cut off] City ag [text cut off] woman [text cut off] children [text cut off] wish to [text cut off] ward to [text cut off] all gra [text cut off] her ass [text cut off] Old a [text cut off] the full [text cut off] "Americ [text cut off] journed [text cut off] Wednes [text cut off]
[Handwritten in pink/red ink]: 70th Picnic Aug 25/1937Relationships
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Bull Family, Bull Picnic