Name/Title
August 31, 1939 72nd Picnic - President Amy Bull Crist of Bull AssociationEntry/Object ID
000481Tags
Bull Picnic, Amy Bull CristScope and Content
AUGUST 31, 1939.
Presidency of Bull Clan Again Falls to Mrs. Crist
Rain on Occasion of 72nd Family Reunion Chases Picnickers Indoors
HAMPTONBURGH — The presidency of one of the County's oldest families, that of William Bull and Sarah Wells, who were married in 1718, fall for the fourth year yesterday to Mrs. Amy Bull Crist of Montgomery. She was re-elected at the seventy-second annual Bull picnic, and the nineteenth annual meeting of The William Bull & Sarah Wells Family Association, Inc.
Rain confined the 300 basket picnickers to the shelter of the old stone house built by William Bull in 1722, and to the barn, garage and Hamptonburgh Grange hall nearby. The clan held its business session afterward in the Grange hall.
Winners of the blue ribbon for traveling the greatest distance were Mrs. Genevieve Decker Nave and young son, John, from Vancouver, Washington. Mrs. Nave is the wife of Capt. William L. Nave of Vancouver Barracks, United States Army, who, with his family, will be transferred in January to Honolulu for two years.
The oldest person present was Miss Sarah Smith, eighty-seven, of Central Valley, and the second oldest was Mrs. Ketura Booth, eighty, of Campbell Hall. Last year, Miss Smith was second to Mrs. King David Bull of Monroe, then eighty eight.
Youngest of the family present for his second year was Alfred Booth, fourteen months, son of Mr. and Mrs. Pierson Booth of Warwick.
Other Officers Chosen
Other officers chosen by the Board of Managers after the meeting were Hamlet S. Roe of Chester, re-elected vice president; Ernest M. Bull of Blooming Grove, reelected treasurer; Robert McLeod Jackson of Campbell Hall and New York, re-elected secretary.
The Association chose as managers for three years, Mr. Roe, Mrs. Raymond Ackerly of Crystal Run, and Mrs. Margaret C. Harlow, of Sidney.
Family Leader [Photo of a woman] MRS. AMY BULL CRIST Mrs. Crist was chosen again as president of the Bull family at reunion of the clan in Hamptonburgh.
Managers whose terms had expired were Mr. Roe, Mrs. Ackerly and Jesse F. Zabriskie of Hackensack, N. J. Also nominated for the office was Mrs. George Ackerly of Crystal Run. Tellers were Charles Thew of Campbell Hall, Mark Roe of Chester, and Kennedy Sinclair of Rutherford, N. J.
Mrs. Crist appointed to the property committee, Hamlet S. Roe, chairman; Mrs. Raymond Ackerly and Harry C. Bull of Chester. Miss Dolly Booth of Campbell Hall was named chairman of the reception committee, and Bartow Wright Bull of Stony Ford, chairman of picnic committee.
Secretary Jackson recalled for a delighted audience his trip this Summer to Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, birthplace of William Bull. The city's name, frequently attuned to Hampton, came with William Bull to the county to give this community its name of Hamptonburgh, Mr. Jackson related.
The secretary described the ancient Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Wolverhampton, where William Bull was baptized September 10, 1689. Of brown stone, it was built before the year 1500 with the exception of the apse, which went up in the 1860s.
So important is the church regarded today by the city, Mr. Jackson said, that residents raised $50,000 in two weeks this year for repairs.
The speaker traced the church's history to the year 994 when the princess, Wolfrum, cousin of Wolfgang, king of the Angles, wanted to gain a seat in heaven. She desired to endow a church for masses, and obtained permission from the archbishop to convey tracts of land to the church. On the site at the time for many years was a monastery.
Previously referred to as Hampton, meaning on a hill, the setting soon became Wolfrum's Hampton, which later was simplified to Wolverhampton.
Bull Family in Canada
Alfred Booth of Campbell Hall told of his presence at the picnic of the Richard Bull Family Association of Canada, August nineteenth at Woodstock, New Brunswick. Richard, youngest son of William and Sarah Wells Bull, went to New Brunswick with the Loyalists in 1783.
Mr. Booth said the reunion was held on an island in the St. John River, which had remained for more than 100 years by the family but recently acquired as public property for a fairground and park. Because of rain there, too, the ninety picnickers met in the tavern. The association, Mr. Booth reported, meets alternately at Woodstock and at Presque Isle, Me.
During yesterday's meeting, Miss Mildred Hagan, New York teacher, entertained the children at the Stone House with games, stories and cutouts. Adding to the fun again this year were the saddle horse brought by Culver Bull, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bull of Hamptonburgh, and the pony brought by Dixie Anne Booth, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Pierson Booth of Warwick. Youngsters took turns riding throughout the day.
After the meeting, an orchestra played in the barn for dancing until six p. m. Many persons remained for supper in the evening.
Among letters received offering best wishes for the meeting were those from three other branches of the family; the Richard Bull Association in Canada; the Western Herd of the Bull Family; the Connecticut Tribes of Bull.
On motion of Hamlet S. Roe, the Association sent regrets to Treasurer Ernest M. Bull of Blooming Grove, who was to return home yesterday after suffering a stroke recently at Nantucket, Mass.
The Association also voted its appreciation to the Hamptonburgh Grange for use of its buildingRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Bull Picnic, Amy Bull