Name/Title
95th annual Bull Picnic August 26, 1963 " THE TIMES HERALD RECORD"Entry/Object ID
000531Tags
Bull PicnicScope and Content
File Name: 531.jpg
Document Summary
This document is a newspaper clipping from The Times Herald Record dated Monday, August 26, 1963. The article, written by staff writer Richard Budelman, details the 95th annual Bull-Wells family reunion held in Hamptonburgh, Orange County, New York.
Approximately 200 descendants of William Bull and Sarah Wells (some of Orange County's earliest European settlers) gathered at the historic 1722 Bull stone house. The article highlights family milestones, including the oldest attendee (Mrs. Charles Wells, 98), the youngest (Paula Nave Bastiano, 2.5 months), and the oldest living descendant pictured in the clipping (Barto Bull, 88). It also shares historical background on Sarah Wells' famed 1712 expedition to settle the area and lists the re-elected officers of the Bull Family Association.
Monday, August 26, 1963 THE TIMES HERALD RECORD
Bull-Wells reunion attended by 200
By RICHARD BUDELMAN, TH-Record Staff Writer
HAMPTONBURGH
Two hundred descendants of William Bull and Sarah Wells--forebears
of one of Orange County's oldest families--gathered at the Bull stone
house in Hamptonburgh Saturday, for the family's 95th annual reunion
and picnic. Members of the family came from all parts of the United States for the luncheon and supper at the historic stone house that dates from
1722. The family traveling the farthest to attend were the E. L. Hammonds
who live in Oxford, Mississippi. The oldest family member on hand was Mrs. Charles Wells, 98, of Newburgh, and the youngest Paula Nave Bastiano, age two and a half months. According to Henry P. Bull of Middletown, the Bull Family Association has a mailing list of 2,500--all relatives--who live in 49 states and Canada. The annual reunion, which dates back to Sept. 18, 1886, was first held to dedicate a monument at the grave sites of William Bull and
Sarah Wells, whose marriage in 1718 was the first between white
settlers in this area. Over 100 descendants gathered that day on Lookout Hill near Hamptonburgh Church, where the picnics were held from 1868 to 1883.
The original picnic site, near Heards Tavern- a stage coach
station where horses were changed on the trip from Goshen to New-
burgh--was marked by a tavern sign with the figure of a bulls head
and an inscription composed by Peter Bull. The stone house at Hamptonburgh was one of several constructed in this area by William Bull and his sons. Probably the most famous is Hasbrouck House used by George Washington as his headquarters from 1782-83.
The story of Sarah Wells expedition from New York City to what is
now Goshen has been told countless times, and is repeated each year
in grade school history courses. According to Elizabeth Sharts in her book, "Land O' Goshen," edited by Mildred Parker Seese, Sarah's foster father, Christopher Denne, dispatched an expedition, up the Hudson by sloop in 1712, with the young girl in charge, to establish a settlement.
"Guided by Indians, and accompanied by two white men, the girl
made the long and arduous trek," Miss Sharts relates, "from the
mouth of the Moodna through the forest and over rough terrain to a
site on the Otterkill designated by Denne." The route Sarah traveled has since been named after her--the Sarah Wells Trail--though it was once know as the "Chawangonck Path." In 1796, Sarah Wells died at the age of 102, leaving 12 children, 98 grandchildren, 212 great grandchildren, and 13 great-great grand-
children. The Bull family members attending Saturday's reunion were eighth
to 12th generation descendants of William Bull and Sarah Wells.
All members of the Bull Family Association Board of Directors,
which met Saturday at 2 p.m., were reelected to the board. The
members are, Earl Dickerson, Thompson Ridge, president; Chester
Roe, Newburgh, vice president; Mrs. George Thompson, Goshen,
secretary; and Henry P. Bull, Middletown, treasurer.
Photo Caption
Mrs. William H. Smiley of Middletown, and her son Russell, 14 months, meet
Bartow Bull, 88, -- oldest living descendant of William Bull and Sarah Wells -- at the 95th annual family reunion Saturday.