Name/Title
Newspaper Clipping: 2019 Bull PicnicEntry/Object ID
000679Tags
William Bull and Sarah Wells Stone House AssociationScope and Content
Hundreds to gather in Campbell Hall Aug. 3, for one of the longest-running family reunions in U.S.
Newspaper article for the 152nd annual Bull Picnic published in the Goshen Independent, Wed. July 24, 2019
Key Historical Figures
Sarah Wells (Sarah Wells Bull): An indentured servant who, at age 16, traveled up the Hudson River from Manhattan in 1712 with three Munsee Indian men and three hired carpenters to settle in the wilderness of Goshen. She lived to be 100 years and 15 days old and is remembered as a remarkable, independent pioneer woman.
William Bull: A young European immigrant who arrived in Manhattan in 1715. He traveled to Orange County as a hired stone mason for merchant Daniel Crommelin. He married Sarah Wells in 1718, and they became one of Orange County's first American families, raising 12 children.
Daniel Crommelin: A merchant (and, by some reports, a pirate) who hired William Bull as a stone mason.
Major Gen. Henry Knox: An American artillery commander during the Revolutionary War. He utilized one of the stone houses built by William Bull (now called Knox's Headquarters in Vails Gate).
Modern Representatives
Lyle Shute: A ninth-generation descendant of William and Sarah and the president of the William Bull and Sarah Wells Stone House Association.
Summary of the Event
The article highlights one of the longest-running family reunions in the United States, celebrated by the descendants of William Bull and Sarah Wells.
The Reunion: Descendants (spanning up to 13 generations and totaling more than 20,000 living relatives) have gathered every summer for over a century. The August 3, 2019 gathering marked their 152nd annual reunion, making it the second-longest unbroken annual family reunion in the country.
The Landmark: The gathering takes place at the Bull Stone House in Campbell Hall, NY, which was built by William Bull in the early 1700s. The historic homestead and its surrounding farmland are preserved and operated by the William Bull and Sarah Wells Stone House Association, a nonprofit dedicated to sharing the family's history with the public.