Name/Title
74th Annual Bull Family Picnic, August 30, 1941Entry/Object ID
002769Tags
William Bull and Sarah Wells Stone House AssociationScope and Content
Event Overview
The Reunion: The 74th annual reunion of the Orange County Bull family was held under a "perfect sky." The gathering serves to reinforce family bonds, bringing together thousands of relatives who share a common lineage.
Geographic Diversity: Attendees traveled from numerous states, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, as well as New Brunswick, Canada.
🤝 Notable Attendees & Family News
Distinguished Guests: Judge Seeger of Newburgh attended as an honored guest and spoke about honoring the pioneer man and woman who founded the family.
Key Travelers: Mrs. Helen Johnston Kyte (Wellesley Hills, MA) and her niece, Lemma Rapelye Johnston (Little Silver, NJ), returned this year. Their previous visit sparked enough enthusiasm to bring 10 additional members of Dr. Johnston’s branch this year.
First-Time Attendees: Notable new additions to the picnic included Mrs. G. W. De-Voe and her son George (New Milford, CT), Mrs. Calvin P. Cowgill and her sister Mrs. Angelica Eager Gafford (Delaware), and Irving S. Bull (Winston-Salem, NC).
Children's Entertainment: Dixie Anne Booth helped entertain the smaller children with her pony and cart. "Culver Bull" was also a highlight, noted as a veteran horse in amusing the children.
🏛️ Business & Appointments
The "Stone House" Sign: Announcement was made that Elliott McClung of Campbell Hall renovated the sign he made years ago for the entrance to the "Stone House" driveway.
Western Branch: Greetings were received from the "Western Branch" of the family, which held its third annual picnic at the home of Ernest Bull in Cedar Edge, Colorado.
1942 Committee Appointments:
Picnic Committee Chairman: Barton Wright Bull (Stony Ford)
Reception Committee Chairman: Jean Smith Hoeffler (Goshen)
Mistress of Ceremonies: Merrie Ellen VanTassell (Middletown)
Officers Elected for the Ensuing Year:
President: Amy Bull Crist
Vice-President: Henry P. Bull
Treasurer: Ernest M. Bull
Secretary: Robert McLeod Jackson
📋 Family Vital Statistics (1939–1941)
The clippings record the vital statistics that came to the knowledge of the Secretary within the year, spanning marriages, births, and deaths.
💍 Marriages
1939: Robert H. Youngblood to May Duchame; Alma Dill to Norbert Sell; George Howard Crist to Virginia Hamlyn Gorse; Clara McBride to William Shafer; Frances H. Youngblood to John Welsh; Elizabeth Hunt Tobin to Frederick George Stickle III.
1941: Several marriages are listed from June to August, including LeRoy Kierstead to Doris Davie, Howell Frank Scott Jr. to Dorothy Marie Crois, Charles Wm. Wanamaker to Bertha Barbara Canning, Anne Ramsey Darling to Vladimir Haensel, and George Elmer Gregory to Dorothy Elizabeth Somok.
👶 Births
1938–1939: Births include John Michael Horton, Marilyn Joan Kuehn, Carter Gilbert Haff, Helen Warren Wisner, and Thomas Field Nordland.
1940–1941: Dozens of births are documented, noting parents' names and locations ranging from local New York towns to California and Australia (e.g., Alice Imogene Butt, born in Sydney, Australia, a great-granddaughter of the late Rev. Daniel Bull Jackson).
⚱️ Deaths
1940: Mrs. Charles S. McKnight, Charles Ferdinand Mackinson, William O. Smith, and Alfred Van De Mark.
1941: Frederick Kellogg, Florence C. Walker, Edith Lackie, Jane Wood Clarke (aged 70), Martha Thew Hallock, Miss Grace H. Horton, Ida C. Mailler, John E. Watkins, Frank Barclay Copley, Rev. Charles Clearwater, Wm. A. Beyea, Stephen M. Bull (aged 34), James Royal White, Lillian Lyons, Harvey D. McMonagle, Ruth Conklin Schriver, Louisa Bowne, William Harrison Slaughter (aged 62), Maurice C. Tompkins, Jennie Rawlins Holman (aged 83), Earl F. Jordan, Annie May Smith, Ida G. Bull, Angeline Anderson Godfrey (aged 87), and George Eager (aged 88).
