For Three Sisters

After the fallow years comes the rich harvest

2011-07-25T19:45:00.002+10:00

This blog has been fallow for a couple of years. Part of this had to do with the need to complete a doctorate. There were other heavy demands on my time with research and other responsibilities related to work. Also, I spent a fair amount of time seeking more information on the Bulman line and on other lines in the family tree. Over the next few months, much of this new research will be shared on this blog. The work will be slow and steady. We will also be traveling as a family during the northern hemisphere autumn to gather more data and photographs to share on the blog. In fact, we plan to trace the route of the Bulman migration from Ballston Centre near Schenectady, New York through to Puyallup, Washington.

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!

2009-12-01T17:09:00.033+11:00

These words, often attributed to others, were penned by Sir Walter Scott. They can be found in the 17th stanza of the poem, Marmion, Canto VI. There will be many webs to untangle through these posts. I will try to be as fair as I can in my presentation. However, I will have an opinion. I will happily change it with new evidence or a convincing counter-argument. I will also seek to be respectful of those whose lives I will be giving some account of. However, we are neither angels nor devils, so there will be some shades of grey emergining over the next several posts.

I am hoping that those who are looking for information about various people might pick up clues at this site that will shorten their search. I also hope that those who have further information will be willing to share it to create a fuller picture of the family and the times in which the various members lived.

This post continues a story taken up for the first time in the previous post. It seeks to ask and answer, to one degree or another, the question: Who was Jeremiah Ingalls? I am not talking about the composer. Well, I will have something to say about him. However, my focus will be on Jeremiah Boss, the son of Stephen and Lucina (nee Bulman) Boss. Jeremiah Boss can be found with his family in the 1850 and 1860 Federal Census data for Kirkland, New York. There is evidence that he enlisted in Company I of the 2nd Oneida Regiment, the 26th New York Volunteers. Company I was, in fact, recruited from Oriskany in Oneida County. He is reported to have been wounded in the thigh by a ball at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Yet, he is not to be found again in the Census data. Did he die of his wounds? I do not think so. In the previous post, I mentioned the Act that increased the invalid pension of Jeremiah Ingalls (alias Jeremiah Boss). This is the first of many clues to be followed. It leads directly to the pension claim that he applied for on 24 December 1864. Later, a Margaret Ingalls would make a widow's claim in Minnesota in 1916. It is to Minnesota that we must go.

In the 1870 Federal Census data, a Jerry Ingalls can be found in Shell Rock, Freeborn, Minnesota. He is 27 and was born in New York. His occupation is listed as a carpenter and joiner and he has $700 worth of real estate and $300 of personal funds. In 1880, a Jeremiah Ingals (37) can be found in the Federal Census data in Austin, Mower, Minnesota. He is with his wife, Margarett (29) and children: William (8), Ada (6), Alice (4) and Arthur (2). He is listed as a house carpenter whose parents, like himself, were both born in New York. His wife was born in Canada. Her father was born in Scotland and her mother in Canada. That her maiden name was Gemmel is asserted here and here. The family base will not move from Austin in Jeremiah's lifetime.

Many of the family are buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Minnesota. Jeremiah's headstone can be viewed here. Margaret's is here. At this site, you can find the following information:

Ingalls, Jeremiah E. 04-10-1843 06-23-1916
Ingalls, Margaret P. 02-19-1851 07-05-1934

The "E" may be for Eugene. They had a son whose middle name was Eugene.

Something interesting happens in the 1885 Minnesota Census (1 May 1885). His year of birth is still listed as 1843. However, while he nominates himself as having been born in New York, he lists both his parents as having been foreign born. Additionally, although there is a column specifically for this question, he makes no mention that he was a soldier in the Civil War. It gets stranger still in the 1890 Veteran's Schedule. Here his is listed as Jeremiah Ingalls, alias Jeremiah Boss, who served as a private in I Company of 26 NY Infantry from 26 April 1861 until 28 May 1863. In the notes it states that he had a gun shot wound to the right testicle and hip, a bayonet wound to the right leg and a sabre wound to the left wrist. He is also listed as having chronic diarrhea and piles. There is a further note that is quite strange. It states that he took his step-father's name when he enlisted, as he was under age at the time.

If this is Jeremiah Boss of Kirkland, New York, there are some interesting implications. But, I will wait to speak to them as the plot actually thickens somewhat. In the 1900 Federal Census, he is 55 years old, works as a carpenter (althought he was not employed for 5 months in the previous year), owns a mortgaged house, was married in 1871 and lists both his parents as having been born in France. His wife has seven of nine children living and is 49. In fact, the census has Jeremiah as being born in April 1845 and Margaret in February 1851. They have a number of children still living at home: Victoria (August 1800), Jerry A. (November 1883), and Lucy A. (June 1887--yet she is listed as 2 years old...so, should this be 1897?). They have two roomers living with them; one is a printer and the other a day labourer.

In 1910, their daughter Lucy (12) still lives with Jerry (68) and Margaret (64). Jerry is wagon-maker who has worked each week during the past year, owns his own home free and clear, was in the Union Army and has two parents who were French. In 1920, a Margaret Ingalls (68 and born in Canada of a father from Scotland and a mother from Canada) lives in Lyon, Minnesota with her son-in-law, Arthur W. Calkins (24), and his wife, Lucy (22). They have a son named Arthur E. Calkins (2). In 1930, a Margaret Ingalls (80) lives in Mobridge, Walworth, South Dakota with her son-in-law, William James (60) and his wife, Victoria (49). Margaret had emigrated to America from Canada in 1858 and her father was born in Scotland and her mother in Canada.

According to this obituary, Jerry and Margaret lost their third child, Alice Zoe, in 1905. She died in her parents' home on West Maple Street after suffering for some time from a stomach abscess. She left a husband and child. She also left three brothers and three sisters: Will Ingalls, Mrs. Ada Hart, Arthur Ingalls, Victoria O'Dell, Burt (perhaps from Jeremiah Albert) and Lucy who was still living with her parents. The 1905 Minnesota Census indicates that the address was 510 West Maple Street. Jeremiah is listed as being 66 years old and Margaret as 54. Jeremiah's parents are still listed as having both been born in France. Jeremiah was a wagon-maker and had been a soldier in the Civil War. Both Lucy and William were living with Jerry and Margaret on 3 June 1905. Oddly, Margaret's mother is listed as having been born in Michigan.

Why the alias? And, which name is the alias? I believe that Ingalls is the alias. It makes no sense to use your "step-father's" last name to hide being underage at your enlistment. Additionally, the family actually lists his birth as 10 April 1843. He would have been 18 at his enlistment. In fact, the data states just this fact when he enlisted in May 1861. Also, he enlisted in a company comprised of men from Oriskany in Oneida. If Stephen Boss was his "step-father", then everyone would know him and the alias is hardly an alias. Besides, in 1860, there are only two adult Ingalls in Utica and surrounds. They are both in their earlier thirties and from Scotland. One is in the mental asylum.

Ingalls is a Scottish and English name with Viking associations. It is hard to believe, but not impossible that both parents would be born in France and the father's name of Anglo heritage. But, this does not fit the facts. Lucina was not listed as having been born in France. So, unless this Jeremiah Boss/Ingalls was not even from Oneida, the alias should be Ingalls and not Boss. The story about being underage and taking your step-father's name would be a convenient way to explain the fact that your current documentation and your discharge papers with their notes were in different names. However, it would really only work with someone who might not otherwise care. While my mind can be changed by other evidence, I find it an unconvincing story in itself.

But, why the alias and why French parents? Let's start with the second question first. If Lucina Bulman was Jeremiah's mother, then she would have had Native American heritage as did her brother Henry Bulman according to his son, Grisel Bulman. The Indian wars may have made admitting to a Native American heritage undesirable in the West. If Jeremiah was dark complected and had higher cheekbones, it might have been more convenient to claim French ancestry than Native American. It happens all the time. It is clear that before 1885, Jeremiah indicates that both parents had been born in New York.

Why the alias? By the time that the 2nd Oneida Regiment fought in the battles associated with Fredericksburg, they had already lost a large number of their original 1200-odd men. In those fateful days of December 1862, the 26th New York Volunteers could only put 280 men into the field. After the fighting, 170 men were found to be killed, wounded or missing. In the end, 51 were mortally wounded. Like the Second Battle of Bull Run, they had had the highest casualty rate of their Division. After their two years of service, the men of Regiment were mustered out on 28 May 1863 in Utica, Oneida County, New York. This is how Paul Taylor describes the fortunes of the Regiment in an overview of his 2005 book, Glory Was Not Their Companion, which lists Jeremiah Boss in the Regimental Roster, but not an Ingalls:

This is a story of New Yorkers who were recruited primarily from the gentle farmlands of central New York young and middle-aged, American and European, farmer and tradesman, poor and well-off all of whom were among the first to step forward and answer their fledgling nation's call during the Civil War. Though those young men marched proudly off to war anticipating glory and quick victory, victory was usually absent and glory was not their companion. Official accolades never seemed to materialize, and death soon wrapped its cold arms around the Second Oneida with a vengeance experienced by very few other blue-clad regiments. To be fair, more often than not the regiment was placed in difficult, often impossible tactical situations, which resulted in the New Yorkers being forced to leave the field in disorder. They did their best and played their small role in a much bigger production whose results helped to shape America into what it is today.

From the records, it would appear that Jeremiah was 19 years old when he survived Fredericksburg. It is not clear whether the sabre wound was given by a calvary trooper or by an Confederate officer of foot. In either case, the sabre and bayonet wounds meant that he had fought at very close quarters. These wounds may have been gained at an earlier time than Fredericksburg, given Taylor's description of the situation in the December battle where the actions of two privates would led to their receiving the Medal of Honour. It may be that Jeremiah was a very troubled young man when he returned to Utica and, then, tried to begin his life anew in Kirkland. The fact that he still suffered chronic diarrhea in 1885 might indicate continued distress after the war. From the slightly obscured data in the 1910 Federal Census, it looks like Jeremiah arrived in Minnesota shortly after the war.

Perhaps Jeremiah went west to get away from the reminders of the carnage in the east. He would not have been the only person. Again, he might have wanted to avoid being found by his family. It is also possible that he chose the name Ingalls for a very specific reason. Jeremiah Ingalls (1764-1838), a Congregationalist tavern-keeper, was a composer of some merit and reputation who had written a number of important works. The early ones had been published in a song book called, Christian Harmony. His music became part of an important movement (shape-note singing; e.g., Sacred Harp--remember the movie Cold Mountain with Nichole Kidman and Jude Law) that sought to train choral groups and choirs throughout the United States, particularly in rural areas (see this site for more information).

It should be noted that Alice Zoe was a member of Christ Episcopal Church and that her funeral in the Baptist Church was arranged by her parents.

Please spend some time watching the following videos (especially the Native American and African American shape-note singing) and perhaps even learn more about this important living tradition in the United States at site such as this one.

Another Bulman in Kirkland and the Strange Case of Jeremiah Boss (Alias Jeremiah Ingalls)

2009-11-28T22:15:00.010+11:00

This is a very funny game. This picture is a part of it as you will see below. However, it all started when I stumbled across this message while looking for something else and found another female Bulman in Kirkland. Of course, my suspicion is that she is the daughter of Jeremiah and Abigail.

Need information on both parents:
Adam Boss b. ca 1780, Mohawk, NY, unknown where buried, m. Lydia Cary b. ca 1784 Mass, d. May 5, 1860 aged 76 Kirkland NY, Lydia is buried in Deansboro, Oneida Co., NY. Four children--All lived in Oneida Co. NY:
Aron b. 1809, a son Leroy b. ca 1843? no documented marriage
Adam b. 1815 d. 1894 m. Sally Smith, no children
Stephen b. 1818 m. Lucina Bulman, c.13, the 1st Jeremiah b. 1843
Henry Alex b. 12 May 1828 Deansville, NY, d. 25 Feb 1912

In the 1850 Federal Census for Kirkland we have:

Stephen Boss 31
Lucina Boss 28
Jeremiah Boss 7
Levi Boss 4
Lucina Boss 3
Adoni Boss 2
Henry Boss 20

In the 1860 Federal Census for the Clinton Post Office, Kirkland we have:

Stephen Boss 42

Lucina Boss 40

Lorenzo Boss 21

Jeremiah Boss 17

Levi Boss 14

Lucina Boss 13

Milton A. Boss 12

Stephen Boss 8

Theodore P. Boss 6

Eliza J. Boss 4

Harriet V. Boss 3

Susan M. Boss 1

And, for the 1870 Federal Census in Kirkland we have:

Stephen Boss 51

Lucina Boss 49

Theodore Boss 16

Harriet Boss 13

Douglass Boss 8

Josephine Boss 4

Jeremiah was also working for Phineas M. and Fanny Miller as a domestic in 1860 Census data. He would enlist in Company I, New York 26th Regiment (the 2nd Oneida Regiment) on 21 May 1861 at the age of 18 and would be mustered out with the Regiment on 28 May 1863. According to the Utica Morning Health and Daily Gazette casualty lists of 19 December 1862, he was wounded in the thigh with a ball. This was at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Given that he mustered out with the rest of the regiment in May 1863, he was not entirely crippled. Many men went on to reenlist in other regiments after the muster out. I am not sure about Jeremiah. But, see the mystery beginning to emerge below.

There are many other connections among the Boss family and the other families of Marshall, Kirkland and Augusta. However, their full exploration will have to wait. There are especially other connections with the Millers. I have always thought that there might be connections between the Bulman families and the Millers and Smiths. We will have to see.

Jeremiah is an interesting story that I have not gotten to the bottom of, yet. He takes an alias, Ingalls; perhaps he has taken this name from his wife Margaret who applies for a widow's pension in Minnesota. Jeremiah himself is granted the invalid pension initially in December of 1864. It will be increased by statute in February of 1906. Margaret continues to receive the pension as a widow on her application in 1916 according to various sources.

The Statute at the head of the post was approved during the 54th Congress on 5 February 1906, Session 1:1458. It reads:

Chap. 144--An Act Granting an Increase of pension to Jeremiah Ingalls alias Jeremiah Boss.

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of American in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorised and directed to place on the pension roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Jeremiah Ingalls alias Jeremiah Boss, late of Company I, Twenty-sixth Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry, and pay him a pension at the rate of twenty-four dollars per month in lieu of that he is now receiving.

Sadly, neither of his parents lived very long after the 1870 Federal Census. The following can be found for the Deansboro Cemetery (many stories to be worked out such as that of Henry and Achsah):

Boss, Achsah b. 1842 d. Oct. 19, 1912 69yrs. Sec. 5 pg. 28
Boss, Adam b. 1815 d. Oct. 9, 1897 Sec. 5 pg. 19
Boss, Benjamin d. Jan. 20, 1887 pg. 14
Boss, Clinton d. April 30, 1941 pg. 42
Boss, Harrie M. d. Nov. 30, 1888 pg. 15
Boss, Henry A. b. 1828 d. Feb. 25, 1913 Sec. 5 pg. 28
Boss, Julia M. b. 1845 d. Dec. 24, 1908(st) 1909(Rec.) Sec. 1 pg.25
Boss, Levi T. d. Oct. 4, 1894 60yrs. Sec. 1 pg. 18 C. K 117th Regt. N.Y.V.
Boss, Lucina d. Sept. 12, 1871 50y 9m pg. 7
Boss, Lydia d. May 5, 1860 76yrs. pg. 4
Boss, Milton A. b. 1848 d. May 2, 1887 39y 2m Sec. 1 pg. 14
Boss, Sally Smith b. 1818 d. March 31, 1895 76y 6m 17d Sec. 1 pg.18
Boss, Susan d. June 1_, 1870 11y 4m pg. 7
Boss, Stephen d. April 5, 1875 57y 7m 15d pg. 9

Confirming on bit of history: Patrick Bulman and the War of 1812

2009-11-28T18:09:00.013+11:00

Canadian troops are pictured being encouraged by the mortally wounded Major General Brock to continue the attack at the Battle of Queenston near Niagra Falls at the beginning of the War of 1812. If Patrick Bulman was in the company of the Captain Brown captured here with his regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Allen, then Patrick would have been in the war from the beginning at the age of 18 or so.

If you go to this message board, you will find the full text of the following bit of information provided by one of the members of the list:

There was this article in the American Historian, April 1876 with information from Glenvil, Schenectady County.

Christopher Bulman came from Connecticut about 1795, was twice married. His second wife was Betsy Dibble, of Schoharie County. Children: Patrick, soldier of the war of 1812 [NRAA has no record of Patrick], removed to Texas [Texas has no record of him either!]; Henry, born 1800.

Henry, son of Christopher, married Jane, daughter of Jacobus Van eps. Children: Christopher; Caroline, born 1833, married William Van Eps; Mary Melissa born 1836, married James van Eps; Levina, married John Van Eps; James E. born 1840 married Susan Ochenpauch of Cherry Valley; Eliza, married Samuel Hagadorn; Jane married Justus Oothout.

We now have evidence that Patrick Bulman, brother of Jeremiah and Henry, was a soldier in the War of 1812. Again, the information came through the good offices of a Historical Society. This time through the one based in East Troy Wisconsin. Here is the gist of the information provided to us, keeping in mind that we had already found and I had posted much of what is below:

Patrick Bulman m. Sarah Vale and lived in Waukesha County WI. Patrick is buried in St. James Rose Hill Cemetery in Sussex, Waukesha Co., WI. All that is on his marker is his name and the date d. 1869. Sarah Vale is buried in Troy Lakes Cemetery, East Troy, WI. in the Sawyer lot. She died Jan. 12., 1875/1878? Patrick died in a train accident and was named after a Dr. Patrick according to Villa Belle Sawyer's history. Villa Belle's grandparents were Cephas Sawyer who married Maria Vale, daughter of Patrick Bulman and Sarah Vale. She died Nov. 14, 1893. Notes say she came to WI when age 16. Susan Bulman daughter of Patrick and Sarah m. Seymour brooks. She was born June 30, 1826 Oneida, N.Y. and m June 19, 1847 and had 6 children. Patrick Bulman received a land patent for 120 acres warrant number 19584. On that document it says Patrick Bulman, Private Captain Brown's Co., New York Militia, War 1812. The land was issued at LaCrosse, WI. He assigned it to Lucius S. Blake. Mary Bulman, widow of Henry Bulman also received a patent as well as Nathaniel Bulman, Falls St. Croix, WI.

What I had never been able to find was any land documentation for Patrick. Here was some indication that there would be something. So, I checked the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office site again and found two documents. One is for 1857 (40 acres according to the September 28, 1850 Act) and one is for 1858 (120 acres according to the March 3, 1855 Act). You can click on the links and then click on the tab for documents to view or print the documents. Both mention the War of 1812 connection and the patents were given accordingly.

I suspect that since the land was in Monroe and Buffalo Counties that Patrick got the land and immediately assigned it to others in a land speculation scheme where he was paid a lesser amount immediately. The speculators would have sold the land to those arriving later at a much bigger profit. Of course, they were taking the risk. People may have chosen to settle elsewhere. This will become one of the dramas in a latter generation in Montana.

So, now we know that Patrick actually was in the War of 1812. It is very unlikely that he was in Texas. However, at least one son was there during the Civil War. I have a theory as to why Texas was mentioned rather than Wisconsin. I don't think it was merely because Henry Bulman of Glenville was dead by 1871 (Jane, his wife, apparently died in April 1875).

Six Degrees of Separation from Edmund Burke , More or Less

2009-11-28T12:03:00.007+11:00

Not long ago, the youngest of the Three Sisters found a copy of the Selected Prose of Edmund Burke in a used book shop we visit a couple of times of year in county Victoria. She remembered the name from her French Revolution class of her secondary college days. What she noticed, what captured her vision, was the cover to the left. I think that Burke, the author of A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful, would have been pleased at this.

I am interested in what is inside the covers of this book that was edited and introduced by Sir Philip Magnus and published by the Falcon Press in 1948. Given the post-war economy, the quality of the work is amazing in terms of stitching and paper, as well as print quality. But, it is the writing that is truly wonderful. Few Americans today realise what effect Burke had on the writing and early interpretation of the United States Constitution mentioned in the previous post. Few Catholics realise how much they owe to Burke.

I'll shortly reproduce a portion of his Letter on Catholic Emancipation which was dated 29 January 1795 and written to William Smith, Esquire, who was a member of the Irish Parliament. Before doing so, I will say two things. First, Sir Walter Scott and Robbie Burns were Jacobites and not Jacobins. Typical readers of Dan Brown novels are likely to get this confused. Also, they are likely to think that Thomas Paine was brilliant. He was not a patch on Burke. In fact, Burkean sentiment in the United States during this period was much higher than any support for Paine who was actually run out of the country.

It has only been in these latter years that Paine's star has risen in the celestial canopy of some Americans for reasons that both Burke and De Tocqueville both preciently perceived. Burke would probably quip that this has more to do with the earth bound nature of the canopy held aloft by Brownites rather than the loftiness of the Star of Paine which should be forever bound to the early motto of the Jacobins: liberte, equalite, fraternite ou la mort.

Now, the Jacobins were also not of Patrick Henry's mind. His pronouncement of "give me liberty or give me death" had to do with his willingness to die in the fight for freedom. For the Jacobins, it had to do with the death of others whose opinions differ from the party line and the destruction of a society ordered on something more than the most recent mewling of a brains trust controlled by the political tyrants of the moment, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth discovered to their horror during the Reign of Terror.

Readers of Dan Brown may well misunderstand Burke's use of the terms "prejudice" and "prescription", as well. The first may well be thought of by them as something one should avoid admitting to having at all costs in order to be politically correct; it's all the fashion you know. And, the second would probably be thought to refer to that which should be obtained at all costs to ensure one is able to live long and be banal; not for them a single "crowded hour" of real life. Here is the quote from Sir Walter Scott's, Count Robert of Paris, page 296 (remember, Scott is a Jacobite, not a Jacobin):

One hour of life, crowded to the full with glorious action, and filled with noble risks, is worth whole years of those mean observances of paltry decorum in which men steal through existence, like sluggish waters through a marsh, without either honour or observation.

To see what I mean, spend some time reading Bourke's prosecution of Warren Hastings to get an idea of the unrelenting nature of his commitment to justice before the law. You will also see the international scope of his concern for responsible action.

My second thought has been this. I am not that far removed from Burke in either temperment or time. With regards to time, it came as a shock to realise our relative closeness. My great-grandfather, Frederick Albert Bulman (FAB) died about the time I was seven. His grandmother, Sarah Vale Bulman (SVB) may have died when was six. She was born in either 1794 or 1795, supposedly in Holland. By then, many of the Dutch were more than willing to take the risks involved with crossing the seas and setting out as pioneers. They preferred this to becoming fuel for the fire-storm of Europe.

She may have been a short distance away from Burke when he wrote his important letters regarding the freedom of Catholics after the French Terror. In fact, if she really were born in Holland in 1794 rather than in America of Dutch parents, then their ship might well have left for the United States from an English port.

In any case, I knew FAB and he knew SVB. She was born in the time of Burke. Yet, we have all known Burke's influence more or less proximately for the last two hundred years. When that light fades from our imaginations, God help us.

A selection from a Letter to William Smith, in Ireland, follows. An online version of the whole can be found here:

My whole politics, at present, centre in one point, and to this the merit or demerit of every measure (with me) is referable,—that is, what will most promote or depress the cause of Jacobinism. What is Jacobinism? It is an attempt (hitherto but too successful) to eradicate prejudice out of the minds of men, for the purpose of putting all power and authority into the hands of the persons capable of occasionally enlightening the minds of the people. For this purpose the Jacobins have resolved to destroy the whole frame and fabric of the old societies of the world, and to regenerate them after their fashion. To obtain an army for this purpose, they everywhere engage the poor by holding out to them as a bribe the spoils of the rich. This I take to be a fair description of the principles and leading maxims of the enlightened of our day who are commonly called Jacobins.

As the grand prejudice, and that which holds all the other prejudices together, the first, last, and middle object of their hostility is religion. With that they are at inexpiable war. They make no distinction of sects. A Christian, as such, is to them an enemy. What, then, is left to a real Christian, (Christian as a believer and as a statesman,) but to make a league between all the grand divisions of that name, to protect and to cherish them all, and by no means to proscribe in any manner, more or less, any member of our common party? The divisions which formerly prevailed in the Church, with all their overdone zeal, only purified and ventilated our common faith, because there was no common enemy arrayed and embattled to take advantage of their dissensions; but now nothing but inevitable ruin will be the consequence of our quarrels. I think we may dispute, rail, persecute, and provoke the Catholics out of their prejudices; but it is not in ours they will take refuge. If anything is, one more than another, out of the power of man, it is to create a prejudice. Somebody has said, that a king may make a nobleman, but he cannot make a gentleman.

All the principal religions in Europe stand upon one common bottom. The support that the whole or the favored parts may have in the secret dispensations of Providence it is impossible to tell; but, humanly speaking, they are all prescriptive religions. They have all stood long enough to make prescription and its chain of legitimate prejudices their main stay. The people who compose the four grand divisions of Christianity have now their religion as an habit, and upon authority, and not on disputation,—as all men who have their religion derived from their parents and the fruits of education must have it, however the one more than the other may be able to reconcile his faith to his own reason or to that of other men. Depend upon it, they must all be supported, or they must all fall in the crash of a common ruin. The Catholics are the far more numerous part of the Christians in your country; and how can Christianity (that is now the point in issue) be supported under the persecution, or even under the discountenance, of the greater number of Christians? It is a great truth, and which in one of the debates I stated as strongly as I could to the House of Commons in the last session, that, if the Catholic religion is destroyed by the infidels, it is a most contemptible and absurd idea, that this, or any Protestant Church, can survive that event. Therefore my humble and decided opinion is, that all the three religions prevalent more or less in various parts of these islands ought all, in subordination to the legal establishments as they stand in the several countries, to be all countenanced, protected, and cherished, and that in Ireland particularly the Roman Catholic religion should be upheld in high respect and veneration, and should be, in its place, provided with all the means of making it a blessing to the people who profess it,—that it ought to be cherished as a good, (though not as the most preferable good, if a choice was now to be made,) and not tolerated as an inevitable evil. If this be my opinion as to the Catholic religion as a sect, you must see that I must be to the last degree averse to put a man, upon that account, upon a bad footing with relation to the privileges which the fundamental laws of this country give him as a subject. I am the more serious on the positive encouragement to be given to this religion, (always, however, as secondary,) because the serious and earnest belief and practice of it by its professors forms, as things stand, the most effectual barrier, if not the sole barrier, against Jacobinism. The Catholics form the great body of the lower ranks of your community, and no small part of those classes of the middling that come nearest to them. You know that the seduction of that part of mankind from the principles of religion, morality, subordination, and social order is the great object of the Jacobins. Let them grow lax, skeptical, careless, and indifferent with regard to religion, and, so sure as we have an existence, it is not a zealous Anglican or Scottish Church principle, but direct Jacobinism, which will enter into that breach. Two hundred years dreadfully spent in experiments to force that people to change the form of their religion have proved fruitless. You have now your choice, for full four fifths of your people, of the Catholic religion or Jacobinism. If things appear to you to stand on this alternative, I think you will not be long in making your option.

Locating the "Bullman House" in Deansville

2009-11-28T10:15:00.007+11:00

For some time now, I have been trying to pinpoint exactly where the Bulman's lived in Marshall. This would have been the earlier listing of the Bulmans in the region before Patrick Bulman and his family left for Wisconsin. The census data indicated that they lived near Thomas Dean. Dean had been the headmaster of the Brothertown Indian school, as well as their agent and attorney. He originally received an allotment just south of where Samson Occom had lived on Lot 10 of the Brothertown lands. So, since the Dean's lived and worked initially on Lot 11, I had thought the Bulmans might be near there. In fact, although that is another story, some Bulmans actually owned a portion of Lot 11 for a time.

With the kind help of the folks at the Clinton Historical Society, Oneida County, I was able to received very helpful information. I had originally approached the Marshall Historical Society of the same County. Good neighbours that they are, they directed me towards those with the required resources. It seems the Clinton Courier is on microfilm at the former Society. On Thursday, May 10, 1866, the paper ran a story of the retracing of the Marshall-Kirkland town line. To help follow the article, you can view an 1874 map that is graciously provided at Historic Map Works.

The "Bullman House" was no longer standing in 1866. But, it had been significant for the retracing. The original line had gone right through the centre of the house in 1828! In other words, the house had been built before the new town line had been established and the house became one of the centre points. Now, given the story below, it would seem that the house was on the extreme left (west) end of the line near the Augusta town line; perhaps it had been built in Lot 122.

It is not that far from either Lot 11 or Lot 17 where the Deans built their mansion. Again, I'll get back to the Dean family later. [The picture to the right which is found in The Journal of Thomas Dean: An Account of a Journey to Indiana in 1817; the journal was published by his grandson in 1918 and I am assuming is out of copyright. Deansville was changed to Deansboro in the 1890s because of all the mail going to Dansville, New York...the article marking the occasion has a great deal about the Dean family and will be posted in the future.]

Just a little background before the newspaper article. The town of Kirkland in Oneida County, New York was first settled about the time of the signing of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. It was established as a town in 1827 having been separated from the Town of Paris. Kirkland was named after Samuel Kirkland who had been a missionary to the Oneida Indians. Kirkland had been instrument in persuading the Oneidas to join with the Colonials over agains the Loyalists during the War of Independence. There are a number of ramifications of this that I won't go into now.

A Surveyor General's map of 1829 shows that Kirkland lies north of the Brothertown Indian patent and west of the Coxes Patent. On the west is part of the Oneida Reservation and further west is the land that the Oneida's had set aside for the Strockbridge Indians of Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the various maps of 1829 seem to create more confusion than help in the matter, as they all indicate something different. According to the records, that same year a part of Kirkland was used to form the town of Marshall. If the line was established in 1828, this mayhave been done in preparation for the act which created the new town.

So, in the 1820 Federal Census, the Bulman families were in the Town of Paris with Paris Hill to the east. In 1830, they were in the Town of Marshall. By 1840, the Jeremiah Bullmans had moved north into Kirkland proper and the Patrick Bulmans were still at the "Bullman House". By 1850, Jeremiah's two sons, William and Jeremiah, were living together in Kirkland. And, by 1860, they were living separately in Kirkland. There is no trace of William or Jeremiah in the 1870 census. However, there are certainly sisters in the area. That, and more, is another; it will require several more posts. Like all good stories, it will be one of tragedy, triumph and mystery.

Of the underlying sentiment found in the following article, I am reminded of one of Robert Frost's Vermont "characters" quipping in a poem, "Good fences make good neighbours." Just think of the serendipity of it all; we know something more about ourselves through the reporting of this mundane activity. I wonder if Jeremiah Bulman, Jr., who was still living in Kirkland at this point, read this story. What were the memories that were recalled to his mind?

CORRESPONDENCE
Kirkland and Marshall Town Line.

It may not be known to some of our
younger citizens that Paris, Kirkland
and Marshall, were all embraced in
one town until about 40 years ago.
Kirkland was first set off. This made
a second division equally necessary,
and the new town was called Marshall.
There was much opposition as to the
cutting up of the "old town of Paris"
as it was sometimes called by way of
pre-eminence; but it was done, and
doubtless for the best. The south line
of Kirkland was to commence at the
southeast corner of lot No. 86, Coxe's
patent, and run due west, as the nee-
dle pointed in 1772, to the east line of
Augusta; distance about six miles.
About half this line was located by a
party from each town March 19th, 1828,
and, for a wonder the other half waited
five years and a half. The course run
was north 88 deg., 30 min. west. Deans-
ville was then scarcely a village. The
Chenango canal was being constructed,
which gave it a rapid growth, and
houses were erected either on or so
near the town line that it became a
question on which side the residences
belonged. It was recently decided,
by the proper authorities, to retrace
this line with a view to a final settle-
ment. Last week another party met
for this purpose, there being only one
person who was present on the first
running. The property line had faith-
fully kept the trust committed to it
nearly forty years ago; and that noble
tree centred, stood a true sentinel,
presenting its scars as evidence of its
trust-worthiness, and being an excel-
lent target for back sights a great dis-
tance. Arriving at Post St., we passed
as before between the house and well
or spring, but the house was not there
it having been destroyed by fire some
years since. It was the residence of
Mr. Byer. Mrs. B. remarked in passing
"they would have to go out of town for
all their water," but gave the party a
lunch for all that.

The next crossing, or next but one,
was a short distance above Mr. Alonzo
Barker's, at whose residence the party
were hospitably entertained.

On reaching the Oriskany we had
the choice of fording the stream, or go-
ing a mile for a bridge. The former
was taken and as we could not expect
the water to divide for our benefit, we
put out and reached the other bank
with only the loss of our target. In-
stead of the long dreary swamp of the
first running, it had mostly disappear-
ed and was under cultivation. Coming
in sight of the "Bullman house" or
more correctly the site whereon it stood,
as the house had long since vanished,
the accuracy of this review was to be
tested as the house was centered in
1828. Suffice it to say that the result
is highly satisfactory, and it is hoped
and believed that another generation
may pass away before this line will
need retracing. In reply to Dr. Avery's
request that the variation of the com-
pass since the survey of 1828 should
be ascertained, I answer that of little if
any could be found. B.

Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed

2009-11-02T07:32:00.006+11:00

All then blessed the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings hidden things to light, and they all turned to prayer, beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out. And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.

2 Maccabees 12:41-45 (Michelangelo)

May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, but when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently, and found me (the Lord grant to him to find the Lord’s mercy on that day); and in how many things he served at Ephesus, you know very well.

2 Timothy 1:16-18 (William Bouguereau)

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Matthew 12:31-32.

Every man's work shall be manifest. For the day of the Lord shall declaire it, because it shall be revealed in fire. And the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. AIf any man's work abid, whcih he hath build thereupon, he shall receive a reward. I fany man's work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.

1 Corinthians 3:13-15

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit;

By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

1 peter 3:18-20

Learn more here.

The Solemnity of All Saints

2009-11-01T18:10:00.007+11:00

Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven
Fra Angelico - 1428-30, Tempera on wood - National Gallery, London

TE DEUM

O God, we praise Thee, and acknowledge Thee to be the supreme Lord.
Everlasting Father, all the earth worships Thee.
All the Angels, the heavens and all angelic powers,
All the Cherubim and Seraphim, continuously cry to Thee:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy glory.
The glorious choir of the Apostles,
The wonderful company of Prophets,
The white-robed army of Martyrs, praise Thee.
Holy Church throughout the world acknowledges Thee:
The Father of infinite Majesty;
Thy adorable, true and only Son;
Also the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
O Christ, Thou art the King of glory!
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When Thou tookest it upon Thyself to deliver man,
Thou didst not disdain the Virgin's womb.
Having overcome the sting of death, Thou opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all
believers.
Thou sitest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou willst come to be our Judge.
We, therefore, beg Thee to help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy
Precious Blood.
Let them be numbered with Thy Saints in everlasting glory.

V. Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thy inheritance!
R. Govern them, and raise them up forever.

V. Every day we thank Thee.
R. And we praise Thy Name forever, yes, forever and ever.

V. O Lord, deign to keep us from sin this day.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us.

V. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, for we have hoped in Thee.
R. O Lord, in Thee I have put my trust; let me never be put to shame.

Sung below on YouTube in Latin by FSSP priests.

SANCTUS
Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God Sabaoth.
Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

THE CANON OF THE MASS

Therefore, most merciful Father, we humbly beg you and entreat you, through Jesus Christ your Son, Our Lord, to hold acceptable, and to bless, these gifts, these offerings, these holy and unblemished sacrifices which, in the first place, we offer you for your holy Catholic Church. Grant her peace and protection, unity and guidance and throughout the world, together with your servant Benedict the Sixteenth, our Pope, and Denis, our Bishop; and all orthodox believers who cherish the Catholic and Apostolic Faith.

Remember, O Lord, your servants and handmaids who have died in your peace, and all here present, whose faith and devotion are known to you; on whose behalf we offer to you, or who themselves offer to you this sacrifice of praise for themselves, for their families and friends, for the redemption of their souls, for their hope of salvation and their preservation from harm, and who fulfil their obligation to you, the eternal, living and true God.

In the communion of saints we venerate the memory, first of all, of the glorious and ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ. Next we observe the memory of blessed Joseph, husband of the same Virgin, and of your blessed Apostles and Martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Thaddeus; of Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sextus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and all your saints. Grant, by their merits and prayers, that we may be always strengthened by the help of your protection. Through the Same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Graciously accept, then, we beseech you, O Lord, this offering of our service and that of all your household. Order our days in your peace, save us from everlasting damnation, and bid us be numbered in the flock of those you have chosen. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

We beseech you, O God: deign to bless our offering, and make it approved, effective, right, and acceptable, that it may become for us the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Te Deum chanted by the schola of the FSSP on the occasion of Fr. Roberto Cano FSSP 1st Mass at St. Francis. Check out www.uvcarmel.org for more on the Traditional Latin Mass.

We are now approaching the apogee of Bulmania

2009-10-30T18:42:00.020+11:00

Nearly one hundred years after the events that had made him both feared and famous, Paul Revere engraved this uncomplimentary image of King Philip, or Metacomet. Revere himself would become revered even unto my generation for having sounded the alarm on his midnight ride, "The British are coming, the British are coming." It would be he who on the night of April 18/19 in the 1775 aroused the Minute Men to their duty. Minute Men, such as John Bullman, who would at a moments notice marshal themselves where they were needed for the "common defence".

Here are the opening lines of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1861 poem of that epic night. It was learned by rote among all school children for generations:

Listen, my children, and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year

Revere is shown to the left at his prime and, again, below and to the right in 1813 after he had grown old, but not forgotten. Ironically, he is beginning to look like his depiction of King Philip whose war and the colonists' own response would lay waste to much of New England between 1675 and 1678. While the hottest period involving Massachusetts was during the first year or so, the war continued on in Maine intermittently until the latter date.

Your mother and I once lived in East Machias, Maine. I was there for nearly two years. After our wedding, we lived there until I spent the last nine months of my seven year naval enlistment in the Brooklyn Shipyards and at the Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia. (Now you know why I am such a fan of NCIS.) We often went on mini-pilgrimages to the various historical sites along the coast down to South Carolina in the time that we lived on the eastern seaboard.

My point? In Frederick Albert Bulman's list, that is, the list of Verona Irene Bulman's father, are found three cryptic statements.

Having introduced Peter (Patrick Bulman) and his wife Sarah (Vale) Bulman, FAB notes:

Jerrymeth Vale killed in Cherry Valley massacre, King Philips War.

Then, two more comments after he has listed the children of Patrick and Sarah:

Sarah Vale's father cam from Holland to U.S.A. after 1794 and was in the French and Indian Wars. Was prisoner 18 months with the Indians.

His Children:

Jeremiah Vale (Killed in the Cherry Valley Massacre)
Sarah Vale
One other girl
One other boy

You should be able to see the problem. King Philip (1675-1678), French and Indian Wars (1754-1763) and the Cherry Valley Massacre (Central New York, 11 November 1778) were all before 1794. A scene of the latter depicted on the right.

The latter was an engagement between British forces and their Indian allies and Captain Icabod (God's Glory Has Departed) Alden of the 7th Massachusetts Regiment. The latter was out numbered and out commanded by his enemies. The Oneida's and other tribes friendly with the Continental Army would come to the rescue of those who were made captive. Dozens of people were killed, but there are scanty records to determine who. They are probably out there, but not digitised as yet.

Just so you know; Icabod died with a tomahawk in his forehead which may have been thrown by Joseph Brant, Mohawk leader.

I can find no record of a Vale being involved in the encounter. However, I have recently learned that the area was attacked again in 1780. I have yet to find any significant information. In any case, if Sarah's father arrived from Holland after 1794, then none of this is plausible. However, if you change 1794 to 1749, it is possible. But, he would have been a very old man by the time that Sarah was born in 1795.

So, that has had me thinking for some time. What if FAB had some of this confused? Perhaps, without prejudice to other possibilities, these are Bulman stories. I must admit that I have never found a Jeremiah, much less a Jerrymeth, Veile (Dutch spelling) in any of the records. I have found a few Jeremiah Vales and Vails, but not in this area at these times. What does strike me is the fact that Patrick had a brother named Jeremiah and one wonders if he might have had an uncle named Jeremiah, and cousins, as well.

So, I have been trying to see if anything fits from the Bulman side. We do know that there were Bullman/Bulman families in Massachusetts and this might fit the Cherry Valley Massacre in terms of the Continental Army soldiers. Again, I am not aware of a complete list of enlisted or civilian casualties. I have found a reference to a John Bullman of Boston, Massachusetts being made a captive during the French and Indian War. I do not have access to the book; but, I have asked for a look up in the States. We can await that communication.

It may be that the King Philip's war connection is the result of a faulty memory that had once learned its lessons by rote. Not that such learning is entirely a bad thing. It at least puts pegs into the grey matter upon which to hang a few cloaks of learning. Most people's intellectual dress lies in the front hallway for lack of such conveniences. I may not remember all of Longfellow's poem, but I do remember "Listen my children and you will hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere."

I note that he wrote the poem on the eve of the great cataclysm that changed forever the landscape of the American imagination which soon became all too preoccupied with bureaucracy, efficiency and indecency. Any legacy of the vision of Washington (shown to the right in his colonel's uniform having belonged to a Virginia regiment during the French and Indian War--however the painting was done in 1772), Cooper or Clinton which so influenced the citizens of New York in preceding generations was soon to be dissipated.

Did I mention in my previous post, I think not, that the Stockbridge Indians of western Massachusetts fought with the Continental Army against General Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga?

The Battle of Oriskany (6 August 1777) to the west in Oneida was part of this suite of events as well. It resulted in the eventual death of the Continental General Herkimer and cost nearly 450 of his men killed or wounded. They had fought a much larger British and Indian force which included those who would later be involved in the Cherry Valley Massacre (Mohawk leader, Joseph Brant, and Ranger colonel, John Butler). Herkimer found himself fighting his own brother who had sided with the Loyalists. While this battle devastated the local militias and the Oneidas lost members of their tribe supporting the Continental Army, it did help to prevent St. Leger from being able to support General Burgoyne at Saratoga. Herkimer is painted critically wounded, but courageously directing his men in the chaos of battle on the left. They had been on the way to lift the siege at Fort Stanwix in Oneida.

The events were depicted in the book, Drums along the Mohawk, by Walter Dumaux Edmonds (check out chapters three and four especially), and in the John Ford directed movie (poster to the right and trailer below for the movie and an introduction by Scorsese). Of course, this is another memory from my days watching rerun movies in black and white on the television. This was usually done when I was home sick from school in the afternoons.

Of course, the navy named two ships after the battles (actually more, as ships are decommissioned and the names reused). The USS Saratoga (CV-60), a Forrestal-class supercarier and the USS Oriskany (CV/CVA-34), an Essex-class aircraft carrier. Both ships were in operation during my time in the navy. Sadly, they like the USS Savannah (AOR-4), a Wichita-class fast-attack replenishment ship, that I served on have all been decommission. They have been either sold for scrap or made tourist attractions, of one sort or another.

I am afraid, it will take a great deal of looking to find anything more out about these mysteries. We have the good folks at the Marshall Historical Society in Oneida County looking and the Dean papers in Indiana have a great deal of information on life in and around Deansville which we need to find a way to peruse. Perhaps, through this means or through some unknown, as yet, relative, we will find answers.

FAB listed his father, Patrick, as having been born in New York on 4 July 1792. This is ten years after he lists John Bulman as having been married. By my calculations from census data for Jeremiah and Abigail, Jeremiah may have been born in 1782 or 1783.

On last thing, I should point out, while I can only agree with his later views, when he finally understood the importance of the Federalist stance of Washington and others in the aftermath of the French Terror, Patrick Henry was considered a founder of America. Yet, he opposed the United States Constitution. He died on 6 June 1799 which is about the time that some suggest Henry Bulman was born. He is supposed to have said the following in a speech at the House of Burgess (state assembly) depicted by the painting to the right:

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

In any case, we can still remember the dead who shaped our living through the context they moulded for our ancestors. There is plenty of work to follow all the other tributaries of the Bulman family and their associated clans.

How might, John, the father of Jeremiah, Patrick and Henry Bulman, have come to know about regions around Schenectady, New York?

2009-10-30T11:44:00.007+11:00

The man on the right was severely vilified when I went to school. It is remotely possible that an ancestor of ours served under him, or more correctly was inspired, by his words and example, to fight on at a famous battle in the War of Independence. Many say that this battle, or collection of battles, changed the direction of the war. This is Benedict Arnold, a brilliant officer, whose name, like that of Quisling, became synonymous with betrayal. Yet, his reputation seems to have been somewhat rehabilitated more recently as witnessed to by the "Boot Memorial" at the Saratoga National Historical Park.

Yet, at the Battle of Saratoga, he was merely a disobedient hero.

This is just a bit of colour. However, it be worth doing at least some Google research about both the battles and Benedict. What is important for now, not that history is unimportant--you know I quote Santayana, is the fact that a John Bullman is supposed to have fought in Captain Abijah Child's company under Colonel John Greaton. At least, the National Parks Service says so. Well, the site at Saratoganygenweb.

BULLMAN, John MA Watertown

Private, Capt. Abijah Child's co., Col. John Greaton's regt. ; from 1 Apr 1777, to 20 Jun 1779 p reported deserted. More info.

If you click for info you get:

Bullman, John
Additional military information: Private, Capt. Samuel Barnard's co., (late) Col. Thomas Gardner's regt., which marched on the alarm of 19 Apr 1775 ; service, 4 days ; also, list of men mustered in Suffolk Co. by Nathaniel Marber, Muster Master, dated Boston, 27 Apr 1777 ; Capt. Child's co., Col. Greaton's regt. ' enlisted for town of Watertown ; also, reported deserted. Ref. MA01

MAO1 - Massachusetts Commonwealth; Massachusetts Solders and Sailors in the War of the Revolution (17 vols) ; Wright and Potter Printing Co., (Boston, 1896) ; Additional information can be found at the New York State Library, CMA callnum: 973.3444 qA2

(A note for researchers, this call number is for the 17 volumes of the series at the New York State Library. You can view them online via the Internet Archives. I have already made a link for my needs. There is another seris called the New England Historical and Genealogical Register with hundreds of books relating various sources--this link is for 1911. Keep in mind this is only a single volume in a very large series.)

On page 91 of Watertown's Military History, which was published in 1907 "under the direction of a Committee representing the Sons of the American Revolution, and Isaac B. Patten Post 81, Grand Army of the Republic, you can read the following:

BULLMAN, JOHN. Name on list of 3 yrs. men, 1777 ; residence and credited to Watertown ; list of men mustered in Suffolk Co., by Nathaniel Barber, muster master, dated Boston, Apr. 27, 1777 ; Capt. Child's co., Col. Greaton's regt. ; also, Private, Capt. Abijah Child's co., Col. Greaton's (2d) regt. ; Continental Army pay accounts for service from Apr. 1, 1777, to June 20, 1779 ; reported deserted.

Deserted. Not a good look. But, perhaps, not strictly, a fact.

However, before looking for information elsewhere, a reader might wish to read pages 73-75 which states something of the soldiers of the revolution in terms of the assessor's evaluation for property-holders and poll tax payers of 1 December, 1774, just before the battle at Lexington. This provides us with additional information. For instance, John Bullman seems to have resided on the west side of Watertown This seems to be the less affluent side of town.

Indeed, John Bullman was assessed as having no value in terms of either Pounds or Shillings. He is one of twenty such assessments out of one hundred on the west-side. By comparison, the east-side only had thirteen such out of eighty-five assessments. Or, 20% to, something like, 15%.

Readers might wish to read a little about the Lexington Alarm and see John Bullman listed in the muster roll on pages 77-79 of Watertown's Military History. An additional source of the muster roll can be found on page 40 of the History and Genealogy of the Descendants of Joseph Taynter, who sailed from England April, A.D. 1638, and settled in Watertown, Mass (1859). There is an interesting anecdote about one of the men in the footnote. By the way, through the Bates side of our family, we could call the Tainters, johnny-come-latelys. The Bates arrive in 1635. Of course, others were roaming the north American continent long before that.

Seriously, there is another source. On page 792 of the Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War which was compiled "from the archives" and "prepared and published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth in accordance with Chapter 100, Resolves of 1891" and published in 1896, we find:

BULLMAN, John, Watertown. Private, Capt. Samuel Barnard's co., (late) Col. Thomas Gardner's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775 ; service, 4 days ; also, list of men mustered in Suffolk Co. by Nathaniel Barber, Muster Master, dated Boston, April 27, 1777 ; Capt. Child's co., Col. Greaton's regt. ; residence, Watertown ; enlisted for town of Watertwon ; also, Private, Capt. Abijah Child's co., Col. John Greaton's (2d) regt. ; Continental Army pay accounts for service from April 1, 1777, to June 20, 1779 ; reported deserted.

Now, it is important to note that the information about Col. Greaton's regiment being the Second, may not be strictly accurate at this point. The Massachusetts Line seems to have been reorganised and renamed more than once. Yet, it is likely that John Bullman was at the Battles of Saratoga (Freeman's Farm and Bemis Hill) in 1777.

It is also very likely that he was not a deserter. I have seen the microfilms of these files and there are extremely difficult to follow. Additionally, there is the following entry on page 798:

BULMAN, John. Private, Capt. Samuel Flower's co., Col. John Greaton's (3d) regt. ; enlisted Aug. 27 (also given Aug. 15), 1779 ; discharged May 27, 1780 ; enlistment, 9 months ; also, muster roll for Sept., 1779, dated Camp Bedford ; also, muster roll for Oct., 1779, dated Camp near Peekskill ; also, muster roll for Nov. and Dec., 1779, dated Continental Village.

Notice that there is about a one month gap between John Bullman's pay-record and John Bulman's enlistment in Colonel John Greaton's regiment.

While the surrendering of Burgoyne's sword to Gage took place there, the "Battle of Saratoga" occurred about ten miles south and east of Saratoga. But, it was relatively close to Schenectady. Additionally, all the camps mentioned for the Bulman (one "L") were in southern New York. So, whether, this is our John Bulman, father of Jeremiah, Patrick and Henry, his "story" does demonstrate how someone from Massachusetts might end up knowing quite a bit about New York.

It also demonstrates that care to be taken with the records. If John Bullman of Watertown (and there were a few other John Bullmans) and John Bulman were the same person, it may be an administrative anachronism to still considered him to have deserted.

More for the next post.

Correction to October 26th Post and additional information on John Bullman in Wisconsin

2009-10-29T23:09:00.004+11:00

In the original post I had:

John (1816)
Henry (1818)
Louisa (1820)
Jeremiah (1824)
Polly (1826 est.)
William (1830)

This was a serious mistake and has been corrected...not sure what was going on. It should be:

John (1815/1816) Massachusetts
Jeremiah (1816/1817) Massachusetts

The upshot is that Jeremiah and Abigail Bulman definitely had a child who was born in Massachusetts in 1816 before arriving in New York. Their son Henry is listed as having been born in New York. So, we have to account for where Jeremiah and Abigail were. It might be that Jeremiah Bullman was also known as Jeremiah Bulmore as discussed in the earlier posts.

However, my theory about the eldest child might be thrown out of kilter. It will be a close call as the census takers and information givers were not always accurate in that regard.

Some other information that I have about in 1850 was that a John Bullman had an unsuccessful bid to become register of deeds. He got 4 votes and his opponent, Barstow, received 105 votes. Now this was for New Berlin, in fact, according to the Waukesha Democrat on Tuesday, November 12, 1850.

Also, the Milwaukee County Marriages has a John Bullman marrying Ann Cornelia ? (pg. 106, doc 532) on 9 March 1844. In the relatively nearby Cedarburg, Ozaukee, Wisconsin can be found a John Bullmann (Ballmann is an error according to the image) in the 1860 census. He was born in New York around 1824 and his wife Ann was born in England in 1826. Their eldest is a John born in 1848 and next a daughter, Lucy, born in 1854. Does not necessarily look like John and W. Bullman.

Finally, I have found that a John Bullman (First) enlisted in the 17th Wisconsin Infantry from Fond Du Lac (town of, I believe) on 15 January 1862. If this is John from Massachusetts, he would have been around 46 and a year or two older than the cut off...but people can lie about their age. He was a corporal at his death seven months later on 16 August 1862 at Corinth, Mississippi of disease.

Oddly, another John Bullman (Second) enlisted from nearby Rhine on 28 March 1864 and was mustered out as a corporal on 14 July 1865. (Source for both: Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, war of the rebellion, page 57, Internet Archives). If this was John Junior from the 1850 census, then, he was 18 years old when he enlisted. Could this have been father and son in the same unit? Or, do we have the two elder John Bullman?

In any case, the 1850 John Bullman was in close proximity with the Patrick Bulman family at that time (Prairie and New Berlin). Also, the city of Fond Du Lac is very much associated with the Brothertown Bulman family. More information is, of course, needed. But, it is coming in slowly.

If you prick us, do we not bleed?

2009-10-26T19:23:00.010+11:00

When we write about the past, we are writing about people. We may focus on events. But, intrinsically, what matters is what people think, feel and do. So, in writing about the histories of families there are somethings we might not necessarily share with others. Even at the distance of a few decades, feelings can run strong in a family. There are a few things that I will touch on that may be painful for people. I will certainly give a great deal of thought to if, what and how I say anything.

What I am going to say in this post, is a matter of public record. But, some records are more public than others. I will have to do this a few times over the months ahead. In this case, vital information is involved that may or may not make it more or less difficult for us to find out who our ancestors were. I am hoping such information will help and not hinder.

Why do the members of family go their separate ways? How is it that some seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place? There are at least a dozen answers to this question that come easily to mind. One is about identity. We do not shape our identity by ourselves. Who we are is someone determined by the company we cultivate and keep. Various judgments can be made that will be different at different times and places.

There is a book that is very difficult to get a hold of. I have only been able to get bits and pieces of it over time. If I find a copy for sale, I will buy it immediately. It is titled, A Man Called Sampson, by Rudi and Will Ottery. It has a great deal of information about the Bulmans who were descended from Henry and Wealthea. On page 124, is a sketch of their son, Grisel. I have some other sources that I will refer to shortly. This passage speaks about Grisel and his second wife:

Mary Dick, Grisel's second wife, was the daughter of William Dick and Juliette Peters Dick, both Brothertown Indians. Her parents were witnesses to her marriage. Mary was a teacher and her father was a leader in the Christian Temperance Movement. Grisel was a carpenter. He served in Co. G, 36th Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War, enlisting on February 26, 1864, and receiving a medical discharge on May 22, 1865. Grisel was left with a hip and kidney disability which resulted from wounds received in battle. He belonged to the Baptist Church and tended to be strict. On Sundays the family always went to church. Their Sunday lunch was prepared the day before because work was not permitted on Sundays. Farmers were allowed to tend their animals, but that was all. After lunch, they returned to church for the afternoon. Grisel and his family lived in the village of Brant in Calumet County, and according to Hazel Dishneau, Brant was very politically conscious. Their Baptist Church moved their meetings from one end of town to the other, depending upon whether Republicans or Democrats won the previous election. Records regarding when and where Grisel was born are conflicting, and we used the date he lists for himself on a government affidavit. This information agrees with affadavits filed by his sister, Almira. Grisel's name appears variously on records, as Griswald and Chris, but he was apparently named after his mother's brother Grisel Sampson. In 1882, the Chilton Times reported that he was building a brick house at Stockbridge, and that he had an accident while cutting wood. Grisel died of pulmonary tuberculosis and is buried at the Gravesville, Wisconsin Cemetery.

He died 24 February 1902.

According to Records Relating to the Kansas Claims of the New York Indians, for which Grisel Bulman filed application #2313 on November 23, 1901, he states that his father, Henry Bulman was "a 1/4 blood Indian and was never enrolled as one of the Brothertown Band." This file also states that his grandmother's name was Jane Bulman and that he did not know anything of his grandfather. In another place, when speaking of Henry Bulman, the information I have says that "his mother was called Jane in some records."

Interestingly, Patrick and Sarah Bulman's youngest daughter was named Abigail Jane Bulman.

If Henry Bulman, the son of Abigail and Jeremiah Bulman, was by descent one quarter Native American, then there are three possibilities: a) his mother had a parent who was Native American, b) his father had a parent who was Native American, or c) each of his parents had a grandparent who was Native American.

If the situation was as stated in the second possibility, then this is not likely to have any bearing on a name change and a potential family dispute. However, if the situation involved the first or third possibility it might. If members of Jeremiah, Patrick and Henry's families were trying to play down any Native American heritage, then it might be necessary for those who wanted to be more open to move on. This might be especially the case, if their father had married twice. It seems more probable, that Abigail had a parent who was a of Native American heritage. For instance, she may have had an association with the Stockbridge Indians in western Massachusetts.

Jeremiah and Abigail's sudden presence in Schenectady among various family members may have precipitated something. He may both have changed his name to Bullman and also had his service papers changed before leaving Lenox, if this is Jeremiah Bulmore. Patrick and Henry might have followed suit out of loyalty to Jeremiah. Benoni may have done so out of decency. This is all speculation. But, it is a curious fact that Patrick has three sons named, from oldest to youngest, Henry, Jeremiah and William. And, that Abigail and Jeremiah also have three sons named Jeremiah, Henry, and William in birth order.

True, if I am correct, Jeremiah and Abigail also have a John who may have been named after a grandfather. It is also true that Henry has no sons named Jeremiah or Patrick. Yet, children do die at infancy. And, sometimes people wish to forget. Sometimes they do not even want to know in the first place.

In one of those chance Internet "meetings", I found the following information:

I am one of a group working on an official history of the Wisconsin 23rd Regiment . Prescott B. Burwell enlisted on 13 Aug 1862 at Sun Prairie, Dane Co., WI & discharged 9 Mar at Sun Prairie, WI. He enlisted (2) on 9 Mar 1864 into the 36th WI Infantry and was wounded & Prisoner of War at Cold Harbor, VA. He d. of wounds, a prisoner at Richmond, VA on 28 Jun 1864. He m. Harriet L. Monford who m. ( 2) to William Franklin Bulman.

I responded and gave what little extra information that I had. One thing I pointed out was that Grisel Bullman was in Company G, 36th Wisconsin Infantry, and that he was William Franklin Bulman's cousin. Burwell was a captain in Company F. Even though their company's were in the line side by side according to James M. Aubery's book The Thirty-Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry published in 1900, I doubt that they knew one another. However, Aubery was a Lieutenant in Company G and had this to say about Grisel on page 35:

We had in our regiment quite a number of Indians (half breeds), who were the best of soldiers. They were intelligent, robust, athletic, ready for a wrestle or any game which might be proposed. In my company (G) was one by the name of Gris Bullman, a finely-proportioned fellow, very quick; none in the whole camp was his equal in a wrestle. The whole regiment was composed of a splendid type of western men--farmers, lumbermen, merchants, mechanics, clerks and teachers; the first named predominating.

The following is an account of the battle in which Grisel is wounded in 1864 (p.171):

October 27.--At 6 o'clock in the morning arrived within a short distance of the enemy's line, near Hatcher's Run. Lieutenant Ripley with Company A was ordered forward to develop the enemy. Deploying the company in front of the brigade he drove in the enemy's pickets and captured their rifle pits. Heavy skirmishing continued until noon, when the enemy's main line was found. The Thirty-sixth was formed in line of battle, with the Second and Third Brigades on the right and the Third Division in the rear. At 3 o'clock the enemy in heavy force charged the Third Division, causing it to break, thus cutting off all communications with the rear. Seeing the perilous condition, Captain Fisk ordered the regiment to face by the rear flank, fix bayonets and charge, which was handsomely executed, striking the enemy on their flank, doubling up their line and causing them to break and run. A large number were captured, with one stand of colors. The number of prisoners captured was greater than the regiment's whole force. The casualties to the regiment were 12 wounded and missing. This is a glorious victory for the Thirty-sixth, as it no doubt saved the whole division. Casualties are:
Wounded.--Corporal Grisel Bullman, Martin Hoffman, Smith D. Weldon, Company G.

Given Aubery's description of Grisel as a wrestler, he must have been well and truly in the thick of it that day. He would later make sergeant.

This is the military history of Prescott B. Burwell from page 394:

PRESCOTT B. BURWELL enlisted August 13th, 1862, in Company A, Twenty-third Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers; first-sergeant; second-lieutenant Company I, Twenty-third, not mustered.

Commissioned captain Company F, Thirty-sixth, March 9th, 11864; mustered March 23rd, 1864; wounded and prisoner June 1, 1864, at Turner's Farm, Va. Died June 26th, 1864, in Libby Prison, Richmond, Va., wounds.

Aubery thought him a brave man.

After marrying William Franklin Bullman in Walworth County half way between Prescott B. Burwell's family at Sun Prairie and various Patrick and Sarah Bulman daughters near East Troy, Walworth County, did she find out that Grisel was William's nephew? Did she discover William's Native American heritage? In any case, she does leave him and, then, lives in California for some time having married another man. Perhaps, William just was not what she was looking for in a man; it is a complicated business, this living.

By the way, Sarah was still alive at this point and the place of the wedding also is on the railway line from Waukesha. Was Sarah living with her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, at this point in the Sussex-Lisbon area where Patrick was buried in 1866?

A great deal of this is speculation of course. But, we have all seen this sort of thing play out before us many times. I think it highly plausible. However, I am only using this as a hypothesis for guiding my further researches.

Shylock's speech and, then....Portia's:

Is there really anything that even remotely connects Jeremiah Bulmore to Jeremiah Delos Bulman?

2009-10-26T12:17:00.008+11:00

Today, we invoke the aid of St. Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxon tribes, as it is his day in the liturgical calendar.

Well, I have already pointed out the possible connection through the Methodist Episcopal Church. I am persuing equiries along that line. Also, I have demonstrated that a person very likely to be a relative of Jeremiah, Patrick and Henry (an older brother, perhaps half-brother to Patrick, or uncle), Benjamin Bullmore, changed his name through time to Bullman. It seems that his children followed the Bullman usage, thereafter.

Is there anything that might place Patrick's brother, Jeremiah Bulman, in Massachusetts prior to 1817 which seems to be the date after which Patrick and Sally moved to some place near to Deansville, Oneida, New York? Ah, there is a little more detective work that has been done with this. It is not conclusive. But, it is very interesting, none-the-less.

My first bit of data was discovered many years ago and discounted as a connection to the Patrick Bulman family. I have learned though time to be very slow and careful before discounting connections. I'll give an example of this later. It has to do with a Henry Bullman who showed up in the Calumet County census in Wisconsin for 1850. He is with his wife, Welthy (Wealthea), and their children, Griswold (10), Amelia (6), Clinton J. (3) and Amarretta (1). There were two other people in the household; his mother, Abagail (67) of Massachusetts and mother-in-law, Esther Samson (52) of Connecticut. Since, they did not fit my profiles, I moved on.

I also discovered a John Bullman in the same census at Waukesha, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The proximity to Peewauke and Brookfield, two Patrick Bulman sites, got my attention. However, John Bullman was born in Massachusetts and his wife "W" was born in England. A son, John, was four and had been born in Wisconsin, as had "Harry" who had been born less than a year earlier. This did not seem at all promising. And, I had a lot of work to do to find known family members from the FAB (my great, grandfather) list.

However, in time, when I had filled in many gaps and found not a few brick walls in my path, I spent more time reading histories and annals of Oneida County, as well as those for the towns of Marshall and Kirkland. I began to rediscover a rather dim memory about Samson Occom and the Brothertown Indians from my graduate study days. I realised that Calumet and Fond du Lac were newer sites for the Brothertown Tribe. So, I kept digging deeper,until I found the following reference on page 359 of William Deloss Love's Samson Occom, and the Christian Indians of New England in the Internet Archives:

Abel Sampson (1James) married Esther, daughter of John M. Simons; received lot 115 in 1819; and died at Brothertown about 1830. His widow removed to Wisconsin in 1844. Chn.: 1. James. II. Melinda (Malvina). III. Welthea A. IV. Grizel H. V. Ralph W. VI. Eliza E.

Now, I admit that I am not overly swift about these things. However, here was a connection with the same area that my family was from. The Esther Sampson in the census was Abel Sampson's widow. Also, the date stared me down. On the FAB list, big as life, next to Patrick Bulman's son, Henry, was written "emmigrated to Wisconsin 1844". It seemed very likely that he had done so with Esther's family. He was only twenty-three at the time. I thought, "What if the two Henry's travelled together, cousins as they obviously might be...but how to prove it."

Although extremely helpful in our first correspondence, a key historian for the Brothertown Indians in Wisconsin could not provide me with much more information than I already had. Again, I will maintain the policy of not mentioning the names of the living; at least for now. But, I am very grateful to her none-the-less.

By now, I had tracked many people down through the strangest means and with the "guardian angel" help of so many different people, that I was sure I would find the connections. However, a trip to the States and work held me up until I found information about William Franklin Bulman that started me rethinking things. I also had a strange thing happen. Just for fun, I tried the Wisconsin Genealogy Index yet again for Bulman/Bullman and noticed the following which I had assumed was some irrelevant Germanic variation:

Bullmannm, Polly

Marriage

Apr

1846

Fond du Lac

By now, I knew exactly what I was looking at becuase I had earlier found this:

Bulman, Henry

Marriage

May

1846

Fond du Lac

I had learned how to ask the reverse question: who was the bride?

Sampson, Wiltha

Marriage

May

1846

Fond du Lac

So, I went back to Polly and got:

Summons, Jas

Marriage

Apr

1846

Fond du Lac

Now, this threw me off for a while until after much tracing through the various census databases, etcetera I realised that this was actually James Simons. Having done this, I found through a Calumet site that, indeed, James Simons/Simmons married a Polly Bulman/Bullman on 12 April 1846. The only problem was that his wife is listed as Martha in the 1850 census data. I knew from previous investigations that Polly rhymes with Molly which is a variant of Mary...think of the Princess Bride...Mawwwaaaage (see the end of the post).

Contacting the Brothertown Indians again and other sources clarified the issue. Martha was a Skeesuck (Sheesuck, Schesuck, Skeezuc, Skieezup) of the Narragansett Tribe. So, Polly had either died or had left the marriage. I can find no data on her anywhere and am of the belief that she died, perhaps in childbirth. By now, I was willing to start forking out cash to get the records that can be easily ordered from Wisconsin Historical Society. I had done it earlier with Jeremiah Bulman and others. But, it does take time.

The first that I ordered were for William Franklin Bulman which confirmed that his parents were Jeremiah and Abigail Bulman. This provided a very high probability that at least Henry in Calumet was his brother. Because Esther Sampson was the daughter of John Mason Simons, it made sense to see the relationship between her and James Simons. James Simons, Senior, John M. Simon's brother, was her uncle. Therefore, James Simons, Junior, who had married Polly Bullman, was her younger cousin.

I am a little slow with all of this and it took me some time to realise that, although Henry and Wealthea were married in 1846, there oldest son, Grizel, was born in 1840. I suddenly realised I was missing one of Jeremiah Bulman's children who had disappreared between the 1830 and 1840 Census in Oneida. In checking this, I discovered that it was one of the eldest males. Then, the penny dropped. Henry had moved out of his father's house and into the Sampson household, or a least into the Brothertown community. Again, I realised that Amelia, the next child, was also born in New York in 1844, while Clinton J. (Jeremiah?) was born in Wisconsin in 1847. Grizel always identified Henry as his father, even though he did not know his grandfather's name. There is more to this story, but it will have to wait for later.

I had previously thought that this child of Jeremiah and Abigail had died. Now, I needed an extra son. Of course, I actually had an excellent candidate in John Bullman, who had settled in Prairieville, Waukesha County, Wisconsin by 1846. The township would be renamed Waukesha the following year. In 1846, a P. Bulman is settled in Peewauke, Waukesha County near by. He is Patrick Bulman in the 1850 US Census and 1855 Wisconsin Census. Returning to the 1850 Waukesha, Waukesha County US Census data, I discovered on the image that "Harry" was clearly Henry. So, I now had a John Bullman whose sons were John and Henry. It also so happened that John was born in Massachusetts in 1816. But, Jeremiah in Kirkland was also born about 1816 in Massachusetts. So, if they are actually brothers, then one may have been born in 1815/16 and the other 1816/1817.

If he is Jeremiah and Abigail's son, and I believe that he is, the following would be the list of their living children and birth years in 1850:

John (1815/16) Massachusetts
Jeremiah (1816/17) Massachusetts
Henry (1818) Massachusetts
Louisa (1820)
Polly (1826 est.)
William (1830)

Here are Patrick and Sarah's children according to FABs list (Harris' birth year was not included and was extrapolated from census data):

Elizabeth (1816/1817)
Mariah (1819)
Henry (1821)
Phoebe (1824)
Susan (1827)
Nathaniel (1829)
Harris (1830)
Jeremiah (1833)
Abigail (1835)
William (1839)

Henry and Jane Bulman's children in Schenectady are as follows:

Levina (1817)
Eliza (1818)
Christopher (1825)
Caroine (1833)
Mary Melissa (1834)
Jane (1834)
James (1840)

I am still waiting on the marriage records for Polly Bullman. Unfortunately, those for Henry and Wealthea did not include their parents' details. So, I do not have a last name for Abigail as yet. Both of William Franklin Bulman's records have Jeremiah Bullman and Abigail Bullman as his parents. Now, it is only a mildly wild conjecture to suppose, in fact, that Jeremiah Bulmore had changed his name to his wife's name, Bullman. While this may not be the answer. It may be closer to the truth than we might wish to admit (more later). Since Jeremiah was their son and was born in 1816/1817, then his father could be Jeremiah Bulmore.

If they returned to relatives in Schenectady in late 1816, then Henry and Jane might have decided to elope at Ballston Center, Saratoga, nearby. This in turn seems to have precipitated the elopement of Patrick and Sarah. I have ideas as to why Jeremiah shot through to Oneida County rather than staying in Schenectady. I'll need another post to outline them.

It would be interesting to discover why Patrick and Sarah followed suit. I suspect that, unlike Henry, who married into a very well connected family, Patrick and Sarah found themselves with fewer prospects in life in Schenectady. But, why would both Patrick and Henry haved change their names?

If they did, then our Patrick could have been the Patrick Bulmore listed in the War of 1812 rolls. If that were the case, then, the historical article was correct. But, what of Texas? For now, all I will say is that two of Patrick's sons fought in the 28th Wisconsin which was posted, where? Yes, Texas during the Civil War. Henry Bulman of Schenectady died in 1871. I believe the article was written after this. It would be understandable, if his widow confused things in her memory.

An important question remains. If Patrick is right, and John (b. 1756 m. 1782 d. 1826) is the father of the three brothers, who is the Christopher in the article. Is Henry' child in Schenectady, Christopher, named after a father, or an uncle? If the uncle, why not the father? How does this family fit into the other Bulman families in New York of this era that seem to have some claim upon their being related? Oh, why don't you take a break and watch the wedding scene from the Princes Bride:

Is the change from Bulmore to Bulman Credible?

2009-10-26T10:20:00.009+11:00

In arguing for the plausibility of Jeremiah Bulmore being Jeremiah Delos Bulman's uncle, it might be useful to discuss the credibility of such a name change. Later, I will have to suggest the way in which it might have changed. In doing all of this, I'll also have to explain why I think that Jeremiah Bulmore just might be Patrick's brother. The consequences of this need elaborating, as well as further strategies for confirming or disconfirming the hypothesis.

Of course, there always have to be comedians in the family. One wag in the household (not me) has been singing, "Jeremiah was a Bulman" to the tune of Hoyt Axton's, "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog". You can listen to Creedence Clearwater Rival's YouTube version of the song (end of blog) while you read through the argument. At least, that part should be worth your time. BTW, I chose CCR over Three Dog Night for obvious aesthetic reasons and because of the importance of what is needed to give credence to my surmising. And, of course, the credence has to do with more than the Tumwater connection which fans will understand and family memebers might connect with Olympia, Washington. Tom Fogerty, John's elder brother, had permanently left the band by the time of this poster. He apparently could no longer put up with John Fogerty's supposed autocratic ways. This sometimes happens in families. You can see him on the left in the picture to the left and below; it is from 1968.

As I have said previously, an Elizabeth Boolmore is found in the 1800 Census data for Schenectady. Two young males are with her. She is at least 45 and, perhaps, older. She does no show up again in later census reports, ever. There is a Mrs. Bullmore in the 1790 Boston census with two white females (no age differentiation) and one male under sixteen. In 1810, the Fourth Ward of the Schenectady census we find the following (Samuel page 21 and Benjamen page 22):

Bullmore, Samuel
- Free White Males to 10: 1, 26 to 45: 1
- Free White Females to 10: 1, 16 to 26: 1
.......................................................
Chamberlain, John
- Free White Males to 10: 2, 10 to 16: 1, 26 to 45: 1
- Free White Females to 10: 2, 10 to 16: 1, 26 to 45: 1
Scouten, John
- Free White Males 10 to 16: 1, 45 etc.: 1
- Free White Females 10 to 16: 1, 45 etc.: 1
Bullmore, Benjamen
- Free White Males to 10: 2, 26 to 45: 1
- Free White Females 26 to 45: 1
McMynderse, William [probably should be Mynderse]
- Free White Males 16 to 26: 2, 45 etc.: 1
- Free White Females 10 to 16: 1, 45 etc.: 1
Van Eps, Alexander
- Free White Males to 10: 1, 16 to 26: 2, 45 etc.: 1
- Free White Females 16 to 26: 1, 45 etc.: 1

It would seem that neither Elizabeth or the boys from 1800 are ensconced in either of these Bullmore families. However, this does not mean that they are not living with other households in Schenectady. In the 1820 census, the Fourth Ward becomes the Town of Glenville and we find the following. Please note that this is Bonnona Bilmore is Benoni (Benjamin) Bulmore. Also, notice that Henry has made his first appearance in the Census data.

Bulman, Henry
- Free White Males to 10: 1, 16 to 26: 1
- Free White Females to 10: 2, 16 to 26: 1
- Persons Involved in Agriculture: 1
Stevens, William
- Free White Males 16 to 18: 1, 16 to 26: 1, 26 to 45: 1
- Free White Females to 10: 1, 10 to 16: 1, 16 to 26: 1
- Persons Involved in Manufacturing: 1
Van Eps, Alexander
- Free White Males 10 to 16: 1, 45 etc.: 1
- Free White Females 45 etc.: 1
- Persons Involved in Agriculture: 1
Osborn, William
- Free White Males to 10: 1, 16 to 26: 1, 45 etc.: 1
- Free White Females to 10: 3, 26 to 45: 1, 45 etc.: 1
- Persons Involved in Agriculture: 2
Bilmore, Bonnona
- Free White Males to 10: 2, 10 to 16: 1, 26 to 45: 1
- Free White Females to 10: 2, 16 to 26: 1, 26 to 45: 1
- Persons Involved in Agriculture: 1
Chamberlin, John
- Free White Males to 10: 2, 16 to 18: 1, 16 to 26: 2, 26 to 45: 1, 45 etc.: 1
- Free White Females to 10: 1, 10 to 16: 1, 16 to 26: 1, 45 etc.: 1
- Persons Involved in Agriculture: 3

By the 1830 census a curious change has taken place. It is now Benona Bullman and Henry Bullman in Glenville according to the images at Ancestry.com. In the 1840 census, it is Benoni Bulman and Henry Bulman. Benjamin (son of my right hand) Bullmore changes to Benoni (son of my sorrow) Bulman over the years. We know from other sources that Benjamin Bullman dies in 1850 at the age of seventy-five. We also know that his children are connected with Henry Bullman of Schenectady in various ways through time.

I think it safe to say that at least one Bulmore changed his name to Bulman. Interesting, a little research has thrown up the fact that, if the Bulmore/Bulman family was originally from England and Wales rather than Ireland or Holland, then Bulmore, and its variants, refers to those who work with calves and Bulman, with its variants, refers to those who work with bulls. The point is, that at that time, people may have felt fairly comfortable with changing between names if there was a purpose to it. A very simple reason might be a rift in the family or a second marriage leading to some members wishing to distinguish between themselves. Family politics might be a part of people, even elders, changing their family names.

The next post will outline some surmising that has to do with data from Wisconsin and Oneida County as we come to the end of this question, finally.

Low Bridge, Everybody Down

2009-10-26T09:11:00.006+11:00

I am very much enjoying working on this blog while convalencing. I have forgotten how fascinated I once was with this era and these places as a child. Before I was intrigued by the stories of Mark Twain, I was captivated by life on the Erie Canal. In part, this was because of the involvement of the Irish laborers who actually dug the canal. Given the fact that I have Irish connections on both sides of the family and have listed to Celtic music all my life, this is no real mystery. I once used to think how wonderful it would have been to be a boy walking the mule pulling the various cargo boats and families along the canals to the west.

Bruce Springsteen's version of the song on YouTube can be found at the end of the post. Starts a bit slow, but builds up to the sort of excitement that the song used to cause. I wonder if he remembered it from his youth, or if he just thinks about it as another folk song about workers.

It is a delightful song that I remember we used to sing in school with the movements. The people used to ride on top of the canal boats which had a low cabin roof rising just above the gunwales. They had to be kept low so as to be able to pass beneath the bridges across the canal. In fact, in Deansville, the old maps show just such a bridge across the Chenango Canal. It is near the lot that I think Thomas Dean built his mansion. From the census data, it looks like our family may have lived near the Deans. Unfortunately, the Deans had several farms apparently and I am not sure exactly where our folks would have been. Perhaps the historians in Marshall will be able to find out for us.

In any case, when you get to the "low bridge" part of the song, children squat down, duck walking, until they "pass under" the somewhat movable bridge made of children's arms. Then, duck walkers get up and walk erect in a large circle being "pulled" by the boy and the mule who tramp somewhat to the side and ahead of the "barge" and the people on "it". This is done while everyone sings the song. I mention this because you might want to learn the song and use it when you have to work with a large group of younger children. Great fun and wait until you see how they fight over being the "bridge", "passangers and boatmen", "mule" or "boy".

You can also listen to Burl Ives singing, Erie Canal. Even though I very much like listening to Ives, the sound quality is not all that good. However, the pictures are fantastic! And, I still get chuckle after all these years over the dress and the flagpole comedic image.

There is a serious side to this of course. De Witt Clinton, who had been a Senator at various stages in his political career, became governor for the State of New York in 1817. He was able to finalise the beginnings of the Erie Canal. This would dramatically change the political, social and cultural landscape of Oneida County. The building of the Chenango Canal would have an lesser, but important impact on the region. The railroads would change the patterns again.

Although, my great, grandfather's list has Dexter "Deek" Felton down as "a sailor", I wonder if that was a euphemism for canal boatman. Elizabeth Bulman, his wife, would bear Sarah Jane Felton 1842 according to the list. Either FAB was wrong about this, or Sarah was the second child born and the first had died. Elizabeth is shown as head of her household in the 1840 census in Marshall. Deek apparently died of smallpox in the autumn of 1873 in Wisconsin. I certainly cannot find him in the 1880 census. I do find Betsey. However, Fenton is as bad as Bulman in terms of spelling variations and transcription errors in the databases.

When is a Bullman, a Bulmore?

2009-10-25T21:01:00.015+11:00

Over the past few days, I have been able to catch up on this blog due to, of all things, being isolated with whooping cough, pertussis. I say this because I am reminded of how fragile life is. Children used to regularly die regularly of the bacterial infection in Australia and America, as they did of dyptheria. We have been giving innoculations against these diseases for decades now, at least in countries that can afford the expense. Yet, these infectious diseases are returning for reasons that I will not go into here. That would be too much like work.

However, without the antibiotics that we now take so much for granted, I would be in great strife. As it is now, I will take ten days worth of medication. Half of them will be spent at home with mild flu-like symptoms, at least now that the antibiotics have kicked in. I am very glad that I did not live in the nineteenth century in terms of its lack of medical knowledge. On the other hand, the moral, cultural and political sensibilities of the time were more to my liking and the sense that one was engaged in events of promise must have been rather intoxicating at times.

The woman to the upper right was born in the town I will be shortly speaking of not long after the Bulman families began to settle in Wisconsin. Her father was the famous "Puritan" author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose works are much misunderstood, if not misrepresented these days. Yet, she became a Dominican nun after the death of her estranged husband. She is now a Servant of God and well on her way towards beatification.

Her name in society was Rose Hawthorne Lathrop; in religion, it was Mother Mary Alphonsa. She was a social worker, an author and the founder of an order which works with those who are terminally ill with cancer and who are often destitute, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. She died in 1926 at the age of 75. She and her father are well worth following up.

I am grateful for both modern medicine and the sacrificial care of others. I am also grateful for technology well used. With it we may just solve a formidable brick wall.

Tonight I was able to review and reconfirm my hypothesis. And, it is only that; a hypothesis. Yet, it may prove to be fruitful by opening up or closing off lines of enquiry. So, here goes. I hope I can make this both clear and concise.

I begin by reminding readers that, according to my great-grandfather, Patrick and Jeremiah Bulman had a brother, Henry. He could supply precious little else except these bare facts. A number of us have been connecting the dots for some time.

For instance, distant relatives of ours discovered from church records that Henry Bulman and Jane Van Eps married in a Presbyterian Church at Ballston Center, Saratoga, New York just north of Schenectady in January of 1817. It also turns out that, in March 1817, Patrick Bulman and Sarah Vale/Viele also married in the same church before “returning to Schenectady.”

This is our Peter and Sally Bulman as can be shown later. I should also mention that construction on the Erie Canal was begun on 4 July, 1817 at Rome, near Utica in Oneida County, New York.

Also, a person, whom I shall refer to as "Mom" Bulman, shared a historical note she had discovered in a nineteenth century journal. It contends that Patrick and Henry Bulman were the sons of a Christopher Bulman who had arrived in Schenectady from Connecticut in 1794.

Additionally, Patrick was supposed to have served in the War of 1812 and to have subsequently taken his family to Texas. "Mom" can find no record of military service or a Texas sojourn for Patrick Bulman. FAB says the brothers' father was John. But, the 1794 date is interesting and will be raised again in the future. So will a theory about the mention of Texas.

I was intrigued by the idea of a Bulman having served during the War of 1812 and would have been delighted to have found that one had also served during the War of Independence. So, working from information supplied by this particular family historian and others interested in solving the mystery of the pater familias, I discovered that a family a Boolmore/Bullmore/Bullman family obviously connected to Henry through various ties lived in Schenectady as early as the 1800.

In the census for that year in Schenectady, you will find an Elizabeth Boolmore with two young males in her household. They are in the appropriate age range for Patrick (1792/4) and Henry (1796/98). There are no other Boolmores/Bulmores/Bullman, etcetera to be found. They do start showing up in 1810 and beyond. That is a story to be told later.

I decided to run Patrick, Henry and Jeremiah in the War of 1812 database with variations on Boolmore. I got both a Patrick and a Jeremiah Bulmore. Patrick was associated with Colden's 5th Artiillery and Infantry Regiment, New York. But, he will have to wait for later. I'll only say that Colden was heavily involved in developing the Erie Canal venture.

Jeremiah Bulmore was with Chamberlin's Regiment of Massachusetts Militia. Then, something else popped up. A Jeremiah Bullman was also in the same Regiment. In fact, in the index, they shared the same Roll Box and Roll Extract numbers. It was the same person with two spellings of the family name.

It took some looking, but I found a record with the rolls in the digital archives. It was published in 1913 having been transcribed into a print format with its inherent errors. On page 29 of the Records of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Called Out by the Governor of Massachusetts to Suppress a Threatened Invasion During the War of 1812-1814, I found a Jeremiah Butmore listed as being a private in Captain D. Collin's Company, Lieutenant Colonel S.K. Chamberlin's Regiment. They served at Boston from September 10 to October 30, 1814 after having been raised at Lenox and vacinity.

Some fossicking around gave me more information about Chamberlin (and, his even more famous son who served in the Civil War). I also found out that this was D. Collins was Daniel Collins. Don't ask me how; I cannot remember.

And, that is as far as I had gotten for many years. I could find nothing more out about Jeremiah Bulmore/Bullman. However, recently I did find this obituary tidbit on a genealogy site related to Berkshire County wherein Lenox lies:

Collins, Daniel
At Richmond, Capt. Daniel Collins, at 81 yrs.; a revolutionary patriot.
(Boston Patriot, 6 March 1826)

Daniel Collins was sixty-nine when he raised the company during the War of 1812 having served in the War of Independence! Otherwise, he had a son of the same name who did so. I have found no evidence of this, yet.

But, there was an even more important discovery to be found in the Private and Special Statues of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts [General Court] from February 1806 to February 1814 which was revised and published by authority of the Legislature in conformity with a resolution, passed 22d February 1822 and published in Volume IV in 1823 by Wells and Lilly of Boston. In effect it is an act incorporating the Methodist Episcopal Society of Lenox on June 22, 1811, as is explained below. Jeremiah Bulmore is a founding member:

Lenox is in the far west of Massachusetts and lies along the route taken by those who would move back and forth between Albany and Boston. It is just north of Stockbridge where one of the Mohican tribes settled after having been driven out of their home territory along the Hudson River in eastern New York. The Stockbridge Indians have a complex relationship with the Brothertown Indians.

If this is our Jeremiah Bulman, then he is, for reasons to be revealed in the next post, around thirty at the time of the incorporation and in his early thirties in 1814. In other words, he would be something on the order of a decade older than Patrick Bulman. Yet, as we shall see, his children are only slightly older than those of Patrick and Sarah Bulman.

There is much more, but it is too late to continue tonight.

William Franklin Bulman and The Methodist Episcipal Church in Deansville

2009-10-25T14:37:00.005+11:00

Patrick Bulman, his wife, Sarah/Sally, and most of his children migrated westward to Wisconsin sometime between 1844 to 1846. I believe that at least two of his nephews and a niece did as well. One nephew, Henry, married Wealthea Ann Sampson of the Brothertown Indians (she was a great, great-granddaughter of the renowned Presbyterian minister, Samson Occom, a Mohegan, whose picture is to the right). A niece, Polly, married James Simons who was to become a headman among the Brothertown Indians in Wisconsin. Both marriages were recording in Calumet County Wisconsin in 1846. Unfortunately, Polly seems to have died by 1849. I will return to these folks in later posts.

Louisa, Jeremiah and William, children of Jeremiah and Abigail Jane Bulman remained in Kirkland where their family had moved to from Marshall a few miles to the south by 1840. Abigail had accompanied her children to Wisconsin and I assume that Jeremiah was dead at this point, as no one in Wisconsin seems to know what became of him. However, I cannot find a grave for him in Kirkland. Perhaps he died on the migration as many others had. At least one daughter of Patrick and Sarah, Elizabeth, probably migrated to Wisconsin later. She is in the 1840 Kirkland census data with a young child who I assume was her daughter Sarah Jane. She afterwards married Dexter Felton who I believe was Sarah’s biological father.

I have found no further information on Louisa to date. I do have an idea or two. However, they will have to be explored later.

Jeremiah Bulman (Junior) appears to have married Lucy A. Farnsworth around 1850. She died in 1852 and is buried in the nearby Knoxboro-Augusta Cemetery with her birth family. Her details can be found here. She may have died giving birth to or from complications with the birth of her daughter, Lucy A. Bulman, who was born in 1852. Jeremiah was listed as a lock tender on the Chenango Canal in one census (1860). I have lost track of Jeremiah after 1860. There is a Lucy Bulman (her age as 17 would be right for Jeremiah's Lucy) listed for Kirkland as a domestic in the 1870 census.

William Franklin Bulman was born in Oneida County, New York around 1830. Sometime around 1850, he married Mary Elizabeth Davis who was born in . By 1858, she had died with some of her children. (They are buried at the Deansville Cemetery in Kirkland just north of the line with Marshall that divides what is now known as Deansboro--the entrance to the cemetery is embedded below). According to the 1860 census data, she left behind a husband and three children: Mary Elizabeth, George F., Charles M., and, probably, Robert Bulman. (I should not overlook a Cordelia I. Bulman who is the same age as Lucy above and is staying with the Phineas C. Miller family in 1860 for a reason I have yet to discern.)

Mary Elizabeth is listed below with children which may be hers (dates do not all work out...but this may be because Jeremiah's first wife, Lucy died later than the date given for her...another mystery to be solved).

Bulman, Alonzo J. d. June 8, 1859 4y11m4d pg. 3
Bulman, Electa d. May 31, 1859 3ylm5d pg. 3
Bulman, Francis H. d. June 3, 1859 10mos. pg. 3
Bulman, Mary E. d. Jan. 30, 1858 23y3m0d pg. 3

After their mother’s death, the family was supported by William’s sister, Louise, who had been born in New York around 1820. The children would accompany their father to Wisconsin after the 1860 census. However, this is another story. What is important for this post is the fact that William Franklin Bulman married twice in the 1870s. Both times he was married according to the rites of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It would seem safe to assume that this was due to his preferences rather than merely those of each of his two brides.

I have asked the Marshall Historical Society in Oneida County to provide any information from the record books of the M.E. Society in Deansville and any other sources. As I write this post, they are graciously seeking to do just that. I am particularly hoping that there would be a record of the church from whence the family removed and where they may have been dismissed to if these exist. They may not.

However, for the mean time, here is what I know so far about the M.E. Society in Deansville and Oneida County more generally. The immediately following is a chapter from the Annals and Recollections of Oneida County which was published by Pomroy Jones in 1851. I cannot find the page number at the moment; but, the volume is in the digital archives.

Methodist Episcopal.- This denomination had a class in this town as early as 1803, which was supplied with preaching once in two weeks by the preachers appointed to the Westmoreland Circuit. In 1821, a society was organized preparatory to building a house for public worship, but nothing was accomplished in consequence of a disagreement as to its site. Nothing further was done as to building a house until 1837, when an effort was made to raise funds for the building of one at Deansville, which was so far successful that a respectable house for public worship was erected at that place in 1832, the site of which was presented to the society by the late Thomas Dean, Esq. In 1839, Deansville was set off as a station, and has so remained to the present time. The church now numbers about ninety members.

That the work of the M.E. was quite extensive in Oneida County can be seen from the Minutes of the Annual Conference. Both the recapitulation figures and the list of preachers station around the county are on the same page and can be seen below:

View Larger Map

Why is all of this important? Ah, that is for the next post.

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

2009-10-25T12:13:00.009+11:00

The photgraph to the right is of John Wesley's statue which stands outside of Wesley Church in the Central Business District of Melbourne. He was a founder of "Methodism". The title of the post reflects the coming season and refers to a hymn that was written by John's brother, Charles. Both Wesleys were in Georgia as missionaries in the mid-1730s. Serendipitously, today's Gospel reading for the Mass is Mark 10:46-52. What does this all have to do with the question of the relationship of Jeremiah Bulmore and Jeremiah Delos Bulman, you ask?

A great deal, as we shall see, in this and the following posts. By way of important background, a quick comment on the gospel pericope now .

It was, perhaps, my most favourite Sunday School text when I was a child. This was especially true as my eyesight grew worse. It has been a favourite in the Church as well. One of its most persistent prayers is based on the events of this passage, "Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." However, it does take time to see the various layers of the story. It is possible to forget, or overlook, its full significance.

In any case, blind Bartimaeus sitting by the side of the road hears that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. He shouts out, "Son of David, have mercy on me." And, this is what I like, the realistic portrayal of the crowd: they want him to stop raining on their parade. So, they rebuke him and tell him to be quiet. He cries out, even louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me." Jesus stops and says to the croud, "Call him." Really, how fickle are the fans. Now they do everything they can to get Bartimeaus up to the front. I am sure that they expect some sort of entertainment from Jesus, of one kind or another.

Throwing off his mantle, the man rises up from the dust and approaches Jesus who asks him, "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimeaus responds, "Master, let me receive my sight." Our modern translations are quite polite. The have Jesus saying something like, "Be on your way, or go your way, your faith has made you well." In the Greek, it is the same word that Jesus used when he told Peter to depart after Peter had suggested that the Cross was not the Father's will for Jesus. It is, hupage, in the imperative. Instead, having been healed, Bartimeaus "followed Jesus in the way." The phrase will have resonances in the book of Acts where the Christians were first described as "Followers of the Way."

The Greek word for "way" here is, hodos. We get our word odometer from this Greek root. We also obtain our word, method, from its combination with meta. A method is a means of being on the way towards something; perhaps, our destiny. Methodism was a means of following Jesus personally by attending to the manner of one's living which included a consideration of the consequences of the Cross. As a result of these reflections, Charles Wesley wrote a number of deeply moving hymns such as "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", "Oh For a Thousand Tongues to Sing", and "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" which we Catholics are pleased to sing as well.

Of course, the passage also calls to mind the hymn of a contemporary of the Wesleys, John Henry Newton, who wrote "Amazing Grace". He began to seriously reflect on the life of faith after reading The Imitation of Christ, which was written by the Augustinian monk, Thomas a Kempis, who also wrote about the sufferings of Saint Lydwine. The song was a favourite of soldiers on both sides during the Civil War. It is still cherished by Christians and non-Christians as an anthem for freedom and human rights. Here is the Kelly Family's version (Paddy Kelly became, perhaps, one of the most popular rock perfomers in Europe before walking away from all the glitz and glamour to become a monk, Brother John Paul Mary.) The issue of forced slavery is still very much alive today. Wilberforce found a way to abolish it in England without resorting to war.

The early Methodists, like so many Catholics both before and after them, sought ways to order themselves socially, or in societies, towards charity and sanctity in everyday life. What can be forgotten is the freedom of that moment between faith healing and faith calling us to the Holy Slavery of Love. Jesus said to Bartimaeus, "Depart in freedom." Instead, Bartimaeus, in freedom, became a servant of Christ. This is the mercy of the God who heals and would leave us free to depart, if we would not follow Him with our whole lives, for the sake of love. The Apostle Paul would say, "It is the love of Christ, his for us and ours for him, that compels us." As Dom Liuigi Giusanni suggested, "God loves our freedom more than our salvation." For, if we are not free to follow in the Way of Christ, the way of the Cross, we cannot be truly saved.

It would seem that Patrick's nephew, William, the son of Jeremiah Bulman was of this belief, at least ostensibly. William's connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church may give us a connection between Jeremiah Bulmore and Jeremiah Delos Bulman. But, elaborating that point is the task of a post or two more.

What does Daniel Webster have to do with the question of whether Jeremiah Bulmore was the uncle of Jeremiah Delos Bulman?

2009-10-24T21:49:00.015+11:00

The daguerreotype to the left is not a family member, but the family played a small part in his efforts to change the policies of President Andrew Jackson's administration. There will be more images as this post progresses. (Please note that I use images that I believe are in the public domain or that I have a right to personally use. If I am in error in any specific case, please provide the reasons for this and I will act accordingly.)

As readers of this blog are aware, I am trying to tell the story of my family from the reference point of my recently deceased grandmother, Verona Irene Bulman. I am doing this so that my adult children will be able to know, understand and pass on the stories. To begin with, I had been primarily outlining something of the losses that she was personally involved with. More recently, I have outlined some of the losses of her father, Frederick Albert Bulman. Some were shared with his daughter, such as the loss of his wife, mother and two brothers. However, the loss of his father, Jeremiah Delos Bulman, occurred before her birth. Yet, I suspect, if she was like me, she knew that loss as well. I have already spoken of this with reference to Otis Arthur Hayes’ death in the March postings.

In this post, I want to begin getting behind these stories. I want to explore the earlier generations. A spine to our story will, thereby, be elaborated. I will return to the later generations in time. Eventually, I will be exploring all of the other tributaries of the stream that is my side of the family. My children have already begun to explore their mother’s side through very creative means and with greater limitations in terms of resources.

The title of this post reflects a key issue faced by family historians researching the branch of the Bulman family with connections in Schenectady, New York. It has puzzled us all for years. With the increasing number of digitized records, it may be possible to someday solve many of these “brick walls” as we call them in genealogical research.

Recently, I received two records relating to William Franklin Bulman. They, along with more readily access to documents presented to a state legislator and to the Senate of the United States, might just open up some points for further investigation. I will remind readers that, except when directly quoting documents, I will typically use the Bulman spelling of the family name throughout these posts.

In this post, let me share my first bit of news from the public documents of the first session of the twenty-third Congress that were printed by order of the Senate of the United States. It has to do with, what is in effect, a petition “for the restoration of the Deposites, and recharter of the Bank of the United States” offered by the inhabitants of Utica, New York. On the right is an 1875 engraving of the facade of the Second Bank of the United States which effectively failed to retain its charter a few years after this petition.

It seems that the signatures were collected from the surrounding regions as well and that the names were transcribed in their hundreds for the purpose of printing. This had been part of the efforts coordinated by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster of “The Devil and Daniel Webster” fame (written by Stephen Vincent Benet; a trailer for the 1941 b/w film adaptation is here). Given the disastrous Panic of 1819, our ancestors may have been as tempted to doing deals with the devil as did the protagonist of this story. An early portrait of Webster called “Black Dan” is to left and may be from the era of the Bank dispute.

The document petition was dated “Oneida county, State of New York, March 10, 1834.” This is within a year of Jeremiah Delos Bulman’s birth in 1833 according to FAB’s list. He says that the official year of JDB’s birth was 1836. It varies in documents from 1832 to 1835. In any case, here are Patrick and Jeremiah as they are listed among their near neighbours in Marshall on page 38 of document number 309:

Wm. Page
Frederick Peck
A.C. Woodart
Isaac Dobson
Adam Hadcock
John M. Ditmore
Patrick Bulman
Abner Place
Jeremiah Bulman
Noah Brown
Hiram Hawks
Thomas Bishop
David Thompson
Lyman Woodart
Geo. P. Williams
Thos. Dean

The, perhaps, classic image of Webster is to the right. It would be worth the time of this blog’s readers to investigate the issues and persons involved as Webster is credited by some for delaying the outbreak of the Civil War some years after this event.

The text of the petition can be found here and gives some idea of the financial crisis that families and communities were experiencing as a result of political decisions that were being made. Opinion is divided over the issue. However, it is important to remember and reflect on the past to avoid, to paraphrase George Santayana, repeating it to our doom. In any case, the people of Utica did remember the Panic of 1819 and wanted something to be done to avoid another economic collapse.

Oh, the answer to the question in the title of this post? Because of their support for Webster's efforts, we have evidence beyond the family and the census data that Patrick and Jeremiah Bulman were both together in Oneida County after 1817. (By the way, the Second Bank of the United States received its charter in 1816 as a result of the inflation caused by the War of 1812.) We also are reminded that we must sometimes offer both well-reasoned and well articluated cases for holding a position we believe to be true in the face of often emotion-laden, and sometimes compelling, arguments for alternative positions. However, it does take time for people to consider carefully each aspect of what must be well deemed. Some do not have the patience for such endeavours; they can take generations to determine.

Finally, for reasons my family will well understand, I must mention that Daniel Webster was Noah Webster's cousin. And, Noah and his dictionary descendants are my best friends. Noah is on the right. For very complex reasons that cannot be argued for here, but are held none-the-less, I agree with what Noah Webster is supposed to have written in his preface to the 1828 edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language (below). Of course, everything depends on what each of the words mean and that is the rub; it takes a mighty effort to make any sense of what is meant. Too few take the time and undertake the effort to prepare themselves for that task:

In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.

Apologies for errors in previous post

2009-10-24T21:46:00.002+11:00

Something has been up at Blog Spot and I have not been able to make corrections to the previous post. I have tried several times to save a new version of the text with out success. Life moves and so shall I. The Father

Honnouring our dead and caring for the living

2009-10-23T14:28:00.006+11:00

This is Frederick Albert Bulman, Bertie, marking a grave with a 48 star US flag (in use from 1912-1959). I assume that it is his father's (Jeremiah Delos Bulman) grave. The years do not diminish the importance of remembering. Perhaps they enhance the imperative. We have symbols and gestures for honouring those who have given, fostered or protected our lives.

On 17 July 1903, the following news item was run in the local paper (I have not been able to find out which):

OLD SOLDEIR FOUND DEAD

Jere Bullman, Town of Washington,

Jere Bullman was found dead this morning at his home in the town of Washington near Nine-Mile Creek. Dr. Bailey of Eau Claire was called to ascertain the cause of death and found the cause heart failure and that death occured about 4 o'clock this morning. Mr. Bulman was about 67 years old. He was a veteran of Company C, 24th Wisconsin. He leaves a widow and several sons and daughters.

On the following day, the account on page 8 of the Eau Claire Leader stated:

We regret to learn of the death of Jere Bullman, an old soldier of the town of Washington, which occurred yesterday morning at 4 o'clock. Deaced was 67 years old and leaves to mourn his loss a widow and several sons and daughters. Cause of death was heart failure.

Life goes on. On 11 February 1904, in the City Notes of the Daily Telegram in Eau Claire reports on page 4 that Margaret Bulman was granted a pensions:

Prensions Granted--Mrs. Lyia Tyalor, widow of Francis F. Taylor, late of Company C, Sixteenth Maine Volunteers, has been granted a pension. Mrs. Margaret Bullman, widow of Jerry Bullman, late of Company C. Twenty-fourth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, has been granted a pension.

According to the Eau Claire Leader, F.A. "Bert" Bulman had an unclaimed letter waiting for him at the Eau Claire post-office as of 12 March 1904 (15 March 1904, p.3). By July 14, 1904 (Eau Claire Leader, p. 8), he was receiving "banner" headlines for his horticultural prowess:

THE LARGEST AND THE FIRST

F.A. BULMAN TAKES FIRST PRIZE FOR THE FIRST, LARGEST AND BEST NEW POTATOES OF THE SEASON.

NONE OF YOUR MARBLES OR HEN'S EGGS EITHER, BUT BIG AS YOUR FIST--SEE THEM AT LEADER OFFICE.

F.A. Bulman brings in half a peck of new potatoes and places them ion exhibitin in the Leader office window. They were were dug July 12. They weigh 1 1/4 ounces each. The first seven taken from the bag and weighed on Bahler's, the grocer, scales went respectively 6, 4 1/2, 5, 5, 5, 4 1/4 and 5 1/2 ounces each. The variety is "Beauty of Hebron." Take a look at them quick as the Major is going to take them up to the Assembly at Chetek.

It would be interesting to speculate on why F.A.B. was known as the "Major". Does it indicate a certain imperiousness on his part? Or, is it that he just gets things done in a big way? His cousin, Le Moine Boleman, had been a Lieutenant in the Spanish American War while he had remained a private. Le Moine was also a resident variously at Eau Claire. More on the Harrison M. Bulman, Jeremiah's brother, family later.

By Autumn, the Bulman family and their relatives receive a great deal of conversational coverage in the Eau Claire Leader (28 September 1904, p.4) uder the banner of From Country Correspondents: Washington Wide Awakes:

Al. Bulman and family had a good time with Theo. Meyers on Sunday. They want to see a trolley line in Eau Claire so that they can haul their big crop of grain to town on market days, see the street fair all week and go to church on Sundays.

Prof. E.J. Nollie is going to take out a patent for his new hay rack. It is a wonder. By pressing a lever the rack can be made to hold two loads. He will sell on all his old racks at away down prices. He will exhibit his new rack at the Street Fair. He now starts for Ludington for more rack lumber.
....
Mrs. M. Bulman has quite an artist and mechanic in her son Walter. He is a jack of all trades and a master of quite a few. He is now finishing his mother's house. After getting thru the wood work he started on the plaster and then will finish up with the [st?]air. Walter says: "I am going to have the house nice and warm this winter.

There is actually a great deal to unpack in the above. However, I won't be doing that now. I'll only say to things. The first is that Earnest Nollie is Margaret Bulman's son-in-law (he married Mary Bulman). And the second is that Walter, who will be single for almost another year and a half until he marries Augusta Mueller, was probably trained by his father and two uncles who were carpenters and joiners by trade.

Walter's comment about warm confirms my impression that Margaret, who wore gloves when others did not, was not fond of the cold. However, as a last little item in the Leader for 1 February 1905 (p.6) suggests, she could be inticed into town:

Mrs. J.D. Bulman, of Altoona, was a visitor in Eau Claire yesterday.

Life does go on. However, that is no cause for us to forget our dead. The Grand Army of the Republic did sterling work to ensure that Civil War veterans and their families were cared for both in life and in death. The Eau Claire Leader for Friday, April 19, 1912 (p. 10) reports this snippet of the Official Proceedings of the County Board of Eau Claire County, March Session, 1912:

Petition for Soldiers' marks on graves read and referred to Committee on County Property. Said petition is as follows:

To the Honorable City Board of Eau Claire County.

Gentlemen: Persuant o Capter 172, Laws of 1911, We the under-signed freeholders of the County of Eau Claire and the State of Wisconsin, do most respectfully petition your honorable body to procure for the marking of the graves of deceased soldiers, sailors and marines, buried in said County of Eau Claire, as provided in said chapter 396
"Metalic Markers" as indicated by the accompanying [cut?]. In compliance with said chapter 1[?]2, the names for the deceased for whose graves these markers are asked are given on a separate sheet of paper and attached hereto as a part of the petition.

J.M.BOTSFORD,
E.J. FARR,
D.L. HAZEN,
S.A. RUSSELL,
J.M. JEWETT,

Bullman, Jere.

Seven years later, the Eau Claire Leader would run another item about the veterans' graves on Wednesday, May 21, 1919 (p.5):

SOLDIERS DEAD OF THRE WARS TO BE HONORED HERE MEMORIAL DAY

LAST OF SOLDIERS DEAD--FOR WAR OF 1812 TO PRESENT GREAT WAR TIME.

FLAGS AND FLOWERS FOR MEMORIAL DAY, APPROPRIATE EXERCISES

Memorial Day will be indeed memorable this year. One of the noble duties is the decoration of the graves of death soldiers. This has been done by the Grand Army of the Republic and its auxiliary societies, these splendid men and women who have lifted aloft the banner of true liberty and of patriotism.

From the records of our splendid Eagle Post, the following list of soldiers, buried in local cemeteries has been obtained through the kindness of Capt. L.A. Brace, quartermaster. It will be noticed that already there are eleven graves of men who died in service in the present war, and it is desired that representatives from the American War Veterans, or is it to be the American Legions, be appoint to join with the G.A.R. and other organizations in decoration services. With flags and flowers there graves are marked, and it may be judged from the long list of names that the duty, while one of love, is not an easy one.

The names of the soldiers of the Civil War and the Spanish -American war buried in our cemeteries is as follows:

SOLDIERS GRAVES

TOWN WASHINGTON

Bullman, Jere.

The current date has him listed in Oak Grove Cemetery, Washington Township, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. It is apparently located between Hastings Drive and Hamilton Avenue to the eas of Highway 53, in Washington, Wisconsin according to one correspondent on the Internet.

Transcription:

Bol??, Jerry, no dates, 24th Wiscons. Inf., illegible, Row 2/6

Bruno F. (b. Jul 20, 1873, d. Dec 13, 1953) and Annie K. Bleichrodt (b. Jun 15, 1877, d. Apr 19, 1967) are buried in Row 1/5.

Annie is the daughter of Johann and Anna Kunferman and the sister of Lena Kunferman who married Frederick Albert Bulman.

There is a Philip, Anna, Valentine and Wilhelmine Mayer buried here as well.

Valentine was born 1844 and died in 1911. I believe that this was Margaret Bulman's brother.

Establishing Jeremiah Delos Bulman's Civil War Service

2009-10-21T19:02:00.016+11:00

I have viewed this document for much of my life and have wondered what lay behind it. In the previous post, you can see a medal that Jeremiah wore for the family photograph. I remember it on his son's tunic. In fact, in earlier posts you can see that he wore it after his father's death. I have always wondered what the medal meant. Did he earn it in battle or was it a commemorative medal of the "Grand Army of the Republic"?

In this post, I would like to begin exploring this question. However, it is likely that we may leave this post with more questions than we began. For instance, just what exactly is this document? I had always thought that Jeremiah D. Bulman had entered service on July 29, 1863 and had been mustered out on August 4, 1865. In fact, he joined Company C of the 24th Wisconsin Infantry on 4 August 1862 according to the Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, Volume II (here) which was "compiled by authority of the Legislature, under the direction of Jeremiah M. Rusk, Governor, and Chandler P. Chapman, Adjutant General" and published in 1886 by the Democrat Printing Company of Madison, Wisconsin. The Roster of Company "C" begins on page 262 and lists Carl Von Baumbach as the Commanding Officer holding a captaincy when the company formed in 13 August 1862. By December 24, 1862, he was a Major. He was a Major when he took field command of the 24th Wisconsin Infanty during the battle of Chickamagua (Tennessee) in which the Regiment took heavy losses on 20 September 1863.

I'll follow the campaigns of Company C, both political and military, in later posts. Today, I am interested in establishing if Jeremiah was at Chickamagua. His son was there thirty-five years later as he transited to Puerto Rico. By the way, the muster roll in 1886 lists him as Jerry Bullman residing in New Berlin. The remarks section indicates that he was "Absent sick at M.O. of Regt." From what I can find out so far, it was mustered out on 10 June 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee.

Interestingly, in the Index volume (Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, Compiled under the direction of the Adjutants General during the years 1895-1899 and published for the state by Democrat Printing Company in Madison, Wisconsin in 1914) page 129 lists a Erwin C. Bulman (Private, Co. C, 38th Infanty) and page 130 lists a Grisel Bulman (Private, Co. G, 36th Infantry), Henry Bulman (Corporal Co. A, 28th Infantry), Jerry D. Bulman (Private Co. C, 24th Infantry) and Nathaniel Bulman (Private, Co. A., 28th Infantry). Henry, Nathaniel and Jerry are brothers. Erwin and Grisel are also brothers and the sons of Jeremiah's cousin Henry. More on this later.

Now, back on page 129 of the alphabetical listing is a Jerimias Bullman who was a Corporal in 2nd Battery [Light Artillery]. Back to Volume I of the roster. There is listed a Jerimia Bullman who enlisted September 16 1861 and who attained the rank of Corporal before being discharged December 18, 1861. At this point, I need to bring to light another family document. It is on the right. There we have Jerimias Bullman as being a former Corporal in 2nd Battery of Wisconsin Light Artillery. He was enrolled on 16 September 1861 in Milwaukee. However, he was mustered for a three year term of duty on 1 October 1861 in Racine, Wisconsin. He was dischared on 18 December 1861 in Racine at the age of 26. This certificate of service was based on records in the Adjutant General's office and signed by the Assistant AG on 8 July 1901. Or, about the time that the Jeremiah Delos Bulman family photograph was being taken.

Why the discharge?

On the 1890 Veterans' Schedules for the Census, a Jerrymiah D. Bolman is listed for Supervisor District 5, Enumeration District 139. This is page 2 of Roll 116 for Washington, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He is listed as a Corporal of Bat (2) Wisconsin LA [Light Artillery] who had served from 16 September 1861 until 19 December 1861, or for 4 months and 3 days according to the Schedule. An annotation at the bottom of the page indicates that his post-office was in Altoona and that he incurred the disability of "Lungs".

Just when you think the mystery is ending, you look at the next entry listed for the same house and you find Jerry Bolman, Private, Co. C, 24 Wisconsin Infantry, enlisted 4 August 1862 and discharged 22 June 1865 after having served 2 years, 10 months and 18 days. There is no disability listed. However, his is discharged almost two weeks after the Regiment itself is mustered out. Was he in hospital at the time?

In fairness, I should add that on page 1 of SD 3, ED 43 for Charlestown, Calumet, Wisconsin, June 1890, Grisel Bulman is listed as having attained the rank of Sergeant in Co. G, 36 Wis Inf after having enlisted on January 1863. He was discharge in June 1865 having suffered a "gun shot wound" during his service. More on this later.

What do we make of the Union Defenders Certificate?

Well, I mistook a splotched "2" for a "5". Perhaps we have also mistaken the certificate for something more than a morale boosting exercise. I would like to find out why it is signed by a Captain C. Bumbaugh and Lieutenant W. Hartong. I have already indicated that Carl Von Baumbach was a Major by 29 July 1863 and the Roster for the Wisconsin Volunteers indicates that Charles Hartung was a 2nd Lieutenant on August 21, 1862 and promoted to Captain on February 3, 1863. Were these ranks not "gazetted"?

In my very brief reading about Company C, 24th Wisconsin Infantry, I have already discovered some interesting items to follow up. For instance, the father of General Douglas MacArthur, Arthur MacArthur (Junior), was very young Adjutant for 24 Wisconsin Infantry who rose to the rank of Colonel by the time he was 21. In 1890, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions taken during the battle of Missionary Ridge a several weeks after the Union defeat at Chickamagua. Supposedly, he rallied the troops waving the regimental flag and shouting "On Wisconsin". He, thereby, helped to rout the Confederate troops. Yet, I have read somewhere that two soldiers from Company C claim that distinction. Was Jeremiah Delos Bulman there? Did he see, hear and respond?

Additionally, there were other issues surrounding Major Von Baumbach.

By the way, Douglas MacArthur was also awarded the Medal of Honour. I should also mention two more items of interest. First, and this is significant for your present artistic endeavours, General Arthur MacArthur was the Commander of the Third Philippine Expedition and led the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, VIII Corps against the Spanish Army at the Battle of Manila in 1898 while Frederick Albert Bulman was in Puerto Rico. Less than six months later he led the 2nd Division against the Filipino Army at the second Battle of Manila. He was the Military Governor of the Philippines for one year in 1900. There is a picture of him on the left. Here is his grave and a short biography. Born in 1845, he died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1912 after spending most of his life serving in the Army in most of its conflicts up until his retirement in 1909.

Here is an excellent site about the Civil War with access to many resources. I am waiting for a copy of this book to read more about 24th Wisconsin Infantry and Company C.

The Jeremiah Delos Bulman Family in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

2009-10-20T18:37:00.012+11:00

This has been an amazing day. I have received information about the Jeremiah Delos Bulman family, including a picture. My very great thanks to the contributor who will remain nameless as is the policy of this blog with regards to the living. The quality is not the best at this point. I'll see if we can be a better version up soon. But, the idea of having a picture of Jeremiah and the others to complement the Frederick Albert Bulman family picture was too much to resist.

Now, who is who? Frederick is the male standing on the left. I think that Walter is the young man sitting on the left. The gentleman standing on the right is no doubt Harvey Shepard. According to FAB, he married Elizabeth Sarah Bulman on 17 November 1900. (The Wisconsin Genealogical Index has him marrying Lizzie Bulman on 17 December 1900). This was the first of the marriages I believe.

Since Fred and Lena married on 18 October 1902 and since Lena is not in the picture, I think we can say that the photo was taken between these two dates. Also, it looks like FAB is wearing a service medal as is his father, Jeremiah, who is seated. So, since FAB left D Company of the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry in January 1899 and since Jeremiah Bulman died on 17 July 1903, these are the outside dates.

Katherine Louise Bulman was the youngest of the girls. I think that she is on the left. Margaret is sitting the left and I suspect that Mary Jane is sitting on the right. Therefore, Edith (Eda) Loretta is on the right standing. By way of contrast, here is a picture of Katherine and her husband, Carl Miller (Mueller) that I found on the web at a online grave site.

I'll get permissions about some background to this couple and post the information in the future. However, I am trying to keep the information published in this blog as publicly verifiable as possible. I certainly will only post personal stories with permissions. However, I may use information from a variety of stories in a composite fashion.

Of Three Sisters: Margaret Bulman nee Mayer and her two sisters

2009-10-19T22:28:00.003+11:00

Well girls, perhaps someday you will have a picture such as this taken. This is my great great grandmother, Margaret Bulman (in the rear) and her two sisters mentioned in the Eye of the Storm post earlier today. If that trip hadn't been in summer I might have thought that this picture was taken then. On the other hand, older people like to stay warm and it can get cold even in the northern states even in summer.

Again, I won't have a great deal of time to work on this blog for a few days. So, I thought I post it as soon as possible. Besides, I would like to get some material up on Jeremiah Delos Bulman and the rest of his family fairly soon so that we have a least the backbone of the Bulman family outlined in the blog. I won't be able to trace out everything quickly; but, I would like to get back to Patrick (Peter) and Sarah (Sally) Bulman, Jeremiah's parents, before next month. Of course, I will only be able to relate a few of the more salient details until I have more time over the Christmas break.

As you know, November is a special month for us remembering our dead and considering the nature of our obligations to both those who have come before us and those who will follow. The book of Tobit is worth reading in preparation for next month. The fourth Thursday in November will be Thanksgiving in the United States. This, as you know, has always been a very important time for families to gather and consider there blessings. I must admit that I am very much grateful for the ability to use technology in a way that helps us to actively remember rather than passively forget. The talents that you three continually develop and deploy are quite amazing in this regards.

The Bulman House Truck

2009-10-19T21:49:00.006+11:00

I've spent some time trying to find this picture of the "house" truck mentioned in the previous post. I suspect that this is a picture from around 1932. My grandfather, Otis Arthur Hayes, on the extreme left of the picture. It is not the best picture and I had some difficulty getting it compressed. In fact, I had to manipulate it in some very dubious ways. Later, when you have time, I'll ask one of you to do some more work on it. Edwin is the next from the left. The, it is Archie, Luella, Fred, Lena, Verona and "Speed" or Eugene. Percy and his family are not in the photo. I suspect that this was taken in Puyallup, Washington. I wonder who took the photo. Am I wrong about Percy and is this in Flint, Michigan?

In the Eye of the Storm

2009-10-19T13:02:00.016+11:00

This is a photograph of the Fred A. Bulman family in 1928. Fred is 57 and Lena is 47. Eugene Vern is on left rear and is 24. Percy H. is on the right rear and is 21. Verona Irene is in the middle rear and is 17 in the picture. Luella Ione (15) is on the left. Archie (10) is in the middle and Edwin J. (12) is on the right.

Fred and Lena are in the eye of the storm of their lives in this picture. They have endured much as a newly married couple in Wisconsin and while raising their younger children on a homestead in Wibaux, Montana. Since the early Twenties, they have been living in relative stability. This will change with the beginning of the Depression. Shortly, Percy will marry. So will Verona. Both are in Michigan for the 1930 Census. Verona and Otis are with Lena who also has Eugene and Luella still living with her in Flint, Genesee. Percy is also in Flint with his wife, Vida M., and his son, Robert L. Fred, his mother, and the younger boys will move out to Washington State to start the family farm Puyallup in Pierce County and they can be found there in the Washington Census in 1930. This will be the site of the family for decades to come. But, there will be great sorrow in the midst of their struggles.

Accounting for each of their deaths, at least briefly, and locating their resting places will help us to identify key times and places in their lives that can be filled in with family rememberances and other documents over time. The first significant death that I am aware of (there may have been unknown children who died during infancy) was Lena's. The story begins with a news article about a trip taken by Fred and his mother, Margaret.

Waukesha Freeman
6 July 1938

Elderly Woman Comes Here in House-Truck

Fred A. Bulman and mother, Mrs. Margaret Bulman, arrived Friday from their home in Puyallup, Wash., to visit Mrs. William Bochem of this city and Mrs. Lizzie Meyers of Milwaukee. Mrs. Bochem and Mrs. Meyers are sisters of Mrs. Bulman. Mrs. Bulman, who will be 92 years of age in October, is a Civil War widow. The trip from the west was made in a 1 1/2 -ton truck and eleven days were spent in transit to complete the 2200-mile trip. The truck is a house-truck, equipped in similar manner to a house trailer and enabled Mrs. Bulman to have much comfort while en route here.

Sadly, a tragedy was unfolding back home. Lena drowned in the Puyallup River. She was just fifty-seven. According to the death certificate, Lena was born 1 July 1881. The coroner questionably marks 22 June 1938 as the date of her death and this may have been the last day that a family member saw her alive. Her son Eugene seems that have been the one handling all the arrangements. He listed a John Kunfferman as the father. Her mother, Anna, appears to have died on 6 January 1936 according to LDS information that needs to be confirmed. Her parents emmigrated to the United States from Switzerland in 1873 according to census data. They were Romansch speaking from Graubunden Canton (John, Johann, was born in Schied and Anna in Almens it seems). I can remember Verona talking about the German and Romansch languages being spoken by her mother who was born in Wisconsin. This is a picture of Lena which I think might have been taken shortly before her wedding (see the end of the 17 October 2009 post for their wedding photo.)

Lena's creamation was arranged by the Voiles Funeral Home, Sumner, Washington and was carried out on 8 August 1938 at Mt. View, Tacoma, Washington. According to online cemetery records, Lena Bulman is buried with the Kunferman clan (including her parents) in St. John's Lutheran Cemetery in Eau Claire.

Verona was 27 when her mother died. She had two young children.

Just over eighteen months later, Fred would lose his mother. The following article begins to locate the family in time and space.

Waukesha Freeman
7 February 1940

MRS. BULMAN IS DEAD AT HOME

Mrs. Margaret Bulman, 93, died Monday morning at the home of her sister, Mrs. Louise Bochem 834 Oakland Ave. Born in Germany, Mrs. Bulman came to Waukesha at the age of 6, and lived on a farm east of here until 1874. Then the family moved to Eau Claire. In 1908 they moved from there and took up a homestead in Montana. They went to Puyallup, Wash., in 1929, and returned in August 1939, to Waukesha. She is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Katherine Miller of Wolford, N. Dak.; two sons Fred A. Bulman of Waukesha and Walter Bulman of Wibaux, Mont.; two sisters, Mrs. Louise Bochem of Waukesha and Miss Elizabeth Mayer of Milwaukee; also 18 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Thursday, Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. at the Erling Larsen funeral home, 419 E. Broadway. Rev. Dwight M. Bahr will officiate, and burial will be in the Prairie Home cemetery. Mrs. Bulman was a member of the G.A.R. Custer Circle No. 25 of Puyallup and the Spanish War Veteran's Auxiliary. The local Spanish War Veterans will have a part in the service. Friends may call at the funeral home after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Edwin would die from wounds in September 1944 having fought to breach the Sigfried Line (see March 2009 posts).

Archie died next on 17 Janaury 1961. He was forty-three. Interestingly, the Montana State Death Index 1960-1969 (B) has him dying in Deer Lodge County in Montana. The funeral service took place in Missoula. However, the funeral card indicates that he was creamated in Spokane, Washington. That was probably the closest facility. Spokane eventually became a very important centre for our family.

I don't remember being told of his death. Although we would soon be back in Montana, we were living interstate at this point. Verona was in Missoula then. Fred and Eugene would have been in western Washington. I think that Luella and, her husband, Cecil were there as well. Percy would have been in Michigan. Archie's life and death are somewhat shrouded in mystery. I believe that there had been an accident that affected his sight and severely limited his quality of life. I have placed his funeral card to the left.

Fred A. Bulman died next in either 1962 or 1963 (see previous post). However, I have no obituary for him.

Eugene Vern Bulman, his eldest son, died next in 1972.
Eugene's funeral card is to the right. Here is the text of the obituary. However, the clipping does not indicate which paper, page or date:

Eugene Vern Bulman

Eugene Vern Bulman died Sunday on Route Four (Box 668). His home was at 5525 Boulevard Extension Road. He was born in Superior, Wisconsin, July 14, 1904 and had made his home in the Olympia area since 1942. He had worked at Fort Lewis for 27 years and retired in 1967. He was a member of the Electrical Union. Surviving are one brother, Percy Bulman, Mio, Michigan, and two sisters, Mrs. Cecil E. (Luella) Watkins and Mrs. Edwin (Verona) Vail, both of Olympia. The funeral service will be held in Olympic Memorial Gardens this Saturday, starting at one p.m. The Reverend Winston Ketchum will officiate. Arrangements are by Selene and Eros Mortuary.

Percy was the next to die at seventy-two. Interestingly, he was in the Mercy Hospital in Grayling, Michigan. Otis Arthur Hayes, Verona's first husband, was a close friend of Percy (see the March posts to see an areoplane that they built in 1930). The Hayes family once resided in Grayling in the late 1800s. Also, Percy seems to have married a second time. The Michigan Deaths, 1971-1996 index lists Percy's residence as Elmer, Osconda, Michigan.

Here is a copy of the obituary text; again, there is no information as to paper, page or date:

Bulman, Percy

Percy Bulman of Kittle Road, Mio died May 31, 1979 at Mercy Hospital in Grayling. He was born July 1, 1907 in Janestown, Wisconsin and came to the Mio area in 1969 from Flint. He was a retired mechanic. Surviving are his wife, Eloise, one daughter, Patricia Copnick; one son, Robert Bulman of Goodrich; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and two sisters. Funeral Services were held at Larrison's Funeral Home June 2 at 11:00 a.m. Rev. Carpenter officiated. Burial was in Kittle Cemetery.

Luella died just four years later at 70. According to the Washington Death Index, 1940-1996, she died 30 September 1983 and her residence was at Thurston. I believe that she had suffered from diabetes for some years. I am not sure that she and Cecil every had any children. I cannot remember their having ever mentioned any. Here is the obituary without paper, page or date (it is hand printed on clipping as was Percy's):

Obituaries
Luella I. Hawkins

A graveside service for Louella [sic] Ione Hawkins will be at 1 p.m. Monday in Olympic Memorial Gardens, under direction of Selene Mortuary. Mrs. Hawkins, 70, died Friday in a local convalescent center. She was born March 1, 1913, in Wixbau County, Mont. She was a homemaker and attended the Nazarene Church. Among her survivors are her husband, Cecil, at the family home in Olympia, and a sister, Verona Vail, Olympia....[clipping torn]

Finally, Verona Irene died. Here is notice on the mortuary web-site:

Verona I. Vail

Born in Wibaux, Montana on Jun. 27, 1911 Departed on Feb. 17, 2009 and resided in Coeur d'Alene, ID. Vail, Verona I., 97, of Coeur d'Alene, died February 17, 2009 at Ivy Court. Verona was born June 27, 1911 on a homestead near Wibaux, Montana to Fred and Lena (Kunferman) Bulman. Formerly from Missoula, Montana and Olympia, Washington; she moved to Coeur d'Alene in 2002. Verona is survived by a daughter, a son, 9 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

She was cremated and interred with Otis Arthur Hayes in Missoula. Below is a picture of their new headstone.

Fred A. Bulman: The Energetic, Peripatetic Man

2009-10-18T09:20:00.009+11:00

Frederick Albert Bulman seems to have been a somewhat complex man. There are many aspects to his story. He certainly was proud of his military service. This may have been because of his strong identification with the military experience of his father, Jeremiah Delos Bulman, who served in the Civil War with his brothers and cousins.

FAB is seen here with his two youngest sons (Edwin on the right and Archie on the left, circa 1925 according to the back) in his Spanish American War tunic. The boys are regularly seen dressed as bugle boys in a variety of pictures with FAB. This tunic was an item of fascination for me as a teenager.

By way of background, FAB died on 9 October 1962 and was buried in the Olympic Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Tumwater, Washington. His eldest son, Eugene V. Bulman, would die somewhat more than ten years later on 26 November 1972. "Speed" was also buried in the same cemetery. FAB's youngest son, Archie, had died in Deer Lodge County, Montana on 17 January 1961 nearly ninety years after his father was born (26 January 1871).

I believe it was either the Halloween of 1971 or 1972 that I accompanied my siblings and cousins on a Trick or Treat excursion. We walked through a Portland, Oregon suburb where my mother's sister and her husband lived at the time. Being a "very old" teenager, I had not wanted to dress up in the "normal" kit. Instead, I had brought the tunic and hat with me to wear. With all the medals, it was a big hit with everyone. I have no idea what has become of the tunic and medals since then. I graduated from Burns Union High School in the spring of 1973 and headed off to university after fighting forest fires for a second season in the surrounding national forests during the summer.

Here is a picture of FAB in that same outfit towards the end of his life. I am not sure how old he was at the time. However, he was an energetic and peripatetic man throughout his life. A final photo can be found at the end of this post.

Below is a story of how he celebrated his seventy-fifth year. It was passed on to me by a family historian connected to the Bulmans by marriage and highlights the importance of the serendipitous sharing of information. The story also provides an indication of the ground that I am going to have to cover to tell something of the story of the lives of FAB and Lena, as well as their children, etc. I'm not sure exactly which paper it is in as I have not been able to find an original. However, it certainly was located in Waukesha, where FAB was born. It must have been printed in 1946 some two years after the death of his son Edwin J. Bulman during the war (see posts for March 2009):

SPANISH WAR VET, 75, CROSSES THREE MOUNTAIN RANGES ON HIS 1920 CYCLE

Fred Bulman Visits in Waukesha

WAUKESHA, July 14, (Special) - Fred A. Bulman was having the time of his 75 years when he stopped in Waukesha for several days before resuming his 3,000 mile motorcycle trip from Olympia, Wash., to Flint, Mich. The leathery faced veteran who crossed three mountain ranges on a bucking 1920 motorcycle stopped to visit relatives here before proceeding to Flint, where he plans to see his son. The fact that he will soon be 76 was no deterrent to his 6,000 mile round trip. "I haven't had as much fun since I was a kid," Bulman said, "and this gives me a chance to get some fresh air, also take in the Spanish War Veterans National Convention in Milwaukee next month."

Visits With Cousin He visited here with a cousin, Miss Ida Cohen. He will return in two weeks for the convetion and Milwaukee's Centurama. Bulman was born near Brookfield Junction in Waukesha County. He spent his youth in Eau Claire and worked as an engineer in Janesville and Superior. He also worked in Michigan, homesteaded in Montana and finally settled in Washington about 1930. Despite his years Bulman's crew cut brown hair shows no sign of gray and he holds his 160 pound frame erect. Except for the grayish fuzz about the [face].

Started June 18 The veteran's 21 day expedition started June 18. Cruising at about 25 miles an hour and covering an average of 200 miles a day, he traveled through Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and into Wisconsin. He pushed his cycle over the Snoqualmie Pass in Washington at 3,000 feet, through the famous Lookout Pass in the Bitterroot Mountain Range of Idaho at 4,700 feet, and over the ominous Continental Divide in the Rockies at 6,300 feet. He saw a "twister" heading his way in Montana, so he back tracked three miles and spent the night in Bozeman. The cycle sidecar carries clothing and camping equipment which enabled Bulman to spend half his nights under the stars. He by-passed tourist cabins whenever the night was clear because the hardly old man says, "I'm just crazy about fresh air." The trip has been leisurely because Bulman dislikes "burning up" the roads. (His old cycle does a top speed of 35 miles an hour.) He spent two days with a son at Puyall[up], Wash.; three days fishing with his grand children in Missoula, Mont.; three days with a nephew at Wibaux, Mont.; and several days with Cousins Herman and Rube Siewerts, on their Eau Claire farm. Bulman's bike is a weird affair with a 1920 frame, a 1914 crank case, a 1925 cylinder, a bicycle speedometer and the carburettor from a Model T Ford.

This last photo was probably taken just before his death. The date on the left side of the photo says August 1963. This may be the date that the photo was developed. The data I have from the cemetery states that he died in October 1962 as I have it above. However, this data may be in error. Unfortunately, I don't have time now to try to investigate and this will have to be left for another time.

Reactivating the blog

2009-10-17T17:14:00.013+11:00

Sorry for the delay in returning to the blog. You girls know how busy the year has been. I have also been able to do a great deal of research over the academic year. The brief trip to the States allowed me to obtain some photos for the blog. I'll be putting them up over the next several weeks along with some of the stories.

I'll focus somewhat more on Frederick Albert Bulman for a time. He is my great-grandfather and Verona's father. (Apologies to readers for the repetition of information that will occur occasionally throughout the life of this blog.) He was born on 26 January 1871 in Brookfield Township, Waukesha County Wisconsin.

My father had a few photos of FAB that I had never seen before and I was very excited to see one with Lena, his wife.

Here is a picture of him in his Wisconsin National Guard uniform. It looks like a winter outfit. The photo was taken at R.G. Shaker's studio (116 Kelsey Street, Eau Clair, Wisconsin) some time after returning from Puerto Rico, I suspect. Why do I think this?

During the Spanish American War, he was in D Company of the 3rd (Regiment) Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. This company was mustered from Mauston in Juneau County. They were called up in 28 April 1898 and returned 8 November 1898. Interestingly, Fred was not listed in the Mauston Star accounts of their going or returning.

Instead, he can be found listed in the THE SENTINAL ALMANAC and BOOK OF FACTS For the year 1899. Juneau County is south east of Eau Claire with a county in between. So, it will be interesting to discover why he was with this particular company. In any case, the Mauston Star gave the following account of the company's endeavours:

The Mauston boys left home on the 28^th of April last, left Milwaukee May 14 for Chickamauga Park, Georgia, where they remained until July 5^th when they left for Charleston. July 19 they sailed for Puerto Rico, arrived there July 27 and disembarked the 28. On August 6 it began to move toward San Juan and took part in the capture of Coamo, being in the advance, later our boys were in two battles at Albointo pass, but luckily no men were killed or wounded. Since the last engagement Lieutenant Gerhard F. Behnken has been in command and has been a faithful officer and well liked by all. The Third regiment raised the Stars and Stripes over a number of towns on the island among them Ponce, Yauco, Coamo, Albonita, Cayey, Barros, Barmintas, and Cedra. It has always been pushed to the front and had a record which few regiments in the United States can equal.

Now, what is somewhat confusing is the fact that this photo is labeled "F.A. Bulman, 1899". Here FAB is only sporting a moustache. So, it is necessary to seek further information. There is a good summary at the Spanish American War Centennial Web-site. It should be noted that this site indicates the 3rd WVI returned state-side in September 1898. So, it took a couple of months from disembarkation before they returned to Wisconsin.

The information that FAB provided to the State of Wisconsin Board of Health on 2 June 1942 only deepens the mystery. He was seeking to gain a birth certificate. In the section on supporting documentation is an entry relating to a discharge certificate. It reads: Army Discharge: Wis N.G. Discharge for Fred A. Buhman [sic]. Sgd. Earl S. Pearsall, Cap't. 3rd Inf. Dated 11/01/02 Eau Claire, Wis. Enlistment June 19, 1900. FAB and Lena married 10/18/02 in Wash. Twp. Eau Claire, Wis. Perhaps he reenlisted in 1900 in a company closer to home than Mauston.

It was at this point that I remembered some papers my father had sent me a few years ago. It seems that a Jesse C. Good, County Clerk for Genesee County, State of Michigan recorded information in the Soldier's Discharge Record #3 Page 505 on June 9, 1924. The information was taken from a copy of certificate of discharge:

To all Whom it May Concern
Know ye, that Fred A. Bulman, a Private of Company D, of the Third Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, who was enrolled on the 28th day of April, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, to serve Two Years, or during the war, is hereby DISCHARGED from the service of the UNITED STATES, by reason of Muster Out. NO OBJECTION TO HIS REENLISTMENT IS KNOWN TO EXIST. The said Fred A. Bulman was born in Milwaukee Co, in the State of Wisconsin and when enrolled was 27 years of age, 5 feet 8 1/2 inches high, Light complexion, Blue eyes, Auburn hair, and by occupation a Farmer. Given at Mauston Wis this 16 day of January, 1899, [Signed] John Turner, Capt 3rd Wis Vols. Commanding the Co. Countersigned...cannot read signature...Capt. 5th Cav'y Chief Mustering Officer.

On the reverse was:

Military Record
Noncommissioned Officer: Blank
Distinguished Service: None
Battles, engagements, skirmishes, expeditions: In expidition to Porto Rico July 5 @ Oct 31/98 [spelling as on document] Engagement at Coamo...Skirmishes at Abonita Pass
Wounds received in service: None
Remarks: Served in War with Spain in Porto Rico. Service Honest and Faithful

On the front of the form is a stamp that indicates:

PAID IN FULL $ 73.62 MAUSTON, WIS, JAN 16, 99 [Signed] Geo. H. cannot read rest of signature...MAJOR & ADD'L PAYMASTER, U.S.V.

It would seem that the 1899 photograph might have been taken back in Wisconsin before FAB was mustered out of Company D. It is also possible that the photo with FAB bearded was later than the SAW era. There is a second document that was referred to in the application for the birth certificate mentioned above. It reads:

WISCONSIN NATIONAL GUARD

To all Whom it May Concern:
Know ye, That Fred A. Bulman, a Private of Company E., 3rd Regiment Infantry who was enrolled on the 19 day of June one thousand nine hundred to serve 3 years, is herby [sic] HONORABLY DISCHARGED from the WISCONSIN NATIONAL GUARD, to date the 1st of November, 1902, by reason of removal from county. Said Fred A. Bulman was born in Waukeshaw Co. in the State of Wisconsin, and when enrolled was 29 years of age, 5 feet 8 1/2 inches high, Fair complexion, Blue eyes, Light hair, and was by occupation a Farmer.
1. He has previously served [cannot make out] terms of enlistment in the W.N.G. as follows: 8 months Spanish American War Porto Rico Co. D. 3rd Inft. W.N.G. 2. No objection to his re-enlistment is known to exist. Given at Eau Claire, This 1st day of November, 1902 Earl A. Pearsall, Captain 3rd Inf W.H.G. Commanding teh Company.
Adjutant General's Officer. Madison Dec. 6th, 1902 Approved: By Command of the Governor cannot read signature Asst. Adjutant General.

Military Record
Non-commissioned officer: Blank
Active service: Yes Porto Rico 2 skermishes [sic]
Marksmanship: good
Physical condition when discharged: good
Attendance: good
General Standing as a soldier: Good

Here is a photo of FAB and Lena on their wedding day. I'll put up some later photographs of FAB in his uniform over the years in a later blog.

Deeds Not Words: Tribute to a fallen warrior

2009-03-22T10:23:00.013+11:00

The American Battle Monuments Commission notes that a Second Lieutenant Edwin J. Bulman, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division, United States Army lies buried at Plot E, Row 14, Grave 69 in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium having died on 20 September 1944 and having been awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. It also notes that he entered the service from Montana.

The Helena Independent ran a small piece offering news from a number of families with service personnel on 29 October 1944 on page eleven of their Sunday edition. There was a note there from Fred A. Bulman, Verona's father. His son, Second Lt. Edwin J. Bulman, was reported killed in action on September 20th "over Germany". The news item informed readers that E.J. Bulman had been born in Wibaux County and had later left with his parents for Michigan before moving on to Washington. F. A. Bulman stated that his son had entered the service at Bremerton. Indeed, Edwin J. Bulman is listed on the Washington State Role of Honor, Part 4: World War II, A-F.

The tune to "Red Wing" (see previous post) runs through my head as I remember that Edwin was Verona's little brother born five years after she was in Wibaux (pronounced "wee-bow") County in eastern Montana just across the border from North Dakota. Verona told me that they had lived out on the prairie in a tar-paper shack with a sod roof. Once, their father, a farmer and sometime bounty-hunter (animals) who had fought in the Spanish-American War (1898), was away for a time. During his absence, they tried to straighten the curled tails of the pigs. Upon his return he surmised what had been done and obtain a pledge that it would not happen again.

Sometime between 1920 and 1930, the adventure on the plains, which had begun around 1908 according to Margaret Bulman's obituary in the Waukesha Freeman of 7 February 1940, ended. The couple from Eau Clair, Wisconsin, had moved to the city of Flint in Gensesee County, Michigan. According to the 1930 Census, F.A. Bulman's wife, Lena Bulman nee Kunferman (47), was still there with the eldest son, Euguene V. who was twenty-five, and a single daughter, Luella, who was seventeen. Otis (22) and Verona (18) were living in the household as well. According to the Genesee County Marriage Index, they had been married on 9 September 1929. Otis' older brother, Clarence C. Hayes had married Violet F. Wright in the same county on 19 March 1927. Verona's brother, Percy H. (22) was also living in Flint at another location with his wife Vida M. (20) and their son Robert L. (21 months).

Edwin J. (13) and his younger brother, Archie (11) were living at what was to become the family's final farm in Puyallup, Pierce County, Washington. They were living with their father who was fifty-eight at the time and their grandmother, Margaret Bulman, who had been born in Hep Darmstadt, Germany, around 1847. Fred and Margaret would return to Waukesha, Wisconsin, in August 1939 shortly before Margaret's death at the age of ninety-three. Washington State records reveal that Lena Bulman, Verona's mother, had drowned in the Puyallup River at McMillan, Pierce County, Washington on 22 June 1938. She was fifty-seven.

Just a few days before Pearl Harbor, Edwin joined the Army on 3 December 1941 according to the U.S. World War II Army enlistment records data-base for 1938-1946 which was accessed through Ancestry.com. He had enlisted in Missoula, Montana with 2 years of high school and was categorized as being a semiskilled mechanic of motor vehicles. The records also reveal that he was married and that his 5 feet 11 inch tall frame carried 167 pounds. Interestingly, the branch code lists "Branch immaterial--Warrant Officers, USA".

There is a family memory that he was indeed living in Missoula with Verona and Otis when he enlisted. His wife's name or nick-name was Bonnie and their son was named Dennis. Apparently, they were already divorced or separated at the time. There is a faded memory and a missing (temporarily) photograph of him with a 3rd Infantry Division patch on his uniform before he went to England from Fort Lewis, Washington. However, he had been to Fort Benning in Georgia for basic training and, then, to Officers Candidate School (OCS).

This may explain why F.A. Bulman thought he had enlisted from Bremerton (a naval base) in Washington. It may also been the case that he had been designated to become a warrant officer in a mechanized unit with his mechanical background.

We know from the testimony of Sergeant Robert K. Pacios of second platoon, "A" Company, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, that an Edwin J. Bulman joined this Company and became second platoon leader just five days after Pacios himself had joined the regiment as a replacement on 17 August 1944. They had their first real combat experience as a new company comprised of 70% replacement troops at Liege shortly thereafter.

By 13 September 1944, they were a part of "Task Force X' which stormed the first row of the cement "dragon's teeth" that formed part of the Siegfried Line. They kept moving through German towns and villages such as Oberforstback, Hifeld, Brand and Freund. Eventually, they came to the industrial suburb of Munster-Busch overlooking Stolberg which was a tactical point of interest in the Stolberg Corridor. By 17 September, pitched battles were being fought for control of the area.

Here is how one historian described the conditions under which Edwin died:

As the fighting continued in the Stolberg Corridor, both German and American units wore themselves out. While the 3d Armored Division's CCA [Combat Command A] tried to take high ground about the industrial suburb of Muensterbusch, less than half a mile west of Stolberg, and CCB [Combat Command B] to occupy the high ground east of Stolberg, the enemy's 12th Division and what was left of the 9th Panzer Division continued their futile efforts to re-establish the Schill Line. The result was a miserable siege of deliberate, close-in fighting which brought few advantages to either side.

Attachment of the remnants of the 9th Panzer Division to the 27th Fusilier Regiment made CCA's task at Muensterbusch considerably more difficult. Not until late on 19 September did troops of CCA gain a foothold in Muensterbusch from which to begin a costly, methodical mop-up lasting over the next two days. (MacDonald, page 89)

Edwin died in the intensive house-to-house, urban warfare that constituted the costly "mop-up". According to Sergeant Pacios, the former platoon sergeant, Raleigh F. (Pete) Colbert, Junior, was given a battlefield commission and made a 2nd Lieutenant. He assumed command of the second platoon of "A" Company, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division, First Army.

Ironically, Edwin J. Bulman was killed some hundred miles from where his grandmother had been born nearly one hundred years earlier.
A 3rd Armored Division web-site with a great deal of information to sort through can be found here. Alternate access to the American Military Cemetery at Henri-Chapelle in Belgium can be found here and here (great ambience and search capability).

Red Wing: An Indian Fable, or a Life Theme for Verona?

2009-03-21T18:08:00.007+11:00

Verona loved to sing and play what has become known as “Old Timey Music” ala "O Brother Where Art Thou?". She would play whenever the family would “get together”. She played in “grange halls” so young people could dance. Such singing, playing and dancing figured prominently throughout most of the years that I knew her.

If there was one song that might have been her theme song, it was "Red Wing". She would play it on the guitar, strum it on the autoharp and hum it to herself as she went about her daily rounds. She would always smile and seem somewhat more gay as she did so. Yet, though it was used by square dancers because of the tune, the lyrics are somewhat poignant. As a result, I have always had a soft spot for the Red Winged Blackbird.

The song was published in 1907, the year before Otis was born. It soon became very popular. The lyrics were by Thurland Chattaway and the music was composed by Kerry Mills. It seems that Mills had been both a violinist and was once the head of the violin department at the University of Michigan. He was known there as Frederick Allen Mills. The copyright for his compositions always used either his full name or the initials F.A. with Mills. Supposedly, the music for “Red Wing” was an adaptation of Richard Schumann’s “Happy Peasant” from his Opus 68. This work was a collection or album of songs for children composed in the middle of the 1800s. This particular tune was still quite popular when I was a child. I can hear echoes of it in the verse of "Red Wing".

I am presenting the cover to the sheet music as I understand that it is in the public domain. If any First Nation community is offended by it, I will remove it. However, I think it is important to notice how cultures, particularly dominant ones, appropriate the cultures of others. What is particularly incongruous is the placing of a war bonnet upon a young woman’s head. It is more visually exciting and is somewhat suggestive of the theme. Still, it was probably not appropriate to have done so.

I am also including a link to more than one style of performance (see the references to Frederick Potter and YouTube at the end). The "Edison Quartette" seems to be faithful to the sheet music . However, the chorus reminds me more of something in the vein of the “Scottish Soldier” as sung by Andrew Stewart. Verona’s rendition was not so boisterous. This song might indicate how cultures also share similar motifs around death and loss. I note particularly the shift from day and play to a new setting of night and plaint.

I am also providing a link to the sheet music rather than including all of the words.

Verse:
There once lived an Indian maid,
A shy little prairie maid,
Who sang a lay,
A love song gay,
As on the plain she’d,
While away the day;
She loved a warrior bold,
This shy little maid of old,
But brave and gay,
He rode one day to battle far away.

Chorus:
Now, the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing,
The breeze is sighing,
The night bird’s crying,
For afar ‘neath his star her brave is sleeping,
While Red Wing’s weeping her heart away. 2x

A rendition of "Red Wing" by Frederick H. Potter with the Edison Male Quartette (Edison Gold Moulded 9622, 1907)

You can hear and see YouTube versions that are closer to what I remember here.

An additional source of mystery and intrigue

2009-03-20T20:05:00.005+11:00

More than twenty years ago, a copy of an important family document was sent to me here in Australia. It was a typed list of family members’ names with notes. These were transcribed from the handwritten account of Frederick Albert Bulman, or FAB. He was the father of Verona Irene Bulman, the woman to whom this site is dedicated.

There are some obvious transcription errors such as the transposition of numbers within a particular year. There are errors that are probably the result of a faulty memory. This might have been FAB’s or his informant’s. Some of these errors can be discerned in the document. Others have been discovered when comparisons were made to other sources.

The account of the family goes back to the pater familias, John Bulman. John was supposed to have been born in 1756. His marriage was given as occurring in 1782 and his death in 1826. No locations are given. Unfortunately, no spouse is mentioned either. However, I have some ideas about who this might have been. Eventually, I will also share some of the surmises that others have made as to who this John Bulman was. Not everyone agrees.

At the moment, I can only give a bare outline of the facts. It will take a great many posts to list and make brief comments on each person known to us in one way or another. It will take more time to mention something of their lives and times. I will also want to continue to weave the story of the Hayes, Peper and Bates families into my tale. And, there are other lines of interest such as the Robins, Jarvis and Kunferman families.

This will all be accomplished in due time. For now, let’s get back to FAB’s list.

F.A. Bulman’s document states that John Bulman had three sons: Jeremiah, Peter and Henry. This caused me some troubles for a time. I could not find Peter in the data. What I did discover, through the help of others, was that a Patrick Bulman and a Sarah Viele or Vale (both spellings are found in the transcriptions of the church records) were married in Ballston Center near Schenectady, New York in March of 1817.

In FAB’s scheme, Peter Bulman married Sally Vale. Could Patrick be our Peter and Sarah our Sally? What gave me hope was the fact that a Henry Bulman was also married in the same Presbyterian Church in January of 1817.

Now is not the time to detail the sources and sequelae of the search. Let me just say that I am confident that these are two of the three Bulman brothers listed in FAB’s notes. What about Jeremiah Bulman?

There was a Jeremiah Bulman living in Paris near Utica in Oneida County, New York as early as 1820 according to the census data. He was still in Oneida County in 1840 when Patrick was also listed nearby. More accurately, Jeremiah has moved somewhat north along the Deansville-Clinton-Utica road into Kirkland Township by 1840. Patrick seems to have been living among Jeremiah’s old neighbours at that time according to the census information for Marshall Township.

Again, I will refrain from detailing all of what we now know of the Bulman family in Oneida and at Schenectady. We merely need mention that FAB indicates that one of the sons of Peter Bulman was named Jeremiah Delos Bulman. According to the notes, he was born some 18 miles south of Attica [Utica] in Oneida County, New York.

This would have been in what was once known as Brothertown, New York. It became more widely known as Marshall Township as the Brotherton Indian Nation sold their properties and moved to Wisconsin. Interestingly, most of the Patrick Bulman family moved to Wisconsin the same year that members of an important Brotherton family finally moved west. Much more will be written on this later.

J.D. Bulman was F.A. Bulman’s father. He was also Verona’s grandfather. However, Verona never met him. He died eight years before Verona’s birth in 1911.

The photo is of a plane that Verona Irene Bulman's husband (Otis A. Hayes) and brother (Percy H. Bulman) built in 1930. Since both men lived past the year 1930, the plane either flew or the men decided not to fly the plane.

When loss becomes gain

2009-03-19T20:34:00.010+11:00

I took up the task of finding out more about our family for many reasons. Two are especially relevant. The first was the death of Otis Arthur Hayes. He was Verona's first husband. The second was the loss of the Peper family Bible. Both losses are related.

Otis died on the last day of January in 1953 at 4:30 in the afternoon. I had always understood that he had died when he was forty-two. That was not quite right. Since he was born on the eighth of February in 1908, he was just shy of his 45th birthday when he died.

He died of a "coronary thrombosis". He lived just one hour from the onset and spent only 10 minutes in St. Patrick's hospital before expiring. He had been digging out the basement of the house which he had built at 634 Marshall Street, Missoula, Montana.

He must not have been travelling well for a time. His doctor, F.H. Lowe, noted on the death certificate that he had been attending to Otis from Boxing Day of 1952 until the date of his death. This was just over a month. Why was he digging in the basement in the middle of winter in Missoula, Montana when he had been ill? He had been a splicer for Bell Telephone. Was he doing his winter indoor work?

I never met Otis. But, I would not be here today without him.

He was born in Buckley, Michigan. Buckley is just on the border with Traverse County in the northwest corner of Wexford County. A certified copy of record of birth obtain on 10 Jun 1942 states that he was the legitimate son of Clarence Milton Hayes and Lucy Amy Pepper of Buckley. Clarence was listed as a farmer.

The plat map of Hanover Township in 1919 shows that his forty acres was just south of the forty acres owned by Ira Peper. On the north side of the road fronting Ira's property lay the eighty acres owned by his father Martin L. Peper. Otis would have been about eleven when the map was published. He no doubt attended the school somewhat to the west of the Peper properties. The school was shown as being on the road the divided the properties of father and son.

Lucy Peper would have also attended school there. However, she may have actually lived in a house on the property owned by Mrs. E.C. Peper just south of the school. Emmeretta C. Peper, the daughter of Ira W. and Isabella Bates, was the mother of Eda (Edith), Ira and Lucy Peper. Her property was just north of the 186 acres owned by John and Lottie C. Hayes in 1919. These were the parents of Clarence Milton, Harry James and Eva Hayes.

It is the Bible of the Peper family of Buckley that went missing.

With the loss of Otis and the Bible, an important link to my family's past disappeared. For as long as I can remember, I have been trying to reconstruct this link. The task of doing so has been both difficult and rewarding. In the end, it has provided the material for these postings. I suspect that they will continue over the next several months.

Construction of the Blog begun under the Patronage of Saints Patrick and Joseph

2009-03-17T22:22:00.001+11:00

Well girls, it has begun. I hope to tell something of the story of your family as it made its way across the North American continent. Others might stop by on occasion to listen in on the story. It might be useful for their explorations as well. I hope that you three will drop by regularly. I begin the construction of this blog under the twin patronage of St. Patrick and St. Joseph. I also acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.

Veni Sancte Spiritus
Veni Per Mariam