Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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.