Bullis Book Chronicles

Historical Reading

2012-02-17T16:56:00.000-05:00

Oh, what to post on today - walked into the Bullis Room, pulled a book off the shelf and said - - yes.
This little book is titled The historical reader designed for the use of schools and families on a new plan by Rev. J. L. Blake. The quote on the title page is "History serves to amuse the imagination; to interest the passions; to improve the understanding; and to strengthen the sentiments of virtue and piety." This was a book owned by A. R. Bullis and probably used in the late 1800's, possibly early 1900's. It was published in 1825 originally with this copy being printed in 1832. This book covers Biblical history, Greek and Roman history, Islamic history, European history and U.S. History. Each page has questions at the bottom of it - What was the character of Cleopatra?; What did Luther do with this bull of excommunication?; What anecdote is related of Edward the black prince, to illustrate the advantages of chivalry?; Who promoted the courts of Inquisition in Spain?; By whom, and for what reason did Providence receive its name?; When was the Battle of Erie?; What was the motto on Commodore Perry's union jack?; When did Bonaparte enter Moscow?; and the list goes on. I would expect that the answers to these questions would stimulate our imaginations, interest us in learning more, improve our understanding and help us to see what is right and what is wrong. It's an intriguing book - one that I would rather read than peruse.

May I have your autograph?

2012-02-10T14:40:00.007-05:00

Do you remember autograph books? They are not used as much as they once were. But in some cultures they are still used. And have you been asked to sign one recently? Don't you wish you could remember some of those little ditties? A little research will show that in the mid to late 1800's those "ditties" were actually emphasizing spiritual growth and wishes for good things for the friends. If you read any from the 1930's or 1940's, you may be in for a surprise. The ditties changed. Some were about being good friends and some pushed the limits a little. Do we have one of these autograph books in the Bullis Collection? We're sorry to say - no, we don't. But we were quite surprised when we were doing the War of 1812 book display and found the little dittie that follows on the back page of the textbook Mastery Units in American History by Maurice Rovner. This book was not used by the Bullis family other than for reading as far as we can tell. We believe that Charlie Bullis bought it at a book sale somewhere. It belonged to a young woman and was used in the late 1930's or early 1940's. So for the romantics everywhere whose minds travel faster than the words are written and read into things much more than they should, the following is shared.

If in the world these were the only two

And all the world was good and true

And if you knew that no one knew,

Would you?

If you dreamed in pajamas blue,

Of two strong arms embracing you

And if you really wanted to,

Would you?

If the world were nice and bright

And if I stayed with you all night

And if we turned out the light,

Would you?

And if we were in a certain place

And we were sleeping face to face

Nothing between us but a little lace,

Would you

Kiss me goodnight?

Sweet little book

2012-02-03T16:33:00.000-05:00

We have sitting here on our computer desk a book, a delightful little book. It measures perhaps 4 inches along the spine and 6 inches across the bottom. The notes in our database regarding it are very descriptive: nice chromos, oblong, boards bowed, text block strong, some damp-staining, "sweet little book." The title of this Nelsons Pictorial Guide Book is The English Lakes in the Neighbourhood of Ambleside (1870). And it is a fabulous little book. I believe the chromos refers to chromolithography which was used in the mid to late 1800's. There are 12 chromos in this book and the coloring is wonderful - it is soft and it is vibrant. They are of places like Blea Tarn, Ambleside, Clappersgate, Windermere, Grasmere, Elterwater, graves of Wordsworth & Coleridge, and Rydal Mount. Being a good guide book, the places are described with geographic location, who may have been living there in 1870, excerpts from poetry regarding these sites, and folklore surrounding the names and sites. What a delightful frolic is held with in the covers of this book. There are treasures all around us. Take time this week to find and to appreciate the treasures in your life!!

Visitors today

2012-01-27T14:27:00.001-05:00

This morning we had home schoolers visit the Bullis Room. We are doing a class on Core Library Skills at the Macedon Public Library and we wanted the students to be aware that many libraries have special places where additional information can be found on a research topic. The Bullis Room is such a place and is an excellent resource for primary source information. The student's initial comments were about the smell - smelled like old books and a bit of smoke. (We had a fire in 2001 and the smell does linger a little.) They were shown some of the great illustrations in Commissioners of Fisheries, Game and Forests of the State of New York (c1899) and the Notes on Tulip species by W.R. Dykes (1930). Some pulled items off the shelves to peruse. The biggest hits were the Atlas of Wayne County (1874) and a bound copy of the Macedon Newsgatherer from the 1890's on loan to the Bullis Room. The students enjoyed looking for the roads their homes were on - a few of those roads did not exist in 1874. And they enjoyed the advertisements and the "people" section of the Newsgatherer. So if you are researching at your local public library remember that there may be other resources that aren't quite evident on your initial search. Ask your librarian to help you. And if you are researching in the Macedon, NY, area, please be sure to look at our listing in the OWWL.org catalog in the advanced search (limiting to Bullis Room). The Bullis collection of books is so wide and varied that there is sure to be something that would provide a wee bit of information.

War of 1812

2012-01-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we received notice of a Bicentennial Symposium on the War of 1812 in Oswego NY . And we started wondering what materials we might have in the Bullis Book Collection that were on that topic. To our surprise there were several. They will be on display in our Bullis display case. One of them includes the transcript of Major-General James Wilkinson's trial on charges of neglect of duty and unofficer-like conduct. He has included that in his 3 volume Memoirs of my own times. Another is Thomas Wilson's The Biography of American Military and Naval Heroes. In this little two volume set you will find the biography of the "Hero of Lake Erie", Captain Oliver Hazard Perry. Theodore Roosevelt has written two volumes titled The Naval War of 1812. Willis J. Abbot has a wonderful book titled The Naval History of the United States with 150 illustrations. The above photo is from that book. Lieut.-General Winfield Scott had a long military career which is written about in Mansfield's The Life and Military Services of Lieut.-General Winfield Scot. There's a great drawing of him tearing down the British flag at Fort George. In Lossing's A Centennial Edition of the History of the United States(1876) we have an engraving of Perry on Lake Erie. In another of Lossing's books, The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812 (1868), we find more info on Major-General James Wilkinson , lots of engravings, and good information. In another book, Mastery Units in American History (1936) by Maurice B. Rovner, we find a really concise explanation of the War of 1812. We also found that the student who owned this book had class on Monday morning and that "Washington said to stay out of all permanent alliances" (a pencil notation on the title page.) A tourism book by Silliman, A Gallop Among American Scenery (1881), takes us to the Battle of Lundy's Lane. It appears that General Scott was there.
So if you would care to visit these will all be on display, along with the invitation to the Symposium and "The War of 1812: A Bicentennial Resource List" by Preston Pierce, the Regional Archivist for the Rochester (NY) Regional Library Council.

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

2012-01-06T18:22:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we had some fun one afternoon looking at this sale bill we found among some documents that recently arrived in the Bullis Room. Especially interesting to us was the list of merchandise for auction and the little details such as terms of sale.

We were also interested to see that auctions (excluding those online) continue to be about the same today as they were way back in 1867.

Can we conclude, from this, that some things never change? (We'd like to think so.)

Hope you enjoy the photo of the sale bill. The real article is in the Bullis Room, if you'd like a closer look.

LOOKING BACK

2011-12-30T18:53:00.000-05:00

2011 was another busy year for us here in the Bullis Room. Repairing and restoring books, organizing, researching (and searching), displaying, presenting, traveling, monitoring, planning...and reading.

As we've noted before, reading is a "problem" for us volunteers. This room is filled with such interesting stuff that it's difficult to remain focused on a particular task. We walk in the room with a goal in mind, but when we see a stack of letters written by a Bullis family member lying on the shelf - or some interesting books strewn around on the table top - we stop to take a quick look, which sometimes stretches into hours. And we often leave with our original goal unattained.

So as we look back we remember all of the projects we planned but never completed (such as making a timeline of John Lapham Bullis's life and typing transcripts of some newly-obtained letters). That's the bad news, so to speak. The good news is we can have another go at all these projects in 2012.

Happy New Year!

SUBJECT: RELIGION

2011-12-14T16:01:00.000-05:00

Since several religions are celebrating special days this month, we searched the Bullis book data base for books on this subject. Here are five books that caught our eye as we scrolled through the list:

Rays of Light from All Lands; the bibles and beliefs of mankind. Scriptures, faiths, and systems of every age, race and nation, a complete story of all churches and communions;notable utterances by foremost representatives of all faiths. Editors: Rev. E. C. Towne, Rev. A. J. Canfield, and George J. Hagar, published c1895.

Ten Great Religions, by James Freeman Clarke, published c1871 and 1887.

The Light of the World; a brief comparative study of Christianity and non-Christian religions, by Robert E. Speer, published c1911.

Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Teachers, written by Elbert Hubbard (done into a printed book by Roycrofters at their Shop), published 1908.

Church and state in the United States; or, The American idea of religious liberty and its practical effects, with official documents, by Philip Schaff, published in 1888.

There are many more books on a variety of religions in the collection. If you're researching a specific topic or just reading for general information, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room.

PRESSED FLOWERS FROM THE HOLY LAND

2011-12-01T18:03:00.001-05:00

The complete title is PRESSED FLOWERS FROM THE HOLY LAND GATHERED AND PRESSED IN PALESTINE, and it was authored by Harvey B. Greene with an introduction by
Rev. Smith Baker, D.D.

We recently rediscovered this little book of pressed flowers tucked away on a shelf here in the Bullis Room and were amazed at the relatively good condition of the cover and the pressed flowers inside. You can see for yourself from these photos.

And here's a photo of a pressed Lily of the Valley, one of many scarlet flowers Mr. Greene found in the Holy Land.

The author also included pressed papyrus, in the shape of a cross, which is still in excellent condition in spite of its century-plus age.

And in case you are wondering if the author really did gather and press these plants in Palestine, the book includes this statement from the consulate:

"Consulate of the United States

Jerusalem, Palestine

February 12, 1898

I take great pleasure in stating that Mr. H. B. Greene has spent three springs, in gathering and pressing the flowers of Palestine, during which time he made with the assistance of native helpers, large collections of the wild flowers, and I feel sure that these flowers he now offers for sale really grew in the Christ Land."
(Signature)

Which leaves us with nothing more to say except that this little book is a real treasure.

SNIPE SHOOTING

2011-11-26T08:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we were rummaging through some items on a shelf and found a worn journal that contained pages of almost-illegible writing (due to nineteenth-century penmanship combined with natural fading). Some of the pages also contained newspaper clippings from sportsmen's publications, which caused us to again marvel at the Bullis family's dedication to recycling rather than repurchasing.

However, a clipping from FIELD SPORTS titled "Snipe Shooting" caused us to pause and take a second look. We couldn't find a date on the article, but two other clippings designated 1871, so we assumed that this article was about 140 years old, as well. Written by January Searle, it informed readers that "...the snipe is a very difficult bird to kill and if the young sportsman brings one down in twenty shots, he may think of himself no worse off than others...." At this point, we paused to wonder: Is this article "for real" or is it a tongue-in-cheek reference to that age-old practical joke called snipe hunting? We do not know the answer to this. Please let us hear from you, if you do.

NEW IN THE BULLIS ROOM

2011-11-19T15:57:00.000-05:00

This week we received some exciting stuff in the mail. One of our San Antonio connections sent us a copy of an article recently published about John Lapham Bullis's two wives. And, also enclosed were two commemorative medals that were awarded to participants in an Army combat medic competition at Camp Bullis. Both sides are shown below:

These medals are not only beautiful works of art and design - they are a fitting commemoration to John Lapham Bullis. Our thanks and appreciation go to our fellow volunteers in San Antonio for sharing these with us.

BULLIS ROOM TO-DO LIST

2011-11-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

Our to-do list is always lengthy, which is okay because it reassures us volunteers that we really are needed. For several months in a row, one item toward the top of our list was: "Get John Lapham Bullis San Antonio memorabilia framed." Well, we accomplished that and removed that item from our list.

NOW, one of our top to-dos is: "Hang framed ... " (you get the idea). We will accomplish this task in due time, also. For now, we've included a photo of it in this post, and if you'd like a clearer look, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room.

HONORING VETERANS

2011-11-05T14:39:00.000-04:00

This week our volunteers assembled books, pamphlets, posters, photos, and medals to include in a display case outside the Bullis Room. Here is one of the posters included:

(Lower caption reads: "Supplement to Engineering News Record, November 19, 1917."

As we worked on the display, we wondered about the history of this holiday, so we consulted Wikipedia's Veterans Day article and learned that November 11 "...is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world...." The article also reminded us that on November 11, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Armistice Day as a holiday. President Calvin Coolidge issued another proclamation in 1926 that called for November 11 to be observed with appropriate ceremonies, and in 1938 Congress proclaimed November 11 a legal holiday, "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'." Finally,

in 1953, an Emporia, Kansas shoe repair shop owner "had the idea to expand Armistice Day into 'All' Veterans Day...." With the help of U.S. Representative Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. "President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954. Congres amended the act on June 1, 1954, replacing 'Armistice" with 'Veterans,' and it has been known as Veterans Day since."

On this November 11 as you celebrate in your own way, whatever that might be, we suggest you also stop by the library and look at our display. The case's contents are only a small part of similar items in the collection. If you'd like to see more, please feel free to stop by.

AGAIN, REMEMBERING...

2011-10-28T07:45:00.000-04:00

...Jeannette Aurelia Bullis, who died 32 years ago this month. As in previous years, we quietly honor her memory.

We will again honor her on her next birthday, March 23, 2012, for we prefer to remember the beginning of her physical life and all that followed.

OLD LETTERS

2011-10-22T09:26:00.000-04:00

This week volunteers took a look at copies of envelopes that had carried letters from family, friends, and a former comrade-in arms to John Lapham Bullis. Even though these envelopes are over 150 years old, they are still mostly readable, and they bear the addressee's name, date posted, and date received.

There were several small details about these envelopes that caught our interest. First, all of the date stamps record only the month, day, city, and state - no year. (Wonder why the year wasn't included in the postal stamp, back then...hmmm...do any of you know?) Second, calculating the time between the date posted and date received, in 1868 it took approximately six weeks for a letter to travel from Macedon, New York to Brownsville, Texas. (This time frame is unimaginable to us today.)

We also looked at the contents of these envelopes. Most of the letters were several pages, thoughtfully written in neat longhand, the product of more than an hour's effort. (And quite a contrast to the quick text messages and emails we send today in less than a minute, with barely a thought at times.)

So...once again we concluded that we should enjoy, appreciate, and treasure all documents from the past, whatever their source and form. They have messages for us...we simply have to find them.

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS PRESENTATION

2011-10-16T09:10:00.002-04:00

Last Wednesday we had a good turnout when June Hamell shared information she brought back with her from San Antonio in May. The Q&A session following the presentation showed that attendees found it interesting and were left with wanting more information about this local hero. Future events are in the planning process, and we will keep you posted.

If you were unable to attend June's presentation and would like to see it, please contact her at MPL. We hope to repeat, and knowing who is interested will help us plan.

RECIPES FOR BLACKSMITHS

2011-10-07T10:40:00.000-04:00

Here's two recipes from Dr. Chase's book we talked about last week:

1. "POOR IRON, — To Improve. — Black oxide of manganese 1 part; copper and common salt 4 parts each; dissolve in soft water and boil until dry; when cool pulverize and mix quite freely with nice welding sand.

When you have poor iron which you cannot afford to throw away, heat it and roll it in this mixture, working for a time, re-heating, will soon free it from injury, which is the cause of its rottenness. By this process you can make good horse-nails, even out of only common iron. "

2. "Welding a Small Piece of Iron Upon a Large One, with Only a Light Heat. — It is often desirable

to weld a small bit of iron upon a large bar, when the large piece must be heated equally hot as the small one. To save this: Take borax 1 lb.; red oxide of iron 1 to 2 ozs.; melt them together in a crucible ; and when cold, pulverize it and keep that powder dry for use.

When you want to perform the operation, just bring the large piece to a white heat, having a good welding heat upon the small slip ; take the large one from the fire, and sprinkle some of the powder upon the place, and bring the Other upon it, applying the hammer smartly, and the weld will be as good as could be made with the greater heat without the powder. "

Do you have any favorite blacksmithing recipes you'd like to share with us? Please leave us a comment or stop by the Bullis Room.

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES, BLACKSMITHING, AND A BEAR

2011-09-30T12:59:00.004-04:00

A Bullis Room volunteer reads Dr. Chase's recipe for improving poor iron for use in blacksmithing.

Below is our November 27, 2009 post. This week we took another look at that entry after we attended a Friends of Macedon Public Library blacksmithing presentation on Wednesday by two members of the New York State Designer Blacksmiths. They gave us the fascinating history of blacksmithing and brought us up to date on the current status of this craft. Afterwards, they asked if the Bullis collection had any books on the subject. Dr. Chase's book soon came to mind, and we're looking for others. In the meantime, we're zeroing in on blacksmithing recipes in this little book in order to share them with anyone interested. We'll post some of them with you in next week. For now, perhaps you'd like to refresh your memory about this fun-to-read Bullis book.

"This little blue-covered book, which measures about 4 by 7 inches, is almost hidden by the thicker, taller medical tomes on the shelf. But it contains what must have been useful information in its day, proving that good things really do come in small packages.

Published in 1872 by R.A. Beal, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Dr. Chase's Recipes; or, Information for Everybody; An Invaluable Collection of About Eight Hundred Practical Recipes instructs merchants, grocers, saloon keepers, housekeepers, physicians, druggists, barbers, bakers, and farmers how to make apple pie, an ague cure, deer skin tanning solution, a chronic rheumatism cure, washing fluid (saving half the wash-board labor), a Good Samaritan liniment, and 794 more concoctions. (Whew!)

Our copy is the 73rd edition and states that 730,000 copies (at $1.25 each) had been sold at that time, leading the author to the conclude that a good many folk recognized the value of so much handy information packed into one volume. Today, we may find many of these recipes outdated, but they still make entertaining reading. We recommend you spend some time with Dr. Chase's little blue book."

MARGARET MITCHELL, MARK TWAIN...

2011-09-24T00:19:00.000-04:00

...are but two of an impressive list of famous authors who have had their books banned at some time, in various parts of the world and for various reasons.

Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell) and Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain) as well as Anna Sewell's Black Beauty, Charles Darwin's Origin of Species and Shakespear's The Merchant of Venice have at one time been forbidden reading. We can also add to the list the Holy Bible and the Quran. Copies of all these books are a part of this collection.

We invite you to stop by the display case outside the Bullis Room to see some of the Bullis books that were banned. Perhaps you'll go away with an enhanced appreciation of these books. (We did.)

BANNED BOOKS

2011-09-16T11:29:00.000-04:00

Does the Bullis Collection contain banned books? For some of us volunteers, our first answer to this questions was, "Surely not." But we were wrong.

There's an impressive number of banned books among the books on the shelves here in the Bullis Room. And some of them will be on display in the case outside the room.

So stop by and take a look. You might be surprised, like we were.

(We'll post some of the banned titles, next week.)

TWO AMAZING WOMEN

2011-09-10T09:28:00.000-04:00

This week we continued to read through the Bullis Room's copy of Sojourner Truth, and we couldn't help being reminded of another great woman who made an important impact on her society--Nettie Bullis.

Nettie Bullis made her impact in a quieter way, on a smaller scale, showing her contemporaries that it was possible for a women to succeed in what was then a man's world.

Sojourner Truth died ten years before Nettie Bullis was born, but although they were women of different centuries, they shared a cause--women's rights--and each in her way was truly amazing.

If you'd like to know more about either of these women, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room.

LABOR DAY(S)

2011-09-02T17:46:00.000-04:00

In 1894, the year after Nettie Bullis was born, Labor Day was designated a federal holiday and observed with street parades honoring labor organizations and festivals for workers and their families. From what we know of the Bullis family, we wonder if they would have taken part in these festivities. Perhaps they did. Or, perhaps they stayed home and read some of their books on the subject. Here are a few they had to choose from.

1) An Introduction to the Study of Organized Labor in America by George Gorham Groat, published in 1920.

2) Rural Letters and Other Records of Thought at Leisure, Written in the Intervals of More Hurried Literary Labor by Nathaniel Parker Willis, published in 1849.

3) Narrative of Sojourner Truth: a bondswoman of olden time, emancipated by the New York Legislature in the early part of the present century. With a history of her labors and correspondence drawn from her "Book of Life" by Sojourner Truth, published in 1875.

Our choice of reading is the last book listed. In next week's post we'll share some fascinating things about this book and its remarkable author.

(Just an aside - when we searched the Bullis Books data base for "labor," one of the results was David Copperfield, which of course is another wonderful read...but perhaps not for a "day off.")

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS PRESENTATION

2011-08-26T19:42:00.000-04:00

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS

A presentation by June Hamell, Town of Macedon Historian and conservator of the Bullis Room at the Macedon Public Library

Wednesday, October 12, 6:30 p.m.

Community Room, Macedon Public Library

Mrs. Hamell’s presentation will cover her recent visit to the historic Fort Sam Houston Museum in San Antonio to view a retrospective exhibit honoring Brigadier General John Lapham Bullis. In addition, she will include some information about the history of San Antonio, the early Canary Islander settlers, the Missions, ranches, and cattle drives to New Orleans to help feed Civil War troops.

This presentation will be co-hosted by the Macedon Historical Society, Bullis Committee,

and the Friends of the Macedon Public Library.

ROMANCE AND HISTORY

2011-08-19T16:12:00.000-04:00

These last few weeks in the Bullis room, we've worked with books in two genres--romance and history. There's one book in this collection that ties these subjects together...Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell.

The Bullis copy is currently in the display case outside the room. One glance will tell you it's not a quick read. With 1,037 pages, it may be a book to put on your winter reading list.

If you do read (or reread) Gone With the Wind, we suggest you think about men like John Lapham Bullis who enlisted in the 126th New York Volunteer Infantry at 21 years of age and was quickly plunged into the middle of that heartbreaking war. He was injured and captured in the Battle of Harper's Ferry in September, 1862, barely a month after he enlisted. And although he rejoined his regiment after exchange, he was again wounded and captured at the battle of Gettysburg, and spent the following ten months confined to Libby Prison in Virginia.

John Lapham Bullis's wartime experiences can add perspective to both fiction and nonfiction accounts of the Civil War by giving us a personal connection. And perhaps when we better understand our history, we can in turn have a greater understanding of current events and situations. We can always hope so.

ROMANCE IN THE BULLIS ROOM

2011-08-11T15:33:00.001-04:00

The morning air is getting "crisp," but there's still time for some good summer reading. These last three months we've recommended to you books on Revolutionary and Civil War history. We think it's time for a change, so--are you ready for this?--how about reading a romance?

The display case outside the Bullis Room is full of romance books from the collection. We're going to list a few of them here, but we hope you can stop by in the next few weeks and look over the whole group. In the interim, we suggest you consider reading one of the following:

When Knighthood Was In Flower..., by Edwin Caskoden (Charles Major), published in 1898.

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, by John Fox, Jr., published in 1908.

Lalla Rookh, An Oriental Romance, by Thomas Moore, published in 1856.

Rose Mather, by Mary J. Holmes (who lived 40 miles west of Macedon, from 1852 until her death in 1907).

The Mine With the Iron Door, by Harold Bell Wright, published 1923.

The Iron Trail: An Alaskan Romance, by Rex Beach, published in 1913.

Enjoy!

SCHUYLER COLFAX

2011-08-04T11:19:00.000-04:00

Here are the answers to the questions we posted pertaining to Schuyler Colfax:

First question: Why is there a sketch of Schuyler Colfax included in the Bullis Collection book, A Person History of Ulysses S. Grant: with a portrait and sketch of Schuyler Colfax by Albert D. Richardson (published in 1868). Perhaps because he served as a long-term member of Congress and was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. In the ending pages of his book, Richardson heaped great praise on Colfax with these words:

"He is now in his third term as Speaker. No abler presiding officer ever sat in the chair of the House....Despite the bitterness of our recent contests, opposition members usually join unanimously at the close of a session in voting him thanks for his invariable impartiality." (page 559)

Second question: Who was Schuyler Colfax? In addition to being a member of Congress, he was also the 17th vice president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1873 under President Ulysses S. Grant. Again quoting from Richardson's sketch:

"In May, 1868, a national republican convention at Chicago unanimously nominated him for the second place on the ticket with Grant...It was the greatest personal triumph ever achieved in such a body." (pages 559-560)

And yet with this admirable background, Schuyler Colfax was not chosen as President Grant's second-term vice president. Various historical sources indicate that Colfax left office under a cloud, involving the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad. A sad ending to what now appears to have been a successful career in public service.

You can read the entire sketch when you stop by the Bullis Room.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

2011-07-28T14:15:00.000-04:00

Two items grabbed our attention this week when we looked over one of those "this week in history" lists:

1. On July 27, 1866: "Cyrus W. Field finished laying out the first successful underwater telegraph cable between North American and Europe (a previous cable in 1858 burned out after only a few weeks' use)."

and

2. On July 25, 1866: "Ulysses S. Grant was named General of the Army of the United States."

We searched the Bullis archives for information on both these subjects and came up with nothing on the first (but we're still looking!) and lots of stuff on the second.

Here's what we found when we did a search on General Grant. There are six books on the subject in the collection. All of them are worth our time to at least scan through, and some of them warrant a serious read. Here's a list and we offer it to you for your reference and consideration for further reading:

Military History of Ulysses S. Grant: from April, 1861 to April, 1865, by Adam Badeau, published by D. Appleton in 1881.

The Travels of General Grant, by Joel Tyler Headley, published by New World Publishing, in 1881.

A New, Original and Authentic Record of the Life and Deeds of General Ulysses S. Grant, by Frank A. Burr, published by H. B. Graves in 1885.

The Life of Ulysses S. Grant: General of the Armies of the United States, by James Harrison Wilson, published by Gurdon Bill & Co., in 1868.

Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, by Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson) Grant, published by C. O. Webster & Co. in 1885-86.

A Personal History of Ulysses S. Grant: with a portrait and sketch of Schuyler Colfax, by Albert D. Richardson, published by American Publishing Co. in 1868.

You'll find maps, facsimilies, prints, and illustrations in these books. And a lot of good reading. Enjoy.

(P.S. Why is there a sketch of Schuyler Colfax included in the last book listed above? Who was he?)

LIFE IN DIXIE

2011-07-22T13:41:00.004-04:00

Last week we posted a list of Bullis books that cover the Civil War. This week we took a closer look at one of them...Life In Dixie During the War, 1861-1862-1873-1864-1865 by Mary A. H. Gay, published in 1894. This book is now at the top of our blogger's non-fiction reading list.

According to one source, Mary Gay lived most of her life in Decatur, Georgia. She wrote a number of books, but Life in Dixie is the most famous and one that deserves to be read (or re-read) during this 150-year anniversary of the Civil War. The eyewitness accounts from a woman's point of view are unique as well as fascinating.

According to several sources (including Google eBook), Life in Dixie "...gave Martha Mitchell the idea for Gone with the Wind." Continuing to quote Google eBook, the book has "...terrific insights into the life and perspective of southern whites during the war, the character and deeds of union soldiers."

For this reason (and many others) we strongly recommend this book for your summer or wintertime reading. Either online...or here in the Bullis Room.

LEGENDS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

2011-07-07T17:05:00.005-04:00

This week, our heads swimming with facts and dates of Bullis history, we decided to take a break from that research and spend some more time with the books in this collection. And since it's been 236 years this week since General George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts, we focused on him.

Many books have been written about General Washington and the Revolutionary War. (A search of one online seller produced 4,447 results of books on that subject.) However, we think we found a unique volume on the Bullis Room shelves, one that we'd overlooked in the past.

Titled Washington and his generals, or Legends of the American revolution, the book was written by George Lippard and published about 1847. A series of historical pictures make up the contents of the book. Some of the chapter titles are:

Retreat - Washington's Agony

The Legend of General Agnew

Valley Forge

Andre the Spy

Nathan Hale

Anthony Wayne at Brandywine

Romance of the Revolution

The soldier Returning Home

The Memory of Alice

An Old Mansion in the Dark Dell

The Last Kiss

The Declaration: its source; its action upon mankind

The Message of the Bell to the World

We think you'll find a lot of good reading in this book. And you can access it online...and then stop by the Bullis Room to see the real thing.

THE REST OF THE STORY

2011-07-02T21:39:00.001-04:00

Over the last year or so, we've read excerpts of letters written by various members of the Bullis family that are interesting...and informative...up to a point. We have a growing feeling that there is a "rest of the story" that we need to know in order to complete our picture of this family.

If anyone has documents and/or original letters (or notes, stories, poems) written by any of the Bullises, we would greatly appreciate your sharing them with us. There are many, many gaps in the family history that we would like to fill in. And without the complete documents, completion of the task is impossible.

Likewise, if there is any information you are in search of regarding any of the Bullises, just let us know through this blog. We'll certainly be glad to do what we can to help you get the of "rest of the story" that you need, as well.

BULLIS FAMILY SCHOLARSHIPS

2011-06-25T12:45:00.000-04:00

Each year at graduation time, Bullis scholarships awarded at local high schools remind us of the generosity of Nettie Bullis and her family.

A Bullis Room volunteer recently presented two scholarships to Gananda graduating seniors: The Abram R. Bullis Mathematical Scholarship and the Nettie Bullis Business Scholarship. And this coming year 141 graduates of Palmyra-Macedon High School will benefit from The Bullis Family Scholarship. The latter scholarship is renewable each spring and varies in amounts, depending on endowment earnings.

All of the Bullises valued education. Some were formally educated, others self-educated, but their books which make up the Bullis Collection is proof of the fact that they never stopped learning.

We too can continue to learn, and today we have so many more opportunities through the electronic media as well as printed books. Let's take advantage of these resources and, like the Bullises, never stop learning.

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS AT STILWELL HOUSE

2011-06-18T13:55:00.001-04:00

This week, we looked over the catalog of items in the John Lapham Bullis San Antonio exhibition, May 25-30, 2011. Here's a partial list of those exhibits.

From the Collections of the Fort Sam Houston Museum, items that belonged to General Bullis:
- Roll top desk, oak, made by Standard Furniture Company, Herkimer, New York, ca 1900
- Hammond Typewriter, Model 12, New York ca 1905
- Chest, Records, Olive Drab, Wood, ca 1890s. "Standard Adjutant General wooden records chest used by Paymaster Bullis in Cuba and the Philippines 1901-1902."

Other items from the collections of the Fort Sam Houston Museum:
- Oil portrait of General Bullis by S. Salomon, 1913 (shown in last week's posting)
- Chevrons, Infantry Sergeant, Pattern of 1872

From the White Museum:
- Gold Presentation Sword and Scabbard, made by Bent & Bush, Boston, 1881 "Presented by the people of Western Texas, for protecting their homes."
- Silver Presentation Sword and Scabbard, made by Gaylord Manufacturing Company, Chicopee, MA, 1881. "Presented by the people of Kinney County, Texas as a token of their undying gratitude."
- Saddle, Pattern of 1885 McClellan, Cavalry, ca 1890. "Bullis would have used this saddle while serving as a Captain until his retirement."

Those of you interested in Bullis family history will want to include a stop in San Antonio in future travel plans. You won't be disappointed.

2011-06-09T13:15:00.001-04:00

So who is this man? A remarkable man, born in Macedon, raised in Farmington, served in the 126th Company H at the beginning of the Civil War, served as Captain over black troops at the end of the war and during Reconstruction, started a business of cutting wood for the steam boats on the Mississippi, went back to the military and led the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts for many years, became an Indian agent, served as Paymaster at Fort Sam Houston, served in both the Philippines and Cuba during the Spanish American War, and retired a Brigadier General.
I have just returned from Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The Fort Sam Houston Historical Society hosted this display of memorabilia from General Bullis' life. We contributed letters that he sent to his Aunt Emma, photos of his family and home, etc., to the display. So much history and so little time to learn it!!!

NATURAL DISASTERS OF THE PAST

2011-06-04T20:47:00.000-04:00

When we were looking through the shelves this past week, this title caught our attention (because of recent natural disasters around the world):

ITALY'S GREAT HORROR OF EARTHQUAKE AND TIDAL WAVE

compiled by Jay Henry Mowbray

(1909, publisher unnamed)

Forty-eight pages of plates as well as numerous illustrations enhance the description of the events that resulted in "immense loss of life" and left Messina and other beautiful cities in Southern Italy and Sicily in heaps of ruins on December 28, 1908.

Volunteers found that reading this book was a sobering experience, but one that served to remind us of our need to be prepared for whatever nature brings to us. We invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and find out more about this "unparalleled catastrophe" of a hundred years ago.

REMEMBERING...

2011-05-26T14:43:00.000-04:00

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS

"Johnnie"

on the

100th anniversary

of his death

May 26, 1911

TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.R. 1007

2011-05-23T07:28:00.002-04:00

"RESOLUTION

"WHEREAS, May 26, 2011, marks the centennial of the death of United States Army Brigadier General John Lapham Bullis, commander of the famed Black Seminole Scouts and a hero of the Texas frontier; and

"WHEREAS, Born in Macedon, New York, in 1841, John Bullis enlisted in the 126th New York Volunteer Infantry in 1862 and was wounded and captured twice during the Civil War, in the battles of Harpers Ferry and Gettysburg; following 10 months in the notorious Libby Prison, he was released in an exchange of combatants and was commissioned as a captain in the 118th Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops, a volunteer regiment composed entirely of African American enlisted men and white officers; and

"WHEREAS, General Bullis briefly ran a business on the Mississippi River after the war and was commissioned in the Regular Army as a second lieutenant in 1867; although many other white officers scorned African American regiments, he served with the 41st Infantry and then requested a transfer to the new 24th Infantry, a consolidation of three Colored Infantry regiments; he was stationed at Fort Clark in the borderlands, where property raids and attacks on settlers were a regular occurrence, and assumed command of the remarkable group of scouts, skillful trackers descended from escaped slaves who had intermarried with members of the Seminole tribe and eventually settled in the Santa Rosa Mountains of northern Mexico; and

"WHEREAS, Resolute and resourceful, General Bullis earned the nickname 'the Whirlwind,' leading the Black Seminole Scouts during the Red River War and on numerous missions to track raiders from the Comanche and Apache tribes; in one celebrated battle, he and three scouts took on more than two dozen Lipan Apaches before they ran low on ammunition and were forced to retreat; General Bullis's horse was lost, but his comrades returned for him under fire and he was able to leap up behind his sergeant and escape on his steed; the scouts were awarded Congressional Medals of Honor; and

"WHEREAS, The stoicism, valor, and fairness General Bullis demonstrated won the complete loyalty of his men; he lived off the land and suffered severe privations alongside them, and they gladly followed him even on a pursuit all the way to New Mexico Territory, which kept them in the saddle for 80 days and more than 1,200 miles; over the course of 8 years, he led his scouts in 26 battles, yet not one was killed or seriously injured; he received brevet citations for his gallant service, as well as recognition from the Texas Legislature, and the people of West Texas and residents of Kinney County showed their gratitude by presenting him with engraved swords; and..."

"WHEREAS, Once the area had become comparatively calm, General Bullis was transferred to Indian Territory, and he was later appointed the paymaster of Fort Sam Houston, with the rank of major; he served in Cuba during the Spanish-American War and in the Philippines during the Philippine Insurrection; the day before his retirement in 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt promoted him to brigadier general in recognition of his outstanding achievements; and

"WHEREAS, John Bullis settled in San Antonio and established himself as a successful businessman, investing in real estate and the Shafter silver mines, and he helped to promote the settlement of West Texas; in addition, he remained a stalwart advocate for the Black Seminole Scouts, trying in vain to obtain for them the military benefits and land grants that the federal government had promised; he died in San Antonio on May 26, 1911, and is buried in the San Antonio National Cemetery; a military camp just north of San Antonio was named Camp Bullis in his honor in 1917; and

"WHEREAS, An extraordinary figure in the history of the Lone Star State, Brigadier General John Bullis fought bravely to secure the frontier, and he set an inspiring example of integrity and dedication; it is indeed fitting to commemorate the centennial of his passing; now, therefore, be it

"RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby recognize May 26, 2011, as Brigadier General John L. Bullis Day and encourage all Texans to learn more about his life and service to the Lone Star State; and, be it further

"RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared for the Shafter Silver Mine John L. Bullis Library at the STAR DAY Foundation, for the Fort Sam Houston Museum, and for the New York Macedon Public Library Bullis Collection as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives."

Signature: Joe Straus, Speaker of the House

"I certify that H.R. NO. 1007 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on April 7, 2011."
Signature: Robert Haney, Chief Clerk of the House

(Seal) Signature line: Ruth Jones McClendon, State Representative, District 120

MORE HONORS FOR JLB

2011-05-15T08:28:00.000-04:00

On April 7, 2011 the State of Texas House of Representatives issued a resolution honoring John Lapham Bullis. This recognition resulted from his military accomplishments as well as the part he played in promoting the settlement of West Texas and his advocacy for the Black Seminole Scouts. We'll post some of this document in the next two weeks, as our way of again recognizing this Bullis family member's contribution to his country.

A second honor for John Lapham Bullis is in the form of an exhibit at Fort Sam Houston Museum in San Antonio the last of this month. A member of our committee will be attending this event. Again, we'll keep you posted.

BIRDS THAT EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW: THE EAST

2011-05-06T16:27:00.000-04:00

Neltje Blanchan published her book through Doubleday, Page & Co. in 1907. Its sixty-three pages are filled with flowing text and photographs of birds in their natural habitat.

Descriptions and photos of robins, bluebirds, chickadees, nuthatches, kinglets, wrens, warblers, sparrows, swallows, and more are included.

Those of us who have enjoyed this book from the collection have one suggestion. Don't let the title mislead you. This book could easily be called Birds that Everyone Should Know. We invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and take a look.

WHAT MAY BE LEARNED FROM A TREE

2011-04-29T08:58:00.000-04:00

Since today is Arbor Day, we scrolled through the collection's data base for books on trees, and stopped when we saw the entry "What May Be Learned From a Tree." Wow, what a neat book! The author, Harland Coultas, copyrighted the book in 1855 and it went into several printings. The Bullis copy was published in 1860 by D. Appleton.

Mr. Coultas began his book with the history of trees and followed up with discussions of tree anatomy, physiology, growth, community, and death. Interweaved throughout is the author's purpose "...to show that the tree may be regarded as a vast community of phytons, or plants, which co-operate in its construction and are mutually dependent on and subservient to each other." (Introduction, page 11)

He concludes his introduction with, "Reader, whoever you are, may this book prove to you a friend, may you be induced by its pages to look on the Tree with a new interest; and obtaining from its noble form a clear and truthful view of your own position and duty in life, become, by the perusal of this volume, a wiser man and a better citizen." (Introduction, page 12)

Many trees are visible through the Bullis Room window. Some were here long before us and will be here long after we are gone, making their contributions (individually and collectively) to our planet. Let's do what we can to help them live out their purpose.

Note: You can read Mr. Coulas's book online, or here in the Bullis Room.

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER MONTH

2011-04-23T08:49:00.000-04:00

April is National Volunteer Month.

Last week was National Volunteer Week.

Every day is Volunteer Day.

This is certainly true of Bullis Room volunteers. Some days they work in the Bullis Room, researching, organizing, planning. Other days they work at home, updating worksheets or brainstorming ways to promote the collection in the community.

We say a sincere "thank you" to our own volunteers--and to those everywhere who make a tremendous contribution to our society.

AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING

2011-04-15T20:54:00.000-04:00

John Lapham Bullis's letter to "Mrs. Dr. A. R. Bullis" on February 19, 1865 was written "On the Field, with the 118th Col. Inf." He wrote that he had lately joined the regiment with his detachment from
Dutch Gap to prepare for the spring campaign and added that he was busy building quarters "in camp to right of Fort Brady. Previous to Dutch Gap quite a stirring up by Rebel Fleet in our midst. Reb. gunboat Drury blew up."

The end of his Civil War experience brought to John Lapham Bullis the beginning of a new career on the Frontier. In his May 25, 1865 letter home from Camp Lincoln, Virginia, he wrote that he was expecting to move south soon to Texas. What followed was a military career that distinguished him as a brilliant leader and earned him the rank of Brigadier General (although he would continue to be known as "Johnnie" to the folks back in Macedon.)

JLB: CIVIL WAR EYEWITNESS

2011-04-08T09:01:00.000-04:00

Through eyewitness accounts in his letters, we can follow John Lapham Bullis’s Civil War experiences as a young recruit who quickly became a seasoned soldier. He was the latter when he wrote from Annapolis, Maryland on July 2, 1864:

“Waiting transp. to Army Potomac. Year ago at Gettysburg, warm, and we were taking a doublequick for a Barn that was changing hands often on that memorable time.”

Three months later, September 19, 1864, he wrote “on the Ohio River Steamboat Grey Eagle on Ohio bound for Louisville. Soldiers have Measles.”

His November 20, 1864 letter came from “Hqs. Co. A. 118^th Inf. near Richmond, Va,” and he relayed that he had come from Kentucky and had now been in about 14 states.

From Macedon to Harpers Ferry to Gettysburg and Libby Prison. Then on to Annapolis, Philadelphia, Louisville, Richmond, crossing “about 14 states” within two years. How much more he could have told us of those times. However, we are grateful for this limited glimpse into a Civil War soldier's personal observations and thoughts.

Next week we'll post excerpts from his last two Civil War letters that are in our archives.

AUDELS MASONS AND BUILDERS GUIDE

2011-03-30T16:30:00.004-04:00

Our January 8 and January 15, 2009 postings focused on a set of books in the Bullis collection, Audels Carpenters and Builder Guide, published by Theo. Audel Co. , copyrighted in 1929, 1933, 1945, and reprinted in 1948. Now two years later another set of books with Audels in the title “showed up” on the Bullis Room’s round table, and volunteers immediately began poring over their pages.

The motto, “By Hammer and Hand All Things Do Stand,” heads up each title page of this four-volume set. The complete title is: Audels Masons and Builders Guide, A Practical Illustrated Trade Assistant on Modern Construction for Bricklayers-Stone Masons-Cement Workers-Plasterers and Tile Setters...” written by Frank D. Graham-Chief and Thomas J. Emery-Associate. This set was copyrighted in 1924 and 1945 by Theo Audel & Co., New York.

The books are subtitled:

1 – Brick Work: Brick Laying, Bonding, Designs

2 – Brick Foundations: Arches, Tile, Setting, Estimating

3 – Concrete: Mixing, Placing Forms, Reinforced, Stucco

4 – Plastering, Stone Masonry, Steel Construction, Blue Prints

Book 1’s first chapter gives an interesting history of the art of brick making, pointing out that sun dried or adobe brick “were used thousands of years before the earliest recorded date of history, as given on a brick tablet of the time of Sargon of Akkad, 3,800 B.C., founder of the Chaldean empire.” This account also notes that “The Great Wall of China was constructed partly of brick, both burnt and unburnt.” We also found these facts interesting:

“In England, the great fire of 1666 transformed London from a wooden to a brick town and gave a great spur to the brick industry.”

and,

”The first brick buildings in America were erected on Manhattan Island in the year 1633.... The bricks for these buildings were made in Holland....For many years brick were imported into America from Holland and also from England.”

Stop by and look through either or both Audels sets. It will be worth your time.

IN MEMORY

2011-03-23T23:31:00.001-04:00

JEANNETTE AURELIA BULLIS

Born March 23, 1893

EXAMS, FEARS, HARDTACK, AND FAMILY

2011-03-19T17:00:00.000-04:00

John Lapham Bullis covered a variety of topics and feelings in his letter from Annapolis, Maryland, written during the third year of the Civil War, on June 27, 1864.

1. He wrote that he had passed his exams in Washington and that he expected to start soon for the Regiment.

2. Then he shared that he was "fearful another year will make great changes if the great Rebellion is not closed," and added a comment about "times to try men's hearts."

3. He also commented that at least there was plenty of hardtack.

And

4. He ended his letter with thoughts of his family: "Glad to hear Abram and Lydia doing well at school."

A typical letter home from a person in the midst of war? Perhaps. He told his family his current news, his fears for the future, what he was thankful for, and then turned his thoughts to the readers, those waiting for him at home. We can only wonder what was left unsaid about the horrors of war.

FROM "JOHNNIE"

2011-03-19T16:59:00.000-04:00

John Lapham Bullis's family must have spent many anxious hours thinking of his safety--and his whereabouts--during the Civil War. The arrival of each letter was proof that at the time of writing he was well enough to put pencil to paper, and these communications must have been received with great joy and relief.

His second letter home from Annapolis, Maryland was written while he was "Waiting transp. to Army Potomac." In that July 2, 1864 letter he reminisces, "Year ago at Gettysburg, warm, and we were taking a doublequick for a Barn that was changing hands often on that memorable time." Then on September 19, 1864, he was "On the Ohio River Steamboat Grey Eagle on Ohio bound for Louisville. Soldiers have Measles." There is also a comment that he himself is "measle proof."

Between November 5, 1863 and November 20, 1864, Bullis wrote nine letters home, almost one a month, keeping in touch with those he loved and cared for. And he signed all of these letters "Johnnie." Today, as we admire him for his military greatness, let's remember that first he was a loving son and brother.

MORE LETTERS HOME

2011-03-04T15:39:00.000-05:00

This past week we focused on two more excerpts from John Lapham Bullis's letters home. The first, written from Annapolis on his 23rd birthday (April 17, 1864), talks about a visit from "Lieut Gen's Burnside and Grant." Bullis was impressed with Burnside, writing that he was "a noble looking man with a high forehead in fact a model man in my opinion." Bullis also mentioned that he was reading Victor Hugo's sketches of Napoleon and that "I have never before taken so much interest in History." (This led us to wonder how much these contemporary military geniuses and those from history affected Bullis's own career.)

The second excerpt was from a letter written from Philadephia on May 8, 1864, in which he states: "Seated in a pleasant Room on Chestnut St. quite a change from a Tent quite a number of soldiers are here from various parts of the Theatre of War preparing for an examination. 30 days furlow then to Washington. The newsboys keep the air resounding with their music although it is the Sabbath. However I am keeping a Rebel from fighting now I suppose although I am doing nothing and the Rebel the same rather Quaker warfare I think." He then follows this with the comment: "Our exchange was effected just previous to the Fort Pillow massacre." (We're researching the Fort Pillow battle and will have more on it in a few weeks.)

So what do these excerpts of 23-year-old John Lapham Bullis's letters home tell us? Their regularity indicates that he often thought of his Macedon home and his family, and the lack of direct references to his discomforts and hardships show that he wanted to reassure his family of his wellbeing. A third thing these particular excerpts reveal to us is his focus on his spiritual life.

In the May 8, 1864 letter, Bullis wrote: "Mother you mentioned in your letter as to my spiritual welfare for my part I cannot say that I Lose sight, far from it, however I try to lead a sort of moral life." He followed that comment with, "One principal in particular I admire that is to do as I would be done by but we all stray far from the right paths in the Army as the temptations are great."

We'll continue looking through the excerpts from Bullis's letters and post more next week. In the interim, we'd like to hear your comments and questions (online or in person).

LETTERS HOME

2011-02-27T06:51:00.003-05:00

This past week or so volunteers have been focusing on excerpts from letters John Lapham Bullis wrote to "his Mother, Mrs. Dr. A. R. Bullis" during the Civil War.

Some of these letters were written from Annapolis Maryland in November and December, 1863, about 16 months after he had enlisted as a corporal in the New York voluntary Infantry. In them he expresses his wish that the war was over and assures his mother that he's content to be "as far as possible from Richmond." He also states, "...I think if they get hold of me again I can do some tall running toward the land of plenty," evidently referring to his capture and the subsequent 10 months when he was confined to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia.

Reading these letters 150 years later, we are in awe of men like John Lapham Bullis who survived this conflict that set countryman versus countryman. Why did they participate in this conflict? Dedication and bravery are two possible answers. We'll keep looking for more.

BLACK HISTORY

2011-02-16T14:19:00.000-05:00

While searching the Bullis data base for books on the Civil War, we found a book that contains a wealth of information for those of you who are interested in Black history. And the bonus is that you can access the book on line and then stop by the Bullis Room for a closer look at the copy we have here on the shelves.

History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880 was authored by George Washington Williams, son of a former slave. It was published in 1883 by G. P. Putnam's Sons and gives an account of "negroes as slaves, as soldiers, and as citizens; together with a preliminary consideration of the unity of the human family, an historical sketch of Africa, and an account of the Negro governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia."

This is a comprehensive report on a 250-year span of our history. We highly recommend you adding it to you reading list.

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

2011-02-06T19:19:00.000-05:00

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the war between the states, and we volunteers will be devoting a good chunk of time looking at books in the collection that cover this subject.

We'll also review John Lapham Bullis's papers that pertain to his experiences in the Civil War, and we'll post accounts of some of his experiences as well as his personal reactions.

So if you're researching this war, be sure to check this blog regularly for book lists and accounts of a young soldier's experience in this conflict between the states.

BOOKS ABOUT HOUSES

2011-01-28T08:59:00.000-05:00

The Bullis Room contains several books about houses and house construction. A recent visitor called our attention to one of these: Architecture of Country Houses, including Designs for Cottages, Farm Houses and Villas, by A. J Downing (copyright 1850, published by D. Appleton & Co., NY and Philadelphia).

What a neat book! (We're forever grateful to this visitor.) It delivers what the title says: plans for various types of houses that could be ordered in a kit, ready to assemble. The drawings are extraordinary; the descriptions and instructions, an interesting read.

This is another book in the collection that can be accessed online. (Try books.google.com) Viewing the book this way gives fast, convenient, at-your-leisure access--which we all like in this fast-moving world of ours.

Viewing the book in the Bullis Room gives a period ambience, non-glare reading, and volunteers ready to help in any way. Please stop by sometime.

MORE ONLINE BOOKS

2011-01-21T06:17:00.000-05:00

Here are titles of more books in the Bullis collection that are online for your reading at any time.

Beneath the Tropic Seas, by William Beebe

Book of woodcraft and Indian lore..., by Ernest T. Seton

Fair God or the last of the 'tzins, by Lew Wallace

Japan, an attempt at interpretation, Lefcadio Hearn

The Travels of General Grant, Hon. J. T. Headley

And they are also here in the Bullis Room for your reference use, by appointment. Just call 315-986-5932, Ext. 3 or inquire at the front desk the next time you're in MPL.

ONLINE READING

2011-01-13T13:15:00.002-05:00

This is another busy week for Bullis volunteers. We're setting goals and objectives for the year, and we're thinking about how we can more effectively reach out to the community and beyond. Therefore, we are switching our focus for a while from the Bullis extended families of a century or more ago to families currently in our local- and world-wide community, searching for ways to encourage more utilization of the Bullis books.

Word on the streets is that 50% of the US population will use a smartphone by this time next year. That, combined with increased reading online via other wireless reading devices and desktop computers, suggests that we need to reach out more to that segment of our population.

Therefore...we are listing a few of the books in this collection that are available online for reading, with the idea that if someone experiences a book through that medium, they may want to see the real thing.

Here's this week's list. We'll list more next week. And please remember if you want to see the actual book, stop by the Bullis Room.

The Cruise of the Snark, Jack London

Allan Quartermain, Sir H. Rider Haggard,

The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling, 1908

Madam Bovary, Flaubert Gustave

Women of the War: Heroism and self sacrifice, Frank Moore, 1866

THE BREESE FAMILY IN MACEDON

2011-01-09T18:50:00.000-05:00

The Bullis family was connected to Macedon’s Breese family through Nettie and Charlie’s mother, Josephine Breese Bullis, who was born in 1861.

To date, we have found only scant information about this family. Again, we consulted the Pioneers of Macedon, and on page 34 found a reference to an Anthony Breese who purchased property and later built a brick house on that site. From the text preceding this information, we infer that this was in the early 1800s. Then on page 49 of this same book, it states that an Arthur Breese was an early purchaser of land in Macedon in the time frame of the late 1700s to very early 1800s. One more Breese reference appears on page 173 of the Pioneers of Macedon, noting that Henry J. Breese served as Macedon supervisor from 1888-89. Therefore, it appears to us that this family was established and respected in the community.

We would greatly appreciate any information you could share with us about the Breese family and how Josephine Breese and Abraham Bullis met and joined these two families.

WILLIAM PORTER

2010-12-30T09:51:00.000-05:00

Again, we’re quoting Pioneers of Macedon, from pages 32 and 33, as we continue to read about William Porter.

“He married Lydia Claghorn of Williamsburg, Mass., who was born in 1780, and came to the township in 1796 with her aunt, Mrs. David Warner, who was formerly Mrs. David White.... In the winter of 1796 they went to Massachusetts with horses and sleigh and Lydia returned with them to their home... In just one year from that time Lydia Claghorn became Mrs. William Porter. The were married and went at once to live in the house which he had built, and she used often to speak of the town as being full of young men who had come on to take up farms.“

The Pioneers of Macedon continues with this account: “In early times money was not to be had, and in winter William Porter would pile in as many bags of wheat as his horses could draw for a load and drive with it to Albany and sell it for cash, and returning, he would bring back groceries for Joseph Colt and George Beckwith, which would about pay expenses. He built the tavern house and moved into it in 1811. He died in March of 1819 and his wife continued the business until 1835, and after that date the building was used for a dwelling house. The first town meeting of Macedon was held in this house February 11, 1823. Mrs. Porter remained on the farm until 1844. Her death occurred in 1867 at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Salome Lapham of Macedon....”

Why are we focusing the Porter family? Because this branch of the family is connected to the Laphams who in turn are related to the Bullises, and in our search for our Bullis timeline, we are looking at their extended families.

Also, we find it interesting that the independence, resourcefulness, and work ethic displayed by Mr. Porter are traits that consistently showed up in each generation of the Bullis family.

LAPHAM-PORTER FAMILIES

2010-12-18T08:13:00.000-05:00

In 1837, when the Charles H. Bullis family arrived in Macedon, the Laphams had called this area home for almost 50 years. Thus when Charles and Eleanor Bullis’s son Abraham married Lydia Porter Lapham, he married into a well-established family. Perhaps two established families, for Lydia’s middle name (Porter) indicates that she was a member of another long-term Macedon family.

According to Pioneers of Macedon (p. 32, 33), “William Porter came from Cunningham (Massachuettts) in 1793. It is supposed that he came on horseback. He located on what has since been known as the ‘Porter farm,’ which extended from the four corners to Delano’s Lane. He married Lydia Claghorn of Williamsburg, Mass., who was born in 1780, and came to the township in 1796 with her aunt, Mrs. David Warner, who was formerly Mrs. David White.”

We’ve been unable to determine if the Lydia Porter Lapham was a descendant of William Porter and Lydia Claghorn Porter. However, one of their daughter’s (Salome) married John Lapham and it is possible that Lydia Porter was their child. (We’ll continue to research that.)

Whether William Porter was actually connected to the Bullises, his life in Macedon makes for a great story. And we’ll share some of it with you next week.

BULLIS-LAPHAM FAMILIES

2010-12-11T08:15:00.004-05:00

The Bullis family connected with the Lapham family when Lydia Porter Lapham married Abraham Bullis and gave her maiden name to their first child, John Lapham Bullis, who was born in 1841.

According to Pioneers of Macedon (The Mail Printing House (compiled by Mary Louise Eldredge, Fairport, New York, 1912, pp. 36-37), the first Abraham Lapham was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island on July 15, 1755. “His father, Joshua Lapham, was a grandson of John Lapham, who came from England when he was a young man and settled in Providence, R.I., and here married Mary, daughter of William and Frances (Hopkins) Mann....Hannah, sister of Abraham Lapham, was the grandmother of the late Susan B. Anthony of Rochester.

“In 1791 Abraham Lapham brought his wife and children, coming then in company with Henry Wilbur and his family. Their new home was located among the Friends in Farmington. The members of that community, though disapproved for their venture and disowned by the parent society in Massachusetts, still held regular services. The meetings were held from house to house, and the home of Abraham and Esther Lapham was soon known as a place of meeting. In 1794 the colony was visited by a committee from Massachusetts and one of them was entertained in the home of Abraham Lapham. The early discipline of that society forbade its members to undertake a new enterprise, especially that of emigration, without the consent of ‘the meeting,’ which had been refused these pioneers, and they had been disowned. The report of the visiting committee was favorable, the disowned members were restored to membership and a meeting was organized in the same year, but a meeting house was not built until 1796....One member of the building committee was Ira, eldest son of Abraham Lapham.”

(Writers of John Lapham Bullis’s millitary experiences sometimes refer to his Quaker beliefs. Here in the Bullis Room, we’ve found no documentation of of that religious connection. We're looking for more information on this subject. If you can help, please contact us.)

Through the Laphams, the Bullises were connected not only to the renowned Susan B. Anthony but also to Increase Lapham (March 7, 1811–September 14, 1875), who emigrated from his birthplace in Palmyra, New York to Wisconsin, and is considered the “Father” of the United States Weather Service.

We’ll continue to report on the Lapham-Bullis connection in next week’s post.

FAMILY NAMES

2010-12-04T07:08:00.000-05:00

This week in the Bullis Room we concentrated on surnames other than Bullis. While going through Bullis documents, we frequently come across the name Lapham, but we also occasionally find the names Porter, Aldrich, Rogers, Carbone, Hart, Rodriguez, Withers, and Breese. Their family history contributes towards the story of the Bullis family that we volunteers are working to put together.

In the next few weeks, we will post what we know of these nine families. Do you have any information that would add to our research? If so, please contact us.

(PS: Most of these names are middle names of Bullis family members. How individuals get their middle names fascinates us and is another project to add to our list.)

(PPS: Yes, we're still working on John Lapham Bullis's timeline. This research will add to that.)

CHARLIE'S MEDIEVAL CASTLE

2010-11-27T06:01:00.002-05:00

This week we reviewed some notes of an interview we did a year and a half ago with a second cousin of Nettie and Charlie Bullis. We happened upon this quote tucked in some remembrances of the Bullises: "Charlie once made a Medieval castle out of matchsticks glued together. It was big! Probably enough to cover a card table."

How did he do that? Why did he do it? What happened to it?

To answer the first question, we have no idea how he accomplished this feat. Building a castle out of matchsticks requires great creativity and skill (which Charlie had in abundance) and lots of "stick-with-it-ness" (which Charlie apparently did not have, judging by records of his countless unfinished projects).

Why did he build the castle? Again, we do not know, but in that pre-Guinness-book time, setting a world record could not have been a motivation. Perhaps he came across a reference to the project in his reading and became fascinated with the idea. Or, maybe he somehow came into possession of a humungous amount of matchsticks and decided to use them creatively.

What happened to this work of art? Here, our imaginations run wild. (Being made of matchsticks...hmmm...no, let's not go there.) But if you know, please let us hear from you.

BULLIS FAMILY IN MACEDON

2010-11-20T06:29:00.001-05:00

This week we thought of the Bullis family's arrival in Macedon around this time of year in 1837, and we read again an account of their settlement here. Although this document is unsigned and undated, a reference in the fifth paragraph leads us to believe that Nettie Bullis was the author. This account answers some of our questions about the Bullis family history and, as often happens, raises many others. However, we thought you'd be interested in this account and therefore selected it as this week's posting.

"The Bullis farm is located about 1/2 miles north of Route 31 at 1727 Canandaigua Road in the town of Macedon, New York.

"Charles H. Bullis and Eleanor Rogers Bullis (my great, great grandparents) with two children, Abraham R. and Amy, left Manchester, Vermont Nov. 13, 1837, to settle in a new country. They took a canalboat at Troy, but decided to stop at Macedon to visit a sister of Eleanor's, Amy Woodruff. Their intention was to settle at Marietta, Ohio, but they took the advice of Charles' brothers, three had settled at Hamburg, NY, and remained in Macedon.

"On April 1, 1839 they bought 59 and a fraction acres for $2,631.64 from George G. and Lydia Smith. The only change in the size of the farm is about 10 acres taken from the north end for the Canal and Railroad.

"They started to build the cobblestone house in 1839 from stones picked up on the farm. They lived in a small wooden structure that was moved up from the back of the farm; a building apparently used while Clinton's Ditch was being dug. There were a few houses and a dock by the "Ditch" a short distance over the line to the west on an adjoining farm. The story and a half frame part of our house was built at that time and the small structure was attached at the back and became "the woodshed." The cobblestone house was struck by lightning while being built and lightning rods were put up and are still attached to the house. The corners of the house are of interest being made of Brick instead of stone.

"Two barns were built at the time, one south of the house, the original to which an addition was made later is still standing; its large hand-hewn timbers are noteworthy; the other which was built back of the house was struck by lightning and burned to the ground on Sept 22, 1968.

"The final porch was built by my father Abram R. Bullis, with the help of my mother, brother & myself (a family project) in the Fall of 1910 and replaced the original small front stoop with its well worn side benches and floor. Soon thereafter the leaking wood shingle roof on the cobblestone part was replaced with a metal roof, this too, was a family project.

"The large Canadian Balsam tree in the front yard was struck by lightning on ___________ and about 35 feet broke from the top during a heavy storm on _____________

"The apple orchard north of the house, long since gone, contained many of the old time favorites such as Winesap, Jonathan, Face-pippen, Seekno further, Tallman Sweet, Baldwin & Greening."

(If you have information to add to or enhance the above, please let us hear from you.)

REMEMBERING AGAIN THOSE WHO SERVED

2010-11-12T05:46:00.003-05:00

This week, we again remember and sincerely thank all the men and women who have served and are serving in our Armed Forces.

And we suggest that you look at our November 12, 2009 post, which lists some Bullis family members who served their country through military service beginning in 1675. The most well-known of those members is John Lapham Bullis, who proved himself militarily in the Civil and Spanish American wars as well as on the American frontier.

A LETTER FROM THE PAST

2010-11-06T19:26:00.001-04:00

Last week we posted one of Charlie Bullis's school writing exercises. This week we came across a letter written to Mr. Bullis by one of his associates eighty-two years ago. We found this bit of bargaining and assessor talk quite interesting, and hope you do as well.

"Mr. Charles Bullis, Macedon NY
Farmington NY November 16' 1928

Dear Mr. Bullis,

If after you have your inventory you will sell me back that Compass I will give you the same as Abram gave me for it. I find that we assessors have got to get the boundrys and acreage for a number of strips over in the big Swamp here so the county Treasurer can sell them by next spring for taxes, there dont seem to be any owner for a number of them. This Swamp extends across the town east and west and about a half mile wide, and quite soft, I find I cant do anything with a pocket Compass and I dont like to borrow; one can be ever so careful accidents sometimes happen, I have 217 acres of my own in a number of parcels and it would be qite useful to me; if this meets your favor please send me a card,

very truly yours
E.J. Gardner, Macedon NY"

Do you know the location of the "big Swamp" referred to in this note? If so, please let us know.

OUR BIG BONFIRE

2010-10-29T17:56:00.000-04:00

In autumn, we think about carving pumpkins, raking leaves, and building bonfires. Charlie Bullis obviously appreciated a good bonfire, judging from this account of one he and his dad built one springtime.

OUR BIG BONFIRE

Last spring on a beautiful afternoon my father and I went out into one of the back meadows to burn a long row of brush that had been cut down two years before from a hedge that extended the whole length of a large field. There were six or eight large heaps of brush connected by weeds and small brush. We ignited the brushrow on the north end and as the wind blew from the north it burned along very well shooting up tongues of flame and clouds of curling smoke as the flames leaped from twig to twig consuming the works of nature of several summers and roaring as it gave off its rays of stored up heat.

We wonder what father and son may have talked about that day as they watched the fire "consuming the works of nature" to make way for new life. Perhaps they didn't talk...but simply stood side by side and marveled at the efficiency and beauty of the process.

Charlie Bullis's teacher wrote "Good" on the back of the paper. We agree with her. Good description. Good experience. Good memory.

CONTRASTS: THEN AND NOW

2010-10-22T13:24:00.000-04:00

We met this week with two women who had recently visited San Antonio and John Lapham Bullis's former home. (The latter is now a bed and breakfast named Bullis House Inn.) As they described the house's 14-foot ceilings, the elegant plaster medallions, marble fireplaces, rich oak floors and stairways that are a part of the 11,000 square-foot structure, we thought of the modest home here in Macedon where he grew up and the contrast between the two.

General Bullis's early life with his family here in Macedon and that of a successful military man also indicate a wide contrast. The records we have indicate that John Lapham was known simply as "one of those Bullis boys" in his hometown. That quickly changed when he entered the army at age 20, served in the Civil War, and rose from private to captain in three years. Then came his life on the Texas frontier, leading the group known at that time as the Seminole Scouts in a successful war against hostile Indians. General Bullis received national attention and recognition as a result of his frontier military accomplishments, something that no one in his home town likely ever envisioned.

As we continue our work on General Bullis's timeline, we are finding other contrasts that cause us to stop and ponder, trying to reconcile the "then" with the "now." As we learn more about this great man, we'll share it will you. And if you'd like to know more about any of the family members or the Bullis book collection, we invite you to make arrangements to meet one of our volunteers in the Bullis Room.

NETTIE BULLIS

2010-10-15T19:19:00.002-04:00

If Nettie Bullis could speak to us from her grave in the Village of Palmyra Cemetery, what would be her message? Here is our version of what she might say to the people on this year's cemetery walk:

"I am new to the walk this year because some of my friends thought I should be included. I feel somewhat uncomfortable with all of this attention. I've always shied away from that sort of thing.

"However, since you’ve all come here this evening and paid your entrance fee, it is appropriate that I offer you some information about myself and my family so that you will get your money’s worth. My family always lived by the principle of getting your money’s worth and never wasting anything. When my great-grandfather Charles H. Bullis and his family moved from Vermont to Macedon in 1837, they brought with them the New England frugality that they had always lived by, and that way of living was handed down from generation to generation.

"A second principle my family lived by was life-long education. When my brother Charlie and I were growing up, my father insisted that our toys were things we could learn something from. He got this idea from his father who was a local doctor and who greatly valued education. After my father graduated from Cornell in the early 1880s with degrees in mathematics and civil engineering, he continued his education by collecting and reading science, math, engineering, and medical books.

"In fact, you can see many of these books today at Macedon Public Library. They have a special room there—they even named it for my family—and it houses the remaining books from our collection. My father and grandfather would be very pleased about that. And of course there is a significant number of books on horticulture that belonged to my brother Charlie. But that’s another subject.

"Honest, hard work was a third principle of the Bullises. The first Bullises in Macedon built the cobblestone house that served as a home to three generations of the family. It is where my brother Charlie and I grew up, and it still stands today on Canandaigua Road. By the way, every year in May Charlie’s poppies bloom in the front yard and make a wonderful display for several weeks.

"Hard work was never a stranger to me. In my earlier years, I did chores around our place, and when I was older I accompanied my father on many of his surveying jobs, taking notes that he used in his engineering drawings. After high school graduation in 1911, I attended Cornell University for a while and then taught school in Marion. Following that, I took a position as bookkeeper at Gleason Works in Rochester. While at Gleasons, I was fortunate to have several opportunities for advancement and was serving as Assistant Secretary of Gleason Works when I retired.

"It was not my intention to be a wealthy woman, but I did accumulate a tidy sum through careful planning, saving, wise investments, and my New England frugality. When I wrote my will, I was pleased to be able to benefit a number of individuals and organizations here in Wayne County.

"As you can see from my headstone I lived for 86 years, from March 23, 1893 to October 1, 1979. Most of my life was spent in Macedon, but upon my death I took up residence here in Palmyra in my family's plot. It's a quiet, peaceful place to spend eternity, and I greatly enjoy the company.

"Well, I feel I've taken enough of your time this evening. Thank you for stopping by and giving me your kind attention. I must say that I've enjoyed our time together. So much, in fact, that I hope I'm invited to do this again next year."

NETTIE BULLIS

2010-10-07T20:55:00.055-04:00

This week volunteers wrote a script for an actress who will portray Nettie Bullis in next Friday's Historic Palmyra's Famous Cemetery Walk. We struggled with this task, knowing that Nettie Bullis shied away from being the center of attention during her lifetime. However, we thought it was a good opportunity to share some of the Bullis family's principles of living and their accomplishments.

There are two walks next Friday, beginning at 6:30 PM and 7:45 PM. For a $7 admission fee, you can listen to a dozen cemetery residents tell you of their lives and deaths.

If you are unable to attend, you can read the Nettie Bullis script on this blog next week.

(For more information about the walk, call 315-597-6981.)

TIME LINES

2010-10-01T22:31:00.000-04:00

Volunteers logged in many hours over the last nine months, doing a variety of tasks and working on a number of projects. Now some of us have committed ourselves to organizing Bullis family history by making time lines for each family member who lived in Macedon. We will be looking for documentation of births, deaths, marriages, career accomplishments, and personal milestones.

We are currently focusing on John Lapham Bullis, both his personal life and military career, and we will post our progress on this blog from time to time. If anyone has any information on John Lapham Bullis that they would assist us in this effort, we'd greatly appreciate receiving it.

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN

2010-09-25T10:07:00.000-04:00

Two of our volunteers put together another interesting display in the glass case outside the Bullis Room, and we invite you to stop and take a close look at it on your next trip to the library. It contains books from the collection that offer the reader learning experiences in a variety of subjects.

There's Hints for Home Reading, Book Buyers Guide and a Book Record, which is described as "a series of papers on books and their use," edited by Lyman Abbott and published in New York in 1900. This book bears Abram R. Bullis's bookplate, and we can imagine him studying this book in his search for titles to add to his library.

There are 14 volumes displayed. Their subjects range from technical books on organic chemistry, physics, economics, algebra, and hydraulic motors to the history of art. There's even a book on eighth-grade poetry that was published in 1906.

The size of the Bullis collection and the variety of subjects, genres, and authors indicate that all generations of Bullises were avid lifelong readers and considered themselves never too old to learn. As a result we now have their collection to enjoy--so let's do it.

CONSTITUTION AND CITIZENSHIP DAY

2010-09-17T10:34:00.000-04:00

Constitution and Citizenship Day was established in 2004 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1787.

Looking for ways to observe this 223-year-old event? We suggest you stop by the Bullis Room and let us show you these books from the collection:

The Constitution of the United States, its sources and its application, by Thomas James Norton. The World Publishing Co. of Cleveland and New York published this book in 1941.

The Story of the Constitution of the United States, by Francis Newton Thorpe. Chautauqua Press published this book in 1891 and included it in their literary and scientific circle in 1891 and 1892.

Mr. Justice Holmes and the Supreme Court, by Felix Frankfurter. This book was published by Harvard University Press in 1938 and contains essays that cover the major controversies that came before the Supreme Court during the thirty years of Mr. Holmes' judgeship.

And if you'd like to read about a really old constitution, ask to see the Bullis Room's copy of Aristotle on the Athenian Constitution (translated with Aristotle introduction and notes by F.G. Kenyon), 2nd edition, published in London by G. Bell and Sons in 1912.

So please stop by...and take a look at these awesome books.

THE HASH KNIFE OUTFIT by Zane Grey

2010-09-10T11:41:00.004-04:00

"Mert Bartels won the honors in our Bullis Book Review Contest's over-18 category. His review is reprinted below for your reading enjoyment.

"Jed Stone, a low end cattle rustler and leader of the 20 year outfit in the untamed, wild area in the Tonto Basin and Mongollon rim country of Arizona, exemplifies the many characteristics of how the westerner lived up to the Code of the West. Like many Jed Stone, due to circumstances early in his life, was forced onto the wrong side of the law. Good men as well as bad men exhibited these virtues: loyalty, courage, hard workers, untalkative and protector of women and children, well for the most part. Stone's dilemma is whether he continues to manhandle the Outfit or to alter his ways to leave outlawry.

"Zane Grey also weaves into the novel the Traft family Diamond Ranch with its array of mostly young cowhands who face the natural elements, mean cows, low-down rustlers, dishonest gamblers, and two young women of opposite upbringing. Uncle Jim Traft has nephew Jim, who is a year new to the West, ramrod the Diamond. Jim's ill-health, purpled-eyed sister, Gloriana with an Eastern education and ways, appears suddenly from Missouri with a past that she wants unrevealed. Her bad experience with a gambler named Darnell spelled past family troubles and future ones too as Darnell has tracked her west. Meanwhile, young Jim has not only fallen for a low country girl named Molly Dunn from the Cibeque Valley, but he plans to marry her despite Gloriana's objections. The problems begin between Gloriana and Molly because apparently it's easier for ten men in a bunkhouse to get along than two women in one ranch house. Gloriana convinces Molly that she is unfit to marry her brother since she has only back woods upbringing, thus Molly moves to town to work and get away from moonstruck Jim.

"An unusually enjoyable part of the story is how simple cowhands compete to spruce themselves up for the Thanksgiving dance in town and outdoing one another at Christmas time. Grey is a master of dialog to convey their joshing each other and their fawning all over the ladies from the ranch as well as the Flag town girls. No modern day writer can equal his use of western talk and character mood. He too vividly describes rock-faced canyons, hues of the forestry and amber colored brooks, plus wildlife sounds.

"Besides attending to the Diamond ranch young Jim finds he is given land in Yellow Jacket country by his uncle. Jim sees this as an opportunity to build an adjacent ranch and pine-pole log house for his bride-to-be Molly. As Jim and cowhands build the ranch house some Diamond cattle are stolen. Something disruptive happens to Uncle Jim. From this point the bad element seems to control the action.

"The western genre extended by Grey herein evolves into the traditional battle between good and bad elements. Croak Malloy, vicious weasel-faced gunman, Sonora, a Mexican with no ethics, and Madden both gunhand and cook comprise some of the bad element. Malloy in every back-handed attempt tries to lead the rustlers away from Jed Stone to become the Hash Knife's leader. When will the inevitable confrontation between these two occur as we learn more of their inward code and beliefs brings us closer to the end? Malloy who is loyal only to himself joins forces with Bambridge, a dishonest cattle buyer, the cheating gambler Darnell and other rustlers to remove 5000 head of Diamond stock. What is to become of the Hash Knife Outfit as the potential for leadership may change?

The next question becomes what the Diamond hands and young Jim will do to thwart the rustlers. Who will rescue the kidnapped Gloriana and Molly from the outlaw cabin? Also, will Gloriana evolve into a tough, resilient western woman? Only the reader knows."

REVIEW OF THE NOVEL MADAME BOVARY

2010-09-02T16:35:00.000-04:00

Here is Danielle Stoner's winning book review, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did.

"The 1857 novel Madame Bovary by novelist Gustave Flaubert is truly a masterpiece in its own right. Unlike other novels of its time, Bovary touches on issues that are as relevant now as they were in nineteenth-century France; items such as dreams, infidelity, debt, suicide, and unrequited love constitute the makeup of this novel that is considered a classic of American and European literature.

"The novel centers around Emma (Roualt) Bovary, a bookish woman who holds dear her dreams of romantic love, and Charles Bovary, the smitten, mediocre doctor that falls for her. Emma falls for Charles soon after Charles sets her father's broken leg; to Emma, Charles is the ideal man, and they are soon wed. However, Emma is soon bored with Charles's superficiality and the mundane life she now leads as Madame Bovary. Charles does not realize that his adoration is one-sided, and remains oblivious to Emma's disinterest throughout the novel. When Emma falls ill with what appears to be anxiety or depression, the Bovarys move to Yonville, a small village in the countryside. It is here where Emma falls in love first with Rodolphe, a wealthy landlord, followed by Leon, a young law student. Emma's boredom with married life becomes a flurry of frantically concealed love affairs, sprouted from the romanticisms she had read about as a child and a young adult. To deal with her issues, Emma turns to compulsive buying, a trend with which many women can empathize today, but her problems come to an end abruptly and tragically.

"I found this novel to be quite intriguing for a novel of its time. In my experience, most novels from the nineteenth century seem to skirt over issues that were deemed "unseemly" or otherwise controversial. Bovary, however, approaches these topics at full force, describing in great detail the makeup of Emma's relationships with both Rodolphe and Leon. As a true romantic, myself, I liked the premise, even though I disagree with Emma's principles as a whole. I enjoyed the fact that Emma was seemingly able to find true love, or at least what appeared to her to be true love, even though she made the wrong choice in marrying Charles in the first place. Although I disagree with Emma's practices of adultery and abandonment of her child, I sympathize with her dilemma and I admire her will to achieve her dream of true love, no matter what it took to get her there. The novel is masterfully written, painting pictures of the French countryside so vivid that it seemed I was there inside the novel with characters smelling the fresh breeze and listening to the wind whistle through the trees. To me, that was one of the best parts of the novel; the descriptions of the scenery were absolutely lovely. Although the book has a tragic ending, I enjoyed the work as a whole. Overall, I like literature that deals with real issues, and Bovary did just that. Flaubert, although he received harsh criticism for his approach, did an excellent job making the reader aware of the prevalence of these issues in society, and showed them in a way that made the reader empathize with the characters' points of view. It is hard not to sympathize with Emma when Rodolphe abandons her, or grieve with Charles during any of the times where he experienced the death of a loved one. I feel that reading this novel has expanded my knowledge of classic literature, while helping me further understand the motives behind certain people's actions. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a change in pace, anyone interested in classic literature that is still relevant today, or anyone yearning to take a stroll in the French countryside."

AND THE WINNERS ARE...(trumpet sounds)

2010-08-28T14:17:00.000-04:00

DANIELLE STONER (18 and under category)

and

MERT BARTELS (over 18 category)

CONGRATULATIONS, MERT & DANIELLE

Mert reviewed Zane Grey's The Hash Knife Outfit. Danielle's review was on Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary. Both of these reviews will be included in our postings for the next two weeks. Be sure to visit this blog and read the reviews of these two classic books.

BOOK REVIEW WINNERS

2010-08-19T17:51:00.000-04:00

We will announce the winning contestants from the two categories - "Over 18 years old" and "18 and under" - next Friday, August 27, and post the names on this blog.

We hope that all contestants enjoyed reading and reviewing their book choices. We volunteers had fun choosing the list of books to be included, and we also enjoyed reading (or in come cases, reading again) all of the books that were reviewed.

So be sure to check our post next week, to see who wrote the winning reviews. (And no, we won't reveal the names ahead of time!)

DEADLINE REMINDER

2010-08-13T05:55:00.000-04:00

TO ENTRANTS IN OUR BULLIS BOOK REVIEW CONTEST:

Completed essays must be submitted today. Be sure to get yours to us--by dropping it off at the MPL front desk or emailing us at bullisgroup@yahoo.com.

We're looking forward to reading each one of them--and choosing a winner from each age category.

QUINN-DEX, REVISITED

2010-08-05T08:16:00.006-04:00

Seven months ago our post described a small brown mailing box containing the Quinn-Dex (see January 14, 2010) and its mailing label bearing Nettie Bullis's name. This box was brought to the Bullis Room by a local resident who found it while going through possessions left to her by a relative. We are grateful to this relative for adding it to our collection.

However, the Quinn-Dex raised a lot of questions: Did Nettie Bullis take Dr. Quinn's correspondence course? And if so, where did she practice? (We have no record of the Bullis family owning a piano or organ.) Did she visit the Conservatory or perhaps study on the Boston campus? We still have no answers to any of these questions, but we do have something just as exciting...a high level of interest in the inventor of the Quinn-Dex.

A great deal of information has been relayed to us about Dr. Marcus Quinn. (Thanks to everyone who responded!) Some of this information came from family, but the bulk of it was shared with us by Donna L. Halper (author, media historian, radio consultant, and currently Asst. Professor of Communication, Lesley University, Cambridge MA). Here are excerpts from Professor Halper's email to us:

"Marcus Lucius Quinn was born in Ireland in 1862. He and his family came to America in 1870 and seem to have emigrated to the midwest first, as we find him in the 1910 census living in Chicago. Around the turn of the century, he married a woman named Clara (living relatives tell me her full name was Clara Minetta Thomas and she was from Wisconsin originally); they had four kids, all boys. In 1910, Mr Quinn identified on the census as a "music teacher" but at some point, he seems to have opened his own studio. How I came to be interested in him is as a result of his career in music during the 1910s-- at some point, he met the man I've been doing my own research about-- Theodore Lyman Shaw. Mr. Shaw came from the distinguished family, the one that gave the world Robert Gould Shaw....

"Anyway, Theo became friendly with Marcus Lucius Quinn in Chicago in the 1910s, although how they met remains a mystery that I wish I could solve. When Theo returned to greater Boston circa 1918 (according to his alumni notes, given to Harvard University), Marcus Lucius Quinn moved here too. Theo could afford a fancy home on the Needham/Wellesley line, but Marcus and his family moved to Waban, a suburb of Newton. The two men remained friends and associates. Marcus Lucius (still identified on the 1920 census as a "music teacher")had begun offering private lessons in the early 1890s, according to copy from ads he placed in magazines, and he seemed to do fairly well with it, establishing correspondence courses to help people learn to play the piano. Somehow, he had the money to place LARGE ads for his services -- his living relatives believe some of this money came from his wife's side of the family. But wherever the money came from, the ads ran in some of the best-known publication of that time, during the period from the turn of the century to the 1920s-- the ads appeared in such places as McClure's, Leslie's, and what was then a literary magazine-- Cosmopolitan. Mr. Quinn appears to have been a very good self-promoter, who claimed he studied with Franz Liszt in Europe and he also claimed to have a Doctorate degree in Music....Whether or not Marcus Lucius Quinn really was the toast of Europe, his correspondence courses seemed to do well for him, and he was able to open the Marcus Lucius Quinn Conservatory of Music here in greater Boston. In the early 1920s, he located it at 598 Columbia Road in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester, not far from the beautiful new Strand Theater (which had opened in 1918). This would have made good sense, as movie theaters back then also gave live performances between films, so his students might have found a ready-made venue to demonstrate their skills."

We greatly appreciate Professor Halper taking the time to share this information with us. As with all new information, however, more questions are raised. Did Nettie Bullis see Dr. Quinn's ad in an issue of McClure's? or Cosmopolitan? Did she order it herself, or was it a gift from a friend or relative? If you have the answers to any of our questions, please let us hear from you.

SQUIRE WHIPPLE'S BOOK

2010-07-29T14:38:00.011-04:00

One of the special books in the Bullis Collection is titled: An Essay on Bridge Building: containing analyses and comparisons of the principal plans in use: with investigations as to the best plans and proportions, and the relative merits of wood and iron for bridges, by Squire Whipple (Utica, NY: H. H. Curtis, 1847).

A visitor to the Bullis Room this last week stopped by to look at this book again. The book and its author are of interest to many local people because the Aldrich Change Bridge, which was rescued from abandonment and re-erected in Macedon and Palmyra's Aqueduct Park during 2003 and 2004, was originally built in 1858 from a design by Squire Whipple.

We're not sure how this book came to be a part of the Bullis Collection, but it is invaluable as a source of bridge building techniques. If you haven't visited Aqueduct Park recently and looked at the Aldrich Change Bridge, we encourage you to do so this summer. Thanks to Squire Whipple's knowledge and a group of local volunteer bridge enthusiasts, it's there for us to appreciate and enjoy.

AN EMBROIDERY CATALOG

2010-07-22T17:50:00.005-04:00

Last week we told you about one of our latest acquisitions here in the Bullis Room--an embroidery guide. Along with that guide was another book with Nettie Bullis's name written at the top, titled Priscilla Embroidery Book. It was published by Priscilla Needlework Co., Boston, in 1914 and offered kits for making all sorts of articles.

Besides the usual pincushions and fancy bags were kits for corset cases, petticoat flounces, and baby clothes. An embroiderer could also purchase kits for men's gifts such as shaving pads, collar bags, necktie racks, and handkerchief cases. All of these kits came with a perforated pattern transfer or stamped linen.

For those wanting to learn new stitches, there were instructions for the: German Knot; Danish Italian, and Roman cut work; Balkan stitch; and Bulgaria stitch.

We wonder if Nettie Bullis ever placed an order from this catalog. And if so, which kit did she chose? Perhaps she just enjoyed reading the descriptions and imagining what the black-and white representations would look like in brighter colors. That's a good way for us to enjoy this book today. You're invited to stop by the room and take a look.

THE ARTS OF EMBROIDERY AND GROWING POPPIES

2010-07-15T21:41:00.010-04:00

This past week we had one of those Christmas-morning surprises when a local resident delivered two paperback books bearing the handwritten name "Nettie A. Bullis" on the covers. Both books were on the subject of embroidery.

The Embroidery Guide by Helen Martin (published by Woman's Home Companion, Madison Square, New York City, 1910, Crowell Publishing Co.) is full of instructions for making stitches and patterns on decorative items for the home. Immediately, we honed in on a pattern titled, "A Round Between-Meals Centerpiece. A Graceful Arrangement of Poppies Done in Kensington Stitch in Natural Colors," designed by M. Hemingway and Sons Silk Co. (page 19).

Our imaginations shifted into full gear at the sight of the poppies, and we wondered if perhaps Nettie might have embroidered this design in honor of her brother Charlie's poppies. And then we went a step further and pictured the finished product on the Bullis dining room table, between meals, being removed when the table was set for Sunday dinner. This is all speculation, of course...but fun.

Still, we can say that artistic talent is required for both embroidering and growing poppies. Charlie Bullis's poppies that bloom every May are proof of his artistic talent. We have no sample of Nettie Bullis's needle work, but we feel safe in saying that her artistic talent manifested itself in that skill, as well, just as it did in other areas of her life.

Next week we'll tell you about the second book. In the meantime, if you'd like a closer look at the centerpiece in the above photo, please call the library and make arrangements to meet a volunteer in the Bullis Room. We'll be most happy to show both books to you.

WOW!

2010-07-09T12:42:00.003-04:00

Thanks to all of you who entered our BULLIS BOOK REVIEW CONTEST. We're glad to know that so many of you share our interest in the books in this collection.

If you didn't enter our contest, you can still get some ideas for good summer reading from our Bullis Book Selection List. It includes authors Mark Twain, Robert Burns, Joel Chandler Harris, Zane Grey, Ernest T. Seton, James Baldwin, Elias Hicks, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Many of their books are in the PLS system and/or online for a free download. We suggest you treat yourself by reading (or re-reading) one of these great authors.

We're looking forward to reading the book reviews that are due to be submitted by August 13. And while we're waiting, we volunteers will be reading many of the books from the selection list. So...happy summer and happy reading.

BULLIS BOOK REVIEW CONTEST

2010-07-03T16:11:00.003-04:00

REMINDER

Last day to sign up for the BULLIS BOOK REVIEW CONTEST

July 5

Call June Hamel at the Macedon Public Library

to arrange to come in, choose your book, and fill out an entry form.

CONTEST SIGN-UP

2010-06-25T09:31:00.005-04:00

We're here in the Bullis Room, waiting for you to stop by and choose your book to read and review for the Bullis Book Review Contest. Wonder what the book choices are. Here are some of the titles you can choose from:

Juvenile: The Adventures of Mr. Mocker; The Cruise of the Snark; Fairy Tales from the Arabian Nights; Hans Brinker; The Jungle Book; The Heroism of Hannah Duston.

Adult: The Deer Slayer; The Exile; The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson; Typee; Four Years in the White North; In Darkest Africa; The New ElDorado; Sailing the Seas-The Log of the Tom Darke.

There are complete lists on the contest display by the front desk that you can look through. Or stop by and see us today, 11 AM through 5 PM and tomorrow from 11 to 3 PM (or make an appointment with June Hamell, 315-986-5932, Ext. 119).

BULLIS BOOK REVIEW CONTEST

2010-06-16T16:05:00.007-04:00

A $100 prize is being offered in a contest designed to raise awareness of this collection. The Friends Endowment for the Macedon Public Library has approved funding for this contest.

Contestants are asked to write a 500 to 750 word review of a book contained in the Bullis Collection. Participants will be divided into two categories, those 18-years-of-age and under, and those over 18 years. A $100 prize will be given to the winner in each category.

The Bullis Committee has compiled a list of eligible titles from this collection. Entrants must choose a book from this list; that book will then be removed from the eligible list. The entrant may choose to read the book in the Bullis Room (these books do not circulate), or may read a digital version of the book online; copies of a number of the books are also available through the Pioneer Library System.

Contestants must register in the Bullis Room at the library by July 5; completed reviews must be submitted by August 13; winners will be announced by August 27. The contest is open to residents of Macedon and the surrounding area.

Those interested may visit the Bullis Room to fill out an entry form and select their book on either Friday, June 25, from 11 AM to 5 PM, or on Saturday, June 26, from 11 AM to 3 PM. Appointments for other times are available by calling June Hamell at (315) 986-5932, ext. 119.

A full description of the contest rules may be obtained from the library or by checking the library website at: http://www.macedon.pls-net.org/index.htm

This is your special invitation to participate in this contest. It's an opportunity to enjoy a good book and have a chance at winning a picture of Benjamin Franklin.

OLD FASHIONED ROSES

2010-06-10T19:50:00.008-04:00

OLD-FASHIONED ROSES

(Hoosier Dialect)

They ain't no style about 'em,
And they're sort o' pale and faded,

Yit the doorway here, without 'em,

Would be lonesomer, and shaded

With a good 'eal blacker shadder

Than the mornin'-glories makes,

And the sunshine would look sadder

For their good old-fashion' sakes.

I like 'em 'cause they kind o'

Sorto' make a feller like 'em!

And I tell you, when I find a

Bunch out whur the sun kin strike 'em,

It allus sets me thinkin'

O' the ones 'at used to grow,

And peek in thro' the chinkin'

O' the cabin, don't you know.

And then I think o' mother,

And how she used to love 'em

When they wusn't any other,

'Less she found 'em up above 'em!

And her eyes, afore she shut 'em,

Whispered with a smile and said

We must pick a bunch and put 'em

In her hand when she was dead.

But, as I was a-sayin',

They ain't no style about 'em

Very gaudy or displayin',

But I wouldn't be without 'em, --

'Cause I'm happier in these posies,

And the hollyhawks and sich

Than the hummin-bird 'at noses

In the roses of the rich.
This poem is a part of a collection of poems by James Whitcomb Riley called Old Fashioned Roses. The Bullis copy of this book is the twenty-eighth edition, published in 1906 by Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis.
Old fashioned roses are blooming along our roadsides now. Let's enjoy them while we can, together with Mr. Riley's equally beautiful poetry.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

2010-06-03T14:39:00.015-04:00

On April 17, 1864, while stationed at Annapolis during the Civil War, John Lapham Bullis wrote a letter to his mother in which he stated that he was reading "Victor Hugo's sketches of Napoleon." This reference caused us to wonder if the book Mr. Bullis referred to might possibly be a part of the current collection, so we searched our data base for all things Napoleon.

We did not find any book about Napoleon that Mr. Bullis could have been reading in 1864, but there are several in the collection that he might have read at a later time, such as:

The Destroyer of the Second Republic; Being Napoleon the Little

by Victor Hugo

published in 1870

Recollections of the Private Life of Napoleon

by Louis Constant Wairy

published in 1900

Napoleon, the Last Phase

by Archibald Philip Primrose, Earl of

published in 1900

Memoirs of the Emperor Napoleon, from Ajaccio to Waterloo, as

Soldier, Emperor, Husband

by Laure Junot Abrantes, duchesse d'

published in 1901

The Life of the Empress Josephine, First Wife of Napoleon

by P. C. Headley (Phineas Camp)

published in 1850

Mr. Bullis's reference to Napoleon also caused us to wonder why he was interested in that particular military and political leader. Perhaps he wanted to learn from Napoleon's successes and mistakes? Or was it simply to distract himself from the realities of the war he was involved in at that time? Putting aside the reason for his choice of reading material, we find it characteristic that a member of the Bullis family would have in his possession a book that he was reading at any opportunity. Obviously, like all the Bullises, John Lapham Bullis was a true book lover and avid reader as well as a military genius.

ON THIS MEMORIAL DAY

2010-05-27T16:44:00.011-04:00

WE HONOR ALL THOSE WHO DIED WHILE SERVING OUR NATION.

(CHARLIE BULLIS'S POPPIES)

THINK GREEN FOR SPRING

2010-05-20T12:18:00.006-04:00

Have you seen our current display in the case outside the Bullis Room? If you haven't and you're trying to locate it, just look for green. Green book covers, that is. Choosing books by their covers results in a variety of subjects: gardening, travel, biography, and finance. Here are some of the books on display that we recommend you consider for your Spring reading:

The Life of Daniel Boone - The Pioneer of Kentucky, A Biography, by Channing Hill (published in 1884)

Ten Years in Wall Street or, Revelation of Inside Life and Experience on 'Change, by William Worthington Fowler (published in 1870)

The Garden's Story, by George H. Ellwanger (published in 1889)

A Voyage in the "Sunbeam," Our Home on The Ocean for Eleven Months, by Mrs. Brassey (published 1881)

You can access all of these books online. Or if you'd like to take a look at the real thing, please stop by the Bullis Room.

RAILROADS, THEN (1869) AND NOW (2010)

2010-05-13T11:18:00.008-04:00

On May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad in the United States was completed with a golden spike driven in Promontory, Utah. Dreams, planning, dedication and hard work accomplished this event. One book in the Bullis Collection that was published by the United States War Department between 1855 and 1861 tells of the beginnings of this monumental project. It's spine title is: Report of explorations and surveys for economical route for a railroad. The full title reads:

Reports of explorations and surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean / made under the direction of the Secretary of War, in 1853-5, according to acts of Congress of March 3, 1853, May 31, 1854, and August 5, 1854.

This book is available online (and in the Bullis Room, of course) and we recommend it to you for your reading list, as it gives a greater appreciation of the Utah event and of railroads in general.

And speaking of appreciating railroads, the engineers in the Bullis family in 1869 would have been interested in the news from Promontory, Utah because it fulfilled the hopes inherent in their library book. Today, they would be equally interested in this country's talk of high speed rail as well as a local county rail line that was officially opened this week on May 10, exactly 141 years after the driving of the Golden Spike.

THE WHIRLWIND

2010-05-06T18:42:00.019-04:00

John Lapham Bullis's military career spanned 43 years. During that time he received countless recognitions and promotions for his bravery and loyalty.

However, when he served as "Chief Scout at Fort Clark (Bracketville, Texas), he engaged in some of the most exciting and least known battles in the annals of American history." As a result Brigadier General D.S. Stanley stated that, "Bullis...has the most successful career of an Indian fighter that has ever been recorded in the history of the American Army." (True West Magazine, October, 1981, pages 12 & 13)

This True West article titled "John Bullis" documents battles in which Bullis and his Fort Clark scouts fought in the Indian Wars in southwestern United States and Mexico. This group of scouts (who called Bullis "The Whirlwind" or "Thunderbolt") consisted mainly of Seminole-Negro troops who greatly respected their leader not only for his military skill but also for his fairness and regard for those who served with him.

"The Seminoles' feelings for Bullis are best summed up in a statement years later by a former scout, Joseph Phillips: 'The scouts thought a lot of Bullis. Lieutenant Bullis was the only officer ever did stay the longest with us. That fella suffer jest like we all did out in de woods. He was a good man. He was a Injun fighter. He was tuff. He didn't care how big a bunch dey wuz, he went into 'em everytime, but he look after his men. His men was on equality, too. He didn't stan' back and say "Go yonder;" he would say, "Come on boys, let's go get 'em.'" (True West Magazine, October, 1981, page 13)

Space does not allow us to share all of the battles led by John Bullis. However, the "last conflict by Seminole scouts is credited by many historians as being the last action with hostile Indians in the state. Bullis' scouts literally saw the end of the Indian wars in Texas." (True West Magazine, October, 1981, page 18)

This last battle involved an attack by Lipan Indians on a home near the head of the Frio River in which two people were killed. Twelve days later the scouts were given instructions to follow and destroy the raiders. Although the trail was "cold," then-Lieutenant Bullis and his scouts successfully tracked the Lipans and spotted their camp less than a week later. They attacked the camp at daybreak and although four braves were killed and others captured, Bullis and his men suffered no casualties.

John Bullis was rewarded for his gallant actions by being breveted a Captain and a Major on the same day, February 27, 1890. Following that, "he relocated to New Mexico territory as Agent for the Pueblo and Jicarilla Indians." Then in 1897 he was appointed to U.S. Army Paymaster....."His days of action were finished." (True West Magazine, October, 1981, page 19)

His military career ended in 1905, but John Lapham Bullis--the Whirlwind--is still remembered and admired more than one hundred years later.

THE LOCAL BOY WHO BECAME BRIGADIER GENERAL

2010-04-25T17:59:00.016-04:00

Two weeks ago our post was about a boy born in Kentucky who rose from humble beginnings to be our sixteenth president. Today we focus is on a boy born in Macedon who rose from a conservative small-town environment to be appointed a brigadier general by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.

John Lapham Bullis's biographical information is in two previous posts on this blog (see February 5 and 12, 2009). Our focus today is on his family's (and hometown's) reaction to his military and business achievements.

Since he received a standard Quaker education, questions have been raised about his family's feelings toward his military career. We have no record specific to these questions. However, we do have excerpts of letters Mr. Bullis wrote his mother while he was serving in the Civil War which indicate mutual love and support. We also have Christmas letters he wrote to his aunt, in which he enclosed a generous monetary gift and expressed his affection of her. As for his business achievements, his nephew Charles Bullis spoke about his Uncle John "always trying to earn money and get ahead...," indicating admiration for his uncle's apparent driving force and ambitions.

Again, we have no record of his community's reaction. However, Bullis family neighbors and friends must have felt proud as stories circulated in the local press and area grapevines about this hometown boy's accomplishments in the Civil War and, later on, in the Texas frontier as leader of the Black Seminole Indians. And we can imagine that after hearing stories of John Lapham Bullis's many acts of bravery, local young people may have been inspired to set higher goals and work harder to achieve them.

Next week we'll post excerpts from a 1981 article in True West titled "John Bullis."

EARTH DAY

2010-04-22T10:15:00.006-04:00

CHARLES ROGERS BULLIS

(1891 - 1974)

In this garden

Each day of his life was Earth Day to Mr. Bullis.

May the rest of us follow his example.

THE PIONEER BOY WHO BECAME PRESIDENT

2010-04-15T19:53:00.007-04:00

Today, on the one hundred forty-fifth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's death, we searched the collection and found numerous volumes that focus on our sixteenth president's life. Distinguished authors of well-known titles include Ida M. Tarbell, Alexander K. McClure, and Charles Wallace French.

We chose to highlight William Makepeace Thayer's The Pioneer Boy and How He Became President (Boston: Walter, Wise and Company, 1863), however, because of its timeless inspirational message. We recommend Mr. Thayer's book as a source of encouragement to all readers, but especially to young people who aspire to greater things.

You can read the online version of this book, or stop by the Bullis Room when one of our volunteers is on duty and ask to see our copy. We're always happy to assist you.

CUSTOMS, MYTHS, GREEK THOUGHT, AND MORALS

2010-04-08T17:40:00.001-04:00

This week we focused on the religion and philosophy section of this collection. Since it covers two full shelving units, it's difficult to choose which books to recommend for your consideration. Here are a few that especially caught our attention:

Custom and Myth, by Andrew Lang (1885)

Studies in Greek Thought: Essays Selected from the Papers

of Lewis Packard, by Lewis Richard Packard (1886)

A Preface to Morals, by Walter Lippmann (1933)

History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science,

by John William Draper (1875)

Although we plan to have a closer look at all of these books, yesterday we took Custom and Myth off the shelf, sat down at the round table and enjoyed a good read. It begins with the method of folklore and goes into specific myths: Cronus, Cupid, Psyche, as well as the Star myths and Hottentot mythology. The book ends with an early history of the family and the art of savages. We think you would enjoy this book, too, as it revisits familiar myths and enhances the reader's knowledge of mythology in general.

We invite you to stop by the Bullis Room when you're in the library, and take a look at any or all of these books.

HAPPY EASTER

2010-04-02T20:52:00.003-04:00

From Nettie Bullis's postcard collection

THE GARDENER'S ALMANAC

2010-03-26T13:44:00.004-04:00

In the midst of all our pondering and scurrying and pausing to reflect here in the Bullis Room this past week, Spring arrived and turned our attention to the horticulture books in this collection. There are so many good ones to choose from that it's a challenge to focus on just one, but we thought we'd start with The Gardener's Almanac, first published in 1939 by the Massachusetts Horticulture Society. Edward L. Farrington wrote this book to "serve as a valuable reminder, making it less likely that the garden maker who uses it will leave undone the things which he ought to have done or perhaps to have done the things which he ought not to have done."

To accomplish this goal, Mr. Farrington composed a calendar with information on garden work for all twelve months of the year. He offers good advice to those of us who live in the north as well as gardeners in the south. So what should we northern gardeners be doing now, as March comes to a close? Here are a few of his suggestions:

1. The Winter coverings of boxwood and evergreen plants can be taken off by the end of the month. It is better to do this work on a cloudy day.

2. Do not be hasty in uncovering protected shrubs, or perennials and bulb beds.

3. Give the asparagus bed an early dressing of complete commercial fertilizer.

4. Keep an eye out for insect cocoons, caterpillar nests, and insect eggs and destroy them.

5. Charcoal placed in the water in the jars where Spring blossoms are being forced will help to keep the water sweet.

There are lots more hints for those of us who like to get our hands in the dirt. We'll share more of them in a future posting.

HONORING MISS NETTIE BULLIS

2010-03-19T15:27:00.005-04:00

Jeannette Aurelia Bullis

March 23, 1893 - October 1, 1979

This week we are again honoring Miss Nettie Bullis on her birthday. Miss Bullis was a very caring, private person. Through her generosity money that she left has provided periodicals, large-print books, audiobooks, and matching funds for construction of the library; scholarships for in-college students of the Pal-Mac School District; and financial help for those becoming physicians.

We invite you to visit the Bullis Room this coming week as we recognize her contributions to our community.

IRISH STRUGGLE, IRISH ELOQUENCE, AND THE IRISH BAR

2010-03-11T13:03:00.014-05:00

With St. Patrick's Day in mind, this week we browsed the shelves for books with green covers. We found lots of them; too many, in fact, to include in a weekly posting. So then we browsed for books with Irish in the title and found three that we recommend for your reading as you celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

If you're into Ireland's struggle for home rule, The Honorable T.P. O'Connor's Gladstone-Parnell, and the Great Irish Struggle (Chicago, G. L. Howe, c 1886) will give you a complete and thrilling history of Ireland's 19th century political/governmental issues and of the two influential men in that struggle: Charles Stewart Parnell and William Ewart Gladstone.

Or, perhaps you would prefer to read facts and anecdotes about Irish trials. Then Richard Lalor Sheil's two volume set, Sketches of the Irish Bar (New York: W. J. Widdleton, 1861), may be your Irish cup of tea.

But if it's Irish oration that you're after, we suggest you read Irish Eloquence: The Speeches of the Celebrated Irish Orators Philips, Curran, and Grattan: to which is added the powerful appeal of Robert Emmett, at the close of this trial for high treason (Boston: Patrick Donahoe, 1857). The book ends with the latter appeal which was delivered at the Session House, Dublin. (Sadly, in spite of Robert Emmett's eloquence, he was found guilty by the Crown and the execution sentence carried out the following day, September 20, 1803.)

If we haven't convinced you to try one of these works, then we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room next week and let us show you all of the collection's green-covered books. And plan to stay a while and enjoy one of them.

SUSAN B. ANTHONY

2010-03-04T09:50:00.013-05:00

This week Women's History Month arrived and reminded us to look thorough our data base for books on local women of great achievement. Ida Husted Harper's work, The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony: including public addresses, her own letters, and many from her contemporaries during fifty years (Indianapois: Bowen-Merrill, 1899, c.1898) immediately came to our attention.

Harper's dedication states: "To woman, for whose freedom Susan B. Anthony has given fifty years of noble endeavor this book is dedicated." In her introduction, she also states that "...in preparing these volumes over 20,000 letters have been read and, whenever possible, some of them used to tell the story, especially those written by Miss Anthony...." (Vol. 1, p. viii) This is a work of art by a woman, about a woman, and at times in the latter's own words.

There are over a thousand pages and 24 plates in these two volumes. Harper added a third volume to this set, but the Bullis Room has only the first two. All three volumes are available for loan to patrons in the PLS system. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to study the life of this great woman.

Harper's dedication states: "To woman, for whose freedom Susan B. Anthony has given fifty years of noble endeavor this book is dedicated." One hundred years later, we are grateful to Susan B. Anthony for her noble endeavors and to Ida Husted Harper for leaving us this comprehensive record of Miss Anthony's accomplishments.

FREDERICK DOUGLAS

2010-02-25T07:19:00.006-05:00

As February comes to a close, we again focus on Black History books in the collection. Last year we recommended for your reading an 1858 publication compiled from authentic materials by W. O. Blake and titled The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade, Ancient and Modern....

(Please refer to our posting of February 19, 2009.)

This year we suggest Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, Written by Himself (Park Publishing, Hartford, CN, 1882). This book covers "his early life as a slave, his escape from bondage, and his complete history to the present time, including his connection with the anti-slavery movement." A general note states: "Enlarged from the author's My Bondage and My Freedom, New York, 1855."

We have frequently seen and heard Mr. Douglass's name in the press recently. Now we have an opportunity to get better acquainted with him through his own words in this 1882 edition that is on the shelves here in the Bullis Room.

MARK TWAIN

2010-02-18T17:31:00.009-05:00

On this date in 1885, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published for the first time in this country. One hundred and fifteen years later people of all ages are still enjoying Huck's tale along with the many other works by this prolific writer.

A few of Twain's books in the Bullis Collection are pictured here. You can find the complete list of these vintage books by going to http://www.pls-net.org/, first clicking on OWWL catalog and then on Advanced Search (found under and to the left of the regular search box). Next fill in the following boxes:

Author: Mark Twain

Library: Macedon Public Library

Location: Bullis Collection

Then we suggest you make a list of your favorites and bring it to the Bullis Room so we can show you the awesome illustrations in these century-old books.

Bullis Book Chronicles

Historical Reading

May I have your autograph?

Sweet little book

Visitors today

War of 1812

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

LOOKING BACK

SUBJECT: RELIGION

PRESSED FLOWERS FROM THE HOLY LAND

SNIPE SHOOTING

NEW IN THE BULLIS ROOM

BULLIS ROOM TO-DO LIST

HONORING VETERANS

AGAIN, REMEMBERING...

OLD LETTERS

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS PRESENTATION

RECIPES FOR BLACKSMITHS

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES, BLACKSMITHING, AND A BEAR

MARGARET MITCHELL, MARK TWAIN...

BANNED BOOKS

TWO AMAZING WOMEN

LABOR DAY(S)

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS PRESENTATION

ROMANCE AND HISTORY

ROMANCE IN THE BULLIS ROOM

SCHUYLER COLFAX

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

LIFE IN DIXIE

MORE GOOD READING

LEGENDS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

THE REST OF THE STORY

BULLIS FAMILY SCHOLARSHIPS

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS AT STILWELL HOUSE

NATURAL DISASTERS OF THE PAST

REMEMBERING...

TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.R. 1007

MORE HONORS FOR JLB

BIRDS THAT EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW: THE EAST

WHAT MAY BE LEARNED FROM A TREE

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER MONTH

AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING

JLB: CIVIL WAR EYEWITNESS

AUDELS MASONS AND BUILDERS GUIDE

IN MEMORY

EXAMS, FEARS, HARDTACK, AND FAMILY

FROM "JOHNNIE"

MORE LETTERS HOME

LETTERS HOME

BLACK HISTORY

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

BOOKS ABOUT HOUSES

MORE ONLINE BOOKS

ONLINE READING

THE BREESE FAMILY IN MACEDON

WILLIAM PORTER

LAPHAM-PORTER FAMILIES

BULLIS-LAPHAM FAMILIES

FAMILY NAMES

CHARLIE'S MEDIEVAL CASTLE

BULLIS FAMILY IN MACEDON

REMEMBERING AGAIN THOSE WHO SERVED

A LETTER FROM THE PAST

OUR BIG BONFIRE

CONTRASTS: THEN AND NOW

NETTIE BULLIS

NETTIE BULLIS

TIME LINES

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN

CONSTITUTION AND CITIZENSHIP DAY

THE HASH KNIFE OUTFIT by Zane Grey

REVIEW OF THE NOVEL MADAME BOVARY

AND THE WINNERS ARE...(trumpet sounds)

BOOK REVIEW WINNERS

DEADLINE REMINDER

QUINN-DEX, REVISITED

SQUIRE WHIPPLE'S BOOK

AN EMBROIDERY CATALOG

THE ARTS OF EMBROIDERY AND GROWING POPPIES

WOW!