ABRAHAM R. BULLIS, M.D.

Pages 6 & 7, Susan Crowley's document:

"Perhaps because of declining health, Charles Bullis deeded the farm to his physician son, Abraham, in 1863. Dr. Bullis graduated from the Geneva Medical School, which soon afterward became noted for graduating America's first woman physician, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. Abraham Bullis was touched by the fame of an even  more aggressive feminist. His cousin was women's suffrage leader, Susan B. Anthony. In later years his own granddaughter would become a leader in the corporate world. Dr. Abraham Bullis married Lydia Lapham, a member of one of Macedon's founding families. The oldest of their seven children, John Lapham Bullis, became renowned as a military man, fighting in the Civil War, and going on to become a legendary Indian fighter.

     John Lapham Bullis, son of A.R. and Lydia Bullis, was born in New York state on

     April 17, 1841 and was educated at Macedon Center and Lima, New York. On

     August 8, 1862 he enlisted in the 126th New York Volunteer Infantry; in 1864 he

     was captain of the 118th Infantry. He served on the Texas border during 1865 and 

     1866 and entered the regular army in 1867. The greater part of his military career

     was spent in Indian warfare in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. He gained national

     recognition for his work with the Seminole scouts along the Rio Grande, and the 

     Texas Legislature adopted a resolution thanking him for his service against the

     Indians and other enemies of the frontier .. President Theodore Roosevelt approved his

     appointment as brigadier general on April 13, 1905 ... He lived in San Antonio from his

     retirement until his death on May 26, 1911. Camp Bullis was named in his honor.

Dr. Bullis was a popular and dedicated physician adding the teaching of anatomy at the academically fine Macedon Academy to his list of accomplishments. Charles H. Bullis and his son Dr. Abraham Bullis both died in 1866, within a month of each other. The cobblestone house was bequeathed to Abraham's son, Abraham R. Bullis, III."

"PAPA" JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS

This week, June Hamel's interesting and informative presentation on John Lapham Bullis gave attendees an overall look at Macedon's military hero --  as a son, brother, husband, and father.

Over the past nine years, we've posted information about his distinguished military career and his relationship with his parents and siblings. So today, we're sharing with you John Lapham Bullis's "husband and father side" with this photo of his second wife, Josephine Withers Bullis, holding their three daughters: Octavia, and twins Lydia, and Anita.

Josephine Withers (of San Antonio, Texas) and John Latham Bullis were married on September 8, 1891. Twins Lydia and Anita were born September 7 & 8, 1892; Octavia, on April 5, 1894. 

So far, volunteers have found very few documents relating to this family's private life; however, we think that "Papa" John Lapham Bullis must have been quite proud of his family (after all, he waited over 50 years to be a dad). So we think it's fair to surmise that he doted over them as much as he could, given his demanding life.  And, at the end of the day,  he must have looked forward to returning home from his assignments, knowing that his four girls were waiting to greet him.  

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS

Please plan to join us at  2 PM on May 24th in the Bullis Room at Macedon Public Library  as June Hamell  presents a program on John Lapham Bullis.

As you probably know from our many blog posts on John Latham Bullis, he was a distinguished and much-decorated soldier in the Civil and  Spanish-American wars.  

So ... You are invited to June Hamell's presentation on May 24 for the "rest of the story" of this great man.

REACHING OUT -- AGAIN

At our Bullis Room Committee meeting last week, we again talked about how to reach out to more members of the Bullis family. One suggestion was a Facebook page in honor and memory of John Lapham Bullis.  The group liked the idea - and we are currently working on it. (More details will be coming in the next few weeks.)

Our first step toward establishing a Facebook page was to search for current Facebook accounts with the Bullis name.  The results was an impressive list that included "Bullis School."  In reading the history of that educational institution located in Potomac, Maryland, we zoomed in on the name "Captain William F. Bullis." Captain Bullis and his wife founded this school in 1930 to "prepare young men for service academy entrance exams." (www.bulls.org/page/cfm?p=538)
The school continues to thrive today.

However, this new knowledge produced several questions that are now swirling through our heads, two of which are:
1. Is Captain William F. Bullis in any way related to the Macedon Bullises?
2. If so, does Captain Bullis have living descendants?

And a third question we're asking:
3. If you are a descendant of Captain William F. Bullis (or have knowledge of any of his descendants). would you please contact us?

We will greatly appreciate any information about the Bullis family that you can share with us.

ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER LETTER

Document: 117      From Nettie Bullis to Cousin Eleanor      Date: June 4, 1911
From Address: Macedon, NY

"My dear Cousin Eleanor,

Ever since I sent you the Easter card, I've meant to have written and told you how I appreciated your nice long letter received sometime ago.

It has been a most perfect Sunday, with a refreshing breeze this afternoon. If June is anything like May was, we will have plenty of warm days without even a breeze.

How sad about Uncle John's death. I am so sorry for Aunt Josephine and the girls. A paper came yesterday from San Antonio. It seems so sad that some of his relatives weren't there.

Examinations come next week; I have several to try. At present I am debating on whether to go into this years class or not. Mr. Crane said that I thought to go in; Miss Ladner said she thought as I did, that it was a foolish waste of time. I don't like to take the time from my studies, to learn an essay and then get up and deliver it in public. Did you have to write an essay when you graduated? I have got one nearly written on the topic "Life like every other blessing derives its value from its use." I think the law requires one to write an essay, but not to deliver it: it is the custom here, however, to deliver them.

You wondered at my knowing that old-furniture was one of your fads. Something you said the summer you were here led me to believe as I did. I have not fixed up any old pieces lately, yet there are a number that need fixing. A friend loaned me some of her last years Ladies Home Journals, that contained articles on old furniture and house decorations. You wrote you would send me some clippings on furniture when you get them together. I assure you I shall appreciate them. Aunt Helen sent up the Saturday Evening Posts of 1906. With the articles on furniture by the Shacheltons. I hope I can get papa to help fix up the fireplace in the sitting room, this summer. I am very fond of fireplaces, there are two in this house, yet I have never seen an open fire.

A week ago I fixed  a flower bed on the south side of the house and planted part of a package of mixed flower seeds. "A wild garden mixture" said to contain over 400 kinds of flower seeds. I have to let every thing that comes up grow, weeds and all, for I fear I might make a mistake and pull flowers instead of weeds. As I was fixing the bed my thoughts involuntarily turned back to the days when I used to go with Aunt Amy after dirt for her plants. She was a great lover of flowers.

Last fall Papa built a new front stoop. It is 10ft wide and 20ft long; or rather, I should say that he built at it, he has not got the railing up yet. I hope he can get it up soon, and get it painted so that we can start some vines. I imagine it will be a pleasant retreat for the summer, but honestly, cousin, I was sorry to see the old stoop go. Our great grandfather Bullis probably built it when he built the house.

You asked if I saw much of Jessie and Aunt Lydia. I saw Aunt Lydia Thursday afternoon, but I have not seen Jessie since the fall of 1908.

Do you intend to teach school this coming fall? I don't know for sure, what I shall do, I think I shall do some sewing about the first thing after examinations. I have not done any lately, and have run rather short of clothes.

I have a hard cold now, which seems rather out of place in this kind of weather. I hope you are well.

It is getting late and if I don't stop you will be glad that I am tardy in answering letters. With much love,

Nettie

Write me again soon.

WRITING HOME TO MOM

Digging through and organizing folders this week, we came across a document titled "JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS, Letters to his Mother, Mrs. Dr. A. H. Bullis"  followed by a list of dates and synopses of some of Bullis's correspondence with his mother between November 1863 and February, 1867.

We had looked over this document a year or so ago, and this morning, we reread the entry titled "3 Dec 1865."  At that time John Lapham Bullis was in the 118th Infantry, which was located in "Brownsville, opposite Matamoros." The entry reads:

"Near mouth of Rio Grande. Across the river, Maximilianists still determined to hold out against Liberalists. Fearful they will be successful, as L's badly equipped. But L's captured a vessel and turned it over to Americans. French Commodore demanded it be delivered to Imperialists. (Not done) at Bagdad and also captors of it but Weitzel would not and secret orders to guard same. Health good. Johnnie."

We are puzzled by this entry and would appreciate any information and insight that would help explain exactly what happening on the Texas-Mexico border, 149 years ago today--both from the standpoint of our nation's history as well as John Lapham Bullis's personal and professional life.

MORE ON CAPTAIN BULLIS, #1

Bullis Room volunteers are continuing to go through papers that came our way from Texas sources, and this week we focused on a document that was written when John Lapham Bullis resided in the  Santa Fe New Mexico Territory between 1893 and 1897. We'll share this with you in the next two or three posts, so that you can get a sense of this period in the life of Captain Bullis. Here is the first paragraph:

"CAPTAIN JOHN L. BULLIS, of the United States Army, who is now residing in Santa Fe, and filling the position of Indian agent for the Pueblo & Jicarilla Indians, is one of the most honored and esteemed citizens of New Mexico. He occupies a position which is indeed responsible – a position which demands calm and wise judgement as well as bravery and fearlessness. He has charge of some 9000 Indians belonging to the Pueblo tribe and living in some nineteen villages. The Jicarillas number less than 1000 and are located on a reservation. This agency is located in the northwest part of the Territory of New Mexico, where they have 400,000 acres of land and during the year 1894 the Government maintained five day schools and several contract schools, managed by the Catholics, also a boarding school at Bernalillo where seventy-five Indian girls are instructed. This school is also managed by the Catholics. The Pueblo Indians are generally self-supporting and receive but little aid from the government other than the maintenance of the schools before mentioned. The Jicarilla Indians are the wildest in the Territory and receive rations and other supplies weekly. A boarding school is soon to be established in the agency, in the hope that civilizing processes may have their influence upon this wild tribe. The Pueblos also own large tracts of land which were given them by the Spanish government, and which was patented to them by the United States Government as Pueblo lands to be held in common. The Indians who are under the charge of Captain Bullis are as a rule well satisfied and are making some progress toward civilization, particularly along the line of educating their children."

ANOTHER LETTER

We're continuing to look at letters in the collection. Below is one from Nettie Bullis's uncle, John Lapham Bullis, who distinguished himself in the Civil War and then continued his military service in the Southwest. Six months before he wrote this letter to Mr. Hoyt, he was breveted a Major in the U.S. Army "...for Gallant services in action against Indians, near Saragossa, Mexico, July 30, 1876, and in action against Indians, in the Burro Mountains, Mexico, May 3, 1881." (The Army and Navy Courier, November, 1926, "The Border Command--Camp Bullis" by Col. Martin L. Crimmins, U.S.A. Retired)

We have not identified the letter's addressee, as far as his connection to the writer or the Bullis family in general. The text indicates a personal as well as business relationship. And John Lapham Bullis felt free to briefly express, in a "p.s.",  his regard for Mr. Hoyt and his loved ones. They must have received this news with mixed feelings--relief that he was safe at the time of writing but concerned that he was in a dangerous place, hoping "...to reach civilization after a time."

"San Carlos Indian Agency, Arizona,
September 16th, 1890


"For Mr. William B. Hoyt,
Attorney At Law,
Buffalo, Erie County, New York

My Dear Sir:-

Yours of the 3rd inst. received and contents noted.

Replying:

Within a few days, I expect to go to the Railroad, on my way to Texas, for a short trip, and as soon as I reach a Notary I will have a Power of Attorney made out in your name and will mail to your address, at Buffalo with the least possible delay, so as not to delay the process of the law.

Very Truly Yours,
(Signature: John L. Bullis)

P.S. Much love to all. Have had a very hard time here with the Apaches, all of whom are very wild. Have never worked as hard, hope to reach civilization after a time, and if so may then  have the pleasure of meeting you again.Yours.etc. (Initials: J.L.B.)"

WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT

There have been several posts on this blog about Nettie Bullis's Uncle John Lapham Bullis who fought in the Civil War and continued his military career on the western border. His contributions were recognized in many ways, including the naming of Camp Bullis in his honor.

We thought of John Lapham Bullis this week when we heard about the Friends of Macedon Public Library scheduling a June 19 presentation of the Wounded Warrior Project. Mr. Bullis, we feel sure, would have supported such a project in his day, not only because he himself was wounded in the Civil War but also because he was so conscientious about caring for his comrades who suffered such a fate.

We encourage you to come to this presentation  on June 19, 6 PM, here in Macedon Public Library's Community Room.  LCpl. J.M. Gonzalez will explore the project's mission (to honor and empower Wounded Warriors) and its purpose (awareness, enlist public support,  help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and provide unique and direct programs and services. He will also include general background on the organization.

We hope to see you on June 19. And in the meantime, please tell others about this presentation.

GONE WITH THE WIND

An item from a "this-date-in-history" column caught our eye this week. On May 3, 1937, Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Gone With the Wind. And now, 75 years later, her work still stands as one of the great pieces of American literature of all times.  There is a copy of this book in the Bullis Collection. And the collection also contains a significant number of non-fiction books on the War Between the States that Margaret Mitchell skillfully fictionalized.

So ... if you are interested in learning more about the Civil War, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and look at some of these books.  And we also invite you to read (or reread) two of our 2011 posts in which we recorded John Lapham Bullis's eyewitness accounts as a young recruit, taken from his letters home to his family.  (See our April 8, 2011 and April 15, 2011 posts.)

We hope you find one or more of these sources of Civil War history interesting and informative.

BULLIS ROOM TO-DO LIST

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.

REMEMBERING...

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS

"Johnnie" 

 on the 

100th anniversary 

of his death

May 26, 1911

JLB: CIVIL WAR EYEWITNESS

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.

MORE LETTERS HOME

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

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.

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

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.

REMEMBERING AGAIN THOSE WHO SERVED

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.

TIME LINES

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.

THE LOCAL BOY WHO BECAME BRIGADIER GENERAL

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."

HONORING VETERANS

Again, we remember Bullis family members who have served their country through military service.

Philip Bullis, born circa 1630 in England. Philip was a mariner who immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts. He served in Major Savage's Company under Lieut. Gillam from 1675 to 1676 on the Connecticut River during King Philip's War.

Son of John Bullis, born circa 1695 in Dutchess County, New York. John married and had eight sons who grew up on the Bullis Homestead in Dutchess County. One of these sons was a general in the French and Indian War.

Charles Bullis, born 1723 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He later moved to Manchester, Vermont. He served in the Revolutionary War in Captain Gideon Brownson's Company, Warner Regiment, Vermont Militia.

John Lapham Bullis, born 1841 in Macedon, New York. In 1862, he enlisted in the Volunteer Army and was commissioned in 1864, seeing extensive service during the Civil War. He continued his military service in Texas and Mexico with the Buffalo Soldiers, served in the Phillipines and Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and ended his career after President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Brigadier General in 1904.

Charles R. Bullis, born 1891 in Macedon, New York. He enlisted in the Army on September 26, 1917 and was discharged on December 11, 1918. He served as a Private in the 20^th Company, 157 Depot Brigade during World War I. He was stationed at Camp McClellan, Alabama, for part of that time.

To these Bullis men and to all the men and women who have served and are serving in our Armed Forces, we once again say a sincere “Thank You