Clarence Bull (1899-1941) Part I

This is going to be a huge project, so please bear with me. As any genealogist knows, the research is tedious and time consuming. Many days, weeks, months even years can go by with no new finds, and then .... one name appears - and you are set off on a new lead.

To my family members who have memories of Clarence - or remember things your parents told you about him - please add those thoughts to the comments - or send me an email and share those thoughts with me. I can only write what I remember or have been told - and we all know how fragile our memories can be. 

So before we get started here is a FAMILY PAGE from my Ancestry Tree. 
How am I related to all of this? Hopefully this photo will help.

My father was Morris Bull. He had 2 brothers - Robert and Edward.
They had a sister Evelyn (who married Otis Neff).

Clarence Bull was their father. 

So let's get started. 

I would like to introduce to you Clarence Leonard Bull.  

(remember you can click on any photo to make it larger)

 

Growing up, this was the only image I ever had of Clarence. He was my dad's father.

The photo sat on my father's dresser. Many people told me I looked like him.

Things I remember hearing about him - 

He was a writer.

He was a newspaperman.

He worked with the police department.

He drank.

He made my grandma mad a lot and causing her to pick up the kids and leave town for awhile.

He was a photographer.

They lived on a farm on Goodrich Road in Clarence Center. 

He died of a heart attack on December 1, 1941. 

He was 42 years old. 

My dad always told us that he was the one to find him in the backyard of of the house on Goodrich. 

My dad was just 16 years old.

(Uncle Robert's children remember a different version of him being found)

 

 When my dad died in 1995 and then my mom in 2001 - my siblings and I had to go thru everything that had been left behind. Sifting through boxes and drawers we came upon a box of photographs.  As I remember being told, When Gladys died (my dad's mother), and her things were divided up between her children - this was the box that dad had gotten.  

The following is a collection of some photos from the box along with pieces of information I have been able to gather thru research and chatting with cousins. 

Clarence Leonard Bull was born on April 1, 1899 

to Thomas Leonard Bull and Sarah M (Armstrong) Bull. 

He was born in Monroe County near Rochester, possibly Oswego area. 

He had a sister named Bessie - who was born in 1883. 

Below is an image from the 1900 US Federal Census. I took w photos (each 1 side) as the document is very wide and too hard to read.

 

 A bit easier to read is the write up on it. But it is important to note that mistakes happen OFTEN. Just look at the spelling of Bull. It's a wonder I ever found the document :)

His Sister Bessie married George Sargent in 1902 and moved to Dubois Pennsylvania. She died of TB in 1905.  Clarence was about 6 years old.

Clarence's father died in Oswego in 1911. Clarence was about 12 years old.

When he was almost 17 years old he joined the New York National Guard 

for the Mexican Punitive Campaign in February of 1916.

 Click the words to find out more about that.

He was  5' 71/2" with ligh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.

He was discharged in April  1917

One month later he married my Grandmother 

on the afternoon of Saturday May12, 1917 in Brockport, NY

 From the document above - I have learned:

Clarence lied about his age (again). He was born April 1, 1899, so he would have just been 18 years old.  Gladys also lied - She was born in June 1, 1900 making her a few weeks shy of 17.

Clarence was a salesman at this point. 

His mother was Sarah M. Armstrong and his father was Thomas L. Bull both from the United States.

We also find out Gladys' parents names (but we will come back to her - when I post on her).

George H Allen was the minister. 

Chester Hollenback and Mrs. Hollenbeck (Chester's wife - when cross referenced with the news clipping below) were the witnesses.  I have yet to figure out who Chester Hollenbeck was. Gladys' Grandmother Susan (nee Sage) was first married to Ira Coleman.  They sired Frank. Something happened to Ira - and Susan married James Hollenbeck. They had a son Charles. I wonder if Chester perhaps was his son. (TOTAL CONJECTURE ON MY PART HERE).

The Batavia News made a mistake with Gladys' middle initial. Should not be an L but an S for Sarah.

And from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Clarence L. Bull and Gladys S. Bull

On September 12, 1918 registered for World War I

I think I am going to call it quits for today.  I have lots more info on Clarence and look forward to sharing it in future posts. 

Please feel free to comment or share any info you may have - so we can create an accurate profile of his life.

Getting Started ...

Back in the Spring of 2002, my oldest son was assigned an Ethnic Festival Project. Each student had to research one of the lands that their ancestors had come from.

Now I had always been interested in my family history. I always asked questions of my parents and grandparents - but never thought to write anything down. As kids we never think about losing the ones we love. We never think that they won't be there to ask questions of. But it happens - and all of a sudden there is no one left to ask.

This Blog is about my father s family. I am going to start with my dad's generation and his siblings - but out of respect for my own siblings and cousins - who are all living - I do not plan to get into those relationships.

I never met my father's father. He died in December of 1941. My dad was just 16.  His mother passed away in 1972. I lost my dad in 1995. But there was a trail that was left - that I could follow. After my mom passed away in 2001 we had to go thru all of their things to get the house ready to sell.

In searching through my parents lives - in the things that were left behind,  my siblings and I found clues to help us in our search. Photos packed away in a box in the garage.  In talking with relatives and with the  internet and some ancestry websites I began to dig into my roots.

It has been long and slow - and is a continuous project of patience and love. Initially writing things down for my son to use for his project - I stopped after getting most of what I could get from free websites. A couple years later my next son had the same project (different teacher) and so the search started again - only this time I started with some paid subscriptions and found more.

This blog is to share the information that I have found on the ancestors of my dad pictured here 

Morris Gardiner Bull
1925-1995

Perhaps  somewhere down the road this info will be helpful for future generations wanting to dig back in their roots.