Digging Back: Bull: 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).