Henry Bull (speaker)

Henry Bull
Speaker of the House of Delegates of Rhode Island
In office
April 1728 – May 1729
Preceded byJob Greene
Succeeded bySamuel Clarke
Attorney General of Rhode Island
In office
1721–1722
GovernorSamuel Cranston
Preceded byWeston Clarke
Succeeded byDaniel Updike
Personal details
Born(1687-11-23)23 November 1687
Newport, Rhode Island
Died24 December 1774(1774-12-24) (aged 87)
Newport, Rhode Island
Resting placeCommon Burying Ground, Newport
Spouse(s)
Martha Odlin
​
​
(m. 1710; died 1721)​

Phebe Coggeshall
​
​
(m. 1722; died 1774)​
Children16

Henry Bull (23 November 1687 – 24 December 1774) was a colonial attorney and politician in Rhode Island.

Early life

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Bull was born on 23 November 1687 in Newport in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was a son of Henry Bull (1658–1691) and Ann (née Cole) Bull, who lived in Narragansett.[1] After his parents death, Henry and his siblings were left in the care of his aunt Mary (wife of James Coggeshall).[2] Among his siblings were Ephraim Bull and Ann Bull.[3]

His paternal grandfather was Jireh Bull (son of Henry Bull, Governor of Rhode Island from 1685 to 1686 and again in 1690).[4] His uncle, Jireh Bull, married Godsgift Arnold (the daughter of Gov. Benedict Arnold).[5] His maternal grandparents were John Cole of Kingston and Susanna (née Hutchinson) Cole (a daughter of William and Anne Hutchinson).[6]

Career

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Bull was apprenticed as a carpenter, but abandoned it to study law at the age of twenty-seven, becoming "one of the foremost lawyers of his day in Rhode Island."[7] In 1720, he was appointed captain of the First Military Company in Newport.[7]

He served as Attorney General of Rhode Island from 1721 to 1722. In 1720, he was elected as a Delegate to the Rhode Island General Assembly and served as Speaker of the House of Delegates from April 1728 to May 1729.[8] He was the first justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the Newport County when the courts were established in 1729.[7]

Personal life

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On 22 June 1710, Bull was married to Martha Odlin (1691–1721), a daughter of John Odlin and Lydia (née Tillinghast) Odlin.[1] Before her death in 1721, they were the parents of four sons and two daughters, including:[1]

  • Henry Bull (1711–1731), who died unmarried.[9]
  • Lydia Bull (1712–1764), who married Capt. Rouse Potter.[10]
  • John Bull (1715–1726), who died young.[9]
  • Elisha Bull (1718–1718), who died in infancy.[9]
  • Jireh Bull (1721–1721), who died in infancy.[9]

After the death of his first wife, he married Phebe Coggeshall (1706–1774) on 1 February 1722. Phebe was a daughter of Daniel Coggeshall of Portsmouth (son of President John Coggeshall) and Mary (née Mowry) Coggeshall.[1] Together, they were the parents of seven sons and three daughters, including:[1]

  • Joseph Bull (1722–1774), who married Sarah Nichols in 1746.[11]
  • Ann Bull (1723–1790), married William Stevens, son of John Stephens, in 1742.[12]
  • Daniel Bull (1725–1753), who died unmarried.[9]
  • Mary Bull (1728–1821), who married Jonathan Nichols, Deputy Gov. of Rhode Island, in 1750.[13] After his death in 1756, she married John Gideon, son of Gov. Gideon Wanton, in 1760.[9]
  • Peleg Bull (1730–1750), who died unmarried.[9]
  • Henry Bull (1732–c. 1781)[9]
  • John Bull (1734–1808), who married Ruth Cornell, a daughter of George Cornell of Middletown.[7]
  • Phebe Bull (1739–1814)[9]
  • William Bull (1740–c. 1782)[9]
  • George Bull (1743–1760), who died young.[9]

Bull died on 24 December 1774 and was buried in the Common Burying Ground in Newport.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Bull, James Henry (1918). Miscellaneous Notes, Pedigrees, Etc., Relating to Persons of the Surname of Bull. J.H. Bull. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-598-99186-7. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  2. ^ Andrews, Adele (1965). The Ancestors and Descendants of Peter Thatcher and Lucinda Stanton Wales. pp. 28–29. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  3. ^ Hinman, Royal Ralph (1852). A Catalogue of the Names of the Early Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut: With the Time of Their Arrival in the Country and Colony, Their Standing in Society, Place of Residence, Condition in Life, where From, Business, &c., as Far as is Found on Record. Case, Tiffany. pp. 386–402. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Gov. Henry Bull and his Descendants". Rhode Island Historical Magazine. 5. Newport, Rhode Island: 12–17. 1884. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  5. ^ Austin, John Osborne (1887). Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island. Albany, New York: J. Munsell's Sons. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-8063-0006-1.
  6. ^ Cutter, William Richard (1913). New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. pp. 145–147. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Bicknell, Thomas Williams (1920). The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. American Historical Society. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  8. ^ Jordan, John Woolf (2004). Colonial And Revolutionary Families Of Pennsylvania. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 687. ISBN 978-0-8063-5239-8. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bulletin of the Newport Historical Society. The Newport Historical Society. 1930. pp. 6–30. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  10. ^ Potter, Charles Edward (1888). Genealogies of the Potter Families and Their Descendants in America to the Present Generation: With Historical and Biographical Sketches. A. Mudge & Son. p. 22. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  11. ^ The Newport Historical Magazine. Newport Historical Publishing Company. 1881. p. 106. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  12. ^ Luti, Vincent F. (2002). Mallet & Chisel: Gravestone Carvers of Newport, Rhode Island, in the 18th Century. New England Historic Genealogical Society. pp. 94–99. ISBN 978-0-88082-113-1. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  13. ^ Arnold, James N. (1 January 1895). Vital Record of Rhode Island : 1636-1850 : first series : births, marriages and deaths : a family register for the people. Dalcassian Publishing Company. p. 37. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
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