Henry Bull (speaker) explained

Henry Bull
Office:Speaker of the House of Delegates of Rhode Island
Term Start:April 1728
Term End:May 1729
Predecessor:Job Greene
Successor:Samuel Clarke
Office1:Attorney General of Rhode Island
Term Start1:1721
Term End1:1722
Governor1:Samuel Cranston
Preceded1:Weston Clarke
Succeeded1:Daniel Updike
Birth Place:Newport, Rhode Island
Death Place:Newport, Rhode Island
Resting Place:Common Burying Ground, Newport
Spouse:
Children:16

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

Early life

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 (Cole) Bull, who lived in Narragansett. After his parents death, Henry and his siblings were left in the care of his aunt Mary (wife of James Coggeshall).[1] Among his siblings were Ephraim Bull and Ann Bull.[2]

His paternal grandfather was Jireh Bull (son of Henry Bull, Governor of Rhode Island from 1685 to 1686 and again in 1690).[3] His uncle, Jireh Bull, married Godsgift Arnold (the daughter of Gov. Benedict Arnold).[4] His maternal grandparents were John Cole of Kingston and Susanna (Hutchinson) Cole (a daughter of William and Anne Hutchinson).[5]

Career

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." In 1720, he was appointed captain of the First Military Company in Newport.[6]

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.[7] He was the first justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the Newport County when the courts were established in 1729.[6]

Personal life

On 22 June 1710, Bull was married to Martha Odlin (1691–1721), a daughter of John Odlin and Lydia (Tillinghast) Odlin.[8] Before her death in 1721, they were the parents of four sons and two daughters, including:[8]

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 (Mowry) Coggeshall.[8] Together, they were the parents of seven sons and three daughters, including:[8]

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

Notes and References

  1. Book: Andrews . Adele . The Ancestors and Descendants of Peter Thatcher and Lucinda Stanton Wales . 1965 . 28-29 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  2. Book: Hinman . Royal Ralph . 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 . 1852 . Case, Tiffany . 386-402 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  3. Gov. Henry Bull and his Descendants . Rhode Island Historical Magazine . 1884 . 5 . 12-17 . 22 December 2023 . Newport, Rhode Island.
  4. Book: Austin, John Osborne . John Osborne Austin . Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island . Albany, New York . J. Munsell's Sons . 978-0-8063-0006-1 . 1887 . 265 .
  5. Book: Cutter . William Richard . 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 . 1913 . Lewis Historical Publishing Company . 145-147 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  6. Book: Bicknell . Thomas Williams . The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations . 1920 . . 3 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  7. Book: Jordan . John Woolf . Colonial And Revolutionary Families Of Pennsylvania . 2004 . Genealogical Publishing Com . 978-0-8063-5239-8 . 687 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  8. Book: Bull . James Henry . Miscellaneous Notes, Pedigrees, Etc., Relating to Persons of the Surname of Bull . 1918 . J.H. Bull . 978-0-598-99186-7 . 10 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  9. Book: Bulletin of the Newport Historical Society . 1930 . . 6-30 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  10. Book: Potter . Charles Edward . Genealogies of the Potter Families and Their Descendants in America to the Present Generation: With Historical and Biographical Sketches . 1888 . A. Mudge & Son . 22 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  11. Book: The Newport Historical Magazine . 1881 . Newport Historical Publishing Company . 106 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  12. Book: Luti . Vincent F. . Mallet & Chisel: Gravestone Carvers of Newport, Rhode Island, in the 18th Century . 2002 . New England Historic Genealogical Society . 978-0-88082-113-1 . 94-99 . 22 December 2023 . en.
  13. Book: Arnold . James N. . Vital Record of Rhode Island : 1636-1850 : first series : births, marriages and deaths : a family register for the people . 1 January 1895 . Dalcassian Publishing Company . 37 . 22 December 2023 . en.