The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-05
WILLIAM BULL AND WIFE.
THEIR STONE HOUSE, BUILT M
YEARS AGO, STIBL STANDING.
Theirs the FIRST weaaiuE in Orange County
MIRA BnIi, when sarah Wells. Ptnetrated
the Wilderness Guidsd By Three Hndians-
IOa when .~ne Died-lB. 600 Descendants.

the Wilderness Guided By Three Hndians-
o Nghsn -Se Died-ls. 900 pesccndants.
CHESTER, n. ", June AIT HAmptonburg, q
few miles from this village, stands a quaint and
ancient stone house, one Of the oldest of many
similar specimens Of colonial architecture that
remain intact In this part of Orange county. II
having been built nearly q century and three
quarters ago. In the family graveyard on the
tho grounds Of this honry mansion are many old
graves. At the heads Of two Of these, side by
side, moss.Erown slabs bear witness. by tho in.
scriptions upon them, that beneath one lies the
body of William Bull. who diod in 1855. aged 90.
and beneath tho other that of his wife, Sarah
Wells, who died in 1896. aged 1O2.
William Bull and his wife were the first per-
sons to dwell in tho old stono house. They were
married in the wilderness, and theirs wns the
frat wedding in all the country between the
Hudson River and the Minisink settlements on
the north New Jersey border. The annals of
pioneer life will be searched in vain for a story
30 marked with strange and romantic incidents
az that OF William Bull and Sarah Wells.
In 1908 Christopher DEM. n resident of
Staten Island and a man Of consequences ut that
time. joined with a number Of other Staten ISL
anderE and purchased OF the Indians, who then
held possession of most Of this part of Now
York State, $780, 900 acres Of land in what are now
the populous Orange county towns Of Goshen,
WaWayOnQn, CnobIcT, hanpUOnDuT2 monroe,
Blooming Grove. and Waikiki. Donn's holding
In this vast tract was 1000 acres, Soon after
the purchase was made he opened an Office in
whitehall street. New York, for the purpose of
disposinE Of the land to settlers. The demand
for homes in the wilderness with untamed saw
ages as their nearest neighbors was so small that
none Of the land had yet been called for In 1712.
BY this time Christopher DEM had exhausted
his means in his efforts to bring the lands into
market, and was in debt. No settlement having
been made on any part Of the great Orange
county purchase. Dcnn resolved to start a settle
ment on 1t himself, believing that then other
settlers would follow and the wilderness BIO
made rcmunerative. thus enabling him to save
his land from sale for debt and to retrieve his
fortune. With this end in view he visited his
wild domain early in the spring Of 1T12 and Sc
lected a site for a cabin. He returned to New
York for supplies, taking three Indians with
him. The spot staked out by Dem for that
pioneer settlement was on the banks of a stream
now known as the Otterkill, five miles from the
present village Of Goshen.
Between 1903 and 1872 settlements had been
made on the Hudson at New Windsor. and at
Orangetown, now in Rockland County. but be-
tween the Hudson and the Delaware rivers
there were not 100 white people all told, and
they were grouped near tho New Jersey border.
Sloops on the Hudson were the only means of
transportation between Now York and Albany.
and New Windsor was a stopping place Of some
Importance, for it was the supply centre for all
the settlers between there and the Delaware
River. With the help Of others interested In the
Orange County lands DEM was enabled to pro-
cure q sloop, the services Of two carpenters, two
horses, two cows. and other utensils and imple-
monts necessary for beginning the settlement
Dennis family consisted of his wife and an
orphan girl, then 10 years old, named Sarah
| Wells. When all was in readiness for the start
ing of Dennis sloop for New Windsor, DEM.
who evidently had not been favorably impressed
with life In the wilderness, made the announce
ment to his wife and Sarah Wells that his az
fairs were in such condition that his going to
his lands to make tho necessary settlement was
entirely out Of the question, and that Sarah,
under guidance Of the three Indians, must 60 to
the wilderness. as there was no one else to 90,
and take on her shoulders the burden of making
the settlement. Otherwise he would be ruined.
As a reward for her peri!ous undertaking he
promised her 100 acres of tho land.
II looked around whom he had ceased speak
ing" said Sarah Wells, in after years, upon
clad. filthy. in person. and their dark eyes fell
upon me like the gaze OF . reptile. ! shuddered.
humanity Of tho proposition"to settle, in the
company of savARcS OF unknown fidelity, q pat
;5i. Ct an sT sssDs wildo SnS r tw1nsSy % oHsT s. sGr %iIa
beasts OF prey-and consented to it without a
word J"
According to an inventory which Sarah Wells
made from memory for one Of her descendants,
the outfit selected for establishing that pioneer
Two pack horses with bells on. two milk COWS
with bells on, two Irish ,brahams, two dogs, one
spade. two pals. two beds and bedding, one
small and ono larger pot. ono small and ono
larger kettle. wood tronchers and bowls. candle
2siE.s sm nan f tin plates l Ra's ss 1l sn4n eofiec-po 5sy With
coffee, teapot, chocolate, tin canister with tea,
siI Ncnnt teaspoons snS Sanc and sS@EssTI tS on EoIo S : , S6ins
bags, pillow saddle, knives and forks, some
potatoes. wallets. medical %cordiAls In walls, re-
lined sugar in small pieces. brown sugar in rolls.
-four. biscuit, ham in sacks, some trinkets. rib
bons, and small knives for thelndians.
tiers. This was late In the afternoon OF May 81.
rived at Now Windsor landing. Next morning
the cargo Of the sloop was packed on tho two
the party started afoot on tho Journey of twenty
miles into tho wilderness. Whatever Sarah
via wSiAs tram hsp's they %A were %st groundlo Sa t Ths journey journey
was ended at nfghtfAll on tho Goth. Next day
s sinai fs eaSin en tn, RnsG spot f s stsRad o aeq BY Chr fS a
hamlet Of Campbell Hall. The cabin was for;
mally taken In possession by Sarah Wells. and
the last remnant Of Dennis. property was saved.
After the orphan girl had departed on the
pher DEM was SO stricken with remorse that he
slept none that night, and At dAybreak mort
with tho determination Of joining the forlorn
girl In the wilderness. They succeeded so we'll
In their long. and tedious Journey that they
found the cabin on the third day, and but a
short time after Sarah Wells had taken posses
sion OF 1t. Other settlers quickly followed the
Donns into tho wilderness. and in a few years he
had sold OF his land SO adVRntageously that he
recovered his lost fortune and was still a large
landowner.
Among thos, who came into tho region was a
settler named Daniel Cromeline. He settled
near whore the village of Chester now Is. on tho
line OF travel between the Hudson and the Della
ware, and, in 17l6. resolved To build a stone
house on his place to be used as n tavern. lie
went to New York to engage workmen. Hear
ing that n vessel mad Just arrived from England
having on board immigrants who were anxious
+ to obtain work. Cromeline visited tho vessel
He found there a young lrishnan who said his
name was William Bull. lie was a stonoInAsOn
He had failed on IL contract for building a bridge
near Dublin, and had paid his last cent. fol
I passage 10 America. On arriving Mt New Sorl
I, the Captain of the vessel had informed him
! that his passage had not been suf efficiently paid
: and that he must I've sold. as the custom was