PREBLE COUNTY OHIO - BIOS *************************************************************************** History of Preble County, Ohio (1881) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH William Bulla William Bulla, the eldest son and second child of Thomas and Susan Bulla, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, April 30, 1810. Rapidly reviewing the history of his family, the reader will note that the family originated in Ireland. A strange and rather romantic circumstance cast the lot of this family upon American soil. About one hundred and fifty years ago three boys, not more than thirteen or fourteen years of age, might have been seen playing along the sea shore. Attracted by the unwonted sight of a ship, and induced by the pressing invitation of the captain, the boys stepped on board the vessel to satisfy their boyish curiosity, and ere they knew it they were sailing away from their native land to distant America. The anguish of the boys upon learning that they had been duped by the wiley captain, and the agony of the bereft parents is hidden by the veil of forgetfulness. The boys had to work their passage, and upon their arrival at the foreign port they were sold by the captain "to pay their passage money." What became of two of these misused lads is not known. Of one, however, there is a history, for he was none other than the great-grandfather of William Bulla. It is probable that the little outcast found a home in Pennsylvania. Upon attaining his majority the love of his kindred and mayhap the tender remembrance of some girlish face, induced him to seek the home from which in childhood he had been so ruthlessly torn. After remaining in Ireland a short time, long enough to find his wife, he returned to this country, and the young couple settled in Pennsylvania. Here William Bulla's grandfather, Thomas, was born, and in due time was married, first to Sallie Wallace, who died without children, and afterwards he was married to Esther Widows, of Chester county, Pennsylvania. They had three girls and nine boys, all of whom, except one little girl, lived to maturity. Thomas Bulla was a member of the Society of Friends, and on this account did not take an active part in the Revolutionary war. After the war the family removed to Randolph county, North Carolina, where April 14, 1779, Thomas Bulla, the father of William, was born. He was a jovial young fellow, very fond of dancing and music, and was the center of the social life of his community. When about nineteen years of age he married Mary Foutz, born in North Carolina, and of German descent. She died about seventeen years ago, leaving three children, two of whom lived to maturity. In 1804 Thomas Bulla and family started for the west. He stopped for a time near Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, at which place his first wife died. Deciding to go further west, he went to Indiana by himself, and entered land in the wilderness which is now the fair territory of Wayne county, Indiana. He remained in the wilderness for six weeks, never hearing a human voice or seeing anything homelike. After building a cabin he returned to Germantown, where a short time previously he had married Susie Mowry, who was born in Pennsylvania, and of German descent. They proceeded to their new home. The Indians were plenty, but fortunately they were friendly. The wolves made weird music around their cabin at night, but they never did any serious damage. There was no settlement farther west than that of Thomas Bulla, and consequently he endured every hardship incident to pioneer life. The nearest mill was near Hamilton, Ohio. Thomas and Susan Bulla had fifteen children, of whom twelve lived to maturity. Their little daughter, Betsey, was drowned in Elkhorn creek when only two years old. William Bulla, the subject of this sketch, had few educational advantages, but managed to get a fair education by dint of hard study. He remained under the parental roof until about nineteen years of age, when, imitating his father's example, he took a wife. His young wife, Mary Edwards, whose parents came from Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1907, was born in 1811, and died in 1864, leaving no children. For nearly three years after his marriage, Mr. Bulla lived in Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1831, near the close of the year, removed to Preble county and settled on his present farm, consisting of the southwest quarter of section twenty-one, of Jackson township. He settled literally in the woods, and worked many a day clearing his land. The first house, a hewed log cabin, is still standing north of Mr. Bulla's barn. He was married on the fourteenth of October, 1866, to Martha A., the widow of George W. Green, of Logansport, Indiana. She was born near Indianapolis, March 3, 1831. By this marriage Mr. Bulla had five children, four girls and one boy, viz: Ida M. and Ada L., twins, born September 8, 1867; Dora V., born January 7, 1870; Jennie, born October 2, 1871, and William Thomas, born November 28, 1873. Since his first vote, which was cat for Jackson, he has voted for every Whig and Republican candidate for President. He has missed voting only three or four times, and these occasions were spring elections. He is by no means radical, and has always voted for principles, which to his mind are best represented by the Republican party. He has never desired office, though at times he has been a township officer. He highly respects Christianity, but is naturally skeptical. Below is appended a prenological description of the forty-two "bumps" on Mr. Bulla's head. The relative sizes are indicated on a scale ranging from one to seven: Amativeness, 3; parental love, 5; friendship, 4, to be cultivated; inhabitiveness, 4; continuity, 6; vitality, 7; conjugal love, 3; combativeness, 6; destructiveness, 4; alimentiveness, 5; acquisitiveness, 6; secretiveness, 3, to be cultivated; cautiousness, 5; approbation, 6; self esteem, 5; constructiveness, 4, to be cultivated; ideality, 5; sublimity, 5; imitation 4, to be cultivated; mirth, 3, to be cultivated; individuality, 5; form, 4; size, 4; weight, 6; color, 5; order, 6; calculation, 4; locality, 5; eventuality, 4; time, 6, tune, 4, to be cultivated; language, 5; casuality, 6; comparison, 4; human nature, 6; suavity, 4; vital temperament, 9 degrees; motive temperament, 9; and mental temperament, 10.