George W. Bull, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of George W. Bull
GEORGE W. BULL. Many of the ablest men in America are ardent devotees of the great basic industry of agriculture, and it is well that this is so because the various learned professions are rapidly becoming so crowded with inefficient practitioners that in a few years it will be practically impossible for any but the exceptionally talented man to make good or even to make a competent living therein. The independent farmer who, in addition to tilling the soil, cultivates his mind and retains his health, is a man much to be envied in these days of strenuous hustle and nervous energy. He lives his life as he chooses and is always safe from financial ravages and other troubles of the so-called "cliff-dweller." An able and representative agriculturist who has done much to advance progress and conserve prosperity in Porter county, Indiana, is George W. Bull, who owns and operates the Moss Lake dairy farm in Liberty township.
A native of Liberty township, Porter county, Indiana, George W. Bull was born July 12, 1856, and he is a son of Theodore and Anna M. (Keeler) Bull, the former of whom was born in Onondaga county, New York, and the latter of whom was born in Sandusky county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Bull came with their respective parents to Porter county, Indiana, as children, and here grew up and were married. In 1858 they located on a farm in section 36, Liberty township, where they continued to reside during the remainder of their lives. He died in 1891 and she passed to the life eternal in 1904. They were the parents of five boys and three girls, five whom are living, in 1912, namely: George W., whose name forms the caption for this review; Miles O., who is married and resides on a farm in Kansas; Charles A., a resident of Washington township, Porter county; Olive, who is the wife of Charles A. Campbell, of Valparaiso; and Mary, who is the wife of William Schmell, of Liberty township. Theodore Bull and his wife were devout members of the Christian church, and in his political allegiance he was a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor. He was deeply and sincerely interested in community affairs and ever gave freely of his aid and influence to support such measures and enterprises as were calculated to benefit humanity.
George W. Bull grew up on the old homestead farm, in the work and management of which he early began to assist his father. He attended the district schools during the winter terms and during the summer seasons worked upon the farm. From his eighteenth to his twenty-seventh year he worked for his father for wages and after his marriage, in 1883, he began to farm on his own account, locating on his present beautiful estate just across the road from the parental homestead. Mr. Bull's place is known as the Moss Lake Farm and he makes a specialty of stock-raising and dairy work. The farm consists of eighty acres and is recognized as one of the finest little estates in the county. In politics he is an independent.
In November, 1883, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bull to Miss Elma E. Skinner, who was born in Porter county, Indiana, in 1861, and who is a daughter of Stephen L. Skinner, of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Bull have eight children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth: John C. was graduated in the district schools and is farming on his own account in Liberty township, this county; Ollie is the wife of Edward Esserman, of Liberty township; Clara is the wife of Truman Lenberg and they reside at La Porte; Ruth, Mabel and Edith all were graduated in the common schools and reside at home, as do also Bertha and Ethel. The latter is a student in the high school at Valparaiso.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 792-793
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook