General Notes

This following letter was written by J. R. Hull. It explains the name of H
ull from Monroe. As a child this family of Monroe was going to leave Kentu
cky and cross the Mississippi river and settle in Missouri. The river w
as at flooding stage and the family of Monroe decided not to try it, but t
his family of Hulls who had no chldren, went ahead and took this chi
ld of the Monroe family with them. As stated in the letter, he took the na
me of Hull. If he was ever adopted, as of this date, we do not know. (A di
fferent version of this story told to Paul Hull by his father Dick Hull w
as that the Monroe parents drowned crossing the river.)
This is a copy of a letter found in a house in Macon, Mo. It was writt
en by Jas. Riley Hull to a nephew Wm. A. Mick. This explains the Hull nam
e. This letter was found unmailed, why--no one knows. This was Clyde Hull
’s grandfather, Charle’s great-grandfather and Jeffery’s and Michael’s gre
at-great-grandfather.
May 17, 1876
My Dear Nephew,
I seat myself to let you know that we received your kind letter of Marc
h, which we were glad to read and to hear that your good sisters childr
en were living as near us as they are, so that if we live we get them thou
gh we never saw her, if I did it was when I was a little babe. I was to
ld that I had a sister named Sarah some where in the west, but I knew wh
en I came to Mo. in the year 1835 (to where Macon now is the attached pa
rt of Randolph) with a man and his wife named Hull, and they never had a
ny children. They called me Jas. Riley Hull instead of Monroe, so I have a
lways went by that name in this state. Done all the business that I ever d
one in that name, J.R. Hull, while I was living in Macon county.
Your ma was living in 30 miles and we did not know it. She never knew it a
nd I not until recently. Oh how glad I would have been to have known whe
re she was while she was living at that time. I did not know that I had a
ny kin in this state. Our kin are mostly living in Kentucky. I was in t
he state in 1860 and one of my sisters came home with me and has made ho
me with ever since, till 30th day of last month and she concluded that s
he would leave the state she was then in and go to the married state. H
er name is now Cynthia Ann McKenzie.
If come to see us, the nearest station is Callao.
I have three children. I was married December 2nd, 1847, to Miss Celia Rat
cliff, she lived one year and is the mother of my oldest who was born Octo
ber the 3rd, 1848. His name is Micajah Lenord Hull (pronounced McCager) a
nd on the 22nd of Jan., 1854 I married again to Miss Burrilla Biswell whi
ch the mother of my other two. One a boy and the other a girl. The boy w
as born March the 3rd, 1857 and his name was Minor H. Hull and the girls n
ame was Cordelia D. Hull, she was born March the 31st, 1859. The ma died t
he 18th of the next April when she was three weeks old and I have been a w
idower for seventeen years. I will be 50 the 24th of next July.
Now if you have you ma likeness, do bring it with you, when you can, do co
me and see us. We would be so glad. Write soon as you get this. Let us fi
nd out your other brother and sister and tell them to come and write.
J. R. Hull