Any info on silversmiths?

[Nick Carver]

I am researching Bulmans(Bullmans) from Newcastle. Luckily they are a scarce breed and I suspect from the ease with which I was able to trace the family to the early 1600s, that they were reasonably well-to-do. That is further reinforced by a reference I have found to a Bulman from Newcastle attending a public school.

I have found a reference to George Bulman, whose silver was being produced in the 1720s in Newcastle. A preemptory search for information on him on the net has only found a couple of pieces of his that were for sale recently so I wanted to ask if anyone can suggest any resources (possibly from the guild of silversmiths' perspective) that might shed further light on the matter?

I am assuming that the chances of finding wills for some of these Bulmans is greatly increased if they were relatively prosperous and will follow that line independently.

Thanks for any suggestions.
Nick

[Rod In Sussex]

Nick,

Newcastle had it's own assay office until 1884. When it was closed its old records were placed in the Black Gate Museum of the old Castle (according to my 1925 book on hall marks that is!)

If you can trace these through whatever city archives that there are for Newcastle, then you may well find out more information about your ancestor.

Hope this is of some use

Rod

[Nick Carver]

Thanks Rod, will try to follow that up. It certainly makes life easier if I have at least a vague idea of what I am trying to find.

[thecelt]

Hi - I'm from the USA and my maiden name is Bulman.  My Bulmans are from County Cork, Ireland - Mitchellstown to be precise.  My grandfather Thomas Bulman emigrated to New York City circa 1920 where he worked in the Fire Department.  The Bulmans have been in Ireland since the 1600's, originally from England/Scotland according to my grandfather.
Sorry I don't have info on silversmiths in Newcastle, but the name is not that common and I thought I'd respond when I read "Bulman."
Joan

[Nick Carver]

Welcome aboard Joan, always nice to see a new RootsChatter and particularly so if it is one who is interested in one of my names ;-)

There appear to be two clutches of Bulmans - one from the Cambridgeshire area and one from Northumberland/Cumberland. There is a small hamlet in Gosforth (suburb of Newcastle) called Bulman and I suspect (given how easy it was to trace my line) that the family by the same name were land owners. BTW, I also suspect they married into the Heselrigg family (the name of an adjacent hamlet in Gosforth) which can trace its origins back to the late 1200s. I haven't confirmed that link however.

If your Bulmans went to Ireland in the 1600s, perhaps they were Cromwell's men? In which case they may have originated from the North East, which I believe was strongly parliamentarian (one of the Hesilriggs - Sir Arthur - was a prominent opponent of the King). If you let me know what you have in terms of their ancestry, I'll try and fit it in with what I have (if possible).

Nick

[thecelt]

Good morning from Albuquerque...
Yes indeed, my grandfather and his brother said the Bulmans were officers in Cromwell's army and were given land in Cork.  They were ,for a while, part of the Anglo-Irish upper class in Ireland, but since all the Bulmans in my family were staunch Irish Catholics for generations, they obviously assimilated into local Cork society.
When I was in Dublin years ago, I found in the Geneology office information on the Bulmans in Cork (the only county in Ireland where the name appeared for 200+ years), beginning with a Captain Richard Bulman who married a Catherine Phelan in the 1700's. I have just moved and my notes from that registry are currently in storage, but as soon as my husband and I settle into our new house in August, I can share the rest of the Bulman information I gleaned from there.
My grandfather grew up on a farm in Mitchellstown,Co.Cork - apparently his father's oldest sister controlled the family purse strings and when he decided to marry a Maguire girl whom his sister thought beneath him, he was cut off financially.  This set the stage for emigration to the States around 1920 for my grandfather where he married my grandmother from Belfast. My dad, David Bulman, was born in NYC in 1924 and fougnt in WWII.  My sisters and I were all born and raised in New York City but are now scattered across the USA, Eileen in Florida, Patricia in California, and me in New Mexico.
Did you know there is a pub in Kinsale,Co.Cork, called The Bulman? About 200 hundred years ago an English boat crashed into the rocks outside Kinsale harbour and this boat was called the Bulman... many other boats crashed into the rocks there and a marker (bouy) was put down which the locals called the Bulman Bouy after the Bulman crash. The pub was named for the boat and bouy. My cousin has visited the pub - http://www.thebulman.com/
I am very interested in your thoughts on the "North East" origins of the family based on the Cromwell connection. Hesilrigg is a new name to me - is it Anglo-Saxon?  My English history is a bit fuzzy, I'm afraid - if the North East was parliamentarian, does that mean they were pro-Cromwell, anti-monarchy?
I remember my grandfather saying in his soft Cork brogue, "that Cromwell was a dirty bastard - it's a shame that our ancestors were with him!"
Anyway, that's about all that I have for now.  Thanks for your very good information and I look forward to exchanging more.
Joan

[Nick Carver]

Let me share with you a link I found on Hesilrigge http://www.kinnexions.com/smlawson/hesilrig.htm#Hesilrige. Cromwell's mob were parliamentarian or anti-monarchist. I have not yet proved a link with the genealogy with the link, but my ancestor Hesilrigg Bulman (sometimes known as Hazelrigg) was the grandson of Stephen Bulman and Alice Hesilrigge (I think the spelling doesn't matter). I don't have my records handy, but I believe Hazelrigg Bulman was born in about 1730, which makes Stephen either the son or grandson of people who would have fought in the civil war. I haven't looked yet at siblings of this line, which I only discovered last month. Happy to share any further information.

FWIW, my maternal family were Sullivans from Co Cork (originally) and their catholicism ended when one of them married a staunch Primitive Methodist. So it happens quite frequently.

[LPinder]

Hi, I realise this post was from a good while back now, but has there been anymore discovered on the possible genealogy link between Arthur Hesilrigge and Alice Hesilrigge/Hazelrig/etc who was the grandmother of Hesellrigge Bulman/Bullman?

We have Alice, Edward Bulman, Stephen Bulman etc in our ancestry and trying to find more info further back!