 Joseph Bull LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 1, p.653-657
Bull, Joseph, a veteran Elder of the Church and the oldest pioneer pressman, book, job and copper-plate printer in Utah, was born Jan. 25, 1832, in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, and was the only son of Daniel Bull and Elizabeth Burdette. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed in the printing business. In 1847 he heard a gospel discourse, delivered by Elder Crandall Dunn, a missionary from Nauvoo, Ills. Occasionally he attended the Mormon meetings until Feb. 15, 1848, when he was baptized and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was the only one of his family who accepted the gospel. Jan. 6, 1851, he left Liverpool for New Orleans on the sailing ship "Ellen," his final destination being Salt Lake City. The company consisted of 466 souls under the presidency of Elders James W. Cummings, Crandall Dunn and William Moss. In the Irish Channel the ship collided with a schooner, was disabled and put into Cardigan Bay, North [p.654] Wales, for repairs. It was laid up there for three weeks. After a pleasant voyage, the company arrived at New Orleans March 14, 1851. Early in April, 1851, the subject of this sketch arrived at Kanesville, Iowa, where he worked for Apostle Orson Hyde in the office of the "Frontier Guardian." In May he accepted an offer from Mr. David Wilken to take him to Utah in consideration of his driving a herd of cattle. This necessitated his walking the entire distance across the plains. The Wilken outfit consisted of ten wagons of merchandise and about 200 head of stock, and was organized in Luman A. Shurtliff's fifty. When the Elkhorn was reached, the river was about four miles wide, it being an unusually rainy season. Ordinary seasons the Elkhorn is a stream about nine roads wide. Wagons were unable to ford the river, and it was decided to take an entirely new route and endeavor to strike the pioneer road, on the north side of the Platte, near Chimney Rock. Several companies, after traveling nearly four hundred miles, took the pioneer road near Fort Kearney, thus gaining about two hundred and fifty miles. At this point Mr. Wilken left the Shurtliff company, and arrived at Salt Lake City Sept. 15, 1851. In the fall of 1851 Bro. Bull worked in the canyons and at various other kinds of outdoor work. Jan. 15, 1852, Apostle Willard Richards engaged him on the printing staff of the "Deseret News." In February he printed the first ball invitation card for the first typographical festival held in Salt Lake City. The cards were printed in colored inks, which he made from dry colors he had brought with him. He printed the first book of Laws passed by the Territorial legislature. In February he was ordained a Seventy and became identified with the 30th quorum, of which he was clerk for several years. Oct. 28, 1854, he married Miss Emma Green, formerly of Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. She was a member of the early dramatic association and was a pioneer professional dress maker of Utah. At the April conference, 1855, Elder Bull was appointed on a mission to California, with Elders George Q. Cannon and Matthew F. Wilkie, to print the Book of Mormon in the Hawaiian language, and afterwards to publish the "Western Standard," a weekly newspaper. On the 10th of May, 1855, in company with Apostle Charles C. Rich, he left home together with his associates, traveling by mule teams to San Bernardino. At San Pedro they took steamer and arrived at San Francisco in the latter part of June. Here Elder Bull commenced setting the type, and printing on a Washington hand press, an edition of 2,000 copies of the Book of Mormon in the Hawaiian language, which was completed early in January, 1856. Feb. 23, 1856, the first number of the "Western Standard" was issued, Elder Bull doing most of the mechanical work. April 6, 1856, he was appointed by Pres. Geo. Q. Cannon to preside over the San Francisco conference, which position he held until July, 1857, when he was released from this appointment and from his labors in the "Standard" office. At a conference held July 18th and 19th, 1857, at San Francisco, he was appointed by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon on a mission to the Sandwich Islands, to publish a semi-monthly paper at Honolulu, in the interest of the Church. He had completed his arrangements and engaged his passage on the ship "Yankee," when a call came from Pres. [p.655] Brigham Young for the Elders to return to Utah, in consequence of the "Buchanan War." This broke up the western missions. In December, 1857, he left San Francisco for Utah, via San Bernardino, traveling with Apostles Orson Pratt, Ezra T. Benson, Elder Geo. Q. Cannon and others, and arrived at Salt Lake City about the middle of January, 1858. He found his wife in good health, and for the first time saw his first born son, Joseph, who was two and a half years old. He resumed his labors in the "Deseret News" office. Shortly afterwards he was engaged by Pres. Brigham Young to do the first copper-plate printing done in the West, for the Deseret Currency Association, which consisted of bank bills of different denominations. He made the ink from the raw material. The plates were engraved by Elder David McKenzie, in a very artistic manner. He was engaged in this work during the summer, and at the general "move" went to Provo and took the press and material there. In the fall he resumed work in the "Deseret News" office. Owing to the war status of the Territory, the "News" had been unable to obtain its usual supply of printing materials from the east, and Bro. Bull was dispatched by Judge Elias Smith, the business manager of the "Deseret News," to San Francisco to purchase a supply. He left home Feb. 21, 1859, performed the trip by stage and mule teams to San Bernardino, and thence traveled by private conveyance to San Pedro, where he took steamer for San Francisco, arriving on the 26th of March. He was successful in purchasing and shipping the supplies. On his homeward journey from San Pedro he assisted in driving one of the eight-mule teams until he reached Santa Clara, Utah, from which place he traveled day and night by stage with a supply of paper, thereby preventing a suspension of the publication of the "News." He reached Salt Lake City, May 27, 1859, making an unprecedentedly rapid trip, having traveled nearly three thousand miles during an absence of a little over three months. After his return home he became a member of the "Mechanics Dramatic Association" of which Mr. Philip Margetts was president. While a member he appeared as Old Mike in "Luke the Laborer," Duke Aranza in "The Honeymoon," and Iago in "Othello." In the fall of 1859 he was appointed a special agent to make a business trip through the Territory in the interest of the "News." He was thus engaged until the following April, 1860, and did his traveling on horseback. In August he was appointed foreman of the printing department, but on Sept. 25, 1860, with but 48 hours' notice, he was called by Pres. Brigham Young to go on a mission to Europe, with Apostle George Q. Cannon. He left Salt Lake City, Sept. 27, 1860, in company with Apostles Orson Pratt, Erastus Snow, George Q. Cannon and other missionaries, traveling by mule teams to the Missouri river. He arrived in Liverpool Dec. 12, 1860. In January, 1861, he was appointed president of the Bedfordshire conference; and in 1863 he succeeded Elder Joseph F. Smith in the presidency of the Sheffield district, comprising the Sheffield, Leeds and Hull conferences. During this mission he also labored in the publishing department of the "Millennial Star" office from January to June, 1862, from March to June, 1863, and from March to May, 1864, and under direction of Pres. George Q. Cannon he superintended the publication of several of the standard works of the Church. He left Liverpool for home May 21, 1864, on board the ship "General McClellan," with a company of 802 Saints, under the presidency of Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph Bull and George G. Bywater. He crossed the plains in Captain Joseph Rawlins' train, in which he acted as chaplin, arriving home September 15, 1864. He was absent on this mission four years, lacking twelve days. On his return he resumed work in the "News" office and for three months had charge of the first Hoe Steam Cylinder Press brought to Utah, which had been recently purchased in New York, by Elder Hiram B. Clawson and shipped across the plains on wagons especially fitted up for the purpose, for the "Deseret News." In the summer of 1865, he was sent south as far as St. George, on special business, and in October he was sent to San Francisco by Hon. Albert Carrington, editor of the "News," to purchase a year's supply of printing materials, traveling by stage to Sacramento, and thence by steamer to San Francisco. Having made his purchase he left San Francisco, Jan. 5, 1865, per steamer with the materials and arrived at San Pedro on the 8th, where he found the teams which he had engaged awaiting him. He also [p.656] purchased and freighted a year's supply of paper for Apostle George Q. Cannon on which to print the first volume of the "Juvenile Instructor." On his return in February, 1866, he resumed labor in the office until the fall of that year, when he was released by Pres. Brigham Young, to take charge of the publication and business of the "Juvenile Instructor," for Apostle George Q. Cannon, and on Jan. 1, 1867, the "Instructor" appeared in its new dress, enlarged to eight pages. In December, 1866, he and Edward L. Sloan issued the "Curtain," for the Salt Lake Theatre, it being the first theatrical programme printed in the Territory. When Apostle George Q. Cannon, who had succeeded Albert Carrington, started the daily "Deseret Evening News," he was released from the "Instructor" and appointed foreman of the "Deseret News" printing establishment, and in February, 1868, Editor Cannon sent him on a special business trip to the Eastern States, to purchase materials and solicit advertisements and subscriptions for the "News." He visited many of the manufacturing and commercial cities where Salt Lake merchants had been purchasing supplies for the Salt Lake market and set before them the advantages of advertising in the "News," as a new era in mercantile matters was about to begin on the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad, which was then built as far west as Cheyenne. At that time only three business firms of Chicago had been doing business with Utah. Having a letter of introduction from Pres. Brigham Young, he soon formed the acquaintance of several members of the Chicago Board of Trade and influential business men in other cities, who used an influence with many leading firms to seek for the Utah trade. He remained for a time in St. Louis and Chicago, and obtained advertisements for the daily, semi-weekly and weekly "Deseret News;" and visited other cities as far as New York with like success. He also purchased presses, type, book-binding materials and supplies for the paper mill. He returned after an absence of seven months. Editor Cannon was well satisfied with his financial success. The same year Apostle Cannon again sent him on similar business with like results; and, with the exception of three trips made by others, he continued every year to go East, and occasionally to California for the "News" until the fall of 1877, resuming charge of the printing departments on his return home. At the October conference, 1877, he was called a second time on a mission to Great Britain; his wife accompanied him on a visit to her relations. They arrived in Liverpool Nov. 15th. He labored during the first year of this mission, portions of the time in the Liverpool office and Birmingham conference, until October 1878, when he was appointed by Pres. William Budge to labor exclusively in the printing department of the Liverpool office. His wife, after having spent a very pleasant year with her relatives, left on her return to Utah Oct. 19, 1878, on the steamer "Wyoming" and arrived in Salt Lake City Nov. 6, 1878. In the fall of 1878 Elder Bull was appointed by the First Presidency to assist Apostle Orson Pratt to get the Book of Mormon electrotyped with foot notes. They proceeded to London, England, and completed the book in about three months, when he resumed his labors in the Liverpool office. In June, 1878, they went a second time to London and obtained electrotyped plates for the Doctrine and Covenants, which enterprise was completed August 15th, when he returned to the Liverpool office. During this period, While he superintended the general printing of the British Mission, there were issued from the press editions of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Spencer's Letters, Pearl of Great Price and Orson Pratt's Key to the Universe, also about 250,000 tracts. Oct. 18, 1879, Elder Bull left England to return to Utah on the steamship "Arizona," with 224 Saints, in charge of Elders William Bramall, Joseph Bull and Andrew Watson, and arrived home Nov. 12, 1879. After his return he labored as a home missionary in the Salt Lake Stake of Zion for several years. He also resumed his labors in the "News" office newspaper and job departments. In February, 1880, he went on his usual eastern and western trips. In 1887 he was appointed superintendent of the "News" newspaper, book, job and press departments. In 1890, while on one of his eastern trips, he bought and shipped a first class Chicago Bullock Perfecting Press, with latest improvements, and a [p.657] complete stereotyping outfit. This purchase has given unqualified satisfaction; for many years he purchased type, presses, bookbinding materials and paper mill supplies for the establishment. Being a practical printer as well as pressman, he was enabled to buy to the satisfaction of the company. He purchased and shipped to Utah the first lithographic printing plant and stereotyping outfit. He assisted in commencing the News Type Foundry. As an advertising solicitor he was a financial success. From the Atlantic to the Pacific he was known as the "Mormon Newspaper Man," and, by his straightforward course he gained the confidence and respect of those with whom he had business relations. Sept. 30, 1892, the "News" management underwent an entire change, and on that date he, with several others who had held leading positions for years, retired. In January, 1893, he made a successful business trip to the Eastern States in the interest of the Salt Lake "Herald," replenishing its columns with first class business advertisements. On his return from this business trip he accepted a position on the "News." Shortly after the opening of the Salt Lake Temple, which occurred May 23, 1893, he was engaged to labor in that building as one of its attaches, and continued there until March 31, 1898. Oct. 24, 1895, his wife Emma died of pneumonia after an illness of five days. When the Salt Lake Temple was opened she was chosen and set apart as one of its workers and held that position until five days before her death. Jan. 8, 1897, Elder Bull married Miss Zina V. Hyde, daughter of the late Apostle Orson Hyde and his wife Marinda, the ceremony being performed in the Salt Lake Temple by the late Pres. Lorenzo Snow. Miss Hyde, prior to her marriage, had been a Temple worker for five years. After his retirement from the Temple, he was engaged to work in the book and job departments of the "News" for a time and afterwards in the newspaper department, where he is at present employed. During his association with the "News" he had several opportunities to engage in other printing enterprises and mercantile pursuits, but preferred to remain with the pioneer establishment. With the exception of his absence on foreign missions, his labors in the Salt Lake Temple and a few weeks spent with the "Herald," he has been continually with the "News" since Jan. 15, 1852, a period of fifty years, making him its oldest employee. During this period he has had the pleasure of aiding the development of the small printing plant brought to Utah by the Pioneers of 1847, until it has become one of the best equipped newspaper plants and publishing establishments in the West. He has been a resident of the 17th Ward since October, 1854.  Joseph Bull 1889 |
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