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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Not-So- Wordless Wednesday- 1st Motorcycle Cop in Massachusetts


Byron A. Bullock, born 21 February 1883. He was on the police force of Manchester, Massachusetts, and he rode the first police motorcycle in the state. He is my aunt Shirley Eaton Wilkinson's grandfather. The Bullocks have lived in Essex County since the original immigrant ancestor, Henry Bullock (c. 1595 -1663) came to Salem in the ship "Abigail" in 1635.

Is there a motorcycle expert out there who can tell us what year this photo was taken?

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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
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9 comments:

  1. TCasteelMarch 24, 2010 at 10:09 AM

    Nice Ride!

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  2. UnknownMarch 24, 2010 at 10:16 AM

    How cool! Love the photo. Going to be checking back on your comments for the year.

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  3. JoanMarch 24, 2010 at 2:20 PM

    Good looking guy, great ride, and a uniform to boot. I'm betting he cut quite a swath in the MA countryside.

    I'm not a motorcycle expert, but Googling early 1900 motorcycles, it looks a lot like a 1913 Reading Standard

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  4. KathyMarch 24, 2010 at 4:18 PM

    It is a interesting looking bike!

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  5. Barbara PooleMarch 24, 2010 at 4:25 PM

    Very nice photo, and how wonderful that you have it to share. Henry Bullock was the father-in-law to my Alice Flint (she married Henry's son Henry). Not surprised are you?

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  6. Heather Wilkinson RojoMarch 24, 2010 at 4:36 PM

    Well, another cousin connection! I'm descended several time from Alice's father, William Flint. Alice and Henry Bullock had a son who married Mary Maverick, I'm a descendant of Mary's father Moses and Remember Allerton. That's the Mayflower line I used for membership.

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  7. Susan ParkerMarch 24, 2010 at 5:17 PM

    I am Byron's great granddaughter. He was appointed officer in 1909 and sargeant in 1933. He retired in 1940. History reveals that Motorcycle Officer Byron Bullock kept busy seizing illegal liquor and arresting many illegal rumrunners in this coastal community.
    Susan Parker

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  8. Heather Wilkinson RojoMarch 24, 2010 at 5:27 PM

    Thanks Sue, I just sent you the entire Bullock lineage back to the original Henry, and a copy of Henry's 1644 Will from the Essex Antiquarian. Let me know if you have questions!

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  9. Heather Wilkinson RojoApril 5, 2010 at 7:53 AM

    Dear Readers, We sent this photo off to the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, NY to see if the motorcycle could be indentified. Here is the response:

    Greetings,
    I'm not sure how much help I can be on this. Our initial thought was that it was one of the Thomas Auto-Bi cycles sold by Wm. C. Chadeayne of Buffalo, NY. He sold many of the one and two cyl. models to Fire And Police Departments across the country some where between 1906 and 1913. hope this helps.
    Sincerely,
    Rick Leisenring
    Curator
    Glenn H. Curtiss Museum

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