John Story Gulick (1817 - 1884)

Born 14 May 1817 in Kingston, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States

Ancestors

Died 6 Nov 1884 at age 67 in Kingston, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States

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Biography

Pay Director John Story Gulick was born near Kingston, Mercer Co., N.J., May 14, 1817. The family of the Gulicks is of Holland origin, having emigrated to this country about one hundred and fifty years ago, and settled in the neighborhood of Kingston, where the immediate relatives of our subject have lived since that time.

Maj. John Gulick, the grandfather, was an influential, enterprising, and public-spirited citizen, and was the pioneer of the express, stage, and steamboat lines between New York and Philadelphia, and largely interested therein previous to the introduction of railways into the State. Jacob, the eldest of his sons, and father of our subject, born in 1787, was for many years interested with his father in the stage and steamboat business, but in subsequent years was a land proprietor and farmer on the ancestral estate, near Kingston, where he died in 1862, leaving a widow, Lydia Story, who survives in 1882, aged ninety-four years. The maternal ancestors of our subject came to this country somewhat earlier. The ancestor in the direct line settled in Monmouth County, in this State, while a brother of this generation moved to New England, and founded the well known family of this name in Boston.

John Story, grandfather of our subject, was an officer of militia in the army of Gen. Washington at the battle of Monmouth, which took place near his home.

John Story Gulick received his early education at the High School, Lawrenceville, N.J., under the direction of Messrs. Brown and Phillips, entered college in the sophomore class at Princeton in 1835, and graduated in 1838. After this he read law with James S. Green, of Princeton, and after the usual course of study and practice was admitted as attorney and counselor-at-law at the bar of New Jersey. He practiced his profession at Princeton and New York until 1851, when he was appointed by President Fillmore as purser in the navy of the United States. Under this commission he made two cruises at sea, on the Brazil station, and one cruise on the Pacific station before the outbreak of the civil war.

In 1854 he married Elizabeth Milligan, an artist and lady of culture, residing in Fauquier County, Va., where he then established his home. Having returned from one of his cruises at sea a short time before the commencement of the war, he was at his home in Virginia during a few months preceding that event.

He at once applied for and obtained orders for sea service, and was assigned duty on board the steam-frigate "Wabash," then fitting out for service on the Atlantic coast. During the few days allowed to report for this duty it became apparent that an officer in the service of the United States could no longer safely sojourn in Virginia. He therefore made immediate preparation for a final departure from that disloyal State. Traveling in his own conveyance by night and by day, and avoiding the public roads and places, he succeeded in reaching and crossing the Potomac River, with his family, some miles above Washington, only in time to escape capture by the rebels, then everywhere assembling under arms. The railways between Washington and Baltimore having been torn up, he proceeded in his own conveyance, and thus traveled the entire distance to his native place in New Jersey. Here leaving his family, he at once reported for duty on the "Wabash" at New York. This was April 25, 1861. During the first months of his service on board the "Wabash," August, 1861, that ship took a prominent part in the bombardment and capture of Forts Clark and Hatteras, at the mouth of that inlet, with six hundred prisoners. This event seemed at that time more important than it now appears, inasmuch as it was among the first of the Union successes in the war, and was then thought to have a salutary effect on the national spirit somewhat depressed by previous defeats.

Soon after this event the "Wabash" became the flag-ship of the South Atlantic squadron, under command of Flag-Officer (afterwards Rear-Admiral) S.F. Dupont. Paymaster Gulick was then assigned duty as fleet paymaster of this squadron, and served on the staff of Rear-Admiral Dupont at the, bombardment and taking of Forts Walker and Bay Point, in the harbor of Port Royal, S.C., Nov. 6, 1861. In the spring of 1862 he was detached from the squadron and assigned duty at the navy-yard, Washington, D.C., from whence, after one year of service, he was transferred to the navy-yard, Philadelphia. He remained on this service, having entire charge of the pay departments of the yard, of the receiving-ship, and of the naval asylum, until the spring of 1865, when he was ordered as fleet paymaster of the Mississippi Squadron, on the staff of Rear-Admiral S.P. Lee. Here he served until the surrender of Kirby Smith's army on the Red River practically closed the war. From this time until October, 1866, he was employed upon various special services, such as courts-martial, boards of examination, etc., when he was assigned regular duty at the Naval School, Annapolis, Md. Here he served until May 12, 1869, when he was again ordered to sea as fleet paymaster of the European squadron. This cruise of two years and a half was terminated by the return of the flag-ship "Franklin" to the United States, November, 1871.

On March 3d of that year, Paymaster Gulick was promoted, and appointed by President Grant to be a pay director, with the relative rank of captain in the navy. The next regular service assigned Pay Director Gulick was that of inspector of provisions and clothing at the Washington navy-yard, from which position, after about two years, he was transferred to the Naval Asylum, Philadelphia. April 13, 1877, he was placed on duty in charge of the navy pay-office in Philadelphia, where his service continued until May 14, 1879, when, in conformity to the act of Congress requiring the retirement from active service of all officers who have attained the age of sixty-two years, he was honorably retired, having a record of about twenty-nine years of continuous service. Since his retirement from active service Pay Director Gulick has lived at his home near Princeton, N.J. where, in full possession of his faculties of mind and body common to men younger in years, he awaits such service as the government is entitled to assign him in case the country is again visited by war. John Story Gulick; 7G437; 2/94; b. 5/14/1817 Kingston, NJ; res. Ringwood, Fauquier Co, VA; John graduated A. B. from Princeton (medicine and law) and was an attorney (1842), counselor (1846), and practiced at Princeton and NYC; had a career in the Navy (2//1851-5/15/1879); d. 11/6/1884; m. 7/25/1854 Elizabeth Milligan (of Georgetown, D. C.; b. 7/4/1813; d. 12/24/1893; a painter of miniatures (Pres. & Mrs. Adams, Dolly Madison, etc.). Dolly's miniature is in Princeton's Treasure Room) at Culpepper VA; (John Story's will info: 3771K of wills of Princeton Tp.., Mercer Co., NJ 3/23/1881; To Presb. Ch., Kingston, $1000.00 to buy bond of mortgage interest to be used to keep fence or wall around Grave Yard in repair. If this is not carried out, principle to revert to my brother Jacob Franklin Gulick; brothers, sister and nieces 55 acres formerly belonging to my father, Jacob Gulick; Wife: Elizabeth Milligan Gulick, residue. She to provide for my dear adopted son, Joseph Henry Gulick; Exec. wife, proved 11/17/1884; sworn same date) [6]

Birth Date:: b. 5/14/1817 * [1] * [2] * [6] Birth location: Kingston, NJ * [1] * [2] * [6] Married Date: 7/25/1854 * [1] * [2] * [6] Death: 11/6/1884 * [1] * [2] * [6] Death location: Kingston, NJ * [1] * [2] * [6]

• SOURCES:

• [1] Gulick, David E . "Gulicks of the U.S.A." Los Altos, Calif. : D.E. Gulick, 1961.

• [2] Gulick, Paul, "The Gulick Book", P. Gulick, 2016.

• [3] Wikipedia - Origin of the Surname (van) GUILICK (von Jülich) LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BClich

• [4] 'Register in Alphabetical Order, of the Early Settlers of Kings County, Long Island' - By Teunis G. Bergen - SW Green and Sons 1881 - Gulick p.11 p.18 p.53 p. 124 p.126 p.127 p.179 p.362 p.390, LINK: https://books.google.com/books?id=gi2OJypMncAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

• [5] FIND A GRAVE - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20041783

• [6] Biography of the class of 1838 of the College of New Jersey at Princeton, N.J.. by Schenck, William Edward, 1819-1903 - Publication date 1889 - Topics Princeton University. Class of 1838 - Publisher Philadelphia : Jas. B. Rodgers - Collection Princeton; americana - Princeton Theological Seminary Library - PAGES: 82 83 84 LINK: https://archive.org/details/biographyofclass00sche - LINK: https://archive.org/stream/biographyofclass00sche/biographyofclass00sche_djvu.txt