Jennie R. Buirley, second of four children of Richard and Harriet Buirley, was born at Jackson Center, Shelby county, Ohio, April 7, 1858; and fell asleep at 6:40 Sabbath morning January 13, 1926. During the pastorate of Rev. Hamilton Hull at Jackson Center, she met Richard E. Hull, whom she married March 16, 1874. Immediately after their marriage they came to Wisconsin, settling on a farm in Albion.
Two years later they moved to Walworth, where their first child, Hattie, was born. Here Mrs. Hull who had been raised in the Methodist Church, became a convert to the Sabbath, and was baptized in Lake Geneva by Rev. L. E. Livermore and joined the Walworth Seventh Day Baptist Church. Later this membership was transferred to the Rock River Church until it disbanded, when she became a member of the Milton Junction Church, of which she has remained a faithful, consistent member.
The following year, 1878, Mr. and Mrs. Hull with their one child traveled in a prairie schooner to Adel, Iowa, where their second child, Grace, was born. The year in Iowa was a disappointment to them, and they became homesick for Wisconsin; so packing all their material goods in the 'covered wagon,' and with many horses trailing behind, they journeyed back to Wisconsin.
The remainder of their married life has been spent in this vicinity. They retired from farming fourteen years ago and have lived in the village of Milton since. Mrs. Hull has been a most capable and affectionate wife and mother. To her the home was the center about which all the big things of life revolved. She possessed the rare gift of hospitality, and so her home became a place to which her many friends have loved to come.
Seven children came to bless their home: Mrs. Hattie Garthwaite, who passed away at Mercy Hospital, Janesville, August 8, 1923; Mrs. Grace Oakley, R. Loyal Hull, and Mrs. Fay B. Coon, of this village; Frank C. Hull of Milton Junction; Lester Wallace Hull, and Mark H. Hull of Janesville. One grandson, Prof. Carroll F. Oakley of Milton College, also lived in the home until young manhood and received the same loving care that she gave to her own children.
Mr. and Mrs. Hull celebrated their golden wedding on March 16, 1924, at the home of their daughter, Mrs. Fay B. Coon, where more than one hundred twenty-five relatives and friends gathered to help them enjoy this happy occasion. Since the loss of her dear companion one year ago last October, Mrs. Hull's life has centered in her children. Two daughters have taken turns caring for their mother many months, Mrs. Oakley having come to live with her the past year and a half.
Besides the six children, Mrs. Hull leaves a sister, Miss Glendora Buirley of Jackson Center, Ohio; a brother, John of Tucson, Arizona; twenty-two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, besides nieces, nephews, and a host of friends.
Farewell services were conducted at her late home by Rev. J. L. Skaggs of the Milton Church in the absence of her pastor. Beautiful music was rendered by a male quartet, and she was lovingly laid to rest in the Milton Junction cemetery.
