William Bullen

William Bullen (February 24, 1805 – October 27, 1846) was an American merchant and Wisconsin pioneer. He was one of the first American settlers in what is now Kenosha, Wisconsin, and represented Racine County in the Wisconsin Territory's legislative assembly.

Biography William Bullen was born in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, in 1805, and was raised in New York. In December 1834, he joined a meeting of friends at the home of his brother, John Bullen Jr., in Hannibal, New York, to discuss the prospect of emigrating west to the new territories. A subsequent meeting was held in February 1835, in which the Bullens and others agreed to form the "Western Emigration Company" to fund a project to travel west and purchase land. They sold stock in the company at $10 per share and ultimately raised $4,000—shares became a popular commodity in the area with less wealthy individuals buying stock to obtain a share of the return on the wealth of the new land.

In March 1835, a committee was sent west to explore land for possible settlement on the western shore of Lake Michigan. The committee initially attempted to establish a purchase at the mouth of the Root River—at the site of the present city of Racine, Wisconsin—but were unable to come to terms with the current inhabitants of the area, led by Gilbert Knapp.

During the Winter of 1835–1836, the Bullen brothers returned to Oswego County, New York, and purchased a 100-ton schooner—the Martin Van Buren—and loaded it with seeds, provisions, and tools, to return to their settlement. On their return, John went to Chicago and purchased a herd of cattle and drove them north to their claim. At the first elections held after the creation of Racine County, William Bullen was chosen as one of the county's two representatives on the Council (upper house) in the 2nd Wisconsin Territorial Assembly. He was selected by the members as the president of the council for the first session of that term and was subsequently elected to the 3rd Wisconsin Territorial Assembly. He also served on the Racine County board of supervisors, was the first chairman of the board of supervisors in 1843, and was the 2nd village president of Southport.

John Bullen IV followed his sons to their settlement in the Wisconsin Territory in 1837 and operated a tavern in the area now known as Salem Lakes, Wisconsin. He was appointed a brigadier general of the Wisconsin Territory militia by Governor Henry Dodge in 1839. Other children of John Bullen IV also settled in Wisconsin. William and Julia had four children: Orris Hart Bullen went to Ottawa, Illinois, and worked as a banker until his death. Mary Gertrude Bullen married Peter Emslie, an architect in Buffalo, New York. After Bullen's death, Julia remarried with George Bennett, who had also been a member of the Western Emigration Company.