Hull

of Revision, organized for the purpose of revis-
ing the tables of allowances for vessels of the
navy, and upon completing this work, was or-
dered to the command of the Mediterranean
Station. Again Mrs. Hull and her sister went
with him. His flagship, the Ohio, arrived on
Jan. 4, 1839, at Port Mahonr Minorca, the head-
quarters of the station. His vessels, Ohio, Cyane,
Brandytvinc, and later Preble, cruised about vis-
iting various ports between Spain and Syria,
looking out for the interests of American citi-
zens, especially seamen, inquiring into and re-
porting on the condition of American commerce.
In 1841 the relations between the United States
and Great Britain were strained to an alarming
degree, owing to irritation over the northeastern
boundary dispute, the Oregon question, and in-
cidents arising from the Canadian rebellion of
1837. On Mar. 24 Hull summoned his captains
to a council of war on the flagship, but within a
short time the trouble subsided. On June 5,1841,
the Ohio sailed from Gibraltar homeward bound.
She arrived at Boston July 17, and on the 27th
the commodore hauled down his flag for the last
time. In October he was given a year's leave of
absence and spent the winter in New Haven. In
the summer of 1842 he bought a house, and set-
tled down in Philadelphia, where he died a few
months later. His tomb is in Laurel Hill Ceme-
tery, Philadelphia.

Hull was called by Farragut "as able a seaman
as ever sailed a ship" (Wilson, post, p. 101).
Edmund Quincy, who knew him personally, said,
"His manners were plain, bluff, and hearty, as
became 'a rough and boisterous captain of the
sea,' and indicated a good heart and a good tem-
per, though not incapable of being ruffled on a
sufficient occasion" (Life ofjosiah Quincy, 1867,
p. 263), There is some evidence of a temper not
always easy to control, but he was kindly and
took an interest in the young officers under him.
He was an active, busy man and had no patience
with the shiftless and lazy. He was thrifty but
not penurious; he lived well and comfortably.
By good business judgment he accumulated a
reasonable competence. He bought real estate
adjacent to the Boston Navy Yard and in other
places. Rents from this property formed a sub-
stantial part of his income. While living in Wash-
ington he bought a slave, and gave him his free-
dom when he left there*

ITbere is a large collection^ of HuH papers in the
Boston Athenaeum, some of which have been printed in
Cftm*wl&r* H»U: Papers of l$wc Hvtt (1929), ed. by
& W. Alto* For genealogy, vital records, and early
life, see C. H. Weygant, The Hull Family in America
(1^13); E, E. and E. M. Salisbury, FomilyHistones
mi G*w*toffbs (1892), vol. I, pt. i,p. 88; New Have*
Dec, 192$. In the following works will

Hull

be found mention of Hull and reference to other au-
thorities : C. W. Goldsbprough, The U. S. Naval Chroni-
cle (1824); The Autobiog. of Commodore Charles Mor-
ris (1880); C. O, Paullin, Commodore John Rodgcrs
(ipio); G. W. Allen, Our Navy and the Barbary Cor-
sairs (1905) ; J. G. Wilson, "Commodore Hull and the
Constitution," N. Y. Geneal. and Biog. Record, July
1880; "The Hull-Eaton Correspondence During the
Expedition Against Tripoli," Proc. Am. Antiq. $oc.,
voKXXI (1911); Pub. Ledger (Phila.), Feb. 14,1843.}

G.W.A.

HULL, JOHN (Dec. 18, i624-Oct. i, 1683),
mint-master and treasurer of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony, merchant prince, silversmith, was
the son of Elizabeth Storer and Robert Hull,
who in 1635 came with their children from Mar-
ket Harborough, Leicestershire, to Boston in
New England. John Hull was sent to the school
of Philemon Pormort, opened that year. After a
time he was kept at home to help his father with
the farming until, as he wrote in his diaries, "I
fell to learning (by the help of my brother) and
to practice the trade of goldsmith." In his twen-
ty-third year he married Judith Quincy.

John Hull's diaries reveal his careful thor-
oughness in business, his close orthodoxy and
conservatism as a church member, his important
part in the affairs of the colony. The earliest
diary record of public service is that of his elec-
tion as corporal in the militia. In 1652 the
Colony of Massachusetts Bay, suffering under
the disabilities of trade carried on in barter and
in coin—often counterfeit—of various nations,
decided to set up a mint and put out coin of
standard fineness. "They made choice of me
for that employment," wrote Hull; "and I chose
my friend, Robert Sanderson, to be my partner,
to which the Court consented." Hull was to have
one shilling for each twenty coined. The design
chosen was that of a tree surrounded by a double
ring and an inscription. Though the willow tree
and the oak tree were both represented in the
early coinage, it is the pine tree, adopted in 1662,
by which the Boston or Bay shillings are best
known. Hull and his partner also coined two-,
three-, and sixpences. In 1654 Hull was ensign
of the South Military Company; in 1657 one of
the seven selectmen of Boston, in which capacity
he served for several years; in 1658 town treas-
urer ; in 1660 a member of the Artillery Com-
pany, and later ensign of this organization, lieu-
tenant, and captain. He served many times as
deputy to the General Court He helped found
the Old South Church. He became "one of the
Committee for the War and also Treasurer for
the War" in 1675, and in 1676 he noted that he
was "chosen by the General Court to be the
Country Treasurer." He was released from this
office in 1680 when he was elected one of the
governor's assistants. He was one of the lead-

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