Stephen Bullock

Stephen Bullock (October 10, 1735 – February 2, 1816) was a United States representative from Massachusetts and a prominent public figure in the political life of the Commonwealth during the Revolutionary and early national periods. He was born in Rehoboth in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, then a rural town in Bristol County, where he spent virtually his entire life. Little is recorded about his parents or early family background, but his upbringing in colonial Massachusetts placed him within the social and political currents that would culminate in the American Revolution.

Bullock attended the common schools of Rehoboth, receiving the basic education typical of New England boys of his era. As a young man he taught school, a profession that not only reflected his literacy and standing in the community but also provided an avenue into local public affairs. His early involvement in education and local life helped establish him as a figure of some prominence in Rehoboth prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.

During the American Revolution, Bullock served in the Massachusetts militia, assuming a leadership role as captain of the Sixth Company in Colonel Thomas Carpenter III’s Regiment of Massachusetts militia. In this capacity he participated in the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778, one of the significant military engagements in the New England theater of the war. His militia service, particularly in a command position, underscored his commitment to the Patriot cause and contributed to his later credibility as a public official in the postwar period.

Bullock’s political career in Massachusetts began in earnest during the formative years of the Commonwealth’s government. In 1780 he was a delegate to the first Massachusetts state constitutional convention, which framed the state constitution that would become one of the most enduring in the United States. Following this service, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, serving multiple, nonconsecutive terms in 1783, 1785, 1786, 1795, and 1796. Through these legislative roles he participated in shaping state policy in the years immediately following independence, a time marked by economic difficulty, political realignment, and debates over the proper balance of authority between state and national institutions.

On the strength of his state-level experience and Federalist political alignment, Bullock was elected as a Federalist to the Fifth Congress of the United States. He served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from March 4, 1797, to March 3, 1799, during the administration of President John Adams. His term in Congress coincided with contentious national issues, including the emerging party system, foreign policy tensions with France, and debates over federal authority, although specific details of his committee assignments or floor activity are not extensively documented in surviving records. His service placed him among the early generation of federal legislators who helped establish the practices and precedents of the national government under the Constitution.

After his term in Congress, Bullock continued to hold important judicial and executive positions within Massachusetts. He served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Bristol County, a key trial court in the state’s judicial system, where he would have presided over civil and criminal matters affecting residents of the region. From 1803 to 1805 he was a member of the Governor’s Council of Massachusetts, an influential advisory body that reviewed executive actions, appointments, and certain judicial and administrative matters. These roles reflected the continued confidence placed in his judgment and experience by state leaders and his community.

Stephen Bullock remained a resident of Rehoboth throughout his life and died there on February 2, 1816. He was interred in Burial Place Hill in Rehoboth, a historic cemetery that contains the graves of many early settlers and public figures of the town. His career, spanning military service in the Revolutionary War, participation in the framing of the Massachusetts constitution, repeated terms in the state legislature, service in the United States House of Representatives, and subsequent judicial and executive responsibilities, marked him as a significant contributor to the political development of Massachusetts in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.