Jull Family
The Ebenezer Jull Family, c.1871. Back row, left to right: Ada, May, Will; center: Tom, Mrs. Ebenezer Jull. At right knee of father is Arthur, Janet sitting on his lap. Sydney Percy Jull is on the floor next to the dog.
Ebenezer Jull was a true hardware man. In 1905, he designed an eye-catching window display for his popular hardware store-500 pocket knives. They ranged in price from $.25 to $1.50 and every one of the knives had the words "Jull Hardware Co." neatly ground in the blade.
Ebenezer Jull and his wife Eliza Sanders were English immigrants from Kent, England. Born in November,1837, Ebenezer graduated from London University in 1853 with coursework in engineering that led to his surveying profession. He became a lifelong Mason in 1870. A year later the Julls moved to America, settling first in Lincoln, Nebraska. Deciding that Lincoln was too crowded for them, they moved west to Seward, Nebraska. A few miles northwest of Seward, the Julls founded the town of Staplehurst, named after their home village in England. Ebenezer was a trained surveyor who worked surveying the main railroad line from Omaha to Denver. The Julls lived in Abbot, Colorado for five years before moving to Littleton. They settled in Littleton in 1891, with a family of ten children (two additional children passed away).
Mr. and Mrs. Ebenezer Jull at their home on the east side of Prince, north of Main Street, built between 1898 and 1909.
Ebenezer constructed a single story brick residence located on the east side of Prince, north of Main Street. It had round-arched windows, an ivy covered bay, and an ornate roof with wrought iron decorations.
In December, 1897, Eliza passed away, leaving Ebenezer distraught and depressed. Reverend Canon Smith of Denver, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, conducted funeral services and Eliza was buried in Littleton Cemetery. On October 25, 1898, Ebenezer married Florence M. Nelson.
Ebenezer owned and operated the Jull Hardware Store along with his oldest son, William Saunders Jull. The Jull Hardware Store grew to become the largest in Littleton, offering a wide variety of goods from heavy hardware, builders' hardware, farmers' supplies and ammunition, to stoves and ranges. Ebenezer Jull was known as an "upright and conscientious businessman".
W.I. Edgerton in front of Jull Hardware Co., 2389 W. Main Street. The store was built in 1890, photo c.1907.
A common threat at the time was fire and Littleton was no different from other towns. In November, 1907, the Jull Hardware Store caught fire. Fortunately, the fire was put out quickly and the damage came to only $500. The fire could have been much worse. The store was filled with combustible material and it was surrounded on all sides by buildings that could burn easily. The fire alarm was quickly sounded and the Littleton Hose Boys sprayed streams of water on the fire. The damage was confined to the hardware store alone.
Jull, who joined the Masons in England, participated locally in the Commercial Club and the Weston Masonic Lodge, where he was elected worshipful master for three terms. His sons also joined the Weston Lodge. On one occasion, as Nelson Rhoades was speaking, Jull's son, William, fell asleep, and managed to get a foot stuck in a metal spittoon. As he shifted his weight, the spittoon clanged, disturbing the speaker. Without missing a beat, speaker Rhoades said, "if Brother William Jull will kindly take his feet out of the spittoon, I'll continue with my remarks."
Jull Hardware Store on north side of Main Street, east of Prince, c.1898. Ebenezer Jull is standing at right.
Jull owned considerable acreage in Texas and a gold mine in California. A healthy and robust man, he worked until the day of his death. On the afternoon of November 19, 1914, he began to feel unwell, so he returned home from his hardware store and called his physician. He experienced a possible heart attack that evening, then rallied to feel much better. The following morning, he had another attack which he did not survive. Ebenezer was almost 77 years old. Both he and his first wife, Eliza, are buried in the Littleton Cemetery. Ebenezer Jull's children included Marianna Elizabeth Jull Matthews, William Saunders Jull, Ada Linda Jull Barnes, Edith Maud Jull (died at age 4), Alice Beaufy Jull Taylor, Tom Fredrick Jull, Arthur Ebenezer Jull, Janet Evelyn Jull Clary, Sydney Percy Jull, Priscilla Sophia Jull Buchanan, Margaret Ethel Jull Jackson, and Ralph Jull (born Mar. 1878, died June, 1905 in Littleton).
Bibliography
The Arapahoe Herald. The Littleton Independent Publishers, 1888-
Freemasons, Littleton, Colorado. Weston Lodge No. 22: A F and A M, Littleton, Colorado, 1872-1973. AFAM: Littleton, Colorado. 1973.
Littleton (Colo.) Independent. The Littleton Independent Publishers, 1888-
Littleton Historical Museum. Littleton's Yesterday: A Pictorial Study. Littleton Area Historical Museum: Littleton, Colorado, 1971.
Littleton Independent, Illustrated Trade Supplement. The Littleton Independent Publishers, 1888-
Littleton Museum. Vertical File. Biography:
Photographs courtesy of the Littleton Museum unless otherwise noted. To order copies, contact the museum at 303-795-3950.
Compiled by Rebecca Dorward
Edited by Phyllis Larison and Lorena Donohue
Updated March 2021 by Phyllis Larison