The above full-page advertisement from the 1869-1870 Business Directory of Binghamton, New York announces the opening of Seneca Bullock's Gallery in that city. The whimsical drawing depicts a man (perhaps a caricature of Seneca himself) astride a four-legged camera apparently racing a passenger train while tossing photographic portraits to onlookers young and old. The first mention of Seneca Bullock as a photographer found (so far) is in 1862 when he was living in Durham, Greene County in the Catskill region of New York State. Binghamton is approximately 120 miles southwest from Durham so his relocation there some seven years later would have been a significant move. Oddly, even though Binghamton is a major railroad terminus there is no railroad linking it directly to the Catskills, so the implication of a racing a train makes no sense. The text suggests that Seneca has been a photographer since as early as 1847, a very early date for commercial photography. In 1855, however, he described his occupation as "Artist" rather than photographer so perhaps that is what is meant by "the Art in all its branches." Since he claims skills with oils, water colors, and India ink, he probably composed the above drawing himself.  Post Civil War Binghamton was growing rapidly and by 1870 had six other established professional photography studios ¹

In 1870 Albert M. North, a well-established photographer in his own right in Otego, New York, was residing in the Bullock household in Binghamton, perhaps assisting Seneca Bullock in setting up his gallery. Otego is only fifty-two miles north of Binghamton and is a station on the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad. Curiously, no professional or familial relationship has been found between Seneca Bullock and Mr. North prior to this association so the reason that Mr. North had come to Binghamton is unclear. Unfortunately, Mr. North's stay in Binghamton was cut short when his three-year-old son, Albert A. North, died suddenly. Mr. North returned immediately to Otego and apparently had no further association with Mr. Bullock.²

At about 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 17, 1870  Frederick A. Merrick, a clerk in Halbert Brothers store was murdered while defending the store against three burglars.  Two days later two bodies were found in the Chenango River.  Seneca Bullock was called in to photograph them and they were identified as two of the three burglars. After some clever insight by Binghamton detectives, Edward H. Rulloff was taken into custody and detained as the third burglar.  At Rulloff's trial in January the following year, Seneca was called to testify as to what he had observed while photographing the drowned burglars:

Prosecutor Hopkins: "Do you think they had the appearance of having been in the water some time?"
Bullock: "Yes, sir."
"Was not the clothing on these persons wet?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Did not their faces have a bloated and distorted appearance?"
"I think they were bloated and discolored in places."
"They didn't look natural?"
"They looked as natural as could be expected under the circumstances."
"I asked whether they looked natural?"
"I never saw them previous to that time, and I could not tell you."
"Did they have the natural appearance of dead persons?"
"They resembled dead persons very closely, I should judge.³

Seneca Bullock was born in Cortland, New York in about 1826 a son of Ira Bullock (ca.1795-ca.1840) and Jane Merritt (ca.1803-1875?).   After the death of her husband, Jane moved her family to Catskill region of southeastern New York State finally settling in Durham, Greene County.⁴In 1855 Seneca was living on the farm of his father-in-law, David Woodworth, in Shandaken, Ulster County,  New York a few miles south from his mother and siblings. He listed his occupation as "Artist" and with him were his wife Lydia (Woodworth, age 25) and their one-year-old daughter, Orilla (1854- ). ⁵ Seneca and Lydia had two more daughters, Zelie (1857-1857) and Matilda (1857-1859). Lydia died of "consumption" (tuberculosis) in July, 1859 and little Zelie the following November of the same cause. Following the deaths of his wife, Lydia and his two youngest  daughters Seneca moved to nearby Durham, Greene County where his mother and siblings were living and in 1862 was taxed there as a photographer.

By 1868 he had moved to Binghamton, Broome County, New York where he placed the above advertisement in the 1869-70 city directory. (The directory was probably in preparation a year earlier so it is likely the actual move took place in 1868.) In 1870 he is listed with his second wife, Lucinda Schillar (27) their three children, Jennie (7), Hiram (4), and John David (2), and Lucinda's mother, Lucinda Schillar (50).  Lucinda, her mother, and Hiram were born in Canada, and Jennie was born in Wisconsin, so it might be presumed that Jennie and Hiram were from a previous relationship of Lucinda but took Seneca's name. Seneca has not been found anywhere outside of New York State and nothing has been found of Lucinda before 1870. As noted above, photographer Albert North was also living in the household, presumably assisting with Seneca in the studio. 

In 1875 Seneca closed the gallery in Binghamton and returned to Durham  along with his children, John D. Bullock (7), Minnie Bullock (5), and George William Bullock (3), to live with in the home of his sister, Amelia.  Seneca was now a widower (again) as confirmed in the 1880 census but the whereabouts of Jennie, Hiram, and Minnie are unknown. Lucinda's mother, Lucinda Miller Schillar, appears to have returned to Canada according to the 1881 census   That same year Seneca announced the opening of his studio in  East Durham on a part time basis (see below right), perhaps to spend more time in artistic pursuits.  In 1880 he was still located in Durham, but living in the household of his brother Gilbert (48) a house carpenter and also widowed, as well as their sister Amelia (40). Seneca's occupation is once again "artist" and with them are David Bullock (12) and George Bullock (6) both listed as "sons of the head of household" (Gilbert) but no doubt Seneca's.

On November 26, 1882 Seneca married Adelaide Vincent in nearby  Greenville, New York.  A forty-five-year-old a single lady, Adelaide had lived in the Durham area all her life and in fact was a close neighbor of Seneca's family thirty years earlier. Tragically, she died November 8, 1884 at the age of forty-seven years eight months just days before their second anniversary.

On April 1889, about four-and-a-half years after Adelaide's death, Seneca married Lucinda J. (Hutchins) Rose, widow of Daniel Rose, in nearby Hunter, Greene County, New York where he spent the remainder of his life.  Seneca Bullock died December 10, 1899. ⁶ 

Taken in 1873 the stereoview below shows the marble yard of John H. and Gilbert S. Barnes, and Harlan G. Blanding at 26 Chenango Street, Binghamton.  The site is about where Centennial Park is now located.  The building to the left is the former First Baptist Church. The cornerstone was laid July 19, 1870 and the building dedicated on March 6, 1872.  It was almost completely destroyed by fire on January 6, 1893 but the walls were uninjured. The interior was rebuilt while the exterior remained much the same as the original. It has since been torn down and replaced by 100 Chenango Place.