James Stephens Bulloch

James Stephens Bulloch (1793 – February 18, 1849) was an early settler and planter in Georgia. He was a grandson of Archibald Bulloch, who served as governor of Georgia, and a nephew of William Bellinger Bulloch, a United States senator. Bulloch’s lineage links him to prominent political figures in Georgia history.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, Bulloch was part of a family engaged in plantation agriculture. His parents were Ann (née Irvine) Bulloch and Captain James Bulloch II. He had one elder brother, John Irvine Bulloch, and two younger sisters, Jane and Ann Bulloch. Bulloch received education aimed at preparing him for a career as a planter, with training in crop management and overseeing slave labor.

In 1838, Bulloch relocated his family from Savannah to the northern part of Georgia. He entered into a partnership with Roswell King to establish a cotton mill near the fall line in the Piedmont region. This enterprise utilized water power to operate mills that processed cotton, and it contributed to the development of what would become the town of Roswell. In 1839, Bulloch constructed Bulloch Hall, a plantation house built with African-American slave labor and craftsmen. Today, Bulloch Hall is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places and has undergone restoration efforts.

Bulloch also developed a plantation situated in the uplands of Georgia, where his workers cultivated and processed short-staple cotton. The advent of the cotton gin made short-staple cotton a profitable crop, and its cultivation became widespread throughout the Piedmont region. The cotton industry was central to Bulloch's agricultural endeavors, and his plantations contributed to Georgia’s economy during that period.

His personal life included two marriages. On December 31, 1817, Bulloch married Hester Amarintha "Hettie" Elliott (1797–1831), daughter of Senator John Elliott and Esther Dunwoody. They had two sons: John Irvine Bulloch (1819–1821), who died young, and James Dunwoody Bulloch (1823–1901). After Hettie’s death, Bulloch married Martha "Patsy" Stewart (1799–1864) on May 8, 1832. Patsy was the widow of Senator Elliott and the youngest daughter of General Daniel Stewart and Sarah Susannah Oswald Stewart. Bulloch and Martha Stewart Stewart had four children together. Their youngest children, Charles Irvine Bulloch and Irvine Stephens Bulloch, were born in Cobb County, Georgia, following the family’s move from Savannah.

Bulloch died in 1849. According to the 1850 Slave Schedules, his widow Patsy continued to hold 31 slaves to work the plantation property.

Through his daughter Martha, Bulloch was the maternal grandfather of Theodore Roosevelt, who became the 26th President of the United States, and Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt. He was also a great-grandfather of Alice Lee Roosevelt, a socialite, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who served as First Lady of the United States and was married to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.