 The eldest of seven children, Bullard spent much of his youth picking cotton with his parents and babysitting his younger siblings.Although he only received a third-grade education, a male relative gave him instruction in building trades such as stonemasonry, bricklaying, and plastering.During the era of slavery in the United States, enslaved African Americans were often forced to repair and maintain buildings and to make clothing, on top of being forced to perform agricultural labor.