PUBLICATION 8-1974 The Mullins
Family in Dickenson
County |
The Mullins Family
in Dickenson
County By Elihu Jasper Sutherland
The most
numerous
family in Dickenson County, Virginia, bears the name
of Mullins. The
names
of 441 Mullins' appear on the 1930 poll tax list.
There are many other
Mullins in other counties of Southwestern Virginia,
Eastern Kentucky
and
Southern West Virginia. Children of Revolutionary John Mullins (1-A) 1-B James Mullins was born in 1783, and died on Grassy Creek, near the Breaks of Sandy in 1870 (?). He came to Pound, Russell County (now Wise) County, Virginia, prior to 1810. On April 5,1815, he and Berry Robinson purchased 200 acres of land on Indian Creek, Bold Camp and Pound Fork from Robert Preston. On June 11, 1817, he purchased Robinson's interest in this tract the deed being signed by Littleberry Robinson and his wife, Polenah. The Federal Census of 1820 shows him living in Russell County. Later he moved to the Cooner place on Pound River, near the mouth of Cranesnest River, where he resided for some years. He left there about 1854 and lived three years on Johns Creek in Pike County, Kentucky. He then moved to Grassy Creek on the present line between Buchanan and Dickenson Counties, where he remained until his death. He was a noted hunter, owned several slaves, some of their names being Sam, Lewis, Harriett, Lila and Ollie. He was an herb doctor and was widely known as "Dr. Jim Mullins." His first wife was Nancy Mullins, born 1784, and they had the following children: William, Solomon, and Annie. His second wife was Polly Mullins, born 1811, daughter of Ambros Mullins, and they had the following children: Didema, Preston and John, born 1833. 2-B Solomon Mullins moved to the waters of Holly Creek, about two miles northeast of Clintwood, where he lived for several years. He owned several slaves, mostly women, who worked in the fields and hunted in the woods. He was known as "Moneymaking Sol," because he made counterfeit money for several years under a cliff near Holly Creek. The cliff is still pointed out by neighbors as "Sol's Cliff." The government began to investigate his activity and he fled to Harts Creek, Logan County, West Virginia, taking most of his family with him. The writer has not been able to ascertain the name of his wife, nor the names of his children, except Peter, Eli and Spencer. 3-B John Mullins, born 1784, died at Clintwood, Virginia, September 19, 1859. He and his wife lie buried on a slope about three hundred yards west of the Courthouse. He was a farmer and stock raiser. His first home was on Toe River in Yancy County, North Carolina. Learning of the cheap land and good hunting conditions on the waters of Pound River, he came to investigate. He became dissatisfied, and returned to his old home. He could not, however, get his mind off the great possibilities of this new country, so in the spring of 1829 (?) He brought a drove of hogs, cattle and horses to Holly Creek, and accompanying him were his two sons David and Isaac, and his daughter Mary, aged 14 years. They moved into a log cabin previously erected by an old hunter, William Broadwater, and which stood near the present (1932) residence of Dr. E. L. Phipps in the town of Clintwood. Here they grazed their stock on the pea vine and other luxuriant vegetation which they grew in the valleys and on the hills. They also put out and cultivated a crop. In the fall, Mr. Mullins and his two sons returned to their old home on the Toe River to bring back the remainder of the family and their worldly goods. Little Mary Mullins heroically stayed alone in the cabin for fourteen days until her relatives returned. She cared for the livestock and the crop. Her nearest neighbor was at least twelve miles away through a trackless forest, which was filled with fierce bears, wolves, panthers, and other varmints. These wild beasts often came to the cabin door at night and fought the dogs in the yard. Mr. Mullins became the owner of several thousand acres of the best land in Dickenson County, on which he settled his children as they married. After a few years he built a new house near the present Cumberland Chevrolet Garage (1932), near which may still be seen an old dead topped cedar which Mr. Mullins planted in his yard. He married Ollie Cox (1792-January 22, 1877), and had the following children: David, Kizzie, Nancy, Mary J., Isaac, Solomon, Hannah Minerva, James, Jane (Jennie), John, Sarah, Harmon, Ollie and Hazy Anne (b. 1835). Children of
Revolutionary John
Mullins
1-C
William
Mullins born at Pound, Virginia, in 1810. He was a
farmer and moved
about
considerably - as one of his descendants says, "Allus
a-movin." In Pike
County, Kentucky, on March 12, 1832, he married
Elizabeth Justice, born
1811, a daughter of John Justice. Their children were:
2-C
Solomon
Mullins was a farmer and lived most of his life near
the mouth of Pound
River. He was called "Pound Sol." His wife was Piety
Justice, daughter
of John Justice, and their children were: 3-C Annie Mullins, no data
4-C
Didema
Mullins was born 1828, and died in March 1902. She
married Joshua
Colley,
son of Richard and Crissy (Counts) Colley. Joshua
Colley served in
Company
E, 21st Virginia Cavalry during most of the Civil War.
He was a farmer
and lived on Grassy Creek, near the home of his
father-in-law. Their
children
were:
5-C
Preston
Mullins, 1830-1913. Most of his life was spent as a
farmer in Dickenson
County. He married (1) Sarah Colley, 1825-1881, a
daughter of Richard
and
Crissy (Counts) Colley. Their children were: Preston Mullins
married (2) Thursy
Wallis,
1836 - April 25, 1881, a daughter of William Wallis.
6-C
John Mullins
lived on his father's farm on Grassy Creek. He married
Mariah Reed,
daughter
of George Reed, and their children were: Children of Moneymaking Sol Mullins (2-B)
7-C
Peter Mullins
lived awhile on the head of Brush Creek, near
Clintwood, and then moved
to Logan County, West Virginia. He was living there on
November 23,
1860,
when he and his wife,Jane Mullins, executed a deed to
John P. Chase for
Jane Mullin's one-twelfth part of the real estate of
her father, John
Mullins
(3-B), deceased, on Holly Creek. Both were dead on
September 16, 1889,
when their heirs executed another deed for the same
interest to Mr.
Chase,
the first deed proving defective. He married his
cousin, Jane (Jennie)
Mullins (19-C), daughter of John and Ollie (Cox)
Mullins. Their
children
were:
8-C
Eli Mullins
lived and died near the Breaks of Sandy. He married
and had the
following
children: Eli Mullins married (2) Betty (M. Bryant) Rose. No children. 9-C Spencer Mullins moved with his father to West Virginia. No further record. Children of John Mullins of Holly Creek
10-C David
Mullins
was born in 1810 and died June 29, 1888. He first
settled on a farm at
the Dow Dunbar place below Clintwood. On October 15,
1859, he sold the
land to L. D. Dunbar, and moved to Meadow Branch of
Cane Creek, where
he
lived on a farm until his death. He married Ruth
Buchanan, born 1816,
and
had the following children: 11-C Kizzie Mullins married Lewis Cook in North Carolina. No further data. 12-C Nancy Mullins died young in North Carolina
13-C Mary
J. Mullins
was born March 15, 1815, and died October 6, 1893. She
came with her
father
and two brothers to Holly Creek (See ante: 3-B John
Mullins). She
married
John Jackson Fleming, born June 9, 1812 - February 1,
1881, in Pike
County,
Kentucky, on January 31, 1833.
14-C Isaac
Mullins
was born April 12, 1817 and died October 18, 1886. He
lived on a farm
about
two miles northeast of Clintwood. He served in the
Confederate Army. He
married Elizabeth Mullins, April 12, 1818 - November
4, 1895), a
daughter
of Ambrose and Nancy Mullins of Bold Camp Creek in
Wise County,
Virginia.
Their children were:
15-C
Solomon Mullins
was born April 6, 1818 and died November 8, 1886. He
lived on a farm
near
Clintwood. He married Elizabeth Hall, born June 20,
1820, a daughter of
Alexander and Polly(Shepard) Hall. Their children
were: 16-C James Mullins was born 1821 and died December 24, 1878. He lived on a farm near the Widow Bets Gap in Clintwood. His wife was Elizabeth Wright born April 26, 1826 and died March 30, 1920, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Jane (Bailey) Wright. They had no children.
17-C Hannah
Minerva
Mullins married in Pike County, Kentucky, July 5,
1838, Phillip
Fleming,
born February 15, 1815 and died April 28, 1885, son of
Robert and
Elizabeth
(Stumbo) Fleming. They lived on a farm at the mouth of
Holly Creek, and
had the following children:
18-C John
H. Mullins
was born November 22, 1825 and died December 17, 1902.
Soon after his
marriage
he settled on Georges Fork, where his son Harmon H.
Mullins now lives
(1932)
and with the exception of about three years spent at
his father's old
home
at Clintwood, he lived there until his death. He
married Mary (Polly)
Anne
Bentley, born March 12, 1830 and died January 27,
1902, and had the
following
children: 19-C Jane (Jennie) Mullins married her cousin Peter Mullins (7-C). (See same for further data) 20-C Sarah (Sallie) Mullins was born September 6, 1827 and died July 15, 1849. She married Francis B. Greear, born June 22, 1819, died February 2, 1908, married in Letcher Co., KY, February 9,1847. Lived one mile west of Clintwood until her death. They had no children. Mr. Greear removed to Coeburn, VA, remarried and became the father of Dr. James N. Greear and grandfather of Hon. Fred B. Greear, present (1932) Commonwealth Attorney of Wise Co., VA.
21-C Harmon
Mullins
born in 1826 (?) and died April 3, 1860, being killed
by a limb falling
from a burning tree on his farm. He lived at the mouth
of Cooks Fork of
Georges Fork. His wife was Dicy Keel, and they married
in Letcher Co.,
KY, November 14, 1846. She was daughter of Hardin and
Susan (Tootle)
Keel.
They had children:
22-C Ollie
Mullins
was born February 5, 1832 and died February 10, 1910.
She married Eli
Vanover,
born July 1829, died January 1, 1913, a son of
Cornelius Vanover. They
were married in Letcher Co., KY, March 2, 1842. Their
children were:
23-C Hazy
Mullins
was born May 16, 1834, died December 12, 1902. She
married Jacob Yates,
born January 31, 1829, died September 20, 1907, a son
of John and
Margaret
(Blair) Yates. They lived on a farm at Yates Gap,
about one mile west
of
Clintwood. Their children were: Marshall Mullins of Brush Creek
Another
branch of
the Dickenson County Mullins family has descended from
Marshall
Mullins,
who (according to family tradition) was a nephew of
Revolutionary John
Mullins (1-A). His first home in Dickenson County was
near Horseshoe
Bend
of Cranesnest River. After a little while he moved to
the Children of Marshall Mullins
1-Y
Isham (Isom)
Mullins was born in 1820 and died July 3, 1893. He
lived most of his
life
where George Farmer now resides, near the mouth of
Brush Creek. His
name
was originally spelled "Isham", but by use it later
became "Isom," and
many of his namesakes spell it that way. The community
post office
named
for him is spelled "Isom". He married (1) Polly
Sanders, b. 1825, and
had
the following children: Isom Mullins
married (2) Mary
Phipps, born
September 5, 1851, died September 4, 1905, a daughter
of David and
Charlotte
(Long) Phipps. Their children were:
2-Y
Marshall
Mullins was born August 25, 1822, and died April 25,
1907. He lived on
a farm, on Brush Creek, where Mack Mullins now (1932)
resides. He
married
Eliza Mullins, who died August 9, 1903, and had the
following children:
3-Y
Mary "Polly"
Mullins, b. 1821, married James Osborne. They lived
awhile on the head
of Bear Pen Creek of Pound River, but, prior to 1866
they moved to near
Shelby Gap, Pike County, Kentucky, where they lived
until their deaths.
On August 24, 1866, they deeded a tract of land on
Georges Fork to
James
F. McElhaney and W. B. Aston. Their children were: There are Mullinses in Dickenson County who belong to other branches of this numerous family. Their genealogies have not been traced by the writer.
Historical
Sketches
of Southwest Virginia, published by the Historical
Society of Southwest
Virginia, publication 8, June 1974, pages |
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