Descendants of James Mullins
Donated by Kevin Mullins
Generation No. 1
1. JAMES1
MULLINS was born Abt. 1780 in
Notes for JAMES MULLINS:
James MULLINS, also known as "Irish
Jim", or "Harelip Jim", was the progenitor of the Newman's Ridge
Mullins clan. He was supposedly born in
Tradition
states that Jim migrated to America in the last years of the 18th century,
became a trader, and migrated to Lee
Co., VA/ Hancock Co., TN, ca. 1805, where he bought land on Newman's Ridge (at
that time, Hancock Co was part of Hawkins Co) and Blackwater Creek. In the
Hancock Co. census of 1880, his surviving children listed their father as being
born in
According to the Grohse Files, Jim had a
'hair-lip' and "couldn't hardly smoke a pipe" (quotations unknown).
He supposedly married a Melungeon woman, named Clara MARTIN (some researchers
think she was a COLLINS, or GIBSON). It is not certain whether they were
married before he came to TN, or after. I havent found any documentation on
Clara's last name, but this is a strong local tradition.
Jim may have been the son of
the Isaac Mullens that lived and bought property adjacent to William Martin in
the
*STEWART to MULLINS
Indenture 14 January Alexander &
Catherine Stewart to Isaac Mullins for 18 pds 15 shillings for 50 acres in
Alexr. Stewart {seal}
Cathaine Stewart {seal}
her X mark
*Note that Isaac
bought land bordering William Martin's property. Irish Jim married a Martin
(according to tradition), which could be a clue to their relationships with
these Mullins/Martin families. Perhaps
William Martin was related to Clara (possibly her father?). That could explain
Jim being married to a Martin. Not much to go on, but a possibility...
MULLEN to COLSON
Indenture 1 April 1798 between Isaac Mullen
and David Colson, both of Lee Co. VA., for sum $300 for 50 acres on bank of
Indian Creek. Affix seals.
Isaac Mullens {seal}
Mary (her X mark) Mullens {seal}
10 April 1798 Test
Samuel Erving D.C.
MULLEN to CRABTREE
Indenture 15 Sept 1802 between Isaac & Mary
Mullen and Jacob Crabtree of Lee Co. VA. for $1000 for 154 acres part of tract
claimed by Charles Cocke. Affix seals.
Isaac Mullen {seal}
Mary Mullen {seal}
14 June 1803 Teste
Charles Carter C.L.C.
James
(listed as Mullens) was listed as head of household for 7 'free persons of
color' in the 1830 Hawkins Co., TN Census (was Jim counted as "fpc"
himself?). It's unlikely that it was his son James' household since his son
would have been only 15 in 1830.
Land Deeds for James Mullins
Lee Co., VA
FISHER to MULLENS
Indenture 24 Mar 1805 between Peter Fisher
of Rutherford Co. NC and James Mullens, Lee Co. VA. for sum of $50 for 100
acres on north side of Clynch River. Land part of grant to Wm. King 23 Feb
1796.
Affix seal.
Martin Beatty, Atty {seal} for Peter
Fisher
MULLINS to GIBSON
Indenture 7 Jan 1814 between James Mullins
of Lee Co. and Jesee Gibson of same county for sum of $130 for 50 acres on
north fork of Clinch River in Lee Co. Affix seal.
James Mullins {seal}
In pres. of; Abraham Bledsoe, Tho. Rogers, E. Wnrend Rice.
LAWSON to MULLINS
Know all men I, Hudson Lawson of Lee Co. VA
bound unto James Mullins sum of $270 this 4 Aug 1814 a title to land in Lee Co
adjoining Campbells land patent to Wm James Branch and part of 500 acre survey
on North fork of Blackwater and south side of Powels Mountain. My seal.
Hudson (his X mark) Lawson {seal}
Test Joseph Baker, David (his X mark) Burk.
CRABTREE to MULLINS
Know all men I, Job Crabtree of Lee Co. VA,
sell to James Mullins of Lee Co 155 acres in Lee Co on Clinch river the east
end of tract that Crabtree sold to Madison Lawson. Land patent in name of James
Branch. My hand 19 Sept 1814.
Job Crabtree {seal}
Test Randle (his X mark) Noe
Hawkins Co., TN (later Hancock Co)
James Mullins-40 acres
on Newman's Ridge-p. 24
James Mullins-100
acres on Newman's Ridge-p. 36
In an article for "The Arena"
magazine in the 1890's, Will Allen Dromgoole, a female poet, wrote of the
Melungeons after staying with a family on Newmans Ridge. In this particular
article, "The Four Branches of the Melungeon Tree", she describes
Irish Jim and the Mullins clan;
"The English branch began with the
MULLINS tribe, a very powerful tribe, next indeed for a long time to the Collins
tribe, and at present the strongest of all the several branches, as well as the
most daring and obstinate. Old Jim Mullins, the father of the branch, was an
Englishman, a trader,it is supposed, with Indians. He was of a roving, daring
disposition, and rather fond of the free
abandon which
characterized the Indian. He was much given to sports, and was always 'cheek to
fowl' with the Cherokees and other Indian tribes he like to miggle .What
brought him to Newman’s Ridge must have been , as it is said, his love for
freedom and sport, and that careless existence known only to the Indians. He
stumbled upon the Ridge settlement, fell in with the Ridgemanites, and never
left them. He took for a wife one of their women, a descendant of old Sol
Collins, and reared a family known as the MULLINS tribe. This is said to be the
first white blood that mingled with the blood of the dusky Ridgemanites.
By marriage I mean to say (in their own
language) they 'took up together' having no set form of marriage service.So old
Jim Mullins took up with a melungeon woman Collins, by whom he had a large
family of children.Sometime after he exchanged wives with one Wyatt Collins,
and proceeded to cultivate a second family. Wyatt Collins also had a large
family by his first
wife, and equally fortunate with the one whom he traded
her for.
After the forming of Hancock Co.(Tenn) old
Mullins and Collins were forced to marry their wives according to the law of
the land,but all had children and grandchildren
were grown before they were lawfully wed.
The
Mullins tribe became exceedingly strong, and remains today the head of the
Ridge people."
Dromgoole's
account was very unpopular in Hancock Co, and it's safe to say that her
accounts were embelished with fiction and not to be too trusted upon.
Rev. Arthur H. Taylor said this in 1927;
"All the Mullins I know show the dark skin of Indian blood, but the older
people tell me the older Mullins' were fair of skin, which might well be
expected of originally pure Irish stock".
Children of JAMES MULLINS
and CLARA MARTIN are:
i. SAMUEL2 MULLINS, b. Abt. 1809; m.
(1) MORNING GIBSON; b. Hancock Co, TN; m. (2) MARY GIBSON, Aft. 1861, Hancock
Co, TN.
Notes for SAMUEL MULLINS:
Sam and Morning had one child, who died.
After Morning died, Sam married her sister, Mary GIBSON, who was widow of
Dotson GIBSON, who himself was killed by Confederate raiders during the Civil
War. In the 1830 Hawkins Co census, the household of Samuel MULLINS was listed
as having 2 'fpc' (free persons of color). Morning and her sister, both born in
VA, are buried in neighboring burial plots, with Sam beside them, atop Newman's
Ridge. Listed as a cooper on the 1850 Hancock census, and a farmer on the 1870
Hancock census. He appeared on the 1830 Hawkins Co, TN census with 2
"fpc", probably his wife.
Notes for MARY GIBSON:
Judging by census records, Margaret and Doc
seem to be Mary's children through her first husband, Dotson Gibson.
2. ii. PRUDENCE MULLINS, b. Abt. 1810.
3. iii. ELIZABETH MULLINS, b. Abt. 1811, TN.
4. iv. ISAIAH MULLINS, b. Abt. 1813, TN; d. Abt. 1891.
5. v. JAMES MULLINS, b. Abt. 1815.
6. vi. JOHN MULLINS, b. Abt. 1823, Hancock Co, TN.
vii. NANCY MULLINS, b. Abt. 1825.
Notes for NANCY MULLINS:
Nancy was listed as being born in KY. Does
that mean Irish Jim and Clara moved to KY? I'm wondering if the Nancy Mullins
listed in the household of "Clarah Collins"(? check original census)
in 1850 was actually the wife of one of James and Clara's sons, or a
grandchild.
Generation No. 2
2. PRUDENCE2
MULLINS (JAMES1) was born Abt. 1810. She married GEORGE MISER, son of JOHN GEORGE
MISER. He was born Abt. 1800 in TN, and
died Bef. 1880.
Notes for GEORGE MISER:
George came from a German family that came
to America in the early 1800's, from around Zweibrucken, (I believe Bavaria).
The Misers lived in PA, immigrated to Wayne Co, IN, then to TN, where he bought
land in Knoxville, TN. Later he bought land on Newman's Ridge in Hancock Co., TN, where they (this branch of Misers)
assimilated into the Melungeon families. After Prude died, George married
Pheobe Lawson.
Children of PRUDENCE MULLINS
and GEORGE MISER are:
7. i. JOHN3 MISER, b. Abt. 1824, Hancock
Co, TN; d. Jackson Co., KY?.
8. ii. WILSON MISER, b. Abt. 1829, TN?; d. Bet. 1904 -
1909, Hancock Co, TN.
9. iii. THOMAS MISER, b. Abt. 1824, Hancock Co, TN; d.
March 29, 1864, Nashville, TN.
3. ELIZABETH2
MULLINS (JAMES1) was born Abt. 1811 in TN. She married ALFRED COLLINS Abt. 1831, son of
VARDY COLLINS and PEGGY GIBSON. He was
born Abt. 1810.
Notes for ALFRED COLLINS:
Alfred was a blacksmith. He was also "a
builder of good chimneys", according to the Will Grohse Papers.
Children of ELIZABETH
MULLINS and ALFRED COLLINS are:
10. i. ARMISTEAD3 COLLINS, b. Bet. 1825 -
1832, Hancock Co, TN; d. 1904, Hancock Co, TN.
11. ii. BARB COLLINS, b. Abt. 1829, Hancock Co, TN.
12. iii. PRESH COLLINS, b. Abt. 1835, Hancock Co, TN; d.
January 10, 1915, Hancock Co, TN.
iv. CATHERINE COLLINS, b. Abt. 1836.
13. v. ELIZA COLLINS, b. Abt. 1840.
14. vi. ELCANA COLLINS, b. Abt. 1842, Hancock Co, TN.
15. vii. DUNCAN COLLINS, b. Abt. 1844, Hancock Co, TN;
d. Abt. 1910, Luttrell, Knox Co., TN.
16. viii. BATY COLLINS, b. Abt. 1845, Hancock Co, TN; d.
December 23, 1914.
ix. MATILDA COLLINS, b. Abt. 1846.
17. x. FLOYD COLLINS, b. Abt. 1848, Hancock Co, TN; d.
July 21, 1879, Hancock Co, TN.
xi. LORINDA COLLINS, b. Abt. 1850.
18. xii. JERRY COLLINS, b. Abt. 1852, Hancock Co, TN.
4. ISAIAH2
MULLINS (JAMES1) was born Abt. 1813 in TN, and died
Abt. 1891. He married (1) PRUDENCE MISER,
daughter of JOHN GEORGE MISER. She was
born Abt. 1820 in KY, and died Bef. 1856 in Hancock Co, TN. He married (2) LYDIA BIRD Aft. 1856 in
Hancock Co, TN, daughter of LEVI BIRD and SARAH ?. She was born February 08, 1826 in Hancock Co,
TN, and died October 20, 1917 in Middlesboro, KY.
Notes for LYDIA BIRD:
Lydia's birth and death dates come from her
gravestone.
More About LYDIA BIRD:
Burial: Sharp Cem.,
Middlesboro, KY
Children of ISAIAH MULLINS
and PRUDENCE MISER are:
i. LOUCINDA3 MULLINS, b. Abt. 1835.
ii. SOLOMON MULLINS, b. Abt. 1837.
iii. CLARA MULLINS, b. Abt. 1840.
iv. WILLIAM MULLINS, b. Abt. 1842.
v. CINDERELLA MULLINS, b. Abt. 1843.
Notes for CINDERELLA MULLINS:
Blind and lived her
life in a poor house.
vi. JAMES MULLINS, b. Abt. 1844.
19. vii. MACK MULLINS, b. Abt. 1845, Hancock Co, TN.
viii. ALFORD MULLINS, b. Abt. 1847.
20. ix. WILSON MULLINS, b. 1851, Hancock Co, TN; d.
Aft. 1910, Arkansas?.
x. NANCY MULLINS, b. Abt. 1854.
xi. EMILY MULLINS, b. Abt. 1856.
Children of ISAIAH MULLINS
and LYDIA BIRD are:
xii. SARAH3 MULLINS, b. Abt. 1870.
xiii. LOYD MULLINS, b. October 25, 1870, Hancock Co,
TN?; d. Bef. 1910, Middlesboro, KY?.
More About LOYD MULLINS:
Burial: Sharp
Cemetary, Middlesboro, KY
xiv. COLUMBUS MULLINS, b. May 16, 1875, Hancock Co,
TN; d. February 07, 1948, Middlesboro, KY.
More About COLUMBUS MULLINS:
Burial: Sharp Cem.,
Middlesboro, KY
5. JAMES2
MULLINS (JAMES1) was born Abt. 1815. He married (1) LINDY GIBSON, daughter of JONATHAN
GIBSON and FRANKIE SEXTON. She was born
Abt. 1825. He married (2) NANCY COLLINS
Bef. 1846 in Hancock Co, TN. He
married (3) POLLY JANE GIBSON Bef. 1870, daughter of DOTSON GIBSON and MARY GIBSON.
Notes for JAMES MULLINS:
Jimmy may have been in the Civil War (see
notes on his son Wayman). If the information on Jimmy is right, then Jimmy was
fathering children on up into his 60's!
In his younger days, Jimmy
"distilled liquor".
Notes for POLLY JANE GIBSON:
Jimmy and Polly were both Deacons of the
Panther Creek Baptist Church when old.
Children of JAMES MULLINS
and LINDY GIBSON are:
i. LIVELY3 MULLINS, b. Abt. 1837.
ii. WAYMAN MULLINS, b. Abt. 1839, Hancock Co, TN;
d. Abt. 1863, Hancock Co, TN.
Notes for WAYMAN MULLINS:
According to the Will Grohse Papers, Wayman
was in the Civil War with his father, Old Jimmy. While home on furlough, they
were hiding out for fear of bushwhackers from VA. But one night, while camping
on the ground, covered with brush, on Newman's Ridge, east of Boyd's Gap, they
were surrounded by VA raiders. They started shooting their way out. Wayman was
killed, but Jimmy escaped. Two of the 15 raiders were shot and died the next
day. One of the raiders was Old Dave MARTIN, who lived in Lee Co., VA. After
Lee's surrender, the Tennesseeans made a raid back into VA. They came upon Old
Dave, sitting grinding cane. One of the TN raiders, allegedly Duncan COLLINS,
shot him. Grohse says that Wayman was the leader of the TN raiders before he was killed. Most of
these raiders were not soldiers. The raiding continued long after the war
ended.
21. iii. JEREMIAH MULLINS, b. Abt. 1845.
Children of JAMES MULLINS
and NANCY COLLINS are:
22. iv. JANE3 MULLINS, b. Abt. 1846.
v. ELLEN MULLINS, b. Abt. 1848; m. CARTER LIVESAY,
November 02, 1885, Hancock Co, TN.
Notes for ELLEN MULLINS:
In the 1880 Hancock Co Census, Ellen is
listed as a "servant housekeeper" in Carter's household.
23. vi. MADISON MULLINS, b. 1849, TN.
vii. PERSIA MULLINS, b. 1853; d. 1919; m. (1) NEWT COLLINS;
m. (2) ? MABE.
Notes for NEWT COLLINS:
Newt was known as a
great fiddle player.
24. viii. WALLACE MULLINS, b. 1854.
ix. REBECCA MULLINS, b. 1858.
x. JAMES MULLINS, b. 1859.
xi. ELBIS MULLINS, b. Abt. 1862.
xii. MARTHA MULLINS, b. Abt. 1863.
Children of JAMES MULLINS
and POLLY GIBSON are:
xiii. EYZARD3 MULLINS, b. 1870.
25. xiv. WESLEY MULLINS, b. 1872.
xv. MOLLIE MULLINS, b. 1875; m. ARCH COLLINS.
6. JOHN2
MULLINS (JAMES1) was born Abt. 1823 in Hancock Co,
TN. He married MAHALA COLLINS Abt. 1840
in Hancock Co, TN, daughter of SOLOMON COLLINS and GINCIE GOINS. She was born March 30, 1824 in Hancock Co,
TN, and died 1898 in Hancock Co, TN.
Notes for JOHN MULLINS:
They lived on Newman's Ridge above Vardy,
in Hancock Co., TN. They had a house that was burnt down by Confederate
raiders, ca.1863, who came looking for 2 of their sons, probably Larkin and
Jim, and 1 son-in-law, Howard Collins, Union soldiers that were home on leave.
The story goes as follows:
Howard Collins' wife, Jane Mullins, saw
the bushwackers coming up the Ridge, and screamed to her husband, who picked up
his gun and took a shot at them. They fell back a little to size up the
situation. Meanwhile, the Mullins boys escaped over a low bluff. The raiders
came to the bluff, but didn't get to get a shot off. Howard Collins sprained or
broke a finger while escaping, but they got a shot off at the raiders, and got
safely away.The sons escaped, but the house was burned, along with most of
their possesions. They let the family take their burning bed clothes, but fire
broke out in them again. A light blanket of snow was on the ground, and the
children were barefooted. Old John was so mad, he loaded up a muzzle with about
all it could hold. Then, as the raiders were leaving through the Blackwater
Valley below them, he fired at them from the bluff. But, in his anger, he left
the ramrod in the gun, and loaded it so heavily, it burst at the end of the
muzzle. The ramrod, however, flew all the way accross the valley, and stuck in
a rail fence, near where the Becky Hurley house was, a short distance west of
Vardy Church.
I've read somewhere (unfortunately, I cannot
find these notes) that John Mullins was something of a 'Johnny Appleseed', and
planted many apple trees in the areas surrounding the Cumberland Gap (VA, TN,
KY, poss. NC), but I don't know how true that is, as I've only read that once.
Notes for MAHALA COLLINS:
Mahala is probably the most famous Melungeon
individual. She was extremely obese, as a result of Elephantiasis, and was
considered the best bootlegger in the Appalachians, though it is said that
family members actually made the liquor (apple and peach brandy were their
specialties), and she only sold it. One humorous event, that was actually
documented, was when a judge sent a sheriff up the Ridge to arrest 'Haley'.
Well, he could arrest her, but, because of her size, there was no way they
could get her down the treacherous ridge. After giving up, the sheriff went
back to the judge. When the judge asked him where she was, the sheriff replied,
"She's catchable, but not fetchable".
Mahala has become something of a folk
heroine in the Southern Appalachians. Many stories and tales have been made up
about her, many of them far-fetched and untrue. The following is an example, a
song taken off of the internet, from
Melungeon-L Rootsweb email list:
Ode to Aunt Haley
Lois
Gilbert 1984
Aunt Haley, when she
walked this warm sweet earth,
She said to her Kin
folks then,
"I want to grow
forever and spread my girth,
everywhere that man
has been -
everywhere that man
has been.
Chorus
Aunt Haley, she made
the very best shine,
In her cabin on the
side of the hill.
Folks would come
around from the countyside,
For a dollar they
could drink their fill.
For a dollar they
could drink their fill.
Chorus
Well, the Sheriff come
to take her in,
He busted up her
still.
Aunt Haley sat grinning
in her great big chair.
"You'll never get
me offin this hill.
You'll never get me
offin this hill."
Chorus
Aunt Haley, she
weighed 500 pounds,
The Sheriff weighed
252,
He just walked out the
door a shaking his head.
"Make you
mountain dew.
Haley, make your
mountain dew."
Chorus
Aunt Haley she died
one cool spring night,
The coffin maker done
the best he could.
He just took out his
pencil and his measuring tape.
"Where will I get
enough good dry wood?
Where will I get
enough good dry wood?"
Chorus
Well, the road on the
ridge is narrow and steep,
it's always slipping
in.
Well, the road crew
comes to fix it up.
They say, "Aunt
Haley's still growing within.
Aunt Haley's still
growing within."
CHORUS:
There's a big crooked mountain
in East Tennessee.
They call it Neuman's
Ridge.
Aunt Haley lies buried
in her big pine box.
Each day there's more
of that ridge.
Each day there's more
of that ridge.
Sometimes it's hard to distinguish truth from
fiction. When Haley died, it is said that they had to build a coffin around her
bed (or out of her bed), and take her out of a space in the wall, where they
were about to build a chimney. I've heard that this was untrue, but I'm not
sure. She's buried in a family plot near their cabin, which, until recently
(2000), stood up on Newman's Ridge. It
was moved off of the Ridge, down to the Vardy Valley, where it was renovated.
More About MAHALA COLLINS:
Burial: Newmans Ridge,
Hancock Co., TN
Children of JOHN MULLINS
and MAHALA COLLINS are:
26. i. JANE3 MULLINS, b. 1841, Hancock Co,
TN; d. January 10, 1913, Hancock Co, TN.
27. ii. SALLY MULLINS, b. 1842, Hancock Co, TN; d. Abt.
1924, Hancock Co, TN.
28. iii. LARKIN MULLINS, b. 1844; d. 1915, Hancock Co,
TN.
iv. JIM MULLINS, b. 1846.
v. MILLIE MULLINS, b. 1846.
Notes for MILLIE MULLINS:
Described by the Will Grohse Files as
"Queer - never married". The 1860 Hancock Co Census listed her as
being "fitified".
vi. BURTON MULLINS, b. 1847; d. Bef. 1865, Camp
Nelson, KY.
Notes for BURTON MULLINS:
Burton may have been an adopted son of John
and Mahala. According to the Grohse Papers, Burton was a Union soldier, and
died at Camp Nelson, KY.
29. vii. ELBE MULLINS, b. 1848.
viii. RICHARD MULLINS, b. 1850.
Notes for RICHARD MULLINS:
According to the Grohse Papers, Richard was
murdered somewhere out west (poss. Oklahoma)
ix. JEREMIAH MULLINS, b. 1853.
30. x. MARY ANN MULLINS, b. 1854, Hancock Co, TN; d.
October 1937, Hancock Co, TN.
31. xi. JOHN MULLINS, b. 1855.
32. xii. REUBEN MULLINS, b. 1856, Hancock Co, TN; d.
June 13, 1930, Muskogee, OK.
xiii. OLLIE MULLINS, b. 1858, Hancock Co, TN; d.
September 1882, Hancock Co, TN; m. OLIVE MISER, February 12, 1880, Hancock Co,
TN; b. Aft. 1856, Hancock Co, TN; d. Abt. 1895.
Notes for OLLIE MULLINS:
Ollie was killed in a gun duel with Grant
Jarvis (sheriff?) on the Main Street of Sneedville in late 1882.
33. xiv. CALVIN MULLINS, b. 1860, Hancock Co, TN.
Generation No. 3
7. JOHN3
MISER (PRUDENCE2 MULLINS, JAMES1)
was born Abt. 1824 in Hancock Co, TN, and died in Jackson Co., KY?. He married AMANDA MYERS Bef. 1845 in Hancock
Co, TN?. She died 1912 in Hancock Co,
TN.
Notes for JOHN MISER:
John's family moved to
Jackson Co., KY.
Notes for AMANDA MYERS:
Although the family moved to Jackson Co.,
KY, Amanda apparently was back in Hancock Co by 1911, when she professed faith
in Christ at the Vardy Presbyterian Church. She died the following year.
Children of JOHN MISER
and AMANDA MYERS are:
i. JACOB4 MISER, b. 1845.
ii. LOUISA MISER, b. Abt. 1847.
iii. WILLIAM MISER, b. Abt. 1849.
iv. NANCY MISER, b. Abt. 1852.
v. SARAH MISER, b. Abt. 1855.
vi. JOHN MISER, b. Abt. 1857.
vii. PETER MISER, b. Abt. 1859.
8. WILSON3
MISER (PRUDENCE2 MULLINS, JAMES1)
was born Abt. 1829 in TN?, and died Bet. 1904 - 1909 in Hancock Co, TN. He married MARGARET COLLINS Bef. 1850 in
Hancock Co, TN, daughter of SIMEON COLLINS and FRANKIE BUNCH. She was born Abt. 1830 in Hancock Co, TN, and
died Abt. 1909 in Hancock Co, TN.
Notes for WILSON MISER:
From the Will Grohse Papers; "Wilson was a Private in Co. E. 2nd TN Volunte