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The Mullins Family
in Dickenson County
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 36
to 46 |