When I started researching Dad's side of the family I ran into the surname Mullins.
Our Great Grandmother was Mary Mae Mullins. I already knew she was a Mullins.
It was while looking into her family that I discovered the "colorful" Mullins. They are an
interesting family. They have been researched and documented so finding information on
them was a lot easier than some of our other lines. I will be telling their stories in parts due
to the fact that they are huge group. For every Whittaker there are like 500 Mullins They
tended to have large families.
The names of the men are passed down over and over through the generations which can
sometimes complicate researching. They are referred to by nicknames such as "Revolutionary John", "Holly Creek John" "Buttin Head John", William "Grand Sire",
William"Bald Head", William "Chunky Bill", William "Bacon Bill", and Andrew Jackson
"Brandy Jack" just to give you an idea. See what I mean by "colorful"? I'm just teasing
about the 500 to 1 ratio but seriously our Whittaker line is much smaller. So this is the
beginning of my story of our ancestors the Mullins. Come and join me as we look into the
past and discover their stories together.
In the article, "The Mullins Family in Dickenson County" By Elihu Jasper
Sutherland . Mr Sutherland said,
" 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"....
After leaving North Carolina our Mullins ancestors settled in Dickenson County, VA.
According to what I've read online and through the Mullins Group DNA project the Mullins are Irish, having come across the ocean to America sometime before 1700. So we have Irish in our background through Matthew Mullins.
"Matthew is listed on a June 1699 record as owning 150 acres of Indian land on Pamunkey Neck, King & Queen County, Virginia, which he leased to a Thomas Ward. On Aug 26, 1768, Matthew's grandson William sold 100 acres on the north side of Pigg River in Pittsylvania County, Virginia to a Jeremiah Ward". Research of Gary Mullins.
So this is our connection to Ireland, the immigrant Matthew Mullins......
1. Matthew Mullins, (IMMIGRANT)b. circa 1680: Matthew’s Death: ABT 1736 in King William County, Virginia
2. William Mullins,(SON OF 1.) Birth before 1700 in King William Co.,Va
Death: BEF 02 JAN 1735 in St. Martin's Parish, Hanover Co., VA This William Mullins was married to Katherine (possibly Smyth).
3.William Mullins (SON OF 2.) b. ca 1720 Virginia - d. ca 1791 Franklin Co., VA, married Elizabeth Varner born. ca 1725 VA
4. John Wesley "Buttin' John", "Revolutionary John" Mullins (SON OF 3) b. ca 1750 VA - d. 1849 Clintwood, Russell Co., VA married Virginia Jane (Jennie) Bailey.
So this is the beginnings of the Mullins Clan. It goes like this Matthew>William>William>John Wesley Mullins. John was called "Revoluntionary John" and "Buttin John" Mullins.
In the next part I will tell you about him. Below is a plague erected in his honor in Dickenson
Co., VA.
 | |
| John Wesley Mullins |
Photo by Martha M. Short, October 1998
*It is to the best of my ability that I give this information. Dates may be approximate. As I learn more some of the information may be subject to change.
