John McMullan

A Patriot of the American Revolution for VIRGINIA with the rank of PRIVATE. DAR Ancestor #: A078359

John McMullan's grave marker

IN MEMORY OF JOHN McMULLAN
BORN IN IRELAND 1740
EMIGRATED TO VIRGINIA IN 1760
WAS A SOLDIER IN THE WAR OF 1776
MOVED TO GEORGIA IN 1797
DIED DECEMBER 1817

From The Descendants of John McMullan in North Carolina

       John McMullan (generation 1), the progenitor of our family in this country, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1740. In 1760 he emigrated to America and settled in the Colony of Virginia, making his home in that part of Orange County which subsequently was included in Greene County. In 1769 he married Theodosia Beasley, daughter of James Beasley of Orange County. After her death, he married Elizabeth Stowers. 

John McMullan served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War as a private in Captain William Johnson’s Company of the 11th Virginia Regiment of Foot, under General Daniel Morgan. After the war he settled at Swift Run Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains upon a tract of land, 600 acres, sold or granted to him by the Commonwealth of Virginia 1796.
In 1797 he sold his property in Orange County and in December of the same year removed to the State of Georgia, settling in Elbert (now Hart) County near the present town of Hartwell. With him went all of his children except two, James and Mary, issue by his first wife.
John McMullan died at the old homestead in Elbert County, Georgia, in December 1817. He was buried about two miles from Sardis church. The postonium [?] at Sardis was built by the Sardis McMullan’s as a memorial to him. As evidence of the affection and respect which his descendents have displayed toward the founder of their family, the following item is quoted from the Hartwell (Ga.) Sun, 1900:
“The children of Sinclair McMullan, deceased, and other near relatives, greatly aided by Judge F. M. McMullan (married Aunt Virginia) of Virginia, have recently erected in this county, in the old family burying ground on the brow of the hill near the residence of Blackstone L. Richardson, a beautiful granite monument to the memory of John McMullan, deceased, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1740, and emigrated to Virginia in 1760, where he lived until he moved part of his family to Elbert County, Georgia, in the fall of 1797. He raised 15 children, ten sons and five daughters, all of whom married and lived prosperously to old age and died leaving numerous descendents – now scattered in most of the states of the Union, and today numbering five thousand persons.

Georgia

Elbert County

In the name of God Amen:

I, John McMullan, Senior of the State and County aforesaid being very weak of body but of perfect mind and memory, and calling to mind the mortality of body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die do make this my last will and Testament, that is to say principally and first of all I give and recommend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God, who gave it and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in decent Christian Burial at the discretion of my Executors and as touch such Worldly Estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with in the World, I give and dispose of the same in the following manner and for (to wit);

First, My Will and desire is that All my just and lawful debts be first paid out of my Estate.

Item 2nd, I give and bequeath to Elizabeth McMullan, Alias Elizabeth Stowers, whom I deem my loving Wife, One Hundred acres of land in the County aforesaid including the house and plantation on which I now reside together with all my household and kitchen furniture and plantation tools with all my stock of horses, cattle and hogs and a negro fellow named Cato, a negro woman slave named Sarah, a negro woman named Mily to be by her, held and enjoyed during her Natural life or Widowhood ----

Item 3rd. I give and bequeath to my beloved sons, James my eldest son, Patrick my Second Son, John my third son and to my daughters Mary, now Mary Powell, and Katherine, now Katherine Shifflett, the sum of One Dollar to Each as their full share of my Estate having before this time given them all that I intended or conveniently could spare as their part except the sum of One Dollar to Each as above mentioned and to the bequeathed.

Item 4th. I give and bequeath to my first son by Elizabeth McMullan (Alias Elizabeth Stowers) Nail ninety eight acres and a half of land more or less being the Tract on which he the said Nail now resides and which I have previously made to him a deed for the same and do hereby confirm the same to him, should the same be defective or want confirmation.

Item 5th. I give and bequeath to my second son as above mentioned Jeremiah, ninety eight and a half acres of land more or less being the Tract on which he resides and which I have previously deeded to him and hereby confirm and give to him should the said deed be defective or want confirmation.

Item 6th. I give to my third son as above, Lewis seventy acres of land more or less, the tract on which he now resides and for which he holds my deed which I have hereby confirm to him should the same be defective or want confirmation.

Item 7. I give and bequeath to my fourth son as above, Thomas two hundred acres of land more or less in Elbert County and hereby confirm the same to him his heirs and assigns being the tract on which he now resides.

Item 8. I give and bequeath to my fifth son Fielding as above mentioned the sum of three hundred dollars to be raised by my Executors out of my Personal Estate whether heretofore Bequeathed or not bequeathed and paid to him within the term of two years after my decease.

Item 9. I give and bequeath to my sixth son as above Sinclair, and his heirs one hundred acres of land, part of the tract on which I reside joining Benjamin Nail and John Dobbs.

Item 10. I give and bequeath to my seventh son as above Daniel, and his heirs the tract of land before bequeathed to my wife Elizabeth McMullan Alias Elizabeth Stowers, after the termination of her Estate in the same.

Item 11. I give and bequeath to my daughter Nancy, now Nancy Mills and her heirs one negro girl named Dicy and her increase.

Item 12. I give to my daughter Elizabeth one boy named Edmond to her and her heirs forever.

Item 13. I give to my Daughter Levinia one negro woman named Milly to her and her heirs to be by her possessed after the Estate which I have hereby before bested in my wife Elizabeth McMullan, Alias Elizabeth Stowers, is terminated and the increase of the said Negro Woman if any, before the commencement of my said daughter Levinia's estate therein and after my decease. I give to be Equally divided between my three last mentioned daughters to them and their heirs.

Item 14. My will and desire is that all the property Bequeathed to my wife Elizabeth McMullan, Alias Elizabeth Stowers after the Termination of her estate therein be sold and the proceeds of said sale be equally divided among my Seven last mentioned Sons to wit: Nail, Jeremiah, Lewis, Thomas, Fielding, Sinclair, Daniel share and share alike and I hereby constitute appoint my son Nail McMullan and my son in law James Mills, Executors of this my last will and Testament.

Signed, sealed and published this sixth day of December, 1817.

John McMullan

In presence of

Benj. Neal

David Dobbs

John Dobbs

Georgia, Elbert County.

Of Ordinary January Term 1818

Personally appeared in Open Court John Dobbs and David Dobbs, two of the subscribing witnesses to the above written instrument and after being duly sworn saith that they saw John McMullan sign the above instrument writing as his Last Will and Testament and that they subscribed the same as witnesses in his presence and that they saw Benjamin Neal, the other witness, thereto sign the same as a witness in his presence and that the said John McMullan was then of sound and disposing mind. Sworn to and subscribed the 6th day of January, 1818

John Dobbs

David Dobbs

Ordered to be recorded.

James Mills and Naile McMullan qualified as Executors and Letters Testamentary, etc., granted them.

Joe Weston, C.C.O.

Recorded 14th, Jany. 1818

Joe Weston, C.C.O.

Recorded in Will Book L 1818-1821, pages 123-125, Ordinary's office Elbert County, Elberton, Georgia.

John was born in 1740 in Dublin, Ireland. He died December 1817 in Elberton, Elbert Co., Georgia. John was buried in Hart Co., Georgia. Albert McMullan says that he "was buried in a family burying ground at the brow of the hill on the north side of Big Cedar Creek and on the east side of the public road. His grave was marked by a granite tombstone in 1896 by suggestion of Judge Frank M. McMullan, of Orange, Va., a great grandson of the Irish ancestor...." This burial ground apparently now lies in Hart County.

According to "John McMullan: A Soldier of the Revolution," John was born about 1730 in Ireland. Albert McMullan states in his "History of McMullan and Allied Families" that John was born in 1740 in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. John immigrated. The trip from Ireland took place in 1760.

He served as an officer in the military as a Junior Officer in the 11th Virginia Regiment. John McMullan received a land grant military service on Swift Run Creek in Orange Co., Virginia in 1796. He migrated from Virginia to Elbert County, Georgia December 1797. He made a will December 6, 1817 in Elbert Co., Georgia. John's will was probated January 6, 1818 in Elbert Co., Georgia.

Reference: History of the McMullan and Allied Families, page 100 John McMullan was born in Tralee, Ireland in 1740. This city is on the west coast of Ireland, sixteen miles south of Galway City. It is a small seaport with most of the people either farming or living from the sea. During the period of John McMullan's early life there was much work in the small ship construction at Tralee and Galway. John was the son of Patrick Joseph McMullan and brother to Frank (Francis), Sinclair, Patrick and Daniel who had gone to the city of Dublin to work as ship builders, carpenters, caulkers or repairmen to sailing vessels. John followed them there when he was eighteen years of age and worked as an apprentice at the same trade or as a tailor. When John McMullan was twenty years of age, he got employment on a large sailing vessel bound for the new world and Virginia.

Some say that John worked as a tailor for several years when he came to Orange, Virginia. This is unsubstantiated though and he was mostly known as a planter and farmer as you can see by his will upon death that he owned several slaves and had so for many years.

John McMullan's grave was marked in 1896 as follows: In Memory of John McMullan Born in Ireland 1740 Emigrated to Virginia in 1760 Was a Soldier in the War of 1776 (Revolution) Moved to Georgia in 1797 Died December 1817

John McMullan married, the first time, Theodosia Beasely, in Orange County, Virginia about 1766 or 1767; they had five children by this union all born in Orange County, Virginia:

 1 James, b March 5, 1770

 2 Patrick, b August 15, 1772

 3 Mary, b 1774

 4 John, b 1776

 5 Catherine, b 1778 (died before 1840 in Elbert Co GA)

John McMullan was granted over 400 acres of land on Swift Run Creek (or River) in Orange County, Virginia for his services in the Continental Army by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Theodosia Beasely died and was buried in Virginia.

Note: Theodosia Beasely may have been Theodocia Beazley according to this reference, excellent link with additional information http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dbcompton/beazley/i0000097...

John later married Elizebeth Stowers in Orange County, Virginia in 1786. She was born in Orange County, Virginia 1763 and died in Clayton County, Georgia in 1848. She was the daughter of Mark Stowers, a revolutionary war soldier. Children by the second wife were Naile, Jeremiah, Lewis, Thomas, Fielding, Sinclair, Daniel, Nancy, Elizabeth and Lavania. Elizabeth survived John and remarried years after his death to James Prather, January 24, 1839.

John McMullan moved to Georgia in 1797. From the land records of Elbert County, Georgia, 1791 - 1823, in the land lottery of 1806, John McMullan and twelve in his family received two draws, or about 1240 acres in Captain Isaac Barret's district. John McMullan was a testator to the will of William Alexander which was registered in June 1806, in Elbert County, Georgia.

John McMullan died December 1817 in Elbert County, Georgia. His will is recorded in Will Book L 1818-1821, pages 123-125, Ordinarys Office, Elberton, Georgia.

John McMullan's Trunk

© by Ann Hunter Burkes

Used by Permission

Many families have a story that passes relatively unchanged from generation to generation. Sometimes that story relates a daring deed performed by a family many generations ago. Other family stories tell of the historical importance of family-owned property. In the John McMullan family, the story concerns a trunk.

I first learned about the trunk from reading the story in Albert McMullan's The History of McMullan and Allied Families. John McMullan came to America from Ireland about 1760. John had followed his brothers from their birthplace of Tralee to Dublin. In Dublin, John served as an apprentice, probably as a tailor, before coming to Virginia. In Virginia John married and began a family. During the Revolutionary War, this patriot served as a junior officer in the 11th Virginia Regiment. After the war, John was granted 400 acres of land in Orange County Virginia and lived there until he moved to Elbert County, Georgia.

When he traveled to the new world, John McMullan brought with him a trunk (or tailor's chest) made of cypress, which he used to hold the tools of his trade. After the death of John McMullan, the trunk became the property of his son Patrick McMullan and was then passed to his son William McMullan. William Marion McMullan, the son of William McMullan, was the next owner of the trunk, and it was then passed to his son William Jesse (Willie) McMullan. Miley McMullan owned the trunk for many years and it now it is in the care of Grayson and Bonnie McMullan of Hickory.

It seems incredible that one object could remain in a family for so many years, but a letter written by William Jesse McMullan on March 10, 1912, will help explain the care taken to see that the trunk remained in the McMullan family. The letter states:

"History of the McMullan Chest brought from Ireland to Richmond, Virginia in 1760"2

"It was carried on a wagon from Virginia to Elbert County, Georgia in the fall of the year 1797. After the death of John the P., it fell into the hands of Patrick his second son who used it for keeping his papers & money & whiskey, when he had but little.

"At Patrick's death, Aug 31st. and after his burial Sept. 1, 1836, his children held a consultation. When the business of the estate was turned over to his oldest son William, and as the chest contained his papers & valuables, William demanded of the widow (Stowers) his 2nd wife, the keys and he took the chest home with him. He, William, afterwards repaired the lid, hinges and lock and painted it.
"At William's death, December 20th 1855, it was taken in charge of, by his older son Jessie Pemberton who brought it from Elbert Co., to Newton Co., Miss. in the 1 st of 1866. He took the partitions or pigeon holes out and made a provisions box out of it on the trip, using the lid for a dining table. He afterwards used it to put clothing in and after his death 1879 his widow used it as before his death. Her home burned March 23, 1901. Her son Robert saved the chest the first article though nearly all of their goods was consumed. On the 10th of November she agreed to exchange the chest with W. J. McMullan for a nice trunk and November 18th the exchange was made, all parties being satisfied.
"This is the record given by W. M. McMullan, my father, at the age of 76 years, he being the last and only one that knew its history, or where it came from. It was his father that got possession of it in 1836 and he knew it well several years before. In the past since he could recollect, his father William was well up on the family history, having been born in 1792 and his son William Marion remembered most of it distinctly. Age of the chest 152 years this March 10th, 1912 and now it is to my heirs.
"This is my will concerning the old chest. Preserve it as best you can. Never allow it to be sold unless it be among yourselves. If ever the house gets on fire, by all means save the chest.
"Your Father W. J. McMullan, March 10th. A.D. 1912."
Through a prized possession such as the trunk, members of the McMullan family will be constantly reminded of their heritage; however, the real "mystery" concerning the trunk is: Did my great-great-great-great grandfather John McMullan REALLY use the tools stored in the trunk to make the first uniform worn by General George Washington after he became Commander-in-Chief of the Army? He was in approximately the right place at approximately the right time and was trained as a tailor... but whether he made the uniform or not remains unproven. Perhaps not knowing the truth is really part of the treasure left to us by John McMullan. As his descendants we can still take great pride in the service he gave to our country and dedicate ourselves to continuing to serve our communities and our great nation.

Footnotes:

2. Edited only for clarity.

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