Rev. Thomas Mullins

Rev. Thomas Mullins was born in 1736 in Brunswick Co., VA [1]. His father, Patrick Mullins, was born in Scotland [2] and immigrated to Virginia in 1728 [3] where he was first documented in land records in Goochland County on September 18, 1728 [4]. Rev. Mullins’ mother’s name was Mary [5]. We do not know her last name, nor her parents’ names or origins.

Patrick and Mary Mullins last appear in Virginia land records in 1754, and first appear in North Carolina in 1756 when Patrick received a grant of land on March 15, 1756, in Rowan County, North Carolina, from the Earl of Granville [6].

[The certificate states that the land was in Orange County, but the location described can be proven to be in Rowan County. Historians have observed that the boundary between Orange Co., formed in 1752, and Rowan Co., formed in 1753, was ill-defined in the early years. The grant to Patrick Mullins is a case in point].

Baptist Ministry

Rev. Thomas Mullins entered the Baptist ministry at about the time the family moved to NC, in 1756 [7], a calling that he would continue for 60 years. His obituary, printed in The Star and North Carolina Gazette on January 10, 1817, reads as follows:

“COMMUNICATION – Departed this life, at his seat in Rockingham County, on the 29 of November [1816], the Rev. Thomas Mullins, in the 80th year of his age; he had been a member of the Baptist Society about sixty years, and nearly that length of time in the Ministry… He had ever supported an unexceptionable character as a Christian and minister of the Lord Jesus, and whenever he was in company with his brethren would exort them to love and peace…”

Rev. Mullins first appears in land records on July 16, 1766 [8], when his father, Patrick, sold 120 acres to “Thomas Mullins his son,” both residents of Rowan County. The land was explicitly part of the grant to Patrick from the Earl of Granville. In 1770, Guilford County was formed from parts of Rowan and Orange Counties, and Rev. Mullins was first documented to purchase land in the Lick Fork Creek area of Guilford County in 1772 [9]. He would remain near Lick Fork Creek for the next 44 years until his death in 1816.

Rev. Mullins was a founder of the Lick Fork Primitive Baptist Church before 1778 [10]; in fact, at one time it was called the “Mullins church”. We know from extant handwritten records of this church [11] that Rev. Mullins remained a pastor at the Lick Fork Church until his death in 1816. It is unknown with which specific church or churches Rev. Mullins was affiliated with during the earlier years of his Baptist ministry.

His obituary in The Star and North Carolina Gazette is evidence that Rev. Thomas Mullins began in the Baptist ministry 60 years before his death, in about 1756, and therefore satisfies the criteria as a qualifying ancestor for the Society of the Descendants of the Colonial Clergy. As noted above, he was a resident of Rowan County, North Carolina, beginning in 1766, and in the Lick Fork area of Guilford County (from which Rockingham County was formed), North Carolina, beginning in 1772, so we might presume that he was a pastor at churches in these respective areas.

The Lick Fork Primitive Baptist Church continues in operation at the time of this writing. It is in a deeply rural area of the Piedmont part (north-central) of NC, and in the present day has 6 parishioners.

Revolutionary War Service

During the Revolution, Reverend Mullins’s served in the Colonial Army in his home county of Guilford, and he was probably present at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on March 15, 1781 [20]. This was a pivotal battle in the Revolutionary War: the British won a nominal victory, but suffered heavy casualties that effectively ended their campaign in the southern Colonies. Whether Reverend Mullins served as a chaplain, a combatant, or both, remains unknown. Read more about Rev. Mullins’s Revolutionary War Service.

The following is proof of Rev. Mullins’s descendant lineage, and proof of his status as a qualifying ancestor for the Society of Colonial Clergy.

The Mullins Children

The will of Rev. Thomas Mullins [12], dated December 8, 1815, names his son Thomas Mullins as executor. Rev. Mullins’ obituary noted his death less than one year later, on November 29, 1816 [13].

Rev. Mullins’ will names 4 adult children:

• Thomas
• William
• Robert Mullins
• Rhoda Settle (married to David Settle) [14]

Rhoda Settle was the daughter of Rev. Mullins and his first wife, Rhoda “Peggy” Bethell, whom Rev. Mullins married in about 1760. Rhoda Mullins died before 1773, when his second wife, Elizabeth Mullins is named on a land deed. Thomas, William and Robert were the sons of his second wife. We do not know Elizabeth’s maiden name. Elizabeth “Betsy” Mullins is mentioned several times in the Lickfork Church minutes [15].

At some time after 1804, Rev. Mullins married a third time to Rhoda Mullins, last name unknown. He had 4 “young children” by Rhoda, mentioned in his will: 

• John
• Francis
• Letty
• Samuel.

According to the Lickfork Church minutes, his second wife Betsy (Elizabeth) was still alive in 1806, by which time at least John and Francis were born. When Rev. Mullins died in 1816, the church minutes referred to Rhoda Mullins as his “Consort and Wife”, so it appears possible that some of his children with Rhoda were born before the couple wed. 

Executors of Rev. Mullins’s will are named: “My son Thomas Mullins,” and “Brother David Lawson and Brother Cole.” At the Lickfork Baptist Church, men referred to each other as “Brother”. The co-executors of the will were not actually Rev. Mullins’s brothers.

The fact that the Thomas Mullins who wrote this 1815 will was, in fact, Rev. Thomas Mullins of the Lick Fork Primitive Baptist Church, is confirmed by the naming of two church colleagues as executors, Brother David Lawson and Brother Cole:

• The minutes of Rev. Mullins’s church, the Lick Fork Primitive Baptist Church survive from 1786-1828 [15]. Rev. (Brother) Mullins is mentioned many times throughout the minutes between 1786 and his death in 1816.
• The minutes from 1816 note Rev. Mullins’s burial on November 30, 1816. On the same page, both Brother Cole and Brother Lawson are mentioned.

The proof of lineage that Rev. Mullins’s son Thomas is the father of Thomas Jefferson Mullins III is proven with sequential census records, marriage bonds, and ancestry.com searches, as follows. These records show that Rev. Mullins and his son, Thomas Mullins (Jr.) (1810 census), were the only 2 Thomas Mullins in Rockingham County in 1810.

Further, the family demographics of Thomas Mullins (Jr.) (1810 census) fit those of Thomas II as detailed in his will, and fit those of Thomas Mullins (Sr.) shown on the 1840 Census.

U.S. Census: North Carolina, Rockingham, 1790-1840

1790 Census

Rev. Mullins is shown with 2 sons at home (Thomas and Robert) and son William one entry below [16].

1800 Census

Rev. Mullins is shown with only his wife, no children [17] . Son, William, is again on the line above. Son, Thomas II, has married Patsy Stubblefield [18], and lives separately (in Rockingham), shown on the census [19], with one son, Robert.

Rev. Mullins’ children and their spouses are detailed in a DAR reference [20]; the information is corroborated by the children named in his will, and by the census and marriage records in this chapter.

As the biography states, Patsy Stubblefield, wife of Thomas II, died in 1801, and he remarried to Anny Smith on December 25, 1804 [21].

1810 Census

Rev. Thomas Mullins and Thomas II are listed on the same page [22], as “Senr.” and “Junr.” Thomas Mullins II (Jr.) is shown with his son age 10-15 by Patsy Stubblefield, Robert, and 2 young daughters by Anny Smith. Rev. Thomas Mullins (Sr.) is shown with his new wife Rhoda, and 3 of the 4 “young children” referenced in his will:

• Son, John
• Daughters, Frances and Letty

A search on ancestry.com reveals only 2 Thomas Mullins in Rockingham Co. in 1810, yielding no other candidates to be the son Thomas of Rev. Mullins. One other Thomas Mullins is shown in NC on this 1810 census and on the 1840 census, in Chatham Co. The Chatham Thomas Mullens family does not fit the demographics of the family of Thomas II. Further, Thomas II is shown separately in 1840.

1820 Census

Rev. Mullins died in 1816. His widow Rhoda Mullins is shown on the 1820 census with 2 young sons and 2 young daughters [23], corresponding to Rev. Mullins’ 4 young children noted in his will. There are 2 additional young adult males in Rhoda’s household whom we cannot account for.

The 1820 census shows Thomas II [24]. Son Robert is no longer shown living with his father, and may have been deceased, or may be one of the adult young males living with Rhoda. Thomas II is shown with one son (Thomas III, born 1816), age 0 to 10, and 5 daughters. Thomas Jefferson Mullins (Thomas III) was the only son born to Thomas Mullins and Anny Smith, and they had 7 daughters born between 1805 and 1828 (see 1830 census below).

A search on ancestry.com reveals only 1 Thomas Mullins in Rockingham County in 1820. There is no other candidate Thomas Mullins to be Rev. Mullins’s son, nor Thomas III’s father.

1830 Census

The entry for the Thomas Mullins family [25] shows one son, age 10-15, and 7 daughters of various ages. Thomas III was 14 in 1830.

A search on ancestry.com reveals only 1 Thomas Mullins in Rockingham County in 1830, again showing no other candidate Thomas Mullins to be Rev. Mullins’s son, nor Thomas III’s father.

In 1839 Thomas Mullins (Sr.) sold 143 acres of land to “Thomas Mullins his son” [26], both of Rockingham County, for $1.

1840 Census

The 1840 Rockingham County census shows Thomas III listed as Thomas Mullins (Jr.), married with 2 children:

• Mary, age 13
• John, age 11 [27]

Thomas III’s father, Thomas II, is shown on line 1, still with 5 daughters age 15-30 living at home.

A search on ancestry.com shows only 2 Thomas Mullins in Rockingham County in 1840.

1850 Census

The Rockingham Co. census shows only Thomas II [28], wife deceased, 4 daughters at home, and daughter Elizabeth next door married to Iverson Stacey. Thomas III moved his family to McNairy County, Tennessee in 1846.

By the time Thomas II wrote his will in 1855 [29], he named 4 daughters:

• Elizabeth Stacey, m. Iverson Stacey
• Jane
• Francis
• Susan

Iverson Stacey was appointed one of the executors. We presume Thomas III was not mentioned in the will because he had moved 900 miles west to Christian County, Missouri, by 1852 [30] (the 1860 census shows that his 8-year-old daughter, Susan, was born in Missouri), and because Thomas III already had substantial landholdings and wealth.

Summary

The documents cited above establish that

• Rev. Thomas Mullins was “Thomas Mullins Sr” on the 1810 census.
• Thomas II was “Thomas Mullins Jr” on the 1810 census and “Thomas Mullins Sr” on the 1840 census.
• Thomas III was “Thomas Mullins Jr” on the 1840 census.

Thus, the lineage from Thomas Jefferson Mullins through Thomas II to Rev. Thomas Mullins is established.

Additional Evidence

There is evidence of a direct connection between Thomas III and Thomas I, through the children of Rev. Thomas Mullins (I). Rev. Mullins’ children are listed in his will [31] and with their spouses in the DAR book [32]:

• Daughter, Letty, married Ruben Atkins
• Daughter, Francis, married David Atkins [33].

Both of these Atkins-Mullins couples had moved to McNairy County, TN, by 1834 and Rev. Mullins’ son Samuel had moved to and owned land in McNairy, TN, by 1846.

Thomas III moved his family to McNairy County, TN, in about 1846:

• In a deed dated August 20, 1845 [34], Thomas Mullins “of Rockingham County” sold Anderson Griffith 111 acres of land that bordered the land of “Thomas Mullins Senior,” proving that this deed was a land sale by Thomas III and that he still resided in Rockingham Co. on this date.
• In a deed dated Dec 1846 [35] Thomas Mullins purchased 160 acres of land in McNairy County, TN, from his uncle, Samuel Mullins.
• Thomas Mullins (III) is shown with his family on the 1850 McNairy, TN, census [36].

The fact that Thomas (III) Jefferson Mullins moved his family to McNairy, TN, in 1846, to the same county where his Uncle Samuel and Aunts Letty and Francis already resided, is a circumstantial connection between Thomas III and the children of Thomas I. Furthermore, Thomas III had deed interactions with Samuel, and with Letty’s husband, Ruben Atkins, as follows:

• In December 1846, Samuel Mullins sold Thomas Mullins 160 acres of land in McNairy County, TN [37]
• On October 4, 1851, Thomas Mullins sold 320 acres of land to Samuel Conn [38]. The deed was witnessed and proved by Ruben Atkins, Letty Mullins’s husband. Letty and Ruben Atkins are shown on the 1850 McNairy census [39]. Based on the age of the oldest Atkins child born in TN (Nancy, age 16), Ruben and Letty had moved to Tennessee by 1834.

Francis Mullins and her husband, David Atkins, lived in the same district. David had died by 1850. Francis is shown with her children on the 1850 McNairy census [40], born in NC. Based on the age of her oldest child born in TN (Susan, age 16), David and Francis Atkins had also moved to Tennessee by 1834.

Summary

Thomas Jefferson Mullins (III) moved his family to McNairy County, TN, where his father’s siblings Letty, Francis, and Samuel already lived. Thomas III likely moved there because his relatives already lived and farmed there. Thomas III had deed interactions with Samuel and with Letty’s husband, Ruben, proving these relatives knew him. These facts comprise circumstantial evidence connecting Thomas III directly to his grandfather, Rev. Thomas Mullins, through the children of Thomas I.

Documentation Of Birth, Marriage, And Death Places/Dates

Rev. Mullins’s date of death was given in his obituary [41] as November 29, 1816. The obituary states that he was 80 years old, placing his birth year at c. 1736. The DAR book [42] places his birthplace as Brunswick, VA. The obituary places his death place as Rockingham County, NC.

The biography of Rev. Thomas Mullins in the DAR book [43] states that Rev. Mullins’ wife was Rhoda Bethell and that she died January 22, 1822, but this is in fact the date of death of his third wife, Rhoda Mullins, as was noted in the Lickfork Church Minutes [47].

Rev. Mullins will of 1815 states that his 4 “young children” were underage. Three census pages show their approximate birth years:

• The 1800 Rockingham census [44] shows Thomas Mullins, over 45, with his wife, age 26-44, and no children. His son William Mullins is shown in the entry above.
• The 1810 Rockingham census [45] shows Thomas Mullins over age 45 (he was 74 based on his age 80 at death in 1816), and his wife, age 26-44, had 1 son and 2 daughters under 10. He had a 4th child with Rhoda after 1810, Samuel.
• The 1820 Rockingham census [46] shows Rev. Mullins’s last wife, Rhoda, now widowed, with the 4 “young children” of Rev. Mullins’s will.

Thus, Reverend Mullins’ 5th, 6th, and 7th children were born between 1800 and 1810, and his last child, Samuel, was born after 1810.

It is clear that Rev. Mullins had 3 wives:

• Rhoda Bethell, who died before 1773, 
• Elizabeth “Betsy” Mullins, mother of Thomas II, who died after 1806, and
• Rhoda Mullins, mother of his 4 “young children”, whose death was noted in the Lickfork Church Minutes [47]: 

“Sister Rhoda Mullins Wife and Consort of Thomas Mullins Minister of the Church January the 27th 1822”

The use of the word “Consort” perhaps suggests that Rev. Mullins “took up” with a younger woman (Rhoda), before marrying her after his second wife died.

Identity Of Thomas Mullins’ II Mother

There is an indenture from March 16, 1773, between Thomas Mullins “of Guilford” and William Davye [48]. The indenture is signed by Thomas and “his wife” Elizabeth Mullins.

[Note: Rockingham County was formed from Guilford County in 1785. Surry County bordered Guilford County to the west.]

There is evidence that the Thomas Mullins of this 1773 indenture is in fact Rev. Thomas Mullins. This conclusion is also supported by the fact that the minutes of the Lick Fork Primitive Baptist Church mention “Betsy Mullins” several times between 1791 and 1806 [49]. The minutes never state explicitly that Betsy Mullins was the wife of Rev. Mullins, but few women are mentioned in these minutes, and the name coincidence between Elizabeth of the 1773 indenture and Betsy of the church minutes raises the probability that Elizabeth and Betsy were the same woman, Rev. Mullins’ second wife

Given the birth year of c. 1772 for Thomas II, his mother was likely Elizabeth Mullins.

The birth date of Elizabeth Mullins is unknown. Her death would have been after 1806, her last mention in the Lick Fork Church minutes [47].

© 2013 W. Mullins