Digging Up Your Family

Records from the DAR

A few weeks ago I had ordered some records from the library of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) about the McQueen family. These are those records (dun dun…for the Law & Order fans).

The first record is part of one I had already ordered and posted, but it didn’t have all of the information I had hoped to receive. This one does! The record gives me a birthday for Peter McQueen. Part of this records was already posted HERE, I will post it again:

Georgia DAR GRC report; s1 v473: Troup County records/compiled by Ethel Dallas Hill

TROUP COUNTY, GEORGIA

BIBLE RECORDS

MARRIAGE RECORDS

CEMETERY RECORDS

Compiled by Mrs. Ethel Dallas Hill, Lagrange, Georgia

Mrs Young Harris Yarbrough, State Regent

Mrs Eliot T Nottingham, State Chairman

GENEALOGICAL RECORDS COMMITTEE

GEORGIA SOCIETY

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

1949-1950

RECORDS FROM THE WOOD-MULLINS BIBLE

Marriages

Stephen Wood and Ann McQueen were married on Thursday the 2nd of March 1826

Virginia Wood and David Hill Mullins married June 7, 1853

John McQueen Mullins and Mary Griffith married January 3, 1911

Births

Stephen Wood was born 7th day of January 1792 in Lunenburg County, Virginia

Ann Wood was born September 22nd 1793

William Henry Wood born December 27, 1826 in Meriwether Co, Ga (note: Troup County, as Meriwether did not become a county until December 14, 1827)

Geo Washington Wood born April 11th, 1826 in Meriwether Co, Ga (note: Troup County, as Meriwether did not become a county until December 14, 1827)

James M Wood born January 14, 1830 in Meriwether Co, Ga

Mary Ann Wood born April 25th, 1832 in Meriwether Co, Ga

Virginia Wood was born July 31, 1833 in Meriwether Co, Ga

Deaths

James McQueen died December 7th, 1808 in Edgefield District, SC

Mary Ann McQueen, wife of James McQueen died on Friday, January 13th, 1804 in East Fla. In the Island of Fort Georgia.

Ann Wood died November 10th, 1834 in Meriwether County

Anna M Hardy, February 4, 1904

David Hill Mullins died January 29, 1919

Virginia Wood Mullins, September 11, 1938

RECORDS FROM THE WOOD-MULLINS BIBLE

Marriages

Mary Ann Wood and Patrick Henry Mullins married April 1853

Anna Mullins to ZT Hardy October 19, 1873

Henry Hill Mullins to Antoinette B Sledge, November 1880 and Lula Edmondson June 7, 1887

Births

Stephen W Mullins was born January 13th 1854

Anna Mullins was born June 28, 1854 in Meriwether County, Ga

Henry Hill Mullins May 5, 1859

Jas. M Mullins February 21, 1861

William Mullins June 13, 1865

Daniel Winston Mullins October 13, 1867 (note: all records have his name as David Winston Mullins, including his headstone)

John McQueen Mullins June 25, 1870

Peter McQueen was born September 14, 1795

Ann McQueen Wood September 22, 1793

Deaths

William H Wood, April 1868 in Greenville, Ala

George Washington Wood was mortally wounded at Battle of Gettysburg

Jas Wood died in Byhalia, Miss

Jas M Mullins September 20, 1862

William Mullins February 11, 1904

So now I have Peter’s birthdate. I just need his death date and where he was buried.

And while we are on the subject of Peter, there is a record of him (one record, but on two pages) from Arkansas. This record places him as living in Marion County, Mississippi at the end of 1827:

Arkansas DAR GRC report; s1 v146: Arkansas genealogical records

DEED RECORDS

LAFAYETTE COUNTY

ARKANSAS

PRESENTED BY:

PRUDENCE HALL CHAPTER, 6=030=AR

ARKANSAS STATE SOCIETY

MRS JOHN H HARP, STATE REGENT

MRS HAPTON PUGH, STATE CHAIRMAN

GENEALOGICAL RECORDS COMMITTEE

PAGE NUMBER: 8

GRANTOR: Peter McQueen of Marion Co, Miss

GRANTEE: Morgan Cryer

ITEM TRANSFERRED: Negro boy, Jef

CONSIDERATION: $500

DATE OF DEED: December 31, 1827

PAGE NUMBER: 17

GRANTOR: Peter McQueen of Marion Co, Miss

GRANTEE: Morgan Cryer

ITEM TRANSFERRED: Negro boy, Jef

CONSIDERATION: $500

DATE OF DEED: December 31, 1827

“ITEM”. It makes me cringe to think about a person as an “item”.

Wood-McQueen Family Bible

I am not sure how I missed the post initially, but back in June my distant Craft cousin Valerie posted on here blog (Begin with Craft) about the DAR Bible Records index that was recently published.  When I saw it just a few weeks ago I started randomly searching surnames, not really expecting to find much of anything.  Boy, was I surprised!  I have been able to bust down a couple of brick walls!

From Troup County, Georgia: Bible records, marriage records, cemetery records (1950) by Hill, Ethel Dallas:

I got a marriage date-

Stephen Wood and Ann McQueen were married on Thursday the 2nd of March 1826

I still don’t know where they married, but I at least have a date now.  I think once I have a location, it may help narrow down where Ann and her brother Peter were raised.  And that is important, because they weren’t raised by their parents.

I know this because I also got their parent information-

James McQueen died December 7th, 1808 in Edgefield District, SC

Mary Ann McQueen, wife of James McQueen died on Friday, January 13th, 1804 in East Fla. In the Island of Fort Georgia.

After a quick call to Florida, I confirmed that it should have been Fort George, where Don Juan McQueen lived.  Now to figure out how on earth they were, or if they were, related.  I found several records related to James McQueen in Edgefield District, around 1794 and again in court records around the time of his death.  Because I was wondering if and how James was related to Don Juan McQueen, I started hunting for siblings. 

Don Juan McQueen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1751 to John McQueen, Esq. and Ann Dalton.  Further searching led to the Register of St. Philip's parish Charles Town, South Carolina, 1720-1758 which listed the following McQueen information:

Ann McQueen was born December 21, 1749 to John and Ann McQueen. Baptized August 15, 1750.

Sons of John McQueen, Esq. and Ann McQueen _James McQueen on September 22, 1753; Alexander McQueen on January 19, 1755; and George McQueen on May 22, 1758.  Baptism dates unknown.

From Register of St. Philip's Parish, Charlestown or Charleston, 1754-1810 I found this McQueen information:

William McQueen was born on April 11, 1760 to John and [blank] McQueen.

Mrs. McQueen’s child was buried on September 13, 1760.

John McQueen’s son was buried on August 24, 1762.

John McQueen was buried on November 12, 1762.

Robert McQueen and Eleanor Crawley were married on March 18, 1789.

In John McQueen Esq.’s will, the following children are mentioned:

Daughter Ann

Three sons John, Alexander, and George.

So it does appear that the above mentioned James and William are deceased (provided that the children did belong to them, and weren’t just left out of the will for spite, for whatever reason).

In The People of East Florida During the Revolutionary War-War of 1812 is the following McQueen information:

MCQUEEN, HARRY OR HENRY, IUCFSLG

MCQUEEN, DON JUAN, MARIA; DON JUAN MCQUEEN; Same surname LSCRW 1; Heirs of IUCFSLG & IUCFSLG; of S. Car. abt. 40 1791, s. of John and Anna Dalton St. Aug. Baps.

MCQUEEN, MALCOLM, Pvt. N. Car. Regmt 1783 LSCRW 1

There is also a mention of an Alexander McQueen under the heading Nov. 1776. Gov. Tonyn of E. Fla. sent to Lord Germain a copy of address from the Georgia Loyalist thanking him for assistance in removing their property. The signers listed below are NOT included in the main index.

SO, while I finally got Ann’s marriage date, and the names of Ann’s and Peter’s parents, I just created more brick walls.  Such as, where did Ann and Stephen marry? Who raised Ann and Peter after their parents died (Ann was about 11 years when the mother died and about 15 years when the father died; Peter was about 9 years when the mother died and about 13 years when the father died)? Did they have any other siblings?  What was Mary Ann’s maiden name (the mother)?  When and where did James and Mary Ann marry?  Who are their parents?

Guess I’d better keep searching!

A Birthplace for McQueen

Today I was hunting and pecking, just check to see if I could find any further information about Peter McQueen or his sister Ann…and I did!  I found a birth location for Ann, which is a possible birth location for Peter!

Titled Department of Archives and History, Georgia’s Official Register, 1929, Compiled by Ruth Blair (State Historian and Director), page 109:

JOHN McQUEEN MULLINS, Durand.  Farmer.  Born June 25, 1870 in O’Neal’s Mill, Troup Co., Ga.  Son of David Hill Mullins (born Aug. 1, 1820 in Martinsville, Henry Co., Va.; resident of O’Neal’s Mill, Troup Co., Ga.; farmer and tobacco manufacturer; died Feb. 4, 1880) and Virginia (Wood) Mullins (born July 31, 1833 in Meriwether Co., Ga.; died Jan. 27, 1919).  Grandson of Henry Mullins (born in Henry Co., Ca.) and Matilda (Hill) Mullins (born in Henry Co., Va.), and of Stephen Wood (born in Lunenburg Co., Va.) and Anne (McQueen) Wood (born in Edgefield Dist., S.C.).  Educated in local school.  Married Jan. 31, 1911 Mary Griffin, daughter of Reuben Leitner Griffin (Mch. 4, 1847-Apr. 12, 1920) and Georgia Holmes Griffin (Mch 1, 1850 June 13, 1924).  Children: Virginia Wood (born Nov. 12, 1913), Jack McQueen (born Sep. 5, 1917), Mary Ellen (born Aug. 4, 1922).  Methodist.  Democrat.  Delegate, State Democratic Conventions, 1906, 1920; member, House of Rep., Meriwether Co., 1898-99, 1927.

Edgefield District, South Carolina!  Now, I don’t know Peter’s exact birth date, but I do know he was born approximately 1795.  And since he, too, said he was born in South Carolina my guess is that he also was born in Edgefield District.  So, I went and looked up the 1790 census for Edgefield.  It’s a name transcribed as “Jams McQueen” (James, I assume) on both Ancestry and Family Search.  However, someone submitted different information on the Ancestry transcription claiming it to say “Saml”.  You decide:

 

Anyway, I will now need to find all probate records in the surrounding counties to see if I can find any further information.  Since those counties were formed from Edgefield later on in the 19th century, I may be able to find records in those counties if the particular areas transferred.

The only other new information I have found on Peter was a postal advertisement in the Louisiana Herald (Alexandria, Louisiana) on January 21, 1820 notifying people that their mail would continued to be held at the post office for at least three months.  So, this puts Peter:

April 30, 1818 - in New Orleans, Louisiana purchasing a slave named Daniel

January 1820 – apparently living in or around Alexandria, Louisiana

November 27, 1820 – in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana for his marriage to Elizabeth Freeland

However, he still doesn’t appear on any census record whatsoever until 1840 in Marshall County, Mississippi.  Odd.

Stephen W Wood Tidbits

I found two little blurbs about Stephen W Wood in the 1852 book Transactions of the Southern Central Agricultural Society, from its organization in 1846 to 1851: with an introduction giving the origin and brief history of the society by David W Lewis, Esq. (Secretary of the Society).

 

Page 34, under ON BLOOD HORSESFor the best “thoroughbred blood Stallion” the Committee award the premium to the celebrated Blood Race Horse “Steel” by imported Fylde, entered by STEPHEN WOOD of Meriwether.

 

Page 35A number of very fine horses and colts were also exhibited, among which the Committee feel it a duty to name a fine Bascom Colt four years old, called “John B. Crowell,” dam Thomas’ Sir Andrew, offered by Mr. ELBERT PHIPPS of Harris County; and another Bascom Colt offered by Mr. STEPHEN WOOD of Meriwether County; a very fine bay horse named “Gano” entered by Col. BEALE of Columbia County -  also some fine Brood Mares and Fillies – a fine Mare called “Hornett,” by “Sir Walter” – dam by “Sir Andrew,” with two fine colts, a three and a four year old, offered by Mr. A. F. WOOLLEY of Cass County; a fine four years old Mare “Florazelle,” by “Labestus,” offered by Maj. W. P. FARRAR of Putnam County; a bay Mare “Flora Jane,” by “Jewet,” dam by “Young Wonder,” offered by Mr. Wm. VAUGN of CLOPTON’S Mills, Putnam County; and a fine Mare called “Kitty Hays” by “Imported Glencoe,: dam “Lady Lyon,” offered by Mr. M. C. NISBET of Macon.

Marriage Records and Disappointment (and then some excitement!)

Ancestry has made some mistakes.  And not the usual transcription mistakes.  Mistakes that caused me to go out of my way, only to be disappointed.

I received the marriage announcements for Mary Ann Wood to Patrick Henry Mullins and Virginia Wood to David Hill Mullins.  They weren’t what I expected at all.  What I was hoping for was to find out where in South Carolina the couples had married in hopes of linking my McQueens to a specific county.  Ann McQueen, the mother of Mary Ann and Virginia, is the sister of my 4th great-grandfather Peter McQueen.  I only know that they were born in South Carolina in the 1790s.  When I saw that Ancestry had Mary Ann and Virginia’s marriages listed under “South Carolina Marriages, 1641-1965” I really thought I had gotten one step closer.

What follows are screen shots of the records Ancestry offers, compared to the actual marriage announcements found in the Southern Christian Advocate, a South Carolina Methodist periodical.

 

Issue of June 17, 1853

On the 7th inst., in Merriwether co., Ga., by Rev. W. D. Matthews, David H. Mullins of Va., to Miss Virginia, youngest daughter of Stephen Wood, Esq.

Now, Meriwether County, Georgia IS NOT in the state of South Carolina.  Also, I did a little research to find out exactly what the “inst.” was, and what I found is that “inst.” means “instant” and refers to a date in the same month, whereas “ult.” means “ultimo” and refers to a date in the month prior.  So this would put the date of marriage at June 7, 1853 rather than May.  Though if I am wrong on this I wish someone would enlighten me!

 

 Issue of April 22, 1853

Near White Sulphur Springs, Merriwether co., Ga, March 30th, by Rev. W. D. Mathews, Col. Patrick Henry Mullins of Virginia, to Miss Mary, eldest daughter of Stephen Wood, Esq., of the former place.

Again, White Sulphur Springs, Meriwether County, Georgia IS NOT in the state of South Carolina.

I know this probably annoys me more than it should, but I keep thinking how I wouldn’t have sent off for the marriage announcements, I wouldn’t have paid for the marriage announcements, had the information of the place of marriage been correct on Ancestry to begin with (considering that I already pay for Ancestry itself to have the ability to find information).  I’m pretty much back to, as my mother put it, square-one with my research.

Sigh.

 

On a happier note, I also received a copy of the marriage record for Elizabeth Freeland and Peter McQueen!  Though it still leaves some questions, I feel a bit closer to finding out more about Elizabeth’s family.  I know she had a brother named George W Freeland who died in Sumter County, Alabama.  Until now that’s the only name I had for a family member.  Lucky for me the marriage bond was signed between Peter McQueen and Isaac Freeland!  Is Isaac her father?  I do not know.  BUT that’s a new name!  In East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana there is an Isaac listed on the 1820 census, but I cannot find any other information about him, not even another census.  So more research, but I will find something!State of Louisiana

Parish of Feliciana

Know all men by these presents that we Peter McQueen & I Freeland are held firmly bound unto Wm C Wade Judge of the Parish aforesaid & his successors & assigns in the full sum of five Hundred dollars lawfull money of the United States to which payment will & justly to be made we bind ourselves our heirs & signed by us this 27^th day of November 1820

The Consideration of the foregoing obligation is such that whereas the said Peter McQueen has this day obtained from the Judge of the Parish aforesaid a license to Celebrate a marriage between him the said Peter McQueen & Elizabeth Freeland

Now if there exists no legal impediment to the Celebration of said marriage ~ then this obligation to be void Else to remain in full force & virtue

Peter McQueen

Isaac Freeland

Anna Mullins *UPDATE*

My relationship to Anna Mullins:

Me

Virginia Marie Stalls (mother)

James Paul Stalls, Jr (granddaddy)

Minnie Virginia Richards (g-grandmother)

Jerome E Richards (2nd g-grandfather)

Caroline McQueen (3rd g-grandmother)

Peter McQueen (4th g-grandfather)

Ann McQueen (4th great aunt, Peter’s sister)

Virginia Wood (1st cousin 5x removed, Ann’s daughter)

Anna Mullins (2nd cousin 4x removed, Virginia’s daughter)

 

 

Anna Mullins was, as far as I can tell, the first child and only daughter born to David Hill Mullins (1822-1880) and Virginia Wood (1833-1919).  She was born in June of 1854 in White Sulphur Springs, Meriwether County, Georgia.

The first census Anna appears on is the 1860 census enumerated in White Sulphur Springs, Meriwether County, Georgia.  She is shown as 5 years of age.  She is living with her father listed as HD Mullins (farmer, age 40 years) and her mother listed as Virginia Mullins (age 25 years).  She also has a little brother listed as Hilliard Mullins (age 1 year).

 

It took me a while to find Anna on the 1870 census, and then verify it was actually her, but I did it!  She appears that year on the census enumerated in Winston Township, Forsyth County, North Carolina.  She is listed as 16 years of age and a student at the Salem Female Academy.  The only information I had to go on at first was that she was from Georgia.  Once I contacted Salem Academy (which, by the way, is still open and has a loooong and rich history…and excellent record keeping!) they confirmed that Anna Mullins listed on the census was the correct Anna. 

The information they sent to me, besides photos of the catalog she appears in (catalogs were used prior to yearbooks, apparently) is:

Anna Mullins
Born 1854
Parent or Guardian: D.H. Mullins (this is David Hill Mullins, her father)
Address:   LaGrange, Troup Factory, GA (interesting….)
Came:  10/29/1869
Left: Dec.  1872

 

So, Anna left school at the end of 1872 and returned to Georgia.  The family was living in Militia District O’Neal’s Mill in Troup County, Georgia at the time, with David employed as a farmer, and very wealthy. 

On October 19, 1873 Anna married Zachariah Hardy in Troup County, Georgia.  I haven’t yet found the actual marriage record/license, but I am working on it!

In 1880 Anna and Zachariah are found living in Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia.  Anna is listed as 24 years of age and keeping house.  Zachariah is listed as 30 years of age and a “ware house clerk”.  They also had two sons:  Arthur (age 6 years) and Winston (age 2 years).

 

There is, of course, no census for 1890 (boo!).

 

Sometime between 1880 and 1900 Zachariah died, though I don’t know where and I haven’t located his burial spot yet.

In 1900 Anna is living back in White Sulphur Springs, Meriwether County, Georgia next door to her mother Virginia.  Anna is listed as Annie, 45 years of age, having been born in June of 1854.  She is listed as a widow.  Living with her are her son Arthur (a farmer, age 25 years) and her daughter Kate (age 17 years).

 

And that is the last I can find on Anna Mullins.

 

I cannot find a death date for her.  I assume she died in White Sulphur Springs prior to 1910.  Her son Arthur was married with a child and living with another family, and her daughter Kate was living with Virginia.  I cannot find a burial spot for Anna, which really annoys me since, judging by the personal and property value of her family members, there is no reason why a headstone could not have been afforded for her.  I think that she may be buried in the Mullins Cemetery in one of the two unmarked graves.  Another place where she might be buried is in the Trinity Methodist Church cemetery down the road from Mullins Cemetery Road.  Her son Winston is buried there, so it’s a possibility that she might be there without a headstone.  One last place that she might be is in the Hamilton Cemetery in Harris County, Georgia where her son Arthur is buried.  Again, possibly without a headstone.  I cannot locate her daughter Kate after 1910, so I have no clue where she  might be buried, if she ever married, etc.

UPDATE:  I ened up finding Kate after I posted this (isn't that always how it happens?).  She married Pleasant Theodore McCutchen.  I'm still looking for her burial spot, but I'm thinking it might be in Franklin, Georgia since it seems the McCutchen family owned a newspaper there.

Mullins Cemetery, Meriwether County, Ga

UPDATE:  I had initally written that Virginia Wood and Mary Ann Wood married in South Carolina, however this was incorrect and I tried to correct the information on Ancestry.  Both married in Meriwether County, Georgia.

Getting to Mullins Cemetery in Meriwether County, Georgia has been an interesting feat.  I initially contacted the Millers, who had posted some information about the cemetery online, back in October.  So many life events were occurring at the time that I decided to wait until the end of November to attempt meeting them to see the cemetery.  We first decided to go on Tuesday, November 29, but it rained and we couldn’t go.  This is because the road that the cemetery is on is dirt, not much gravel, and gets very muddy and slick when it rains.  We then planned on going the following Tuesday, December 6, but couldn’t because it rained…again.  What are the chances that it’s sunny every day except Tuesdays?  So we planned the trip for the following Monday, December 12 (yesterday).  It rained…again.  Seriously, it has been sunny since last Tuesday, but it rained yesterday. 

We went anyway.

My mom and I met the Millers in Warm Springs, Meriwether County, Georgia and we followed them out to the cemetery.  The road was soft in spots, and slick, but we went slow and managed not to get stuck.  We had been told that if we didn’t know what to look for we’d miss it, and they were right!  The trees are thick around the cemetery and there are deer stands all over the place.  It was pretty creepy, actually.

So, the following are the photos I took (and there are a lot of them so just  keep scrolling for more information)! 

(note:  getting a good shot of the cemetery proved to be difficult for me with my camera, so all photos were taken with my cell phone.  editing was done on each photo to resize and make them easier to see, hence the differences in color and tone per photo.)

 

Ann McQueen is my 4th great-aunt.  She is the sister of my 4th great-grandfather Peter McQueen.  Ann is the first wife of Stephen Wood, though I do not know when or where they married since I have yet to find the marriage record.   The top of the headstone has her married name WOOD.  The front of her headstone reads:

ANN McQUEEN

WOOD

SEPT. 22, 1793

NOV. 10, 1834

The footstone has her initials A.M.W.

 

Stephen W Wood was married first to Ann McQueen, second to Ann C McGill (though Ann C McGill doesn’t appear to be buried in this cemetery).  The top of his headstone has his last name WOOD.  The front of his headstone reads:

STEPHEN W.

WOOD

JAN. 7, 1792

JUNE 15, 1862

His footstone has his initials S.W.W.

 

 

I can’t find any information for George W Wood, though I suspect he may be a child of Stephen W Wood and Ann McQueen.  His headstone reads:

GEO. W. WOOD

1828-1863

Mortally wounded at the

battle of Gettysburg.

 

 

William H Wood is another person I can’t find any information on.  He also might be a son of Stephen W Wood and Ann McQueen.  The top of his headstone has his last name WOOD.  The front of his headstone reads:

WILLIAM H.

WOOD

DEC. 27, 1826

APR. 16, 1868 

His footstone has his initials W.H.W.  

 

 

Virginia Wood is the daughter of Stephen W Wood and Ann McQueen.  Virginia married David Hill Mullins on May 7, 1853 in South Carolina.  Of course, the record I found for the marriage doesn’t list where in South Carolina, getting me no closer to finding the parents of Ann McQueen.  The top of her headstone has her married name MULLINS.  The front of her headstone reads:

VIRGINIA WOOD

MULLINS

JULY 31, 1833

JAN. 29, 1919

Her footstone has her initials V.W.M.

 

 

David Hill Mullins is the husband of Virginia Wood.  Together they had 5 children.  I took several photos of his headstone to try to show as much detail as possible.  The top of his headstone has a design, as does the bottom beneath the inscription.  The front of his headstone reads:

DAVID H. MULLINS

DEC. 9, 1821

FEB. 4, 1880

The very bottom of the headstone has his last name MULLINS.  His footstone has his initials D.H.M.     

 

 

Patrick Henry Mullins was the husband of Mary Ann Wood (Mary Ann Wood is the daughter of Stephen W Wood and Ann McQueen and the niece whom Peter McQueen left everything to in his will).  They married on March 30, 1853 in South Carolina, though I can’t see where in South Carolina on their record, either.  Patrick Henry Mullins was a tobacconist.  He died of a brain inflammation in Randolph County, Alabama.  I’m not sure if his body was sent back over the state lines to Meriwether County, Georgia or if this is just a memorial for him.  The front of his memorial reads:

In memory of

PATRICK H. MULLINS

BORN

In Henry Co. Va.

July 12, 1824

DIED

March 8, 1860

The back of his memorial reads:

Sleep brother dear, and take your rest;

God called you home, He thought it best;

‘Twas hard, indeed, to part with thee,

But Christ’s strong arm supported me.  

 

 

William Mullins is the son of David Hill Mullins and Virginia  Wood.  I’m not sure how the top of his headstone ended up laying across his grave, but I am very eager to see it set right again.  The top of the headstone is carved with a cross and design of what I think are oak leaves and ivy leaves.  I don’t know if anything is on the back of the monument, but the front reads:

In

Memory of

WILLIAM

MULLINS

Born

June 13, 1865

Died

Feb. 11, 1904

 

 

David Winston Mullins is also the son of David Hill Mullins and Virginia Wood.  If I researched him correctly then he spent at least 39 years at the Georgia State Sanitarium in Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia.  He is listed on the census as an inmate there in 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930.  His death certificate in 1939 was issued at the hospital.  I’m waiting on a return call from the hospital (now Central State Hospital) for more information.  There is nothing on top of the headstone and there is no footstone.  The front of his headstone reads:

DAVID WINSTON

MULLINS

OCT. 13, 1867

SEPT. 20, 1939

 

 

There is a crypt (crypt?  is that what these are considered?  I don’t know…) that is broken on the top and one end is leaning.  I looked inside to make sure a body wasn’t just laying there and to make sure it hadn’t been dug up.  It didn’t look like it, just sunken on one side.  I look forward to this having repairs, too.

 

 

There are two rock mounds kind of in the middle of the cemetery with a walkway of sort in between them.  Whether these, too, are graves or if they are just piles of rocks from when the graves were dug is currently unknown.  I am hoping to receive a call back from the Meriwether  County, Georgia Courthouse with more information.

 

The Millers mentioned that sometime soon they plan on taking a week to go down and clean the cemetery up, make repairs to the fence and fence posts (that are damaged terribly), reset headstones, repair the crypt and pretty much try to show the respect that has been severely lacking.  I plan on helping when it’s time.  Seeing this was really sad. 

Peter McQueen 1.0

Note: to see a post for Robert Haskins Crozier CLICK HERE

While I continue to track down the parents of Peter McQueen I suppose putting some information up about him would keep me from writing one very, very long post about him. †

 

My relationship to Peter McQueen:

Me

Virginia Marie Stalls (mother)

James Paul Stalls, Jr (granddaddy)

Minnie Virginia Richards (g-grandmother)

Jerome E Richards (2nd g-grandfather)

Caroline McQueen (3rd g-grandmother)

Peter McQueen (4th g-grandfather)

 

According to census records Peter McQueen was born about 1795 in South Carolina.  I do know (due to a court case involving one of his daughters and his niece) that he had at least one older sister named Ann McQueen who married Stephen Wood.  Ann McQueen, also from South Carolina, died in Meriwether County, Georgia.

Peter McQueen is not on any census records until 1840 for some reason, so tracking his exact whereabouts is difficult.

Peter married Elizabeth Freeland in 1820 in West Feliciana, Louisiana.  They had (according to the divorce papers) three daughters:  Louisa in 1822, Melissa in 1824 and Caroline in 1826.  By 1827 the family was living in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.

In 1827, when Caroline was about a year old, Peter deserted his family.  He had previously sold many of their belongings.  When he left he took two slaves that Elizabeth’s father had given her, telling Elizabeth he would sell the slaves and return with the money.  He disappeared for 10 years.  I have been unable to find him on the 1830 census (or 1820 census, for that matter). 

Peter apparently returned sometime in 1837 and took the two oldest daughters, Louisa and Melissa, from their home against their will, though why he did not take Caroline is not known (unless, as might be suspected, Caroline is not actually his daughter…).  According to records he took the girls up to Marshall County, Mississippi and enrolled them in school.

Elizabeth filed for divorce in May of 1838.  She assumed that Peter had fled west of the Mississippi River and was possibly living in Arkansas.  A notice went out in the paper in Jasper County, Mississippi asking him to come forward and face the accusations.  Of course he didn’t and the divorce was finalized May 1839.

 

In 1840 Peter is found living in Northern Division, Marshall County, Mississippi.  Listed in the household are:

1 white male between 15 and 19 years of age

1 white male between 40 and 49 years of age

3 male slaves under 10 years of age

1 female slave under 10 years of age

1 female slave between 10 and 23 years of age

1 female slave between 24 and 35 years of age

 It is not clear who the white male between 15 and 19 years of age is, nor at this point do I know if the female slave between 10 and 23 years of age and the female slave between 24 and 35 years of age are the two that he took from Elizabeth.

 

It was about 1840 when Peter brought Louisa and Melissa to live with him.  According to court records between 1840 and 1850 Peter became upset when his daughters attended a Methodist Church and kicked them both out of his house.  It’s not clear whether he kicked them out for attending church, for attending a Methodist Church or attending the night meetings at the Methodist Church.  However, Reverend Robert Haskins Crozier wrote a novel based on the incident titled Fiery Trials: Or, a story of an Infidel's Family, Rogers and Company, 1882.  The book paints Peter as an atheist who forbid his family to even think about religion. 

 

On April 24, 1843 Peter, who had been named the administrator of William M Bostwick’s estate, reported that the estate was insolvent.  Peter may not have been forthcoming in filing a list of the assets of the estate until October 1846.  (William Trezevant et al. vs. Peter McQueen, Administrator of William M. Bostwick, deceased)*

 

The January Term of 1849 found Peter in court again when Theodore Bostwick sued him for wages he felt Peter owed him.  The judge found for the defendant (Peter) and awarded a new trial.  Bostwick had failed to present evidence to prove his case and the judge declared that Peter had shown kindness in providing clothes, food and medical attention. (Peter McQueen vs. Theodore D. Bostwick)* 

 

In 1850 Peter is found on the census still living in Northern Division, Marshall County, Mississippi.  He is listed as Peter McQueen, 55 years of age, a farmer and born in South Carolina.  This is the first time that it is shown where he claims to have been born.  Also living in the household with him is a man named John Bogan, 23 years of age from North Carolina who was a carpenter.  It’s not clear his relationship to Peter.  The slave schedules also list Peter as having twenty-one slaves between the ages of 9 months and 33 years.**

 

The year 1850 found Louisa living with the Grey family in Marshall County, Mississippi.  She would go on to marry Thomas Cottrell, then Jeremiah Elder.  In 1850 Melissa was living with the Benjamin Cottrell family in Marshall County, Mississippi.  Benjamin Cottrell owned the Sylvestria Girls School in Marshall County and Melissa taught there.  Melissa died in 1851 and is buried in the Cottrell Family Cemetery in Marshall County, Mississippi.  Her headstone reads “When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up”.

 

The census enumerated in 1860 finds Peter living in Town 2 Range 5, Byhalia, Marshall County, Mississippi.  He is living by himself, age 65 years, a farmer, extremely wealthy and still from South Carolina.  He is again on the slave schedules as having 30 slaves between the ages of 8 months and 40 years.

 

In 1860 Peter’s niece, Mary Ann Wood Mullins lost her husband Patrick Henry Mullins to a brain inflammation leaving her to raise four children on her own.  Peter’s will, dated September 3, 1863 appoints Mary Ann as executrix.  Peter’s entire estate was left to her and her children, but nothing to his last living child Louisa.  According to a Mississippi Supreme Court case, October Term 1866 between Mary Ann and Louisa (Mary A. Mullins et al. v. Louisa Cottrell) concerning the validity of the will Peter lived in Choctaw County (it is not clear whether Choctaw County, Mississippi or Choctaw County, Alabama, though Mississippi seems to be the most obvious) two years prior to his death.  The record of the case*** goes on to say that in Choctaw County he “killed a man in that county, and was killed in attempting to escape”.  It goes on to state that Peter died in the “autumn of 1865”, but it doesn’t give an exact date of death.  It also doesn’t tell us where he is buried.

 

Questions:

-Who are Peter McQueen’s parents?

-Where was Peter McQueen prior to 1820?

-Where was Peter McQueen between 1827 and 1837?

-Is Caroline actually Peter McQueen’s daughter?

-Who are these Mystery McQueens living with Robert Hoyle in 1860, Township 2 Range 4, Byhalia, Marshall County, Mississippi: Peter McQueen (age 2 years) and Infant Boy McQueen (age 4 months) who don’t appear to have any parents and there aren’t any other McQueens living in the area?

 

† information on court cases concerning him will be separate posts…he apparently was not at all unfamiliar with what the inside of a court room looked like…

* both William Trezevant et al. vs. Peter McQueen, Administrator of William M. Bostwick, deceased  and Peter McQueen vs. Theodore D. Bostwick cases can be found in Cases argued and decided in the Supreme Court of Mississippi, Volume 20, Mississippi, EW Stephens Publishing Company, 1849

**I am going to go ahead and say that what I learned about this guy concerning slaves makes me really dislike…no, hate him…he truly disgusts me

***found in Mississippi Reports-edition, publisher and publishing year unknown-photocopied pages found in research files of Hubert H McAlexander, the McAlexander-Marshall County Collection, JD Williams Library, University of Mississippi-information can also be found in The Southwestern Reporter, Volume 149, West Publishing Company, 1912

More McQueen Goodness!

I received in the mail yesterday the court transcripts for the trial that erupted over Peter McQueen’s will, the will in which he left everything to his niece, rather than his own daughter (the only living daughter of the two he kidnapped in the first place, but also the only living daughter since as Caroline passed previous to his death).

Today, however, we will not be going over these transcripts.  Today we are going to piece together what I have found concerning the McQueen family. 

Peter McQueen was born about 1795 in South Carolina.  We know that he married Elizabeth Freeland in Louisiana in 1820.  Peter and Elizabeth had at least three daughters, as named in the divorce papers: Louisa, Melissa and Caroline.  The divorce was granted for Elizabeth from Peter in 1839 in Mississippi.  I have not been able to locate Elizabeth after this, though she may either be the Elizabeth McQueen in Lauderdale County, Mississippi who married Claburn Perry in 1840 or she may have died, since the divorce papers described her as “infirm” (whether that meant she was on her deathbed, had the sniffles or somewhere in between is not clear).  I’m betting on the marriage, but so far I can’t find any other record of Elizabeth or Claburn to match up year of birth or place of birth.

In 1837 Peter McQueen returned to his home ten years after abandoning his family and pretty much kidnapped his two oldest daughters, Louisa and Melissa (by the way, I am sure I will go over all of this again in another post, say the post concerning the trial, but there is a point to all of this now, I promise).  Why he did not take Caroline with him also is not known, though speculation is that she either was not his child or may not have been at the home at the time he returned.

Peter enrolled Louisa and Melissa in a girl’s school where they later taught or lived for respite (more on that another day).  Melissa died young, having never married.  Louisa married first Thomas Cottrell, second Jeremiah Elder, both much older than herself-26 years and 22 years respectively).  Louisa did not have any children by 1865, and I am not yet certain if she had any after.

Caroline married Edmund Richards in 1846 in Arkansas.  She is on the 1850 census with Edmund and three of their children living in Arkansas.  There is also an 18 year old woman named Mary McQueen living with them that I had assumed was her sister, but I am no longer sure (if so, then Mary would have been born while Peter was gone from his family when Caroline was 4 years old-therefore possibly a different father or she could be a cousin of Caroline).  Caroline is not on the 1860 census with her family, which leads me to believe she passed between February of 1856 after her youngest son Jerome was born and August 1860 when the census was enumerated.  Though I am pretty tempted to keep looking for her since I was unable to find any record of her death (which is not unusual).

So, back to Peter.  By his death in 1865 the only daughter left living was Louisa.  Due to a…uh, we’ll call it a “disagreement”, between the two, Peter left everything to his niece Mary Ann Mullins (and I checked to see if this Mary Ann Mullins might have been the same person as the Mary McQueen living with Caroline in 1850, but it isn’t).  Mary Ann Mullins actually was a big clue to help me along with finding some of Peter’s family, though I still haven’t located his parents yet.  BUT, here’s what I found:

Mary Ann Mullins was born Mary Ann Wood in 1832 in the state of Georgia to parents Stephen Wood (of Virginia, 1792-1862) and Ann McQueen (of South Carolina, 1793-1834).  She married Patrick Henry Mullins (1824-1860), though I am not sure in what state they were married.  Together Mary Ann and Patrick, a tobacconist, had four children: Stephen, Matilda, Mary and Pauline.  Patrick died March 8, 1860 in Alabama of a brain inflammation.  After his death Mary Ann moved in with her Uncle Peter in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi.  After his death she and her children lived in Holly Springs for quite a while.  Mary Ann passed in 1917 in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee of old age and is buried in Byhalia, Marshall County, Mississippi.  Her headstone, which can be found on Find-a-Grave, reads:  Mary A. Wood, Wife of P.H. Mullins, 1832 1917.

SO, now to research the McQueens.  Both Peter and Ann McQueen were born in South Carolina, Ann in 1793 and Peter about 1795.  The McQueens listed on the census records in 1790 in South Carolina are:

 

James McQueen-Edgefield, South Carolina, two males, one female, three slaves

 

Daniel McQueen-Prince Georges, Georgetown, South Carolina, two males, two females, two slaves

Rachel McQueen-Prince Georges, Georgetown, South Carolina, five males, two females, one slave (note: all five males are under the age of 16 years)

Ruth McQueen-Prince Georges, Georgetown, South Carolina, one male, two females, four slaves

 

Robert McQueen-St Phillips and St Michaels, Charleston, South Carolina,  one male, one female

John McQueen-St Phillips and St Michaels, Charleston, South Carolina, two males, one slave

 

The McQueens listed on the 1800 census in South Carolina are:

 

Nell, or Neil, McQueen-Liberty, Marion District, South Carolina, two males, five females

 

William McQueen-Kingston, Georgetown District, South Carolina, two males, four females

Rachel McQueen-Kingston, Georgetown District, South Carolina, five males, four females

 

No McQueens have been found at all in the state of Georgia in 1800 or 1810.

McQueens listed on the 1820 census in Georgia (are you ready for this?  it’s a loooong list!):

 

John McQueen-Washington, Georgia, one male, three females

 

Lydia McQueen-Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, one female, seven slaves

 

Now, I’m not even sure if any of my McQueens, except for Ann McQueen, ever moved to Georgia.  Ann died and was buried in Meriwether County, Georgia.  Chatham and Washington Counties are not what I would call “nearby” Meriwether County back in those days (prior to cars being able to zip up and down the freeways, I mean).  I can’t be certain if she married in South Carolina or Georgia (why, oh why, can I not find the marriage record?).  If I could find that record it might give me a clue as to who Peter and Ann’s parents are.