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Nathaniel Mullinix
Nathaniel Mullinix, my grandmother Wright's maternal great-grandfather, was born about
1774, in northeast Tennessee, in the Washington-Sullivan-Greene counties area. His
great-great-grandfather, Robert Millnor, was born about 1650 in
England, and was living in Somerset County, Maryland, about 1672. He was married to
Rebecca Boston, daughter of Henry Boston. They have had 13 generations of descendants born
in the United States. Over the years, there have been several variations in the spelling
of the name "Mullinix." Robert's son, John Mullinix,
was one of the first to use the present spelling of the name. During the 1690s, John, born
about 1675, was married to a woman whose given name was Penelope. They were living in
Sussex County, Delaware. Their son William W. Mullinix, born about 1700-1705, married
twice in Delaware; in the 1720s and again in the 1740s. The name of his first wife is not
known. He had 4 sons and 4 daughters by his second wife, Jean or Jane (Coverdale)
Mullinix, who was born about 1730, and died during the 1790s. Her parents were Richard and
Elizabeth Coverdale. Their oldest son, Richard Mullinix, born
in the late 1740s probably, married Elizabeth Poynter about 1767, in Delaware. Her father
was Nathaniel Poynter. About 1770, Richard moved southward with his family. First, to
western North Carolina, perhaps, then to northeastern Tennessee; to the Washington
Sullivan-Greene County area. There, during the 1770s, Nathaniel
Mullinix, the subject of this write-up, and his 3 youngest brothers Eli, William and
Levi -- were born. Then, about 1780, their sister Sallie was born there. And just before
the family group left there about 1802 -- and moved to Barren County, Kentucky, Nathaniel
married a woman whose given name was Delilah.
The Richard Mullinix family group lived in Barren County about 5 years. And during that
time, the two oldest children of Nathaniel and Delilah were born: Nathan John about 1803,
and Jane about 1804,. About 1807, the group moved to the Poplar Cove area of what is now
Fentress County, Tennessee, which was part of Overton County at that time. Fentress became
a county in 1823. Some other children were born to Nathaniel and Delilah in Fentress
County. But not much is known about them or the mother (Delilah). In 1820, Nathaniel
divorced Delilah for being unfaithful to her marriage vows, and a year or so later, he
married a young woman named Sallie Mayberry and had about 3 or 4 children by her, it is
thought. Richard Mullinix died about 1820-1830; and his son Nathaniel died about 1835 or
1840. What happened to Delilah after the divorce is not known. I am of the opinion that
she may have been part American Indian -- maybe a full-blooded Cherokee. I have no proof
of this. But from her facial features, her granddaughter Nancy Agnes (Beaty) King appeared
to have been about one-fourth American Indian.
On February 4, 1821, Nathaniel's daughter, Jane Mullinix, married Thomas
Beaty, who was born in 1801, in what is now either Clinton or Wayne County, Kentucky.
They had 11 children: Elizabeth, b. 1822; Nancy Agnes, b. 1824; John Andrew, b. 1827;
Alexander Green, b. 1830; Nathaniel Priam, b. 1832; Thomas Jefferson, b. 1835; Nina Jane,
b. 1838; Martha Ann, b. 1840; William Hagan, b. 1843; Matilda, b. 1846; and Hiram Cyrus
Beaty, b. 1849. And, about 1835, Nathaniel's oldest son, Nathan John Mullinix, married
Margaret Wright, who was born in 1812. I don't know whose daughter she was. They had 6
daughters and 3 sons. All of them were born in Fentress County. Jane's two oldest
daughters, Elizabeth and Nancy, were born in Kentucky; all the others in Fentress County.
Ellis Mullinix, who married Ozell Boles and lives at the north edge of Jamestown, is a
great-grandson of Nathan John and Margaret and is a third cousin to my father, James David
Wright. In 1980, I bought a grave rock from Ozell for my great-grandparents, Mathias and
Elizabeth Jane "Betsy" Wright, and Ellis put it up at their graves in the Bailey
Bowden Cemetery at Little Crab.
Here is a sample of the 13 generations of Mullinix descendants born in the United States:
John Mullinix, born pre-1676, in Somerset County, Maryland, or in Sussex County, Delaware;
married Penelope ?, during the 1690s. William W. Mullinix, born about 1700-05, in Sussex
County, Delaware, son of John, married during the 17408 to Jean or Jane Coverdale, born
about 1730, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Coverdale. Richard Mullinix, son of William
W. and Jean (Coverdale) Mullinix, born during the 1740s, in Sussex County, Delaware,
married about 1767, to Elizabeth Poynter, daughter of Nathaniel Poynter. Nathaniel
Mullinix, son of Richard and Elizabeth (Poynter) Mullinix, born about 1774, in northeast
Tennessee, married about 1802, to Delilah ?. Jane Mullinix, daughter of Nathaniel and
Delilah Mullinix, born about 1804, in Barren County, Kentucky; married February 4, 1821,
to Thomas Beaty, son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Cooper) Beaty. Nancy Agnes Beaty, daughter
of Thomas and Jane (Mullinix) Beaty, born November 14, 1824, in Clinton County, Kentucky;
married June 1841, to Robert King, son of Robert King, Sr., or John A. King. Elizabeth Ann
King, daughter of Robert and Nancy (Beaty) King, born February 27, 1854, in Fentress
County, Tennessee; married in 1869, to John Taylor Wright, son of Mathias Austin Wright
and Elizabeth Jane (Wright) Wright. James David Wright, son of John T. and Elizabeth Ann
(King) Wright, born June 7, 1872, in Fentress County, Tennessee; married about 1894, to
Martha Isabel Choate, daughter of Matilda Emiline Scott and a Choate man (whose name is
not known) born in Fentress County, Tennessee. Maude Ann Wright, born January 17, 1896, in
Fentress County, Tennessee, daughter of James David Wright and Martha Isabel (Choate)
Wright; married December 20, 1912, to Granville Scott, son of Napoleon Bonaparte Scott and
Mary Jane (Purdue) Scott, born June 16, 1892, in Fentress County, Tennessee. Edna Emiline
Scott, born November 20, 1915, daughter of Maude and Granville, married May 28, 1932, to
Lester Odell Bertram, born August 1913, in Casey County, Kentucky; son of Joel Mason
Bertram and Sarah Matilda (McFarland) Bertram. Margie Lorene Bertram, born October 23,
1934, daughter of Edna and Lester, married August 22, 1951, to Sam Rodgers, son of
Clarence and Sidney (Woodrum) Rodgers. Edna, Margie and Sam born in Casey County. Rosa
Carol Rodgers, daughter of Margie and Sam, born January 3, 1955, in Hamilton County, Ohio,
married July 22, 1972, to Alan Lester Atwood, born March 15, 1952, in Casey County, son of
Shelby and Beulah (Scott) Atwood. Marsha Rose Atwood, daughter of Rosa and Alan, was born
November 28, 1978, in Lebanon, Marion County, Ky. Which makes 13 generations of Mullinix
descendants born in the United States. My Choate ancestors have had 11 generations born
here; my Beatys 10 generations; and my Wrights 9 generations that I know of.
In September 1817, Nathaniel Mullinix owned 386 acres of land in the Poplar Cove area of
what is now Fentress County. Some of his descendants remained in Fentress County, while
many have scattered to other states, including: Florida, North Carolina, Virginia,
Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Nevada and California. For
more details, see the Mullinix book in the Fentress County Library, by Marilyn (Mullinix)
Blanck.
by Roseoe Hollis Wright
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