William Neely with a party of men led by Captain James Robertson, in the early spring of 1779 crossed the Cumberland Mountains and planted a field of corn where the city of Nashville Tennessee now stands. Soon after in July or August of 1780, William Neely was killed by Indians at Neely's Bend. In 1784, the State of North Carolina granted Captain Robertson 640 acres of land for his services in the Revolutionary War against the Indian Allies of the Government of Great Britain. The heirs of William Neely received 640 acres of land without price. (Tennessee During the Revolutionary War by Williams--page 104).
Great-grandfather George Thomas Neely. Tom, the great-grandson of William and Margaret, was a farmer of precinct No. 1 in McLennan County. He was born in Dyer County, Tennessee on November 4, 1844 and received his education in Ripley County, Missouri. At twenty-one years of age Tom began life for himself as a farmer. In March of 1865, he joined the Confederate Army entering the 2nd Texas Cavalry, Company-A. After the close of the struggle he returned to his father's home.
Tom's brother, William Neely, also a pioneer farmer, came to the place where Moody now stands. William H. Neely had been born in Dyer County, Tennessee, on the banks of the Mississippi River near Memphis in 1842. As a youth of nineteen, he had emigrated with his parents, brothers and sisters, first to Missouri then to Gonzolas County, Texas.
In the spring of 1862, like many young farm boys, he joined the Confederate Army in those early enthusiastic months of the Civil War. He served in Hood's Brigade (Company A of the 21st Cavalry) under the command of Texas' most illustrious Confederate soldier, John Bell Hood.
Neely participated in the battle of Cloutierville, Louisiana and fought at Yellow Bayou. He saw action in several small battles and once was captured and later paroled. William Henry Neely maintained a diary during his years as a Confederate soldier. The original diary which provides an excellent insight into his youthful and bucolic personality, is exerpted as follows:
From 1864 entries: "As we had no breakfast in our mess this morning we began to feel like eating something about 12 o'clock, and four of us started out in the country for the purpose of getting our dinner. We rambled around in the country, traveling little country roads for an hour or so, and came to the Caddo Lake where we found plenty of water for our horses, but no houses. We struck out again and at last found a house but could not get anything to eat. I went to Shreveport and found it a dull place. Not much business going on. Everything very dear. Calf-shin boots $15.00 on special. Today some of our boys and an old citizen went out deer hunting and Rae killed a fine large buck. So we had venison, and tonight there was a wedding near Hampton. A Missouri soldier was married to a Miss Ford.
It was over a week after Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Grant at Appamattox Courthouse in Virginia on April 9, 1865 that W. H. Neely, then 23 years old - got the momentous news: "April 12, 1865, nothing much of interest transpired, I am mending slowly and still at Huntsville, Texas. The weather is rainy. It rains nearly all the time. Our regiment is in the country and some at Red Top picketing for deserters. April 25, nothing of interest has transpired except the weather has cleared. We have got news of the death of Lincoln. I am still in Huntsville."
Like his brother, Tom, Neely returned home after the war and four years later - in 1869 came to McLennan County, Texas. He settled on his father's blackland farm in what is now East Moody.
See the complete (so far) study of the Neelys at the following URL: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~lpproots/Neeley/neelybnd.htm (same URL as listed under "Genealogy Links")
Note: A William Neely married a Polly BIRDWELL on February 22, 1820. *This* William is believed to be the grandson of William and Margaret.
My grandmother, Gerturde Vivian Dutton (NEELY) was one of the 14 children of James Cass Dutton, Jr. and his wife, Rebecca Jane (TUCKER) Dutton. James Cass Dutton was born on November 3, 1852 in Boon's Camp, Johnson Co., Kentucky and was 10 years old at the time of his father's death. He married Rebecca Jane in War Eagle, Arkansas on February 5, 1871.
My 2nd great-great grandfather was James Cass Dutton, Sr. James Cass was born in Kentucky and died in late winter of 1862, and is buried at Goshen, Kentucky. James was a Confederate Solder who froze to death during a sudden winter storm. There was no shelter, warm clothing, supplies or food.
James was married to Matilda MOLLIT of Virginia. She died two years after James, in 1864 and is also buried in Goshen, Kentucky. James and Matilda had nine children; Elias, George, Mase (perhaps short for Mason), Richard, Jack, Jane, James Cass (my great grandfather), Pollie and Susan (twins?).
Note: I have also found that my DUTTON line (father's side of the family) is *full* of Mullins, but I don't know if any of them are from the same line as *my* Mullins on my mother's side of the family.
Another Note: I am happy to say that as of January 1997, thanks to the Internet, I have found several Dutton cousins and have received a ton of new information on my Dutton line, and so, to continue...
My 3rd great grandfather, was John Dutton. He was born in 1775 in Greenville Co., SC. He married Susannah (STEPP) Dutton in about 1805. John died in Arkansas, but the year is unknown. Susannah was born about 1787 and also died in Arkansas...year unknown.
My forth great grandfather was Jeremiah Dutton born 1745 in Orange Co., VA. His wife's first name was Sarah.
Mathilda GREEN (GRUN in German) was born in Germany in 1792 and was married to Thomas JENNER. She died in Elberfeld, Indiana in 1839.
Robert Hawker was born about 1682. He and his wife, Amy Selby, had at least one child, Elizabeth Hawker who was born December 14, 1701 and died after 1795. Elizabeth was my 6th great grandmother and was married to Samuel PRUITT, Sr. who was born about 1684 and died in 1760. See PRUITT information this page.
Milinda (HITCHCOCK) Tucker was the wife of John Richmond (Lawson?) TUCKER who died in 1864. Melinda died in 1871 and is buried in Blackburn, War Eagle, Arkansas.
Thomas Jenner was the husband of Mathilda Green (Grun in German). Thomas was born in Germany in the year 1788 and emigrated in 1839. The Jenners settled on a farm in Elbrfeld, Vanderburgh County, Indiana. Thomas died in Evansville, Indiana in 1851.
My great grandfather's name was James MULLINS and he was born June 29, 1827 in Ireland in the town of Leixlip, which is eight miles west of Dublin. In 1849 at age 22, he and his brother William Mullins emigrated to America after the Potato Famine.
James went to Nunda, New York. He became a civil engineer there and was hired to make the construction drawings for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad bridges that were destroyed in the Civil War.
James married Hannah Eleanor (WHITE) Mullins in 1853 and they had 5 children. Hannah was born in either Ireland or in Batavia, New York -- year unknown -- and died in 1879 in Stubenville, Ohio. The children of James and Hannah were: Ada Jane Mullins (Mrs. John McSweeny), William H. Mullins (my grandfather), Frederick John Mullins, Walter Mullins and Isabel Mullins, who was nicknamed "Posey."
After Hannah's death in 1879, James married her sister, Elizabeth (WHITE) Mullins. One of the sisters of Hannah and Eleanor (WHITE) Mullins was the mother of the famous newspaperman, Arthur BRISBANE who was said to be the highest paid journalist for the Hearst Newspapers.
My grandfather, William Harold (Will) Mullins was born near Steubenville, Ohio on January 30, 1856, and died on March 6, 1932 in Salem, Ohio. Will was the founder of Mullins Manufacturing Company and Youngstown Kitchens in Salem.
Will Mullins married my grandmother, Rose Augusta (HEILMAN) Mullins on March 2, 1886 at the Heilman Mansion in Evansville, Indiana. Rose Augusta (HEILMAN) Mullins was born May 8, 1867 in Evansville, Indiana and died February 9, 1952 in Pasadena California.
Rose Agusta was the daughter of William Heilman(n) who was born October 11, 1824 in Bermersheim, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. He was an Industrialist and a *staunch* Republican who was elected to the Indiana State Senate in 1876. In 1878 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives from the first District of Indiana.
Rose Augusta (HEILMAN) Mullins's mother was Mary (JENNER), born February 14, 1830 in Erdmanhausen, Wurttenberg, Germany. She and William Heilman(n) were married in Evansville, Indiana on June 15, 1848. See JENNER.
A Bowman family chronicle has been written in Wooster on this Mullins family.
Note: I have also found that my DUTTON line (father's side of the family) is *full* of Mullins, but I don't know if any of them are from the same line as *my* Mullins on my mother's side of the family.
Matilda (Mollett) DUTTON was the wife of James Cass Dutton, Sr. and was born in Russell County, Virginia in 1815. She married James Cass in 1829 (at age 14). Matilda died in 1864 (two years after her husband's death) in Goshen, Arkansas and is buried there.
Lucy Owen was one of my fifth great-grandmothers. Lucy was born in Frederick County, MD in 1736. As far as we can tell, her father's name was William Owen(s). Lucy married into my PRUITT/PRUETT line by marrying Samuel Pruitt, Jr. in 1754 in Pittsylvania County, VA. Lucy died in Pittsylvania County, VA in 1801. I have the names of their 10 children.
Margaret (PATTERSON) Neely was born May 25, 1737- most probably in Pennsylvania. She married my 4th Great Grandfather, William Neely in about 1753. Margaret and one of her sons were also killed by Indians in 1782, two years after William was killed in 1780 at Neely's Bend (Nashville, Tennessee).
At this time, it is believed that Margaret (PATTERSON) Neely's father was James Patterson, who immigrated to America and settled in Little Britian, Lancaster Co., Pa. Margaret was one of 10 children of James Patterson and his wife.
Although the exact early line of descendant of the Pattersons is not documented it is believed to go back to John Patterson, b. ca. 1640 in Angyleshire, Scotland, who was sent to Antrim Co. Ireland by Oliver Cromwell to help "pacify" the people. The family, rigidly Presbyterian, intermarried with Protestant Irish and were known as Scotch-Irish. About 1715-20 a large colony of them left for religious freedom to Maine; later to Boston and from there to Pennsylvania (Lancaster Bucks Co.).
My third great grandmother Mary "Polly" (Pruitt) NALER was born in Georgia probably in Gwinnett County on May 4, 1813. Mary died on May 24, 1863 and is buried at Naler Cemetery in Moody Texas.
NOTE: As of October 22, 1996 (again thanks to the Internet and the cousins who have found me because of it), I have come a very long way in my search for my Pruitt line. Until that date, I only had information the above information on my Pruitt line.
Following is a copy of a message I received from Kathleen Gliebe on the Internet: "Hi Sandra; Back in Sept you sent me info on your Pruett family in Georgia, after Judge Albert Pruett had forwarded my request seeking information on B.H. Pruett. I have since found additional information and think we may indeed be related.
Here is the info I found on your line. It is from a descendancy chart in the Ancestral file, ver 416F, found on the computer search program at the Mormon library. It is info provided by a researcher and may only be as good as that researcher, still it is a place to start. It shows your Mary (Polly) Pruitt, b. 4 May 1812, GA sp. Joseph Naler, b. 26 Apr. 1808 TN."
So, folks, as of October of 1996 I was fortunate enough to find another long lost ancestor and (probably) another new-found cousin - as Kathleen believes that her ancestor, Benjamin was a first cousin to my Mary "Polly" (Pruitt) Naler, who was my 3rd great grandmother.
Mary "Polly" (Pruitt) Naler's parents are listed as Benjamin Pruitt (my 4th great grandfather), born in 1765, Pittsylania Co. VA who married before 1790 Mary Walters (my 4th great grandmother), in Franklin Co. GA. Mary Walters was born in 1777 in Pittsylvania Co. VA, and died before 1840 in Gwinnett, GA.
This ancestral file shows other siblings and descendants. Parents of Benjamin Pruitt (father of Polly), and Philip (likely father of Benjamin H.) was: Samuel Pruitt Jr.(my 5th great grandfather), born in 1705 MD. He married Lucy OWEN (my 5th great grandmother) in 1754 Pittsylvania Co. VA and died November 17, 1801 in Pittsylvania Co. VA. Lucy was born in 1736 and died in 1801 in Pittsylvania Co. VA.
The grandparents (my 6th great grandparents) of Mary "Polly" (Pruitt) Naler were Samuel Pruitt, Sr. born about 1684. Samuel married Elizabeth (HAWKER) in 1720 in Frederick Co, MD, and died in 1760 in Montgomery Co. MD. Elizabeth Hawker Pruitt was born on December 14, 1701 and died after 1795.
Elizabeth's parents (my seventh great grandparents) were Robert Hawker born about 1682 and Amy (Amee) Selby who was born before 1682. Amy's father's name was William Selby. See SELBY information below.
My third great grandfather, Joseph Naler (husband of Mary "Polly" (PRUITT) Naler, was born on April 20, 1803, most probably in TN. Joseph died on August 31, 1882 and is buried at Naler Cemetery in Moody, Texas.
Joseph Naler was the son of my 4th great grandparents, Dixon Naler, Sr. and his wife, Mary (CARPENTER) Dixon. Dixon Naler, Sr. was born in Franklin County, VA between 1762 and 1766. He died in Murray Co., GA aft 1850. Dixon married Mary (Carpenter) Naler in Wilkes Co., NC June 28, 1785. Mary was born in Overwharton, Stafford Co., VA 1766 and died after 1850 in Murray Co., GA. Mary was the daughter of Stephen Carpenter born in 1737.
James Naler was my 5th great grandfather. The Naler's came from Ireland to America long prior to the War of Independence, and most of them were farmers. James Naler served in the Revolutionary war.
William SELBY was born about 1640 in Prince George County, MD. William married Mary (?) ca 1659. At the time of his death on February 25 1699, William was still residing in Prince George Co., MD.
William and Mary's daughter, Amee (Amy) was born before 1682. She married Robert HAWKER (who was also born about 1682) ca 1700. Their daughter, Elizabeth Hawker, was born December 14, 1701 and died after 1795. Elizabeth was married to Samuel PRUITT, Sr. who was born about 1684 and died in 1760. "This" Samuel was my 6th great grandfather. See PRUITT information above.
Lt. George Spears married Mary (NEELY) Spears, who was one of the sisters of my 3rd great grandfather, Samuel Neely. (Marys older sister, Elizabeth Neely, was married to a brother of Lt. Spears by the name of Jacob. Elizabeth was born March 8, 1757. She had Jacob were married June 23, 1781 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. They had issue and Mary died prior to 1792).
Mary (Neely) Spears was born in Chester County, SC on August 20, 1761. She and George were married in Kentucky on February 24, 1785. Mary died in Illinois on January 26, 1852. George was born about 1760-1768 (most probably in Virginia) and died on April 16, 1838 in Monard, Illinois.
Following is information taken from my copy of a book, "The Life and Imprisonment of Mary Neely" written by one of her grandsons. "Mary was taken by the Indians at age 19 at Neely's Bend, TN in 1780 -- minutes after her father, my 4th great grandfather, William Neely, was killed and scalped by the Indians. After three summers she escaped and eventually made her way to the Spears farm in Virginia. It was there that my 3rd great grandfather, Samuel Neely, found her after years of searching...the year being approximately 1783.
At the age of 23, Mary Neely married Lt. George Spears in Kentucky. Sometime after Marys marriage to Lt. George Spears, she and George moved to Greene County, KY and lived there for several years. They left Greene County, KY on August 10, 1824 when they sold their possessions and moved to Sangamon (now Menard County) Illinois, which at that time was wild and sparsely settled, where the Indians still remained, but not in the immediate vicinity of where Mr. Spears and his family settled.
The Indians came there every fall to hunt, but were friendly, however, Blackhawk did stir up a fuss in 1833. Mr. Lincoln raised a company in which Mrs. Spears youngest and only living son (named Samuel ?) was Orderly Sergeant, but their services were not needed as General Scott, with sufficient troops of the regular army, had preceded them and compelled Blackhawk to sue for peace after which he and his tribes were moved beyond the Mississippi river.
The story of Mary Neely tells us that George and Mary Spears had several children, but they died "one by one" after the death of George, except for her youngest son (mentioned above) and one daughter."
Great grandmother Rebecca Jane (Tucker) Dutton was born September 12, 1853 in Sparta, Tennessee. Rebecca may have been a twin. She and James Cass were married by a preacher named Vaughn. They had fourteen children; Vivian Gertrude (Neely) my grandmother, Mary Louisianna, Tennessee Imogine, Minnie Lee, Annie Pearl, Elma Elida (Doll), Ila Mae, Frankie Rhea, Edward Bryon, Doctor Pierre Moran Kuykendall (who was not a medical doctor, but who was named after a Dr. Kuykendall), William D., Eugene Boone, Claude Jerome and John Calloway Dutton.
Rebecca Jane's father was John Richmond (Lawson ?) Tucker who died in late 1864. John was married to Milinda (Hitchcock), who died in 1871 and is buried in Blackburn, War Eagle, Arkansas. Rebecca Jane was one of nine children born to John and Milinda. The other children were; Lawson and Benjamin (twins), Elizabeth, Mary, Margaret, Martha, Tennessee, and Louisanna (Rebecca Jane's twin sister ?).
The Dutton's held a family reunion last June in Huntington Beach, CA. There were nine generations in attendance. It was amazing to see all of the *before my search* long-lost-unknown relatives who strongly resemble other "cousins" that I've met over the years.
Mary "Polly" (Watkins) was my 3rd great grandmother and was the wife of Samuel Neely (the son of William and Margaret Patterson Neely). Samuel was born May 30, 1769 most probably in Chester County, SC. Mary and Samuel were married on February 18, 1800. Samuel was noted for his success in fighting the Indians.
NOTE: I now have information on my Watkins line going back to my 7th great grandfather, CADAWALDER WATKINS who was born about 1660 in Wales. Also, Neely information from William Neely born about 1730 to present day.
Mary E. J. (White) Neely. Mary was the second wife of my second Great Grandfather, Samuel Neely. Mary died in Cicso, Texas.
The only information that I have on Mary other than her name is that her father, Jerry White, was in the Indian war with Jackson, serving through Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, and was probably with Jackson in the battle of New Orleans.
Hannah Eleanor White was born in either Ireland or Batavia New York. She married my great grandfather, James Mullins in 1853, and died in Stubeville, Ohio in 1879.
Her sister, Elizabeth White, was James's second wife and was the mother of Arthur Brisbane, who was rumored to be the highest paid Columnist and Editor for the William Randolp Hurst Newspapers.
My 5th great grandmother, Anna Zimmerman, was born in Albig or Bermersheim, Germany. She married Peter Weintz (in Bermersheim) and they had a daughter, Anna Margaret who married into my Heilman(n) line.
Anna Margaret married Johann Valentin Heilman(n) April 27, 1721 in Bermersheim, Germany. As far as I know, the Zimmerman, Weintz and Heilman(n) lines eventually immigrated to Indiana and Ohio.