Thomas Jefferson McMullan moved to Mississippi about 1835 and settled on about 3500 acres of land on what is now the Oakland community of Newton County. He owned lots of slaves and was a large cotton planter.

Thomas Jefferson McMullan's grave in the Decatur Cemetery, Decatur, MS

Thomas Jefferson McMullan was a large blonde man. He was always prosperous and left plenty to his children. About 1863 during the Civil War, highwaymen were bad in this part of the country. The Confederates had opened a woolen cloth factory at Lake Oneida near Enterprise. They used water for power and slaves for labor. Thomas Jefferson McMullan put ten thousand dollars of gold in a leather pouch and set off walking down Chunky Creek to Lake Onieda to escape the would be robbers and bought stock in the woolen mill with the gold. The plant was destroyed by the Union army soon thereafter and he lost his investment.

Rachel Reynold McMullan's grave beside her husband in the Decatur Cemetery

Just before the Civil War, Thomas bought extra slaves at a bargain price hoping to make a profit at the end of the war. He lost all of his investment when the slaves were freed at the end of the war.

He is buried beside his wife Rachel, in the old part of the Decatur cemetary in Decatur, Mississippi along with his son Henry Clay McMullan and his wife Francis Davis McMullan.

This map shows the land that was owned by Thomas J. McMullan in 1846. This information comes from Mr. Melvin Tingle of Decatur, Ms. Included on the same page is a topographical map of the same area.

Sources:
Type: Census
Title: 1860: US census, Newton Co, MS
Location: page 144; Decatur
Text: Farmer; real estate $12500; personal estate $20000
Type: Census
Title: 1870: US census Newton Co, MS
Location: page 187
Text: Farmer; real estate $1500, personal property $1470
Type: Web Site
URL: www.rootsweb.com/~msnewton/mcmullan.html
Date: 25 May 2001

1860 Slave records show that Thomas J. McMullan owned the following slaves:
Black Male 47
Black Male 35
Black Male 32
Black Female 28
Black Female 28
Black Male 20
Black Male 14
Black Male 16
Black Male 14
Black Female 10
Black Female 9
Black Male 11
Black Female 7
Black Female 6
Black Female 2

Children of THOMAS MCMULLAN and RACHEL REYNOLDS are:
2. i. HENRY CLAY5 MCMULLAN, b. July 13, 1846; d. 1935.
3. ii. JESSE PEMBERTON MCMULLAN.
4. iii. THOMAS NEWTON MCMULLAN, b. December 27, 1850; d. September 23, 1937.
5. iv. REV. WILLIAM RUFUS MCMULLAN, b. January 12, 1853, Mississippi; d. June 13, 1906, Henderson Co., Texas.
6. v. MARY ELLA MCMULLAN, b. March 29, 1863; d. August 01, 1965.