SONS OF DEWITT COLONY TEXAS John (Juan) McMullen For additional biographical information, Search Handbook of Texas Online Mr. McMullen asked and obtained leave to address the convention in behalf of his right to a seat in that body. Mr. Turner followed in debate and the question being taken on report of the committee, it was decided in the affirmative and Mr. Bower was given his seat. On March 11th McMullen's service to the defunct consultation was over and he had not been accepted in the convention of March 1st. On the 8th he wrote a letter to the president of the convention and its members as follows:
On March 9th the convention met pursuant to adjournment. On motion of Mr. Rusk, the following was considered:
The question being taken thereon, it was decided in the affirmative. Sometime after the revolution, McMullen returned to San Patricio and there beheld the devastation of a town of 500 people that once had given promise of prospering. What he saw is best described by his letter to General Lamar, Vice-President of the Republic of Texas.
[Note: It is not known who was murdered in their houses. Not every San Patrician left the town during the revolution. It was post-war conditions that made all flee to safer ground] McMullen goes on to describe in his letter to Lamar that region of Texas that made up the McMullen-McGloin empresa.
McMullen's cabin was in a vulnerable spot facing Constitution Square and standing by the picket church. There is no record of where Mrs. McMullen was during this time, but it is certain that she was not in her cabin. She may have moved in with her daughter, Mrs. James McGloin, who lived south of the square. There is no record that she followed McMullen to the Austin colony at San Felipe. John McMullen, realizing that his duties as an officer in the government were over and that the need of his colonists were urgent, wrote the following letter to President David G. Burnet and the members of the cabinet of the ad interim government of the Republic of Texas.
Four days later McMullen received a letter from Sam P. Carson, the secretary of state, in answer to the above.
John McMullen, pragmatist that he was, had looked over the situation in San Patricio. He saw that it had many post-war trials to endure; he also realized that being a border town it would be the first to be attacked by Mexican bandits and possible renewed invasions of the enemy. However, he was cognizant of the fact that there were those who needed food and other necessities. He had made up his mind to travel to the East, perhaps by boat to New Orleans and up the Mississippi and the Ohio, to borrow money for their aid; but he had no intention of remaining with them. The knowledge that thirty colonists had signed a petition against him did not contribute to his wanting to stay in San Patricio. In the aforementioned letter to Lamar he waxed eloquent on the prospects of San Antonio.
The above foreshadows McMullen's move to San Antonio de Bexar shortly after his trip to the East to borrow money for supplies for the colonists. Again it is seen that McMullen is a man of vision; he sees himself as part owner of that "million acres of the choicest land'' in the valley of the San Antonio River. Is there any proof that McMullen went East to get money for his colonists? From the Probate Records of Bexar County on the estate of John McMullen (Spring Term 1853) there is recorded a debt to the estate of John Sewell, late of Philadelphia, made June 12, 1836, for $431-57. The record reads:
The exact date that McMullen moved from San Patricio to San Antonio is not known, but a fairly accurate guess can be made. He left for the East after March 29; he was in Philadelphia June 14, and it is the opinion of the author that he moved to San Antonio as early as November 1836. It is not likely that he restored his vandalized cabin in San Patricio but left as soon as he distributed the purchases he had bought for the colonists. His first effort to accumulate land in the San Antonio area was the purchase of the right to a league and a labor of land to be granted to Doña Antonia Cuerbier for $900 on November 23, 1836. [Deed Records, Book 1, p. 243, Bexar Co., Nov. 23, 1836] When he left Texas was a province; when he returned Texas was a republic. By March 1837 he was well enough known to represent the Catholics of San Antonio at a meeting in New Orleans. A group of Texas Catholics were taking steps to secure the services of English-speaking priests. They drew up a petition in New Orleans which they addressed to Bishop Antonio Blanco to beg him to intercede before the Provincial Council . . . They asked for "two able and zealous priests accustomed to the manners of the Western Missions." [Castaneda, Catholic Heritage, Vol. VII, p. 6-7] John McMullen signed for the Catholics of San Antonio. At this time John McMullen was childless except for his adopted son, Joseph Anthony de Jesus, previously mentioned as having been baptized by Father Refugio de la Garza in 1833. If he had been legally adopted, he would have been sole heir to the estate of John McMullen; whereas he was not mentioned in the probate records. Nevertheless, he has come down in oral tradition as the person who murdered McMullen. In the story just mentioned his given name is not mentioned. He is simply called "the adopted son. " The only other assumption that can be made with the facts at hand is that if he was legally adopted, he must have died before 1853, the year John McMullen was murdered. Something happened in 1834 which throws a new light on the character of John McMullen, politician, merchant, and landowner dedicated to the accumulation of property. John and Patrick Sawyer came to Texas at an early date from Saint Louis, Missouri. John had two little daughters, Elizabeth and Ellen, and Patrick had one, Mary Ann. Both Sawyer men and their wives died of cholera, which swept through Texas in 1833. Their wives, whose surname was Mayo, were sisters. In 1834 John McMullen became their guardian and the administrator of the Sawyer estate. In the 1840 Census of the Republic of Texas, McMullen is listed as being administrator of an estate of 10,953 acres which could be the Sawyer estate. It is very possible that Esther McMullen had a great deal to do with the taking in of these orphaned children. She had the care of them until her death in 1846. The McMullens and the Sawyer children lived in the two-story house built on a four-acre tract on Main Street (now Market Street). The description of the house in the probate records is as follows:
[NOTE: Interview with Mary Esther Scholl, April 5, 1978, Yorktown, Texas, a descendant of Mary Ann Sawyer]
The fact that John McMullen was the guardian of three small children, whom he took into his home for twelve years, shows that he was not childless by choice. Add to this the adoption of a son, and it gives another slant on the many-faceted character of the erstwhile empresario. However, no documents or oral tradition reveal that he was attached to his McGloin grandchildren. All during the forties McMullen was adding to his property. Small adobe houses, which brought in small rents per month, were rising on his city property. A list of these reads as follows: "Small frame house near the bridge, small adobe house, blacksmith shop, two room adobe house with kitchen in the rear, stone building, two-story building with cement roof and small two bedroom adobe house with shingle roof." He still owned the eleven leagues on the Medina which he had bought from Rev. Refugio de la Garza for $1100 acquired in 1833. John J. Linn accuses him of "cupidity" because he bought land from the "Children of San Jose," that is, the heirs of the San Jose Mission lands. But it must be remembered that it was Rev. Refugio de la Garza who bought the land for $330. Rev. Refugio de la Garza was replaced by Rev. Calvo when Bishop Jean Marie Odin became the first bishop of Texas. In 1844, August 20, Prince Solms-Braunfels says in a report to the Verein (the immigration company sponsoring the immigration of Germans to Texas) concerning the McMullen tract on the Medina:
Prince Solms did not get this tract of McMullen's on the Medina. it was sold to the Castro colonists, a group of Alsatians, who had come with Henri Castro in 1843. It was sold to Individuals in tracts and is not to be confused with the government grant that was issued to Castro on which to settle his Alsatians. [Tiling, Moritz, History of the German Element in Texas 1820-1850 p. 124-125 (Houston: Moritz Tiling, 1913)] A part of the town of Castroville rests on the McMullen League. In a petition to McMullen those who had bought land in the McMullen League asked him to intercede with the government, that is, the legislature, to speed the clearing of the title else everything they had worked for would be lost. [Memorial 63, Petitioners of John McMullen Grant on the Medina, Box 66, Texas State Archives, Austin, Texas] The title was cleared by a decree of the circuit court of the United States of the western division in 1857. There was great rivalry, jealousy, and even hatred between Castro and Prince Solms, at least on the part of the latter. In 1832 McMullen had bought the tract of land that is now known as the King William area for $160 from Manuel Barrera. McMullen sold it in 1844 for $600. It is described as a tract of land adjoining the City of San Antonio (on the south) and in 1863 it was described by block and number. [Buckholder, Mary V., The King William Area, p. 9, (San Antonio: Outline Press, 1977)] It is now a tourist attraction with beautiful old homes restored to their former grandeur, many of which had been built by successful Germans. There were three areas in which McMullen was active: church, business, and politics. In the 1840's McMullen was again taking part in church affairs. The following is a note in the Baptismal Register of San Fernando Church:
In the area of politics we have The Minutes of the City Council which give an insight into the political activities of John McMullen during the time that he was councilman in San Antonio. It also reveals something of the City of San Antonio during the forties. Only a few highlights from the minutes can be given. In the election of 1840 John McMullen received 61 votes for councilman with John W. Smith as mayor. January 16, 1840: McMullen and Perez were appointed to receive from the late treasurer the accounts of the public funds of the city. The ditch (acequia) that runs from San Pedro Springs on the property of Manuel Cadena and runs through the town to the south of Main Plaza, shall be cleaned and dug to its original depth by each owner fronting on the ditch. This water is used for irrigation. Each person who refuses to clean his part of the ditch shall be fined ... Bridge Crossings and ditch shall be repaired. The Mayor delivered receipts for pesos for Fandangoes. February 13: McMullen and Perez presented the receipt from the acting treasurer of what was received from the Mayor of the Corpotation of 1839 February 15, March 29, April 23, July 2: Ordinance for sweeping and cleaning the streets and Squares as follows: each person shall sweep on Wednesday and Saturday before 10 A.M. the rubbish and filth from the front of the respective residences into the middle of the streets. Also around the plazas shall be swept ten yards into the streets. The Mayor will hire carts to remove the rubbish. Any hog found running at large within the limits of the city, it shall be the duty of the constable to seize it and confine it. All cows must be kept in enclosures. Mayor Smith stated that a band of Rio Grande renegades were robbing and committing depredations in town. He cleared them out, and there was no robbing nor whooping and hollering at night. The Mayor informed the Council that Mr. Valdez desires to buy some of the stones lying at the walls of the Alamo. The council resolved to sell him all the stone that he may want at .50 per cartload. Approved. The establishment of a public market. The market place is to be kept clean etc. The Council charged McMullen and Arciniega with the mission of going to see Col. Juan Seguin to find out from him about the conditions of the loan of 500 pesos loaned by the Council to Col. Neill to pay for the Texas troops. [Minutes of the City Council of San Antonio de Bexar, Books I & 11, Pp. 675-702] It may be noted that wherever money is concerned, McMullen is assigned to act. McMullen was also elected to serve on the city council for the years 1842 to 1844 under John W. Smith, mayor. He was elected chief justice of Bexar County in 1844. [Election Register from Secretary of State Papers 1836-1845, Texas State Archives, Austin, Texas] Besides the ones mentioned he had served In other political offices as follows: justice of the peace in 1840-41, acting judge of the probate court in 1843, and election judge in the election of July 13, 1846. By 1844 McMullen realized that his nitch had been carved out in San Antonio de Bexar. He wanted no more ties with the San Patricio venture. He proposed to McGloin the sale of his land in the vicinity of San Patricio County. The transaction was made while McGloin was still in Bexar. [Deed Records of Bexar County August 7, 1844, Copy of original deed from John McMullen to James McGloin] For $5000 McGloin received a total of 48,698 acres of land. [NOTE: The headright claims of the land McMullen sold to McGloin are as follows: Francisco Cadena, Francisco Botello, Antonio Torres, Conception Gil, Jose Maria Hernandez, Juan Martinez, Geronimo Valdez, Antonio Cubriera, Herminia Jiminez, Jose Antonio Colchado, Juan Castillos, Julian Simian, Francisco Ruiz, and one headright of John McMullen, mentioned above. This was nearly all land that McMullen had bought, not premium lands granted to him by the Mexican Government, with the exception of the McMullen League in present Live Oak County which McGloin called Fairy Grove. Half of McMullen's property was community property. This is probably why he sold it so cheap to James McGloin, whose children were Esther McMullen's heirs to her half of the property.] After the sale to McGloin, McMullen invested in other property nearer to San Antonio, amounting to 18,892 acres. It seemed that John McMullen always had ready cash to lend or to invest. He held a judgment for $4000 against the estate of D.C. Barrett of Brazoria, his old friend, chairman of the advisory committee when he was president Pro tem of the council of the provisional government of Texas. This was paid off by Barrett's estate in the amount of $6000. McMullen was a shrewd businessman. In several instances when his death was reported in the newspapers he was called a Scotchman. Woulfe's, Irish Names and Surnames lists McMullen as a Scottish name as well as an Irish name of County Donegal and North-East Ulster. We know that he was born in Ireland, but it is interesting to note that many Irishmen from Northeast Ulster fled to Scotland during the English domination of Ireland. This is why the name McMullen is also found in Scotland as a Scottish name. Despite McMullen's affluence, he must have been a lonely man, especially after 1850. Esther McMullen had died on November 9, 1846, at the age of seventy, but he still had the Sawyer children living in his home. In 1850 the eldest, Mary Ann, married Edward Miles and evidently took the other two double first cousins with her because in 1853 they were not living with him. [Probate Records of Bexar County, Estate of John McMullen, Spring Term 1853, Inventory of property (pages unnumbered)] In the 1850 Census he is listed as a merchant, but he must have retired before 1853, for a store is not mentioned in the probate records. As further proof of his loneliness, he took in a couple that lived near him, his Irish neighbors, Bridget and William Moore, who died between 1850 and 1853. This is known by the meager belongings which were found in the house by the administrator pro tem of the McMullen estate.
The assassin was never apprehended. Mary Esther Scholl said her grandmother never spoke to her of the murder, but she had the impression that the assassin was known, but it was kept quiet. See Mist Over the Door (oral history of the death of John McMullen) John McMullen's service to his state was memorialized by the naming of a county for him---McMullen County---a part of the empresa he had colonized in the thirties. Likewise, a street in San Antonio carries his name. It is in the present southern part of the city right angles to South Presa Street. After his death there was a legal battle over his property. His nephew and namesake, John McMullen, son of Neal, his late brother, came from Philadelphia County, Pa., and claimed not only his right to heirship but that of his brothers and sisters: Anthony, Margaret, James, and Ann. He also wrested from Edward Miles his right to be administrator of the estate of his uncle. [Probate Records of Bexar County, Estate of John McMullen, Spring Term 1853 (pages unnumbered)] Since all the property was community property, the grandchildren of his wife, the five children of James McGloin, were due half of the estate. A settlement was made between John McMullen, now administrator of the estate, and John J. McGloin, grandson of Esther McMullen and administrator of her half of the community property. The estate was equally divided between the respective heirs. Both Esther and John McMullen are buried in San Fernando's Campo Santo on the block south of present Santa Rosa Hospital. This old cemetery was bought by the City of San Antonio and made into a park and named Milam Park where not a gravestone stands. However, there is a great granite monument with the names inscribed on a plaque of all those who are buried there. On it you will find the names of John and Esther McMullen. John McMullen in his "black cape and black hat" was a familiar and impressive figure on the streets of San Antonio de Bexar, a town of small adobe houses and stores, which he had predicted would one day be the Manchester of Texas. Many newspapers carried the news of his death. The Galveston Weekly Journal referred to him as "one of the oldest, wealthiest and most respected citizens." The Colorado Tribune referred to him as having been "active in the Texian Revolution." [Colorado Tribune, Feb. 21, 1853, p. 2. c. 2. Galveston Weekly Journal, Feb. 11, 1853, p. 4, c. 7: Greenwood Collection University of Texas Archives] If John McMullen were to come to life today, he would see his expectations of San Antonio fulfilled even more than he had envisioned. Some of the Texas towns where he had stayed, including San Patricio, his colony town, are now ghost towns; but San Antonio, in which he chose to spend most of his days, is a great metropolis---colorful, historic, and beautiful with skyscrapers taking the place of adobe houses, yet it has retained its Spanish, Mexican, and early Texas charm. The San Antonio River winds and flows through its business district to the enchantment of tourists and natives alike. Only the river and the ancient trees that line its banks would be recognizable to John McMullen. SONS
OF DEWITT COLONY TEXAS |