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William Rufus McMullan is sometimes wrongly referred to as William Reynolds McMullan. On July 26, 1980, Hubert Newton McMullan (son of W.R. McMullan) gave William R.'s Bible to Jay S. McMullan (grandson of Hubert N. McMullan).

In the Bible, William's middle name is given as Rufus instead of Reynolds.

In his Bible, there was a stamp that said, "3000 stickers, this size, with any address or business printed thereon, assorted colors with gummed backs, only $1.25 post paid,
W. Rufus McMullan
Decatur, MS
Agent for books, mercantile, printing, circulars, cards, etc.

At some point, William Rufus moved his family to Henderson Co., Texas (south of Kaufman County), near Kemp or Eustace, more likely Mabank, Texaas. His last child, Hubert Newton (my grandfather) was the only child that was not born in Mississippi. He was born in Kemp, Texas and was given the middle name "Newton" in honor of either Newton county or the city of Newton, Mississippi. William Rufus was called "Uncle Billy" by others in the family. William became a Methodist minister before moving to Texas. He is buried in the Payne Springs, Texas cemetery.

On Page 108 in his Bible it says, "I am still praising God for the conversion of my soul on March the 28th or 30th 1888."

Children of William Rufus McMullan and Susan Elizabeth White were:

Lela Frances McMullan 1857-1860
Ina Serena McMullan 1878-1956
Willis Jefferson McMullan 1881-1961
Ora Minni McMullan 1882-1962
George William McMullan 1884-1955
Annie Alice McMullan 1885-1970
John Vester McMullan 1899-1972
Clara Gertrude McMullan 1891-1973
Hubert Newton McMullan (my paternal grandfather) 1896-1991

In Capt. Albert McMullan's book, McMullan and Allied Families, is a story saying that William took a trip to Oregon before settling in Texas. He is also referred to as "Uncle Billy." If he did go to Oregon and we have reason to believe he didn't, it must have been shortly after the West was tamed and problems with Indians were solved. It is likely that William and Sudie (Susan) moved to Texas in the last two or three years of the 19th century.

William Rufus is buried at the Payne Springs cemetary in East Texas. His wife is buried in the Pyle Prairie Cemetery in Kaufman County, Texas. When his father, Thomas Jefferson McMullan, died, he left 700 acres of land to each of his children. This information from Maurice Vester McMullan, a grandson. Maurice, also said that one of W.R.'s sons-in-law got him to to make some bad real estate investments where he lost much of his money.

We think that William and Sudie moved to Texas because the Civil War had ended and things were not going well with Northern occupation in the deep south. Perhaps moving to Texas would give them a new start.

According to Hubert N. McMullan, William Rufus McMullan died of dropsy (edema). Both William Rufus and Susan Elizabeth McMullan died fairly young. When William Rufus McMullan died in 1906, his oldest child, Lela Frances was 28 years old and his youngest, Hubert Newton was only 10 years old. Susan Elizabeth McMullan, William Rufus' wife died even younger when the oldest child was 26 and the youngest child was 6.

For years, I had not been able to find Susan McMullan's grave. She was William Rufus' wife. One of my distant relatives, before he passed, told me she was buried around Gun Barrel City, Texas. For years I was unable to find anything on the Internet to help me locate her grave but finally did. My daughter and her family bought a small farm west of Palestine, Texas in 2019 and they are just a half hour south of these graves. It's funny how things come around.

The GPS coordinates for Susan's grave are N32 25,747 W096 18.647

Susan is buried in the Pyle Prairie Cemetery in Kaufman County, Texas. Information on Pyle Prairie Cemetery is here.

Children of WILLIAM MCMULLAN and SUSAN WHITE are:
2. i. JOHN VESTER MCMULLAN, b. April 18, 1889, Newton County, Mississippi; d. March 15, 1972, Texarkana, Texas.
3. ii. GEORGE WILLIAM MCMULLAN, b. May 02, 1884, Newton County Mississippi; d. November 12, 1955.
4. iii. HUBERT NEWTON MCMULLAN, b. May 02, 1896, Eustice or Kemp, Texas; d. May 06, 1991, Sayre, Oklahoma.
5. iv. MINNIE ORA MCMULLAN, b. August 14, 1882, Newton County, Mississippi.
6. v. CLARA GERTRUDE MCMULLAN, b. January 22, 1891, Newton County, Mississippi.
7. vi. INA SERENA MCMULLAN, b. August 17, 1878, Newton County, Mississippi; d. August 01, 1956.
8. vii. ANNIE ALICE MCMULLAN, b. December 09, 1885, Mississippi; d. October 1970, Oklahoma.
viii. LELIA MCMULLAN, b. June 22, 1877, Newton County, Mississippi; d. May 05, 1960; m. AL EVERETT.
ix. WILLIS J. MCMULLAN, b. June 01, 1881, Mississippi; d. May 13, 1961, Henderson Co., Texas; m. HESTER M. ?; b. July 21, 1888; d. August 04, 1961, Henderson Co., Texas