I only found out recently about one of the branches of my family on my wife’s side.
John McMullan was one of her original ancestors in America. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1740 of Scotch-Irish descent. He immigrated to the Colony of Virginia in 1760. A tailor by trade, he brought to America a cypress wood chest which contained all the necessary tools for tailoring. In 1769 he married Theodosia Beasley who was born in Orange County, Va.
The family recorded that he cut and sewed together the first military suit worn by Gen. George Washington, after he was made Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in 1776. John McMillan entered the war as a private in the 3rd Company of Col. Daniel Morgan’s 11th and 15th Virginia Regiments. He served to the close of the war and then settled in Swift Run Gap, Blue Ridge Mountains, Orange County, Va., on a tract of 310 acres of land patented to him by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
John had five children with his first wife, and when she passed away in 1779 or 1780, he married Elizabeth Stowens and they had 10 children together.
John left Virginia and moved to Georgia. He took with him the Taylor’s chest that contained the tools with which he made the suit for General Washington. At his death, the chest became the property of his second son, Patrick, who owned it until his death in 1836, at which time it passed to William, the oldest son of Patrick. In 1866, the chest was taken to Newton, Miss., then the property of William Marion, the oldest son of William. William Marion died in 1900, and since that time the chest was the property of his son, William Jesse Marion, until his death.
The chest spans 15-by-17-by-27.5 inches outside measurements and is a treasured family heirloom. The heirs of William Jesse Marion currently hold the box.
Ray Adler is a longtime attorney with offices at The Adler Building, 136 S. 9th St., Downtown Noblesville. He is also one of the owners of The Hamilton County Reporter Newspaper.