My great-grandmother, Louise Gwynn Scrivener, was a devoted family historian and collector of family artifacts. Although I never met her or saw her home in Baltimore, the photo below suggests that she filled the place with family pictures.
There was one picture, though, that did get handed down and still remains in the family, a very large portrait of a handsome woman whom the family affectionately called "Big Mama." Throughout my childhood, Big Mama hung in my grandparents' living room, passed on from Louise to her only child, my grandfather. According to my uncle, there was also a Big Papa, but Grandpa Scrivener did not have room for both of the huge portraits, so sadly, Big Papa is lost. When my grandparents died, Big Mama moved to my parents' home as it was the only one in the family large enough to accommodate her. Big Mama presided over family dinners in my parents’ dining room for many years. After my parents' death, my brother took custody of her. Again, he had the home big enough to accommodate her.
Of course, we all assumed that Big Mama was a relation of some kind, but we didn't really know who she was. My grandfather said she was not a direct ancestor, but an aunt or a cousin. Since my great-grandmother hung on to this portrait, I thought she must be a relation on that branch of the family. And it must be someone who had money to be able to afford such an elaborate portrait. The Scriveners did not have that kind of money. My grandfather also dredged up a recollection that she was an English lady who had married into the family.
I found a clue from my great aunt Effie Gwynn Bowie, who was as devoted a family historian as her sister Louise and had written that history down in her monumental work--Across the Years in Prince George's County. Aunt Effie recounted that her great-uncle, John McMullan, had married a woman from Cornwall, England--Mary Kette/Kilte Newton, the daughter of Edward Newton and Mary Kette or Kilte. Aunt Effie said that Mary was born in 1826 and died in Baltimore in 1886. Unfortunately, she did not offer evidence for this, but she could have gotten the information directly from Uncle John McMullan himself, who lived in Baltimore until his death in 1903, or from one of his children.
So, I went to work to see what I could find out about Mary and if she was indeed Big Mama.
John McMullan was the fourth of five children of John McMullan Sr. (about whom I have previously written) and Susan Tubman. His sister, Susan Tubman McMullan, was my 3x-great-grandmother. John was born on Kent Island on the Eastern Shore of Maryland 4 July 1819. On the 17th of June 1842, the Sun reported that John McMullan of Baltimore had married Mary Ann Elizabeth Nuton, also of Baltimore.
The 1850 Census shows John McMullen, 29, a cabinet maker, living in the 10th ward of Baltimore with his wife Mary, 25, born in England, son John, 7, daughter Mary V., 5, sister Ann, 30, and six apprentices in his cabinet making business.
On the first of September 1857, the Sun reported the sad death of Lawrence Warren McMullan, age 4, son of John and Mary.
The 1860 Census shows John McMullan, 38, cabinet maker, still living in the 10th ward of Baltimore, with his wife Mary, 28, son John, 17, daughter Virginia, 15, daughter Alice, 6, and son Charles, 2. His sister Ann was still living with him as well as three domestic servants. John had real estate valued at $15,000 and personal property valued at $5,000. So, he was fairly well-off. The ad below from 1859, shows the kind of stock he carried in his business.
On January 30, 1868, the Sun reported the death of Anna M. McMullan at the home of her brother, John, identifying her as the daughter of the late John McMullan.
The 1870 Census shows John McMullan, 45, as the owner of furniture stores, his wife Mary, 40, daughter Alice, 12, and sons Charles, 10, and William, 9, attending school, along with two domestic servants.
By 1880, the Census shows John McMullan, 60, as a retired merchant, living with his wife, Mary, 50, daughter Alice, 22, and son Charles, 20 in a home on North Calvert Street.
Mary Newton McMullan died in Baltimore May 6, 1886, suddenly of paralysis of the heart according to the Sun. She was buried in the McMullan vault at Green Mount Cemetery.
John McMullen married for a second time in 1896 to Laura Powles. He died at his home in Baltimore on July 12, 1903 and was buried at Green Mount.
Children of John and Mary Newton McMullan:
1. John McMullan III born in Baltimore MD 15 May 1843. In John McMullan's household in 1850 and 1860. May be the widower John McMullan, age 67, working as a hotel butler in Baltimore in 1910.
2. Mary Virginia McMullan 17 February 1845. Married Robert Brooks at St. Paul's Church in July 1865 and had seven children with him. Died in Baltimore 25 April 1895.
3. Warren McMullan 1852-1857.
4. Alice Mary McMullan 1 June 1857. She married Joseph Enderlin Willig in Baltimore 25 December 1882. She died of accidental gas poisoning 27 May 1924 and is buried at Green Mount Cemetery. She had no children and left her estate to various charities in Baltimore including the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Baltimore Cathedral.
5. Charles Lewis Oscar McMullan 18 August 1859. Christened at Christ Church Parish in 1863. Died in Baltimore 12 August 1889. His death certificate indicates that he was a widower, and his occupation was a clerk.
6. William Albert McMullan 1 October 1861. Died in Baltimore 8 October 1879. His death certificate indicates that he was single and that he was a merchant in Baltimore.
In the end, I still do not have definitive evidence that Big Mama is Mary Kilte Newton McMullan. But it is probable that she is. She is a relative by marriage to Louise Gwynn, and Louise would have wanted to keep that handsome portrait in the family. She is of the right age to be the woman in the portrait. She is of English birth according to the Census records, and so is the woman in the portrait if my grandfather's recollection is correct. And the McMullans had enough money to afford an elaborate portrait.
Nor do I know how my great-grandmother ended up with the McMullan portraits. But she was a formidable lady, so she was certainly capable of persuading her cousins that she was the appropriate guardian for the family heirlooms. In any case, most of the McMullan cousins were dead by the time Louise married and moved to Baltimore, so perhaps there were no other claimants for the family portraits.
So, Big Mama now resides at my brother's house where we celebrate her at our family gatherings.
I only wish we had Big Papa as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment