The patriarch and matriarch of the Pullen family are Ezekiel and Lucy. Ezekiel was born in 1816. Ezekiel Pullen was the slave of Henry Pullin. Henry Pullin was the son of Thomas Pullin. Records show Thomas Pullen, Sr. being born about 1752 in Scotland, traveling to the US landing in Virginia and finally settling in GA at “Pullen’s Hill”. Georgia didn’t become a state until 1788, so he may quite possibly have been one of the state’s first official landowners. Thomas Pullin received land in 1792 from the US land grant act. In this act, land was “officially” granted to those who served in the revolutionary war. The chief purpose of the land grant was to dispossess the Native Americans of their land and to encourage white to settle in those lands.
Thomas Pullin needed workers to farm this dispossessed land . As with his other white farmers, he relied on slave labor. When Thomas died, as with his other property, his slaves were passed on to his children. Since his son Henry had no children, in his will of 1837 (in Johnson county records), he bequeathed his estate to public sale. After his death in 1843, the executors of his estate, his brother Moses Pullen and his brother-in-law Maj. James Hicks, purchased most of his property (Slaves) in 1860. Bill of sales records show that the slave Zekiel was sold to Maj. James Hicks for $450. William L. Mason was another purchaser of Henry’s property.)
The Johnson county census of 1870 list Ezekiel with his last name spelled Pullain, being 23 years old. Also listed with Ezekiel is his wife Lucy, 24, his son Milton (listed as “Bunk”),10, and his three daughters Annie, 8, Lois, 4, and Nancy 3. Ezekiel and Lucy were married June 30, 1866. Inventory and Appraisement of the estate of George Linder. The document list a child Lucy and a woman named Lucy. Is anyone of these the same Lucy that married Ezekiel Hicks Pullen? The Linders and Hicks plantation were in the same area. In fact, the cofounder of Mt. Pullen was George Linder , a slave of George Linder and one of the first Blacks elected to the Georgia Legislator following the Civil War. Ezekiel was one of the founders of Mt. Pullen African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church. Note the name African Methodist Episcopal Church. At that time, Blacks were not ashamed to refer to themselves as Africans. It was only after “proper” schooling in European mis-information that Africa and things African became shameful. Mt. Pullen was founded in 1862 and is located eight miles from Dublin, Ga. In 1972, a new church bearing the former name replaced the original structure.
To date, no information is known on Ezekiel’s daughters, Annie, Lois and Nancy. Milton (Bunk) Pullen makes up the second generation of our branch of the Pullen clan. Milton married Lula Horn December 24, 1876. Lula is said to have had a difficult childhood. Oral history has it that she was child of her slave master and was raped by his two sons. Perhaps this is why Lula always kept her legs covered in public.
To the union of Lula and Milton Pullen seven children were born: Arthur Birch, Willie Oscar, Milton Jr., Martha, Lucy, Alzeda and Ada.
Arthur (Bubba) Birch was married to Jane mason. To that union six children were born: Josie, Raymond, Alma, Armetta and Maxine.
Willie Oscar (Hun) married Donnie Mason, my grandparents. From that union came four sons and six daughters: Charlie Willie, Quincy, Townsey, Johnny Louis, Maggie, Nadine, Sarah Lou, Ruby Dell, Frinella,and LaVera.
Milton Jr. was married to Eve. To that union two sons were born, Milton III and Booker Tee.
Martha married James McClain. They had no children.
Lucy was married to Let Clark. To that union two daughters were born, Mattie Maude and Estella.
Ada married Leroy Groover. They had one daughter, Vera Mae.
With the first generation consisting of the patriarch and matriarch,
Ezekiel and Lucy, the lineage of the Pullen Family to date consists
of:
- 4 children 2nd Generation
- 12 grandchildren 3rd Generation
- 23 great grandchildren 4th Generation
- 50 great great grandchildren 5th Generation
- 124 great great great grandchildren 6th Generation
- 95 great great great grandchildren 8th Generation