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Dictionary of Miramichi Biography

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MULLINS, THOMAS (17??-1835)

MULLINS, THOMAS, county jailer; m. Elizabeth McLaughlin, a native of Ireland; d. Newcastle, 1835.

Thomas Mullins was the Northumberland County jailer from 1821 to 1835, at a time when indebtedness was the principal cause of incarceration. Agnes (Russell) Vanderbeck, who was an infant in 1825, was told about being taken to the jail the night of the Miramichi Fire. Her mother looked out the door of their home and saw the steeple of St James Church in a blaze and a firebrand fall from the sky. "She came in," stated Mrs Vanderbeck, "picked me up, and carried me down to the old jail, which stood on the Square at that time. The jailer, Mr Mullin, was packing the papers in bags. The prisoners were crying to be let out."

The fire consumed the jail that night without loss of life. Mrs Vanderbeck also remembered visiting the new jail which was built to replace it, of which Mullins was again the keeper. "There was a small room," she said, "which contained a quantity of hard ship's biscuits. One of these and a dipper of water were given each prisoner."

In 1828, after inspecting the jail, the county magistrates instructed Mullins to increase the daily amount of bread he was feeding the prisoners and to make sure it was of good and wholesome quality. This improvement was to be made without any increase in the weekly sum of four shillings which he was receiving for the maintenance of the prisoners. Mullins was also the court cryer, for which he was paid separately.

The Gleaner of 7 April 1835 reported that an inquest had been held at Newcastle the previous week on the body of Thomas Mullins, "who put a period to his existence by drinking a large quantity of ardent spirits." Until recently, the paper noted, he "bore an unblemished character." He was succeeded as jailer and cryer by John Wilson.

Several months after Mullins's death his widow received a letter from her brother, James McLaughlin, of Limavady, Co. Londonderry, Ireland. "I have spent many an uneasy hour on your behalf these five years past," he stated, and "my opinion is...that you and your family should come home, where you will have the protection of me and all your relations." However, she declined the advice and continued to reside on the small farm which she and her family owned in the Derby area. She had six children, several of whom had been baptized in the Anglican church between 1823 and 1832. Her eldest daughter died in 1846, but the other five children were still living with her in 1851. She herself died in 1855. Her son Thomas Mullins Jr later married Mary Ledden, a daughter of James Ledden, and made his home in Newcastle.

Sources

[d] Gleaner 7 Apr 1835 / Arbuckle; Gleaner 29 Apr 1834, 28 Apr 1835, 26 Apr 1836, 28 Feb 1846, 25 Jun 1864; Leader 10 Apr 1964 (re. Agnes Vanderbeck); Manny Collection (F6)


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