Patrick J. Mullen

A man named Patrick J. Mullen arrived in Grayson County, Texas, in 1888. His Mullen relatives were from Ireland and lived in Alton, Madison County, Illinois. He was born about 1850, the second son of John Mullen (1819–1871) and Eliza Greenwood, born (1860 Alton, Madison Co., Illinois.  There is no indication that he ever married.  He was one of the best known engineers on the Chicago and Alton railroad.  Patrick was in Denison, Texas, as early as 1889, when the City Directory listed him as an engineer on the MK&T Railroad. (The Sunday Gazetteer reported June 23, 1889 that the directory was in process of being compiled.  This allows us to say that Mullen arrived in Denison on later than mid-1889.)  At that time he was rooming at the home of Daniel E. Smart, another Katy engineer, at 502 North Houston Avenue, at the corner of Morton Street. Patrick remained a fixture on Houston Avenue at least until 1910.

An accident cost him an eye and he quit railroading to enter the mercantile business.  (Alton (Illinois) Evening Telegraph, November 6, 1909) In 1892, Patrick established a grocery business at 422 North Houston. In 1896, he was living at 216–220 North Houston, in a boarding house operated by Mrs. Maggie Hanna (widow of Michael Hanna).

Four years later, the 1900 Census found a man named "Patrick J. Mullens" in a boarding house in San Francisco, California. He was single, a grocer, and said he was born in Illinois in June 1854. His parents were born in Ireland. He may or may not have been the same man as the resident of Denison, Texas.

Back in Denison by 1903, still boarding at 220 North Houston, our Patrick was listed in the City Directory selling "groceries and feed" at 422 North Houston. This location continued to be a grocery store for many decades, even after Patrick Mullen established a new grocery store across the street.

421 North Houston Avenue
Photo by Jack Suggs, March 2010

P. J. Mullen: Grocer, 422 N. Houston Ave.
Mr. Mullen established his business here eighteen years ago, and has always enjoyed a large and influential patronage. His store is equipped with every modern appliance and convenience in the way of fixtures, the stock being attractively displayed, which makes the establishment an ideal place at which to deal. Mr. Mullen conducts his business along the lines of conservatism and good judgment. He deals in high-class goods, which fully undergo the test of the pure food laws. Patrons are accorded every consideration possible. Mr. Mullen has won a reputation in his line that is indeed enviable, and his trade covers the entire city and vicinity.

Source: “Denison, the Texas Gateway: A Busy, Progressive City with Golden Opportunities.” 16pp. Brochure. N.p.: N.d. [ca. 1908].

In 1906, P. J. Mullen built a new brick building across the street from his old grocery store. Here, at 421 North Houston, the southwest corner of Morton Street, he installed his new and improved grocery business. 

Mullen's Grocery advertisement
1907 Denison, Texas City Directory

The Sunday Gazetteer
December 20, 1908
pg. 5

Patrick J. Mullen had three half siblings, born to his father and second wife, Margaret:
Andrew Mullen, 1848 -
Alice S. Kertong Mullen, 1854 -
Philip Mullen, 1859 -

In early November 1909 Patrick Mullen returned to his home town of Alton, Illinois, to attend the funeral of his brother-in-law, James J. McInerney.  He remained with his half-sister, Alice McInerney, for a few weeks; during that time he expanded his business ventures by purchasing Will H. Murphy's half interest in the Alton Sentinel-Democrat, making the newspaper the sole property of Patrick and his sister.  He planned to at the time to return to his birth place from Denison to actively engage in enlarging and improving the newspaper.  (Alton (Illinois) Evening Telegraph, Saturday, November 6, 1909 and Saturday, November 20, 1909).

However, the 1910 Denison Census found him contentedly operating this grocery. He was single and back boarding at his former boarding house at 220 North Houston. In 1911, the City Directory listed him similarly.

Andrew, half-brother of Patrick, had been employed as a passenger engineer for many years on the Chicago and Alton.  Less than a year after the death of his brother-in-law, Andrew, who resided in El Paso, Texas, suffered a paralytic stroke and was in serious condition; in addition Andrew's wife was very ill and his only son was sick, as well, with double pneumonia.   (Alton (IL) Evening Telegraph, Wednesday, September 7, 1910)  Patrick went to his brother's bedside and with him when he died October 10, 1910; he was buried in El Paso.  After the funeral, Patrick traveled to Alton, Illinois, to deliver the sad news of Andrew's death in person to their sister, who was suffering a nervous breakdown from the deaths of her husband and eldest son, Austin, in March 1909.  (Alton (IL) Evening Telegraph, Thursday, October 13, 1910, pg. 1 & Wednesday, October 19, 1909, pg.1)

Just a few short days later, Patrick Mullen conducted negotiations for the sale of the Alton Sentinel-Democrat in October 1909.  The deal, which had been underway for several months, transferred the ownership of the local paper to J.R. Finell, recently from Lima, Ohio, O.B. Rynders, and John McKeon, effective November 1, 1910.  Messrs. McKeon and Rynders had been in charge of the paper since the summer months.  Alice McInerney and her children made preparations to move to Denison in order to reside with her brother there.   (Alton (Illinois) Evening Telegraph, Monday, October 24, 1910)

By 1913, Patrick headed a household at 411 West Sears Street. Boarding in that house were a number of people named McInerney: Alice M. (widow of James J.); Catherine I. "Katibel" (bookkeeper at the grocery store), and Loretto, Lucia "Lucy", & M. Veronica "Vernie" (bookkeeper at B. J. Lindsay Insurance), daughters of Alice Mullen McInerney, and Bernie. The four women had arrived in Denison by 1911 from Alton, Illinois, following the death of Alice's husband in 1909. Bernie must also have been a relative.  Alice's youngest son and daughter, Sister Aurelia of the Ursuline convent, was at a convent in Dallas, Texas, moving by 1914 back to Alton, Illinois.

411 West Sears Street
Photo by Mavis Anne Bryant, ca. 1995

In spring 1914, the Mullen family suffered another tragic death - that of 27-year-old daughter, Katibel, who died in the early hours of Monday, May 4.  The cause of death was a fatal throat malady; her body was sent to Alton for burial; the funeral took place on Thursday in front of a large crowd of friends and relatives at Saints Peter and Paul's Cathedral with burial in Greenwood Cemetery.  (Alton (IL) Evening Telegraph, Monday, May 4, 1914, pg. 1 & Thursday, May 7, 1914, pg.3)

Patrick was 65 years old in 1915. He was still running his grocery store and living at 411 West Sears. Bernie had left town, leaving Alice and the three daughters behind. Lucy M. was cashier at P. J. Mullen Grocery, while Vernie continued as bookkeeper at B. J. Lindsay, where she would remain for decades to come. Things remained the same in 1917, except that Loretto had disappeared from the City Directory.

P.J. Mullen Grocery
421 North Houston Avenue

The 1920 Census (dated January 8, 1920) listed only three people at 411 West Sears—Alice, 64 year-old-widow and her single daughters, Vernie (still bookkeeper in insurance office), and Lucy (bookkeeper in grocery store). 

P.J.  Mullen died at the age of 70 years on September 8, 1920 at his home in Denison, due to the bursting of a blood vessel.  The body was taken to Alton, Illinois, accompanied by family members and some Denison friends, for funeral service from the Saints Peter and Paul's Cathedral and burial at Greenwood Cemetery.  (Alton (IL) Evening Telegraph, Thursday, September 9, 1920, pg.6 & Saturday, September 11, 1920, pg.6)

In 1921 at Mullen's Grocery, Charles A. Robinson was manager, and Lucy McInerney was still bookkeeper. In 1921, too, across the street from Alice's home, John R. McInerney, a machinist at the MK&T Railway, and his wife Lela lived at 412 West Sears. These people were probably more relatives recently arrived in Denison. The situation was similar in 1925, except that John R. and Lela McInerney did not appear in the City Directory. Two years later, Theo McInerney (no occupation) had joined the household at 411 West Sears. Mullen's Grocery continued as before.

The 1927 City Directory showed major changes. Mullen's Grocery was not listed. The building at 422 North Houston housed the Sanitary Grocery, operated by William B. Senter. He and his wife Ethel lived at 1330 West Woodard Street. William J. Stanford took over the store later. Many types of business have used it since. In recent years it has been a motorcycle shop.

P.J. Mullen Grocery Store
Built in 1906 on the southwest corner of West Morton St and North Houston Ave
W.J. Stanford eventually took over for many years, and since his departure, the site has been used for numerous ventures.
In the 1990s it was a motorcycle shop

Listed at 411 West Sears in 1927 were Alice (clerk), Vernie (bookkeeper at B. J. Lindsay), Lucy (no occupation), and Theo (no occupation).  Alice McInerney, aged 70 years, died at her home in Denison on Wednesday, October, 7, 1925 after a lengthy illness.  Funeral services were held at St. Patrick's Church on Friday morning, where she was a prominent member and member of the St. Patrick's Altar Society and other church organizations. The body, accompanied by daughters, Lucy and Vernie as well as son, Felix, was shipped to Alton, Illinois, where another funeral services was held at Saints Peter and Paul Catheral, with interment in the family burial grounds at Greenwood Cemetery.  (The Denison Herald, Thursday, October 8, 1925, pg. 7)

 

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