Moses Workman was born April, 1832 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. His father, Moses Sr. died when he was about fourteen years old. He was living with his mother and the family of an older brother, "Bige" in 1850. Shortly after the census was taken, it is believed that Mary “Polly” Mullins probably traveled with her father Eli Mullins from Virginia to visit relatives living in the area. Based on the ages of their children, the marriage took place circa 1851. Polly was living with relatives in Russell County when the 1850 census was taken ,but her grand mother was still living at Big Creek and her Uncle Peter Mullins was living on the Bulwark Fork of Harts Creek, next door to the Workman family..

Polly was the daughter of Eli Mullins and his first wife, Elizabeth Short. Elizabeth Short was the daughter of William Short and his first wife, Elizabeth Bolling. Elizabeth Bolling was the daughter of Benjamin Bolling and Martha “Patsy” Felts/Phelps.. Benjamin Bolling was born 30 June, 1734 in Henrico County, Virginia. He died in 1832 ( tombstone ) in the Flat Gap Section of Pound, Virginia. (present day Wise County, Virginia.) He was the son of Major John Bolling. Major John Bolling was born between 1700-1708; died 6 September, 1775. He was the son of Col. John Bolling (1676-1729) of Cobbes on Appomatox, near Petersburg, Virginia. (wife was Mary Kennon ) Col. John Bolling was the son of Col. Robert Bolling and his wife Jane Rolfe. Jane Rolfe was the daughter of Thomas Rolfe and his wife Jane (believed to have been a Pierce, but not proven.) Thomas Rolfe was born in 1616, the only child of Pocahontas and her husband, John Rolfe. There have been numerous genealogies written about this line and none have correctly identified that Elizabeth Bolling, the daughter of Benjamin was married to William Short. One history, written about 1947, married her off to a man named Britton Williams and “buried’ her in Missouri. Since William Short is buried in the Benjamin Bolling Cemetery , along with both of his wives ( the first one being Elizabeth and the second being Polly Birchfield) It seems more likely that this Elizabeth was in fact the one who was the daughter of Benjamin Bolling . There would be no logical reason for William Short to have such close ties to Benjamin Bolling unless he was in fact a son -in-law. Only family members were buried in family cemeteries! William Short’s tombstone was discovered on the property in 1983 by the publisher of The Southwest Virginian. A picture and location of stone was in Vol. VI,. number 29, June 1983. Hopefully, this has put to rest the controversy about the husband of Benjamin Bolling’s daughter, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Short, the daughter of William Short and wife Elizabeth, was born circa 1767 in North Carolina. She married Eli Mullins in Pike County, Kentucky on 3 October, 1824. Elizabeth was over twenty one and did not need parental permission for her marriage. This rules out the mis information that she was the daughter of William’s second wife Polly Birchfield. The exact death date of her mother is not known, but it is known that William married a second time between 1805 - 1810. The age on her marriage record indicates that she was too old to be a child of the second marriage. Hopefully, this put this controversy to rest also. (One thing for certain, people from West Virginia have common sense and can do simple arithmetic!)

Eli Mullins was the son of Solomon "Money Making Sol" and his wife Sarah Greenfield Cathey. (Sarah’s name is based on tradition). We do know from census records that she was born in South Carolina. Solomon Mullins was born 23 February, 1782, and died in August, 1858. Both he and his wife are buried at Big Creek, just over the Boone County line, near Chapmanville, (Logan County ) West Virginia. Solomon was the son of John Mullins, a Revolutionary War Veteran, and his wife, Jane "Jennie."

Eli Mullins was born circa 1802. He became a widower at a young age. It was very difficult to trace his children, because Elizabeth Short died sometime in the 1840s. The children were placed with relatives and Eli sold his land in Wise County before his death, so there was no estate to be settled, therefore the children’s names (by first wife) were not to be found in court records in Virginia, nor Kentucky. Eli died in Wise County, Virginia sometime in the 1880s.

Moses and Polly (Mullins) Workman lived out their lives on the Bulwark Fork of Harts Creek. They were the parents of my grandmother, Synthia Ann Workman Smith. We used to go to their graves when I was a little girl. My Mother and my Aunt Amanda made roses from crepe paper and made beautiful colorful bouquets to decorate all the graves of deceased relatives on “Decoration Day." ( Memorial Day ). They started months ahead of times, using rainy days or snowy days to prepare for the event. Grandma did not participate in this project, because she was blind. I never understood who all of the people were nor why they were so special until I started genealogy and really got to know them!

The children of Moses "Mose” and Polly :

 	 1.  Henry, born 1852, married Sarah Brooke Dempsey
	 2.  Abija "Bige" born 1854, died 9 October, 1930 ; married 
	     Mariah Vance, d/o Meekin and Phoebe
	 3.  Eli, born 1857, married  Millie, d/o M.and M. (Vance) Marcum
	 4.  Sarah Elizabeth, born 2  March, 1858, died of Croup at age 2, 
	     in Oct. 1860
	 5.  Peter, born sept. 1861, died 9 July, 1942 at age 81 years, 
	     6 mos.; married Rebecca "Aunt Becky" Workman, d/o N. 
	     and M. (Thompson) Workman.  (Their children were my 
	     double cousins)
	 6.  Jemes ( records show him as James, but his name was Jemes),
	     born 1863, married Sarah ( Pack?)
	 7.  Obediah, born 1866, probably died young as there was no other
	     record of him
	 8.  Mary Jane, b. 1869,  married Shade Smith, s/o Tom and Ann 
	     Eliza ( Steele )  Smith.   (My great grandparents on grandpa’s 
	     side of the family.)  There are two marrige records shown for 
	     them -suspect the first one is the correct one- 26 August, 1886 
             and 31 Jan.1889.  (The descendants of Uncle Shade and Aunt 
	     Mary  are also my double cousins.) 
	 9.  William H., born 1871, married Almeda Workman ( a cousin)
	10.  Almeda, born 24 June, 1872, married Luke Curry on 16 Nov. 1896
	11.  Synthia Ann, born 11 November, 1874, died 10 October 1951 at
	     Mercy ( Guyan Valley) Hospital, in Logan, WV, buried Smith-
	     Carter Cemetery, Harts, W.V., married 1) Spencer Mullins, s/o
	     James and Judy (Bolling)  Mullins April, 1893.   They had two
	     children,  one died as an infant.   My Uncle Spencer was born
	     March 1895, died in 1975.   He was a coal miner.  He married
	     Laurie Adkins, d/o Pharo and Carrie (Kilgore) Adkins.    Uncle
	     Spencer and Aunt Laurie had a large family.  Grandma Synthia
	     Ann was divorced from her first husband sometime prior to 1900.
	     She married 2) to my grandfather, Harve Smith, the s/o of Tom and
	     Ann Eliza (Steele) Smith  The marriage date was 13 February, 1902.