When Joseph C Mullins was born in January 1850, in Cannon, Tennessee, United States, his father, Daniel Coleman Mullins III, was 34 and his mother, Martha Jane Mullins, was 23. He married Harriet Catherine Gilley on 29 November 1874, in Cannon, Tennessee, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 1 daughter. He lived in Tennessee, United States in 1870 and Justice Precinct 8, Grayson, Texas, United States in 1900. He died on 18 February 1920, in Foard, Texas, United States, at the age of 70.