A summary of the dat

This information was gathered from numerous sources and in some cases includes inductions made by cross-referencing the data. Because of this, and the sheer volume of information, it is almost certain to contain errors. Any corrections or additions are welcome. Email me at upmytree@inbox.com. Thanks.
Marion T. Smith
Last updated July 2011

The Origins

The direct line of descent of the Collins family probably begins with James Collins, Sr. and his wife Betsy (Elizabeth, I'm imagine), but little is known of them other than that he died sometime prior to 9 October 1793 in Lincoln County, North Carolina, he was a landowner, and, according to one website, they had two known sons, James Jr., and Issac. But in 1788, according to Alton Blevins, James Collins, Sr. deeded land to Jacob Collins, Abraham Collins, and Alexander McIntire, his son-in-law, and his wife "Bithya" (Betsy)m and Isaac..Alton believes that James, Sr. "was surely the progenitor of, at least most, of the Lincoln County Collins clan." I have not been able to substantiate this, but from the records it is obvious that the Collins of Lincoln County were closely related.

I recently received some intriguing information from Patrice Russell that indicates that the Collins were originally from Massachusetts and reached North Carolina via Virginia. She is a descendant of Benjamin F. Collins,born 26 May 1814. His relationship with James Collins Sr. and his descendants is unknown, but like them, he came to Georgia from North Carolina and settled in Gordon and Bartow Counties, including Pine Log and Cartersville. In the book The First Hundred Years of Cobb County in the Georgia Archives (page 48), among the first settlers of the county in 1832 were Benjamin F. Collins, Daniel Collins, Henry Collins, John Collins, and William Collins, all from North Carolina. They settled in or near Smyrna. In Jacob Sr.'s line, there are a John and a Daniel Collins in the 1790 Lincoln County census, a William, Henry, and Daniel Collins in the 1800 Lincoln County census, a William Collins in Lincoln County in the 1810 census adjacent to or with Mary, Martin, and Jacob Collins, as well as in the 1830 and 1840 censuses, and two John Collins and two William Collins in the 1820 Lincoln County census.

The information further notes that Benjamin F. Collins received land grant 237-A in the last Georgia land grant in 1837 (Book of Land Grants, Georgia Archives). It is believed this same land grant was the farm where he lived, raised his family and died, in Sonora Township, Gordon County, Georgia. As noted, his descendants later lived in Pine Log and Cartersville. Several descendants of James Collins Sr. were married in Gordon County (see below).

My line definitively begins with Jacob Collins Sr., who was born in 1750 in Lincoln County, North Carolina (now Cleveland County) and his wife Mary, believed by some to be a Martin.

The first mention of Jacob is in the 1790 Lincoln County census, but there are three males over 16 in Jacob’s household and one male under 16, plus two females. The females match the later records, but there is one extra male whose identity remains unknown.

In the same census, the nation’s first, there are six Collins families living in Lincoln County: John, Abram (Abraham), Daniel, Jacob, James, and Joseph. James, whom I believe is James Jr., is under 16, yet a head-of-household, so it is possible his father recently died. Abram, Jacob, and Joseph are next-door neighbors. James, Jr. himself apparently died before 1808 because his wife, Elizabeth McIntire, married William Crane on 11 January that year in Rutherford, North Carolina. Alton notes a 1770 deed for Alexander McIntire and his wife, Jane, witnessed by Joseph Collins and believes he was Jane's brother.

It is possible that a Martin Collins is the elder Jacob's missing brother, because in the 1810 Lincoln County census, Jacob’s son William is living next to Jacob's mother, Mary Collins. On the other side of William is a Martin Collins, 26-44, and next door to him is William’s brother Jacob. Neither William nor Jacob are known to have had a son named Martin. Martin does not appear in the 1820 Lincoln County census, but living next door to William is Jean Collins, a female over 45, so Jean may have been Martin’s widow. This is, of course, just speculation.

Abraham Collins, Jacob’s next door neighbor in 1790 and probably his brother, played a prominent role in the Battle of King’s Mountain. He was a Tory sympathizer, and he and a man named Peter Quinn were dispatched by British Col. Patrick Ferguson to seek reinforcements from Cornwallis after he learned of a gathering Patriot force in the King’s Mountain area. Collins and Quinn were delayed, however (according to one account, by members of the Henry family) and did not deliver the message until 7 October 1780, the day of the battle. Ferguson lost and was killed in the battle, which forced Cornwallis to retreat from Charlotte, North Carolina. The Patriot victory has been called the turning point of the Revolutionary War

Abraham also gained notoriety as a counterfeiter, and was arrested for the crime on 20 June 1805, but the case was dismissed on an technicality. According to one account, his counterfeiting was continuous but, paradoxically, he is said to have died in poverty near Stice's Shoal on First Broad River, date unknown.

As said, in the 1790 census for Lincoln County, North Carolina, Jacob is living next door to Abraham, who is also said to have been born in 1750, in Rutherford County, North Carolina, which was adjacent to Lincoln.

Also supporting the idea that Jacob and Abraham are related are several bits of information:

1. Abraham married a woman named Susannah Roberts, sister of Thomas Roberts. They were the children of Morris Roberts III and Unity Martin. Thomas Roberts married Elizabeth Collins, Jacob Jr.’s daughter. Unity may be from the same Martin family as Mary.

2. In a survey record dated 4 March 1786 in Lincoln County, Abraham Collins and Thomas Martin, Mary Martin Collins’ brother, are chain bearers for a survey of land owned by William Martin, Mary Martin Collins and Thomas Martin’s father.

3. Morris Roberts III had a girl named Tabitha from a second marriage (he was married four times), born 1781, who married Harry Hardy Hardin in 1805. I have not been able to establish Harry’s relationship with them, but three of Jacob’s son William’s children married Hardins: Elizabeth Hardin who married William in our direct line of descent, Ginna/Gina/Jean Hardin who married his brother Jacob Archibald Collins, Jr., and their sister Mary married Young John Hardin.

In any case, the Collins were among the earliest white settlers of Lincoln and Rutherford Counties of North Carolina and the York District of South Carolina. The original Lincoln County, part of the now defunct Tyron County until 1779, bordered the York District. This portion of Lincoln County became Cleveland County in 1841. There was once a Collins mill, and are a Collins Creek, a Collins cemetery, and a Collins Mountain in the area. Jacob Collins is mentioned in several other deed records, which are listed in the documents section. One of the more interesting is a “land patent” filed 27 December 1771, Tryon County, North Carolina. Alexander and Janet McIntire sell 200 acres on both sides of Buffalo Creek to James Collins, Sr. Jacob Collins was a witness.

Jacob Collins, as said, was born 1750 in Lincoln County, North Carolina, and died 1 May 1795 near Earl, Cleveland County, His full name most probably was Jacob Archibald Collins, Sr., since he had a son named Jacob Archibald Jr. According to one source, Jacob Collins, Sr. is buried in the Collins Family Cemetery on Lavender Road in Earl, and according to another, on his old land near Buffalo Creek and Roseborough Road. I do not know the area, so these sources may refer to the same place.

Jacob Collins, Sr. was also a Patriot, which might have some bearing on the absence of Abraham in his family records. In the Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statement of James Gilmore of Hall County, Georgia, filed 3 September 1832, he states that he served under Captain Jacob Collins of Lincoln County in 1780.

And, in a deposition of Capt. Jacob "Collans," dated 14 Oct 1786, in Lincoln County, he states, "that the above named offisers and Soldiers was under his command at the Sorender of Charlestown in the year 1780 being Drafted from North Carolina for a three months tower of Duety and That the were peroaled home and hath not been Returned by him or Received aney order from him to receive pay for the Same and that he himself Nor Aney of the above named offisers or Soldiers his had aney Satisfaction to his knolieg.” Jacob is also mentioned in the pension application of John Smith, 13 December 1832, filed in the Cape Girardeau (Missouri) Circuit Court. Smith served under Capt. Collins in the siege of Charleston, where he was captured and held prisoner for nine days thanks to Kay Maxwell). Mary Martin was born 1747 and died 8 June1845, probably in Lincoln County. While many sites agree that Jacob’s wife Mary was a Martin, the actual evidence is scant. According to one source, she is referred to only once, in a August 1859 court case filed by Jacob Collins’ daughter, Elizabeth Collins Roberts, which refers to uncles of Jacob Collins’ children named Thomas and William Martin.

As I read the records, Mary is thought to be Thomas and William’s sister, although she is not mentioned in another source, which lists only four children of William Martin: Thomas, William, and two females, neither of which is Mary. However, one of the females is said to have married a Benjamin Hardin. Because of the general consensus that Jacob’s wife was Mary Martin, daughter of William Martin of Virginia, I plan to include a section on the Martin family. The line is extensive, and includes such people as:

– Sir William Martyn of Athelhampton, 1446 – 14 January 1503, Lord Mayor of London.

– Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset KG (1457 – 20 September 1501), known as Lord Ferrers de Groby between 1461 and 1471, and the Earl of Huntingdon between 1471 and 1475. He was the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and consequently a stepson of King Edward IV of England..He was also the grandfather of Lady Jane Grey, the grand-niece of King Henry VIII and Queen of England for nine days or 13 days, depending on the sources, before she was overthrown and eventually executed.

This section is of our family, descendants of Jacob Archibald Collins, Sr.

While there is considerable information on the descendants of Jacob and Mary Martin Collins, there is much that is still to be worked out in this family tree. When Jacob’s sons William and Jacob Collins, Jr., arrived en masse by caravan in Gilmer County, Georgia, in the 1840s, there was already a Collins family in the county, that of William H. Collins and his wife, both between 20 and 29 years of age, with two boys under five and one girl under five. I do not know how this family is related but it might be that they are the family of H. W. Collins, Jacob's Jr.'s son since the census can be funky about names sometimes and the ages of the children match (see H. W. Collins below)..

Also, a Samuel Collins is a next-door neighbor of Jacob Sr.’s son William Collins in 1840 in Lincoln County, and he and his family followed the Collins to Gilmer County in 1847-50. However, he is not listed in the family trees as a child of Jacob and Mary Martin Collins. Could he be William Collins' missing son? Ah, but what is life without its mysteries?

The children of Jacob and Mary Martin Collins (our Family!)

[Note: The children of Jacob and Mary Martin Collins are numbered and highlighted in red, and their children are numbered and highlighted in blue. Grandchildren are not numbered, but are preceded by a dash and are highlighted in green, and great-grandchildren are in bold. Great great-grandchildren on down are not highlighted.]

Jacob and Mary are said to have had four children:

1. William Collins, born 1775 in North Carolina. He is said to have died about 1845 in Lincoln County, North Carolina in many records, but he may have died earlier since almost his entire family had moved to Gilmer County by 1844. He married Susannah Anna Hardin, born 1775 in North Carolina, and died in1850 in Gilmer County, Georgia. Susannah is probably related to Benjamin Hardin, who married Mary’s sister, name unknown, and Ginna/Gina/Jean Hardin, who married Jacob Archibald Collins, Jr. All but one of William and Susannah Hardin Collins' children settled in North Georgia in the 1840s. For a list of their children and descendants, see below.

2. Elizabeth Collins, born 20 June 1781 in North Carolina and died 5 August1871 in Cleveland County. She married Thomas Roberts on 1 September 1800 in Lincoln County. Thomas Roberts was born 1769 in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and died 1840 in Cleveland County, North Carolina. He married Jean Glen on 30 Jun 1791 in Chesterfield County, Virginia. She was born 1769 in Henrico County, Virginia. Thomas Roberts and Elizabeth Collins had three children:

    i. Martin C. Roberts, born unknown, died unknown.

    ii. Lincey Roberts, born unknown, died unknown. She married N. A. Jackson. He is probably related to Martha A. Jackson, who married William’s son Davis.

    iii. Jacob Roberts, born unknown, died unknown.

3. Jacob Archibald Collins, Jr., born 1788 in Lincoln County, and died in 9 February1866 in the Salacoa District, Cherokee County, Georgia. Jacob married Jane Hardin. She is Jane on her headstone in the Hutchinson Cemetery, but Mrs. Gina Hardin according to one website, and Ginna, Gina, and Jean in other records. She was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, in 1791 according to her headstone, and died in the 1870s. According to one source, they are buried in unmarked graves, but there is a fairly new headstone for them in the cemetery. The headstone says they moved to the Salacoa District in 1846, which is two years after the family of his brother William arrived in Gilmer County (see “A Noted Family” in "The Scared Corn-Ryo Murders"). They are living in Gilmer County in 1850 and Cherokee County in 1860.

Their children included:

    i. An unknown daughter, born 1810.

    ii. Thomas Roberts Collins, born 3 May 1812 in King’s Mountain, Lincoln County, and died 3 December 1884 in Salacoa, Cherokee County. He married Sarah A. Gladden, born 1812 in Lincoln County and died 31 July 1892 in Cherokee County. They are buried in the Hutchinson Cemetery in the Salacoa District, Cherokee County.

The children of Thomas Robert Collins and Sallie Gladden were (according to a web posting by Ann Collins Merritt <bphs@cyberstate.infi.net>):

    -- Mary Jane Collins, born 1836. Jane married Gabriel Moss, Jr., born in York County, South Carolina, in Pickens County, Georgia. The Mosses moved to the Talking Rock area of Pickens County about the same time as the Collins. He was the son of Gabriel Moss, Sr., and Tabithia McFarland Moss. Gabriel Jr.'s brother, George W. Moss married Martha Collins, Jane’s sister. A Gabriel Moss also married Isabella Striplin on 3 January 1867 in Cherokee County.
    Gabriel Moss, Sr., was born 14 March 1806, and died 11 March 1889. Tabithia was born 22 December 1804, but her death date is not recorded on their headstone at the Hinton cemetery.

    -- Martha A. Collins, born 1837 and died date unknown. She married George W. Moss, born January 18, 1839 in York County, South Carolina, the brother of Gabriel Moss, Jr., above. Their daughter, Mary J. Moss, was born in 1859. After Martha Collins' death, George W. Moss married Phoebe Ann Hall.
    On August 31, 1861, George enlisted in Company D, 23rd Georgia Infantry, and rose to the rank of captain. In early 1864, he deserted his unit and was later arrested on 30 March 1864. It is not known if he re-entered service or served the remainder of the war as a prisoner, but he successfully applied for a Confederate pension after the war in Hood County, Texas. He entered the Confederate Men’s Home in Austin, Texas, on 2 September 1921, and a few months later he was transferred to the Austin Lunatic Asylum where he died on 18 May 1922 at about 85 years of age. He is buried in the Texas State Cemetery.

    -- Sarah Elizabeth (Betsy) Collins, born 20 July 1838. A Sarah Collins married John Williams on 29 November 1879 in Cherokee County.

    -- Archibald Grimes (Bud) Collins, born 3 May 1841. He died 6 May 1915 in the Salacoa District, and is buried in the Goshen Baptist Church Cemetery there. He married Nancy Ann Thompson on 5 November 1868 (J. D. Neal was the Justice of the Peace who married them). Archibald G. B. Collins was a “fourth corporal” in Company A, 43rd Regiment, CSA, of Cherokee County. He enlisted 10 March 1862, and was “Wounded, permanently disabled and captured at Vicksburg, Mississippi July 4, 1863, and paroled there July 6, 1863. Pension records show he was unfit for infantry service, plus “Enlisted in Cavalry, command not stated,” probably the 11th Georgia Cavalry.
    Nancy Ann Thompson was the daughter of Lewis Thompson, the son of William Thompson, Sr. Lewis had a brother named William Thompson Jr.lacoa     In the 1880 census for the Salacoa District, Cherokee County, Archibald Grimes Collins is a farmer, and their children are Mary A. Collins born 1870,Louisa J. Collins born 1871, Thomas R. Collins born 1873, and John W. Collins born 1878.

    The children of Archibald Grimes Collins and Ann Thompson were, according to a posting by Ann Collins Merritt:
        Mary Alice Collins, born 28 February 1870, died unknown.
        Louisa Jane "Lou" Collins, born 27 April 27, 1871, died unknown.
        Thomas Rufus "Ruf" Collins, born 9 February 1873, died unknown.
        Robert Collins, born Nov.28, 1874, died about 1876.
        Jacob Archibald "Arch" Collins, born 4 October 1876, died unknown.
        John Welborn Collins, born 3 November 1878, died unknown.
        Dora Elizabeth "Babe" Collins, born 23 September 1880, died unknown.
        David Andrew Collins, born 25 June 1882, died unknown.
        Zachary Taylor "Zach" Collins, born 25 February 1885, died unknown.
        Milton Luther "Milt" Collins, born 17 February 1887, died unknown.

    -- Lincey or Lucy Pauline Collins, born 1842, died unknown.

    -- Talitha (Lithy) Collins, born 34 May 1844, died unknown. She married William John (Isaac) Henderson in January 1868. Their children are:
       Leroy E. Henderson,18 December 1868-28 July 1898.
        Thomas R. Henderson.18 August 1879-22 April 1887.
        James M. Henderson, 27 December 1871-27 September 1939.
        William John Henderson, 6 August 1873-9 January 1947.
        Thadus Picket Henderson, 17 January 1875-15 November 1939.>    Joseph H.. Henderson, 23 March 1879-1 July 1949.
        Nellie Ann Henderson,14 June 1881-8 February 1963.
        Jake Archie Henderson,6 March 1883-24 August 1957.Thomas M. Collins, born 19 April 1847 and died 14 April 1881 in Cherokee County, Georgia. He is buried in the Hutchinson Cemetery in the Salacoa District. He married Martha E., possibly a Cochran. Frank H. Collinsdied unknown.

        Sarah J. Collins, born 1875, died unknown.
        Colquit Collins, born 1877, died unknown.
        Babe (baby?) Collins, 5 months, died unknown.
    Also in the household is Mary Cockrum, 21.

    -- David Hamby Collins, born 1848, died unknown.

    -- Nancy R. Collins, born 1850, died unknown.

    -- Moses Stepp Collins, born 10 March 1852, died unknown.

    iii. David Hardin Collins, born 1816 in Lincoln County, and died 26 March1890 in Whitfield County, Georgia. He first married Sarah Ann Jefferson on 22 July1847 in Cherokee County, Georgia, and later married Rebecca Ann Phillips on 3 November 1869 in Gordon County, Georgia.

    iv. Moses G. Collins, born 1820 in Lincoln County, North Carolina, and died 14 February1886 in Whitfield County, Georgia. He moved to Murray County, Georgia, about the same time the rest of the Collins family settled in Gilmer and Cherokee. He first married Mary M. Hill in Whitfield County and later married Louisa Carroll on 26 October 1866 in Whitfield County.

     v. H. W. Collins, born about 1818. He is listed in the 1860 Gilmer County, Georgia census; He is a blacksmith, 42, and married to Catherine, 44. They have two boys 11 and 15, and a girl 13.

4. Mary Collins. born about 1789, probably in Lincoln County. died 9 February 1866 in Cherokee County, Georgia. She married Young John Hardin on 14 February 1808, and they had a daughter, name unknown, born 1808-1810.

Young John Hardin was born 1784-1790 in Rutherford County, North Carolina. He may have been the son of either Jonathan Hardin, born in 1738, or Benjamin Hardin, born 1766. Benjamin married Rebecca Martin, Mary’s aunt. Young John Hardin is undoubtedly related to Gina Hardin, Jacob Archibald Collins, Jr.’s wife.

Young J. Hardin was listed as a witness to a real estate transaction between William Evans and George Wilky, 15 March 1822 in Lincoln County. Evans sold Wilky 300 acres for $550. The land adjoined that of a man named Dover. I mention this because Isaac Collins’ daughter Susan married Madison Dover.

The children of William Collins and Susannah Hardin are:

i. Isaac Collins, born 1797 in North Carolina, probably in Lincoln County. He married Frances Logan, born about 1797, on 3 October 1815 in Lincoln County. They may have died in the 1860s since they are listed in the 1850 Gilmer County census and the 1860 Salacoa District, Cherokee County census, but not thereafter. In 1850 in Gilmer, Isaac is living in the second house before his brother Thomas and the fourth house before his brother Jacob.

In William Jasper Collins’ account of the migration, he notes that there is a young man named Logan traveling with the Collins. He may be Robert Logan, born 1823 in North Carolina, and living in Gilmer County in 1850. He is probably related to Isaac Collins’ wife Francis, perhaps a son by a previous marriage.

In the 1850 Gilmer census, their children are:

        -- Susan Collins, born 1831-35 in North Carolina. She married Madison Dover, born about 1830 in South Carolina, in about 1847 in Gilmer County. In the 1860 census for the Grassy Knob District, Pickens County, Madison and Susan have the following children: Emma, 12, Harmon 9, Manuel 7, and Willy 5. They are living in Pine Log in 1880 with their sons Wiley, 21, and Matterson (Madison) 11. In the household is her brother, James, born about 1838 in this census.
    Madison and Susan live three houses from Michael H. Goode, who killed her first cousin Joseph Bynum Collins in a fight in 1890 (see Joseph Bynum Collins below). They also live between two families of Garrisons, including David Garrison born 1802 and Nancy born 1801. I note the Garrisons because William Jasper Collins married Savilla J. Garrison, and Milton Dewey Garrison married Dellenia or Dalimy Collins, daughter of Ransom and Rhoda Martin Collins. Milton Dewey and Dellenia Collins Garrison moved to Arkansas with the rest of the Ransom Collins family in late 1866 (see “Documents” for a letter from M. D. Garrison to his niece).

    -- Elizabeth Collins, born 1831 in North Carolina. She may be the Elizabeth P. Collins who married Green Dover on 10 June 1852 in Gilmer County, Georgia. Green and Madison are probably related, and perhaps brothers. But Elizabeth may have died early in their marriage because Green Dover is living with his family in both the 1850 census in Gilmer County and in the 1860 census in the Grassy Knob District, Pickens County. Green was the son of Zephanah Dover, born about 1800 in South Carolina, and Nancy, born about 1804 in South Carolina.

    -- Viana (F) Collins, born 1833 in North Carolina, died unknown.

    -- James Collins, born 1835 in North Carolina. James Collins married Mary Jane Peterson 7 November 1881 in Bartow County. He is a widower living with his sister Susan Collins Dover in 1880, as noted above. He may be J. A. Collins, who was a private in Company L (Pickens County), 36th Georgia Volunteer Infantry, and among those captured at Vicksburg, Mississippi on 4 July 1863.
    In the 1870 census for the Fourth District, Cartersville,Jack, 35, and Mary have the following children:Lulah 11, Mary E. 5, and Samuel R. 1.

    -- Thomas Collins, born 1837 in North Carolina, died unknown.

ii. William James Collins, born 25 November 1796 in North Carolina, probably in Lincoln County, and died October 1864 in Bartow County. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Cartersville.. He married Mary A., born 1806, probably in North Carolina, and died after 1870, probably in Bartow or Pickens County, Georgia. She is possibly a Crane. In a Rutherford County, North Carolina will dated 15 February 1818, William Crain leaves 50 acres to William James Collins, along with land bequeathed to his children and other relatives (see <"Documents"). She died before 1860 and is buried at the Hinton Methodist Church cemetery.

William James Collins and his family were part of the caravan that arrived in Gilmer County, Georgia, in 1844, but I cannot find the family in the 1850 census records for Gilmer or any of the surrounding counties. In the 1860 census, William James Collins is a widower living with Mary, 23, and William J. 22, in Hinton, Georgia. The transcription lists his state of origin as South Carolina. He is living next door to Booker T. Gravely (see "The Scared Corn-Ryo Murders”)!

The known children of William James and Mary A. Collins included:

    -- Aaron Collins, born August 1831 in North Carolina. He married Mary Kidd, born 1827 in Wilkes County, North Carolina and died 20 February 1888 in Bartow County, Georgia. They married 9 April 1859 in Tennessee. They had one known child, Martha, born 1859 in Tennessee. Aaron was a fairly successful man. In 1870, in the Cartersville census, he owns $3,000 in property and has $400 in personal wealth. His occupation is “Asst. Marshal,” a title that may have had to do with his being a census taker for the 1870 census since the title is also printed beside his signature at the top of the page. Similar notations for census takers are on other census records as well, although it could refer to some other official position. Aaron Collins was on the Second Petit Jury during the first session of court in Pickens County, Georgia, convened 15 March 1854, and later became a judge in Bartow County. In the 1880 census for Cartersville, Aaron is a dry goods merchant.
    In 1900, Aaron is a “dealer in real estate,” or a real estate agent, living with his brother, William Jasper Collins, in the latter’s boarding house on Church Street in Cartersville, Georgia

    -- William Jasper Collins, born April 1838 in North Carolina. He married Savilla J. Garrison, born 1839 in Georgia. She died 26 May 1897 in Cartersville and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery (The Courant American, Cartersville, Georgia, June 3, 1897, p. 1, see “Obituaries).

    William Jasper and Savilla Garrison Collins’ children included:
    Alice L. Collins, born 1863 in Georgia and died before 26 May 1897. probably in Bartow County, Georgia. An Alice Collins married J. M. White on 23 February 1881, and an Alice Collins married Cicero Teague on 31 July 1884 in Bartow County.
    Laura Ann Collins, born 1866 in Georgia, and died before 26 May 1897. A Laura Collins married Will Alexander on 25 June 1896 in Bartow County, but she must have died soon after because her sister Susan is the only sibling alive at the time of her mother's death.
    Susan Florence Collins, born 1868 in Georgia, died unknown. She is the only child surviving at the time of her mother’s death.

In the Poor House in 1880 are:
Name, age, sex, status, occupation, state of birth, mother's state of birth, father's state of birth
Rochel McQwreath 70, female, inmate, housekeeper, NC NC NC
Edith Patterson 78, female, inmate, housekeeper, VA VA VA
Precious Luther 53, female, inmate, laborer, GA GA GA
John L. Dayloh 85, male, inmate, laborer, SC SC VA
Rochel Dayloh 68, female, inmate, laborer, AL AL AL
Lollie Awlbritton 47, female, inmate, laborer, GA GA GA
Elizabeth Bogwell 70, female, inmate, “keeping house,” NC NC NC
George Leogan 91, black male, inmate, SC SC SC
Cumby Hardin 87, black male, inmate, SC SC SC
Maggie Johnson 28, black female, inmate, GA VA VA
Joseph 13, black male, servant, GA GA GA
John Johnson 2, black male, GA GA GA
    I note these names because of George Leogan and Cumby Hardin. The white Collins, Logans, and Hardins are connected by marriage, and slaves often took the surnames of their owners, although I have not been able to verify that the Logans or Hardins owned any.
The poor house, or “Pauper Farm,” operated in the county from 1869 until after 1930.
    In the 1880 census, William and Savilla are living just over 100 houses from Madison and Susan Collins Dover, William Jasper’s first cousin. As noted earlier, Susan’s neighbors are both Garrisons.
    In 1900, William Jasper Collins is running a boarding house on Church Street in Cartersville, Georgia, near its intersection with North Irwin Street. As said, his brother Aaron is living with him, along with his daughter Susan F. Collins, his sister-in-law Mary Garrison, and a boarder named Kirby C. Anderson, a lawyer.

iii. Mary Collins, born 1801 in Lincoln County, North Carolina, and died 10 September1852 in Cleveland County, North Carolina. She was murdered by her husband, George Perry Langford, whom she married on 24 July 1827. George Langford lives four houses from Samuel Collins in 1840 in Lincoln County. George Perry Langford was born about 1808 in North Carolina and hanged for the murder of his wife on 6 June 1853 in Lincoln County.

George Perry and Mary Collins Langford had these known children:

    -- Thomas Ludwell Langford, born 27 September 1839 in Cleveland County, North Carolina, and died December 1904 in the Salacoa District, Cherokee County, Georgia. The town of Ludville in the Ludville District of Pickens County, Georgia, is named for him.

    -- Mary Perry Langford, (1844-1913), who married an Evans. She also married a Wilkerson.

    -- Derinda Ann Langford, born 24 June 1831 in Cleveland County, North Carolina. She married her first cousin, Martin Collins, Ransom’s son. Derinda Ann lived in Pine Log all her life and died 17 May 1910 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. G. W. Covington in Pine Log at the age of 80 of a stroke.“She was a good and estimable lady and made many friends by her swet and lovable disposition, who all mourn her loss. . . . She is survived by three sons and one daughter, as follows: Messrs. Henry and James Collins, of this city, Mr. Wallace Collins of Forth Worth, Texas, and Mrs. Georgie Covington of Pine Log. She is also survived by the following sisters: Mrs. Mary Wilkerson and Miss Susan Langfordof this city.” She is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cartersville. (The Cartersville News, 26 May 1910).
    In the 1900 census, Derinda, 68, born June 1831, is a widow in Pine Log, Salacoa District, Bartow County, with her son, Arum A. Collins, 36, born May 1864. Under the category for her “Occupation” is “Mg.” In the 1910 Pine Log, Bartow County, census, Derinda Collins, 78, is living with her daughter Rosa C. Covington, 41, and granddaughter Lossie M. Covington, 18.
    J. W. Knight of Cartersville is said to have married Lossie M. Covington. He was the son of Aaron Knight, who established the Knight Mercantile Company. J. W. Knight died in 1922 and one of his and Lossie’s sons, R. W. Knight, was appointed aide de camp by Governor Richard B. Russell in 1932. But there is a Lossie Covington who is known to have married Cap Garrison on 17 December 1916 in Bartow County. She was born 13 October 1891 and died 21 December 1974, and Cap was born 1 January 1895 and died 18 July 1934. They are buried in the Pine Log Methodist Church Cemetery.
    I don’t know the relationship, but there was a John W. Covington who served as a private in the Cherokee Volunteers. He enlisted 10 March 1862, was captured at Vicksburg, Mississippi 4 July 1863, and paroled there July 6, 1863. In the last mention of him on file, dated 31 December 31, 1863, he is shown absent without leave.

According to a web posting at http://wherndon.net/genealogy/ps05/ps05_335.html, their children also included: Delina (1828-1922) Dezorus (1829->1900), Susan Belle (1833-1911), and Sophi Delilah Ann (1837-1867). Delilah Ann Langford married MIller Collins, son of Ransom and Rhoda Martin Collins (see below). See the website for further details. For more information on the Langfords, also check http://genforum.genealogy.com/langford/messages/1930.html and http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~langford/tree.htm..

Martin and Derinda Collins had the following (known) children:
        James C. Collins, born 1855-1856. He married Sallie Covington on 13 January 1889 in Bartow County. Sallie Covington was probably the sister of G. W. Covington, who married James’s sister Rosa C. Collins on 11 December 1884 in Bartow County. James C. Collins was postmaster in Pine Log, Georgia, in 1891-93 and 1898-1919. His death date is unknown.
        Henry H. Collins, born 1858-1859, and died after 17 May 1910.
        Robert M. Collins born 1860 and died before 1910. An R. M. Collins married Alice Jackson on 12 February 1885 in Bartow County.
        Miles V. Collins, born 1863 and died before 1910.
        Aaron A. Collins, born 1864, died unknown.
        William Wallace Collins, born 1866, moved to Fort Worth, Texas, died unknown.
        Rosa C. Collins, born 7 November 1868 and died 7 January 1929. Rosa Collins married George W. Covington on 11 December 1884 in Bartow County. George Covington was born 25 October 1864 and died 22 August 1913. They are buried in the Pine Log Methodist Church Cemetery. I don’t know if these Covingtons are related, but I would assume so.
        Freddie Collins, born about July 1885, and died 13 November 1886 in Bartow County of pneumonia (See “Obituaries”).

iv. Thomas Collins, born 1804 in North Carolina, probably in Lincoln County. He married Nancy, last name unknown, born 1808 in South Carolina. They were the parents of Ursula Collins who married Albert Smith,Thiddo Smith's great-grandparents (Who the heck is Thiddo Smith? See the Smith-Hall Nexus). Thomas died sometime before 1860, either in Gilmer/Pickens or Bartow County. Nancy died after 1880. probably in Bartow County. In 1860, Nancy, a widow, is living in the 936th Georgia Militia District, Cass County (now Bartow), in 1870 she is living in the Fifth District in Cartersville as a head-of-household with her daughter Sarah E., and in 1880 she is living in the Kingston District with her grand-daughter Dorothy L. Underwood, wife of John Underwood, next door to her son Perry and his family.

The children of Thomas and Nancy Collins were:

    -- Unknown son, born 1821-1825 in Lincoln County.

    -- Perry G. Collins, born 1830 in Lincoln County. In 1880, he is a farmer. He married Mrs. Elizabeth Clarke (maiden name unknown), born 1830 in Georgia, on 27 October 1872 in Bartow County. She died 11 June 1891 of consumption after a long illness (The Courant American, Cartersville, Georgia, 18 June 1891, page 8). Their children included:
Dorothy L., born 1864 in Georgia, Dorothy L. Collins married John Underwood, probably about 1878, in Bartow County, and they had one known child, Martha, born 1879.
Alice M., born 1869 in Georgia. An Alice Collins married Cicero Teague on 31 July 1884 in Bartow County. Alice would have been about 15.
Perry M. born 1870 in Georgia.

    -- Drucilla Collins, born 1832 in Lincoln County. She married Charles P. Waldrip on 9 September 1875 in Bartow County.

    – Rhoda Martha Collins, born 1834 in Lincoln County. She married James “Jim” Phillips, date unknown but prior to 1861. He died of disease soon after returning home from the Civil War. They had two children, both daughters:

        Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" Phillips, born 13 November 1861 in Bartow County,
        Emily Doster Phillips, born in 1864 in Bartow County.

“Lizzie” Phillips married James Madison Brownlow. James and Lizzie were married on 1 May 1879. James Madison Brownlow is the brother of Harriet Octavia Brownlow, who married William Thomas Smith. His father, Albert Smith, married Ursula Collins, Rhoda Martha Collins’ sister,

James and Harriet Brownlow's brother, Henry Jackson Brownlow, married Emily Doster Phillips on 1 May 1884.

   -- George W. Collins, born about 1836 in Lincoln County. A George W. Collins is listed on the muster rolls of the 23rd Battalion, Georgia Infantry (Local Defense) (Athens) (Enfield Rifles), but this may be another George W. George W. Collins married Mary J., maiden name unknown, about 1860. In the 1870 census for the 5th District, Cartersville, they have a daughter, Tallula, 9.

    -- Wiley Collins, born 1838 in Lincoln County.

   -- Unknown daughter, born 1836-40.

    -- Neler (Nellie?) Collins (F) , born 1844 in Lincoln County. I believe Neler married Alfred Sumner. In the 936th GMD, Cass County, Georgia census, Alfred, 32, born in South Carolina, and Neler, 23, are living next door to Nancy. Neler is actually about 26, but there are no other Nelers in the records.

    -- Ursula Collins, born 1846-1847 in Georgia, probably in Gilmer County. She married Alfred Smith. They are Thiddo Smith's great-grandparents (Who the heck is Thiddo Smith? See the Smith-Hall Nexus). Ursula was the third member of the Collins family to be born in Georgia. For more on them, see the page entitled “Love in the Ruins.”

    -- Sarah E. Collins, born 3 February 1851 in Georgia, in Gilmer or Cass County. She married John W. Brownlow, brother of Harriet Octavia Brownlow, who married Albert Smith’s son William Thomas Smith. She died 7 July 1884 and is buried in the Connesena Baptist Church Cemetery.

v. Ransom Collins, born 14 November1806 in Lincoln County and died 31 October 1890 in Benton County, Arkansas. He married Rhoda Martin before1829 in South Carolina. Rhoda Martin was born January 29, 1812 in York District, South Carolina, and died 31 January 1897 in Benton County. She is the sister of Nancy Martin, who married Ransom’s brother Wylie Harris Collins, brother of Berryman and Anderson Martin, who both married Ransom’s sister Susannah, and William Martin, who married Ransom’s sister Elizabeth.

Ransom and Rhoda are in Gilmer County in 1850 and 1860 (his state of origin is incorrectly listed as South Carolina in this census). In 1870 and 1880 they are in Benton County. Ransom was a member of the first grand jury ever convened in Pickens County, 15 May 1854. In 1860, they are living 16 houses from Martin Collins in the Hinton-Sanderstown area.

Ransom and Rhoda Martin Collins moved to Benton County, Arkansas, between 13 October 1866 and 1 January 1867. See “Documents” for a letter from Ransom and Martha to their son Miller.

Their children include:

    -- Miller Collins, born 1829 in North Carolina and died 8 June 1867 in Cartersville.. He married Delilah A. Langford (17 July 1858 in Pickens County, died 18 June 1867 in Cartersville) on 7 July 1892.. She was his first cousin. A source says Susan Belle Langford, sister of Delilah Ann, lived with Miller after Delilah died at the birth of or shortly after the birth of their daughter Susan B. Collins, born 18 May 1867, and after Miller was killed, she raised the children. She never married. Note that Susan Belle Collins birth date may be wrong (see below).

    Miller was present at the Hinton Methodist Church in 1865 when his brother Berry was killed by Elijah Nalley (see “The Scared Corn-Ryo Murders"). He escaped injury, but died 25 July 1875 in Kingston, Georgia, as the result of a quarrel with Ab Johnson, who shot him in the chest with a shotgun. (See "Newspaper stories").

    Miller also served in Company D., 23rd Regiment, Army of Tennessee, as noted earlier. He enlisted as a private on 31 August 1861.

    Delilah Collins was a charter member of the Ball Creek Baptist Church in Pickens County, Georgia, when it was organized on 5 August 1857. This is interesting in terms of the Scared Corn-Ryo Murders because the 11 charter members were constituted into a Baptist Church “upon the Abstracts of Principles of the Elijah Association by a presbytery composed on Reverend R. Jordan, moderator” (The History of Pickens County by Luke E. Tate). The Rev. Robert Jordan was the father of Captain Benjamin F. Jordan, the notorious leader of the Pickens County Home Guards. Members of the Cherokee Home Guards were ultimately responsible for the murders at the Scared Corn campground and later in Ryo, and Fielding Bell Collins was a member.

Miller and Delilah had the following known children, all girls. The latter three are named for male family members:

        Source: A descendent, David Brock.

        Mary Ellen Collins, born 3 January 1867. She died before 1875. She and her mother were buried in the old Cartersville cemetery on Cherokee Avenue but their graves were lost when it was moved to Oak Hill sometime between the death of Delilah in 1867 and Miller in 1875. The rest of the girls are all buried at Oak Hill.
        Sarah Emolyne Collins, born 8 April 1858. Nothing else is known of her.
        Elizabeth Briant Collins, born 17 January 1860. She died of typhoid fever, date unknown.
        Miller Jane Collins, born 3 June 1862. She never married and died in 1940.
        Ann Berry Collins, born 29 September 1864. She married John Smith of Cartersville and they had seven children. She died in 1934.
        Susan Bell Collins, born 18 May, 1867, less than a month before her mother died apparently of complications, and died 21 May 1910. She married Daniel Fletcher Bradford and they had three children: Charles Reneau Bradford (1893-1963), Hugh Collins Bradford (1895-1948), and Lois Belle Bradford (1899-1984). Lois Bradford married Henry Grady Allison in 1919 and her granddaughter still lives in the house on Gilmer Street in Cartersville that the family moved to in 1870.
        According to a source, Susan Bell is the “baby” referred to in the letter of Ransom and Rhoda Martin Collins to their son Miller, dated 1 January 1867, but the dates suggest otherwise (see “Documents”). It is possible that the baby referred to is her sister Ann Berry.
        Note that in the 1910 census for Cartersville (GMD 822), A Bell Bradford, 43, born about 1867 in Georgia of parents born in North Carolina, is married to Fletcher A. Bradford, 45. They have been married 18 years. I don’t know how to explain the difference in the names, but this is obviously Susan Belle Collins. In the household are her aunt Susan Langford, 77. and his sister-in-law Jane Collins, 47.
        Jane is Mary Jane Peterson, who married James C. Collins above. Next door are Alice Collins, 48, a widow, and her son Milo, 24. Alice is the widow of Robert M. Collins.
         It seems obvious that Daniel F. Bradford and Fletcher A. Bradford are the same person, so he must have had three given names, something not that uncommon in the 19th century.
        Seven houses away in 1910 is the family of William A. Bradford, 44, who may be a relative.

       -- Rosa C. Collins, born 7 November 1868, and died 7 January 1929, probably in Bartow County. Rosa Collins married George W. Covington on 11 December 1884 in Bartow County. George was born 25 October 1864 and died 22 August 1913. Rosa and George are buried in the Pine Log Methodist Church Cemetery (see " Photos"). I don’t know if all these Covingtons are related, but I would assume so.

    -- Fielding Bell Collins, born 1831 in North Carolina. Fielding Bell was killed near Ryo, Georgia on 1 September 1865 (see the “The Scarecorn-Ryo Murders"). According to Richard Nix, a Collins descendant (born 1935; died Sept. 1, 2004 in Cartersville), Fielding Bell Collins died in Pickens County, but the Nally cabin was located in Gordon. Fielding Bell married Mary A. Hancock, born about 1836. on 21 January 1858 in Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia, and they are listed in the 1860 census for Cartersville, Cass County. They have no children in this census.

    -- Mary Collins, born 24 January 1834 in South Carolina and died 14 November 1871 in Benton County, Arkansas. She married Joseph Thomas on 29 May 1849 in Gilmer County. In the 1860 census for the Grassy Knob District (GMD 1099), Pickens County, Joseph is a farmer with real estate worth $1,200 and personal assets of $437, both substantial sums. He and Mary have three children:
    Elizabeth Thomas, 10,
    Rody C. Thomas (female), 7
    William S. Thomas, 2.
     The children were all born in Georgia. In the household are Thomas Thomas, 60, born in North Carolina. He may be Joseph’s father. Also in the household is Adeline Thomas, 18, whose exact relationship is unknown. The Grassy Knob District is in the east-central section of Pickens County.

    -- Hannah Collins, born 1836 in North Carolina. She married Lewis A. Moss on 6 November 1856 in Pickens County. In the 1860 census, in which her state of origin is listed as South Carolina, Hannah and Lewis have three sons:
    Lewis T. Moss, 5
    Benjamin M. Moss, 3.
    Willy R. Moss, 6 months.
    Lewis, 31, is a farmer with $50 in personal assets. He is said to have been born in South Carolina, but that could be incorrect. Hannah and Lewis are living next door to her father and the rest of the family (Page 28, dwellings 194 and 195).

    -- Sarah Ross Collins., born 1838 in North Carolina. She married William Monroe Dodgen on 26 August 1866 in Bartow County, and died 4 August 1921 in Springtown, Benton County, Arkansas. She is with the family in the 1860 census for the Truck Wheel District of Pickens County. but I have no further record of her.

    -- Elizabeth Collins, born 1840 in North Carolina. She is with the family in the 1860 census for the Truck Wheel District of Pickens County. She is with the family in the 1860 census for the Truck Wheel District of Pickens County. but I have no further record of her.

    -- Berry M. Collins, born 1841 in North Carolina. Berry was killed on 27 August 1865 at the Hinton Methodist Church. If Berry died in the church, as the account of William Jasper Collins states (see “A Noted Family” in "The Scared Corn-Ryo Murders"), then he died at or after the wedding of his sister Julia, below. Berry enlisted 31 August 1861 as a private in Company D, 23rd Regiment, Army of Tennessee.

    -- Julia A. Collins, born 1844 in Georgia. She is probably the first of this branch of the Collins family born in Georgia. She married Alexander “Elick” Thomas on 27 August 1865 in Pickens County, and moved to Benton County, Arkansas with the rest of the family in 1866. According to some accounts of the Scared Corn-Ryo murders, the first incident happened at or on the same day as her wedding. Julia was shot in the elbow.

    -- Martha Collins, born 1848 in Georgia. She is with the family in the 1860 census for the Truck Wheel District of Pickens County, but I have no further information on her.

    -- Dellenia or Dalimy Collins,, born 1849 in Georgia. She married Milton Dewey Garrison, and they moved to Arkansas with the rest of the Ransom Collins family. Milton Dewey Garrison was city marshal of Siloam Springs, Benton County, Arkansas in 1882 (see “Documents”). She is with the family in the 1860 census for the Truck Wheel District of Pickens County.

    -- Jonas or James B. Collins, born 2 February 1851 in Georgia and died 12 January 1883 in Benton County, Arkansas. His name is Jonas according to family records, but he is listed as James in the 1860 census for the Truck Wheel District.

    -- Cynthia J. Collins., born 1854 in Georgia. She is with the family in 1860, and married Charles Wilson, date unknown. I have no further information on her.

    In Ransom and Rhoda's household in 1860 are Anna (Roxanna) J., 17, and Martha, 12, born in North Carolina. Although the ages are off, they are obviously the children of Wylie and Nancy Martin Collins below. Wylie died in 1851.

[Note: Richard Nix is the source of some of the information on Ransom and Rhoda Martin Collins and their children.]

vi. Davis Collins, born 12 January1809 in North Carolina and died 8 August1884 in Blountsville, Blount County, Alabama. He married Martha A. Jackson, born 18 September 1811 in North Carolina and died 9 April 1887 in Blount County. Davis and Martha are in the Talking Rock District, Picken County, Georgia, in 1860, and are in Blount County in 1870 and 1880.

In the 1850 Gilmer census, they have the following children:

    -- Julius A. Collins, born 1835 in North Carolina, a farmer, married Mary, surname unknown, before 1860. Their known children include
             Sarah Collins, born 1859, died unknown.
            Mary E. Collins, born 1865, died unknown.
             Samuel R. Collins, born 1869, died unknown.
     In the 1860 census for the Grassy Knob District, Pickens County, a Julius Collins, 25, is married to Thalander, 19, and they have one child, John D. Collins, 1. I don’t know how to explain the difference in the records.

    -- Eliza C. Collins, born 1837 in North Carolina. She is with the family in 1850, but not in 1860. She married Andrew Knight. I could not find a marriage record for them, but his wife in the 1860 Pickens Census for the Grassy Knob District (GMD 1099) is Eliza C., born about 1838 in North Carolina. They are living four houses from Julius and Thalander Collins above. Andrew, born in South Carolina about 1831, is a merchant with $66 in real estate and $1200 in personal wealth, no doubt inventory. His store may have been in the edge of the current day community of Marble Hill, which sits on the district boundary. I don’t know if Andrew Knight is related to J. W. Knight of Cartersville, who is said to have married Lossie M. Covington, above, but they both merchants.

    -- Miles A. Collins, born 1839-40 in North Carolina and died 22 January 1896 of dropsy. According to a family record, he married Cora, surname unknown, of Bartow County in Stilesboro in 1869, but an M. A. Collins married Toccoa E. Clayton 15 January 1870 in Bartow County according to county records. Their daughter Carrie was born 25 February 1878, and died in Cartersville on 14 August1879 (see “Obituaries”).
     Miles A. Collins enlisted as 1st Sergeant in Company D, 23rd Regiment, Army of Tennessee on 31, and before the war was over was promoted to lieutenant in command of the company. For a number of years, he was in the sawmill business with S. M. Roberts, perhaps as bookkeeper, his profession in 1870, and about 1880 they formed the Roberts & Collins mercantile company in Cartersville. It closed about 1893. Miles Collins was serving his third term as a Bartow County commissioner when he died.
    Miles and Cora had at least five children. The youngest was born about 1890, but at present the names of the children are unknown.
    I don’t know if S. M. Roberts is related to Thomas Roberts, who married Miles’ great-aunt Elizabeth, above, or the other Roberts in the Collins family, but it is likely.

    -- Margaret C. Collins, born 1841 in North Carolina. She is with the family in 1850 and 1860, but I have no further information on her.

    -- James C. (1860 census) or K. P. (1850 census) Collins, born 1843-45 in North Carolina. James P. Collins was a member of Capt. Benjamin F. Jordan’s notorious Pickens County Home Guard, and was indicted for two murders along with Ben Jordan and other members of the Home Guards by the first post-war Pickens County Grand Jury in September 1865. One source suggests that he may be the mysterious “Boswell” Collins (see “The Scared Corn-Ryo Murders”). He appears in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, but I can't find him thereafter.

    -- Sarah F. Collins, born 1845-47 in Georgia. She may be the second member of this branch of the Collins family to be born in Georgia. I have no further information on her.

    -- Randall B. Collins, born 1849 in Georgia, died unknown. Since the name referenced by the initial B is unknown, this is another possibility for the Boswell involved in the Scared Corn-Ryo Murders, but he would have only been 14 or 15 in 1864.

    -- Amanda J. Collins, born 1852 in Georgia. Amanda Collins married Joseph W. Brownlow on 25 December 1877 in Bartow County. I do not know Joseph’s possible relationship to the other Brownlows in the family tree, i.e., James M. Brownlow who married Sallie Collins, daughter of Thomas and Nancy Collins, Henry Jackson Brownlow who married Emily Doster Philips, and James Madison Brownlow who married Sarah Elizabeth Philips. Emily and Sarah were the children of Rhoda Martha Collins, sister of Sallie Collins, who married James J. Philips.

    -- Alice Collins, born 1858 in Georgia (a twin?), died unknown.

    -- Milton Collins, born 1858 in Georgia (a twin?), died unknown.

vii. William “Wiley” Harris Collins, born 1812 in North Carolina and died 1851 in Gilmer County, Georgia. He married Nancy Martin, born 1812-14 in South Carolina. Nancy is the sister of Rhoda Martin, who married Wylie’s brother Ransom. Nancy and Rhoda are the daughters of Thomas Martin, Jr. Wiley Harris (William H.) Collins and Nancy are in the 1850 Gilmer census. Nancy is said to have died before 1868 according to one source, but in the 1880 Pickens County census, Nancy Collins is living with her daughter, Emaline Collins Manley.

In the 1850 census, their children are:

    – Martin Collins, born 1836-38 in North Carolina and died 30 June 1871 in Bartow County. He married his first cousin Derinda Langford, daughter of George Perry Langford and his aunt Mary Collins. Martin was county coroner for Pickens County from 11 January 1856 to 9 January 1858. Martin is living with Mary, 23, and William J. 22, in Hinton in 1860, seven houses from Benton Graveley, whose family was involved in the Scared Corn-Ryo Murders. Martin later moved to Bartow County. Martin is said to be buried in the Hinton Methodist Church cemetery, but his name is not on the cemetery list (there are numerous unmarked graves).

    Martin Collins was a sergeant in Company I, Cherokee Legion, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, “Pickens Raid Repellers” and, at age 36, he is listed in the 1864 Militia Enlistment Lists in Pickens County (the “Joe Brown” census) of men eligible for military service in each county but not currently serving. He is exempt because he is a justice of the peace.
    In the 1870 census for the 4th District, Cartersville, Bartow County, Martin and Derinda have the following children:

            James C. Collins, born 1855, died unknown. A James C. Collins married Sallie Covington 13 January 1889, but that is probably not this James C. Collins. Miller and Delilah Collins had a son named James C. Collins, born 1855-56, whose sister Rosa C. Collins married G. W. Covington. A James Collins was postmaster in Pine Log in 1891-93 and 1898-1919, but I think he was the son of Miller and Delilah.
            Henry H. Collins, born 1858, died unknown. A Henry Collins married Eva Monroe on 11 January 1885 in Bartow County, and a Henry Collins married Parthenia Simmons on 10 January 1889 in Bartow County.
            Robert M. Collins, born 1860, died unknown. An R. M. Collins married Alice Jackson on 12 February 1885 in Bartow County.
            Miles A. Collins, born 1862, died date unknown. Note: There are two Miles A. Collins. The other is the son of Davis and Martha Jackson Collins above.
            Augusta A. Collins, said to be a male, born 1864, died unknown
            William W. Collins, born 1866, died unknown. A Will Collins married Mattie Gordon on 21 December 1915 in Gordon County. William would be 49.
            Rosey C. Collins, born 1868, died unknown. She is not to be confused with Rosa Collins, who married George Covington on 11 December 1884 in Bartow County. Rosa is Rosa C. Collins, daughter of Miller and Delilah Collins.
        In the household in 1870 is Jack Collins, 16.

    – Elvy Collins, born 1837 in North Carolina, died unknown.

    – Emaline Collins, born 1839 in North Carolina, died unknown. She married Thomas Manly/Manley, born 1838. Their children in the 1880 census for the Persimmon Tree District (GMD 1026), Pickens County, are:
            Franklin Collins, born 1868, died unknown.
            George Collins, born 1870, died unknown.
            William Collins, born 1873 in South Carolina, died unknown.
            Martha Collins, born 1875 in Georgia, died unknown.

    – Emmy J. Collins, born 1843 in North Carolina, died unknown.

    – Mary E. Collins, born 1845 in Georgia, died unknown. Mary is one of the first members of this branch of the Collins family to be born in Georgia.

    – Martha Collins, born 1847 in Georgia in one record, died unknown. She married John Calvin Dodgen 13 October 1866 in Bartow County. John Calvin Dodge was the brother of William M. Dodgen, who married Sarah Ross Collins, the daughter of Ransom and Rhoda Martin Collins.

    – Roxanna J. Collins, also born 1847 in Georgia, died unknown. But Martha and Roxanna are not twins. In Ransom Collins’ household in the 1860 Pickens County census are Anna (Roxanna) J., 17, and Martha, 12, both born in North Carolina. Although the ages are off, they are obviously the children of Wylie and Nancy Martin Collins below. Wylie died in 1851.

viii. Susannah Collins, born 26 August1814 in North Carolina and died in White, Georgia Militia District 1041, Bartow County. She first married Berryman Martin, born 3 July 1811, possibly in South Carolina, and died 13 October 1843. He is buried in Little Bethel Cemetery, called the "Old Martin Cemetery" in Cleveland County. She later married Anderson Martin, Berryman’s brother. Anderson was born 2 June 1818 in York County, South Carolina, and died 20 April 1884 near White, Bartow County, Georgia (GMD 1041, is just south of the Pine Log District). Susannah and Anderson are in Cherokee County, Georgia, in 1850, Sanderstown, Pickens County, Georgia, in 1860, and Jasper, Pickens County, in 1870. I could not find them in 1880.

Their known children include:

       -- Mary Martin, born 1854 in Georgia, died unknown.
        -- Susan R. Martin, born 1859 in Georgia, died unknown.

ix. Jacob Archibald Collins, Jr., born 1817 in North Carolina and died 26 August 1904 in Greely, Salacoa District, Cherokee County, Georgia. He married Sarah Gladden, born 1824 in North Carolina. Sarah Gladden is probably related to Sallie Gladden who married Thomas Robert Collins, son of Jacob Archibald Collins, Jr., above.
    Their children included:

    -- Mary J. Collins, born 1839 in North Carolina, died unknown.

    -- James V. Collins, born 1841 in North Carolina. James V. is suspected by one source of being the mysterious “Boswell” Collins who precipitated “The Scare Corn-Ryo Murders,” and died as a result, but there is evidence that does not support this idea. James enlisted as a private in Company D, 23rd Regiment, Army of Tennessee on 31 August 1861 along with a B. B. or Byron Collins, who may be Boswell. James V. does not appear in the census records after 1860, but he may be the James Collins mentioned in the two very peculiar obituary notices published in Cartersville in 1879 (see "Obituaries").

    -- Joseph Bynum Collins, born 1843-45 in North Carolina. He married Martha A., born 1839. They married about 1871, and divorced, probably in April 1890. The had one known child, Clifford L. Collins, born 1872. In the 1880 Pine Log census, his father Jacob is living with the family. J. B. Collins enlisted on 31 August 1861 as a private in Company D, 23rd Regiment, Army of Tennessee.
    Joseph Bynum Collins died 6 April 1890 as the result of head injuries he suffered in a fight with Mike H. Goode in Pine Log near the Cherokee County line. Joseph, who was drunk, and Mike Goode got into a fight over a girl, Sallie Casey, after a party. Joseph Bynum was armed with a knife, but Mike Goode reportedly got the better of him and hit him on the head several times with a rock. The two separated and Joseph went home, apparently unharmed, but shortly after midnight he collapsed and died.
    Two houses from Madison and Susan Dover in 1880 in Pine Log is the family of Michael H. Goode, 44. In the headline, Joseph Bynum’s assailant is named Mike H. Goode, Jr., but the Jr. does not appear in the article and Mike H. Goode’s father is said to be Abram Goode, so the headline may be a misprint and the two Michael H. Goodes are probably the same.
    The newspaper article, which I have included in full in the “Newspaper stories” section, says Joseph had just divorced his wife “ at the last term of our superior court,” which was probably held the previous week.

    -- Cinthia A. Collins, born 1845 in Georgia, died unknown.

    -- Asbury C. Collins, born 10 October 1847 in Georgia, and died 29 December 1932 in Bartow County. He married Louise Kinsey, born 7 October 1849 and died 29 January 1920. They are buried in the Pine Log Methodist Church Cemetery (see "Photos").

    -- Susan Collins, born 1849 in Georgia, died unknown.

x. Elizabeth Collins, born 1823. She married William Martin, son of Thomas Martin, Jr., and brother of Anderson Martin and Berryman Martin above. Elizabeth’s mother, Anna (Susannah Hardin), 75, is living with them in 1850 in Gilmer County.

Collins of undetermined relationship:

1. In the cemetery at Hinton, there is the following unidentified Collins:
Thomas E. Collins, 18 May 1867 - 4 April 1955, and Mary Francis 1 April 1875 - 3 April 1953.

2. In the 1880 census for the Town District, Pickens County, there is a Thomas S. Collins, 25, born in Georgia of parents born in North Carolina, married to Martha E. Cooley 25. Their children are Seborn P. 4, Sarah 3, and Alsa O. (M) 1. In the household is a brother-in-law, Solomon Cooley, 22.

3. In the 1840 Lincoln County census, Samuel Collins, 30-39, is a next door neighbor to Davis Collins and his father William Collins. In the household is an adult female 30-39, one male 5-9, and three females under 5, one 5-9, and one 10-14. I do not know Samuel’s relationship, but he is undoubtedly related and apparently migrated with the rest of the family.
    Samuel is living in Gilmer County, Georgia, in 1850 and Pickens County, Georgia, in 1860. He is 55 and a blacksmith. His wife is Jane, 50, and in the household are Amantha A. 26, Elizabeth A. 25, Eliza A. 17, all born in North Carolina, and Margaret 14, Joseph N. 11, and Lucy B. 5, born in Georgia, so the family migrated to Georgia between 1843 and 1846, as did William’s family.
    Lucy married Turner Pharr, and Jane, 70, is living with them in 1880 in the Talking Rock District of Pickens County along with a sister, Nancy, born about 1821. According to their tombstone in the Hinton Methodist Church Cemetery, Jane H. (Hardin?). Collins was born 18 March 1812 and died 18 January 1887, and Samuel D. Collins was born 5 April 1805 and died 14 September 1886.
    Moses Pharr, who is probably related, was the first Sunday School superintendent at Hinton Methodist Church, soon after the end of the Civil War.

4. A Martin Collins was treasurer of Bartow County from 1910-1914.

A summary of the data (To see our Family)

The children of Jacob and Mary Martin Collins (our Family!)

The children of Jacob and Mary Martin Collins (our Family!)