James T. Collins and Children part one

James T. Collins and Mariah Cope

On an earlier post I discussed Seraphna Collins Murphy Leonard, the oldest daughter of James T. Collins and Mariah Cope, who married William Henry Leonard. Today's post will be about her siblings and parents. 

James T. Collins was born in 1813 if we use census records to determine his birth date.  On April 12, 1841 he married Mariah Cope.

Jumping ahead to the 1900 Census, Mariah, a widow, told the census taker that she had 10 births and only 7 living children. From this census we can also determine that James T. Collins passed away before 1900.

I can't be sure this is James T. Collins because his will is registered in 1891. But it is an interesting article.. 

This article was published in The Franklin Times on Friday March 3, 1899.

From his will we know that James T. Collins ran a gin and saw mill.

 Let's see what I have uncovered about their children.. 

Of course Seraphna was the first of the 10 children. Who was next? Nancy Collins was born in 1843 and is our first child who died in infancy. Following Nancy was Peter. 

Peter Collins (1845-1913)

It appears that Peter served in the Confederate army. 

Peter married Henrietta Leonard, daughter of John and Sarah Leonard on May 29, 1882.

Looking at their marriage certificate:

From the marriage certificate we learn that Henrietta's parents are both deceased and she was 30 years old. Peter was 34 years old at the time of the marriage. They were married in Nashville and it seems to say that they were married at G.T.Ross's store. 

In the 1900 Census we find Peter and Henrietta with two children; Samuel and Pattie

(a little difficult to read)

From the census we learn that Samuel was born in February of 1885 and Pattie was born in Aug of 1888.

In the 1910 Census, Peter is widowed and living with his brother James K. Collins who is listed as single... James' story will be coming up in a future post.

From this application for a confederate headstone we find Peter's death date, February 13, 1913.

I am still searching for information about Samuel Collins.  But I have found records for Pattie Collins. She married Arch Gupton . From her death certificate we learn her birth date was August 4, 1888. Pattie passed away August 2, 1963.

Next post will be on James K. Collins. See you tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Pattie

Isle of Wight, Virginia

Discoveries in the Isle of Wight

So, yesterday I continued my search using the Virginia, Isle of Wight County Records, 1634-1951 and found in the early records some Franklin County, North Carolina names. The pages listed are the image pages not the actual page numbers in the book. Not sure the actual connections but it gives me a starting place. I went page by page reading the index entries. It took a bit of time but after these discoveries it appears to have been time well spent. 

url

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89SG-8FPK

Citation

"Virginia, Isle of Wight County Records, 1634-1951," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-29471-14209-47?cc=2034267 : accessed 2 March 2016), Probate records > Wills and administrations bk I 1647-1719 > image 118 of 164; Isle of Wight County Courthouse, Isle of Wight.

Notes

William Westray-witness pg 13 John Collins pg 20 James Collins appraisal of the estate of Robert Colier dec 15, 1670 pg 21 John Portis appraisal of estate of John Brewer June 14 1662 pg 24 Pitt, Robert, daughter Hester Bridger pg 25 John Collins appraisal of estate pg 29 Joseph Bridger wit to will of John Vicars;planter pg 30 Anthony Fulgham, bro Nicholas and Michael pg 34 John Collins - estate settled by John Collins (estate of Richard Corsey) also appraised by John Collins pg 37 John Collins and John Story D. Jan 12 1679 R. Oct 10, 1684 AND John Collins witness of John Story pg 41 Col Joseph Bridger disinherts son Joseph leaving land in Maryland and VA to sons Samuel and William R. April 9, 1685 Pg 41 appraisal by John Portis july 9 1685 pg 42 will of Joseph Bridger pg 43 accounts or records of estate pg 45 William Collins D. Oct 21, 1687 R. 1687 pg 47 William Watson; nuncupative, proven by John Prime age 22 years and John Portis aged 29 years. Whole estate to brother John, since his sister was unnatural to him. June 9, 1688 pg 52 Michael Fulgham will pg 56 George Allen inventory by Rebekah Allen pg 65 Ann Murray age 49. nuncupative, proven by Francis Parker and Robert King. Leg. - son John Collins; daughter Ann Collins; daughter Martha Murray; daughter Mary Murray; last two named daughters to live with their uncle Robert Kin R. February 10, 1700/1 D. June 9, 1701 pg 70 will John Portis Jr D Oct 19, 1704 pg 75 John Portis John Fulgham D. jun 7 1701, son John anthony michael and edmond, wife Anne pg 86 Joseph Bridger; sons joseph robert william john james daughter hester elizabeth D Mar 14 1712/13 pg 91 Elizabeth Bridger D. April 5, 1717 pg 104 John Brewer appt Ann his relict extx. D june 1669 ? pg 106 Anthony Fulgham D May 2 1670 pg 118 William Collins dying intestate administration requested by Alexander Murro who married Ann the relict of said Collins Oct 21, 1687

I hope this list helps someone else to discover their connection to early Virginia history.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pattie

The Collins Family

James and Peter Collins

Currently I am searching for information about the Collins line in several online databases. I have also found a few webpages that are dedicated to researching this line. I am waiting on permission to share the link/links on this blog site. (I think it is best to ask before sharing)

But, my observations suggest, as well as several other researchers, that the frequency of names found in Franklin County, North Carolina after the Revolutionary War are consistent with names found in the Isle of Wight area of Virginia prior to the war. Records suggest that these families intermarried and moved about the same time into North Carolina. 

Geographically speaking, the two areas are not that far apart. If you add in the rivers, creeks and swamps it would make sense that people would travel in this direction. It has also been suggested that sending tobacco to market was easier from this area. The name Centerville has been suggested means it was a center or crossroads for taking tobacco to market.

The land available for farming in the swampy area of the Isle of Wight was beginning to be depleted of necessary nutrients from the years of consistent farming. It was also getting crowded as more and more immigrants arrived into the area. Add into this picture, the battles of the Revolutionary War, we can probably see the reasons for families to move. 

In Franklin County, the Leonard and Collins families lived next to each other and testified for each other on pension records for the Revolutionary War. Collins children married into the Leonard family. Van Leonard witnessed the will of James Collins. 

Look for more information about these two families in the upcoming posts. 

If anyone has any information to add to my growing collection, please send it my way. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Pattie