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hey. im researching the Collins family in West Virginia. My last known ancestor is David James Collins, who married Celia Jarrell, fought in the war with the confederacy then the union, and died in Raleigh County, WV. he was born in 1828 or 1843, i have info stating both. i cant find anything other than that.
there is a story in the family that his sons came back seperately to west virginia to work from Missouri, and ended up working in the same town. Im not sure what part MO plays, but hopefully someone here can help me out.
any info is appreciated!
thanks
mark allen collins
Hello
Missouri was one of the big war fronts durring the Civil War, your ancestor may have been stationed out here for a time durring the war and eventually moved back to WV. Just my quess anyway. If you know his name and dates you can aquire Civil War records on him.
I happen to live very close to Wilsons Creek Battle Field, and just down my street is an old civil war hospital, turned into a two story house. There is a place here where War Documents can be aquired in Higginsville MO.
Do you think maybe he was out this way during the war?
Waciwin
Welcome, Mark.
1880 Raleigh Co., WVa census, ED126 Clear Fork, p.132C, 16 June
COLLINS, David; W, m, 56, farmer, Va, Va, Va.
(ditto), Celia; W, f, 35, wife, WV, WV, WV.
(ditto), James R.; 9, son, WV, Va, WV.
(ditto), Wm. A.; 6, son, WV, Va, WV.
(ditto), Charles A.; 3, son, WV, Va, WV.
(ditto), John E.; 2 months, son, WV, Va, WV.
Do you know if he lived in Ozark Co. when he was in Mo.?
Bill
p.s…. there are lots of JARRELLs in Clear Fork Twp, Raleigh Co.
thanks for the response.
Im not sure if he was there during the civil war, its entirely possible. from what ive seen most of his action was around tn, va and wv. he was a confederate soldier, but then fought for the union. not sure why. i know that his wife remained in wv. im really having trouble finding anything on david james collins. our family dosent talk about its history at all, maybe will never know. i dont have my info in front of me, but i will check where he fought again for MO links. Do you happen to know what kind of industry was big in SW MO mid-ninteenth ct? just a thought.
i appreciate your help.
mark
thanks bill.
that entry is the only thing i have found, im somewhat new to this, so im not sure where to go next. there is another david md. to rebecca listed in raleigh co that i thought would be relatives, but i cant find a link. my cousin is also researching and found info that it is not his parents, though i dont remember the info that rules that out.
im not sure about MO. im not sure if it was david that went to mo or if it was just his sons. the story pics up at the sons coming back from MO. they must have left seperately, bacause the point of the story is how they ended up back in the same place working at the same thing and just bumped into each other. im not sure how factual the story is though. thats why i thought there might have been work there that they pursued or something. i think that area of southern wv boomed a little in the mid 1800s with timbering and all. before that it seemed mainly agricultural.
anyway, im at a loss and im just trying anything now.
if anyone can help i appreciate it!
mark
The biggest industry down here has always been the railroads. The old line use to be called Frisco, but its called Burlington Northern now.
I live in a rail town, its grown up quite a bit around all the old lines thru here. Lots of history detailed in this part of MO. Im not sure if the place up the road has a web site or not, but they hold most the documentaion on the old rail line workers. I never thought to ask if they had a web site, but you can try to look it up on the Internet. Use some of the key words, Frisco Railroads, Springfield, (or other towns and cities near by if you have a road atlas check us out, these line go thu many towns) Missouri. Or maybe even Burlington Northern, they may have a link to some of the old rail names, before taking over.
Waciwin
No problem, Springfield was a major hub for all rail lines, because we have repair yards here, not every city has one of these.
If I had to quess, I’d say your ancestors heard about the boom in the rail industry and came out here to earn some money. Then after hearing about the boom in the loggin and mining business they moved back home where they could be closer to family to make money. My great grandfather worked in the loggin industry out in Kentucky.
It was the rail roads that attracted folks from all over the country, to this very spot, that and they were part of a union. All rail workers were union workers durring that time.
Waciwin
Waciwin,
Ive been looking for more MO info, and its a longshot, but i found a family in VA that went to MO and then came back to WV, dates and areas in VA and WV match with mine. My DAvid James wasnt mentioned, but maybe was family.
i think they went to Carroll County, MO. Do know anything about it? Its on the opposite end of MO from you isnt it?
just a thought…
thanks
mark
When researching the mysterious Collins lines a long shot seems to be all we have to work with.
All of Meredith Collins sons settled at one time or another in SE Kentucky and SW part of West Virginia. I don’t know much about Reuben or James. I know that James lived a while in Logan co. WV then settled in Kanawha Co. He married twice and I know had children by both women but I don’t have all them named. As for Reuben , he went to Carroll Co Mo with his half brother , Bradley Collins.
About 1826[?], he (Bradley) moved to Clay Co., KY. While in Clay Co.,
Andrew married Betsy Ann Sizemore, Mar.. 31, 1838. He sold his land in
1839, and shortly afterwards, he and his family, Andrew and his wife and
son, Lewis, traveled by flat boat down the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers to
Missouri. They were in Carroll Co., MO, in 1840, but later settled
near Keytesville, Chariton Co., MO. It was here that Bradley received a
land grant in May of 1841. Bradley and Andrew raised and sold crops of corn, cotton, and tobacco.
Bradley got into some trouble with the law and left and went to Iowa.
About 1844, Bradley and Andrew sold their land in Missouri, and moved to
Centerville, Appanoose Co., Iowa, on the Chariton River. They farmed in
addition to running a ferry across the Chariton River. Andrew (1811-ca.
1873) was living in 1850 in Appanoose Co., Iowa Census, with his family,
Betsy Ann (wife). Lewis, Samson, Archibald, and Polly Ann, and his
father Bradley, age 63, born in North Carolina.
I have checked census and death records in Iowa and never found a death on Bradley so I don’t know where he ended up.
Is it possible that your Collins could connect in with mine?
:confused:
I think I have most of the other branches of Meredith’s sons documented but then there was also two daughters that I have never identified.
Carroll Co. MO is striaght North up the map from us, 2 counties E of Kansas City. Its mostly farm country and a stoping place for wayward travelers headed further West.
The far NE corners of MO and SW corners of MO is where the Iron Industries made business. If your folks were in NE or SW corners MO I would say Iron minning. But Carroll Co. is close to being North Central, which is mostly farm land.
Same with Chariton Co, that is Northern Central and prime farm land.
Brenda,
Hope you are feeling better first off. I am responding to your response to my post, though i am not sure if im goind it correctly. I appreciate yuor information. I really do feel that i am part of your Collins line. We have talked before thru the net, I am also related to your Clevenger/Spencer/Bennett families in Nicholas County WV. I think that my Collins is the same as yours because of the areas involved. My last ancestor david james collins was born in Montgomery county virginia, eventually making it to the coal country of southern wv. He had a child in kanawha county WV before settling in raleigh county. There is also the Missouri link. ALso i have found that some of the last name your Collins’ married into are Middle names in my family. Could be a coincidence though. I just get a feeling they are somhow connected.
keep in touch and feel better!
mark
Hello Mark,
Yes, I am feeling much better. Thank you for careing.
It is indeed a small world and I wouldn’t doubt that we are somehow related. Just a few days ago I had an email from a guy from Oregon who ask me if I reconized any of his names. He listed about half a dozen. I looked at the names and right off I didn’t reconize anybody but I gave him the names in my line anyway. He emails me back and says “Yes, that is them”. He was from the line of a William Floyd Collins but had only given me the name William Collins and the others didn’t look familiar as I didn’t have all the children of William Floyd Collins. It turns out that we are not just related through the Collins but also the Spencer.
If you have connections throught the Spencers, Clevengers, and Bennett’s out of Nicholas County give me some names and maybe I can piece this puzzle together. The Spencer’s are definately of NA blood but I haven’t figured out the tribe. ( James Spencer’s War of 1812 pension ……..best guess Onieda but could be wrong) I can say with complete surenity that the Collins were NOT pure white. ( Meredith listed as Mullato and FPC) I have two separate Clevenger lines and two separate Bennett lines. Ought to be able to find something in this mountain of material.
Brenda
Brenda,
I believe that a while back you sent me some information on James Spencer, he is in my tree. My grandmother is Faye (Clevenger) Young. She married Mendarius Hugh Young. Her paretns were John Clevenger and Winona Spencer. my ggg grandmother was Kate Spencer who married Charley Bennett. I guess the farthest my info goes back is to James Spencer, Abraham Bennett (?) abd Samuel Clevenger. Im sorry i cant be any more exact, my computer went down and im trying to work from memory.Most of my info comes from your rootsweb infomation. Thanks. Have you even found any info on the Young family in your research. Back to the Collins side of the family, my dad met my mom in Holcomb, Nicholas Co WV. Dads brother moved up there to work, . I asked dad if his Collins knew any of the Collins in Nicholas Co and he said that he didnt think so, so if they were cousins they didnt know it.
im going to Richwood next week to visit family, maybe i will find something good!
take care
mark allen collins
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