Early Colliers of Early County, Georgia
by
Anne Chappell
Numerous descendants of the Early County branch of Colliers remain in that area of southwest Georgia today and in Tyler and surrounding counties in East Texas where their forebears first settled as they moved west. The progenitor of this prolific line was Benjamin Collier. A founding father of Early County, he gave the land for the courthouse square. His name appears often in early records for that county, yet much of his life and ancestry are an enigma. Even his middle name or initial is in question. It has been given as F., C., and Columbus by various researchers, but we know of no documentation.
Several family historians have attempted to trace the ancestry of Early County Benjamin back to Charlotte County, Virginia, to another Benjamin Collier, husband of Sarah Gaines Collier and son of Mary Frances Dabney and Captain Thomas Collier, a prominent Revolutionary War soldier. That lineage extends from Thomas back four more generations to William Collier, the immigrant, who died in New Kent County, Virginia. But a copy of the will which was proven in October, 1791, of Charlotte County Benjamin, born about 1760, son of Thomas, born about 1740, refutes this theory because the only child to whom he devised anything was his daughter Elizabeth. He also provided for his widow Sarah Gaines Collier. He mentioned his inheritance from his father Thomas Collier and he mentioned his siblings, but there is no mention of a son. This document is recorded in Charlotte County, Virginia, will book 2, pages 17 and 18. Since this Benjamin was only about thirty-one when he died, it seems impossible for him to have had a son to whom he had already given an inheritance before making his will. Even in that unlikely event, he would have undoubtedly mentioned in his will that he had made such a settlement. And it also seems obvious that at thirty-one, he could not have had a son who had already so disappointed him that he cut that son out of his inheritance.
Now the only other possibility would be that unknown to Charlotte County Benjamin his wife was carrying a child (Early County Benjamin) when he made his will; however, neither is this a possibility when one looks at other facts. Most importantly, Early County Benjamin's oldest child Mary Elizabeth was born August 25, 1805, less than fourteen years from the death of Charlotte County Benjamin! The Early County ancestor would have married at age thirteen to a woman in North Carolina, not his native state of Virginia, for this to be the case. I do not believe anyone would seriously consider this a possibility.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution discovered the error in this lineage from Early County Benjamin Collier back to Captain Thomas Collier decades ago. I was recently given a copy of a 1987 letter from their Office of the Registrar General which stated, "... enclosed is NSDAR # 101,159 filed by Mrs. Ed Chancy [application dated January 17, 1913] on her ancestor THOMAS COLLIER of Virginia. Please note that this paper has been marked 'NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR PROOF, FUTURE APPLICANTS MUST PROVE LINEAGE'." I requested verification of this information from the DAR and they responded that the only lineage accepted from Benjamin, son of Thomas Collier, is through his daughter Elizabeth who married John Bacon. They sent a 1953 letter of rejection in which they suggested that our Benjamin might possibly have been the son of a brother of Vines Collier, another Thomas Collier who also served in the Revolution and from whom they have no members. This needs research. It could explain the Blakely descendants thinking our Benjamin descended from Thomas Collier of Virginia. Perhaps they traced to the wrong Thomas. Unfortunately, I received this information just as I was completing this material to be printed.
Some researchers have thought our Benjamin to be the son of the above mentioned Vines Collier of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, but that cannot be, for he married Ann Howard the same year Early County Benjamin's first child was born.
There were a number of Benjamin Colliers of that era and area and several other theories have been advanced regarding some of them, but as far as I have been able to determine, not only is there no documentation for these theories, there is actually documentation to the contrary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So leaving behind some of the myths about him, let's look at some of the documented facts about Benjamin. The first census on which he appeared was 1830 in Early County, Georgia. By that date his wife Margaret Lane had already died. The following household members are listed:
1 male 40-50 [Benjamin]
1 male under 5 [William Durdon]
1 male 5-10 [Thomas]
2 males 10-15 [Benjamin, Jr. and Joseph William]
1 male 15-20 [James Gauntney]
1 female under 5 [Sarah Ann]
1 female 5-10 [Martha]
2 males under 10 slaves
1 male 10-24 slave
1 female 10-24 slave
1 female 36-55 slave
At this census, his daughter Mary Elizabeth or "Polly" and his son Jesse had each married and left home. By the 1840 census, Benjamin had married Mary whose last name is sometime given as Barr and sometimes as Granbury, and his household consisted of the following:
1 male 70-80 [Benjamin]
1 male under 5 [Henry M.]
1 male 10-15 [William Durdon]
1 female 20-30 [Mary]
2 females under 5 [Mary Ann and Rebecca]
1 female 15-20 [Sarah Ann]
At this enumeration, Benjamin's youngest child William G. had not yet been born. The discrepancy in Benjamin's age on the two censuses is impossible to explain with certainty. It is not unusual for censuses to vary, but this variation is quite extreme. According to the 1830 schedule, he was born between 1780 and 1790, but on the 1840 schedule his birth was shown as between 1760 and 1770. Even using the earlier date on the first census and the latter one on the second, there remains a ten year difference in the age span.
In her little book Supplement to Behind the Plow published in 1976, Emmie Gay Thompson a descendant of Benjamin's states, "His tombstone, placed on his grave about fifty years ago by three of his descendants, shows the birth date of 1774..." According to that statement, the monument was placed about 1926. It shows his death date as 17 January, 1846, so it was about eighty years after his death that the monument was placed. And the date of death is documented by his son James Gauntney Collier's application for letters of administration for Benjamin's estate in January, 1846, in Early County. Those three descendants of whom Ms. Thompson spoke quite possibly received their information from the preceding generation who probably remembered Benjamin's passing. So using the 1774 birth date places his age at seventy-two when he died. This date, 1774, is also the median age of the census dates. So if we assume his date of birth was about 1774 which seems most likely, we must also conclude that he was probably about thirty, somewhat older than was the custom, when he married because his first child was born in 1805. We must also theorize that each census enumerator erred by one stroke on the two censuses whether by their own carelessness or by recording misinformation that they were given.
Fortunately, there is earlier documentation of Benjamin Collier. In the archives at Raleigh, North Carolina, in microfilm box #27, volume 17, pages 37-38, is a deed from Northampton County, North Carolina, dated 11 February, 1814. In this deed, "Benjamin Collier and Peggy [Margaret] his wife of the state of Georgia and County of Twiggs" sold land received in an inheritance from her father Joseph Lane. There is a similar document in which the couple sold land that Margaret inherited from her brother Thomas. In the loose records in the archives are the estate records of Joseph Lane from Northampton County. At the division of his estate, September 27, 1803, Margaret was listed as Peggy Lane, so her marriage to Benjamin occurred after that date. Following the Lanes back another generation, across the state line in neighboring Sussex County, Virginia, in will book C, pages 195 through 197 is the will proven, 21 December, 1775, of Margaret's grandfather who was also Joseph Lane.
But the significance of this deed and the estate records to this Collier lineage is that it establishes the fact that Benjamin married a wife from this particular area of North Carolina bordering on Virginia and that they moved to Twiggs County, Georgia. The tombstone of their eldest son Jesse, who lies in the Perry family cemetery in the eastern part of Early County, Georgia, near the town of Arlington, is inscribed "Jesse Collier born Twiggs Co. Ga. July 20, 1807 died in Early Co. Ga Apr 26, 1863 At Rest." He lies there with three of his children, his wife Nancy Ann Perry and her parents Elizabeth Vickers Perry and Ambrose Harper Perry, the only souls interred in that quiet woods. In a letter written 5 February, 1896, from Joseph Green Collier, Jesse and Nancy Perry Collier's oldest son, to Mary Elizabeth Walker Collier the widow of their second son Zachariah Cowart Collier, Joseph told Mary Elizabeth that he had placed a tombstone at each of those seven graves with the money she had sent him. He included in his letter the inscriptions that he had engraved on all of the stones. So from the inscription on Jesse's tombstone ordered by his eldest son, the residency of Benjamin and Margaret in Twiggs County is established as being by the time of Jesse's birth in 1807. On later censuses, their oldest child, born in 1805, gave her birthplace as Virginia, so they probably moved to Georgia in 1806.
Following is a theory concerning Benjamin's possible lineage based on supporting documentation.
On the 1790 census of Sussex County, Virginia, a Jesse Collier is listed with eight white and two black members in his household. On the same census is listed his father-in-law Hugh Ivy with a household consisting of three whites and eleven blacks. Although there is no record of it, the fact that Rebecca, daughter of Sarah Horton and Hugh Ivy, married Jesse Collier can be established by other records. In the Albemarle Parish Register, Rebecca's baptism is recorded as 17 March, 1748, and also recorded in the register is the baptism of John Collier, 21 February, 1772, the son of Rebecca and Jesse Collier. Rebecca Collier received an inheritance from her father Hugh Ivy in his will recorded in Sussex County, Virginia, will book E, page 179, 24 March, 1792. A granddaughter, Elizabeth Collier, also received an inheritance, the only grandchild who did. The balance of his estate was devised to his widow, three sons and two other married daughters.
Benjamin Collier of Early County, Georgia named his oldest son Jesse, his oldest daughter Mary Elizabeth, and his youngest daughter Rebecca Ivy. On the 1840 census of Early County, there are a John Ivy, age twenty to thirty, and a William Ivy, age forty to fifty, both living very near Benjamin. These could be grandchildren of the brothers of Rebecca Ivy Collier of Sussex County, Virginia. Allied and related families often journeyed together to new frontiers. Sussex County, Virginia, where Rebecca Ivy Collier received an inheritance from her father Hugh Ivy is near Northampton County, North Carolina, where Benjamin's wife received an inheritance from her father Joseph Lane.
There was no death record or will for Jesse or Rebecca Ivy Collier. However, among the few surviving records of Twiggs County, Georgia, is an 1818 tax digest. Ben Collier is listed on page 221. On page 227 under Defaulters is listed Jessee Collier. This Jesse is surely not Benjamin's son Jesse, already a defaulter at age eleven! A much more plausible explanation could be that this Jesse is Benjamin's aged father, defaulting perhaps because he was deceased. He could have moved in 1806 with Benjamin and Margaret. He was probably about sixty years old at that time. If this were the case, it would account for there being no estate records for him in Sussex County, Virginia.
Michael Collier, who was a frequent contributor to Alice Collier Clark's publication, "The Collier Collator," and who is a diligent, thorough researcher of all Collier lines believes this to be the most logical theory on this lineage. However, he also states it is just a theory, and it can likely never be proven because all public records seem to have been exhausted. Perhaps the only hope lies in the possibility of documentation surfacing from someone's private records. But in the meantime this seems to the only theory advanced at this point that has not been disproved.
In 1988, Paul H. Arnot followed this line of Colliers and allied families back three more generations from Jesse and Rebecca Ivy Collier in a small book entitled "Colliers from Surry County, Virginia". He lists only John and Elizabeth as children of Jesse and Rebecca, but he says that probable children were Daniel and Amos. That still leaves two people not accounted for in Jesse's household on the 1790 census. And since Rebecca was forty two at this time, having been born in 1748, it is possible that there were other children who had already married and established their own homes. So there were almost surely other children, and Benjamin could certainly have been from this family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Early County and Tyler County records, Jesse Collier's Bible, the records of Melva Whitehead, Michael Collier, Barbara Yancey Dore, and other Collier researchers, the following list of Benjamin and Margaret Lane Collier's children is formed.
1. Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Collier
born 25 August, 1805, in Virginia
died in 1875
believed to be buried Beech Creek Cemetery, Tyler County, Texas
married first Delaware Freeman in Early County, Georgia, 16 September, 1824 married second William L. Caswell
2. Jesse Collier
born 20 July, 1807, in Twiggs County, Georgia
died 26 April, 1863
married first Nancy Ann Perry in Early County, Georgia, 7 June, 1829
both buried Perry family cemetery, Early County, Georgia, near Arlington
married second Louisa C. Wade Morris in Early County, Georgia, 27 July, 1848
3. James Gauntney Collier
born 12 February, 1812, in Twiggs County, Georgia
died 23 October, 1896,
married first Eliza Stewart in Early County, Georgia, 27 September, 1832
married second Eliza's sister Elizabeth Winn "Betty" Stewart in Early County,
Georgia, 5 June, 1843
James and Elizabeth "Betty" both buried Beech Creek Cemetery, Tyler County,
Texas; Eliza in GA
4. Joseph William Collier
born 11 December, 1814, in Twiggs County, Georgia
died 22 May, 1871
married first Dorcas Pearson in Early County, Georgia, 29 May, 1834
married second Harriett Jane Stewart, sister of Eliza and Elizabeth, in Early
County, Georgia, 30 May, 1839
both buried Beech Creek Cemetery, Tyler County, Texas
5. Benjamin Collier
born 1817, Twiggs County, Georgia
died 28 June, 1866
buried Collier family cemetery, Early County, Georgia, south of Blakely
married first Louisa Ann Parramore in Early County, Georgia, 10 July, 1845
married second Amanda Elizabeth Parramore in Early County, Georgia, 18 June, 1846
6. Thomas J. Collier
born 1 February, 1820, Twiggs County, Georgia
died 19 January 1900
married first Lucy Jane Walker in Early County, Georgia, 14 July, 1846
married second Ella Neyland in Tyler, County, Texas, 21 February, 1894
both buried Town Bluff Cemetery, Tyler County, Texas
7. Martha Collier
born 7 December, 1822, Early County, Georgia
died 20 June, 1898
married William Hooks in Early County, Georgia, 4 July, 1839
both buried Hooks family cemetery, Hardin County, Texas
8. Sarah Ann Collier
born 30 May, 1825, Early County, Georgia
died 1897
married Allan Moore Hooks, brother of William, Early County, Georgia, 31 July,
1842
she buried Magnolia Cemetery in Onalaska, Polk County, Texas
he buried Frank's Branch Cemetery, Fred, Tyler County, Texas
9. William Durdon Collier
born 3 June, 1826 in Early County, Georgia
died July 1869
married Sophronia Ann Eliza Walker, sister of Lucy Jane, 17 October, 1849
both buried in Beech Creek Cemetery, Tyler County, Texas
The two Walker sisters were nieces of the three Stewart sisters. There were other marriages between these families in successive generations.
After Margaret's death, Benjamin married Mary, whose surname is sometimes given as Barr and sometimes as Granbury. Researchers have suggested that she had been married previously, but that seems unlikely if we assume her age recorded on the 1840 census as twenty to thirty is correct. A later census corroborates the age of twenty. If both censuses are correct, she was born about 1820 and would have been about fifteen when she married Benjamin, hardly old enough to have had a previous marriage. Benjamin and Mary had the following children:
1. Mary Ann Collier
born 12 February, 1836 in Early County, Georgia
died 23 June, 1921
married Ambrose P. Jordan
both buried Old Hardin Cemetery, Hardin County, Texas
2. Rebecca Ivy Collier
born 13 May, 1837 in Early County, Georgia
died 17 Jan, 1917
married James Pinckney Jordan, 13 May, 1854
both buried Beech Creek Cemetery, Tyler County, Texas
3. Henry Mitchell Collier
born 1838 in Early County, Georgia
believed to have died 6 Aug, 1926
married Nancy Mary Lyons in Hardin County, Texas, 23 October, 1862
both believed to be buried in Hooks Cemetery, Hardin County, Texas
4. William G. Collier
born 1 July, 1840 in Early County, Georgia
died 5 April 1919
married Rebecca A. Crawford in Tyler County, Texas, 26 June, 1862
both buried in Beech Creek Cemetery, Tyler County, Texas
It should be noted that there is a discrepancy on Mary Ann Collier Jordan's birthdate. In several printed records of this family, it is given as 1832; however, her tombstone reads "June 23, 1921 Age 85 years," so that would make the birth year 1836. Considering that her mother was most likely born about 1820 and observing the birth frequency of the other three of Mary's children, it seems certain that the tombstone and other records that give 1836 are correct.
Benjamin died intestate, but probate and estate records in Early County give us further important documentation on this family. In January, 1846, James G. Collier, Benjamin's second son requested letters of administration for his father's estate. Apparently there was family discord in settling the estate for the following document also is recorded in Early County.
"To Mary E. Freeman, Jesse Collier, James G. Collier, Joseph Collier, Benjamin Collier, Thomas Collier, William Hooks, Allen Hooks and James G. Collier Administrator of the estate of Benjamin Collier late of said county deceased. You are hereby notified that I shall apply to the honorable Superior Court of the said county to be held in Blakely on the fourth Monday in April next for a writ of Dower to be directed to certain freeholders to admeasure and assign to me my Dower, or one third part of the Lands of which the said Benjamin Collier decd was possessed of at the time of his death.
This the 7th day of March 1846 Mary Collier"
The importance of this document from a genealogical aspect is the listing of Benjamin's children by Margaret Lane in birth order with the exception of the omission of William Durdon who was still a minor at this time. James G. is included in the birth order listing and again at the end as administrator.
In September, 1848, James Gauntney requested guardianship of his half siblings, Benjamin's and Mary's four children, and their names are listed in birth order, Mary Ann, Rebecca, Henry, and William.
In the April term, 1853 of the Court of the Ordinary of Early County is recorded another important document for the tracing of this family.
"It appearing to the Court that James G. Collier guardian of Rebecca, Henry M. and William Collier, minor heirs of Benjamin Collier deceased, has removed to Tyler County State of Texas and has there given bond and security and been duly qualified as guardian of said minors, and has fully and faithfully discharged his duty as guardian of said minors in this state. It is ordered that he and his securities be relieved from all further liability on a/c of said guardianship and that Letters dismissory do issue to said guardian."
In addition to establishing a time frame for the removal to Texas of these family members, the omission of Mary Ann in the list of children indicates that she may be married by this time.
While still in Early County on 17 May, 1849, Mary, widow of Benjamin Collier, married Joseph J. Keith. They appear on the 1860 Tyler County, Texas, census as J. J. Keith, thirty seven, and Mary, forty. There are no others in the household. If this census and the Early County census are correct, Mary was still only twenty-nine when she married J. J. Keith, but apparently they had no children. J. J. Keith served in the Civil War as a private in Company D, Spaight's Battalion Texas Volunteers. I have found nothing later concerning this couple.
Of all of Benjamin's thirteen children by both wives, only Jesse and Benjamin remained in Georgia. And Jesse's second son Zachariah Cowart Collier accompanied his uncles and aunts to Texas. In the next years others of this and related families joined them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now that we have documented Benjamin's thirteen children and some other facts concerning his household and descendants, we will return to other evidence indicating the plausibility of the theory of Jesse Collier and Rebecca Ivy of Sussex County, Virginia, being the parents of Benjamin Collier who married Margaret Lane just across the state line in Northampton, North Carolina.
The youngest son of Benjamin Collier's second son, Jesse, was Thomas McGruder Collier who married Eliza Kiturah "Kitty" Collier, daughter of Sylvester Jefferson Collier, born 1828, of Early County Georgia. Sylvester Jefferson Collier's ancestry has not been established.
Appearing with his wife, Jane, in the 1860 and 1870 censuses of Tyler County is a John T. Collier, the only Collier in that county who does not fit anywhere in the Benjamin Collier line. According to both censuses, he was born in 1823 or 1824. The Bible records of Benjamin's oldest son Jesse, born 1807, do not include him and he is certainly too old to belong the second son James. G., born 1812, yet we will see there is a clear connection.
On the 1830 census of Early County Benjamin was recorded on page 91 and on page 93, a Henry Collier. Henry had in his household one male born between 1815 and 1820, one male born between 1820 and 1825 (John T.?), and two males born after 1825 (Sylvester Jefferson?). There were probably older children who had already left home. In 1840 Henry was on page 117 and Benjamin was on page 121. By 1850, Benjamin was deceased, but Henry was still living, now aged sixty-four. This, of course, would make his birth year about 1786, near the age that has been estimated for Benjamin from census and other records.
In Volume 2, page 377 of Collections of Early County Historical Society, in the BIRD- COLLIER-DOUGLAS-WADE-WILEY genealogy is recorded Henry Collier, born 1786, died about 1856 who married Nancy Bird in 1808. The only child listed in this genealogy is Mary Elizabeth who was born in 1813 in Hancock County, Georgia and who married in 1832 in Early County, Elisha Douglas, born 1809 and died 1881. Benjamin Collier's oldest child, born 1805, was also named Mary Elizabeth. Elisha Douglas witnessed a number of documents for Benjamin's line of Colliers. In a letter written in 1861 from John Williamson Collier, third son of Jesse, to Joseph Green Collier, eldest son of Jesse, John mentions "Cousin Elisha." And in 1875, Joseph, still residing in Early County, wrote to Zachariah Cowart Collier, second son of Jesse, that "Elisha Douglas is still alive." Henry Collier, father-in-law of Elisha Douglas, is the right age to be one of the missing children of Jesse and Rebecca Ivy Collier, possibly a brother of Benjamin for whom Benjamin may have named his older son Henry Mitchell Collier by his second wife, Mary.
Also recorded in the Early County books, a Jackson Collier registered a brand in 1842, the only other Jackson Collier we have encountered other than Jackson, born 1854, the older son of Zachariah, born 1832. To register a brand in 1842, one would have probably been born by about 1820. Perhaps that Jackson, Sylvester Jefferson, and the John T. of Tyler County were sons of Henry.
Early County marriage records show that John Collier married Jane Weaver in 1846. From the birth places listed for their children, we can determine that this family moved to Texas between 1853 and 1856, about the same time as many of the other Colliers and related families. Listed in the household with John and Jane among others were Henry, named perhaps for his grandfather Henry Collier, and Zachariah, named perhaps for his second cousin Zachariah Cowart Collier or for the friend of Benjamin's, Zachariah Cowart for whom our Zachariah, second son of Jesse, was named. Also living in the same house was an 84 year old male, Weaver, no first name given. He was obviously the father of Jane, proving them to be the John and Jane Weaver Collier who married in Early County.
We have previously mentioned the John and William Ivy on the Early County census. On page 258 in Volume I of the Early county books in a biographical sketch of a Mr. Perryman, a Henry Ivy is mentioned. The precise date is not given, but it had to be in the late 1880s. Rebecca Ivy's grandfather was Henry Ivy, and she had a brother named for their grandfather. Her grandmother, a sister, and a daughter were named Elizabeth. Both Blakely Benjamin and Blakely Henry had daughters named Mary Elizabeth, which was of course, a very common name. Between 1806 and 1815, a Benjamin Collier and Jesse Collier had land transactions in Hancock County, the same county in which Blakely Henry's daughter Mary Elizabeth was born in 1813.
Positive documentation eludes us, but time, proximity, similarity of names, and other facts, some trivial, do strongly suggest the plausibility of this lineage. But it remains only a theory until much more evidence becomes available. In the meantime, we welcome corrections, additional information, or any comments.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shortly after arriving in Texas, Benjamin's grandson Zachariah Cowart Collier married Mary Elizabeth Walker, younger sister of Lucy and Sophronia, both of whom married uncles of Zachariah. Z. C.'s and Mary Elizabeth's children were Jackson, Martha Jane "Sis", Sarah Frances "Fannie", Jesse Newton, and Nancy Perry "Nannie".
About thirty years later, Jesse Perry Collier, son of Joseph Green Collier, oldest son of Jesse and Nancy Perry Collier followed the clan to Tyler County. Z. C.'s son, Jesse Newton, was called Texas Jess and newly arrived Jesse Perry was called Georgia Jess to distinguish between these two cousins who were about the same age. When Jesse Perry Collier arrived from Georgia he lived with Thomas J. and Lucy Jane Walker Collier who having no children of their own, often lent their support to nieces and nephews.
Within a few years this prolific family had spread through surrounding counties. By 1875, Zachariah Cowart Collier had received land out of the public domain in the far away Texas Panhandle in what would become Hall, Childress, and Motley counties. This land was in payment for the work he had done for the state in dredging the Neches River to keep it navigable.
That same year, he accompanied a surveying crew to find and determine the value of the land they would be the first to own. En route he kept a journal mapping out their route, giving information on the terrain, quoting prices on land through which they passed, recording the game found and killed for their meals, and other relevant information about this new frontier. There were probably intervening trips, and in 1885, he made another one in which he kept a record.
By 1890, he and his son Jackson with Jackson's young family had begun moving to their new land, leaving behind a life of relative comfort and ease compared to the hardships they would face in a very different almost uninhabited land. Later when Z. C. had moved from his dugout home into a more comfortable dwelling, Mary Elizabeth joined him. Still later, their other children Jesse, Martha Jane, and Nancy Perry "Nannie" made their home in Hall County for a time.
The extent of their land holdings is not known; perhaps it never was. It would be a nearly impossible task to determine now. Counties were formed; existing county lines changed; survery errors occurred. And this family was continually buying and selling land from the Tyler area to the Panhandle and locations in between. Among other taxes paid for that same year, an 1877 receipt attests to Z.C.'s having paid taxes on 32,000 acres in "Jack Land District," and an 1894 deed records his selling 7,053 acres to the Continental Land Company, better known as the Mill Iron Ranch. According to various sources, the family at one time owned over a hundred sections, but with so much land activity and so many family members involved, the amount probably varied from season to season, and possibly even they were not always aware of the precise amount. Land was cheap and plentiful for those who were willing to work hard and take risks. At any rate in 1893, Z.C. was among the first to register his ZC brand in Hall County. In 1940 Hall County celebrated its golden anniversary by placing a granite monument on the courthouse square and the ZC brand was one of only six chosen to represent the importance of ranching in that county.
On a trip back to Tyler County in 1896, Z.C. fell ill and died suddenly. Mary Elizabeth still called Hall County home until her death in 1900, but throughout her life she had often made extended visits with relatives, and it was on one such occasion in 1900, while visiting in Smith County, that she became ill and died. Both she and Z. C. are buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Woodville, Tyler County.
Jesse Newton, "Nannie", who married first Thomas Ritchie Garrott and second Charles Crawford, and Martha Jane, who married and divorced Thomas Edmund Tucker before her Hall County sojourn, soon returned to Tyler County. The three of them are listed sequentially on the 1900 census in Tyler County in the community of Colmesneil. Jesse also lived in Hardin and Jefferson counties, and Nannie moved to Houston. Martha Jane moved to Katy, just west of Houston. Sarah Frances "Fannie", who married Dr. G. Frank Floyd, made her home in Hunt County, Texas until after her husband's death. She then moved to Victoria, Texas. Only Jackson and his family continued to live in the Panhandle, but he and Jesse maintained and operated as a partnership their father's property for a number of years. Jackson's letters sent from Estelline in Hall County to Jesse in Silsbee in Hardin County, a distance of more than five hundred miles, relate the story of hard working, successful business men, always exploring some new business venture. That these two brothers could manage such an accomplishment especially with such varied interests and efforts at such a distance with the communication and travel problems of that era with relatively few misunderstandings between them speaks well for their mutual trust and family loyalty.
~~~~~~~~~~~
While researching Civil War service records on other Colliers in June, 1999, I discovered that Z.C. had a service record in that war. It seemed curious that this ancestor about whom we thought we knew almost everything of importance should have such a seemingly significant part of his life unknown. His granddaughter Virginia Collier Howell was quite surprised to learn of this fact, but she did recall having been told that he had assisted with a yellow fever epidemic during that period. His service record states that he enlisted June 26, 1862 as a private in Company D, Spaight's Battalion Texas Volunteers. He was later listed as, "Detached service Apr 15\64 Hospital Nurse." As I pondered how we could have been unaware of this part of his life, it occurred to me that perhaps it was typical of this low profile, dedicated family man that this trying chapter of his life had remained unnoticed throughout so many generations.
Epilogue
Just after I had completed the above, Virginia Collier Howell gave me some very interesting letters.
A number of the letters were written by seven siblings. Virginia's father, Jesse Newton Collier was guardian of the three younger children. They were Colliers also, and they refer to Jesse as "cousin." Their father's name is not given; their mother was Della. Virginia does not remember what their relationship was; nor does she remember their father's name. She does remember that their mother had been widowed for years, and she operated a hotel in Silsbee. The only girl, Rona, who was born in 1901, was the youngest. The brothers were Marvin, Page, Stark, Isham, Fuller, and Julius Weaver, called "J. W." Possibly they are children of Julius W. Collier, born 1856, son of the John T. and Jane Weaver Collier discussed in the section concerning Benjamin Collier of Early County. John and Jane Collier were the only Colliers on the 1870 Tyler County census that were definitely not descendents of Blakely Benjamin, and I theorized that John was perhaps a son of Henry Collier also of Blakely whose relationship to Benjamin we have not been able to document. If Henry was, as I suspect, a brother of Benjamin and grandfather to these siblings, they would have been third cousins to Jesse N. Collier. I hope to do further research on this subject In the meantime a lot of information can be learned from the letters; although, unfortunately, many of the letters were not dated, and often the year on the postmark was blurred on those that were still in envelopes, so it is impossible to be precise about time, but the dates run from early 1915 to 1921.
Page was a lawyer in Marlin, Texas. His wife was Sallie Mae, and they had children named Frances and Adele and possibly more. No details are given, but the inferrence is obvious that Sallie Mae died by early January, 1919, and Page for a time was in a "sanitarium," so very likely they were victims of the flu that plagued the nation at that time. He remarried, probably in 1920.
Marvin's wife was Lulu; Fuller's was Catherine. Stark married Nella and they had a daughter Anne Douglas. A wedding invitation reveals that Julius Weaver married Helen Raywil, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Smith in Fort Worth in 1923. No wife is named for the remaining brother, Isham. He apparently studied medicine in New York.
Most of the letters are from the only girl, Rona, who enrolled in the University of Texas in the Fall of 1918. She was still attending in 1920. Her letters are amazingly contemporary in subject matter, football games, parties and other social affairs, studies, grades, and during a summer session she was amused and a bit imposed upon by the "elderly" graduate students that had invaded their dormitory. As many young people today, she was constantly concerned with money for a proper wardrobe. She mentions "cousin Cordell" who was a descendant of Joseph Green Collier, older brother of Z. C., so that attests to another family relationship.
Cities and communities where one or more of the siblings lived were Marlin, Sour Lake, Waco, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Taylor. From Rona's letters it is not always clear which family member she was visiting in these places. J. W. enlisted in the Navy and served aboard the U.S.S. Nevada in World War I.
Perhaps, tracing this family could help trace the lineage of Benjamin Collier of Blakely, Georgia.