Once a Knight is Enough

Knight Genealogy

by Laura Knight

~~~

The Cursed Collins Family of Tattnall and Emanuel Counties GA

In doing family history, you often encounter the terrible and heartbreaking, but in this case, the horror afflicted three generations of one family sub-branch of the major Collins branch which is part of my own upline: Andrew Stokes Collins SR and his son Thomas Collins were murdered in the first instance; Andrew Stokes Collins JR and his son. Wilson Collins in the second case; and finally, the son of Andrew Collins JR, brother of Wilson Collins, murdered his father-in-law. After a review of these terrible events, I'll discuss the family itself.

Here is the transcript:

 HORRIBLE MURDER IN TATTNALL COUNTY: Father And Son  Killed.

 A correspondent writing from Mt. Vernon to the  South Georgian, in the last issue of that paper, gives  the particulars of a shooting affray in Tattnall  County, on the night of the 22d of May, in which  Messrs. Andrew and Thomas Collins, father and son, highly respectable citizens, living near the junction  of the three counties, Montgomery, Tattnall and  Emanuel, were shot and killed by Jake Anderson.

 This correspondent writes that a son of Anderson had had that day a log rolling and quilting, and that  among others, Thomas Collins had been specially  invited to attend, but in company with his father and  Mr. Duncan Priest, they visited Cobbtown, in Tattnall  County, on business. On their return home, arriving  at the fork of the road, Thomas Collins and Mr. Priest  concluded to go by Anderson's as it was understood  there was to be a social party at night, and after some consultation, the elder Mr. Collins consented to  accompany them, provided the young men would agree to  stay but a short time, which they did.

Some time  after their arrival at Anderson's, an  altercation took place between young Collins and a man  named Mixen, a relative of Anderson, and a few pistol  shots were exchanged on either side, but without  effect.  Mr. Andrew Collins, it is stated, did what he  could to suppress this difficulty, and with the  assistance of other friends he succeeded.

After this  the crowd was divided in groups of two or three,  talking over the affair, as men will do on such  occasions.  Perhaps an hour or two had elapsed or passed off  in this way, when Mr. Andrew Collins, who had used  every effort to prevent any further difficulty,  started from somewhere in the yard to the house, and  Jake Anderson stepped from behind the house with a  double-barrel shot gun in his hands and commanded Mr.  Collins to stand or he would shoot him. Collins  stopped at once, and replied to Anderson that he did  not think he ought to shoot him, because he (Anderson)  was armed, and he (Collins) was not. As these last  words were uttered by Collins, Anderson fired, killing  Collins instantly.

At this juncture, Tom Collins, who  was outside of the yard, rushing in to ascertain the cause of the trouble, was fired upon  by Anderson and fell mortally wounded, dying in four  or five hours afterward. Tom was rational and talked  before he died, but his father never spoke.  

Anderson has made his escape. It is said that  Anderson ran away from South Carolina for killing a  man. There are a number of citizens in pursuit of  Anderson. ("Georgia Newspaper Clippings, Emanuel County Extracts, 1815-1889": "Thursday, June 3, 1880)

As we see from the above clippings image, Jacob "Jake" Anderson was arrested some three months later. If anyone has further information on the case, any follow up news items, I would appreciate having them, thank you!

Now, many individuals who are putting their family trees together, wrongly identify the above Andrew Collins as "Andrew Jackson Collins" or "Andrew Sikes Collins". As we will see from the records I will include further below, this is incorrect.

Now, we come to the second set of murders, some 30 years later, in 1910. At this time, the son of Andrew Stokes Collins SR, Andrew Stokes Collins JR, who often went by the name "Stokes Collins", and his son, Wilson Collins, were gunned down in the road by members of the Lewis family.

Here are the transcripts:

Trouble Ends in Bad Battle

Two dead, one dying and probably one or two others slightly wounded, are the results of a Sunday afternoon battle in an inter-family feud of long standing, took place in Emanuel county just at the line of Toombs county.

The dead are a. S. Collins, road overseer for his district, and a well to do farmer, and his son, Wilson Collins, whom died during the progress of the fight.  Marion Lewis is so badly wounded that he is expected to die at any moment.

The battle was between the family of Collins and the family of Lewis, and was the outcome of a dispute over a public road crossing.  The two families reside less than a mile apart and the county line runs between their homs.  Fathers and sons met in a lane near the Lewis home.

Just how the battle started is not known.  The members of the Collins family were armed with pistols while two shot guns were used on the other side.  A number of persons watched the battle in the open, both sides standing bravely up to the mark.

Joseph Lewis, father of Marion Lewis, is alleged to have fired the shot that ended the life of the elder Collins, howerver, he would make no statement.  The sheriffs of both Toombs and Emanuel counties went to the scene with physicians.  Both families are well to do and well known and the shooting has created quite a sensation in both counties.  It was known that the were not on the best of terms.  Communication with the scene of battle could only be had by a rural telephone and details are meagre.  However, it is learned that a dozen or more shots were fired and it is stated that the others who were wounded besides Alma Lewis, are but slightly hurt.

We learn that three arrests have been made of the survivors of the battle.

Bodies Not Moved for Hours

The bodies of the slain father and son lay for four hours where they had fallen, before they were moved.  Scores of persons gathered about the scene of the bloody fight and gazed at the two dead bodies and the other marks of the desperate battle.  The fight lasted but a few minutes, but bothe sides fought rapidly and bravely, the shots coming with great rapidity.  It was thought at first that one other person was wounded but this has not been confirmed. 

The bodes of the victims were removed to a wagon.

As soon as the officers arrived they placed the two Leiwses under arrest.

When the sound of the first shots were heard a crowd began to gather.  Excitement afterwards ran very high but later was allayed considerably.

LEWISES AND COLLINSES IN DEADLY DUEL LAST SUNDAY.

Stokes and Wilson Collins Dead While Duncan Collins and Alma Lewis Are Wounded.

One of the most serious shooting and cutting affrays this county has ever known took place in the lower part of the 50 Dist. (of) this county last Sunday evening. The immediate cause seems to have been a dispute over a road crossing. The Collinses are road overseers and a difference between Stokes Collins and his sons on the one side and Mr. J.W. Lewis' son Alma on the other. The former followed the latter to near the home of his father. There Alma Lewis was joined by his father and the trouble began.

Several shots were fired and when it was all over Stokes Collins and Wilson Collins lay dead on the field of battle. Duncan Collins was wounded and so also was Alma Lewis; the former being stabbed and the latter shot with a shot gun.

Mr. J.W. Lewis, who it is conceded killed Stokes Collins, is here and it is rumored will demand a trial this week. His son, Alma, is too seriously wounded to come. The whole affair is a very regrettable one. Mr. J.W. Lewis is a native of this county and has long (been) prominent in public affairs.

LATER.---In addition to the Lewises and Collinses a young Mr. Hart is also accused of taking part in the duel. The Grand Jury has returned true bills for murder against the Lewises and young Hart and their trials set for Friday.

Again, I have no follow-up for how the cases were disposed. If anyone has information, please send it to me so I can include it.

The final horror occurred supposedly five years after the murders of Andrew Stokes Collins JR and his son Wilson Collins. In this last case, the murderer was John Talmadge Collins, son of Andrew Stokes Collins JR and brother of Wilson.

Supposedly May 1915:

Mack Brown Killed by Talmage Collins Who Was Son-In-Law

A. H. Proctor Shoots Collins After He, Himself, is Wounded

Was Cold Blooded Killing

According to Reports – Affray Was Culmination of Family Trouble – Collins and Proctor Both Arrested But Latter Has Been Released on Bond

M. M. Brown was instantly killed and A. H. Proctor slightly wounded by Talmage (sic) Collins in a shooting affray at the County Line School house, five miles west of Reidsville last Saturday afternoon about 2 o’clock.  Collins was himself seriously wounded by Proctor, after the latter had been shot, being struck three times by bullets fried from Proctor’s pistol.  Both Collins and Proctor were arrested, the former now being held in the Reidsville jail without bond on a warrant charging him with murder.  The latter has been released on bond.

Two dozen or more witnesses saw the shooting and the affair has attracted a great deal of interest on account of the prominence of some of the parties.

According to the best information that could be obtained here the shooting was the culmination of some family trouble.  Collins married a daughter of M. M. (Mack) Brown, and she was also a neice (sic) of A. H. (Steve) Proctor.  He is alleged to have whipped his wife early Saturday morning and left the home.  She with their three children started walking to the home of her father, about six miles away.  En route they were overtaken by Mr. and Mrs. Proctor who took them up and carried them on to Mr. Brown’s.  About eleven o’clock Proctor, B. B. (Ben) Williamson, and Mack Brown started over to the home of Williamson, who lived across Watts Creek about a half mile away.  It is stated that they met Collins and another party on the way and greetings were exchanged.

In the afternoon the crowd went back to the County Line shool house to attend the commencement exercises, and soon Collins and a friend or two arrive.  It is alleged that Collins was drinking and it was feared that there would be trouble.  Mr. Brown, Mr. Proctor, and Mr. Williamson decided to go to Collins and talk to him in the effort to keep down trouble.  Proctor carried with him a small hand grip.

Reaching Collins and his friend, who were standing about forty yards away, Proctor spoke to him and asked him what he [meant] by some remarks he had previously made.  It is stated that Collins uttered an oath, said he meant every word he had said, and then reached into the bosom [of] his shirt withdrawing a pistol.  Proctor dropped the bag he was carrying, knelt over it and took his pistol out of it.  It is stated that as he arose Collins fired at him, the bullet just piercing the flesh on his breast, and passed out within an inch or two of where it entered.  Had he been facing Collins it is alleged the bullet would have pierced the heart.  Witnesses stated that Collins then wheeled partly around and fired point blank into the face of Brown, who was standing about four feet from him, the bullet striking him in the right eye, and coming out back of the left ear, death resulting instantly.  It is stated that simultaneously with the shot that killed Brown, Proctor fired at Collins, striking him in the left arm.  Another shot struck Collins in the right shoulder and he turned to run, when a third shot struck him in the small of the back passing almost through his body, bringing him down.  Witnesses state that each man fired five times, most of the shots going wild.

Sheriff Kennedy was immediately notified of the shooting and went over and arrested Collins and brought him to Reidsville where he was put in jail and Dr. McCall called to attend his wounds.  It was first thought his wounds would prove fatal, but later examination showed they were not as serious as was at first thought, and it is stated that his condition is favorable for an early recover.

Proctor was arrested by officers of Toombs county Saturday night, in Lyons where he had gone to have his wounds dressed.  Sheriff Kennedy went over to Lyons Sunday and got Proctor and brought him back to the scene of the shooting.  He made bond in the sum of $1,000 and was released.

The Collins Family

The upline progenitor of the Andrew Stokes Collins SR family above is one Henry Collins (1768-1827) who married a Penelope Bazemore (1779-1870). Henry was the brother of Jesse Collins (1759-1843) who married Sarah Keen (1775-1845). Jesse Collins was my 4th great-grandfather which makes Andrew Stokes Collins SR my 1st cousin 5X removed. The parents of these two Collins brothers were Joseph Collins (1724-1802) and Rachel Bunch (1730-1780). I'm not going to get into the uplines of those two individuals because it is still not firmly tied down in all respects. In fact, I'm not going to go into all the family at all, just those relevant to this discussion.

Among the other sons of Joseph Collins that are pretty certain were there are:

1) Joseph Collins (1762-`841) who married Mary Sikes (1779-1845); he was the father of Andrew Jackson Collins (1817-1882) who is often conflated or confused with Andrew Stokes Collins, his 1st cousin. 2) Josiah Collins SR (1750-1809) who married Nancy Bunch (1750-1821). 3) Joab Collins (1760-1823). 4) Hardy Collins (1770-1838) You can see them below in the GA Tax Digest for Montgomery County 1805/06. I've taken screen shots so as to make the images larger and readable instead of capturing entire pages:

So, all together, on pp. 70-71 we find: Joab Collins, Henry Collins (overlaps), Josiah Collins SR, Josiah Collins JR, Hardy Collins, Jesse Collins. We also see Hardy Summerlin who was married to Penelope Collins, dau. of Josiah SR.

Disambiguation: Andrew Jackson Collins vs Andrew Stokes Collins

Next item is to track Andrew Jackson Collins, son of Joseph Collins (1762-1841) and Mary Sikes (1779-1845). I've noticed a number of people listing the murdered elder Andrew Collins as "Andrew Sikes Collins". This is probably because they noticed that he was listed with an initial "S" in a couple of censuses so they just assumed it was the mother's maiden name. As we will see, it was definitely Andrew Stokes Collins SR who was the victim of the first murder, killed by Jacob "Jake" Anderson.

So, here I have made a table with the census listings for Andrew Jackson Collins with some notes:

Now, what did we learn from tracking the family of Andrew Jackson Collins above? The main thing we learned is that he is NOT the individual involved in the shooting of Andrew Collins and his son, Thomas Collins. The census was taken on 16, 17, 18 June of 1880, while the murders took place 22 May 1880; Andrew Jackson is still alive, and so is his son, Thomas, who has records well into the future from that point in time.

We will see something very different in the census records for Andrew Stokes Collins.

Now, I track Andrew Stokes Collins SR to JR:

Here are the screen shots of the family in the censuses:

1850 Tatnall

1860 Tatnall

1870 Tatnall

1880 Emanuel

As can clearly be seen, despite numerous errors on the part of the census taker, the family is easy enough to follow and it is clear that it is Andrew Stokes Collins who was murdered in 1880, and not Andrew Jackson Collins.

The Second Double Murder

And now, we turn to Andrew Stokes Collins JR who died with his son, Wilson, on the road in Georgia, murdered by Joseph Lewis, the second tragedy to strike this family.

In the 1880 census above, we see Andrew, aged 19, in his widowed mother's household. I haven't been able to find an 1890 census for any of them, so we jump to the next census which is 1900 Emanuel County. At this point, Andrew Stokes Collins JR is 39 years old. We'll just use the screenshot of the census here:

Notice first of all that he is going by his middle name, "Stokes". It's been 20 years since we last saw him and he has married Emily "Emma" Williamson, and they have seven children so far. It is Wilson D. Collins, who is just 14 here, who will die with his father ten years from this census.

Here's the next screenshot from 1910 Toombs County census. It's a lot messier and the census taker has drawn arrows between married children and their partners:

What we see here is the following:

Andrew S[tokes] Collins, 49.
Emma Collins, 48
[John]Talmadge Collins, 21
Duncan E. Collins, 19
Delilah Proctor, 17
Alice T. Collins, 15
George D. Collins, 12
Robert G. Collins, 6
Archie Proctor, 21, son-in-law
Gertrude [Brown] Collins, 20, dau-in-law

You may note that Wilson D. Collins is not in the household. That's because he had just recently married the previous year and had a new baby. Let's look at the account of the affair again:

One of the most serious shooting and cutting affrays this county has ever known took place in the lower part of the 50 Dist. (of) this county last Sunday evening. The immediate cause seems to have been a dispute over a road crossing. The Collinses are road overseers and a difference between Stokes Collins and his sons on the one side and Mr. J.W. Lewis' son Alma on the other. The former followed the latter to near the home of his father. There Alma Lewis was joined by his father and the trouble began.

Several shots were fired and when it was all over Stokes Collins and Wilson Collins lay dead on the field of battle. Duncan Collins was wounded and so also was Alma Lewis; the former being stabbed and the latter shot with a shot gun.

Mr. J.W. Lewis, who it is conceded killed Stokes Collins, is here and it is rumored will demand a trial this week. His son, Alma, is too seriously wounded to come. The whole affair is a very regrettable one. Mr. J.W. Lewis is a native of this county and has long (been) prominent in public affairs.

LATER.---In addition to the Lewises and Collinses a young Mr. Hart is also accused of taking part in the duel. The Grand Jury has returned true bills for murder against the Lewises and young Hart and their trials set for Friday.

Again, notice that Andrew Stokes Collins JR was going by the name of "Stokes" and since he was a JR, we can be pretty sure his father's name was also Andrew Stokes Collins and not Andrew Jackson Collins or Andrew Sikes Collins.

Even though there is no date attached to the reports of the event that are being passed around on the internet, we find that the date 17 April 1810 is given on Find-A-Grave and that is what is on Andrew Stokes Collins JR's headstone and the 17th was, indeed, a Sunday. However, when we look at the census last displayed above, we see that the enumerator says that it was done on the 28th of April, 11 days after the deaths of two of the persons enumerated. Why? Well, it probably took until the 28th to finish the census. Andrew Stokes Collins family was on page 22 of 48. And technically, he was certainly living when the census taker called, and was certainly living on the "census day".

It's hard to imagine how the family coped with this tragedy, and we find them ten years later, still in Georgia; here, I only show the male Collins households; the daughters that have married and moved out will not be covered here. First I zoomed out for the screenshot to show that Duncan Collins, John Talmadge Collins, and Wallace Holt Collins, are all living adjacent to each other in 1920 Toombs County. You will see Andrew Stokes Collins JR's widow, Emma, in the household of Duncan along with her youngest son, Robert Garnett Collins, who was 6 when his father was murdered. Here let me note that a great many family trees have this man's name as "Robert Garbutt Collins" thanks to the idiotic error of the census taker below. His military records list him as Robert Garnett Collins, which is far more likely.

We also notice that John Talmadge Collins is going by his middle name and there is a 20 year old "brother" in the household of Wallace, named "Drury"; this is George D. Collins; Drury was a popular name at the time.

So, excluding the daughters who are in their own households, pretty much everyone is accounted for above. Here's the rundown on the children of Andrew Stokes Collins JR:

Wallace Holt Collins (1882-1958) m. Ruth Hart (1896 -?)
Wilson D. Collins (1886-1910) m. Louvenia Bell Thompson (1886-1977)
John Talmadge Collins (1888-1948) m. Gertrude Brown (1891-1979)
Duncan C. Collins (1889-1960) m. Oles May Kirkley (1900-1994)
Delila Collins (1893-1981) m. Archie Lester Proctor (1888-1966)
Alice Talley Collins (1895-1952) m. George B. Kight (1891-1895)
George Drury Collins (1898-1971) m. Venia Louise Franklin (1907-1990)
Robert Garnett Collins (1903-1987) m. Mildred N. Blitch

The Third Tragedy

So, now, we have had two dreadful double murders almost exactly 30 years apart, wherein an Andrew Stokes Collins is gunned down along with one of his sons, Thomas and Wilson respectively. So far, it is this one family being afflicted by a terrible fate and we don't really know why. All we have are bare-bones tales told in a scandal-mongering press. What more can happen? Well, it looks to me like a lot of hurt and anger and suffering was going on in this family and it was bound to explode; and explode it did, supposedly five years after the 1910 census. I haven't found a firm date for this event, so we proceed on assumptions.

By now you are familiar with the family and that John Talmadge Collins was married to Gertrude Brown. We first met her when she was living in the household of her husband's family on the day her father-in-law was gunned down in the road along with his son, her brother-in-law. Let's recap the main parts of the story:

According to the best information that could be obtained here the shooting was the culmination of some family trouble.  Collins married a daughter of M. M. (Mack) Brown, and she was also a neice (sic) of A. H. (Steve) Proctor.  He is alleged to have whipped his wife early Saturday morning and left the home.  She with their three children started walking to the home of her father, about six miles away.  En route they were overtaken by Mr. and Mrs. Proctor who took them up and carried them on to Mr. Brown’s. 

Note here that John Talmadge and Gertrude Collins only have three children at this time. Her first child was born in 1911, the second in 1913, the third in 1915, so this places the event in 1915. At any other possible period, she has more than three children at home. So, she is walking with a four year old, a two-year-old, and an infant.

About eleven o’clock Proctor, B. B. (Ben) Williamson, and Mack Brown started over to the home of Williamson, who lived across Watts Creek about a half mile away.  It is stated that they met Collins and another party on the way and greetings were exchanged.

Note John Talmadge Collins' mother was Emily Williamson so Ben Williamson must have been a relation, though I haven't yet found the connection. Alexander H. Proctor was married to Mississippi Brown, the sister of Gertrude's father, thus her uncle. He would have been about 49 years old at this time. Mitchell Maxwell Brown, Gertrude's father, was 59.

In the afternoon the crowd went back to the County Line shool house to attend the commencement exercises, and soon Collins and a friend or two arrive.  It is alleged that Collins was drinking and it was feared that there would be trouble.  Mr. Brown, Mr. Proctor, and Mr. Williamson decided to go to Collins and talk to him in the effort to keep down trouble.  Proctor carried with him a small hand grip.

Reaching Collins and his friend, who were standing about forty yards away, Proctor spoke to him and asked him what he [meant] by some remarks he had previously made.  It is stated that Collins uttered an oath, said he meant every word he had said, and then reached into the bosom [of] his shirt withdrawing a pistol. 

Note: Right here, it seems that Proctor may have said something to seriously provoke John Talmadge. Considering his life experiences and obvious instability, it doesn't seem that it was very smart to confront him. It seems to me rather that Proctor intended to aggravate him in some way which, as things turned out, wasn't a very smart thing to do.

Proctor dropped the bag he was carrying, knelt over it and took his pistol out of it.  It is stated that as he arose Collins fired at him, the bullet just piercing the flesh on his breast, and passed out within an inch or two of where it entered.  Had he been facing Collins it is alleged the bullet would have pierced the heart.  Witnesses stated that Collins then wheeled partly around and fired point blank into the face of Brown, who was standing about four feet from him, the bullet striking him in the right eye, and coming out back of the left ear, death resulting instantly.  It is stated that simultaneously with the shot that killed Brown, Proctor fired at Collins, striking him in the left arm.  Another shot struck Collins in the right shoulder and he turned to run, when a third shot struck him in the small of the back passing almost through his body, bringing him down.  Witnesses state that each man fired five times, most of the shots going wild.

Note: The way this whole incident happened sounds like the three men were extremely hostile toward John Talmadge for whipping his wife and deliberately set out to force a confrontation. Obviously, Proctor came prepared for such, carrying a gun in his bag.

Sheriff Kennedy was immediately notified of the shooting and went over and arrested Collins and brought him to Reidsville where he was put in jail and Dr. McCall called to attend his wounds.  It was first thought his wounds would prove fatal, but later examination showed they were not as serious as was at first thought, and it is stated that his condition is favorable for an early recover.

Proctor was arrested by officers of Toombs county Saturday night, in Lyons where he had gone to have his wounds dressed.  Sheriff Kennedy went over to Lyons Sunday and got Proctor and brought him back to the scene of the shooting.  He made bond in the sum of $1,000 and was released.

What stands out from all this is that John Talmadge Collins had taken to drinking and beating his wife; are we surprised? Considering the fact that his grandfather and uncle, and then his father and brother, had been murdered pretty much in cold blood, there had to be some terrible feeling of doom pressing on his mind, an idea that if any unpleasantness confronted him, he might very well be killed as his relatives had been. And no doubt, his own father had plenty to say to him about it as he grew up, possibly priming him for defensive violence.

We don't know the details of the rest of the story, but let me point out something obvious in case you missed it. The above affair took place in 1915, yet we find John Talmadge Collins as head of his own household, between his brothers Duncan and Wallace, in the 1920 Toombs County census. His son, John Talmadge Collins JR was born in 1916, so he apparently didn't spend much time in jail as far as I can figure out. And that leads me to believe that if he was tried by a jury of his peers, they had compassion on him, they understood what he had been through - along with his whole family - and perhaps there were even aggravating circumstances that I have suggested above, about which we know nothing.

Of course, we might all wonder how his wife could or would remain with him even after he had killed her father, but again, perhaps this was a man who was changed by what suppressed grief and rage had driven him to do - drink and "drive a gun" so to say.

One thing that I do find extremely curious is the fact that other than an obit floating around undated and unsourced on ancestry.com, I can find no record of the death of Mitchell Maxwell Brown. The obit says he was "one of the best known and most respected" members of the community, so why wasn't his death recorded? Why didn't he get a nice marker so that Find-a-Grave could take a picture and list it? Did things come out at the trial that painted him in somewhat different colors? Anybody up to the challenge of trying to find out more about the case in county courthouse records?

In any event, I followed all members of Andrew Stokes Collins' family as far as I could go, collecting records, hoping to see that the curse had ended, and I believe it did. Four members of John Talmadge's family were murdered, and he, himself, committed murder and perhaps that broke the spell. It was enough.

In 1930, several of them were still in Georgia, but by the 1940 Federal Census, John Talmadge, Duncan, Robert and Wallace had moved to Florida with their families. John Talmadge was a fisherman in Okeechobee; Duncan, Robert and Wallace were truck drivers in Leesburg.  Youngest brother, Robert Garnett lived next door to Duncan.

I think that fishing on the great lake Okeechobee might have brought some peace to John Talmadge Collins.

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