by Randall L. Kincaid, copyright 2020, all rights reserved
It has been the stone wall of the Collier ancestral line always. Who is the John Collier of North Carolina of the 1893 biographical article? Many researchers over many years have tried to solve the puzzle. Of all approaches, one that does not offer us clarity is grabbing every mention of any John Collier in the 1700s and creating a dump pile. From the outset, we must remember that although not as common as Smith or Brown, the surname of Collier is not unusual. The name of “John Collier” is not so unique or unusual that one can assume that any record or mention in the USA of “John Collier” is the same person as another record or mention in any period of time.
So let’s do the work of identifying each of the numerous contemporary John Colliers who might be a good candidate to be our John Collier. We will start with Col. John Collier who in the late 1700s lived in Randolph County, North Carolina. He is one of the strongest candidates to be our family’s antecedent and likely the most extensively documented. It must be emphasized that any relationship of our family line to Col. John Collier is not proven, and even at the end of this exhaustive examination, will not be proven.
We will start with this item on page 122 in the digitized anthology of the “Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, Volumes 48-49” page 122. The original edition is Volume XLVIII, No. 2, February 1916, Whole No. 283. The full anthology for the volume can be found HERE digitized on Google Books.
In the February 1916 edition, there in the Genealogical Department under Queries is the following:
“4387. COLLIER, COLYER, COLYAR. There were said to be either six or seven Collier brothers in the Rev. I think from Va. One, brother, John, settled in Lincoln Co., Ky. where he d. in 1826. There was a Robert who I believe m a Miss Campbell. Can anyone tell me of the family? F. C. R.”
Then in the May 1916 edition there is a reply. It is page 367 of the anthology. (Bear with me; I’m going to transcribe the entire entry and it is lengthy.)
“4387. COLLIER. In a little booklet issued to descendants of the Collier family called “Some Old Letters” is a short sketch of the Collier family in America as follows: James Collier, b County Donegal, Ireland, in 1705, came to America in 1728 or 9; and m Susannah Dongan Dec 28, 1731; and located on a farm near Harrisburg, Pa. He was a weaver 1y trade but a farmer by occupation. To them were born six children, as follows:
John, b Dec. 14, 1732. His wife’s name was Margaret, b. 1754, but her family name is not now known.
John removed to Randolph Co., N.C. in 1772. The war broke out and he ardently espoused the cause of the Revolution. He was given command of the militia of his county and held a Colonel’s commission. His letters tell his experiences.
Thomas, b April 7, 1733. He was killed by the Indians while on an expedition to bury the dead who had been massacred up the Susquehanna river.
Elenor, b Dec 11, 1739, m Thomas Murry; and they were the ancestors of the Murry family which migrated to Greenfield, Ohio, in 1812.
Mary, b May 14, 1742, m Thomas Johnson, and they removed to “Tygar river,” South Carolina, before the Rev. War, in which the family was closely identified, and saw service on the Colonial side.
Susannah, b Sept 17, 1749, m Samuel Rutherford. This was the beginning of that close union between the two families which has continued for 130 years.
James, b April 20th and May 1, 1752. The reason why he had two birthdays was the reforming of the calendar in 1752 i April 20, becaume May 1st. He m Martha Rutherford April 23, 1787 and they came to Ohio in 1814, locating on a farm just east of Greenfield, where they reared their family. The farm has never been sold. He served with honor throughout the Rev. Way, and was presented by General Lafayette with a sword, which was carried by Capt. Crawford during the Civil War.
All of this Collier family of children saw service in the Revolutionary Way in some capacity. John Collier at one time owned twenty thousand acres of land in North Carolina. He was driven off his land by the Tories and in some way not generally understood by the descendants he lost most of it after the war. His letters show that the Government took two thousand acres at two different times and sold it without his permission. He became discouraged and in time sold what little he had left and it is believed he went into Kentucky. If further information is desired by F. C. R. it may be had by writing to John T. Collier, Greenfield, Ohio. Dr. Carrie Butler Collier, 113 West Main Street, Clarinda, Iowa.”
These cannot be considered records. These are not official recordings of facts. However, they are signposts and strong ones at that. Such information can be used to build upon to create preponderance of evidence, what is known in a courtroom as beyond a reasonable doubt.
The basic family lineage that it offers us as a possibility is:
JAMES COLLIER (b. 1702. Ireland – ? ) m. SUSANNAH DONGAN (? – ?)
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JOHN COLLIER (b. 1734 – ?) m. MARGARET ? (1754 – ?)
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JOHN COLLIER (b. 1761 – d. 1836) m. (1) ? DEAS ( – )
(2) ELIZABETH PITCHFORD (? – 1837)
Is this possibility reasonable? Let’s look at the paternal line. Yes, a man born in 1702 could reasonably beget a man born in 1734; yes, a man born in 1734 could beget a man born in 1761. The most glaring problem is that a woman, Margaret, born 1754, would not give birth to a man born in 1761, when she is seven years old. However, the twenty year age difference between John, born 1734, and his wife, Margaret, born 1754, might be an indication of an earlier marriage for John which could have produced a child in 1761…might…pure speculation.
So let’s confirm and substantiate the facts of this elder John Collier.
To date, I have been unable to locate any copies of the little booklet mentioned in the DAR reply, “Some Old Letters.” However, some of John Collier’s letters have been transcribed and published on the internet. We find this family research site, “Haywood County Line” with a page dedicated to “The Dougan Family“. It includes a transcription of a letter from John Collier to his parents in Paxton (Paxtang), Pennsylvania. Additionally, here is another page in a Balfour family site that provides the entirety of the letter, showing the source to be Brenda Schwall, a Collier family researcher and descendant of Col. John Collier with whom I communicated several times over the years, prior to her death in 2017. (Note that Brenda Schwall informed me that she had also encountered and communicated with Cora Story Yates in past years. Schwall did not believe that our family was descended from Col. John Collier and was firm in her belief.)
“To: Mr. James Collier: Paxton, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania
Favored by Benjamin Heans (sent by Benjamin Means?)
Randolph Co., N.C. Apl, 7 1782
Loving Father and Brother and Sister:
Having the opportunity of the Bearer, I thought it my duty to let yo know that I and my family are well at present: blessed by God for his mercies to us!
I received yours which gave an account of Mother’s Death.
It was the will of God: and we ought not to fret or repine at the hand of Providence. “The Lord giveth and taketh away: blessed be the name of the Lord”!
We had a son born the 17th day of Feb. He lived about 48 hours. It was God’s will to call him out of this troublous world, which would be a happy exchange for every person prepared for the world of spirits.
As the affairs of the state of N.C. I am not able to give you a true account of the melancholy condition as it now exists. I will give a short narrative of my own situation.
The Tories embodied, the 9th and 10th of March last about thirty in number: marched forty or fifty miles through our country: came to my house about dark. I had sentries posted about forty yards from my house. The sentry hailed them. They answered-, “Friends to the United States of America” and fired on the sentry: and the sentry fired on them. I immediately found by the Tories’s fire that we were too weak to stand our ground.
We made our escape to the woods and with great difficulty, I saved myself from their merciless hands. They kept constant firing on my house for two or three minutes, filling my doors with bullet holes. My wife called out to cease their firing and she would open the door and let them in, for there was no person there but women and childdren.
They rushed into the house, set fire to it, and burned it to ashes with article that was in it but some few articles that my oldest daughter threw out at the door. This was the fourth time that the Tories had robbed and plundered me and my small family: but we have great reason to be thankful and bless God that our lives are preserved from a cruel and most merciless enemy.
They left my house and killed one of my captains one mile from my house, they went to Aunt Mary Doughan’s: burned the house and barn.
They killed the Lieut. Col. of our county the same day they burned my house, But I am not able to tell. Every day they are murdering, burning and plundering the good citizens of the state. I believe that nine-tenths of our county are enemies to the United States of America.
We are daily in pursuit of them but the situation of the country and the many harbors, makes it difficult to come up with them. If they would have got me they would not have burned my house, but they would have instantly put me to death for this reason: that I have put several of their leaders to death for this year past.
My situation this year is very disagreeable. I have not slept in my house this five months without a guard. I have my family in a little guard-house that I build last year. I am afraid that I will be under the disagreeable necessity to move from this part of N.C. with my family to some place where there are no Tories, for sure I am-, that I and they cannot live together, for I am in danger of my life every moment, without I be in public service.
I have been in the army for the most part, ever since Gate’s defeat (Aug 13, 1780) I am getting old, and the features of the Army in our state are most disagreeable, especially after the Tories (…(illegible)… for our country, and will do my utmost endeavor to have a bill enacted to drive them, man woman and child, within the British lines and find out some ways and means to have our country settled with people of some principle: for these people are no more than a nuisance to civil society.
Were such a law to be enacted we would have an outlet for five or six hundred families within 30 or 40 miles of my home: and it would enable our settlement to live in peace and plenty, with God’s bleessing’s to crown our endeavors. I refer you to the bearer for particulars. Remember me to the Rev. John Elder and family and take my excuse and I had to send and borrow this sheet to write these few imperfect lines on.
Remember me to all inquiring friends without exception, which is all from your loving son and daughter:
John and Margaret Collier.
Bro’ James: You would oblige me much to send, the first opportunity, a good hat: as I am in necessity for one.”
So from this letter, we glean numerous confirmations and corrections. Col. John Collier’s wife’s name in 1782 was Margaret. His father was James Collier of Paxton(Paxtang), Pennsylvania . His mother’s family is shown as Doughan. Note that although not a record, a letter written by the subject carries tremendous weight in research. It is the subject stating the facts of his or her own life. (You can also read Col. John Collier’s February 25, 1782 letter to Gov. Thomas Burke from North Carolina’s Executive Letter Book HERE. It contains no family information.)
Let us be absolutely clear now. The letters are clear proof that the Col. John Collier of Randolph County, NC and the 1790 census was John Collier who was married to a Margaret and was the son of James Collier and Susannah Dougan of Paxton (Paxtang), Pennsylvania…and no other John Collier. He was not a John Collier from Virginia; he was not John Jeremiah Collier; he was not a John Collier who was married to a “Mary.”
Additionally, the following information is noted below the letter transcription at the Balfour site. “Major Thomas Dougan was first cousin to Col. John Collier since the mother of Col. John was Susannah Dougan, sister to Thomas Dougan Sr. (wife Mary Kerr). The Dougans came to this area in 1763 and were followed by Col. John Collier in 1772. Col. Collier stuck it out until 1792 when he “removed to Greene County, TN, in December with two wagons. It only took him 2 weeks to travel from Randolph County.””
The Colliers were members of the Paxton Presbyterian Church in present day Harrisburg, PA. The parents, James and Susannah Dougan Collier are buried in the adjoining cemetery. The sanctuary used today was built in 1740. The pastor at the time was the Rev. John Elder, the fighting parson who was the leader of the Paxtang Boys.””
Addiitonally, in the first site regarding the Dougan family, the following is offered. Child of Thomas and Eleanor Dougan, attributed to a family bible inscription:
Dougan, Susannah, b. 1701 in County Donegal, Ireland or St Christopher (St. Kitt’s) in the Caribbean, d. 09 Sept 1781, age 74. Location died: Paxtang, PA; buried Paxtang Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Spouse: James Collier, b. 1707, m. 28 Dec. 1731, d. 31 Mar 1788, Age 81, buried Paxtang Presbyterian Church Cemetery
We go to the “Find A Grave” website which is a database of burials throughout the world. We search for and find “Paxton Presbyterian Churchyard” now located within the limits of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There is an entry for the grave of James Collier with a photo of the headstone which we can transcribe. “JN Memory of James Collier who departed this life the 31 of Mar 1788 Aged 85 years.” We then review the entry for Susannah Dougan Collier. There is a photo of James and Susannah Collier’s headstone side-by-side. Another photo can be transcribed “JN Memory of Suíana Collier Who Departed This Life (illegible) Sept 1781 Aged 74 years.” (The use of í appears to be an outdated form of denoting abbreviation by removing some letters.)
A headstone inscription is a strong piece of evidence. With the evidence of the inscriptions, we confirm Susannah Dougan Collier’s life dates and correct her husband’s, James Collier’s, death date and age at death.
Next, we return to Google Books and “Notable Men of Tennessee: Personal and Genealogical, with Portraits, Volume 1,” Judge John Allison, Editor, Southern Historical Association, Atlanta, Georgia, 1905.
On page 228 and 229 is a biography and photo of Alexander Donald Collier, I am excluding his personal information. The following family information is included:
“…The family are of Scotch-Irish descent, and are Cumberland Presbyterians. The Colliers of Tennessee are descended from John Collier, who in 1772 removed from his native place near Harrisburg, Pa., to Randolph, N.C., where he and his wife, Margaret Register, reared a family of nine children, two sons and seven daughters. He was an ardent patriot, espoused the cause of the colonies and was made commander of the patriot troops of his county with the rank of colonel. His activity drew upon him the wrath of the Tories, who were greatly in the majority in his section, and he was persecuted by them, his house burned, and his family robbed. In 1792, at the age of sixty years, he removed with his family to Greene county, Tenn., where he purchased a farm, and where he and his wife died in 1823 and 1824, respectively. From him and his brother, Capt. James Collier, who moved to Ohio in 1814, have sprung most of the family in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and the West.” (The last sentence would appear to be a flowery overstatement which was often the case with such biographies.)
Our possible lineage then looks like this:
JAMES COLLIER (1702 Ireland – 31 Mar 1788 ) m. SUSANNAH DOUGAN (1701 – 09 Sep 1781)
married 28 Dec 1731
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JOHN COLLIER (b. 1734 – 1823) m. MARGARET REGISTER (1754 – 1824)
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JOHN COLLIER (b. 1761 – d. 1836) m. (1) ? DEAS ( – )
(2) ELIZABETH PITCHFORD (? – 1837)
I emphasize “possible” as much of this is not substantiated by records. Remember published genealogies, family trees, county histories and biographies are not records. They can only be used to build preponderance of evidence or used to provide direction for further research.
We now focus on uncovering additional records and evidence of Col. John Collier, born 1734.
Let’s start with the first U.S. Census in 1790. We search by “Collier” in Randolph County, North Carolina. There is a record for “John Collier” on original page 36 of North Carolina, Randolph Co., District not stated.
John Collier
Free White Persons, Male, under the age of 16 2
Free White Persons, Male, age 16 and over 1
Free White Persons, Female 7
Number of Household Members 10
Seven lines below are three Dougan households. We know from the letter that Col. John Collier lived in proximity to his Dougan relatives. So it is likely that this entry is that of Col. John Collier. If so, the one male age 16 and over would be Col. John Collier at age 56. Neither of the other two males would be our ancestor, John Collier, as both in the census are under the age of 16 and our John Collier would be 29 in 1790.
There are twenty or more other Collier/Colier/Caller households in North Carolina in the 1790 census but no other John Collier/Colier/Caller households. That does not mean that there have been no other John Colliers or that there are no other John Colliers in North Carolina in 1790. It means the census-takers did not record any other John Colliers as head of household.
Now, let’s turn to land records in North Carolina to reaffirm locations and identity. Randolph County, NC was formed in 1779 from part of Guilford County, NC. Information as found states that Col. John Collier migrated from Pennsylvania to North Carolina in 1772 and moved out of North Carolina in 1792. So we will search in both Guilford and Randolph Counties from 1772 to 1792.
In “North Carolina, Land Grant Files, 1692-1960”
No. 41 County: Randolph Name: Collier John Acres 640 Grant No. 40 Issued 23rd October 1782 Warrant No. ___ Entry No. 1147 Book No. 49 Page No 78 Location “On both sides of Uwarrie Beg. at a Pine”
(Note: this is a work in progress, I will be presenting every record and mention that reasonably can be assigned to Col. John Collier of Randolph County, NC. I will be creating a separate post for every individual John Collier who can be identified in the era of 1750 to 1800 and differentiating between them. I will be adding and editing, then republishing on a continuing basis.)
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