United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890

Recently I received an email from another Collins researcher asking "Was there such thing as a widow census ? " I had never heard of one, so I looked into it, turns out there was in 1890. It was called " United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890"

"Often confused with the 1890 census, and more often overlooked or misjudged as useless, are nearly 75,000 special 1890 schedules enumerating Union veterans and widows of Union veterans.

The U.S. Pension Office requested this special enumeration to help Union veterans locate comrades to testify in pension claims and to determine the number of survivors and widows for pension legislation. (Some congressmen also thought it scientifically useful to know the effect of various types of military service upon veterans' longevity.) To assist in the enumeration, the Pension Office prepared a list of veterans' names and addresses from their files and from available military records held by the U.S. War Department.

Nearly all of the schedules for the states of Alabama through Kansas and approximately half of those for Kentucky appear to have been destroyed before transfer of the remaining schedules to the National Archives in 1943. Fragments for some of these states were accessioned by the National Archives as bundle 198."

https://www.census.gov/history/www/genealogy/decennial_census_records/1890_veterans_census.html

I found this link where you can run a search on the Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War :
 https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1877095

I ran a search on my second Great-grandfather, Hiram Collins, and 'bingo' I found this record:
 

 Here are links to an informative article in 3 parts from the National Archives:

The Fate of the 1890 Population Census, Part 1

The Fate of the 1890 Population Census, Part 2

The Fate of the 1890 Population Census, Part 3

I hope this article might be of help to any researcher who descends from a Union Civil War Veteran and their widow. 

Hat Tip to Dianne Hart

Valentine Collins .... Facts or Fiction ? Part 2

I've been going through all my files, years of research. I have one folder named 'bad_info' aka Hog Wash Files

I came across some comments left on a blog, that are so bad, I just thought 'Lord have mercy'.

This is no fault of the blogger, who I am acquainted with, as these are just comments on a blog post he made.

The blog post is named 'Valentine Collins Timeline', which actually was complied by Jack Goins, Penny Ferguson and my self, some years back. The links on this blog's article no longer are valid.

Here is a link to the blog post: Valentine Collins Timeline, there are 3 comments posted by the same person, that are not only chock full of misinformation, but border on being slanderous.

I'm going to  critique each comment, and make appropriate corrections

Comment 1:
"Pretty sure whoever Valentine Collins was he was one of my great grandparents-thusly, (1) his son Joshua who married Elizabeth Dale, had a child named Elizabeth Collins called Becky who married Matthew Bridgeman who produced a son Joshua Bridgeman who married Abigail Woodruff Hibbs and produced my GreatGrandmother Martha Elizabeth Bridgeman-Joshua and his family moved to Georgia in late 1800's and lost touch with the Hibbs children half siblings and the Collins family as well as the rest of the Bridgeman clan who resided mostly on the TN/VA border and Joshua told my Grandpa James Lee Thompson stories of being born in a home on the TN/VA line and not knowing for sure which state he was actually born in-and of serving in the Civil War in the Virginian militia.(2) I don't care who Valentine was but I believe him to be Native American and Hispanic as well as subsaharian decent as well as White. He is declared Lumbee and Saponi, I don't know if he is Vardy's brother but they are some relation because they followed each other from NC, to TN to VA to KY-back in that time they could not vote so there was power in numbers even if you were deemed Indian or Free men of Color or Mulatto (3) so family stuck together to the point that they finally decided to come to GA lots of the Collins family and just not talk about it. I married a Collins who is probably a very distant cousin and their story is hush hush as well,(4) Hiram Collins did indeed die in the Civil War fighting for the Union Army which is not discussed among Collins on his side> I did not know I had Collins ancestry when I married my husband.(5) THANKS ALOT COLLINS MESS!!! SIGNED GRANDDAUGHTER OF VALENTINE"

1. Yes Joshua Collins son of Valentine Collins did marry Elizabeth Dale on June 21, 1824 in Greenup County, Kentucky(my 3rd Great Grandparents), they did have a daughter named Elizabeth Collins, she was born in Floyd County ,Kentucky in 1843, I have no reason to believe she ever went by 'Becky'.

According to Johnson County Kentucky marriage records, she married James Madison Welch (served with 39th KY Infantry, Union Army), December 12, 1860. She died  January 10, 1903 in Johnson County, Kentucky. She did not marry Matthew Bridgeman, nor did she have a child named Joshua Bridgeman.

I did a little research and found that Matthew Bridgeman married Mary Elizabeth Collins in Washington County, Virginia abt 1834.

2. DNA testing is showing a small trace of Native American DNA,  but you have to 'dig' to find it, by downloading FTDNA atDNA raw data to Gedmatch and using their admixture tool. Y-DNA testing on 2 Valentine Collins lines (David and Joshua) are showing Haplogroup E1b1a8a , which is Sub-Saharan African .

I'd like to see this 'researcher' show a citation for Hispanic. I have no reason to believe that to be true.

What on Earth is 'White' ?

Declared 'Lumbee and Saponi' , by who ?  First of all the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, did not use the term 'Lumbee' until 1956. Valentine Collins never lived on or near the Lumber River, or Robeson County, North Carolina.

Saponi at best would be a good guess, but not fact.

Vardy Collins never followed Valentine Collins to Kentucky. Vardy stayed put in Old Hawkins County Tennessee, now Hancock County. As well, Valentine Collins stayed put in Eastern Kentucky. Could not vote ? I have no reason to believe Valentine Collins' voting rights were ever taken away, what a bunch of 'hog wash'.

3. Georgia ? That's so ridiculous ., I won't even make a comment.

4. Yes, my Hiram Collins (2nd Great Grandfather)  did die while serving with The 14th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Company K, Union Army, he died of Typhoid fever. He served along side his 1st cousin Allen Collins, son of Joshua Collins.

Kentucky in the War between the States

As far as this not being discussed by this family, that is pure malarkey. How would this 'researcher' know this, she is not kindred to the Valentine Collins family. Shame on her.

5. Mess ? The only 'Mess' I see is the 'Mess' this person created for themselves. 'Granddaughter of Valentine Collins' ?, Bless her heart, but that ain't true.

Comment 2:
"one more entry I would like noted and (1) you will find this to be true of both Valentine and Vardy Collins they both have children and grandchildren named Hiram Collins and (2) they both have children who married into the Goins and Bunch families-(3)they both carry Portughese names such as Dicey and Lavisa as they married these women with these type name which my research has shown is of Portughese orgins-(4)both families claim relation to Daniel Boone and I have heard this all my life even though I don't recall hearing the name Collins mentioned but I did hear Bridgeman and Woodruff many times. (5)There are many circumstances that lean toward the blood relation of some type between Vardy and Valentine-once again signed-Valentines Granddaughter "

1. Yes Valentine Collins did have children and Grandchildren names Hiram, I have no reason to believe that Vardy Collins did, maybe this 'researcher'  can show the names and the documentation her statement is based on . I ain't gonna hold my breathe on that one.

2. Both ? Vardy Collins' line did, but Valentine Collins' line didn't. In fact, the 'mixing' with the Bunch and Goins families was pre -Valentine, this is shown in atDNA matches.

3. Does this 'researcher' know that Dicey is short for Ludicia ?  My research comes up with different conclusions.

Let's start with Ludicia:
"LUDICIA, LUTICIA - a variation of "Letitica" that seems to be unique to the American South. Examples can be found as early as the 1780's."

"DICEY - this was a nickname for several different names including Eurydice, Theodocia, Ludicia, and Diana.  Also used as a given name in its own right, especially in the 19th century."

This is information from a link that was sent to me by a seasoned Genealogist, a person who I trust, and  have no reason not to trust, in fact she is a Caudill cousin of mine, click here for a great 'name' site :  Female Names in the Upper New River Valley of North Carolina, 1700's to about 1850

Lavisa , I found to be of both Old English/Hebrew and of Danish origin.  I'd be interested in seeing the citations that these 2 names have 'Portyghee' origins.

4. Which both families ? I'm sure she didn't mean the Valentine / Vardy Collins families, that would be foolish. What connection do these Bridgeman, Wooduff families have to either the Vardy or Valentine  Collins line ? None that I know of. Danial Boone, give me a break !

5. Circumstances do not make for sound Genealogical research, in fact the opposite.

The connection between Vardy Collins and Valentine Collins is a work in progress. If there is a connection, it's through a female. Again Valentines Granddaughter ?

Comment 3:
"Collins in some these families here tend to fight then deny relation for some generations to come so that might account for some of this COLLINS MESS! They have children fighting on both Northern and Southern sides in the Civil War, this further opened any divides, as some went north and some went south. WE ARE ALL WHO WE ARE AND WE ARE SOMEWHAT THOSE FROM WHICH WE CAME-I AM NOT ASHAMED AS (1) I DID NOT KNOW THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT seemed to have driven both Vardy and Valentine in life, they seemed to be constantly having to fight to keep the land they had and they seemed to be constantly defending their heritage to someone for some reason in four states, I think a lot just gave up and said what they thought people wanted to hear or said nothing at all. Deborah Thompson Collins"

1. What ? Both Vardy and Valentine Collins were big land owners. I don't know about Vardy, but I have no reason to believe Valentine Collins ever had to fight to keep his land holdings, again citations !!
Four States ?  Vardy Collins can be documented  in 3 States, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, what was the 4th State ?

Valentine Collins was in 4 States, Virginia, North Carolina,Tennessee and Kentucky. Defending their heritage ?, what facts is that foolish statement based on ?

My conclusion on these 3 comments that were posted on a blog post named "Valentine Collins Timeline", is first of all, this person needs to take a refresher course on Genealogical research.

The only 'mess' there is, is the one she created herself. From what she has stated , she has a long way to go to prove she is "Valentine Collins'  Granddaughter", in fact she has proven the very opposite.

I wish her luck in her research and can only say, Bless Her Heart !


That's my 2 cents....

Valentine Collins .... Facts or Fiction ? Part 1

I recently had an email exchange with a cousin (paternal side, first cousin once removed).  We were discussing an upcoming family reunion and I was updating him on my resent genetic genealogy matches etc. He asked me an interesting question, "What conclusions have you come to ?"

My reply was this: " I haven't really come up with any conclusions, except for the fact that Valentine and Vardy Collins do not share the same Father, and that is fact. Conclusions are hard to come by, when you have limited data/information. For instance, not a soul on this Earth knows who Valentine's parents were , or when or where he was born. There are many theories stated as fact, that aren't  fact, they are 'Myth' See link.....  Myth ".

As far as I'm concerned, without  solid facts, documentation and reliable sources, it's impossible to come to a 'conclusion' concerning any genealogy. Best to refrain from 'Jumping to Conclusions'.

This makes me think of all the misinformation on the Internet concerning my 4th Great Grandfather.

Valentine Collins is my double 4th Great Grandfather, I descent from 2 of his son's,  David Collins is the direst male line, and Joshua Collins from an 'inter-married' line. David and Joshua married sisters, Mary and Elizabeth Dale. These 2 line have been my main scope of focus concerning researching family history.

Back to 'conclusions', I am just amazed  at some of the conclusions that some researchers have come to concerning the Valentine Collins line. Bless their hearts for having an interest / kinship to this line. Some are so far fetched, they are hilarious. I haven't found  1 public family tree (I don't know about the private ones) on Ancestry.com that has it right, which I find amazing.

From my 17 years of research on my Collins line, I can honestly say that this line 'brickwalls' with Valentine. There are many Valentine Collins 'family trees' on Ancestry.com and other sites, that don't agree with my assessment.

I'm gonna start with some basic facts, that I know to be true, I'll follow that with some screen shots and examples of  'poor conclusions'. If any reader of this blog disagrees with my findings, I welcome comments. You can post comments at the bottom of this page.

In 2003, the first Y-DNA test was done at FTDNA for the Valentine Collins line, I was tested (David Collins line), then in 2008 we had another Valentine Collins descendant (Joshua Collins line ) tested.
These 2 lines matched, and to this day, we are the only 2 Collins' that do match. Our most common Y-DNA matches are with the Surname  'Bunch'.

Our original haplogroup was E3a. Since then haplogroup  names have changed. In my case E3a evolved to E1b1a, then to E1b1a8a, then to E1b1b1a1a1b1a, and at present by the Geno 2  system E-CTS10652. There is also a 'shorthand version'.

It would be ideal if we could find and have tested direct male descendants of Valentine's other 3 son's 
Hiram Collins, and Otary Collins.

The first time Valentine Collins shows up on public records is on the 1787 Wilkes County, North Carolina tax records.

Most say Valentine Collins was born in 1768 or in 1769 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. The biggest problem with that is, Wilkes County wasn't formed until 1777 from Surry County  and Washington District (now Washington County, Tennessee).

This 1768 date was an estimate by a Collins researcher years ago, she told me so herself, in an email exchange. It was never based on facts or documentation. There were no birth certificates in North Carolina in 1768, it was still under British rule. At best, it's an 'estimate' of when he was born. Plus this 'estimate' was based on the first records where Valentine Collins was first recorded.

The parents of Valentine are unknown, thus any siblings he might have had are also unknown.
Valentines date of death or place I haven't been able to find. It's often listed as February 7, 1854.
I've never seen a citation or document to verify this date, but I would love to.
 
The children of Valentine and Ludicia (Dicey) Collins nee Gibson are:

Obedience 'Biddy' Collins married William Cole
Margaret 'Peggy' Collins married Christopher Auxier
Joshua Collins married Elizabeth Dale
David Collins married  Mary 'Polly' Dale
Hiram Collins married Martha Dale
Otary Collins married Frances Nichols

So lets take a look at some of the (mis)information  posted on Ancestry.com :
Each 'Example' is from 1 family tree, I have no idea who these Family Tree's belong to.

Example 1:

Valentine's birth couldn't possibly be in Wilkes County, NC, as Wilkes County wasn't formed until 1777 from Surry County  and Washington District (now Washington County, Tennessee).

Nor could he have died in Johnson County, KY, as Johnson County wasn't formed until 1843 from Floyd County, KY. Valentine Collins was on the US Census and Church records after 1808. Not to mention this same family tree shows Valentine having children born after 1808, go figure ?  

I have no reason to believe that Samuel Collins and Mary Waddell are the parent's of Valentine Collins, and have no idea what this 'conclusion' is based on. I've even seen where they take this Samuel Collins line back to England ?

Now for the siblings, Vardy Collins and Valentine Collins do not share the same Father, they have different Y-DNA haplogroups. As far as all the other ,at best they could be half siblings, but since I don't know who Valentine Collins parents are, I nor anyone else doesn't know either.

I'm not sure where this 'Price' came from in Dicey Collins' name, but it's commonly listed. Was it a bad transcription of the name 'Dicey' ?

This 'tree' left out Valentine's children, Obedience 'Biddy', Joshua, and Hiram, plus added a second David ?

Christopher Columbus Collins and Issac B. Collins are not son's of Valentine Collins, but are the son's of Rhesa Collins, who was the son of Patrick Collins. This family did live in both Floyd and Johnson Counties, but have no ties to the Valentine Collins line.

Bradley Collins is also not a son of Valentine Collins. He might be the son of Meredith Collins

Elijah Collins born 1812 ? does not match brothers David and Joshua via Y-DNA.

Example 2:

You gotta love this picture of  an 'Indian' with a Plains Indian headdress on, why not just use a photo of a 'Cigar Store Indian' ?
 
Again, on the Wilkes County date, there was no Wilkes County NC in 1769, February 7,1854 of a death date ? Citation needed.

I wonder if this death date might be from a bad transcription ? Valentine's son Joshua died February 7, 1854 in Johnson County.

Again we see the 'Price' in Dicey's name, I sure wish I knew where that come from ?

Obediah Collins ? Maybe a typo, I'm sure they meant  'Obedience', Obediah is a man's name.

Hiram Collins who married Martha Dale is not listed

Elijah Collins born 1812 ? does not match brothers David and Joshua via Y-DNA.

Again Isaac B. Collins is not a son of Valentine Collins, but a son of Rhesa Collins, who was the son of Patrick Collins. Patrick Collins was born in Ireland.

Example 3:

Ashe County NC ? I think not, Ashe County wasn't formed until 1799 ?
 
Again the February 7, 1854 date appears. I have no reason to believe Valentine Collins ever lived in Johnson County. I wonder if this death date might be from a bad transcription ? Valentine's son Joshua died February 7, 1854 in Johnson County

Example 4:

Well here is the 'Chief' again. Plus the Wilkes County NC myth shows it's face again. Hawkins County TN ? That's a new one on me. I wonder where that came from. I emailed Jack Goins who is the Hawkins County , TN County Archivist. He stated there were no birth certificates in Tennessee in 1854, so where did this information come from ?

Samuel Collins and Mary Waddell show up on this tree also, but where is the citation ?, what is this based on ?

The 'Half siblings' are based on guess work too, again what is this based on ?

Here is shown Ludicia (Dicey Collins ?) born in 1770......

Right off the reel 'Ludicia' born 1770 gets 7 years older, and is born in 1763.

Meredith Collins is certainly not a child of Valentine Collins, Owen Gibson ? I have no idea who he is.

Again Christopher Collins is the son of  Rhesa Collins, who was the son of Patrick Collins.

Hiram Collins who married Martha Dale is not listed

Like a broken record...Issac B. Collins is the son of  Rhesa Collins, who was the son of Patrick Collins.

Hiram Collins who married Martha Dale is not listed

Amanda Collins is Valentine Collins' Grand Daughter, daughter of Joshua Collins and Elizabeth Dale,

I have no idea who David Collins 1837 is ?  But if he is Valentine's son and Dicey was born in 1763,

Dicey would have had him at the age of 74, very unlikely. A citation sure would help.

Elijah Collins born 1812 ? does not match brothers David and Joshua via Y-DNA.
Example 5:

This family researcher keeps up on current events. The '(Bunch)' , is an interesting touch, but the truth be known, we haven't figured out the connection between Valentine Collins and his Bunch DNA connections. It's a work in progress. Was Valentine's father a Bunch ? , or was an earlier generation where this took place?  Since it's my match, I will be sure and post on his Blog, when we know exactly what the connection is.

I like my Geno2 haplogroup was shown. Nice touch.

So Valentine's parents were Bunch? and Mary Waddell. I don't  think so. If I were to guess, I would think that Valentine was 'natural born' , his Father or Grandfather being a Bunch and his Mother or Grandmother a Collins, and Valentine was given his Mother's or Grandmother's surname. But that's just a guess.

Half siblings, if I had some citations to back up this 'guess work' , I might have an opinion.

I can say for sure Meredith Collins is not Valentine's half sibling, and I doubt the others are.

Hiram Collins who married Martha Dale is not listed

There's that 'Price' nick name used again.

I have no idea who Naomi is, never heard of her, a citation is needed.

Elijah Collins wasn't born in 1805, Joshua Collins was,  I don't think a woman could have 2 children in the same year, unless they are twins.

Elijah Collins born 1812 ? does not match brothers David and Joshua via Y-DNA.

Example 6:

Wilkes County again, Wilkes County wasn't formed until 1777 from Surry County  and Washington District (now Washington County, Tennessee).

Would love to see the citation on Valentine's 1840 death.

 

This family tree shows yet another set of parents for Valentine Collins. I've seen the couple as a theory for Vardy' Collins' parents. Vardy and Valentine don't share the same parents.

Looks like more 'fill in the blanks' on the siblings. Citations please.

This family tree did have the children of Valentine Collins correct, except for Elijah Collins born 1812 ? who does not match brothers David and Joshua via Y-DNA.

Example 7:

2 photos of the same woman , Obedience 'Biddy' Cole nee Collins.She is my double 3rd Great Aunt.

I'd like to see the citation that she was born in Madison County, Kentucky in 1804.

Death in 1839 in Ivyton, Magoffin County , Kentucky ?  Magoffin County wasn't formed until 1860 from Floyd, Johnson and Morgan Counties. Ivyton didn't get a name and Post Office until 1883. I wonder what County did did die it.

I have a hard time believing these photos are of Aunt Biddy, as photography as we know it, wasn't invented till 1839 in France.

UPDATE: I received a comment from Ron Collins,  a Griffin Collins descendent today  (2/11/2016):

"Don, Obediance Biddy Collins Cole was married to my 5th maternal great grandfather William Cole. I have never seen the second photo, but the top photo of lady in plaid dress is Biddy Wadkins b. May 1843 d. April 6,1908.First record of her with Wm Cole is 1850 Floyd Co. KY census age 7. Her mother Rebecca Wadkins is shown as family cook. She married Wm Cole and had children. Her daughter Biddy Wadkins married George Washington Perkins, a paternal 3rd Great Grandfather to me. My line is from Griffin Collins Sr."

I could post more examples, but I think I have made my point. I'm gonna post 2 more sequels to this blog post, the next one will be about mis-information posted on blogs and web sites. The 3rd will be an updated Valentine Collins Timeline.

  That's my 2cents....

Otary Collins

I first became aware of Otary Collins, from a document I inherited from family records. Otary Collins is my double third Great Granduncle.

I have an interest in Otary Collins as his wife Frances Collins nee Nichols, had to testify at a hearing when my 2nd Great Grandmother, Mary Collins nee Caudill applied for a Civil War pension for her and her children.

Mary's husband, Hiram Collins (my 2nd Great Grandfather) died of Typhoid fever while serving in the14th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry (Union), during the Civil War.

Frances had been midwife to Hiram and Mary's children, thus her testimony was needed as Kentucky didn't have Birth Certificates until 1910. My Great Grandfather Andrew B. Collins was one of those children.

Otary Collins was the youngest son of my 4th Great Grandfather Valentine Collins. The youngest brother to my David and Joshua Collins. He was born in 1816 (KY or TN ?), he married Frances Nichols Oct 29,1835 in Morgan Co, KY, he died in Magoffin Co., KY abt 1886.

Otary is not a common name, his name is shown with the following spellings on the US Census of Johnson County , Kentucky:

1850 Otary,1860 Otrey,1870 Otery,1880 Oatrey

I did some research on this uncommon given name and found 2 possibilities, each one from the Iroquoian language group, one Cherokee, the other Tuscarora.

Cherokee:  Ottaray [OTT-a-RAY] (o-ta-ri): Mountain, in an extinct dialect.

( From chenocetah.wordpress.com )

Tuscarora: From New River Notes

FROM THE TUSCARORA..... Ottaray--the over hills.

The word Ottaray, which signifies a mountain region, was written in the sixteenth century by the old Spanish explorers Qttari and John Adair in 1775 wrote it Ottare. At present it would be Ottara, Ottalay, as modern Indians in the Piedmont sound "R" where those in the Altamont use "L," and both have changed the ending to the sound of broad a.

These are two probable sources for the name Otary, I'm still not 100% positive of that theory. 

Dr. Richard Carlson mentions Otary and Francis Collins in his Dissertation , "Who's Your People"..

On page 286 he states " Not having land of their own, Otery and Franky apparently lived on David's (Collins) land as probably many other Indians did from time to time"   That's backed up by census records. 

From page 304:  "In that 1880 instance the old Saponi Otary Collins was one of the over 30 "poor persons" (the rest of whom were white) kept by overseer Rich McGuire that year. Why the old Indian would die there (paupers farm) and not among his people at Big Lick or Jennies Creek in unknown"

" But this is again reveling of the local Indian families' ongoing successful attempts to strategically accommodate to potentially difficult times, in that none of the court records show any other Indians as being classified as 'paupers' from the time Otary Collins died at the Poor Farm in 1881 until 1886"

That's all I know about Uncle Otra, wish I knew more. Sure is a sad note he died on the 'Poor Farm'.

That's my 2 cents.....