Possible Grave of Efford Cobb Collier, within the iron fence Douglassville Cemetery, Douglassville, Texas.
Background
Efford Cobb Collier, son of Robert Collier and grandson of Vines Collier, was born May 4, 1811 in Upson County, Georgia. He died April 26, 1967 in Douglassville, Texas. He married Elizabeth singleton Harris on November 13, 1834 in Talbot County, Georgia. Elizabeth was born November 24, 1820 and died January 18, 1873 in Bryan, Brazos County, Texas.
The promise of abundant, cheap land in Texas has long enticed settlers, particularly following its annexation by the United States in 1845. In the late 1850s, several families from The Rock in Upson County, Georgia formed a wagon train bound for Texas.
From the files of Jean Cuthbert Collier (dated sometime before December 23, 1923:
“Facts regarding Efford Cobb Collier that removed to Texas from Upson County, Georgia in 1857.
Efford Cobb Collier was the son of Robert Collier and brother of Robert Marshall Collier. It is said that Efford Cobb Collier removed to Texas with a lot of his neighbors, who were, Roswell Powell and James McCoy. It is said that Efford Cobb Collier had the following children: a son William Vines Collier, one daughter named Fannie andone daughter named Sarah and he resided on what is now known as the old Haygoodplace in Upson County Georgia, 3 or 4 miles South of The Rock and that his daughter Fannie married Hardy Jackson being his second wife and his daughter Sarah marriedJames Jackson who was the son of Hardy.
I am now endeavoring to secure information from Douglassville Texas, Cass County,where Efford Cobb Collier is said to have moved in the year 1857.
J. C. Collier“
J.C. contacted several of his Texas kin through the mail and eventually made trips to Texas to meet descendants of his great uncle, Efford Cobb Collier. He found no Colliers in Douglassville, Texas, however. Following Efford’s death in 1867, the family moved to the Central Texas area.
In a letter dated September 3, 1940 to Mrs. I. H. Pressler (granddaughter of Efford Cobb Collier) in Florence, Texas, J.C. stated
“My father, as you know, was born in Upson County, Ga., and I guess I am the one that found your grandfather’s grave over in Douglassville, Texas, Cass County. When I was searching for his grave I ran across the Greene’s on my grandmother’s side who was also born in Thomaston, Upson County, Ga.”
J. C. must have been pointed to Efford’s grave by a knowledgeable local person, which was entirely possible in the mid-1920s. But a review of J. C.’s papers to date have revealed no description of the actual grave location. Then, in 2019, question was brought to the forefront by Tom R. Collier, who had researched and identified the property owned by Efford. Was Efford buried on his farm?
CHF approached Brenda McCoy, historian of the McCoy family and of Douglassville. Based on her research, she believes she has identified the grave of Efford Cobb Collier. Here is the evidence and her conclusions.
My name is Brenda McCoy. I am a Great – Great Granddaughter of James H. McCoy, Sr. who brought his family to Douglassville, Cass Co., Texas from The Rock, Upson Co., Georgia with the Collier family and the Powell family. After retiring, I moved back to the Douglassville area where I had grown up.
Soon after my return, I received a call from Glen Collier of Nacogdoches, Texas. I had been referred to him by someone else…maybe the Mayor of Douglassville (population 214). Mr. Collier was looking for the burial location of Efford Cobb Collier, and he explained his role in helping the Collier family with maintaining records, etc. from years past. In the time following, we exchanged emails as I began the search for the burial location, and I started reading the Collier letters that he was putting online.
For me it was like sitting down and reading a newspaper with names and information going back and forth from The Rock to Douglassville! I knew of the Greene’s and their home place here. I also knew of their relatives here. After reading some of the letters, I discovered for the first time that our McCoy family had come on the wagon train with the Colliers and the Powell’s. There were just a few members of the Powell family left here when I was growing up. And, the Colliers had left.
In working on our family’s genealogy, I have been to The Rock, Upson County, Georgia three or four times. Two cousins had worked on it for many years, and then I got involved, too. So when Glen Collier called, it was a wonderful opportunity to work on the information that the Collier family needed, and at the same time, to learn more about these three families. That also led into more investigation about other families that came here earlier.
(Note: A review of letters written by Mr. Jena Cuthbert Collier, indicated that he had begun his search for more information about Efford Cobb Collier and the members of Efford’s family in 1912. It seemed that the overriding question over time became “Where is Efford buried”? Mr. J. C. Collier had begun putting the genealogy of the Collier family together. It appears from his correspondence that he worked on this for the remainder of his life.)
Here are portions of some of the relevant correspondence that assisted Ms. McCoy’s research:
Dec. 20, 1923 Jena Cuthbert Collier (J. C. C.) wrote Mrs. Mary Greene Wilson (a cousin on his mother’s side) who lived in Douglassville, Cass County, Texas. In this letter he informs her that he has sent out letters to various towns trying to locate the family of Efford Cobb Collier.
Jan. 20, 1924 Hardy R. Collier of Goldthwaite, Texas writes to J. C. Collier that there is a difference in dates of birth and death as it shows in his Grandpa’s Bible and other information shared by J. C. Collier. On page 2 of the letter, he also states that Mrs. Fannie Jackson had said that Grandpa Efford Cobb Collier is buried at Douglassville, Cass Co., Texas. (Fannie Jackson was the daughter of Efford and Elizabeth Collier. Fannie married Hardy Ransom Jackson.)
Sep. 16, 1925 In Jena Cuthbert Collier’s letter to Mrs. Mary Greene Wilson, Douglassville, Texas, he states in the sixth paragraph:
“When I come to Texas I will have to go to Douglassville, and I want to find if possible the grave of Efford Cobb Collier…”
Sep. 28, 1926 Jena Cuthbert Collier wrote Mrs. Mary Greene Wilson in Douglaseville, Texas and stated in the first paragraph “…The flu has been very hard to get rid of. I still have a slight trouble in my throat and at times I ache awfully caused by the flu I contracted at Waco last fall.”
The previous information gives us a clearer idea of when he visited in Douglassville, Texas.
Note: J.C. Collier continued his correspondence in between dates that I have used in sharing selections with you. Those years also included many references to the Great Depression, to business, and to farming and prices regarding such.
Sept. 3, 1940 Jena Cuthbert Collier wrote a letter to Mrs. I. H. Pressler in Florence, Texas. He stated that he regretted not getting to know her personally, but when he was last in Texas and at Waco, he had a case of the flu. It was then impossible for him to get down to Florence. In his closing paragraph he states:
“My father, as you know, was born in Upson County, Ga., and I guess I am the one that found your grandfather’s grave over in Douglasville, Texas, Cass County. When I was searching for his grave I ran across the Greene’s on my grandmother’s side who was also born in Thomaston, Upson County, Ga.”
Sep. 29, 1942 Jena Cuthbert Collier wrote a letter to Dr. J. D. Eggleston in Hampden-Sydney, Va. In the second paragraph, J. C. Collier refers to his great-grandmother, Martha Marshall Booker. Mid-way in the paragraph, he states:
“One son, Efford Cobb drifted to Texas in 1856*, he is buried at Douglasville, Texas, and my inquiries found his grave, his people had scattered all over the state of Texas and I visited several of them on my last trip in Nov. 1926…”
*Note: From all other accounts the move to Texas was in 1857.
Some of the Greene family graves JC Collier found in the Douglassvile Cemetery. Possible grave of Efford Cobb Collier enclosed by iron fence in background.
On Jan. 30, 1866 Efford Cobb Collier deeded personal property to his wife and children. The personal property included his farm.
More from Brenda McCoy:
Since Efford’s health must have been bad when he deeded his property to his wife and children on Jan. 30, 1866, he probably knew that he wouldn’t live too long. His oldest son had been his “overseerer” for his farm before the Civil War, but he was killed in the War in Mississippi. I have wondered if Efford and the family had made plans for the family to go to the area around Bryan maybe after he died. Who knows for sure? A lot of the families here did have some married children to go to the areas around Dallas, down to Waco, and to the Bryan area, etc. after the War. (The Cole family here went to Bryan.) As for burial, I just don’t think that they would have buried Efford on land that they knew would go back to Josiah J. Williams or would be sold.
So…I started thinking about the Douglassville Cemetery, and in particular, one burial site with an iron fence around it but no gravestone for it. I went there and took a shovel and tapped in the ground hoping to find a gravestone that might have fallen over some years ago. No luck. (And, I have the notebooks from two women who had kept records of those buried in D’ville from years ago until they had each died. By then the Cass Co. Genealogical Society had “read” all known cemeteries in the county and published the books.) (Also, no one who died during the Reconstruction Period here had a real marker unless it was homemade of concrete – which there were a few. Some families put “real” ones on the graves at later times when they could get them. But, in learning a little about the Efford C. Collier family, and knowing about the correspondence between the Greene’s and others from GA to TX, and knowing where this grave with an old iron fence around it is, certainly tells me that it is likely Efford’s. There is no way to know for sure, but I just can’t see the family burying him anywhere else. I do not think that he is buried in Powell Cemetery #1. It is not in Douglassville. And, there are no Greene family members buried in it. He could perhaps be in another plot nearby in the D’ville Cemetery in an unmarked grave, but I still think that he is buried within this iron fence. There is no gate to it, and it is only large enough for one person to have been buried. There would have been iron fencing available in this area of the country. There were no railroads anywhere around here until 1873. Getting a monument would have been very difficult – especially during the Reconstruction Period. One would have to be ordered from some other area of the country, and then it would have to be transported from that place to this area. Then it would have to be hauled by a wagon and placed in the proper location. While this was routine in earlier years, it might not have been possible during the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War. But, a nice fence around the grave would have kept the grave from being “lost” over years. I think that is what the family did.
Other evidence:
I also reviewed the Cass County Genealogical Society’s cemetery books of 1996 when they “read” every cemetery and copied every marker in Cass County, and there was no listing for Efford Cobb Collier.
I studied letters of the Collier family and found through them several references to Efford being buried in Douglassville…not outside of Douglassville, and not near Douglassville, but in Douglassville. There is only one cemetery in Douglassville, and it is only a short distance from the intersections of Hwy. 8 and Hwy. 77. Both the Methodist and Baptist churches are visible from the cemetery.
The oldest known marked grave in the Douglassville Cemetery is 29 Oct 1859. This is in the same area as the grave that has the fence around it which I believe is most likely Efford Cobb Collier’s. There is one other grave site enclosed with the same design of fence as the one that could be Efford’s, and it is in the same time period. Other older grave sites northeast of his also have fencing but of a different design. Iron fencing around graves was not uncommon in those earlier days.
I took a shovel and tried to locate any kind of marker on both the inside area and just outside of this site hoping to find something that would have a name or initials on it but found nothing. It is not uncommon for markers to fall over and then over a period of years to have dirt cover them or for grass to grow over them. That did not seem to be the case here.
Other Douglassville information of interest.
James Charles Blalock and Orinda Dorthea Adelia Coleman (O. D. A.) lived at The Rock, Upson Co., GA and remained there. Below are some of their children and spouses who came to this area of Texas:
Nancy W. Blalock married our James H. McCoy (Robert Collier was the one who married them.)
Lucinda G. Blalock married Hardy Ransom Jackson; he married Martha Francis Collier (2) (In his Will, he left Martha $1,500 in gold; his watch, and a horse.)
Eleanor D. Blalock married Roswell Powell
Dorothea Cordelia Blalock married Dr. James Madison Willis (Came here abt. 1855.)
Ransom Cole (1800 – 1887) came to Texas in 1850. His wife was Agatha Bostwick (1806 – 1854). They had nine children. They settled in the Douglassville area. Two of the boys, Jasper Newton Cole and Noah Benjamin Cole, went to Bryan, TX in 1867. Brother Mason D. Cole had a store in Douglassville from 1865 – 1869, and then he joined the brothers in Bryan later in 1869. The father, Ransom Cole, stayed on his farm in Douglassville until his later years, and then he joined family in Bryan, Texas where he died.
Ransom Cole and Hardy Ransom Jackson had a lot of acreage in the northeastern quadrant from Douglassville.
In the foreground is the cemetery marker for J. J. Williams. He was the postmaster in Douglassville and is the one who sold Efford C. Collier land in the E. Frazier Headright.
Thank you Brenda McCoy for your research and sleuthing!
Shattles Cemetery Marker (photo courtesy of Amanda Johnson)
The Colliers and Shattles were both prominent families in Middle Georgia during the 1800s. In the early part of the century, as the counties were formed from Indian territory, these families were among the early settlers. In Upson County, Robert Collier settled near The Rock, while brother Isaac farmed west of Thomaston near the Flint River. A third brother, Cuthbert, claimed land in adjacent Monroe County, where he eventually built a rail station. The Shattles families lived in an area which, at the time, was near the Upson-Monroe county line. Much of that area in Monroe County was made part of Lamar County in 1920.
Historically, the Shattles line has only been traced back to about 1772 with the birth of George Washington Shattles. Prior lineage is lost in the fog of time, possibly because, as family legend holds, Shattles may not have been the original name. I find it interesting that an infant would be named George Washington in 1772, four years before the Declaration of Independence. Of course, in 1772, the original George Washington was a hero of the French and Indian War and was part of the social and political elite of the colony of Virginia. It is entirely possible the future Father of Our Country had his admirers before becoming President. Still, it seems odd the Shattles line could only be traced back to a man named at birth for someone who had not yet achieved his greatest prominence.
The information about the Shattles family comes to CHF primarily from the work of Joel Shattles, Sr., who is now deceased. Beginning in about 1998, Joel, along with his son, Joel, Jr., began tracing their family history. A bound, unpublished history of the Shattles Family was produced in 2000.
Joel Shattles, Sr. Speaks at the Shattles Family Reunion 2003
There were at least two Collier-Shattles marriages. It is not the intent here to discuss the entire Shattles line, but to focus on the Collier-Shattles connections.
The aforementioned George Washington Shattles was born in Pennsylvania. He married his wife, Barbara (maiden name unknown), in about 1791 in North Carolina. George died about 1859 in Upson County, Georgia. Both are thought to be buried in a portion of Upson County that was later carved off and made a part of Pike County.
The first child of George and Barbara was John Richard Shattles, who was born in 1772 in North Carolina. John Richard also took a “Barbara” for his wife in 1811. John and Barbara had seven children; the first was born in North Carolina, the rest in Georgia. Information from a page in a family Bible tells us John Shattles died May 13, 1869, and Barbara Shattles died the next month on June 15.
The fifth child born to John and Barbara Shattles was another George Washington Shattles. This George Washington was born about 1821 in Monroe County, Georgia. He married Lucinda Kennedy September 6, 1840 in Monroe County. George died June 4, 1857 in Upson County. Lucinda’s date of death is given as 1896. Both are buried in the Shattles Cemetery in Lamar County.
George Washington Shattles Marker (Father of Francis Ann Shattles, Who Married Robert Terrell Collier)
Lucinda Kennedy Shattles Marker (Mother of Francis Ann Shattles, Who Married Robert Terrell Collier)
George and Lucinda had nine children. The eldest was Francis Ann Shattles, born July 18, 1841. On November 17, 1859, Francis Ann married Robert Terrell Collier, son of Williamson Collier and grandson of Vines Collier.
George Washington Shattles, Father of Francis Ann Shattles and Grandfather of Absalom Terrell Collier
About 1884, Robert Terrell and Francis Ann moved to Texas and settled in Nacogdoches County, founding the East Texas branch of Vines Collier descendants. Both Robert Terrell and Francis Ann or buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Upshur County, Texas.
Grave Markers of Robert Terrell Collier and Francis Ann (Shattles) Collier, Upshur County, Texas
John and Barbara Shattles’ six child was James Monroe Shattles, born February 25, 1823 in Monroe County, Georgia. James, or Jim, as he was also called, married Ann Davidson on July 26, 1876. James Shattles died June 15, 1883. No death date is known for Ann Shattles, and no burial location is known for either spouse.James Shattles was an active farmer and landowner. On the map of Land Districts, dated sometime around 1850, the “Shattles Bros.” place most likely refers to farms of brothers George Washington Shattles and James Monroe Shattles.
Eleven children were born to the union of James and Ann Shattles. The second born, and the first male, was given the family name of George Washington Shattles. This George Washington was born December 5, 1849 in Monroe County, Georgia. George married Mary Delonia Collier on April 24, 1871 in Upson County, Georgia. He died February 17, 1899 in Gordon County, Georgia. Mary Delonia passed away in 1916. Both George and Ann are buried in West Union Baptist Church Cemetery in Gordon County , Georgia.
Mary Delonia (Collier) Shattles at the Wedding of her Son, James Thomas Shattles, to Dorothy Irvin in 1902
Mary Delonia Collier was the daughter of Isaac Peterson and Martha (Dickens) Collier. The military service of Isaac Peterson Collier is discussed further in this CHF post dated August 18, 2018 and entitled “Nothing But My Duty” (Click Here). Mary Delonia’s paternal grandparents were Charles Vines and Rebecca (Owen) Collier. More information on the Confederate service of the Sons of Charles Vines collier, Sr. and Rebecca Owen Collier and Rebecca is discussed in a post of September 14, 2015 (Click Here) Vines and Elizabeth (Williamson) Collier were her great-grandparents.
Some interesting trivia:
The Shattles Cemetery is located in Lamar County, on a well-known historic farm known as Sugar Hill. Sugar Hill is now owned by Collier descendants.
The Shattles Cemetery is in a portion of Lamar County that was carved off from Monroe County when Lamar was created. The area is known as the Redbone Community. It is thought Native Americans referred to the area as Redbone because of the large number of red fox squirrels they found in the area.
William Merrill Collier, half-brother to Robert Terrell Collier, died sometime around 1870. He was buried in the Redbone Community.
In 1925, J C Collier had the remains of William Merrill Collier exhumed and re-interred in the Collier Family Lot at Greenwood Cemetery in Barnesville Click here for related post.
The first born son of George Washington Shattles and Mary Delonia (Collier) Shattles was named Pascal Smith Collier. For a discussion of the name of Pascal Smith see this post (click here).
Joel Shattles, Sr., was the grandson of George Washington and Mary Delonia (Collier) Shattles. His great-grandfather was Isaac Peterson Collier.
This picture, taken in 2001, includes some of the Shattles family at the cleanup of the Isaac Collier Cemetery. See the post about the event by clicking here.
This is a combined genealogy study for Gloria Jean (Banderman) Collier and Michael Wayne Collier, who both hail from Higginsville, Missouri. Gloria’s ancestors arrived in the United States starting in the 1800s from the German Confederation, Scotland, and likely Ireland. Most of Gloria’s ancestors proceeded directly from their ports-of-entry to Missouri. Mike’s ancestors first arrived in British Colonial America with the 1607 Jamestown and 1620 Plymouth landings. Over the next two centuries, more of his ancestors arrived in British Colonial America and some eventually migrated from the U.S. Atlantic Coast (mainly Virginia); through Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana; arriving in Missouri starting in the early-1800s. Mike traces his Collier lineage to Frenchman Robert Coliere, who arrived in England around 1482, as do many others on the Collier Heritage Foundation site.
The study is presented in a general chronological order with Gloria’s and Mike’s family trees separated. The study concentrates on direct ancestors (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.) and only addresses aunts, uncles, and cousins when they are found to be interesting people–meaning those of historical note or having interesting life stories. A short life story is provided for each interesting ancestor, along with historical background to help understand the context for when the ancestor lived. Family tree branches are noted in each life story when the branch is not readily identifiable by an ancestor’s surname.
We hope you find this study both interesting and educational.
As many of you have noticed and pointed out to me, no posts later than 2019 show up on the website. I’ll explain.
In 2019, several CHF contributors combined to pay $5000 to have the website updated. The update included functions to allow individuals to make contributions to CHF and for CHF to sell items, such as genealogy and family history books. The organization is non-profit and had recently achieved tax-exempt status. The update was important to generate revenue for ongoing website hosting and maintenance. It was supposed to be a one-time fix, allowing donations and annual paid memberships through Braintree and PayPal. These functions would guarantee support and longevity for the website.
At about the same time, our hosting server was indicating that it would be eliminating some services, including possible hosting of our data, pictures, documents, and posts. Our website design person convinced us it would be safer to allow him to host everything on his server.
Shortly after the website was updated, we began to have problems with Braintree and PayPal, both of which were linked to our meager bank account. There were attempts for unauthorized access to the account. At first it was not uncommon to have an attempt every now and then. Eventually the attacks bordered on harassment as they increased to 10, 20, or more per day. Our website designer could not be found to help with the problem. Finally, we emptied the bank account and cancelled the Braintree and PayPal accounts. We then hired a new IT person to remove the donate and purchase features from the website.
Then, sometime in late 2022 or early 2023, all posts made since the website update in the summer of 2019 disappeared. I don’t know with certainty but suspect that the server used by the original and unscrupulous website designer no longer was hosting the data. Efforts to locate the website designer or the posts were futile. The hosting server said the data belonged to the unscrupulous website designer, not to CHF.
Finally I located pdfs of the posted pages on a website called Wayback. The website archives pdfs of web pages. The text was there on the CHF pages, but most of the images were missing. I had kept all but a few of the images and my computer, so, I began rebuilding the posts. Over the next several weeks I will be re-posting the articles.
Over the years CHF has received numerous emails and messages thanking us for the website. I believe this effort is worthwhile. Thank you for supporting it.
Salem Baptist Church as it appeared in 2001. The church has undergone remarkable expansion since that time.
Stories of the Vines Collier family are told by a first-hand acquaintance and neighbor in the book, Ninety-Four Years, Agnes Paschal. The book, originally published in 1871, is available through The Reprint Company, Spartanburg, South Carolina. This historical memoir of Agnes Paschal and her family was written by her son, George W. Paschal, following her passing. The writing style is typical of that of the 1800s.
Agnes Brewer was born in 1776 in North Carolina. In 1784, her family moved to the Georgia
frontier, settling near Lexington on Long Creek, in a part of Wilkes County
that would later become Oglethorpe County.
Agnes married George Paschal in 1802.
Together they raised a family and were contributing citizens of the
Lexington area until George’s death in 1832.
The Georgia Gold Rush, which
started that same year, lured many adventurers, including George W. Paschal,
son of George and Agnes. The next year,
Agnes was persuaded by her son, George W., to move from the farm in Lexington
to the gold mining town of Aurarie, Georgia, in Lumpkin County.
Vines Collier arrived with his family in the Lexington area at about the same time as the Brewers, settling along Buffalo Creek, south of Long Creek.
Baptists in the area were in need of a reliable source of water for baptizing. Vines Collier, although not a Baptist, allowed a church to be built on a part of his plantation along a branch of Buffalo Creek. At that location, Salem Baptist Church was founded in 1789. The building became known as the Salem Meeting House and hosted a local school, Prospect Academy. Agnes Paschal was a member of the church and her son became a teacher in the academy.
Vines Collier passed away in 1795. In the following years the plantation came
under the control of Isaac Collier, son of Vines, and Clerk
of Superior Court for Oglethorpe County. Isaac had a disagreement with either the
church or the school, or both. The
result was that he constructed a fence to prevent access to the Salem Meeting
House. The congregation voted to relocate
to property on a public road. However,
there was a considerable minority (including Agnes Paschal) that were not in
favor of relocating. The division caused
Agnes Paschal much grief and she moved her membership to another church.
When Isaac Collier ran again for Clerk of Court, the
Baptists blamed him for their trouble and backed his opponent. Isaac was successfully ousted.
Map showing Long Creek, Buffalo Creek, the location of the Vines Collier home site and plantation, and the present-day location of Salem Baptist Church.
Here is the story as written by George W. Paschal in the book
Ninety-Four Years, Agnes Paschal.
At the end of one year my brother was able to redeem his promises to his parents. So he became the student of a learned vagabond scholar by the name of Brantley, who became the teacher of Prospect Academy, which was attached to Salem Church. . . But at the end of a few months, Brantley broke down in consequences of drunkenness, and my brother was installed as the sole teacher. . .
Salem, as I have said, was one of our oldest meeting-houses. It was a wealthy neighborhood, and adjoining the plantation of Isaac Collier, who, for over twenty years, had been clerk of our Superior Court. Collier did not belong to the Baptist communion. Either the church, or some teacher of the academy had given him offense, so that he would patronize neither, and he so inclosed (sic) his plantation as very much to fence out both from convenient access by the public. As a means of relief, there rose up a party for removing the church a couple of miles to an open road. This was opposed by the more wealthy members and by the trustees of the academy. The controversy waxed warm, until the majority removed the meeting-house over the heads of the minority. . .
The clerk of the church, Woody Jackson, a hard-headed obstinate man, refused to go with the records to the new locality of his church. But on every day for the stated monthly meeting, he attended at the old place, where remained the academy, and where all the members had been baptized. Jackson was regularly waited upon by three of the brethren, and cited to attend where the house of worship now was. He appeared and made his defense and was excommunicated. But the pastor of the church, the Rev. Jack Lumpkin, of another communion, sustained the minority, and withdrew his pastoral charge. . . .
My mother was among the minority, who retained the academy. She transferred her membership to Bethany, a church nearer to our residence, and only two miles from Lexington.
The minority retained the academy, and my brother became the teacher. But the majority built a school-house at the new site of their church, and employed Osborn Ely as their teacher, and would not send their children to my brother. The dispute lead to a knock-down between Ely and Samuel Lumpkin, one of the trustees of the academy . . .
The Baptists generally resented the course of Isaac Collier, the popular clerk, as the author of all their troubles. John Landrum, an old school-master of the church, whom we all loved very much, was put forward as a candidate to punish Mr. Collier; and he did it, effectually, by beating him for the office.”
Subsequently, Isaac Collier sold the plantation and moved to Upson County, where he again entered politics. He was elected as State Representative and then State Senator ( see March 27, 2015 CHF post: Isaac Collier, son of Vines & Elizabeth Collier).
Nothing to add, just I love to spend time in this website and read every word here.