Mary Jane (Collings) Biggs (1784 - 1844)

Born 9 Oct 1784 in Kentucky, USA

Ancestors

Wife of John Biggs — married 1802 in Shelby, Kentucky, USA

Descendants

Died 25 Aug 1844 at age 59 in Clark County, Indiana, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Gayle Foster [send private message]

Biography

PIGEON ROOST HISTORY

from HISTORY OF INDIANA FROM ITS EARLIEST EXPLORATION BY EUROPEANS 1816, Chapter XL, page 492.

Within the present limits of the country of Scott, there was, in 1812, a place that was called the Pigeon Roost Settlement. This settlement, which was founded by a few families, in 1809, was confined to about a square mile of land, and it was separated from all other settlements by a distance of five or six miles. In the afternoon of the 3d of September, 1812, Jeremiah Payne and a man whose name was Coffman, who were hunting for "bee-trees" in the woods, about two miles north of the Pigeon Roost settlement, were surprised and killed by a party of Indians. This party of Indians, which consisted of ten or twelve warriors, nearly all of who were Shawnees, then attacked the Pigeon Roost settlement, about sunset, on the evening of the 3d of September; and in the space of about one hour, killed one man, five women and sixteen children. The bodies of some of these victims of savage warfare were burned in the fires which consumed the cabins in which the murders were perpetrated. The persons who were massacred, at this settlement, were Henry Collings, and his wife, Mrs. Payne, wife of Jeremiah Payne, and eight of her children, Mrs. Richard Collings, and seven of her children, Mrs. John Morris, and her only child, and Mrs. Morris, the mother of John Morris. MRS. JANE BIGGS, with her three small children, escaped from the settlement, eluded the vigilance of the Indians, and about an hour before daylight on the next morning, arrived at the house of her brother, Zebulon Collings, who lived about six miles from the scene of the carnage. William Collings, who had passed the age of sixty years, defended his house, for the space of three-quarters of an hour, against the attacks of the Indians. In this defense, he was assisted by Captain John Norris. There were two children in the house. As soon as it began to grow dark, Mr. Collings and Captain Norris escaped with the two children (John Collings and Lydia Collings) from the house, eluded the pursuit of the Indians, and on the morning of the next day, reached the house of Zebulon Collings. A number of the militia of Clark County immediately proceeded to the scene of the Pigeon Roost massacre, where they found several of the mangled bodies of the dead, surrounded by the smoking ruins of the houses. These remains of the murdered persons were brought together, and buried in one grave.

Burial: Date: 1844 Place: Little Union Cemetery/Henryville, Clark, Indiana, USA

SOURCES

• HISTORY OF INDIANA FROM ITS EARLIEST EXPLORATION BY EUROPEANS 1816, Chapter XL, page 492.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Gayle Schell for creating WikiTree profile Collings-122 through the import of SCHELL NICHOLS ancestors of Gayle 8-2013.ged on Aug 8, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Gayle and others. Thank you to Jonathan Byrne for creating WikiTree profile Collings-172 through the import of Norma Perry's relatives.ged on Dec 1, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Jonathan and others.