Simeon Collins (1819 - abt. 1865)

Born 27 May 1819 in Jones, Mississippi, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Lydia (Bynum) Collins — married 1839 in Jones, Mississippi, United States

Descendants

Died about Sep 1865 at about age 46 in Jasper, Mississippi, United States

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Biography

Simeon was born about 1819. He passed away about 1865.

Simeon “Sim” Collins. Sim, a crucial figure in the Free State of Jones’s Knight Company, is often overlooked because of his untimely death shortly after the Civil War. Older brother to the better-known Jasper (who lived to the ripe old age of 86), Sim was Newt Knight’s 2nd Lieutenant. Three of his sons also joined the Knight guerrilla band: James Madison (Matt), Benjamin Franklin (Frank), and Morgan Columbus (Morg).

The fate of Sim Collins and his sons reminds us that taking a Unionist stance during the Civil War was rarely a matter of merely lying in the woods and waiting out the war. The Knight band fought numerous battles against Confederate forces (all dutifully recorded by Newt Knight), but none more ferocious then that against Col. Robert Lowry and his men, sent to the area to break up the band. This battle would eventually lead to Sim’s death.

In the space of a few weeks in April, 1864, Col. Lowry’s men killed ten men from the Knight Company. None of the Collins men were among them. Jasper was up in Tennessee, on a mission to hook the band up with Union forces. Riley Collins fled to New Orleans, as did many members of the band, where he joined the Union Army and soon died of disease.

Research Notes

The 1850 United States Census for Simeon's household clearly lists his children at that time:
Household members:
Name Gender Age Birth Year Birthplace
Simeon Callins Male 31 1819 Mississippi
Lydia Callins Female 27
Thos Jefferson Callins Male 11
Benjamin F Callins Male 9
James Madison Callins Male 7
Morgan Columbus Callins Male 5
Nancy E Callins Female 3
Harmon Taylor Callins Male 1

Sources

• Stacy Collins Bible- image on Ancestry.com
• Findagrave Memorial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56929191/stacy-collins : accessed 19 February 2022), memorial page for Stacy Collins (18 Oct 1786–1855), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56929191, citing Collins Cemetery, Hardin County, Texas, USA ; Maintained by Geneva McCown Garrett (contributor 46832797) .
• United States Census, 1850, Jones County, Mississippi.