The Genealogy & Family History Social Network

Alvin Eugene Collins Male Chicago, IL United States: Like

0 members like this; Share on Facebook MySpace Tweet

Alvin Eugene Collins's Friends

Alvin Eugene Collins's Groups

Alvin Eugene Collins has not received any gifts yet

What surnames are you interested in researching?: Collins, Strawn, Boyd, Endicott, Graves, Lawrie, Fuller, Jackson, Pursell, Vanlandingham, VanWoggelum, Gordon, Boyle, Penick, Mallory, Grady

What countries and other locations are you interested in researching?: England, Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Germany

What is your level of genealogy knowledge?: Advanced Family History Researcher

If you are a genealogy expert, what are your specialties?: I can advise others on research

For what reason did you start genealogy research?: I began my interest in genealogy at the age of seven. Incidently, it started in the room in which I was born. I was born in St. Joseph, Missouri. At the age of 5, my immediate family moved to Orangeburg, South Carolina. Every summer we would return to Missouri to visit both sets of grandparents. My maternal grandfather, Dr. Estil Y. Strawn (1887-1951) was the doctor who delivered me in his own house. During the summer of 1957,on a visit to St. Jo., I noticed 2 pictures on an antique washstand in my grandmothers bedroom, the room in which I was born. I said," Mama Strawn, Who are the ladies in the pictures?" My grandmother said that one was her mother and the other was her grandmother. This was the beginning of my interest in genealogy. A few days later we went to Jefferson City, Missouri to visit my paternal grandparents, sylvester Collins (1877-1964) and Clyde Della Boyd Collins (1891-1960). I ,then, inquired about their history.

Do you have a genealogy website or blog?: http://ancestry.com------ My user name is Alvincollins24

At 9:51pm on January 17, 2012, Jim Avery said…: Hi Alvin - I actually have 2 Collins lines but both from the north. One is my dad's mother's sister Cecelia Byrne or Burns married John Collins and lived in Cazenovia NY. My dad's father's sister Roxy married George Collins and lived in Gillett PA. Have you met Erin Bradford yet? She is a member here. Her specialty is free African Americans in North Carolina. She is doing a chat about North Carolina beginning soon. Stop in the chatroom and talk genealogy with us and make some new friends!

At 5:54pm on January 17, 2012, Jim Avery said…: Hello - I logged on to your page to see if your Collins were related to mine. But I guess not. I started looking at your photographs - That is an amazing collection! and what makes it so amazing is the amount of info you know about everyone. Thanks for sharing them! Jim Avery, Dover PA

At 11:08am on August 29, 2011, Sherry Hightower said…: That is really interesting Alvin. I'll bet he wasn't a bachelor in spirit. Probably they loved each other and because they were not allowed to marry, he just remained faithful to her by being a "bachelor" in the public view and her his "mistress"...but they considered themselves as man & wife. How romantic. Lesser men would have married to keep the public from guessing the truth and thereby have a white wife in her face everyday, in order to "save" his reputation. I am sure folks at the time understood exactly what was going on..He was a brave man for the times. I hope you are proud of him. Most people today would wilt under public pressure.

My own great-great-grandmother would never talk of her Native American blood (her mother was full blood) because she grew-up being made ashamed of it....all the lost heritage and family stories!

I have looked on the census for slaves in connection to my TN ancestors. I didn't find any but they were very poor people. The Kentucky ancestors were Hardin, Perrin, Ratliff...they came down through VA and so it is possible they did have slaves.

At 12:51pm on August 25, 2011, Sherry Hightower said…: I see your comment about your slave ancestors in "Missouri, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky." I have ancestors in KY, TN and VA. I believe my TN ancestors were dirt poor and would not have had any slaves. I think my KY ancestors could possibly of had slaves because they were not poor but I don't think they had an operation larger than their own farms...none were plantation owners, so...would that have left them out?

How much we can learn from one another!

At 12:46pm on August 25, 2011, Sherry Hightower said…: Thank you for the great comment you left on my page! I really do not understand leaving a tree private. When I initially joined Ancestry.com, I had my tree private to give me a chance to load the info from my website into a tree. Once I got a baseline up, I opened the tree. I want people to further their info and I also want them to contact me it they see a mistake.

So happy to "meet" you Alvin!

At 5:54am on June 22, 2011, Cecile Hoffman Ellis said…: Greetings Cousin,

Enjoying your photos and home page. Say hello to your family from me.

Cecile

At 9:13am on June 21, 2011, Cecile Hoffman Ellis said…: Welcome Alvin,

Hope you enjoy all the groups and tips.

Cecile