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WHO WAS WHO in PLUM TOWNSHIP
~ Titusville Herald
By H. W. Strawbridge ~ 1950s - 60s

Moses H. Collins

Moses Horace Collins was born March 15, 1830, in St. Lawrence County, N.Y. He was the seventh of nine children born to Anson and Alice Adams Collins.
The Irish forebears of Anson Collins had moved from Massachusetts to Vermont and settled near Lake Champlain. Anson was born in Vermont. He eventually went to St.Lawrence County.
Anson was in the War of 1812. He helped to build four large boats for Commodore McDonald. In fact he was given charge of building one of the boats and was given the rank of captain. He also had charge of one of the vessels that took part in the Battle of Lake Champlain. His wife watched the battle from shore. This interesting historical fact is in Collins family records possessed by Mrs. Samuel I. Small of Newtontown.
It was around 1834 that the Anson Collins family moved to Leech’s Corner, Salem Township, Mercer County. Here their last child, Charles, was born in 1835.
After farming there a few years Anson moved his family to Jackson Township, Venango County, about 1852. In fact an older son, Stephen Collins, had moved to Jackson Township earlier, sometime in the 1840’s. They resided between Cooperstown and Bradleytown. Here Mrs. Anson Collins, a member of the Sunville Methodist Church, died in 1865, and Anson in 1871. He was aged 84. They are buried in the Plum Corners Cemetery which is located on the Walter Small farm.
Their son, Mose H. Collins, was married to Miss Olive Charlotte Holder at her parent’s home in Jackson Township on March 1, 1855. One Rev. Waitenhouse who was likely a Free Will Baptist preacher, married the couple. Olive was a daughter of Eli and Martha Jennings Holder and was born on Aug. 27, 1837.
Moses and Olive apparently went to housekeeping just a short distance south of Bradleytown. Mose had bought out three interests in 100 acres of land and also bought 14 acres from his father, but disposed of this chunk a couple years later, selling it to Rev.E.S. Bumpus. Moses at that time had just one cow and one horse. Records show that he and Olive lived in Jackson Township for a couple years around 1858 to 1860. Then they moved back into Plum on his 100 acres and stayed there the remainder of his life. Originally an old log house sat there below the frame house which he had built later. It is presently owned by Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Hefferman.
Moses was at least average height and build. He had white whiskers. He was a quiet man and was one who minded only to his own business. Having been an average farmer, he kept what was called “white oak” stock, an early breed of cattle. The family used to have a “crackie” wagon, which was common in that day.

A Good, Kindly Lady

Olive was a small woman and is remembered as having been a good, kindly lady. She often visited her neighbors. Mrs. Gertrude Strohecker Jennings, 90, who presently lives a ways below the former Moses Collins place, well remembers Olive’s visits and recalls Olive once saying, “I don’t think we have an enemy in the world.”
Moses’ older brother, Stephen Collins, at an earlier time lived in a log house on the hill back of the Strohecker place. It was a log house with a door situated right in the center, so that a person could go into either of the two large rooms in it. The old house was torn down and used in the present barn on the Strohecker place.
Moses and Olive had six children, who with their birthdates were as follows: Martha Alice Collins, Dec. 17, 1855; Fayette Friend Collins, Nov. 4, 1858; Homer Horace Collins, Dec.7, 1860; Francis Birney Collins, Nov. 22, 1864; Charlotte Jane Collins, Dec. 25, 1869; and Luke Manings Collins, Sept.16, 1871.
Martha died Aug.30, 1869, at the age of 13. She had neuralgia of the heart. It is said the ailment first started in her legs.
Fayette was married to Miss Estella Newton on April 22, 1885. They lived their married life in Bradleytown where he farmed. They had three children who were Ralph Collins of Charleston, W.Va., Glenn Collins of Bradleytown and Mrs. Olive Fleming of below Cooperstown. Glenn is the only living one. Fayette died Feb.3,1927, as the result of a stroke suffered some time previously. Mrs. Collins died several years later.
Homer was married to Miss Nolla Altenburg of Townville on Oct.5, 1885. Homer farmed. They had one daughter, Mrs. Mae Haverstraw, of New Jersey who is deceased. Homer died in Troy Township on Oct.17, 1914. Nolla died some years later in New Jersey.
Birney married Miss Mary F. Williams on Nov.2, 1892, at Sunville. Birney remained on his father’s homestead all his life. They had just one son, Floyd Collins, who was born June 27,1895, and died the next month. Mrs. Birney Collins died in 1933, and he on April 2, 1938.
Charlotte or “Lottie” was married to Burton Williams on Sept.4, 1891, at Sunville. They lived above Cooperstown and engaged in farming. They had two children, Mrs. Florence Whitman, deceased, who lived on the hill southwest of Bradleytown, and Mrs. Martha Deeter, who presently lives between Bradleytown and Cooperstown. Lottie died of a stroke on June 7, 1908, at the age of 39. Mr. Williams died in January, 1946.
Luke married Miss Emma A. Stephens on June 6, 1896. They mainly farmed and lived at Bear Lake, near Corry. They had two children, Roy Collins and Mrs. Daisy Sweet, both of Erie. Only Roy is now living. Luke died in May, 1938, just a few weeks after the death of his brother, Birney.

Bible Cost $9.75

These family records are written in a large Bible bought by Moses Collins for $9.75 in 1870. It is “Hitchcock’s New and Complete Analysis of the Holy Bible” and is now possessed by his granddaughter, Mrs. Martha Deeter, of near Cooperstown.
Family tradition states that at the time of the Great Frost in June, 1859, Moses’ corn was frozen. He later planted the field to buckwheat and it matured and helped them over until the next season. Times were generally hard that year.
In the winter of 1866, Moses and R.D. Guild of Diamond were elected Plum Township road commissioners. At their first meeting with the third commissioner, Eli Holder (Moses’ father-in-law), in Wallaceville, the three agreed to levy a 10 mills tax to be worked out on the roads and also voted that wages for man be $1.25 a day, and team $1.50.
On June 30 that year they met at Chapmanville for the purpose of laying a tax for plank to cover the bridge at Cowen’s farm. This was one mill on the dollar.
At their meeting on April 13,1867, Moses and Guild drew cuts for the long term. It fell on Guild to continue the long term. Moses drew the short cut and went out of office in 1868.
In 1869 and 70 he was a pathmaster in his district, No.12. Amounts of his duplicates those two years were $52.93 and $72.69. (Try to work a section of roads now for one of those amounts for one year!).
Moses and his family used to make maple syrup and sugar. They didn’t have a sugar grove – just a scattering of maples here and there. Olive made candy and taffy.
Moses and Olive were members of the long gone Plum Corners Free Will Baptist Church. Moses served as Sunday Superintendent there for some time.
Eventually some dissention occurred in the church. A segment of the congregation left and began holding services in the old Bradleytown schoolhouse – then located west of the creek there. Moses was the instrumental one who started a Sunday school in the schoolhouse. He was a good student of the Bible and a good teacher of it.
In 193- the schoolhouse group, which had grown considerably, built an edifice for worship in Bradleytown. Moses, an invalid at that time, had pledged $25 towards it, but died before giving his pledge. His son, Fayette, carried out the obligation in behalf of father’s wishes/
The new church was known as the Plum and Bradleytown Free Will Baptist Church. Mrs. Moses Collins was a member of it for years. The organization became defunct several decades ago and the building is now the Grange hall there. The nearest Free Will Baptist Association one in the upper New England states, deeded over the building and lot to the Grange with the stipulation that dances never be held in it.

Differences in Sects

Older residents of Bradleytown state that the principal difference between the Free Will Baptists and the regular Baptists was that the Free Will members were more democratic and perhaps quicker to carry out decisions. For instance, if a member did something contrary to the church, the Free Will congregation could right then and there vote the offender off the church rolls. Also, the Free Wills preferred members who had baptism by immersion, but would take a member on the rolls if he were not immersed, so it is said.
John E. Williams of Bradleytown recalls when he was a boy that he and his late father, Samuel Williams, once went down to Bradleytown and before arriving there they say Fayette, Birney and Luke Collins clearing one of Fayette’s fields by the present Grange hall. Samuel noticed that Moses was standing nearby. He said to John that he was going to stop and talk to “Daddy” Collins, as he called him. Samuel thought a lot of Moses and called upon him occasionally when Moses was ill.
Around 1880 Moses suffered with a spinal disease. He wasn’t able to do much his last several years.
He apparently was afraid of dying in earlier years because when his children had the measles and caused him to take down with them too, he secreted himself in a back room and stayed there until he got well.
Moses had a stroke when he was around 58 years old and he was more or less invalid after that. He died Aug.24, 1893, at the age of 63. He was buried in the old Plum Corners Cemetery. It was around 1909 that surviving members of Moses’ family had the remains of him and his two daughters disinterred and reburied in the Greenlawn Cemetery at Townville.
Mrs. Olive Collins continued living on the homestead with Birney and his wife. She stayed a week or two each summer and winter at the home of Fayette, too. She became quite deaf in her last years.
She died early Sunday morning, Dec.7,1919, after a lingering illness. She was 82. She was buried at Townville.

Transcribed by Paula Harry
dharry@pa.rr.com

Disclaimer:there may be errors due to transcription of information from both early and late (current contributors) work.