April 25, 1999 All Collier Kin -- No, no -- please don't say "Not another one!!" I promise that I don't really intend to start a Collier Family Monthly or Quarterly. But, ... I think our research is headed in the right direction, and that we have made some good progress, and I want to give everyone the most recent summary of what we have, to date, since we were given the breakthrough to the background of our ancestors, John and Mary Samson Collier, and his parents, Gershom and Mary Kittle Collier, of Chesterfield, Mass. The evidence I have so far that we are of the family of Hingham, Hull, Scituate, Cohasset, Mass., etc. (Boston's South Shore) is as follows: Of about 200 families living in Chesterfield, MA in 1790, at least 3 persons were of this family - (1) Jane Collier House and her family (she was the daughter of Thomas and Bridget Southworth Collier, who lived in Scituate after their marriage). (2) Probably her mother, as "Mrs. Bridget Collier" died in Chesterfield May 12, 1798, and Jane's father is probably the Thomas Collier who died there March 5, 1784, "aged 78 years". (There is no record of the death of either in Scituate, or any of the other South Shore towns that I have checked.) (3) Also Capt. Jedediah Southworth and his family. He was the nephew of Thomas and Bridget Collier, and the first cousin of Jane House. There was at least one instance of close relatives of South Shore and Cohasset Colliers moving to Chesterfield in the 1790 - 1810 period. I am still working on these connections. There were other instances of members of families married to Colliers who moved to Chesterfield. These connections need more research before I can reach any conclusions.. In addition to the family of Gershom and Mary Kittle Collier, as given in the History and Genealogy of the Families of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, and Thomas and Mrs. Bridget Collier, (see # 2, above) there were at least three other possible connections to the South Shore families in Chesterfield: Susannah Collier James, whose husband was from Cohasset (married - ? Chesterfield - about 26 July 1784), Rebecca Collier Bates, whose husband was from Hingham (she came to Chesterfield about 1789, and they married there 12 Jan. 1792), and Anna Collier, who married Orange King, in Chesterfield, about 28 April, 1793. (I have no other information on these three, but it is possible that Anna was the widow of Bosworth Collier, rather than a Collier by birth. See page 3, below.) I find five Hull area Collier men who could have been the father of Gershom Collier of Chesterfield: John Collier (born Hull, 1716), Moses Collier (born Hull, 1729) - both children of Gershom and Elizabeth Poole Collier - and three sons of Thomas Collier (born 1706, Hull) and Bridget Southworth Collier - Thomas (born Scituate, 1736), William (born Scituate, 1742) and Ephraim Bosworth (born Scituate 1748). Gershom's father may not be among this group, of course, but the record of marriage and children is sparse or missing entirely on these five individuals. I have received some new information since February and wanted to update everyone. I attach a map titled New England in 1675, which shows some of the main towns settled by that time (with some added notations of my own), a section of a current map of the Boston/South Shore area, showing many of the towns our ancestors lived in, several pages of a history of Hull (including 3 pages on the Collier family), and my most current computer run of the Descendants of Thomas Collier of Hingham, 1635 on. This Collier Genealogy Page 2 4-25-99 does not, yet, include our Ohio branch of the family, as I cannot yet be certain how that connection flowed. I haven't added much information to the file I sent out in November, titled Descendants of Gershom Collier, which starts with Gershom and Mary Kittle in Boston and Chesterfield and continues to the present day. I have tried to put the new information in roughly the correct time sequence. Much of this is in the nature of interesting odds and ends, with some speculations. I am trying to give references, so that the next Colliers interested in their family history will have a good starting point. I also apologize for some repetitious material, although I will try to keep that brief. I am sending this package to a few additional people, who haven't gotten all the previous ones. I received a nice letter from the Librarian at the Bennington (Vermont) Museum, in late February or early March. He and his staff had obviously spent some time on my request for information, but the end result was largely an elaboration on what we had already -- clarification and corrections on the family of Thomas Collier, Hingham, and the next two generations, through Gershom and Elizabeth Poole Collier of Hull, and their children. This is probably the definitive source on this group of people, and is contained in a series of articles published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, (hereafter NEHG Reg.), Vols. 142 and 143 (1988 and 1989). Apparently, a complete history of Hull has never been compiled, for reasons given in the text, and this series of articles, written by Ethel F. Smith, is the closest available. Since I got the first few pages of this article from Bennington, I have visited the wonderful local history and genealogy collection at the Haverhill (Mass.) Public Library twice, looked at the complete article, and gotten quite a bit of additional material. I will be heading back there soon. I attach the pages giving the general early history of Hull (with some connections to Hingham), and the three + pages on the Collier family. There is a map of the main settlement, with the location of the family lots. I have several of the other segments, some of which give histories of families related to Colliers, and some of which have other comments on the Colliers. The Lorings, the Bakers, the Lobdells, the Bosworths, and others connected to the Colliers were also early settlers of Hull and the surrounding area. I won't bother including all of the records at this time. I now have the entire text of the History and Genealogy of the Families of Chesterfield, Massachusetts on the computer, and have looked through most of it, both for general interest and for specific connections to the Collier family. . Odds and ends on the family of Gershom Collier and Elizabeth Poole, Hull, Mass.: Their son Gershom, born 5 April, 1708, did die at an early age (above NEHG Register pages) The "Judah", born 14 Nov, 1697, was actually a daughter, "Judith". (Hull Vital Records) The date of her marriage, to Cromwell Lobdell, is correct. (I thought Cromwell was an odd name for a girl, but fashions change, I supposed.) She was apparently alive in 1749, and her correct married name is given in a deed of that year. (NEHG Reg., above) The son Gershom, born 1 Nov 1713, was almost certainly the Gershom Collier, "of Hull", who was a member of the Harvard College class of 1734. (NEHG Register, Vol 104, p. 241, July 1950) Nothing later is known, and he is not mentioned in the 1749 deed. Unknown whether he had wife and children. (Boston Transcript, 8 Jul, 1925) Collier Genealogy Page 3 4-25-99 The son John, born 9 March 1716, is mentioned in the deed of 1749, but a couple of references I checked indicate that nothing else is known of him. (Boston Transcript, 8 Jul, 1925) The son Isaac, born 7 March, 1726, is not mentioned in the deed, nor have I found anything else on him. The other surviving male children in 1749, based upon the deed, were Thomas, Jonathan, William (their wives and children known and listed in the "Descendants of Thomas Collier" file), and Moses (his wife and probably children known - born in Boston). (I don't mean to slight the Collier ladies, but I am following the Collier name.) Since our ancestor, the Gershom Collier who moved to Chesterfield, married Mary Kittle/Kittell in 1793, when she was 24 (born 1769), I think it likely that he was born in the 1750 - 1770 range. It is possible that he was a son of the John, born 1716, or of Moses, born 2 June, 1729, although such a birth is not in the Boston birth records, or he could be a grandson of Lt. Gershom, of whom we have no record at present. From the Descendants of Thomas Collier ..., we can see that some of the likely suspects - Collier males of the right period for whom marriage or offspring information is lacking - are three sons of Thomas and Bridget Southworth Collier, all born in Scituate: Thomas, born Apr 17, 1736, William, born May 11, 1742, and Ephraim Bosworth Collier, born June 13, 1748. Thomas married Jemima Pope, of Dorchester (now a section of Boston), Dec 10, 1767 (Hull Vital Records), and that is the last certain information about him. William is probably the individual in the 1771 Census, in the Hull Census of 1790, who had served from Hull in the Revolution, and who died there on December 22, 1790, but I haven't found anything about wife or children, yet. Ephraim Bosworth (who seems to have disliked using "Ephraim") is probably the "Bosworth" Collier, of Hull, who served in the Revolution, and married Ann, the sister of John House of Hanover. Their marriage date was Jan 31, 1771. (Hanover Vital Records) John House had marred Ephraim Bosworth's sister, Jane, on April 7, 1770, and they moved to Chesterfield sometime in the mid-1780s. Their presence there is one of the strongest proofs that "our" Gershom Collier was of the same family. (Some of the descendants of John and Jane House later moved to the Western Reserve, and lived in Painesville, Mentor and Thompson, Ohio - Chesterfield History ...)From the dates of birth of Thomas, William and "Bosworth", Gershom of Chesterfield could have been the son of any of them. (I have found no record of where Bosworth and Ann lived, any children, or a death record for either. She might be the "Anna" Collier of Chesterfield, who married Orange King there about April 28, 1793 -- Chesterfield History ...) In the Boston marriage records, I also see a Southworth Collier married Hannah Morton, Apr 13, 1774, John Collier married Ruth Soper, December 9, 1756, and Richard Collier married Mary Green, January 1, 1759. I cannot definitely identify any of these as members of our Hull - Scituate family, although "Southworth" should be. (Descendants of Richard later moved to Binghamton, Broome County, New York, and became prominent there.) Miscellaneous information - late Colonial , Revolutionary and early United States Period A 1771 Massachusetts Census, although lacking much specific information on families, indicates that there were a John and a Nathaniel Collier in the Berkshire (Western Mass.) town of New Marlborough, a John and a Richard in Boston (see two Boston marriages listed above), and, in Hull, William, Bosworth, Southworth, Thomas and Thomas, Jr. (There were Colliers in Marblehead and Worcester County, Mass., as well, but these were not of our family, as far as I can determine.) The five listed in Hull were almost certainly our kin. Collier Genealogy Page 4 4-25-99 Thomas Collier, son of Thomas and Bridget, might be the Thomas, Jr., in the 1771 census, and his father the Thomas, but we cannot be certain. As I have reported before, I believe that Thomas (born 1706) was the individual who died in Chesterfield 5 March, 1784 "in the 78th year of his age", and that his wife was the Mrs. Bridget Collier who died there 12 May 1798. I have mentioned before that I have found two references that a "Gersham Collier" was at the Boston Tea Party. This information came from participants, but was collected many decades later. Gershom's age and occupation are not indicated. Other Tea Party "Indians" were Amos Lincoln, of Hingham, age 20, and a Matthew Loring, age 23, perhaps one of the in-laws of the Collier family. The participants were as young as 14, and a few of the leaders were 40 - 57 years old, but the average age of the 150 - 200 people was perhaps 18 - 30. (The Night the Revolution Began, Wesley Griswold, Stephen Greene Press; Paul Revere's Ride, David H. Fischer, Oxford Univ. Press, 1994) Many of the Collier men served in the Revolution, as well as many Collier relatives. The records are a little confusing, but, among the Hull - Scituate group, I find "Bozworth" who served between 3 and 6 months (some as a gunner) in the eastern Mass. Area, 2 or more Isaacs, for various periods, a John who served 6 months around Boston (June 1779 - Jan 1780), Jonathan, 11 days service from Scituate in 1776, Lemuel, of Dorchester (perhaps of our family), 12 days starting April 19, 1775 (date of Battle of Concord and Lexington), William, of Hull, brief service in 1776 and 1777 (he was "age, 33 years", so was no doubt the son of Thomas and Bridget Southworth, born May 11, 1742), and Gershom Colyer, 3 months service from a Middlesex County Regiment, at West Point, NY, Aug - Nov, 1781. Of the relatives I have checked service records for, John House (husband of Jane Collier, later of Chesterfield) was a Sergeant, then 1st Lt., from a Hanover company. He marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, but actually had little active service. There are 2 John Kettells (name of father of Mary Kittle Collier, of Chesterfield) who served in the Army in the defense of Boston. I cannot tell if they were really one person, as each period of service has its own listing. Total service, as a Captain in both cases, is over one year. A John Kettell is also known to have kept a journal of his service, and the Mass. Historical Society has it. (Paul Revere's Ride, David H. Fischer, Oxford Univ. Press, 1994, bibliography) Capt. Jedediah Southworth, then of Stoughton, later of Chesterfield, nephew of Thomas and Bridget Southworth Collier, marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, and served a total of about 4 months in the first year of the war. (Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, 17 Vols, Sec. Of the Commonwealth, Boston, 1896-) A brief note in Vol 60, page 389, NEHG Register indicates that "Thomas Collier his wife and children come to this town (Dorchester) to live in 1784 or 1785" - place of origin not given Although the Lincoln family (from one branch of which came Abraham Lincoln) had lived in Hingham and surrounding towns since 1635, as neighbors of the Colliers, the first intermarriage I find is that of Betty Lincoln and Samuel Pratt (grandson of Thomas and Bridget Southworth) in Cohasset, on June 17, 1787. Others marriages of the period were James Collier (descended from William, brother of Thomas) and Sally Lincoln, from which came the great family of sea captains (Scituate, April 25, 1802), and Merriel Lincoln and Ezekiel Pratt (another grandson of Thomas and Bridget Southworth), probably Cohasset, about April 8, 1808. There may be other connections -- I have not pursued it extensively. The ancestor of Abraham, a brother of the Lincolns who remained in Massachusetts, had moved west about the beginning of the 18th century, so any relationship of his family to the Colliers was remote. The 1790 Massachusetts Census has 5 Colliers listed in New Marlborough, Berkshire County. This is still a very small town, about 30 miles southwest of Chesterfield, near Great Barrington. Note that in 1771 (see above) there were a John and Nathaniel Collier in this place. In 1790 the names were Aaron, John, John, Jr., Isaac and Moses. Except for Aaron, the names are common in the Hull - Hingham family. Collier Genealogy Page 5 4-25-99 By 1800, all were gone from the census. I don't know who these individuals were. As far as I can determine, there is neither a town history nor a published Vital Records for the town. There is no Thomas Collier listed in the 1790 Massachusetts Census .... But in 1800 there were a Thomas Collyer and a Thomas Collyer, Jr. living in Corinth, Orange County, Vermont. (See above, both Thomas and Thomas, Jr. in Hull in 1771.) Corinth is a picture-postcard town, in north central Vermont, southeast of Barre, about 158 miles from Boston. There was also a Chapman Collier in Corinth. By 1810, the Census indicates that Thomas and Chatman had moved even further into Vermont - to Hardwick, Caledonia County, west of St. Johnsbury. There were Colliers in Hardwick at least as late as 1860. I do not know at present whether these individuals were of our family, although I believe Virgil Collier has told me there is a tradition that John Collier and Mary Samson perhaps lived in Vermont before going to Ohio. About 1800, and through the early 20th century, at least, many of the South Shore Colliers moved to and lived in the neighboring town of Cohasset. Many of the men of this period were merchant ship captains, and I have sent copies of several of their histories already. I suspect that right from the arrival of Thomas in Hingham, in 1635, many of the men were fishermen, or otherwise in the shipping business. Note that in the NEHG Reg. article on Thomas (page 357) Thomas Collier of Hull was identified as early as 1649 as part owner of a ship. I have seen several references to a Thomas Collier as owner or captain of a ship in early port records, but there is almost never a listing of the hometown, etc. Hull, Hingham, Scituate, Cohasset and the other towns on the shore were dependent on fishing and shipping, including ship building, for their livelihood, so it isn't surprising that our family should be part of that. Although the early settlers were called "planters", agriculture probably wasn't nearly as important as the supply of codfish. The Library of Congress has a genealogy that could be of importance to us. I haven't found it in this area yet. The title is Genealogy of the Collier Family of Cohasset, Mass, (file # S530) compiled by Gilbert S. Tower, in 1949. It appears to be a short handwritten or typed manuscript. I will try to get a copy at some time. Although there are published genealogies of New York, Virginia and Marblehead Colliers, there is no other genealogy of the Hingham - Hull family listed in any genealogy source I have checked. The Gershom Collier, son of Jonathan and Tabitha Pratt Porter Collier, born in Weymouth, 1765, was definitely NOT our ancestor. He moved to Maine in 1790, and apparently stayed there, first in Farmington, then in nearby Avon. He was in Avon at least through 1820, and either he or a son of the same name married (or remarried) there in 1828. (NEHG Register, vol 109, pp. 182-183) There are at least 3 Colliers buried in Pease Thompson Cemetery, Avon - Abner (1794 - 1873), Caroline, his wife (d. 05-29-1856, age 53 y), and Ezra T. (1842 - 1873), of the 2d Maine Battery. The Gershom Collier, born in Scituate in 1738, also eventually moved to Maine. He married Abigail Nash, in Scituate, Nov 2, 1783, and they had children there, although I have not found their names. The family was listed in Scituate in the 1790 census, had a child there as late as 1794 (?? died in infancy) but by 1800 had moved to Northport, Maine, where he is called Gershom Colyer. (NEHG Register, vol 105, p. 285-286, Oct 1951). He is also listed in the 1810 Census, but not in 1820. Joseph and Rollin Collier were listed in Northport in 1820, perhaps his children. Of the families related to the Colliers by marriage, I want to mention in particular the Southworths. (Thomas Collier of Hull (b. 1706) married Bridget Southworth (b. 1714) in 1734 and it is quite possible, as I have indicated above, that "our" Gershom Collier of Chesterfield came from their family.) The Southworths were prominent in early Plymouth Colony history, and, although not original Mayflower passengers, by the time of Bridget's birth could trace their ancestry back to James Chilton and his daughter, Mary, of the Mayflower, and to the Winslows of Plymouth Colony. The Bosworths, Bridgets maternal line, had been neighbors of the Colliers in Hull. Collier Genealogy Page 6 4-25-99 So much for a summary of what we have on the Colliers descended from Thomas of Hingham, down to about 1800. On to the Chesterfield and post-Chesterfield items. Of the children of Gershom and Mary Kittle Collier, I have located the following census information, roughly in order of their ages: (There are quite a number of early censuses now available on the Internet, but not every state and year. Of the more common names - Thomas, William and James, for example - there are so many individuals that it is difficult to gain much new information from the censuses alone. Checking these reference materials online makes for very rapid, but not very detailed, results. Most of the online indexes, for example, do not list ages and numbers of children, or ages of husband and wife. We would have to go to the original document, or a printed index, at least, to check that Therefore, some of this information raises more questions than it answers.) Mary Ann Collier. Husband was Joseph Witherell. Both are buried in the Center Cemetery, Chesterfield. Elizabeth Collier Torrey, Husband Luther Torrey. Moved to Florida, Mass. -- I have a listing for a Luther Torrey in Stratton, Vermont, not far north of the Massachusetts Border, in 1820, and a listing in 1860 in Florida, which is in northern Berkshire County, Mass., now on the Mohawk Trail, Mass. Rt. 2. Thomas Collier, born about 1798. Married Lodema Hawkins, but no later information known. Jane Collier Damon. Husband was Jason Damon. They married about 7 Feb 1815. The Damon family was from the Scituate area. Father of Jason, Isaiah, was married to Lucy Stetson and Mercy Haden. -- Jason Damon is listed in the Chesterfield Census through 1860, which is the latest one I have been able to check. John Collier and Mary Samson. To Ohio - see below. William Collier, lived in the Hampshire County area, died 20 Oct 1885, age. 82. Married to Parnel Shaw and Rebekah Hathaway. -- Too many William Colliers in the records to be certain of information on him. Had descendants in Chesterfield at least until 1939. Catherine Collier Pelton. Husband was Joel Pelton. They married about 1821 - (? Location). - There was one Joel Pelton in Hampshire County (Middlefield Township) in 1820, two Pelton listings in Maine through 1850, and 2 in eastern New York State through 1860, so I can't be certain which was the correct one after 1820. Priscilla Collier Vinton. Husband was Dorus Vinton. They married (? Chesterfield) 25 May 1825. They were listed in Chesterfield in the 1830 Census, moved to Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County, New York, north of Salamanca, and Priscilla was back in Chicopee, Mass at the time of her death in 1846. Madison or James Madison Collier. Married to Dorinda Drewry (?Drury) of Montague, Mass. later in Swanzey, NH. "Madison" lived in Montague in 1840, and is probably the "James. M." listed in neighboring Erving, Mass. in 1860. Later lived in nearby Swanzey,. Ancestor of Tammy Thayer Stevens, of Northfield, Mass, the cousin who gave us the Chesterfield connection. John Collier (Aug 14, 1802 - after 1851) and Mary Samson ( Feb 10, 1804, poss. Hampshire County, Mass - Apr 30, 1850, Mantua, Portage County, Ohio) Collier Genealogy Page 7 4-25-99 John and Mary were married (? Chesterfield) December 5, 1822. After Mary's death, in Ohio, John remarried, to Sarah A. Dayton, on Nov. 20, 1851. Nothing further known of them at this time. Date of move to Ohio is not known, but the 1840 Ohio Census has a John Collier listed in Auburn Township, Geauga County. In 1850 he is listed in Mantua, which is the next town to the south of Auburn. Children of John and Mary Samson Collier - Lyman Collier 1823 - 1907 -- No Lyman Collier listed in Ohio Censuses I have checked, through 1850. In fact, the single Lyman Collier in the online listings I have checked is found in 1850, in Winchester, Litchfield County, Connecticut. This is about 50 miles south of Chesterfield. Adeline Collier 1825 - I believe there is a mention of Adeline in Hamilton County, Ohio (Cincinnati) in the family bible my mother, Sylvia Collier, has in Warren, Ohio. At any rate, there is an Adeline there in the 1850 census. There are several other Colliers in Hamilton County, and about 70 total heads of families of the name in the state of Ohio. Electa Collier 1827 - 1858 In Mantua, Ohio in 1850 (bible inscription) Madison 1830 - 1900 Nothing in Ohio census as Madison. Several "James" entries, if that was middle name, for example. Gennett Collier 1833 - 1884 Nothing in any census I checked, even with variant spellings. John Collier 1836 - Too many individuals to tell anything. Alexander Hamilton Collier 1839 - 1922 Buried in Fowlers Mill, Munson Township, Geauga Cty., Ohio Christopher Columbus Collier 1840 - 1923 Buried in Fowlers Mill, Geauga Cty., Ohio Married to Sarah O. Stephenson NOTE -- In the 1850 Ohio Census there is a Christopher Collier listed in Mantua. This cannot be "our" Christopher, who was only 10 years old at the time. Could very well have been a relative, as this was where the John-Mary family was living. In 1870, there was a Christopher E. Collier in Burr Oak Township, Winneshiek County, Iowa. This could be "our" Christopher, despite the incorrect middle initial, as there is a tradition that he and his wife, Sarah Stephenson, lived "out west" for a few years before settling down in Munson Township, Ohio. Burr Oak is in northeast Iowa, just below the Minnesota border. If this was our family, a Geauga County winter probably didn't look so bad after a few years on the prarie. (Their oldest child, Nellie May, was born in 1868, location unknown at present. She is not listed in the birth records of Munson with the other children of Christopher and Sarah.) I checked the 1870 Iowa census online, as there is a tradition that some of our relatives lived out there. (I believe my mother has some photographs, but with no identifications.) In addition to the Christopher E., in Burr Oak, mentioned above, there was a Joseph Collier in the that small town. No information other than name of head of family in the online listing. There were 30 other Collier families throughout the state of Iowa., including a John, 3 James, and one Alexander - the Alexander in Osceola Twp, Clarke County, many miles away from the Christopher. I haven't yet been able to check any relevant Michigan census -- we know that "Ham" and Christopher were there at the beginning of the Civil War. Collier Genealogy Page 8 4-25-99 On the backgrounds of some of the families the Colliers married into, from Gershom of Chesterfield on -- As I reported before, the family of Mary Kittle (many variant spellings) was numerous in the area of Charlestown, Mass (Bunker Hill, etc.), Boston's North Shore, and in Concord, Mass.. The first "Kettell" was in Charlestown about 1633. Mary's mother (assuming I have traced the correct person), Katharine Souther, also was from a family of early Massachusetts settlers, some of whom lived in Hull. Mary Samson, born Feb. 10, 1804, wife of John, I strongly suspect was from Worthington, the next town to the west of Chesterfield. Living there in 1810 and 1820 (Census Index) was an Issachar Samson, wife Deborah, who had at least five children born in the correct period. The Worthington Vital Records lists the birth of 4, and the death of the fifth, Polly, born elsewhere about March 1800. Issachar lived elsewhere in Hampshire County in 1800, but the online census does not list the town. I will check the printed index on my next visit to the Haverhill Library. Issachar was born in 1768 (Worthington Vital Records), possibly in Plympton, Plymouth County, Mass. The Samson/Sampson family was numerous in early Massachusetts, but I have located a genealogy for one family there with a son of the correct name and birth year. Unfortunately, there was another person of the same name, same year of birth, and who lived in the same general area. More checking needed. Finally, I have tried to find some background on the family of Sarah Stephenson, wife of Christopher Collier. Her father was William, and unfortunately there were dozens of William Stephensons in the period. In Ohio alone, in 1850, there were 18 in the census. The individuals living closest to the Mantua - Munson area were in Charlestown, Portage County (near Ravenna), and in Cleveland. In the 1840 Ohio census, however, I see a likely listing -- a William Stephenson in Munson Township. There was also a Robert in Munson, a Robert in Newbury and a Thomas Stephenson in Chester Township, all in Geauga County. If the William of Munson is the correct one, I don't know where the family was in 1850. There is at least one published Stephenson genealogy in the online Internet library I use, with several Williams, but I have not found the correct one there. William, born July 10, 1813, his wife Jane A. (maiden name unknown), born Nov. 9 1823, and their daughter, Sarah O. Collier, are buried in the Fowlers Mill cemetery in Munson Township, as well as Christopher and "Ham" Collier. Also there is Sarah's brother, Oney, born 1840 and his two wives. Virgil Collier provided the information that Oney Stephenson was in Co. G, 41st Ohio Volunteers during the Civil War, but my recent Internet research added the information that he was twice wounded - at Stone's River, Tenn., Dec. 31, 1862, and Missionary Ridge, Tenn., November 26, 1863. ( Page 271, Pioneer and General History of Geauga, 1880) Please feel free to point out any errors or omissions that you spot, and send any added information that you have, particularly on any of the Ohio or Iowa family. I have very little beyond what I have listed above. I hope you are finding this search interesting. I am attempting to list my sources as fully as possible, so our next generation of genealogists will have a better starting point than we did. Wade Collier 218 Leominster Road Lunenburg, MA 01462 (978) 582-4323 wcollier@massed.net Collier Genealogy Page 9 4-25-99 This package sent to: Elva Collier Cahill Virgil Collier Gerald Jacobs Carolyn Collier Ellis Sylvia Viets Collier Thomas Collier Sue Collier Crawford Richard Collier Tammy Thayer Stevens Charles Collier And my sons, Michael and Edward Collier, of the 12th American Generation