Collins Family Roots in Pocahontas County

Beyond the Proclamation Line: The Wild and Surprising History of the Appalachian Collins Clan

1. Introduction: The Rebels of the High Alleghenies

In the mid-18th century, the Allegheny Mountains were more than a geographic barrier; they were a legal and political "no-man's-land." To the British Crown, the rugged crests of the Appalachians marked the edge of the civilized world. To the Collins family of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, they were an invitation. While modern descendants might view their ancestors as humble subsistence farmers, the historical record tells a far more provocative story. These men were the "outlaws" of the British Empire. By pushing deep into the Greenbrier Valley, they deliberately defied royal decrees, squatting on "Indian Lands" in a bold act of frontier rebellion years before the American Revolution. Understanding the Collins clan requires a sleuth’s eye for the paradox: they were a family that transformed from Tidewater elites into the absolute vanguard of illegal westward expansion.

2. They Were "Illegal" Settlers Before the Revolution

The evidence of the Collins family's defiance is etched into the 1773 Botetourt County delinquent tax lists. At the time, the Proclamation of 1763 legally forbade any British subject from settling west of the Appalachian divide to prevent conflict with Native American tribes. However, the tax collector’s ledger reveals a different reality. Multiple Collins men were recorded with the administrative euphemism "Indian Lands." This designation confirms they were living in forbidden territory, operating entirely outside the reach of colonial law.

By the time the tax collector caught up with them, the following men had already established their presence on the "illegal" side of the line:

• David Collins
• Elisha Collins
• Ambrose Collins
• Samuel Collins
• John Collins
• Lewis Collins
• John Collins Jr.
• George Collins
• Charles Collins

3. The Great Identity Crisis: A Tale of Two Pocahontas Counties

For a genealogical sleuth, the Collins name presents a notorious geographic trap. There are two "Pocahontas Counties"—one in West Virginia and one in Iowa—and both were home to influential Collins families. However, their origins and identities could not be more distinct.

The Appalachian branch consists of 18th-century pioneers of English and Scotch-Irish stock. They were largely Protestant and arrived as part of the first colonial wave. In contrast, the Pocahontas County, Iowa, branch consists of post-Famine Irish immigrants like Hugh Collins, who arrived in the mid-1850s and founded the Catholic parish of St. Patrick on the Lizard.

Researcher’s Warning: Do not conflate these groups. The Appalachian Collinses were frontier survivalists of the 1700s, while the Iowa Collinses were 19th-century Catholic immigrants. Religion and chronology are your best tools for keeping these lineages separate.

4. The "Monarch" and the "Vanishing" Horse Dealer

The "Irish-Hull" branch of the family produced larger-than-life characters whose stories illustrate the physical grit and inherent dangers of 19th-century mountain life.

• Lewis Collins: Known as the "monarch of all he surveyed," Lewis was a physical titan. Celebrated as the largest and strongest man in the county, he was a jovial giant and a prolific land-clearer. Despite his good temper, his legendary status was cemented in frontier boxing matches where his sheer strength was unmatched.
• John Collins: A horse dealer by trade, John’s life ended in a chilling mystery. While driving a large herd of horses across the Blue Ridge mountains toward Richmond, he vanished without a trace. Local tradition assumed he was robbed and murdered, a grim reminder of the perils faced by those moving goods from the isolated highlands to the coastal markets.

5. Royalist Refugees and the 1600s Connection

The most striking irony of the Collins history is their transition from loyal subjects to defiant squatters. Long before they were mountain rebels, the family was part of the "planter elite" in the Virginia Tidewater. The lineage traces back to William Collins (1635) of Isle of Wight County and John Collins of Kent (1655).

These early ancestors were staunch Royalist sympathizers who supported King Charles I and sought refuge in Virginia following the English Civil War. For a century, they thrived in the Piedmont; a key record shows that on June 3, 1765, John Collins Sr. sold 700 acres on the Po River to Fredericksburg merchants. Yet, within a decade, this same family—which had once sought the protection of the Crown—had abandoned the lowlands to settle on "Indian Lands" in direct defiance of King George III.

6. The "Double John" Dilemma: A Genealogical Mapping

The greatest challenge in Pocahontas County history is the presence of two contemporary patriarchal lines, both headed by a "John Collins." Disentangling them requires looking at their neighbors (the "FAN" club) and the environmental pressures that drove them. While the Irish-Hull line stayed longer, the Virginia-Ewing line was eventually pushed out by the "high altitude, isolated terrain, and short growing seasons" of the Greenbrier Valley.

Identifying Category	The Irish-Hull Lineage	The Virginia-Ewing Lineage
Origin of Patriarch	Ireland (via Pennsylvania)	Frederick County, Virginia
Spouse Name	Barbara Hull	Hannah Ewing
Primary Land	Upper Greenbrier; Back Mountain	Little Levels; Locust Creek
Allied Families	Hull, McCarty, Cassell, Dunwoody	Ewing, Hawk, Curry, Edmiston
Sleuth Tip: Neighbors	Adjoined David Dunwoody & John Earle	Adjoined Isaac Hawk & James Edmiston
Military Connection	Father-in-law Capt. Peter Thomas Hull Jr. (Point Pleasant)	Joshua Ewing’s 1804 Will & Cemetery
Primary Migration	Central Ohio; Upshur County, WV	Southern Ohio; Iowa; Kansas

7. A Legacy Carved from the Forest

The Collins family’s legacy is physically anchored in the geography of the Alleghenies. A prime example is the "Charley Collins place," located south of Cass, near Tub Mill. This property featured a landmark known as Moses Springs. Through oral tradition confirmed by William Collins in 1901, we know this was the exact site where the famed pioneer Moses Moore was captured by a Shawnee hunting party in 1758.

The story of the Collins clan forces a reconsideration of the American spirit. Was it born in the organized, law-abiding towns of the East, or was it forged by people like the Collinses—squatting on "forbidden" lands, defying kings, and building a life where the law hadn't yet reached? For the Collins family, the wilderness wasn't a boundary to be respected; it was a home to be claimed.

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Beyond the Proclamation Line: The Wild and Surprising History of the Appalachian Collins Clan

1. Introduction: The Rebels of the High Alleghenies

In the mid-18th century, the Allegheny Mountains were more than a geographic barrier; they were a legal and political "no-man's-land." To the British Crown, the rugged crests of the Appalachians marked the edge of the civilized world. To the Collins family of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, they were an invitation. While modern descendants might view their ancestors as humble subsistence farmers, the historical record tells a far more provocative story. These men were the "outlaws" of the British Empire. By pushing deep into the Greenbrier Valley, they deliberately defied royal decrees, squatting on "Indian Lands" in a bold act of frontier rebellion years before the American Revolution. Understanding the Collins clan requires a sleuth’s eye for the paradox: they were a family that transformed from Tidewater elites into the absolute vanguard of illegal westward expansion.

2. They Were "Illegal" Settlers Before the Revolution

The evidence of the Collins family's defiance is etched into the 1773 Botetourt County delinquent tax lists. At the time, the Proclamation of 1763 legally forbade any British subject from settling west of the Appalachian divide to prevent conflict with Native American tribes. However, the tax collector’s ledger reveals a different reality. Multiple Collins men were recorded with the administrative euphemism "Indian Lands." This designation confirms they were living in forbidden territory, operating entirely outside the reach of colonial law.

By the time the tax collector caught up with them, the following men had already established their presence on the "illegal" side of the line:

• David Collins
• Elisha Collins
• Ambrose Collins
• Samuel Collins
• John Collins
• Lewis Collins
• John Collins Jr.
• George Collins
• Charles Collins

3. The Great Identity Crisis: A Tale of Two Pocahontas Counties

For a genealogical sleuth, the Collins name presents a notorious geographic trap. There are two "Pocahontas Counties"—one in West Virginia and one in Iowa—and both were home to influential Collins families. However, their origins and identities could not be more distinct.

The Appalachian branch consists of 18th-century pioneers of English and Scotch-Irish stock. They were largely Protestant and arrived as part of the first colonial wave. In contrast, the Pocahontas County, Iowa, branch consists of post-Famine Irish immigrants like Hugh Collins, who arrived in the mid-1850s and founded the Catholic parish of St. Patrick on the Lizard.

Researcher’s Warning: Do not conflate these groups. The Appalachian Collinses were frontier survivalists of the 1700s, while the Iowa Collinses were 19th-century Catholic immigrants. Religion and chronology are your best tools for keeping these lineages separate.

4. The "Monarch" and the "Vanishing" Horse Dealer

The "Irish-Hull" branch of the family produced larger-than-life characters whose stories illustrate the physical grit and inherent dangers of 19th-century mountain life.

• Lewis Collins: Known as the "monarch of all he surveyed," Lewis was a physical titan. Celebrated as the largest and strongest man in the county, he was a jovial giant and a prolific land-clearer. Despite his good temper, his legendary status was cemented in frontier boxing matches where his sheer strength was unmatched.
• John Collins: A horse dealer by trade, John’s life ended in a chilling mystery. While driving a large herd of horses across the Blue Ridge mountains toward Richmond, he vanished without a trace. Local tradition assumed he was robbed and murdered, a grim reminder of the perils faced by those moving goods from the isolated highlands to the coastal markets.

5. Royalist Refugees and the 1600s Connection

The most striking irony of the Collins history is their transition from loyal subjects to defiant squatters. Long before they were mountain rebels, the family was part of the "planter elite" in the Virginia Tidewater. The lineage traces back to William Collins (1635) of Isle of Wight County and John Collins of Kent (1655).

These early ancestors were staunch Royalist sympathizers who supported King Charles I and sought refuge in Virginia following the English Civil War. For a century, they thrived in the Piedmont; a key record shows that on June 3, 1765, John Collins Sr. sold 700 acres on the Po River to Fredericksburg merchants. Yet, within a decade, this same family—which had once sought the protection of the Crown—had abandoned the lowlands to settle on "Indian Lands" in direct defiance of King George III.

6. The "Double John" Dilemma: A Genealogical Mapping

The greatest challenge in Pocahontas County history is the presence of two contemporary patriarchal lines, both headed by a "John Collins." Disentangling them requires looking at their neighbors (the "FAN" club) and the environmental pressures that drove them. While the Irish-Hull line stayed longer, the Virginia-Ewing line was eventually pushed out by the "high altitude, isolated terrain, and short growing seasons" of the Greenbrier Valley.

Identifying Category	The Irish-Hull Lineage	The Virginia-Ewing Lineage
Origin of Patriarch	Ireland (via Pennsylvania)	Frederick County, Virginia
Spouse Name	Barbara Hull	Hannah Ewing
Primary Land	Upper Greenbrier; Back Mountain	Little Levels; Locust Creek
Allied Families	Hull, McCarty, Cassell, Dunwoody	Ewing, Hawk, Curry, Edmiston
Sleuth Tip: Neighbors	Adjoined David Dunwoody & John Earle	Adjoined Isaac Hawk & James Edmiston
Military Connection	Father-in-law Capt. Peter Thomas Hull Jr. (Point Pleasant)	Joshua Ewing’s 1804 Will & Cemetery
Primary Migration	Central Ohio; Upshur County, WV	Southern Ohio; Iowa; Kansas

7. A Legacy Carved from the Forest

The Collins family’s legacy is physically anchored in the geography of the Alleghenies. A prime example is the "Charley Collins place," located south of Cass, near Tub Mill. This property featured a landmark known as Moses Springs. Through oral tradition confirmed by William Collins in 1901, we know this was the exact site where the famed pioneer Moses Moore was captured by a Shawnee hunting party in 1758.

The story of the Collins clan forces a reconsideration of the American spirit. Was it born in the organized, law-abiding towns of the East, or was it forged by people like the Collinses—squatting on "forbidden" lands, defying kings, and building a life where the law hadn't yet reached? For the Collins family, the wilderness wasn't a boundary to be respected; it was a home to be claimed.