Dear List, It has been a while since I have posted anything and altho I have found nothing new I thought there might be a few new Collins out there to touch upon. My name is Brenda Collins Dillon. I have been on the list, I think, since it began and have been doing family history for over 30 years. In the past year I have slowed way down due to health issues but, folks I ain't dead yet..... My line goes back to Meredith Collins born 1760 in Virginia. The earliest record I have on him is when he entered Captain James McDaniel's Fincastle County militia in 1776 at the age of 16 years. He entered that same day and same district as did George Collins, David Collins and Lewis Collins, probably related to him but I still don't know just how. The records of this was found in the courthouse archives of Christianburg, Virginia. QUESTION: Could the above David Collins be the same as David 1750? Meredith was involved in three relationships but I have never found a legal marriage. This could have been due to him being listed in 1810 as mullato and 1820 as fpc. In early Colonial Virginia there was laws against mixed bloods being married. Though these three relationships Meredith fathered several sons and two unnamed daughters. ( Bradley,John W., Edward, Archibald, James, Reuben, William, and levi) In the past year I have recieved emails from a distant cousin that lives in Oregon that connects through the William Collins line and another through the Archibald Collins line. I would love to hear from others. Brenda Collins Dillon [email protected]