Fellow Searchers: I haven't posted for a while and decided to share a letter that I had saved from a cousin, Eula Collins Conley, who was a great researcher. She left behind a lot of info on our Collins line that gave many of us a head start. Eula , and my mother, use to communicate by writting letters back and forth and I have saved a stack of them. Here is one. If anybody sees anything that rings a bell or might help me in locating who Meredith's parents were I would really appreciate it. Brenda Collins Dillon #1 Mrs. Russell W. Conley of 3660 S.E. Tolman St. Portland, OR 97202 2 Nov 1980 My great grandparents were Meredith and Polly (Holloway) Collins, and I am the granddaughter of William Collins and Mary (Molly) (Hatfield) Collins. Several of my Collins relatives learned through their parents that the name had not always been Collins; that Meredith had deserted during the Revolutionary War and changed his name to Collins. Meredith did not desert as he is shown in the records on the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Virginia. He was under the command of Capt. James McDaniell. Pike County, Ky. has a monument with the names of sixteen Revolutionary War soldiers and Meredith's name is on it. The 1820 census of Floyd County, Kentucky shows Meredith Collins, his son Bradley and one Valentine Collins as "Free Persons of Color". I feel sure that Valentine was a brother to Meredith as they were in Wilkes Co. N.C. at the same time along with one Vardy Collins who probably was related. Meredith was in Russell Co. Virginia from 1799 through 1807. Valentine was in Hawkins Co. Tennessee as early as 1805 or before. his son Joshua was born in 1805 in Tennessee. Joshua died in Johnson County, Kentucky in 1854. His parents were shown as Valentine and Dicy Collins. Valentine was still living in Johnson County in 1843. He was not shown in the 1850 census. I have been trying to locate the grave of Meredith Collins who no doubt had a marker as his grave had been located prior to May 30 1929 when the monument bearing his name was erected. Also, I am still trying to find the date and place of his marriage. Meredith died in 1841 in Pike County, Kentucky. All of Meredith's descendants had been told that we were Irish and that either Meredith or his father came from Ireland. Supposedly they came to fight in the Revolutionary War, but this information was incorrect as Meredith was born in Virginia in 1760. I have been greatly disillusioned as to where my Collins ancestry came from, and now after reading the book "The Melungeons Yesterday and Today" I'm not sure where they came from and why. My grandfather William Collins was a Baptist preacher. His brothers were Archibald,John, Bradley, James, and I believe he had two sisters not yet identified. #2 this is a letter recieved by the co host of my website in which has info in that Eula was seeking from another researcher. Hi Bj !! I have found something we may want to look into !! I rec'd some copies of a few of the William Paul Grohse papers from a friend in Tucson, AZ. One of the pages is a letter to Mr. Grohse from a Mrs. R. W. Conley of Portland Oregon. The letter is dated 1973. Mrs. Conley says that Meridith Collins is her g grandfather. In the letter, she is asking Mr. Grohse about Meridith being in the Rev. War and not being able to locate any record..she says she wrote to the General Services Administration because Meridith was supposed to have applied for a pension and received land grant in Pike County Ky, but there was no record.... Mrs. Conley also states that a Benjamin Collins married Mary Jane Dye in Pike Co, Ky in 1791..and she deduces that "something is wrong with this"...Pike Co. was not created until 1821 !! I would like to find out more about this marriage.. my g grandma was Mary Frances Dye and I am at a dead end on that family also !! I also would like to find out more on this DYE line. Reguards, Brenda Collins Dillon http://members.xoom.com/Appalachian/index.htm