William Collins: A grave yields up its secrets

Here, courtesy of Find a Grave, is the tombstone of William Fletcher Collins --- a roamer and a rambler who came to rest at last during 1923 in the cemetery at Twin Falls, Idaho, far from his native Lucas County. It's a credit to his brothers, Aaron and Charles, of Russell, and John, of Nebraska, that his grave is marked.

Having inherited after considerable effort shares of the cash he left behind, they could have taken the money and run, leaving the sibling they hadn't heard from in 35 years in an unmarked grave. But they didn't.

The story of these boys, left motherless during 1880 and farmed out to kindly neighbors, is part of a report headlined "Grave Yields Up Identity Secret" published on the front page of The Chariton Herald-Patriot on Nov. 20, 1924, a year after William died. The reports got William's middle initial wrong --- it was "F" rather than "A" --- and a few other details are inaccurate, too. But it's a good story.

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Last week closed the earthly chapter of the little that was known of William A. Collins, the long-lost brother of Aaron and Charles Collins of this county and John Collins of Whitman, Nebr., when the final remittances of his estate were receipted for by the brothers to their attorney, E.A. Anderson, who had sole charge of this unusual case.

More than forty years ago, the Collins children, consisting of four small boys, were left without homes by the sudden death of their mother. Kindly neighbors in the vicinity of Columbia, Iowa, where the Collins family resided, volunteered to provide homes for these boys. William, aged about ten, was taken into the home of the late C.H. Overton; Aaron was placed in the home of Mrs. D.B. Adams, who later removed to Twin Falls, Idaho.

When William was about twelve, the Overtons removed to western Nebraska. William remained with them until the Overtons, because of the ill health of Mrs. Overton, returned to Iowa, when William was about seventeen years of age. From Nebraska, William went to Billings, Montana. He there took employment among the cattle men and became a typical cowboy. He wrote letters for a few years to his brothers in Iowa, sending them also photos showing him in his cowboy suit. Then the letters ceased to come and for more than 35 years all inquiries as to his whereabouts were of no avail.

The remainder of this interesting case, we reporting from The Daily News of Twin Falls, Idaho, of its issue of June 14, 1924, as follows:

"Search for relatives of the late William A. Collins, that was begun when he died here last November, was crowned with success Friday when his body was exhumed in the Twin Falls cemetery and positively identified by E.A. Anderson, of Chariton, Iowa, acting as attorney for Aaron Collins, of Chariton, Iowa, one of the three brothers of the decedent. It was stated that the body would be removed to Iowa for re-interment (it wasn't). 

"Identification of the body of William A. Collins brought to light the story of his life prior to the time he left the home of his foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Overton, in Columbia, Iowa, when he was  youth almost 45 years ago, to become a cowboy in the West. Documents in his possession at the time of his death showed that in recent years he had traveled extensively throughout the western states. He had been in Twin Falls only a few weeks when he was stricken with his fatal illness, and persons with whom he became acquainted here learned but little from him in regard to his life story. Documents in his possession indicated that he had been registered for the military draft in 1918 while residing in Arizona, although he was at that time 45 years of age. It was learned by Rev. Charles E. Winning, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, who was appointed administrator of his estate, that Collins possessed at the time of his death an estate of approximately $4,500. It is believed that he was never married.

"Identification of Collins was brought about by inquiry set in motion at the time of his death by Mrs. D.B. Adams of this city, foster mother of Aaron Collins, who viewed the body and expressed the belief that it was that of the orphaned boy who had been taken into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Overton many years before, She communicated her belief to Aaron Collins, who commissioned the attorney to continue the investigation, which resulted Saturday in the positive identification of the body and the confirmation of Mrs. Adams' belief.

"Identification was estalished by means of a photograph in the attorney's possession and a description of the dead man furnished by his brothers, in which was noted the loss of one finger and certain marks on the neck."

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William and the other three boys were children of Daniel C. Collins and his wife, nee Hannah Ann Murr. When the 1880 federal census was taken, this farming family was living in Pleasant Township, Lucas County's most northeasterly. William's age was given as 8; John L., 6; Aaron E., 4; and Charles Henry, 1.

Hannah died at the age of 29 on Nov. 28, 1880, and was buried in Oakdale Cemetery in the extreme northwest corner of Monroe County --- where Lucas, Monroe and Marion counties join.

Daniel apparently did not feel up to the challenge of raising his four sons alone and moved to Omaha after placing them in the care of foster parents. He did not, however, sever connection with his family and in old age came to Russell to make his home with his sons, Aaron and Charles. He died at Aaron's home in Cedar Township, age 83, on March 4, 1922 --- just a year before the death of his eldest son --- and is buried on the family lot of his son, Charles, in the Russell Cemetery.

William's Idaho death certificate shows that he died of what, at the time, might have been called a "complication of diseases" --- "toxemia, peritonitis and a subacute streptococcus infection."

Both Aaron (1876-1957) and Charles (1878-1954) married and raised their families in the Russell area and left many descendants, among whom was Aaron's son, Clare --- one of my favorite school bus drivers when I was growing up. Aaron and his wife are buried in Bethel Cemetery; the Charles Collins family, in Russell.