This is a living record of the Collins family — a tree meant to grow as each branch adds its own names, photos, and stories. It begins with one family member's research and one branch's roots; from there, it's ours to build together. The Collins family runs wider than any single line, through brothers, sisters, and cousins with roots of their own. This record belongs to all of us. Find your line. Add your leaves. Help the rest of the tree take shape.
i. Whose Roots These Are
The couple at this root
From two lives, a whole branch of the Collins family grew. These are the grandparents at the heart of one line — and above them, generation by generation, the documented roots reach back nearly two centuries. Whose line this is, and how your own can join it, is just below.
Willie Pearl “Jackson” Collins
Matriarch · Jackson Line
1927 – 2004
Virges Lee Collins, Sr.
Patriarch · Collins Line
1920 – 1967
Virges & Willie Pearl — their marriage rooted this branch in Elgin, Texas
At the heart of our branch stand Willie Pearl Collins and her husband, Virges Lee Collins, Sr. From their marriage grew the large family whose descendants fill the reunion grounds today. This public record honors them and the generations behind them; their living family is kept private here. Other branches of the Collins family begin with kin of their own.
Willie Pearl was born a Jackson — born about 1927 in McDade, in Bastrop County, Texas, a daughter of Pete Jackson and Irene Cathey. She became the matriarch of this branch: with Virges she raised a large family and anchored the home the reunion still returns to. She passed in Elgin in 2004, and her memory roots much of what this record holds.
Virges Lee Collins, Sr. was remembered in the family as a preacher — a man of faith whose example set the tone for the family that carries his name. Together they planted the roots of our branch.
From their two lives, our branch of the tree unfolds — and there is room beside it for every other branch to be added.
Family heirloom photographs, lovingly preserved. Have a sharper scan, a maiden name, or another portrait to add? Bring it to the family record.
ii. The Lineage
From the wall down to the grandparents
The documented Collins paternal line, oldest first — five generations descending from the edge of the written record to the grandparents at the heart of this branch. Read it from the top down, like one unbroken sentence.
As far as the records reachBefore 1870 the written record falls silent — the wall most African-American families meet when tracing roots through slavery. We honor it, and we do not guess past it.
b. ~1813
Charles Collins Harriet Collins
Oldest documented ancestor · Kentucky
b. ~1850
Frank Collins Caroline Larkins
His son · Texas
1874 – 1926
Willie Mack Collins Mary Garnett
His son
1896 – 1971
Rufus A. Collins Mary Smith
Virges Sr.’s parents
Rufus’s brothers & sisters · Collins side
The grandparents · where this record rests
Virges Lee Collins, Sr. 1920 – 1967Willie Pearl “Jackson” Collins 1927 – 2004
Their portraits open this page — see them above ↑. Willie Pearl was the daughter of Pete Jackson & Irene Cathey.
Virges Sr.’s brothers & sisters · Collins side
Willie Pearl’s brothers & sisters · Jackson side
Willie Pearl was raised by her maternal grandparents, the Cathey family, near Mc Dade and Bastrop. Her own brothers and sisters are being verified before they’re shown here.
Family research · still being confirmed
Her maternal Cathey line, recovered from the 1930 & 1940 Bastrop census: her grandfather Ned “Red” Cathey (b. 1874, a Bastrop farm owner) took her in — and his own parents had come to Texas from Mississippi, a thread reaching back toward where the family began. Her aunts and uncles on that side: Marshall, Earl, Tomy, and Inez Cathey.
The public record honors them here and goes no further — their living family is kept private.
On the Collins side, the record reaches back five generations to Charles Collins (b. ~1813, Kentucky) — about as far as written records carry before the 1870 census. We won’t guess past it: every name here is one the records support — Charles’s Kentucky birthplace is the leading record and still being confirmed. The Jackson side is still being gathered. Know a name, a date, or a generation further back? Add it to the record.
iii. A Living Record
A tree is never finished
The branch you see here was pieced together from one family member's research — public records and family trees on Ancestry.com, plus DNA matches that quietly connect cousins across the wider Collins family. It's a foundation, not the final word. If you know a name, a date, a spouse, a photo, or a whole branch that belongs here — including the lines that run through Willie Pearl's and Virges's brothers and sisters — bring it to the record.
New here? You don't have to share this couple's roots to belong on this tree. To add names, dates, or photos, sign in to the Family Hub — every submission is reviewed by family before anything appears here, so the public tree stays accurate and private about living relatives. Prefer not to sign in? Email the names to board@collinscg.com and we'll graft your branch in.
Connect on Ancestry
This is the Collins family tree the family has built so far on Ancestry — records, photos, and the DNA links behind it. Come see what’s there, then help it grow:
