Hello ~ My name is Frankie...
I am a descendant of the Collins family of eastern Kentucky. I have been researching for approximately three years now, and have stumbled upon some of the most fascinating research anyone could ever find. The Collins family is not an easy one to research. I did not find the �immigrant ancestor�, nor did I find an easy route toward him. What I did find however, was hundreds of people also resarching MY ancestors ! Yes, the Collins family has been a focus of much writing, debate, controversy, and outright confusion, as early as the year 1891, and possibly, many years prior to that. The census records and other documentation does not give them a specific ethnicity. The records are �pecuilar� to say the least. On some records, they are �white, some �mulatto�, some are �fpc� meaning free persons of color, some �Indian�, and so on. Not only am I in search of the �genealogy� of my family..I am in search of their true identity..and my true heritage.
I was born on Johns Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky, deep in the heart of the Appalachians. At a very early age, I moved with my family to a coal mine camp on Bull Creek in Water Gap, near Prestonsburg, Kentucky. Or should I say..we were MOVED. The Government somehow decided there needed to be a lake where we lived on Johns Creek. There was no consideration for a scared little girl about to leave her home. And what about our house, our garden, Daddy�s flowers and roses.. for that matter, our entire life?? Well, needless to say folks, the Government won out, and a �man-made� lake now engulfs the place we once called home. There are still remnants of the old homeplace, which now can only be accessed by boat.., a chimney, some old �half-soled�shoes, and the roses..yes, the roses refused to leave. Daddy evidently took some cuttings, because our new home in the mining camp had dozens of climbing, rambling roses growing on the palen fence posts all around the yard..life goes on......
We were a �poor� family, by todays standards, but very rich in other ways. We had our home, our family, a donkey named �Barney�, chickens, plenty of food, love for family, friends & neighbors....and the roses. On �Decoration Day�, huge bundles of the roses were mixed among the crepe paper flowers we had spent the winter making, and carried to the cemetery to Grandma & Grandpa, and others who had gone on..
We had no electricity or �modern� conveniencies. We did have a radio, powered by a huge battery, that brought us the news, and the Grand �Ol Opry. After our chores were finished, and the coal and kindling were brought in for the night, Mommy read the Bible by the light of a kerosene lamp, and Daddy told us stories and parched corn by the fire. We were happy, and we definitely had no idea we were poor..
We walked to our little two room school every day, and to the little church beside it at night. Our path up the winding dirt road was lit by a carbide lamp that Daddy used on his helmet in the deep dark coal mines. I think now, there was a lesson in life here for me....
Now, back to the roses..Some may think this page is a little �frilly�or fancy, for a girl from a coal mine camp in Kentucky. On the contrary. I was made aware of the beauty of roses before I could talk. Daddy let each of us �claim� a rose bush. Mine was the pink one, and a more beautiful rose has yet to be found. Our old setting hens loved the shelter of the roses, and inevitably, made a nest under the corner ones. My job was to gather the eggs from under the roses, and I thought then..what a beautiful place the hens had chosen for their home. The rose petals also made beautiful �fingernails�for a growing-up little girl who could only dream of the day we could afford nail polish.
Here on these pages, I will try to post family information for not only mine, but many families who intertwined and became as much a part of the mountains as the rambling roses I so dearly love....
I thank all who have contributed to our website, and wish everyone the best of luck in your family search. I will dedicate my research to my family...and most of all, my family learning and the beautiful pink roses here on this page...
...................To Daddy
William Nelson Collins
1891-1975
