Isham Henry Collins

Shown owning 380 acres in Holly Springs township in Branson's Directory of Raleigh with Wake County Farmers, 1891

written by Hubert W. Collins, grandson of this man (in 1971): Isham Henry Collins was the eldest child of ten; he was the son of Eaton Collins and Sarah Hedgepeth Collins. He was born January 9, 1820, and passed away January 22, 1920. When very small and unattended, he crawled near the fireplace and in turning, exposed his foot to intense heat. This contact with the burning material in the fireplace severed the tendon to his right heel. The heel then became deformed and the foot was displaced into position parallel to the shin bone. Throughout his life he walked on his normal left foot and his right heel. A special shoe had to be made for the right foot. In his mature years he usually made the shoes personally for the right foot. He was thus deformed and hampered through his entire life by this injury in his childhood days. Despite this deformity, he spent many years surveying the lands of southwest Wake County, and the records would doubtless show him to be the surveyor of many of the tracts of land recorded in that part of the county. He never weighed more than 165 pounds during his mature years, and he was not very tall, being only about 5'9" in height. In his later years he wore a short beard, but never a mustache. At the age of 80 he was still well preserved and only slightly gray. He passed away at the age of 91 years and was buried in the old Edwards graveyard near Holly Springs. Only twice in his life was he under the care of a doctor - once when he suffered an attack of typhoid fever at 30 years of age and again in the period of illness preceding his death. He was a very quiet and unassuming person - soft-spoken and a man of few words. He had a good sense of humor, however, and was an excellent story teller. His companions often enticed him to tell more stories than he normally would have told. Some of his best stories were about the more erratic and worldly members of the Olive family. He never liked to make speeches or talks in church or Sunday School. He was married twice. His first wife was Mary Ann Olive Collins (May 18, 1824- February 14, 1896). His second wife was Mary Thompson Edwards Collins (July 30, 1846 - ) (Grandfather pre-deceased his second wife.) Extra Notes: Britton Collins was Eaton Collins' father. Six of the sons of Eaton Collins volunteered or were drafted for service in the Confederate Army. When the war was over, only two of the six returned home.