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The Barney History Project: The people, places, and stories of Barney, Georgia

Stephen Collins

Steve Collins was elected to Barney’s town council on December 15, 1911. He was probably the Stephen Collins enumerated on First Avenue the previous year: a thirty-six-year-old Georgia-born farmer in the household of R. T. Collins. The census and local newspaper notices make this a strong-probable identification, although the election report does not expand his name or identify his family.[1][2]

From Coweta County to Brooks

A January 1908 notice in the Newnan Herald and Advertiser reported that Mr. and Mrs. Steve Collins had moved to Brooks County. The item appeared in the Turin correspondence. It is probably an earlier notice of the couple later recorded at Barney, although it gives no more precise destination.[3]

By May 1909, a Steve Collins was taking part in Barney’s social life. “Barney Wins Easily,” an Atlanta Georgian and News baseball report, named him as umpire when Barney won 12–7 against a team printed as “Morum,” possibly Morven.[4]

Household and family visits

In 1910 Stephen was recorded as R. T. Collins’s son and worked as a farmer and employer. R. T.’s wife Martha also lived in the household. A twenty-three-year-old daughter-in-law, whose name is transcribed as Janye, was recorded immediately after Stephen. Both younger adults reported five years in their current marriage; an exact marriage date and her maiden surname have not been established.[2]

The couple retained ties to the Newnan area. In November 1910, the Newnan Herald and Advertiser reported that Mrs. Steve Collins of Barney had been visiting her sister, Mrs. L. A. Gilbert, and had gone on to Woodbury. The notice identifies Mrs. Gilbert as his wife’s sister, not Stephen’s.[5]

Council election

The Atlanta Semi-Weekly Journal named Steve Collins among the five councilmen elected with Mayor W. E. Hiers in December 1911. The notice establishes the election but does not identify his committee work, council decisions, or length of service.[1]

His later life and burial remain unresolved. Property recorded in R. T. Collins’s name should not be treated as Stephen’s without a separate conveyance or other title evidence.

Sources

  1. “Hiers Named Mayor by Barney Voters,” Atlanta Semi-Weekly Journal, December 19, 1911, page 8. Original page.
  2. 1910 United States census, Barney district, Brooks County, Georgia, enumeration district 21, sheet 1A, lines 1–4, household 1; Ancestry image 31111_4327473-00480. Original census image.
  3. “Turin,” Herald and Advertiser, January 10, 1908, page 6. Original page.
  4. “Barney Wins Easily,” Atlanta Georgian and News, May 31, 1909, page 11. Original page.
  5. “Grantville,” Newnan Herald and Advertiser, November 18, 1910, page 6. Original page.