emma mcelroy collier
1893-1973
Life Story
Early Life in Beat 4
Emma McElroy Collier was born on September 27, 1893, in Newton County, Mississippi, to Benjamin McElroy, Sr. and Judie McElroy. She spent her childhood in Beat 4, a rural agricultural community near Lawrence where family, church, and farming shaped daily life.
By 1900, six-year-old Emma was living in a rented home with her mother and siblings, including Kiah, Susana, Francis, and Mamie. Like many African American families in rural Mississippi at the turn of the twentieth century, the McElroys depended upon agricultural labor and family cooperation to make a living.
Following changes within the family over the next decade, Emma was enumerated in 1910 in the household of her older brother, Laban McElroy, where she lived alongside her mother and other relatives.
From an early age, Emma contributed to the family’s livelihood as a farm laborer. Despite the demands of rural life, she attended school and learned to read and write. During a period when educational opportunities for Black children in Mississippi remained limited, literacy was a meaningful accomplishment and one that would serve her throughout her life.
Marriage and Building a Home
Around 1912, at approximately eighteen years of age, Emma married Eddie “Edd” Collier, a young farmer from the Lawrence community.
Together they established a home in Beat 4 and began building a life rooted in agriculture, faith, and family. Their marriage would endure for more than half a century.
The couple became the parents of one daughter:
By 1920, Emma and Edd had established their own household and were operating a family farm. Like many farm wives of the era, Emma’s responsibilities extended far beyond housekeeping. She worked alongside her husband in the fields while also managing the countless domestic duties necessary to sustain a rural household.
Life on the Family Farm
Throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, Emma remained an active participant in the family’s farming operation.
Federal census records consistently describe her as both homemaker and farm laborer, reflecting the dual responsibilities carried by many rural women. Her contributions helped support the family’s agricultural success during some of the most difficult economic periods in American history, including the Great Depression.
Over time, the Colliers achieved a measure of economic stability. By 1940, they were no longer renters but owners of their own home and land along the Old Lawrence and Lala Road area. Landownership represented an important accomplishment for African American families in rural Mississippi and reflected decades of hard work and perseverance.
By 1950, Emma and Edd remained in the Lawrence community, residing along the Conehatta-Lawrence Road. While no longer actively engaged in farm labor, Emma continued to serve as the center of the household, devoting her time to maintaining the home and caring for family members.
Faith and Church Service
Faith occupied a central place in Emma’s life.
For many years she was a devoted member of Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, where she worshiped and served faithfully. According to her obituary, she remained active in church work for as long as her health allowed.
Like many rural churches in Newton County, Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church functioned as more than a place of worship. It served as a center of fellowship, community leadership, education, and mutual support. Emma’s lifelong dedication to the church reflected her deep commitment to both her faith and her community.
Later Years
Edd Collier preceded Emma in death in 1969 after nearly sixty years of marriage.
Following her husband’s passing, Emma eventually moved to Forest, Mississippi, where she lived with her daughter Annie Laura and son-in-law. Surrounded by family, she spent her final years enjoying the company of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren whose lives reflected the legacy she and Edd had built together.
Death and Burial
Emma McElroy Collier passed away on September 14, 1973, at her daughter’s home in Forest, Scott County, Mississippi, at the age of seventy-nine.
Funeral services were held on September 20, 1973, at Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church in Lawrence, with Reverend J. H. Morris officiating.
She was survived by:
- One daughter, Annie Laura Eubanks of Forest, Mississippi
- Four grandsons
- Fourteen great-grandchildren
- Two great-great-grandchildren
Following the service, Emma was laid to rest at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.
A Community’s Appreciation
The respect Emma earned throughout her lifetime was evident in the response to her passing.
A published “Card of Thanks” from her family expressed gratitude for the many acts of kindness shown during the family’s time of bereavement. They specifically thanked friends, both Black and white, for their prayers, visits, food, flowers, cards, telegrams, and words of comfort.
The acknowledgment provides a glimpse into the relationships Emma helped build over a lifetime and reflects the esteem in which she was held throughout the community.
Legacy
Emma McElroy Collier’s life spanned nearly eighty years of remarkable change. Born during the final decade of the nineteenth century, she witnessed the rise of Jim Crow segregation, two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the early years of the Civil Rights Movement.
Through it all, she remained steadfast in her devotion to family, faith, and community.
As a wife, mother, farmer, church member, grandmother, and matriarch, Emma helped sustain generations of the Collier family. Her story reflects the strength and perseverance of countless African American women whose labor, faith, and dedication formed the foundation of rural Mississippi communities.
Today, her legacy endures through her descendants and through the memory of a life marked by resilience, literacy, faith, and unwavering commitment to those she loved.
Resting Place
Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1900 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of July McElroy.
- 1910 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, household of Laban McElroy.
- 1920 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Edd Collier.
- 1930 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Edd Collier.
- 1940 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, household of Edd Collier.
- 1950 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Conehatta-Lawrence Road, household of Edd and Emma Collier.
- Obituary of Emma McElroy Collier, The Newton Record, September 26, 1973.
- “Card of Thanks,” The Newton Record, September 26, 1973.
- Burial records, Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Mississippi.
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