patrick “pat” collier, sr.
1848-1913
Life Story
Early Life and Uncertain Origins
Patrick “Pat” Collier, Sr. lived during a transformative period in American history, spanning the years following slavery and extending into the early twentieth century. Like many African Americans born in the nineteenth century, the details of his earliest years remain difficult to document with certainty.
Various records provide conflicting information regarding both his age and birthplace. Census records suggest a birth sometime between the late 1840s and early 1850s, while other records offer differing estimates. Likewise, some records identify Alabama as his birthplace, while others suggest Mississippi. The uncertainty is compounded by his death certificate, where his wife, Laura Black Collier, served as the informant and reported that the names of Patrick’s father and mother were unknown.
Although questions remain regarding his origins, Patrick’s adult life is firmly rooted in the Lawrence community of Newton County, Mississippi, where he spent decades building a family, acquiring land, and establishing himself as an independent farmer.
Building a Family in Lawrence
By 1880, Patrick was living in Beat 4 of Newton County with his wife, Laura. The young couple was beginning what would become a long marriage and a large family.
Over the next several decades, Patrick and Laura became the parents of numerous children and built a household that reflected the importance of family labor and cooperation in rural Mississippi. By 1900, they had been married approximately twenty years and were raising a thriving family while operating their own farm.
Children recorded in the household included:
- Lida Collier
- David Collier
- Will Collier
- Mary Bell (Maybell) Collier
- Edd Collier
- Jessie Collier
- Evalina Collier
- Mary Ella Collier
- Patrick Collier, Jr.
- Annie Collier
- Wallace Collier
Also living in the household was his mother-in-law named Mary Black, reflecting the multigenerational nature of many rural Southern families.
The Collier home was a busy place where children contributed to farm work, attended school when possible, and learned the values of hard work and family responsibility.
A Black Landowner in Newton County
One of Patrick’s greatest accomplishments was his success as a landowner.
The 1900 census recorded him as owning his farm free and clear of a mortgage. For an African American farmer in Mississippi during the Jim Crow era, landownership represented far more than property ownership. It offered a measure of independence, economic security, and dignity during a time when many Black families were trapped in systems of tenant farming and debt.
Patrick could also read and write, skills that were far from universal among individuals born during his era. His literacy and ability to manage a successful farm suggest a man who valued self-improvement and understood the importance of education and financial independence.
By 1910, Patrick was listed as an employer operating his own general farm. Several of his children remained at home, helping maintain the family operation while preparing for lives of their own.
Land, Debt, and Financial Challenges
Like many farmers, Patrick occasionally relied upon credit to sustain and improve his agricultural operation.
On February 10, 1911, Patrick and Laura Collier executed a deed of trust to secure a debt owed to Ruby S. Tatum. The agreement placed approximately seventy-seven acres of land as collateral. The property was described as:
The east half of the southwest quarter, less three acres, in Section 26, Township 6, Range 10 East, containing approximately seventy-seven acres.
The legal document demonstrates both the substantial size of Patrick’s landholdings and the financial realities that accompanied farming in the early twentieth century.
Following Patrick’s death, the debt remained unresolved. In February 1917, a public notice announced that the property would be sold by trustee D. Blackburn to satisfy the outstanding obligation. The sale was scheduled to occur in Lawrence in front of the Lawrence Mercantile Company store.
The episode illustrates the fragile nature of landownership for many Black farmers. Even those who succeeded in acquiring land often remained vulnerable to illness, economic hardship, and credit arrangements that could place family property at risk.
Final Illness and Death
Patrick Collier died on November 27, 1913, in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.
During his final illness, he was attended by Dr. J. L. Myers, who recorded the cause of death as carcinoma of the liver. The death certificate was filed by local registrar L. C. Price, with Laura Collier serving as the informant.
His passing brought an end to a life spent farming, raising a family, and building a legacy within the Lawrence community. He left behind a wife, numerous children, and a farm that had served as the foundation of the family’s livelihood for many years.
Burial
Following his death, Patrick was laid to rest in the Lawrence community. Funeral arrangements were handled by local undertaker Bob Windham.
Today, family traditions and cemetery records connect many members of the Collier family to Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, one of the historic African American burial grounds serving the Lawrence area.
Legacy
Patrick Collier belonged to a generation that transformed the opportunities of freedom into tangible achievements through landownership, family building, and community stability.
His children went on to establish families of their own throughout Newton County and beyond. Among them was Edd Collier, who became a respected farmer and community leader in Lawrence. Through his descendants, Patrick’s influence extended well beyond his own lifetime.
His story also illustrates the broader experiences of African American farmers in Mississippi during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Through perseverance and determination, he acquired land, raised a large family, and established a lasting presence in Newton County. Yet his story also reveals the economic vulnerabilities faced by Black landowners whose property could be threatened by debt and legal obligations after their deaths.
More than a century after his passing, Patrick Collier remains an important figure in the history of the Lawrence community and the extended Collier family whose roots remain deeply embedded in the soil of Newton County.
Resting Place
Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1880 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Patrick Collier.
- 1900 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Patrick Collier.
- 1910 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Patrick Collier.
- Deed of Trust, Patrick and Laura Collier to Ruby S. Tatum, February 10, 1911, Newton County Chancery Clerk Records, Land Book 5, p. 168.
- “Notice of Trustee’s Sale,” The Newton Record (Newton, Mississippi), February 8, 1917.
- Mississippi Death Certificate No. 20913, Patrick Collier, November 27, 1913, Newton County, Mississippi.
- Newton County burial records, Lawrence community, 1913.
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