rebecca collier jefferson
1886-1973
Life Story
Early Life in Newton County
Rebecca Collier Jefferson was born on August 20, 1886, in the Lawrence community of Newton County, Mississippi. She was the daughter of Rufus Collier and Judy (Juda) Adams Collier. Her father was a native of Georgia, while her mother was born in South Carolina, reflecting the migration patterns of many African American families in the decades following emancipation.
Rebecca grew up in Beat 4 of Newton County in a large farming household surrounded by brothers, sisters, and extended family members. Among her siblings was her younger brother, Charley Collier, whose life would later be cut short by influenza in 1920.
Like many children in rural Mississippi, Rebecca contributed to the family’s agricultural work from an early age. Unlike many African Americans of her generation who had limited educational opportunities, she attended school and learned to read and write, skills that would serve her throughout her life.
A Daughter Defending Her Mother’s Legacy
The death of Rebecca’s mother brought more than grief. It also led to a significant legal dispute involving her mother’s estate and life insurance benefits.
In 1912, Rebecca, already married and using the surname Jefferson, joined several of her siblings in a lawsuit filed in the Chancery Court of Hinds County, Mississippi. The case involved efforts by the heirs of Judy Collier to collect proceeds from a life insurance policy issued through the Independent Order of the Sons and Daughters of Jacob of America.
The suit named Hamon Collier as a defendant and sought to secure funds that Rebecca and her siblings believed rightfully belonged to their mother’s heirs.
The case demonstrates the determination of Rebecca and her family to protect their mother’s legacy and assert their legal rights during an era when African Americans often faced significant obstacles in the courts and financial institutions of the South.
Marriage and Family Life
Around 1910 or 1911, Rebecca married Percy Jefferson, a Louisiana-born farmer.
Together they built a large family that eventually included at least eight children. Among them were daughters Annie May and Catherine and sons Percy and Joseph. Their household reflected the values of family cooperation and mutual support that characterized many rural Mississippi families.
The couple initially established their home in Mississippi and later spent time in Jackson, where city directories place them on North Old Mill West Road during the 1920s.
As parents, Rebecca and Percy worked to provide stability and opportunity for their children during a period marked by economic uncertainty and social change throughout the South.
The Challenges of the Great Depression
The economic hardships of the Great Depression affected families across the nation, and the Jefferson family was no exception.
By 1930, census records place Rebecca in St. Louis, Missouri, where she worked as a domestic cook in a private household while residing as a roomer on La Salle Street. Like many African American women during this era, she sought employment wherever opportunities could be found.
Interestingly, the household in which she lived included Hamon Collier, the same relative who had been involved in the family’s insurance dispute nearly two decades earlier. The arrangement suggests that family relationships continued despite earlier legal disagreements.
At the same time, Percy Jefferson was enumerated elsewhere in Mississippi with several of their children. While the records indicate that the family was geographically separated during this period, the exact circumstances remain unclear.
Return to Mississippi
By 1940, Rebecca was once again living in Mississippi.
The census records place her in Humphreys County, where she managed her household and cared for both children and grandchildren. Her return reflects the pattern of many African American families who moved in search of work during the Depression but later returned to familiar communities and family networks.
Throughout these years, Rebecca remained the steady center of a growing family whose members were spread across multiple generations.
Life in Belzoni
By 1950, Rebecca and Percy were residing on Bayou Street in Belzoni, Mississippi.
Now in her sixties, Rebecca devoted her time to her household and family. Surrounded by children, grandchildren, and longtime neighbors, she enjoyed a stability that had been hard-earned through decades of economic uncertainty, migration, and family responsibilities.
The couple’s long marriage endured through some of the most dramatic changes in American history, including Jim Crow segregation, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the early years of the Civil Rights Movement.
Death and Burial
Rebecca Collier Jefferson passed away on November 14, 1973, at the age of eighty-seven.
Although she spent portions of her adult life in various Mississippi communities and briefly in Missouri, her ties to Newton County remained strong. Following her death, she was returned to Lawrence, Mississippi, where she was laid to rest at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery.
Her burial in the community where she was born symbolized a lifelong connection to her family, her faith, and the land that had shaped her life.
Legacy
Rebecca Collier Jefferson belonged to a generation of African American women whose contributions often went unrecorded outside of census records, legal documents, and family memories.
She was a daughter who fought to protect her mother’s estate, a wife who endured economic hardship, a mother who raised a large family, and a woman who adapted to changing circumstances while maintaining strong family ties.
From the farms of Beat 4 to the streets of St. Louis and back to Mississippi, Rebecca’s life reflected resilience, determination, and devotion to family. Her story remains an important part of the history of the Collier family and the Lawrence community she called home.
Resting Place
Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1900 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Juda Collier.
- 1910 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Juda Collier.
- “Heirs of Judy Collier v. Hamon Collier,” legal notice, Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi), November 23, 1912.
- 1930 U.S. Census, St. Louis, Missouri, household including Rebecca Jefferson.
- 1930 U.S. Census, Rankin County, Mississippi, household of Percy Jefferson.
- 1940 U.S. Census, Humphreys County, Mississippi, household of Rebecca Jefferson.
- 1950 U.S. Census, Belzoni, Humphreys County, Mississippi, household of Percy and Rebecca Jefferson.
- Find a Grave memorial and cemetery records for Rebecca Collier Jefferson, Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Mississippi.
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