Collier Butler Rhodes

Rankin County, Mississippi

Parents of George C. Collier

Rev. William (Billy) Collier
Born: March 15, 1866, Pelahatchie, Rankin County, Mississippi
Died: September 7, 1951, Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, age 85
Spouses: Married Ella Butler in 1888; Married to ?; Last married to Viney Dyson
Other Biographical Info:

- Was a school teacher for 29 years in Forest, Scott County, Mississippi, retiring in 1934;
- Was a Methodist minister for 29 years;
- Was a house carpenter;
- Moved to Jackson, Mississippi in 1939;
- Had four children with his first wife, Ella. Had additional children by his other wives.

Ella Butler Collier
Born: April 1868, Pelahatchie, Rankin County, Mississippi
Died: in the 1920's, Pelahatchie, Rankin County, Mississippi
Spouse: Married Rev. William Collier in 1888
Other Biographical Info:

- Mother of 4 children: Cleveland Collier (1889); William (Willie) Collier (1894); Bettie M. Collier (1897); and my grandfather, George C. Collier (1899)

Paternal Grandparents of George C. Collier

Sam Collier (?)
(reported as William's father's name on his death certificate. Further research will be done to verify who William Collier's father was.)
Born: ?
Died: ?
Spouse: Clarissa Collier
Other Biographical Info:

Clarissa (Classie) Collier
Born: c. 1830, South Carolina (likely in Orangeburg County, South Carolina)
Died: after 1900, Pelahatchie, Rankin County, Mississippi
Spouse: Sam Collier (?)
Other Biographical Info:

- Have been enslaved by Henry B. Rhodes, or Henry's son/daughter-in-law, Lewis & Harriet Collier Rhodes, or by Harriet's father, John Walter Collier, of Rankin County, Mississippi;
- Was living on the Rhodes Plantation in Rankin County during and after the Civil War;
- It is believed that the Collier or Rhodes Family brought Clarissa, her mother, Jenny, and other family members to Mississippi in the early 1830's.

The children of Clarissa Collier were:
Rev. Nelson Collier
Steven Collier
Sarah Collier Flowers
Harriet Collier
Margaret Collier Safford
Lizzie Collier Jones
Rev. William Collier **
Mary Collier
Lee Collier
John Collier
Martha "Mattie" Collier
Thomas Collier

Maternal Grandparents of George C. Collier

Surry Butler
Born: c. 1825, Greene County, Alabama
Died: July 18, 1917, Pelahatchie, Rankin County, Mississippi, age about 92
Spouse: Harriet Butler

Harriet Butler
Born: c. 1832, Greene County, Alabama
Died: May 28, 1920, Pelahatchie, Rankin County, Mississippi, age about 88
Spouse: Surry Butler

Other Biographical Info:

- Surry & Harriet were first enslaved by David Butler of Greene County, Alabama;
- According to Surry Butler's death certificate, his parents were Charles & Sophia Butler from Alabama;
- After David's death in 1852, David's wife, Martha Brown Butler, "inherited" Surry, and David's daughter, Martha Elizabeth Butler Jordan, "inherited" Harriet and her two children;
- In 1858, Martha Butler Jordan, and her husband, James F. Jordan, and her mother, Martha Brown Butler, and brother, Jessie H. Butler, left Alabama and moved to Rankin County, Mississippi, taking their slaves with them. This allowed Surry, Harriet, and their children to stay together as a family.

The children of Surry and Harriet Butler were:
Joe Butler
Henry Butler
Isaac Butler
George Anna Butler
Alexander "Elick" Butler
Lula Butler
Dixie Butler McBride
Mary Jane Butler
Ella Butler Collier **
Robert Butler
Sallie Butler
Babe Butler
Julius Butler
Sophia Butler Waters