Individual Details

Nellie married Constant P. Wilson, son of Thomas E. Wilson and Mary A. Dillard, 30 May 1881.

She had four children but died before the 1900 census:
1900 Census. Ft. Smith Ward 5, Sebastian Co AR, Hh 68
Constant Wilson, b. May 1855, age 45, widowed. b. AR, father b. KY, mother b. VA
Constant, son, b. Jun 1882, age 17. b. AR, father b. TX, mother b. AR [it was just the opposite]
Nellie C., dau, b. Aug 1884, age 15
Jim C., dau, b. Feb 1890, age 10
Susie C., dau, b. Apr 1893, age 7
Mary J. Collins, mother-in-law, b. Mar 1841, 58 years old, widowed, had 3 children only 1 is living, b. KY




There are several errors in the following. It is interesting that Constant Wilson never bothered to say that he had children, at least two of them were born before the publishing of the History book. This article is probably the source of the error that William C. Whitsett of Fannin Co, TX was a son of Emily Haden & "Gen." William Whitsitt of Logan Co, KY. Emily was undoubtedly deceased before William's birth circa 1812, and no later marriage for William Whitsitt has been found.

SOURCE: History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford,
Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed
Publishing Co., 1889.
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page 1379
Constant P. Wilson, farmer of Upper Township, Sebastian Co., Ark., and native
of the county, was born in 1856, being a son of Thomas E. and Mary A.
(Dillard) Wilson, who were born in Kentucky and Virginia, July 6, 1804, and
April 27, 1822, respectively. The father removed from Kentucky to Fort Gibson,
and in 1832 located at Fort Smith, Ark., where he was engaged in surveying,
and acted as sutler for the soldiers. He owned a large farm of 1,200 acres,
and from fifteen to twenty slaves. The following are his children: Neosho L.
(deceased), Thomas E., Virginia T. (Baxter), John D., Constant P., Sallie P.
(Falconer), and Macha M. He has one step- daughter, Mrs. Marcus Boyd. Mr.
Wilson's death occurred September 11, 1880, his wife dying on the 11th of
January, seven years later. Her parents, John and Sallie P. (Moore) Dillard,
were born in Virginia, and in 1822 removed to Arkansas, where the father
engaged in merchandising, farming and stock dealing. He was one of the
prominent men of his section of the country, and represented his county in the
State Legislature. He died in 1846. His maternal grandparents, Benjamin and
Polly (Price) Moore, came from Virginia to Arkansas in 1821, and the
descendants of [p.1379] this noble couple are among the leading citizens of
Arkansas. Constant P. Wilson, whose name heads this sketch, has spent his
entire life in Sebastian County. He was married on the 30th of May, 1881, to
Miss Nellie Collins, who was born July 4, 1860. From 1877 to 1885 he was in the
saloon business at Fort Smith, but since that time has been manager of the
Wilson and Collins farms, comprising 1,600 acres of land, and is the most
extensive planter in Northwestern Arkansas. Throughout life Mr. Wilson has been
the architect of his own fortune, and is of a very energetic and determined
disposition. He is a member of the Episcopal Church, and in his political
views is a Democrat, casting his first presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden.
Mrs. Wilson's father, James M. Collins, was born in Virginia in 1830, and died
on the 2d of March, 1887. He was reared and educated in Pennsylvania by his
grandfather, Christopher Riley, and after attaining man's estate went to Texas
and engaged in the stock business on a large scale. While in the “Lone Star
State” he became acquainted with and married Mary J. Whitsett, a daughter of
Dr. William C. and Elizabeth L. (Edmunds) Whitsett. Although not in the army,
Mr. Collins gave valuable assistance to the Confederate cause in furnishing
the army with provisions. In 1866 he came to Fort Smith, and engaged in the
mercantile business, and also purchased 1,200 acres of land in Sebastian
County, on which he located in 1869. Here he died March 2, 1887. His parents,
John and Elizabeth (Riley) Collins, were natives of Virginia. His wife's
parents were born in Kentucky August 7, 1812, and December 15, 1815, and died
January 9, 1882, and January 22, 1883, respectively, and her paternal great-
grandparents, Gen. William and Emily (Haden) Whitsett, were Virginians, the
former dying in 1841. Her maternal grandparents, William and Mary A. (Penn)
Edmunds, were Virginians, Mary A. being a descendant of William Penn, of
historical renown.

Birth	4 Jul 1860	Bonham, Fannin County, Texas
Christen	20 Feb 1867	St Johns Episcopal, Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas
Death	Bet 1893 and 1900	Sebastian County, Arkansas

Father	James M. Collins (1832 - 1887)
Mother	Mary Jane Whitsett (1841 - 1900)
Sibling	Elias Duval Collins (1868 - 1925)