Ashley Collins-Williams
- Member for
- 8 years 10 months 26 days
- Find a Grave ID
Bio
I have a deep passion for family genealogy and have been piecing together my family tree on and off since 2008. My curiosity about where I come from began early in life. As a young girl, I traveled with my paternal grandmother and great-grandmother to cemeteries, where I photographed the headstones of our ancestors—an experience that laid the foundation for my lifelong interest in family history.
After the birth of my son in 2017, I renewed my research with even greater purpose, expanding the tree to include his father's lineage as well. I have been incredibly blessed with support from all sides of the family and have received a wealth of information, along with a generous collection of treasured old family photographs.
Through my research, I've discovered ancestors who served on both sides of history—Union and Confederate. My son is a descendant of Darling Jones, a Revolutionary War veteran, and I am a descendant of Alfred Crook Peters, another veteran of that era. My fourth great-grandfather, Watson Collins, was a Union soldier who was captured during the Civil War and tragically died of scurvy at Andersonville Prison. My son is also a descendant of the brother of "Tiger" Whitehead, and they proudly gather each year for the Cates Clan Reunion.
Additionally, my son is the great-great-grandson of a highly respected couple in our small town, Mr. N. E. Hyder and Mrs. Rhoda Cates Hyder, who were deeply involved in the local community and school system. I highly recommend reading Back on Nowhere Road by Frances Henson VanLandingham—another of my son's kinfolk—for further insight into our shared history.
I continue researching and documenting my son's ancestors, adding what I can as new information becomes available. Our family lines include Cates, Hyder, Williams, Jenkins, Collins, Bowers, McDonnell, Colbaugh, Peters, Pierce, Price, Greer, Shepherd, Patton, Hubbard, Mann, Baird, Keller, Whitehead, Smith, Walsh, Grindstaff, Bost, Somerset, Lawless, Medlin, Watts, Crowe, Nidiffer, Taylor, Nave, Oliver, Snyder—and undoubtedly a few I have unintentionally left out.
Our roots stretch across Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, though most of our kin remain right here in Carter County, Tennessee.
I have a deep passion for family genealogy and have been piecing together my family tree on and off since 2008. My curiosity about where I come from began early in life. As a young girl, I traveled with my paternal grandmother and great-grandmother to cemeteries, where I photographed the headstones of our ancestors—an experience that laid the foundation for my lifelong interest in family history.
After the birth of my son in 2017, I renewed my research with even greater purpose, expanding the tree to include his father's lineage as well. I have been incredibly blessed with support from all sides of the family and have received a wealth of information, along with a generous collection of treasured old family photographs.
Through my research, I've discovered ancestors who served on both sides of history—Union and Confederate. My son is a descendant of Darling Jones, a Revolutionary War veteran, and I am a descendant of Alfred Crook Peters, another veteran of that era. My fourth great-grandfather, Watson Collins, was a Union soldier who was captured during the Civil War and tragically died of scurvy at Andersonville Prison. My son is also a descendant of the brother of "Tiger" Whitehead, and they proudly gather each year for the Cates Clan Reunion.
Additionally, my son is the great-great-grandson of a highly respected couple in our small town, Mr. N. E. Hyder and Mrs. Rhoda Cates Hyder, who were deeply involved in the local community and school system. I highly recommend reading Back on Nowhere Road by Frances Henson VanLandingham—another of my son's kinfolk—for further insight into our shared history.
I continue researching and documenting my son's ancestors, adding what I can as new information becomes available. Our family lines include Cates, Hyder, Williams, Jenkins, Collins, Bowers, McDonnell, Colbaugh, Peters, Pierce, Price, Greer, Shepherd, Patton, Hubbard, Mann, Baird, Keller, Whitehead, Smith, Walsh, Grindstaff, Bost, Somerset, Lawless, Medlin, Watts, Crowe, Nidiffer, Taylor, Nave, Oliver, Snyder—and undoubtedly a few I have unintentionally left out.
Our roots stretch across Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, though most of our kin remain right here in Carter County, Tennessee.
Ashley
2 Memorials
