Matthias B. Collins

      Matthias B. Collins, second child in a family of three, was born February 18, 1842, in Butler County, Ohio. His parents, Jacob and Mary A. (Arbuckle) Collins, natives of Pennsylvania and West Virginia respectively, were married in Ohio, in 1837, and located near Cincinnati, where the father followed the cooper's trade and farmed up tot he present time. His mother died November 6, 1877.

    Matthias was reared and educated in Clermont County, Ohio, and when nineteen years of age came to Indiana and entered the employ of carriage manufacturers, with which he remained until July, 1862. He enlisted in Company I, Thirty-third Indiana Volunteers, under Capt. Houser; served three years, and participated in the following engagements: Thompson's Station, Resaca, Cassville, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Burnt Hickory and Dallas Woods; he then marched with Sherman from Atlanta to the sea, and took part in the battles at Savannah, Bentonville and Averysboro; near Goldsboro, he was taken prisoner, and first imprisoned at Danville, then at Libby. Shortly after, he was paroled, and going to Camp Chase, Ohio, was granted a furlough, and on June 10, 1865, he was honorably discharged. Returning to Bartholomew County, Indiana, he was resumed work at carriage-making.

    On March 25, 1866, he was married to Minerva L. Rominger, of Bartholomew County. One year later, they removed to St. Louis, Indiana, where he engaged in wagon-making, remaining until 1872; removing thence to Miamiville, Ohio, he engaged in photography (which he had learned while in the army), traveling with a portable gallery until in 1879, when he came to Martinsville and has since been successfully engaged there in the same business. Mr. Collins is Senior Warden of the A. F. & A. M., Martinsville Lodge, No. 74, and Officer of the Guard of Post No. 77, G. A. R. He is a Republican, and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have four children -Ella F., Eugene O., Willie A. and Mary E.

Source: Counties of Morgan, Monroe and Brown, Indiana. Historical and Biographical. Charles Blanchard, Editor. F. A. Battey & Co., Publishers, 1884.