Brief Life History of Robert Ruffin
When Hon. Robert Ruffin Collier was born on 16 October 1804, in Petersburg, Dinwiddie, Virginia, United States, his father, CPT Nathaniel Collier, was 29 and his mother, Sarah "Sally" Williamson, was 24. He had at least 8 sons and 6 daughters with Mary Ann Davis. He died on 3 March 1870, in Petersburg, Virginia, United States, at the age of 65, and was buried in Blandford Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia, United States.
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Family Time Line
Sources (16)
- Robert R. Collier in entry for James Edwin Collier, "Virginia, Library of Virginia State Archive, Births, Marriages, and Deaths 1853-1900"
- Robert R Collier, "United States Census, 1850"
- R. R. Collier in entry for Walter Keran, "Virginia, County Marriage Records, 1771-1989"
Spouse and Children
1804–1870 Male
1808–1892 Female
Children (14)
1827–1899 Male
1832–1898 Male
1836–1838 Female
1838–1841 Female
1841–1870 Male
+9 More Children
Parents and Siblings
1775–1825 Male
1780–1860 Female
Siblings (6)
1804–1852 Female
1804–1870 Male
1805–1845 Female
1805– Female
1808–1825 Male
+1 More Child
World Events (8)
1808
Age 4
1812 · Monumental Church Built
Age 8
1824 · """Mary Randolph Publishes """"The Virginia Housewife"""""""
Age 20
Name Meaning
English: from Middle English colier, in most parts of the country ‘maker or seller of charcoal’, but in some areas (such as Bolton le Moors and Wigan, Lancashire) where coal measures were near the surface, ‘miner or seller of coal’ (in the modern sense, ‘fossil fuel’). The name was taken to Ireland from England and was first recorded there in 1305. In Petty's ‘census’ of 1659, it was recorded as a principal surname in Meath.
English: occupational name from Middle English coilour, coliour, culliour, Old French coileor, coillour ‘tax collector’. Surnames with this origin seem to have died out in Britain.
French (northern): from collier ‘collar’, a metonymic occupational name for a maker of collars.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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