When Adolphus Madison Collins was born on 22 August 1821, in Pendleton, Anderson, South Carolina, United States, his father, Watson Collins, was 31 and his mother, Mary Moss, was 24. He married Jane Watson on 12 April 1840, in Macon, North Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Polk, Tennessee, United States for about 10 years and Notla Township, Cherokee, North Carolina, United States in 1880. He died on 9 November 1891, in Shoal Creek Township, Cherokee, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 70, and was buried in Mineral Bluff, Fannin, Georgia, United States.