Zebulon (the 3rd) Lucius/Lucien Collins (hereafter called "Tweed") was born June 7, 1853, in Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio, a son of Zebulon (the 2nd) Collins and his second wife, widow Harriet Stanton Conkright. The family resided in Little Hocking, Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio. In addition to Tweed, Zeb (the 2nd) and Harriet had a daughter, Mary Viola Collins (Fox). Tweed, therefore, had only one full sibling, his sister Mary and many half-siblings. (See "Footnote 1.").

Tweed and Mary's paternal grandparents were Zebulon (the 1st) and Rachel Hand Collins. Their mother Harriet's parents were Asahel and Martha/Patsy Ball Stanton, whose ancestry dates back to the Mayflower and the Hopkins family. The Mayflower connection is through the Ball line.

While Harriet might have been a good mother to Tweed and Mary, some of her stepchildren called her "the witch" because of her often cruel treatment of them. In spite of this, Harriet considered herself a religious woman, often taking Tweed and Mary to camp meetings.

Mary married Robert Fox and had four children: Harry, Perry, Bernard, and Rosa Belle (Harman). For several years, the Foxes lived next door to Tweed and Ezelda in Troy Township, Athens County, Ohio. Surviving letters indicate that their children seemed close and remained in contact the rest of their lives, even though Mary and Robert eventually moved to New Kent County, Virginia.

Tweed in his later years began using the name Leon True Collins, the name that appears on the back of his wife's tombstone and in some official records. Why he occasionally used an alias is not yet known. How the name "Tweed" came to be, however, is known—his mother inadvertently gave it to him. According to his half-brother, Tom (T. C. Collins), Harriet, who apparently lisped, constantly called him "such a 'tweet' little fellow that everyone began calling him 'Tweet.'" Tom went on to say that "as he grew up, he began writing his name "'Tweed,' putting on a d and taking off a t."

Shortly after Harriet's death on April 7, 1865, a Stanton uncle took Mary and Tweed West for a time; however, they eventually returned home to Washington County. Not long after their return, Zeb (the 2nd) married his third wife, Mary (known as Polly) Johnson Newell. The marriage brought two households together: Zeb (the 2nd)'s children with both his first and second wives (Catherine Hann and Harriet Stanton) and Polly's children with her first husband, Civil War veteran Erastus Leroy Newell. This marriage of twice-widowed Zeb (the 2nd) and once-widowed Polly set in motion a series of convoluted relationships.

By 1880, Tweed and Ezelda had moved. They were living in Troy Township in neighboring Athens County, Ohio, on a 33-acre farm worth about $700. Thirteen acres of the farm were tilled—ten acres were in meadows, and ten in woodland, orchards, and forest. The livestock residing on the farm included two horses, one milk cow, and ten barnyard chickens. The farm produced eggs, buttermilk, Indian corn, wheat, flax, cord wood, and potatoes. And as mentioned previously, Tweed's sister Mary Fox and her family lived next door. Ezelda's's sister and brother-in-law, Limmacus and Harriet Newell Waterman, were their neighbors on the other side (Dwellings 215, 216, and 217 on page 224 of the federal census for that year).

1912 was a bad year for Tweed. First, he lost his wife Ezelda. She died in Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio, on January 19, 1912, at age 65. Six months later (July 1912), son Bob, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, was killed by a train while serving with the Army in Illinois. Some reports indicate his death may have been a suicide because of anguish over the loss of his mother. Ezelda is buried with Bob next to her mother, Mary/Polly Johnson Newell Collins, in the Torch Methodist Church Cemetery in Torch, Athens County, Ohio.

A year later on June 4, 1913, Tweed married again—to divorcee Bertha Effa Ward Cobb (known as Effie). The ceremony took place in Washington County, Ohio. This marriage lasted seven years and produced one child, Phyllis Maxine (Satterfield-Lochary-Lowe).

Sarah Ezelda Newell (known as Ezelda), born on Christmas Day in 1847, was one of Polly's children with first husband, Erastus Newell. Her maternal grandparents were Daniel and Patience Place Newell and her paternal Nehemiah and Mary Bickerstaff Johnson. Ezelda had three brothers—Thaddeus, John Place, and Thomas B.—and two sisters, Mary P. (died age 9), and Harriet (Watterman). Her father Erastus died in 1863 of meningitis at Corinth, Mississippi, during the Civil War.

When her mother Polly married Zeb (the 2nd) Collins on October 7, 1865, Ezelda not only became acquainted with Zeb's many children with Catherine Hann and Harriet Stanton, she ended up marrying two of them. Ezelda married George Laveret Collins, son of Zeb (the 2nd) and Catherine on February 13, 1869. The marriage was a short one as George died later that year. Ezelda and George, who was born on May 1, 1847, in Ohio had one son: Erastus Leroy Collins.

Three years later (on February 24, 1874) the young widow then married George's half-brother, Tweed, son of Zeb (the 2nd) and Harriet. That is how Polly Johnson-Newell-Collins became not only Tweed's stepmother but also his mother-in-law! Zeb (the 2nd) and Polly eventually had two children of their own: Lydia Matilda (Hull) and Nancy Amanda (Cook-Wyer). Lydia and Amanda, as a result, were half sisters of both Tweed and Ezelda!

Put another way, Ezelda's new husband Tweed, in addition to being her brother-in-law, was also her stepbrother (her mother, Mary Johnson Newell, was the third wife of Zebulon (the 2nd), Tweed's father)!!!

Tweed and Ezelda took up residence in Little Hocking, Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio, where Tweed worked as a farmer and carpenter. Ezelda was three years older than her new husband. They had four children: Andrew Collins, Rosa V. Collins (Weber), Robert (known from time to time as Bob and Ray) Collins, and Frederick Collins. The family also included Ezelda's son, Leroy Collins, from her first marriage to George Collins.

After Tweed's death on December 12, 1920, Effie, who, according to oral family history, was a "red-headed floosy who took all his money," reportedly buried him in a pauper's grave at no cost at the Catholic church cemetery across from the Torch Methodist Church (Ezelda's resting place). She buried him according to family folklore "without so much as a headstone," even though he already had a grave site and stone (next to his first wife Ezelda) at the Methodist church, where she would only have had to pay for a gravedigger.

The name Leon True Collins appears on the back of Ezelda's tombstone at the Methodist church with only his birthdate listed. Tweed probably had his own name and birthdate engraved on the back of Ezelda's tombstone when she died since there is no death date listed there for him. Therefore, the story about Effie burying him across the street could be true. Another possibility is that Tweed is indeed buried with Ezelda, and Effie failed to have the death date carved on the back of Ezelda's tombstone, where his name appears.

References:
• Jun 2018 updated biography details from great-great granddaughter Jane Osborne Jones ([email protected]) with footnote references and pictures in Jane's complete biography of Lucius and Sarah.
• 2022 FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L8YR-NNY .
• 2022 Newell/Place descendants: https://willbraffitt.org/roots/NewellPlaceDescendants.txt .

Zebulon (the 3rd) Lucius/Lucien Collins (hereafter called "Tweed") was born June 7, 1853, in Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio, a son of Zebulon (the 2nd) Collins and his second wife, widow Harriet Stanton Conkright. The family resided in Little Hocking, Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio. In addition to Tweed, Zeb (the 2nd) and Harriet had a daughter, Mary Viola Collins (Fox). Tweed, therefore, had only one full sibling, his sister Mary and many half-siblings. (See "Footnote 1.").

Tweed and Mary's paternal grandparents were Zebulon (the 1st) and Rachel Hand Collins. Their mother Harriet's parents were Asahel and Martha/Patsy Ball Stanton, whose ancestry dates back to the Mayflower and the Hopkins family. The Mayflower connection is through the Ball line.

While Harriet might have been a good mother to Tweed and Mary, some of her stepchildren called her "the witch" because of her often cruel treatment of them. In spite of this, Harriet considered herself a religious woman, often taking Tweed and Mary to camp meetings.

Mary married Robert Fox and had four children: Harry, Perry, Bernard, and Rosa Belle (Harman). For several years, the Foxes lived next door to Tweed and Ezelda in Troy Township, Athens County, Ohio. Surviving letters indicate that their children seemed close and remained in contact the rest of their lives, even though Mary and Robert eventually moved to New Kent County, Virginia.

Tweed in his later years began using the name Leon True Collins, the name that appears on the back of his wife's tombstone and in some official records. Why he occasionally used an alias is not yet known. How the name "Tweed" came to be, however, is known—his mother inadvertently gave it to him. According to his half-brother, Tom (T. C. Collins), Harriet, who apparently lisped, constantly called him "such a 'tweet' little fellow that everyone began calling him 'Tweet.'" Tom went on to say that "as he grew up, he began writing his name "'Tweed,' putting on a d and taking off a t."

Shortly after Harriet's death on April 7, 1865, a Stanton uncle took Mary and Tweed West for a time; however, they eventually returned home to Washington County. Not long after their return, Zeb (the 2nd) married his third wife, Mary (known as Polly) Johnson Newell. The marriage brought two households together: Zeb (the 2nd)'s children with both his first and second wives (Catherine Hann and Harriet Stanton) and Polly's children with her first husband, Civil War veteran Erastus Leroy Newell. This marriage of twice-widowed Zeb (the 2nd) and once-widowed Polly set in motion a series of convoluted relationships.

By 1880, Tweed and Ezelda had moved. They were living in Troy Township in neighboring Athens County, Ohio, on a 33-acre farm worth about $700. Thirteen acres of the farm were tilled—ten acres were in meadows, and ten in woodland, orchards, and forest. The livestock residing on the farm included two horses, one milk cow, and ten barnyard chickens. The farm produced eggs, buttermilk, Indian corn, wheat, flax, cord wood, and potatoes. And as mentioned previously, Tweed's sister Mary Fox and her family lived next door. Ezelda's's sister and brother-in-law, Limmacus and Harriet Newell Waterman, were their neighbors on the other side (Dwellings 215, 216, and 217 on page 224 of the federal census for that year).

1912 was a bad year for Tweed. First, he lost his wife Ezelda. She died in Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio, on January 19, 1912, at age 65. Six months later (July 1912), son Bob, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, was killed by a train while serving with the Army in Illinois. Some reports indicate his death may have been a suicide because of anguish over the loss of his mother. Ezelda is buried with Bob next to her mother, Mary/Polly Johnson Newell Collins, in the Torch Methodist Church Cemetery in Torch, Athens County, Ohio.

A year later on June 4, 1913, Tweed married again—to divorcee Bertha Effa Ward Cobb (known as Effie). The ceremony took place in Washington County, Ohio. This marriage lasted seven years and produced one child, Phyllis Maxine (Satterfield-Lochary-Lowe).

Sarah Ezelda Newell (known as Ezelda), born on Christmas Day in 1847, was one of Polly's children with first husband, Erastus Newell. Her maternal grandparents were Daniel and Patience Place Newell and her paternal Nehemiah and Mary Bickerstaff Johnson. Ezelda had three brothers—Thaddeus, John Place, and Thomas B.—and two sisters, Mary P. (died age 9), and Harriet (Watterman). Her father Erastus died in 1863 of meningitis at Corinth, Mississippi, during the Civil War.

When her mother Polly married Zeb (the 2nd) Collins on October 7, 1865, Ezelda not only became acquainted with Zeb's many children with Catherine Hann and Harriet Stanton, she ended up marrying two of them. Ezelda married George Laveret Collins, son of Zeb (the 2nd) and Catherine on February 13, 1869. The marriage was a short one as George died later that year. Ezelda and George, who was born on May 1, 1847, in Ohio had one son: Erastus Leroy Collins.

Three years later (on February 24, 1874) the young widow then married George's half-brother, Tweed, son of Zeb (the 2nd) and Harriet. That is how Polly Johnson-Newell-Collins became not only Tweed's stepmother but also his mother-in-law! Zeb (the 2nd) and Polly eventually had two children of their own: Lydia Matilda (Hull) and Nancy Amanda (Cook-Wyer). Lydia and Amanda, as a result, were half sisters of both Tweed and Ezelda!

Put another way, Ezelda's new husband Tweed, in addition to being her brother-in-law, was also her stepbrother (her mother, Mary Johnson Newell, was the third wife of Zebulon (the 2nd), Tweed's father)!!!

Tweed and Ezelda took up residence in Little Hocking, Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio, where Tweed worked as a farmer and carpenter. Ezelda was three years older than her new husband. They had four children: Andrew Collins, Rosa V. Collins (Weber), Robert (known from time to time as Bob and Ray) Collins, and Frederick Collins. The family also included Ezelda's son, Leroy Collins, from her first marriage to George Collins.

After Tweed's death on December 12, 1920, Effie, who, according to oral family history, was a "red-headed floosy who took all his money," reportedly buried him in a pauper's grave at no cost at the Catholic church cemetery across from the Torch Methodist Church (Ezelda's resting place). She buried him according to family folklore "without so much as a headstone," even though he already had a grave site and stone (next to his first wife Ezelda) at the Methodist church, where she would only have had to pay for a gravedigger.

The name Leon True Collins appears on the back of Ezelda's tombstone at the Methodist church with only his birthdate listed. Tweed probably had his own name and birthdate engraved on the back of Ezelda's tombstone when she died since there is no death date listed there for him. Therefore, the story about Effie burying him across the street could be true. Another possibility is that Tweed is indeed buried with Ezelda, and Effie failed to have the death date carved on the back of Ezelda's tombstone, where his name appears.

References:
• Jun 2018 updated biography details from great-great granddaughter Jane Osborne Jones ([email protected]) with footnote references and pictures in Jane's complete biography of Lucius and Sarah.
• 2022 FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L8YR-NNY .
• 2022 Newell/Place descendants: https://willbraffitt.org/roots/NewellPlaceDescendants.txt .