Grave of Robert Marshall Collier, Mt. Zion Cemetery, Piedmont (Lamar County), Georgia. The plantation of Robert Marshall Collier surrounded the cemetery.

Robert Marshall Collier was a grandson of Vines and Elizabeth Collier of Oglethorpe County, Georgia.  He married Amanda F. Greene Dec. 24, 1835, and they had the following children: 1) Robert Thomas, 2) Martha, 3) Mary Fletcher, 4) Isaac Cuthbert, 5) William Vines, 6) Louisa Marshall, and 7) Amanda Virginia.

Amanda F. (Greene) Collier died in 1864.  Robert Marshall Collier’s Bible shows he married Susan Jane Whatley of Upson County, Georgia on Oct. 20, 1865.

Robert Marshall Collier was a pioneer planter who became one of the largest plantation owners in middle Georgia.  He was also the grandfather of Jena Cuthbert (J. C.) Collier.  Below is a photograph of the house of Robert Marshall Collier taken December 12, 1943.  The gentleman on the lawn is J. C. Collier.  The girl is his granddaughter, June Cason.

Here is a photograph of the rear of the house, taken at the same time (Dec. 12, 1943). J. C. Collier is the gentleman on the left.

In 2003, I set out to locate the home built by Robert Marshall Collier over 150 years earlier.  Information said it was at The Rock and was recognizable by its several chimneys and figure 8 railing around the porch.  I found it just north of the railroad near the main intersection at The Rock.

House built by Robert Marshall Collier as it appeared in 2003. Note the figure 8 railing and several chimneys in the first picture.

By 2009, the house had been remodeled and the chimneys and characteristic railing had been removed.

The house built by Robert Marshall Collier as it appeared in 2012.

Josh Rhodes, g-g-g-g-great grandson of Vines Collier cleans the dirt off the grave of Robert Collier in 2012.

From The History of Lamar County (Lambin, 1932), we find that Robert Collier, son of Vines and Elizabeth Williamson Collier was born in Oglethorpe County, Georgia in 1783.  He died in Upson County in 1850.  Robert was married to Martha Marshall Booker in 1806.    He “was one of the most influential and prominent men in middle Georgia.  He took part in the organization of Upson County, as shown in the records;  was the first representative to the General Assembly of the state, serving for two terms, and later was elected to the State Senate, being honored as the first senator in the history of the county.  Records show that he was prominent  in an educational way, and was one of the largest landowners of this section.  There were eight children born to this union:

1. Edith Louisa, m. Sharman; 2. William Vines, m. Elizabeth Lamar Smead, of Columbus Georgia; 3. Sarah smith, m. William Parham, of Talbotton, and then Judge Lovett; 4. Efford Cobb, moved to Texas; 5. Mary Booker, m. John Miniphee, of Alabama; 6. Robert Marshall; 7. Isaac Cuthbert, of Macon, Georgia; 8. Frances Elizabeth, m. Jack Evans, of Columbus, Georgia.”

Robert and Martha Collier came to Upson County in 1824 as the County was being formed.  As a prelude to his later political contributions, Robert served as one of the earliest Justices of the Peace in Upson County, as evidenced by his signature on the following legal document dated July 10, 1828.

My no doubt flawed transcription follows.

Robert and Martha settled in an area south of The Rock, Georgia and lived there until their death.  Robert died in 1850 and Martha died in 1875 at the age of 97.  Both are buried on the land known as the “Collier Place”.

Jena Cuthbert (J. C.) Collier), great-grandson of Robert Collier, visited the site of the Robert Collier Plantation in 1929 and took the following pictures.

J.C. Collier in 1929 at the grave of his great-grandfather, Robert Collier.  J. C. purchased the land comprising the cemetery.

House of Robert and Martha Collier. Photograph taken by J. C. Collier in 1929.

Notes on the following photographs show they were taken December 13, 1943.  The photos were found in the desk of J. C. Collier, and he is assumed to be the gentleman in the pictures.  J. C. Collier died the following year in 1944.

In 2012, members of the Collier Heritage Foundation found the burial site of Robert Collier three hundred yards from the plantation home shown in the pictures.  By that time the house had collapsed and little remained but the brick chimneys.  The small cemetery was unmaintained but in good condition as it was protected by a canopy of large trees.  At least a dozen graves were identified.  One grave was marked with a cairn of bricks while the rest were marked with field stones.  No grave marker bore a visible inscription.

The following year, in 2013, the Collier Heritage Foundation marked the cemetery with this monument.