Hannah Willis Collins (1754 VA-1833), the daughter of William Willis and Susannah Toney of Virginia and South Carolina, came to Mississippi Territory via military passport with her family in 1811-1812. She was married on 6 August 1774 to Moses Collins Sr. in Barnwell District, SC, and was the mother of 11 children, all but one of whom traveled to Mississippi with their parents, their spouses and children, other relatives, and entourage. Moses died in 1816, and Hannah is listed as a widow in the 1816 Pike County territorial census. She moved to Hinds County, Mississippi, with most of her children and their families by 1820, and died in south central Hinds County on the Moses Collins Jr. plantation in 1833. Their Collins Bible was originally the Willis Bible, and contains information for early Willises and Toneys as well as extensive Collins records. It was last in the possession of descendants of their youngest son Seaborn.

Hannah’s father, William Willis III, was the son of William Willis Jr. and Hannah Burnham, and grandson of William Willis and his cousin Sarah Willis, of Orange County, VA. Hannah’s mother, Susannah Toney, was the daughter of Edmund and Elizabeth Toney and granddaughter of Edward and Agnes Dickerson Toney of New Kent County, VA. They moved from Virginia to South Carolina before 1770. Hannah had an older brother, William Jr., and older sister, Susannah. Some of the Toneys and Willises moved from Virginia to South Carolina, then on to south Mississippi with the Collins family. There are numerous family connections among these pioneer families in Mississippi.

Hannah and Moses were parents of 11 children, with one son, Henry (1785-1793), dying as a child in Georgia. Other children were Susannah (1775-1866, m. Benjamin Youngblood, d. Pike County), Nancy Ann (1777-1831, m. John Robinson III, d. Robinson Springs, Madison County), Joseph Collins (1779-1863, m. Elizabeth, then Sarah Williams, d. Grenada County), Moses Collins Jr. (1781-1855, m. Elizabeth Zachary, then Matilda Prestridge May, d. De Soto Parish, LA), Hannah (1783-after 1850, m. Samuel Williams, d. De Soto Parish), Sarah (1787-1843, m. John Hatcher, then James Phillips, d. Jackson MS), Rebecca (1789-1841, m. Archibald McManus, d. Jackson MS), Ailcey (1792-1887, m. Elias Woodruff, d. Desoto County MS), Joshua (1794 - d. Texas), and Seaborn (1796-1868, m. Mary May, d. Dover, Yazoo County). All of these ten Collins children had large families, and there are numerous descendants and connections.

First Family descendant member:
Mary Collins Landin