A genealogical article written by William A. "Bill" Veselik, Archivist for the F.B. Kegley Library at Wytheville Community College, has been published in the September issue of Stirpes, the Journal of the Texas State Genealogical Society.
The article, entitled “Transplants from Virginia: The Collup Family of Tarrant County,” details the family of George W. Collup, a native Virginian who moved with his wife and some of his adult children to Tarrant County, Texas, in the late 1870s, when Collup was nearly 65 years of age. He had served at one point as the Postmaster at Seven Mile Ford and he was later a lieutenant colonel in the 143rd Militia Regiment of Smyth County. The article is illustrated with photos from the author’s private collection.
“I was delighted when the Texas State Genealogical Society agreed to publish my article in its Journal,” said Veselik. “George W. Collup married my great-great-grandfather’s sister, Mary Ann Allen, who was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Snider) Allen. So the Collup family has always been close to my genealogical heart.”
The Collups, according to Veselik, left a number of offspring behind in Southwest Virginia, as those children were already married and had families of their own when the move to Texas was undertaken. “Consequently, the descendants of George W. and Mary Ann Collup still reside in both Virginia and Texas,” the author noted. The published article includes genealogical information about the Colllups’ children through their grandchildren and provides details of the Collups’ lives after relocating to the Lone Star State. The article is fully documented and footnoted throughout.
Genealogical articles written by Veselik have been published previously in the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Newsletter, and the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. His articles on historical events and local families have been published in the Smyth County News & Messenger and the Wytheville Enterprise. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Virginia Tech and worked as public relations coordinator for Wytheville Community College before he retired and became the archivist for the F.B. Kegley Library at WCC in 2015.