William Wilson Collins

William Wilson Collins was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1848 and initiated by Alpha Chapter on October 18, 1867, almost a year following the initiation of Samuel Zenas Ammen. Collins, more so than any member at the time was a proponent of expansion and proved quite sucessful in this endeavor. He facilitated the formation of Beta by introducing Samuel Z. Ammen to Beta’s first initiate and then established Gamma after he transferred to the University of Georgia in Athens.  He is credited with chartering five active chapters during his tenure as Knight Commander.  A member of the Macon Alumni Association, along with Former Knight Commander John Francis Rogers, Collins was in the real estate business and helped finance and build the Georgia, Southern and Florida Railway.  He died in Atlanta on July 10, 1904.