| Sources |
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 22 Mar 1989.
Laura Collier Maples obituary
- [S76] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume III, 1974-1986, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 22 Mar 1985.
Sherman Wayne Collier obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 8 Aug 2015.
Upland Chronicles: Doc Collier was larger than life
CARROLL MCMAHAN
A.J. Bush Mercantile Store, where it was said by the owner: "If Doc Collier needs anything, let him have whatever he asks for, because I know he's good for it."
A typical moonshine still similar to what Doc Collier used to make his 'shine.
Originating in Europe in the 1700s, the term moonshine referred to "occupational pursuits which necessitated night work, or work by the light of the moon."
For early mountaineers, making and selling alcohol wasn't a hobby or a way to make extra money. It was how they survived. Farmers could survive a bad year by turning their corn into profitable whiskey, and the extra income was always welcome.
Moonshiners always had incentive to avoid the law in order to avoid taxes imposed by the federal government. The temperance movement, which sought to ban alcohol, gathered steam in the early 1900s, and states began passing laws that banned the alcohol sales and consumption. In 1920, nationwide Prohibition went into effect.
It was the greatest thing moonshiners could have hoped for. Suddenly there was no legal alcohol available. The demand for moonshine shot up like a rocket!
Raised in the shadows of English Mountain, William Vinson Collier was an imposing, gentle mountain man who did whatever he needed to do in order to provide for his wife Lula and their six children. Although records of his birth cannot be located, he was born about 1878 and lived until 1963. He was one of nine children of Samuel Collier and Caroline Bettis Collier.
He attended Chestnut Hill School for a few years, and his teacher was Andrew Jackson Bush who also owned a small mercantile store in Chestnut Hill. Bush was impressed with the young boy, and a few years later, when he opened a tomato cannery, offered him a job.
Collier received the moniker Doc because he made moonshine, which he sold to friends and neighbors, primarily for medicinal purposes. Sometimes a physician who was making house calls in the area would buy moonshine from Doc to use because there was no chloroform available to anesthetize patients for surgeries performed in the home.
Although medical use was respectable, Doc did not discriminate. He sold his moonshine to trusted friends and neighbors without inquiry.
The tomato cannery grew into the Bush Brothers Company. Perhaps because of his reputation and demeanor, clerks working for Bush at the mercantile store were suspicious of Doc Collier. When they conveyed their feelings to Mr. Bush, he said to them: "If Doc Collier needs anything, let him have whatever he asks for, because I know he's good for it."
Doc was about 20 when he married Lula Rickards, who was only 15 at the time. Their first son, Briton, was born in 1899. He was followed by Ulis, Sherman, Logan, Laura Belle, Tommy, Media and George.
Once Doc killed a goat that belonged to one of his neighbors and was arrested. When the case went to trial, Doc defended himself. He told the jury that he thought the goat was wild, and he would not have killed it except for the fact that his family had nothing to eat except peas, and they needed the meat to survive. Doc unfolded the dramatic story with such conviction, some of the jury members were in tears. He was acquitted.
During World War II, Doc walked about a mile from his home to meet the rolling store to buy sugar. The merchant operating the rolling store explained that sugar was rationed, and he could only have a small amount, and that was only if he possessed applicable ration stamps. The next week, when the rolling store came to the neighborhood, Doc met him with his rifle. He left with the all of the sugar he wanted.
Most of his life Doc lived in Jefferson County, near the Sevier County line. Possibly to avoid law enforcement, he moved his family across the line into Sevier County for a few years, but later moved back. The road on which he lived is named Collier Drive in his honor.
No matter how unorthodox he might have appeared to others, Doc Collier lived by his own terms. His conduct was not universally appreciated. However, he was known by his friends, relatives and neighbors as an individual who held steadfast to his moral compass.
Fifty years after Doc Collier died, the attitude toward making moonshine had changed drastically in this area. Once an occupation frowned upon by polite society, the idea of producing and selling moonshine as a celebration of mountain heritage came into vogue.
After liquor laws changed in 2009, allowing the production of whiskey and other distilled spirits in Tennessee, moonshine distilleries began operating throughout the state, particularly, in the Smoky Mountains area.
In 2014, Doc Collier Moonshine Distillery opened in Gatlinburg. Displaying some of the equipment from back in the day that Doc Collier and his family used for generations to make their moonshine, the distillery was established by Doc Collier's descendants as a tribute to him and his way of life. The business also contains Doc's Shine Store, which is set up like an old-fashioned country mercantile store.
The spirit of the proud old-time moonshiner lives on in the middle of the thriving tourist town, where visitors can sample moonshine and hear the legend of Doc Collier.
Carroll McMahan is special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or ron@ronraderproperties.com
- [S112] Census, 1900.
Name: William V Collier
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1900
Event Place: ED 51 Civil District 10, Jefferson, Tennessee, United States
Birth Date: 1876
Birthplace: Tennessee
Relationship to Head of Household: Head
Father's Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Race: White
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Years Married: 2
Marriage Year (Estimated): 1898
Mother of how many children:
Number of Living Children:
Immigration Year:
Page: 5
Sheet Letter: A
Family Number: 79
Reference ID: 48
GS Film number: 1241580
Digital Folder Number: 004118967
Image Number: 00736
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head William V Collier M 24 Tennessee
Wife Lulie Collier F 17 Tennessee
Son Britton Collier M 1 Tennessee
- [S112] Census, 1920.
Name: William V Callier
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1920
Event Place: Civil District 4, Sevier, Tennessee, United States
District: 139
Gender: Male
Age: 42
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Race (Original): White
Can Read: Yes
Can Write: Yes
Relationship to Head of Household: Head
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Head
Own or Rent: Own
Birth Year (Estimated): 1878
Birthplace: Tennessee
Immigration Year:
Father's Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Sheet Number and Letter: 8A
Household ID: 144
Line Number: 36
Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Affiliate Publication Number: T625
GS Film number: 1821762
Digital Folder Number: 004390948
Image Number: 00170
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head William V Callier M 42 Tennessee
Wife Lula Callier F 40 Tennessee
Son Britain Callier M 20 Tennessee
Son Eulis Callier M 18 Tennessee
Son Sherman Callier M 15 Tennessee
Son Logan Callier M 13 Tennessee
Daughter Laura Callier F 11 Tennessee
Son Thomas Callier M 9 Tennessee
Daughter Almeda Callier F 5 Tennessee
Son George Callier M 1 Tennessee
- [S87] Death Certificate.
Name Date of Death / Age County of Death County / State of Residence Marital Status Gender Race File #
COLLIER WILLIAM V 01-16-1963 / 88 JEFFERSON [NOT GIVEN] MARRIED M WHITE 01223
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name Samuel A. J. Collier
Spouse's Name Matilda C. Bettis
Event Date 30 Apr 1855
Event Place Jefferson, Tennessee
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