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About John Gilbert Collison, Sr.

John “Johnny” Gilbert Collison, Sr was the son of Louisa (1858-1901) and Edward Elliott Collison, Jr. (1859-1907). Although his father was a successful photographer, inventor of the Instantaneous Shutter for Cameras (1886, patent #341,887), and subsequent owner of the local water company, Johnny basically became an orphan when his mother died (January 1901).

At that time, local agencies such as the Department of Social Services did not exist, and family and friends simply looked after children whose parents were deceased. Johnny, his older brother, Edward Elliott Collison, III, sister Bertha Mae, and younger brother Lonnie lived with their Aunt Viney and Uncle Wiley Collison during their early years. No public educational system existed during the late 19th century, and families had to pay for their children’s schooling.

Because the Collison family could not afford multiple years of schooling for Johnny and his three siblings (Edward, Bertha, and Lonnie), Johnny completed only the first and second grades. Nevertheless, aside from this lack of parenting and schooling, Johnny had a relatively normal childhood for a young boy at that time.

He thrived during his young and carefree years, spending his time swimming, fishing, hunting, playing pranks (e.g., tossing ripe watermelons over people’s fences), and being with his best friend, Carlisle Mitchum, whose father was the local pharmacist and the proprietor of Mitchum’s Drugstore.

John Gilbert Collison, Sr., ASME, ASTE
1892 - 1951