Description

Mary “Elizabeth” (Aughey) Young Collinson (b. 1840 – d. 1905) was born in Canada October 31, 1840. The exact place of birth and her parents are unknown. Both her parents were born in Ireland.

At a young age she married Joseph Young, and they had five children: four boys and one girl. Reportedly only two children survived to adulthood: George Henry born March 1868 and Leonard Bingham born April 1872 in London, Ontario, Canada.

In the 1870s, Elizabeth Young worked as a hospital matron with the 5th U.S. Cavalry in Camp Verde, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory. The fort was a base for General Crook’s U.S. Army scouts and soldiers in the 1870s and 1880s. She was one of the territory’s pioneer residents and well known for her work in nursing the soldiers during the war with the Indians.

On January 1, 1880, she married Gibson Collinson (b. 1840 in Canada), a soldier, in the Lower Verde, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory. The 1880s census shows Elizabeth, her sons George Henry and Leonard Bingham, and husband Gibson Collinson living at Camp Verde. The boys were using their stepfather’s surname.

Elizabeth worked as a hospital matron until the Camp Verde military post was abandoned in 1891. She then became a practical nurse for people in the area.

The 1900 census shows Elizabeth again using the surname of her first husband, Young. Sons George H. and Leonard were residing with her in the Lower Verde Valley, Arizona Territory.

Elizabeth was a member of the Methodist Church. Known as "Grandma Young," she died September 17, 1905 and is buried in Clear Creek Cemetery, Camp Verde, Arizona.  She is honored in the Sharlot Hall Territorial Women’s Memorial Rose Garden, Prescott, Arizona.

Sources: Territorial Women’s Memorial Rose Garden biography, Sharlot Hall Museum,

Arizona Journal Miner obituary, September 17, 1905.