Peter Jackson Collins has been referred to as a legend and once served on a jury where hanging Judge Isaac Parker was presiding in Ft. Smith. It is known that he knew Belle Starr and her son Henry. Henry was a good friend. Some of the Starr family are buried in the Carver Cemetery in Newton County.
When Henry Starr was wounded in a bank robbery in Harrison, Peter hurried to the jail and stayed all night, talking to his friend. Henry died the next day. His body was put on display in the window of the local furniture store for everyone to see.
The James gang, the Daltons and others are known to have been in Newton
County, using it as a place to hide out, and Vaughan family history
says their first Newton County ancestor was actually Frank James, who
changed his name to Joe Vaughan and moved to Newton County after Jesse’s
death.