Elza Ruth Woodall
Elza Ruth Woodall was born on 24 January 1891 at Hallsville, in Harrison County, East Texas. She went by Ruth. Her father was James Dollahite Woodall, a farmer, cotton buyer and merchant. Her mother was Laura Texana Miles, called Teck. Ruth's delayed Harrison County birth record names them as James Dollahite Woodall, born 1854 in Rusk County, and Texas Laura Miles, born 1858 in Harrison County.
She was the youngest of four. Her brother Ira David was born in 1879 and became a railroad man at Longview. Her sister Eva, born in 1881, married Will S. Sypert of Hallsville in 1900. Her brother William Miles, called Bill, was born in 1885.
She went to Southwest Texas State at San Marcos, a college that trained teachers, and graduated. She then taught school for three years. At San Marcos she met Carr Collins, a student from Beaumont.
They married on 21 November 1914 at Hallsville. Her first son, James Mitchell, was born there on 29 April 1916. His birth certificate spells her "Elgie Ruth Woodall," and the 1920 census indexes her as "Elza P." By 1920 they lived in Dallas, with Jim and a second son, Carr Jr., born in 1918. A daughter, Ruth Elaine, followed in 1924. Her mother died in February 1918 and her father in April 1922.
Her husband became rich in life insurance and mineral salts, and her family came into the business with him. Her brother Bill was vice-president of the Crazy Water Company at Mineral Wells. Bill's son Miles later ran the Vent-A-Hood Company, in which Carr was senior partner.
In Dallas she served on the boards of the YWCA and the Texas Baptist Children's Home, and belonged to the Dallas Woman's Club. The family were Baptists, and Baylor University received much of their giving. In 1957 Baylor completed a residence hall for women and named it Ruth Collins Hall.
She died in Dallas on 30 January 1979, six days after her 88th birthday. She had been married for sixty-four years. She was buried at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas. Her marker reads "Ruth Woodall Collins / January 24, 1891 / January 30, 1979." Her husband was buried in the same cemetery the next year.
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Cite: Heirology, "Elza Ruth Woodall (1891-1979)", https://heirology.com/ancestors/elza-ruth-woodall-1891-1979-e81242.