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John
Collins
John Collins was Albany's first professional attorney. Tradition holds that he was born in England about 1670 and had received legal training. By the early 1700s, he was in New York to serve in the garrison companies. Within a few years, he was a lieutenant in the Albany-based company commanded by Captain Henry Holland.
The
first record of his Albany life is from notes in
his own legal dictionary providing the date of his
marriage to the widow Margarita Schuyler Verplanck
on November 2. 1701. Settling in Albany in the "Southside" soldier enclave, their Albany home grew with the birth of three Collins children between 1704 and 1714. These children were baptized in the Albany Dutch Church and he frequently sponsored baptisms there with his wife - a lifelong member. Of British origin, he also was a prominent subscriber for the founding of St. Peters Anglican Church in 1714.
His
marriage to Margarita Schuyler represented an often-repeated
way for aspiring New Netherland families to connect
with the royal establishment. At the same time, marriage
to an Albany native qualified Collins to engage in
trade. However, he became more widely known as an
attorney - as his name was most frequently found
representing local people and important outsiders
at Albany courts and beyond. Although his military
career would continue for the remainder of his life,
John Collins became a successful Albany businessman
by combining a legal practice with supplying the
fort and other military initiatives, some importing,
and surveying.
Often
on duty at Schenectady, Collins was able to form
business and legal relationships that extended out
into the Mohawk Valley. Although he held no local
offices, he was named to the Commissioners of Indian
Affairs. As a royal insider, he also obtained shares
in frontier land patents - owning land north of the
Mohawk two miles above Fort Hunter.
John
Collins died at Schenectady in April 1728. His
widow died in 1748. He was succeeded in his enterprises
by his son Edward.
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Sources: The life of John Collins is CAP biography number
76xx. This profile is derived chiefly from community-based
resources.
The first Collins child to be born to now thirty-two-year old Margarita Schuyler
Verplanck Collins was Edward (1704); followed
by Samuel (1712-14), and Margaret (1715) - who married
Hitchen Holland.
By Stefan Bielinski, Colonial Albany Social History Project [http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany]
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