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Below is a family biography included in Portrait and Biographical Record of Berrien and Cass Counties, Michigan published by Biographical Publishing Company in 1893.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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JOHN S. COLLINS. In the perusal of this volume the reader has doubtless been impressed with the fact that the large majority of our most successful citizens have risen to positions of influence from humble environments and in spite of adverse circumstances. To this list of men we add the name of John S. Collins, the well-known farmer of Milton Township, whose farm is pleasantly located on section 7. Here he engages in general agricultural pursuits on the one hundred and thirty acres comprising the estate, most of which is under cultivation. Since he located on this place in 1856 he has added many improvements and erected a number of substantial farm buildings, in this way increasing the value of the property materially.

A few words with reference to the ancestors of our subject will not be amiss in this connection. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Collins, was a native of England and with two brothers emigrated to this country at an early day. The maternal grandfather, William Candy, was also born in England, whence, accompanied by two brothers, he came to America many years ago. The parents of our subject, Thomas and Sophia (Candy) Collins, were both natives of Delaware, where they were married. They located in Milford, Kent County, that State, where the father engaged as a brick mason and plasterer until his death, which occurred at the age of forty years. His wife survived him many years, and passed away at the age of seventy-one.

Thomas and Sophia Collins were the parents of nine children, of whom three daughters and five sons reached mature years. Five are now living as follows: Benjamin Y., a resident of Niles; James A., who is living in St. Joseph, this State; John, of this sketch; Sophia, the widow of N. Dennis, of Chicago; and Mary C., widow of George N. Bond, a resident of Denver, Colo. John S., the seventh in order of birth, was born in Kent County, Del., January 4, 1817, and remained in his native place until sixteen years of age, when he came to Michigan, in 1834, and located in Niles. For seventeen years he followed the trade of a shoemaker, and for fourteen successive years he and a brother engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes in that city. Later he conducted a grocery and bakery for one year, and in 1849 he purchased a farm, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres in Niles Township.

After making his home on that place for five and one-half years, Mr. Collins disposed of his property and returned to Niles. In 1856, as has been stated, he purchased the place where he has since resided. On the 9th of April, 1843, he married Martha Reese, who was born in Tioga County, N. Y., January 17, 1824. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Collins was Jacob Reese, a native of West Stockbridge, Mass., who traced his ancestry to Holland. Her parents, John M. and Angelina M. (Mills) Reese, were natives of New York, the latter having been born in Amsterdam, of Welsh descent. Mr. Reese was a farmer by occupation, and was thus engaged in New York and in Indiana, whither he removed in 1834, settling in St. Joseph. Two years later he came to Cass County, where he died at the age of eighty. His mother had attained to the advanced age of one hundred and two. Mrs. Angelina Reese is still living and makes her home in Cass County. She is quite active, notwithstanding the fact that she is ninety-three years of age.

Of a family of eleven children who lived to maturity, two having died in childhood, Mrs. Collins is the second daughter. She was a child of ten years when she accompanied her parents to Indiana, and two years later came to Cass County, where she grew to womanhood and married. Her marriage was blessed by the birth of four children, as follows: Albert R., of Niles; Alice, who is the wife of Fred Fowler and resides with our subject on the home farm; Emma B., who married Edwin Fowler, a farmer residing in Cass County, N. Dak.; and Rev. John S., a minister in the Baptist Church and a missionary in the Iron Mountains, in the northern part of Michigan.

In his younger years Mr. Collins affiliated with the Democratic party and cast his first Presidential ballot for Martin Van Buren. However, for many years he has been identified with the Republicans and is a stanch advocate of that party. He has held a number of official positions in Berrien and Cass Counties, has filled the various school offices and served as Treasurer of the village of Niles, where he was also a member of the Common Council. He has served as Highway Commissioner of Milton Township. While he still superintends his farm, he no longer actively engages in tilling the soil, but is passing his time quietly at his home in the enjoyment of all the comforts of life. He and his estimable wife are highly regarded throughout this community and have a large circle of warm personal friends.

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This family biography is one of numerous biographies included in the Portrait and Biographical Record of Berrien and Cass Counties, Michigan published in 1893. 

View additional Berrien County, Michigan family biographies here: Berrien County, Michigan Biographies

View a map of 1911 Berrien County, Michigan here: Berrien County Michigan Map

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