Ela Collins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from New York's20th district | |
| In office March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 | |
| Preceded by | David Woodcock William B. Rochester |
| Succeeded by | Egbert Ten Eyck Nicoll Fosdick |
| District attorney (8th District) | |
| In office 1815–1818 | |
| New York State Assembly | |
| In office 1814–1815 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1786-02-14)February 14, 1786 Meriden, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | November 23, 1848(1848-11-23) (aged 62) Lowville, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Crawford Democratic-Republican Anti-Masonic |
| Relatives | Helen Herron Taft (granddaughter) |
Ela Collins (February 14, 1786 – November 23, 1848) was an American lawyer and politician fromNew York.
Collins was born on February 14, 1786, inMeriden, Connecticut, the son ofRevolutionary War andWar of 1812 militia veteran General Oliver Collins and Lois (née Cowles) Collins. He attendedClinton Academy, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Lowville in 1807.[1]
In 1808 he became an original Trustee of The Lowville Franklin Society, an association for creating and operating Lowville's first public library. Also in 1808, Collins sold a parcel of land on which was constructed the Lowville Academy, and he was an original Trustee of the school.
On July 11, 1811, he married Maria Clinton, daughter of Rev. Isaac Clinton. They had eleven children, among them CongressmanWilliam Collins, state legislatorIsaac Clinton Collins, and Harriet Anne Collins Herron, the mother of First LadyHelen Herron Taft.[2][3][4]
From 1811 to 1813 Collins was Lowville'sTown Supervisor. He was a member of theNew York State Assembly from 1814 to 1815. He was District Attorney of the Eighth District (comprisingLewis,Jefferson andSt. Lawrence Counties from 1815 to 1818, and of Lewis County from 1818 to 1840. He was a delegate to theNew York State Constitutional Convention of 1821.
Collins was elected as a CrawfordDemocratic-Republican to the18th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1823, to March 3, 1825. The most significant matter considered by this Congress was the selection of thePresident of the United States. As no candidate --John Quincy Adams,Henry Clay,Andrew Jackson orWilliam H. Crawford had received a majority of electoral votes in the1824 United States presidential election, the choice fell to the U.S. House. In the House, Clay was not considered, since he was the lowest finishing of the candidates. He threw his support to Adams.
The members voted individually by state caucus, with a majority of state delegations required to win. Collins favored Crawford. The New York delegation voted 18 for Adams, 2 for Jackson and 14 for Crawford. New York was counted for Adams, who won on the first ballot, with 13 states, followed by Jackson with 7 and Crawford with 4.[5]
After his term in Congress Collins continued to practice law, and he later switched his political affiliation to theAnti-Masonic Party. Collins served again as Town Supervisor from 1827 to 1828 and 1829 to 1831. He was Chairman of the Lewis County Board of Supervisors in 1830. Collins also became active in the Lewis County Agricultural Society, and was active in several business ventures, including the Lewis County Mutual Insurance Company.
He died in Lowville on November 23, 1848, and was buried at the Jackson Street Cemetery in Lowville.[6]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 20th congressional district 1823–1825 withEgbert Ten Eyck | Succeeded by |
