Enos Collins (5 September 1774 – 18 November 1871) was a merchant, shipowner, banker and privateer from

Nova Scotia, Canada Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. He is the founder of the Halifax Banking Company, which eventually was merged with the

Canadian Bank of Commerce The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank that operated from 1867 to 1961. It merged in 1961 with the Imperial Bank of Canada to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which today is one of Canada's Big Five banks of Canada, Big Five ...

in 1903. Upon his death, he was acclaimed as the richest man in Canada.

Privateers

He was born to a merchant family in

Liverpool, Nova Scotia Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore (Nova Scotia), South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality, which is the local governmen ...

. Trading and a few privateering voyages to the West Indies on the privateer ship ''Charles Mary Wentworth'' in his youth gave him experience to own and manage his own fleet of vessels. While best known for his ownership of the privateer schooner '' Liverpool Packet'', Collins's main fortune was made in shrewd wartime trading and careful peacetime investments. He moved to Halifax during the War of 1812 and married into the Halifax elite. When the merchant Charles Prescott retired in 1811, Collins purchased Prescott's wharf and warehouse on Upper Water Street in Halifax, later expanding it by purchase and foreclosure to become the headquarters of his commercial empire. During the War of 1812, he was a partner with Joseph Allsion in the firm "Collins & Allison" which bought captured American vessels from the prize courts and sold their cargoes at a profit.

Halifax Banking Company

With several other merchants including his partner Joseph Allson, Martin Gay Black and

Henry Hezekiah Cogswell Henry Hezekiah Cogswell (April 12, 1776 – November 9, 1854) was a lawyer, political figure and philanthropist in Nova Scotia. He represented the town of Halifax in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1818 to 1820. He was president of t ...

, he founded the Halifax Banking Company in present-day Historic Properties (Halifax) (1825). It was one of the first Canadian banks, today known as the

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

. Collins built a solid granite building for the bank as part of his warehouse complex, a structure which still survives today, bearing the carved title "BANK" above the doorway. He also built a large stone estate house called Gorsebrook in the South End of Halifax.

Retirement

Collins retired from active business and politics in 1840, but continued to manage his large investments and back the Conservative party in Nova Scotia. In 1864, at the age of 90, he came roaring out of retirement to oppose

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

as a supporter of

Joseph Howe Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer h ...

Anti-Confederation Party ''Anti-Confederation'' was the name used in what is now the Maritimes by several parties opposed to Canadian Confederation. The Anti-Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by the Confederation Party, that is, the Conservative and Libera ...

. Collins died in 1871 with an estate valued at $6 million, reputed to be the largest personal fortune in Canada at the time. He was buried in

Camp Hill Cemetery Camp Hill Cemetery is a cemetery within Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located on Camp Hill, adjacent to Robie Street. History The city's first cemetery, the Old Burying Ground was established in 1749, growing for nearly a century until ...

. His "Gorsebrook Estate" is today the site of

Saint Mary's University, Halifax Saint Mary's University (SMU) is a public university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The school is best known for having nationally leading programs in business and chemistry. The campus is situated in Halifax's South End and covers ap ...

, although the university demolished his historic mansion in the 1960s.

Legacy

However, Collins' bank and warehouse buildings on the Halifax waterfront were rescued from demolition by Nova Scotia's Heritage Trust in the 1970s and form the most distinct part of a waterfront revitalization known as Historic Properties. His importance is commemorated on a national historic site plaque mounted on his bank building at Historic Properties. Collins's reputation as a successful, crafty and sometimes harsh businessman inspired legends which fueled a number of fictional depictions. These include the sinister character "Jonathon Bauer" depicted in Alice Jones' 1903 novel ''Bubbles We Buy'', later retitled ''A Privateer's Fortune'', and the unforgiving "Amos Pride" in

Thomas Raddall Thomas Head Raddall (13 November 1903 – 1 April 1994) was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction.Letter of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a Sovereign state, government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or French corsairs, corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with t ...

Prize (law) In admiralty law prizes (from the Old French ''prise'', "taken, seized") are Military equipment">equipment, vehicles, Marine vessel, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of ''prize'' in this sense is the captur ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Enos 1774 births 1871 deaths Canadian people of Irish descent People from Queens County, Nova Scotia People of New England Planter descent Colony of Nova Scotia people British privateers Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)