Lorin Cone Collins Jr. (August 1, 1848 – October 18, 1940) was an American politician and judge from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. A graduate of

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, Collins entered politics at a young age and was elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

. He served three two-year terms in the lower house, the last of which he was

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

. Collins was appointed as the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1884, serving until 1893. In 1905, Collins was appointed to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

Biography

Lorin Cone Collins Jr. was born in

Windsor, Connecticut Windsor is a New England town, town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of ...

on August 1, 1848. His namesake father was a Methodist Episcopal preacher. In 1852, the Collinses moved to

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

. Collins attended the preparatory school at

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (abbrevriated OWU) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley, Centra ...

. He moved to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, when he was twenty, then attended

. Collins studied law under Clarkson & Van Schaack in Chicago and was admitted to the bar in 1874. Collins focused on politics for his career. In 1878, Collins was elected to the

as a Republican. He was re-elected in 1880 and 1882, serving as

for the latter term. Collins was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1884, completing the unexpired term of William Henry Barnum. He was re-elected to this seat to five-year terms in 1885 and 1891. He resigned in November 1893 to focus on his private law practice and later moved to Wheaton. Collins was appointed an associate justice to the

of the

in 1905. Collins married Nellie Robb in 1873. They had three surviving children: George R., Lorin C. III, and Grace. He was active in

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and was a

Knight Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

. He was also a member of the

Union League Club of Chicago The Union League Club of Chicago is a prominent civic and gentlemen's club, social club in Chicago that was founded in 1879. Its second and current clubhouse is located at 65 W Jackson Boulevard on the corner of Federal Street, in the Chicago L ...

. Collins died at George's home in Sawyer, Michigan, on October 18, 1940, and was buried at

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is a historic rural cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. At , it is the largest cemetery in the city of Chicago and its first private cemetery. The Entrance Gate and Administration ...

in Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Lorin C. Jr. 1848 births 1940 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Canal Zone United States federal judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt Lawyers from Chicago Politicians from Chicago Northwestern University alumni Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota People from Wheaton, Illinois People from Windsor, Connecticut Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Burials at Rosehill Cemetery 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly