1868 Patrick Andrew Collins Massachusetts House of Representatives

Patrick Andrew Collins (March 12, 1844 – September 13, 1905) was an American politician lawyer who served as

mayor of Boston The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a m ...

and as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Biography

Early life

Collins was born March 12, 1844, near

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. His family emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and settled in

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in ...

, in 1848 after the death of his father. Collins attended public schools until the age of 12. He then worked at various trades in Massachusetts and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. At age 15, he returned to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and learned the

upholstery Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English wor ...

trade. Working in an upholstery shop, he rose to position of foreman and became active in the trade union movement. He became a secretary of his union and a delegate to the Trades Assembly. Interested in a career in law, Collins saved his money and became active in politics.

Public service

In 1867, Collins was nominated for a seat in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

. Shortly afterward, he started working for a law firm. He was elected to the House, serving two terms in 1868 and 1869. He then served two terms in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

in 1870 and 1871. During his time in the state legislature, he studied law at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He graduated and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1871. Collins practiced law in Boston. He served as judge advocate general of Massachusetts in 1875. He also served as delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

s in 1876, 1880, 1888, and 1892. He lived on Percival Street in

Meeting House Hill Meeting House Hill is one of the oldest sections of Boston's historic Dorchester, Boston, Dorchester neighborhood. It is the site of the First Parish Church of Dorchester, First Parish Church (est. 1631) and the The Mather School, Mather Scho ...

in Dorchester. Collins was elected to the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

in 1882 and served three terms in the 48th, 49th and 50th Congresses from 1883 to 1889. He was also Chairman of the Democratic State Committee from 1884 to 1890. He retired from Congress in 1889 and resumed his law practice. He also served on the boards of directors of several companies and civic organizations. Collins served as consul general in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

from May 6, 1893, to May 17, 1897. Collins was the Democratic candidate for Mayor of Boston three times. In December 1899, he lost to Republican incumbent Thomas N. Hart (40,838 votes to 38,557 votes). The two candidates had a rematch in the December 1901 election, this time with Collins prevailing (52,035–33,196) to win his first term as mayor. Collins was re-elected in

December 1903 The following events occurred in December 1903: December 1, 1903 (Tuesday) * Thirty American soldiers who had died in the Philippine–American War were buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery. * A United States federal court took po ...

, defeating Republican challenger George N. Swallow (48,745–22,369). Patrick A Collins Memorial

Collins served as mayor from January 1902 until his death. He died during an official visit to

Hot Springs, Virginia Hot Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bath County, Virginia, Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 Census was 524. It is located about southwest of Warm Springs, Virginia, Warm ...

, on September 13, 1905. He was interred in

Holyhood Cemetery Holyhood Cemetery is a cemetery located in Brookline, Massachusetts. Description Laid out in 1857, the cemetery was designed to reflect the rural cemetery movement begun at Cambridge's Mount Auburn Cemetery. It was the first such cemetery in Br ...

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

. His memorial includes a bronze portrait sculpture by renowned sculptor

Cyrus Dallin Cyrus Edwin Dallin (November 22, 1861 – November 14, 1944) was an American sculptor best known for his depictions of Native Americans. He created more than 260 works, including the ''Equestrian Statue of Paul Revere'' in Boston; ''the Angel ...

who also designed the cross made from Tennessee marble.

References

* *

External links

Collins election records
at ourcampaigns.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Patrick (mayor) 1844 births 1905 deaths 19th-century Irish lawyers 20th-century Irish people Harvard Law School alumni Irish emigrants to the United States Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Mayors of Boston Politicians from County Cork Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts People from Fermoy Burials at Holyhood Cemetery (Brookline) 20th-century mayors of places in Massachusetts 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Biography

Early life

Public service

See also

References

External links