JOHN A. COLLINS
John A. Collins came to Cass county in the fall of 1863, and spent the following winter in a small shanty on the present site of the residence of George W. Crouch, in the southeast quarter of section 24. The same winter he bought the place upon which he now lives. It comprises the north half of the southeast quarter and the east half of the northeast quarter of section 36. Upon this land was a small house, partially completed, which he finished, and to which he has since built additions, making his present residence. He paid one hundred dollars down for his land, which left him the sum of twenty-five dollars to live upon until he could raise a crop. He owned one team and that a poor one. He broke, the first season, three acres, and rented land to raise grain upon. He now has under cultivation two hundred and forty acres, with good improvements, and is in a prosperous condition financially. Mr. Collins was born in Campbell county, Virginia, March 7, 1827, and is a son of James collins. His mother, Mary Collins, was a native of Campbell county, of the same State. Both
parents died in Virginia. John Collins lived in that State until twenty-nine years of age, engaged in farming, and, a portion of the time, as traveling salesman. He was married in October, 1854, to Mary I. Lynch, a native of Campbell county, Virginia, and daughter of John and Levicy Lynch. Mr. and Mrs. Collins removed in 1856 to Randolph county, Indiana, where they lived seven years upon a farm. They have nine living children...Elizabeth F., Mary E., Henry A., Liston, Walter, Sarah V., James F., Susan L., and Cleopatra A. Mr. Collins has been township trustee and is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
Transcribed by Gloria Goltiani from "History of Cass County, Iowa. Together With Sketches of its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History: Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Citizens." Springfield, Ill.: Continental Historical Company, 1884, pg. 589-590.
