Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Collins, Hon Michael ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00003.html#0000719 February 29, 2008, 12:07 am Author: Past and Present of Will County, IL; 1907 Hon. Michael Collins, president of the Citizens' Bank of Peotone and a successful and prominent representative of financial interests in Will county, was born in County Clare, Ireland, October 15, 1845, his parents, John and Bridget (Mulvihill) Collins, being also natives of the same county. Their family numbered five children, of whom Michael Collins is the eldest. He came to the United States in 1848 with his parents, being first located in Vermont, but after a few years removed to Canada, where they spent about six years. In 1857 they became residents of Illinois, where both the father and mother died. Mr. Collins had but meager educational privileges, being trained in little more than reading, writing and arithmetic. He is a self-made man, his prominence and success being due entirely to his own efforts. At the age of eighteen years he learned telegraphy and worked for the Illinois Central Railroad at different places as operator and agent until he came to Peotone in 1865. Here he was station agent for about fifteen years, when he sought a broader field of labor by embarking in the grain trade in 1878. About the same time he became connected with merchandising as a member of the firm of Schroeder, Smith & Collins. This partnership continued for about five years, at the end of which time Michael Collins sold his interest to the other members of the firm, in 1880. He then confined his attention exclusively to the grain trade and continued in the latter business until 1894, in which year he became owner of the banking business formerly conducted by Louis Linebarger, of Elwood. Since 1902 Paul M. Collins has been a member of the firm, and the business is conducted under the name of the Citizens bank. It is a safe, reliable institution, its patrons being protected by excellent collateral, and the volume of business annually transacted over the counters of the bank is constantly increasing. Mr. Collins was also the organizer of the Peotone Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which he has been president for a number of years. In 1869 occurred the marriage of Michael Collins and Miss Caroline Folk, who was born in Frankfort township, Will county, in 1852, a daughter of Dr. Henry Folk, one of the pioneer physicians of Will county, who was very successful in practice. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have three children: Kittie, the wife of Dr. Arthur Center, a practicing physician of Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Grace, who is a graduate of the University of Michigan and is the wife of Dr. James F. Breaker, a physician of Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Paul M., who is a graduate of the law school of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, of the class of 1901, and was admitted to the bar of Illinois the same year. He is now associated with his father in the banking business. He married Miss Belle Hallock, a daughter of A. B. Hallock, of Peotone, and they make their home in the village. Mr. and Mrs. Collins hold membership in the Presbyterian church and he has fraternal relations with the Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Knights of the Globe. In politics he is an earnest republican and has filled various local offices, serving on the school board for a number of years, as a member of the board of supervisors for twenty years and as its chairman for three terms. He was also chosen to represent his district in the thirty-second general assembly of Illinois and made a creditable record as a member of the house. His educational opportunities limited and with no special advantages at the outset of his career, he merits a place in the admiration and respect of his fellowmen by what he has accomplished. His career clearly illustrates the possibilities that are open in this country to earnest, persevering young men, who have the courage of their convictions and are determined to be the architects of their own fortunes. When judged by what he has accomplished, his right to a place among the leading citizens of Peotone cannot be questioned. Additional Comments: PAST AND PRESENT OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS By W. W. Stevens President of the Will County Pioneers Association; Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/collins2718nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 4.8 Kb