Great-great-grandparent – 1 of 16 in this generation
(1871 – 1933)
John was born two days before Christmas, 1871, in Embro, Perth, Ontario. Embro is a very quiet farming town just a bit south of Stratford where he and Maggie resided following their marriage in 1892. John was probably the youngest of six. His father, James Collins, was 55 and his mother, Henrietta Munro, was 43 when he was born.
John is found in the 1891 Census in Embro residing with his parents and two of his older siblings, William and Jennie. A 5-year-old, Eddie, is listed as well, but since Henrietta would have been 58 when he was born, I don’t think he could have been her child. In the same year, John’s family indicated that they were associated with the “Free Church” (of Scotland) and he later indicates he was Presbyterian. They are the same – “part of the Calvinist tradition within Protestantism that traces its origin to Church of Scotland.” (Wikipedia.com)
John married Margaret “Maggie” (Bloomer) Cornell and their children were born in Stratford, Perth, Ontario. By 1921, John and Maggie were residing in Toronto, where John was a hotel keeper. Maggie predeceased him by five years. John died at Toronto General Hospital in 1933 of coronary thrombosis and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Toronto. On his death certificate, he was identified by his son, John, Jr., as being “Irish,” but it seems unlikely this would be true. Maggie was Irish, so this would explain the confusion if in fact there was any confusion.
This picture of WJC might have been taken between 1918-25
In 1914, Canada entered World War I. This was a formative time in Bill’s life and the war shaped his future. He probably enlisted when he turned 18, which was in February of 1917. 25% of enlisted men in Canada were from the province of Ontario, where Bill lived.
Age 25-30?
William James Collins (rear center); his brothers, John Henry Collins and Roy Kingsley Collins; his sister, Evelyn; his mother, Maggie; and his father, John Henry Collins.
As I write this, something I’ve often pondered now makes sense to me. My father, Ken Dutton, used to tell me that while in high school my mother, Margaret, haughtily declared that she was British. I often wondered why she would have said this because she was only partially of English descent. It may have been her identification with Canada as part of the British Empire and her father’s involvement in the Canadian military that impressed upon her British national pride. Bill had roots in England so that was probably part of it, too.
The war ended on 11 November 1918 when Bill was 3 months shy of 20 years old, but he continued his work as a Canadian intelligence officer. By 1928, for some reason that is unknown to us, he was residing in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
At the age of 29, Bill married my grandmother, Mary Matheson Emery, in San Juan on 18 December 1928. They were head over heels in love. The news must have devastated his mother because she died eight days later (tongue-in-cheek, of course, bless her soul). Alternatively, she died because she had fulfilled her purpose in life: one of her children had gotten married (again, tongue-in-cheek).
My mother, Flora Margaret Collins, was born in Santurce, San Juan about ten months after their marriage, on 1 October 1929.
Their second child, Maryann Etta, was born on 20 December 1931 in Nyack, New York. I have no idea what they might have been doing in Nyack, but maybe my cousins can shed light on this. Were they celebrating Christmas there with someone? Were they stuck there by some stroke of misfortune? About two weeks later, on 7 January 1932, Bill, Mary, Margaret, baby Maryann and Mary’s mother, Flora, traveled by ship from New York to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In July 1933, Bill traveled from San Juan to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, accompanied by Mary; their two daughters; and his mother-in-law, Flora Emery. Their eventual destination was Detroit, Michigan, where his siblings were residing and where Bill and his family would stay in the Lexington Hotel. Ship records indicate that Bill said he was of Irish nationality. His mother was certainly Irish, but it surprises me that he would claim to be Irish and my mother, as I’ve mentioned, declared that she was English. It could also have been a mistake.
Bill’s father had died in March 1933. Did Bill, in fact, travel to Canada for the funeral in March? Did he agree in March to make a trip to Detroit to be with his siblings in July?
Bill was 37 when his brother, John Henry, died in Toronto. Two years later, his brother, Roy, died in Bay City, Michigan.
Sometime prior to 1938, Bill and his family had moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
WJC with his daughters
William James Collins, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, around 1939? My mother and Maryann were freezing! It must have been a special occasion. Had the girls insisted on being so under-dressed? I can’t imagine who decided on posing for this photo, but I’m glad we have it.
Canada entered World War II on 10 September 1939 and Bill was pressed into service again. Less than a year later, Bill died in Sydney, Nova Scotia at the age of 41.
Bill with his daughter, Margaret
The family story we had been told is that he was killed in WWII, shot in an alley in the middle of the night, because he was a military spy. We don’t know if any of this story is true. It’s possible that the story developed over time, embellished by a family remembering their hero. We do know that he was serving in the Canadian special forces, involved in gathering intelligence and that this story may actually be accurate. The cause of death on his death certificate, “heart disease,” has not dissuaded some of us from continuing to believe the spy-assassination story because there may have been a cover-up.
Many thanks to Kristina Gottman Miller for sending me Bill’s death certificate and obituary.
Bill was dearly missed by his family members. His daughter, Margaret, would relate that her father sat her down upon his knee and told her that he would not live to see her turn 14. He said that God had shown him a picture of what she would look like and she was beautiful. His prescience, combined with the fact that his two brothers had died recently, may indicate that Bill had a serious health issue and knew that he would not live much longer.
Bill was originally buried in Toronto, Canada, but his ashes were later moved to Orlando, Florida, where his wife, Mary, was living and where she was later buried.
A FAMILY HISTORY 