Collins, John H.

The following data is extracted from Merrimack and Sullivan Counties, New Hampshire Biographies.

John H. Collins, a respected farmer of Bradford, was born on Bible Hill in the town of Warner, N.H., May 9, 1815, son of Enos and Elizabeth (Walker) Collins, and grandson of Jacob Collins, whose Southampton, Mass. The father, who was born and reared in Southampton, from there in early manhood came to Warner, and in 1803 took up land on Bible Hill, near the town line of Bradford, not far from Melvin's Mills. He cleared a portion of the land, built a house, and was engaged in tilling the soil until his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-two years. After settling in Warner, he married Elizabeth Walker, who survived him until she had reached the advanced age of eighty-seven. This worthy couple were the owners of the first clock and the first cook stove used in that vicinity, and were the first of the residents to subscribe for a newspaper. Eight daughters and three sons were born to them. The eldest son, Moses, was a mechanic and farmer. The next, Enos, was born in 1800, and died at the age of seventy-seven. He was a self-educated man beyond such early advantages as were afforded by the common schools, and he became one of the most noted teachers of his time. Notwithstanding the fact that he had never received instruction in algebra, he could readily solve both algebraic and arithmetical problems that puzzled expert mathematicians. He held various town offices, filling each place with marked ability.

John H. Collins, the youngest and only surviving son, married on December 21, 1841, Esther Pierce Marshall, daughter of Nathan R. and Abigail (Hawks) Marshall, and granddaughter of Richard Marshall, who was a Revolutionary soldier, having enlisted in 1775. They resided on the old Collins homestead until 1868, when they came to their present farm in Bradford, this being the ancestral home of his wife, named by her father "Pleasant Valley Farm." This farm originally contained sixty acres. Mr. Collins has since enlarged it by the addition of other land, so that now it is quite an extensive place. Here he carries on general farming and dairying. He had three daughters, one of whom died in infancy. The eldest, Abbie Elizabeth, married James H. Blaisdell, and died fourteen years later. She left a son, George A., who is married, and has two children. Mr. Collins's surviving daughter, and the youngest of the three, Helen Frances, who was for some time a successful teacher in our public schools, married Frank T. Carr, and resides in Bradford.

Source: Merrimack and Sullivan Counties, New Hampshire Biographies

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