Josiah Collins Papers, 1761-1892

DlnUUm of Artljv,. anb iflannarTitito ©late HfparimFtit of Arrhinfo anb Jiiutarg Ealflglj. Nortii QIarotlua CoUection: COLLINS, JOSIAH, PAPERS Orange, Tyrrell, and Washington Counties 1761-1892 AtD. a49il Q49<10 . Nap Case, P.C. 417 h.b.ZkS./- AbS.u Physical Description: Letters, deeds, land grants, surveys, entries, bills and receipts, church records, account books. 16 boxes. 10 volumes. Acquisition: Secured by Mr. W. S. Tarlton, Historic Sites Division, Depart¬ ment of Archives and History, April, 1964. Gift of Miss Elizabeth Collins, Hillsborough, North Carolina, Accessioned June 30, 1966 Description: - INTRODUCTION The Josiah Collins Papers represent five generations of the Collins family and five Josiah Collins - Josiah I (1735-1819), Josiah II (1763- 1833), Josiah III (1808-1863), Josiah IV (1830-1890), and Josiah V (1864- _ ). These papers, consisting of the records of Josiah Collins I, illustrat e h i.' s' mercantile interests in the latter part of the eighteenth century, his partnership in, and eventual ownership of, the Lake Company (lands in Tyrrell and Washington counties). They trace the . . descent and management of his estate through' his son Josiah II to his grandson Josiah III, and other grandchildren, and to his great grand¬ children, Josiah IV, Arthur, and George. These papers are also indicative of the extensive properties and activities of the Collins family from pre- Revolutionary times to the Civil War. Josiah Collins I was bom (August, 1735) in Taunton, Somersetshire, England. He married Ann Lewis of Staffordshire in April, 1761, and they had three children — all bom in Islington, , England — Josiah II (1763), Ann (1764), and Elizabeth (1769). Following the death of his Wife, Collins emigrated with the two older children to Boston in 1773. Elizabeth was left with relatives in England, His first year in America was spent in Providence, Rhode Island, and Halifax, North Carolina j he finally settled in Edenton in 1777* There he entered into shipping and commerce /- with the firm of Collins, Stewart, and Muir, exporters of tobacco, rice and staves to Europe and the West Indies, and importers of sugar, molasses, and rum. In 1783 he joined in the establishment of the Rope Walk for the production of hemp, rope, and cordage, one of the earliest such industries in the country. The following year he became associated with Nathaniel Allen and Dr. Samuel Dickinson, both of Edenton, in the formation of the Lake Company. Collins was instrumental in restoring the old colonial church of St. Paul's in Edenton and left -a legacy to Edenton Academy..