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Collins, Patrick A. (Patrick Andrew), 1844-1905

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1844-03-12 - 1905-09-14

Biographical Note

Patrick A. Collins was born in 1844, in Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland. His family immigrated to the United States in 1848, and settled in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Despite limited formal education, he worked his way up in the upholstery trade, became involved in union activities, and began to study the law, eventually graduating from Harvard Law School and being admitted to the bar in 1871. Collins was elected as State Representative in 1868 and State Senator in 1870. He served as a Democratic Congressman from 1883-1889 and then was appointed Consul General to London by President Grover Cleveland from 1893-1897. He was also heavily involved in Irish politics, becoming president of the American Land League, a branch of the Land League (Ireland), in 1880. In 1901 Collins was elected mayor of Boston and served in that position until his death in 1905.

Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) Identifier

Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:

George D. Cahill papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-1993-041
Abstract The George D. Cahill papers consist of the personal papers of a Quincy, Mass. merchant active in Irish-American causes in the late nineteenth century. The collection contains correspondence, fliers, circulars, published speeches, and ephemera, as well as membership and financial records for Irish nationalist organizations including the Fenian Brotherhood, the Irish National Land League of the United States, and the Irish National League of America, among others. The papers date from 1845 to...
Restrictions on access

Collection is open for research.

Dates: 1845-circa 1921; Majority of material found within 1870 - 1890

Patrick A. Collins papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-1986-038
Abstract

These papers document the work of Irish immigrant Patrick A. Collins (1884-1905), a lawyer, politician, and activist for Irish independence, through his correspondence, certificates, photographs, manuscripts, and printed materials.

Restrictions on access

Collection is open for research.

Dates: 1858-1947, undated; Majority of material found within 1880 - 1905

Invitation to Harry W. French from John Boyle O'Reilly and others, not after 1887 : manuscript

 Collection — Shared_box 1012
Identifier: MS-2020-001
Scope and Contents Invitation to Harry W. French from five prominent Boston Irish Americans, written in ink on a single sheet of lined paper. Signed by John Boyle O'Reilly, Hugh O'Brien, Patrick A. Collins, T.J. Dacey, and Dominick Fay. Full text reads "Harry W. French Esq. Dear Sir, we cordially invite you to give your lectures on Ireland in this city, confident that your knowledge of the subject and splendid illustrations of it will interest and entertain all classes of our fellow citizens." Likely written...
Restrictions on access

Open for research.

Dates: between 1880-1887

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