NAME, Years Elected to City Council

HM Collins (1813-1896) served on City Council in 1889-1890.

POLITICAL AFFILIATION

Republican6

BIO

Collins, as pictured in his San Francisco Chronicle obituary1H M Collins was born in Maine in 1813. He came to California in 1833 and went to El Dorado to mine in 1853. In 1876 he came to Oakland and established a grocery store at 1766 7th Street. He got sick in 1893, never recovered, retired in 1896 and died later that year. (His death took place at 1:45 AM.)

In his time on City Council, Collins was known for his work on "reforming" the liquor license system. Collins was chosen as President of the Council in 1890.5 

In 1889, Collins traveled East and studied some water systems. He concluded that he couldn't really learn anything from other cities and that "Oakland water, with all its faults, is better than the water of some of the large cities of the East."7

In 1894 he won a seat on the (state?) Assembly.2 The counting went on for weeks, and officially, Collins lost the election by one vote, but blind witnesses were brought to court to testify that they would have voted for Collins if they had been sworn in properly.3

Collins lived at 1823 8th Street. He was married and had 5 children.

He is not buried at Mountain View Cemetery; his body is in Placerville.4

 

 

 

OTHER POSITIONS IN CITY GOVERNMENT

State Assembly, 49th District.

 

REFERENCES

  1. "CLOSE OF AN EVENTFUL CAREER: Death of Assemblyman H. M. Collins SUCCUMBS TO CONSUMPTION." San Francisco Chronicle: Mar 25, 1896.
  2. "CLOSE OF AN EVENTFUL CAREER."
  3. "THAT ONE VOTE." San Francisco Chronicle: Dec 30, 1894. 
  4. "CLOSE OF AN EVENTFUL CAREER."
  5. "OAKLAND NEWS." San Francisco Chronicle: Mar 18, 1890.
  6. "OAKLAND NEWS." San Francisco Chronicle: Nov 18, 1894.
  7. "Councilman Collins Home." San Francisco Chronicle: Sep 30, 1889.
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