Gilbert Collins was the 23rd Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

 from May 5, 1884 to May 2, 1886.

Biography

Collins was born on August 26, 1846 in Stonington, Connecticut

Stonington, Connecticut

The Town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut, in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, Wequetequock, the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic...

 the son of Sarah Quinn and Daniel Webster Collins. His family immigrated to American from Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 before the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. His grandfather, Daniel Collins was a Lieutenant in a Connecticut regiment during the Revolution. He attended Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, but the death of his father in 1862 forced him to leave school for financial reasons. In 1863, he moved to Jersey City and studied law under Jonathan Dixon

Jonathan Dixon (judge)

Jonathan Dixon was an American jurist and Republican party politician from New Jersey. He was an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and was the Republican nominee for Governor of New Jersey in 1883....

 (who was appointed an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1875). Collins began practicing law in Jersey City in 1869. On January 2, 1870, he married Harriet Kingsbury Bush of Jersey City. A Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, Collins unsuccessfully ran for the New Jersey Senate

New Jersey Senate

The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...

 in 1880. On March 25, 1884, Collins was nominated for mayor by the Independents of Jersey City. He was also later nominated by the Republicans. In the election, Collins easily defeated Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 John D. McGill by a 3,250 majority in the heavily Democratic city. He served one term and was succeeded by Democrat Orestes Cleveland

Orestes Cleveland

Orestes Cleveland, Sr. was an American manufacturer and Democratic Party politician who represented from 1869 to 1871, and served two separate stints as Mayor of Jersey City.-Biography:...

.

In 1892, Collins was a delegate to the Republican National Convention

Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...

 in Minneapolis that re-nominated Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...

.

On March 2, 1897, Collins was appointed by Governor John W. Griggs

John W. Griggs

John William Griggs was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 29th Governor of New Jersey, from 1896 to 1898, stepping down to assume the position as the United States Attorney General from 1898 to 1901....

 as an Associate Justice to the New Jersey Supreme Court

New Jersey Supreme Court

The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...

 and served until his resignation in 1903. He continued to practice law.

Collins died of pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

in his home in Jersey City on January 29, 1920. He was buried in the family vault in Hilliard Cemetery in Stonington.