Ela Collins

Ela Collins (February 14, 1786 – November 23, 1848) was an American lawyer and politician from New York who served one term in the United States House of Representatives. As a member of the Crawford Democratic-Republican faction, sometimes categorized in later summaries as an “Unknown Party,” he contributed to the legislative process during a single term in Congress, representing New York during a significant period in American history and participating in the democratic process on behalf of his constituents.

Collins was born on February 14, 1786, in Meriden, Connecticut, the son of General Oliver Collins, a militia officer who served in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and Lois (née Cowles) Collins. He received his early education locally and then attended Clinton Academy in New York. After completing his studies there, he read law, was admitted to the bar, and in 1807 commenced the practice of law in Lowville, in Lewis County, New York. His move to Lowville marked the beginning of a long career in law, local governance, and state and national politics.

From the outset of his professional life, Collins took an active role in the civic and educational development of his community. In 1808 he became an original trustee of the Lowville Franklin Society, an association formed to create and operate the first public library in Lowville. That same year he sold a parcel of land on which the Lowville Academy was constructed, and he served as an original trustee of the school, helping to establish one of the area’s principal educational institutions. On July 11, 1811, he married Maria Clinton, the daughter of the Reverend Isaac Clinton. The couple had eleven children. Among them were William Collins, who later served in Congress; Isaac Clinton Collins, who became a member of the New York State Legislature; and Harriet Anne Collins Herron, who was the mother of Helen Herron Taft, First Lady of the United States as the wife of President William Howard Taft.

Collins’s public career began in local government. He served as Town Supervisor of Lowville from 1811 to 1813, gaining experience in municipal administration at a time when the region was still developing. He advanced to state office as a member of the New York State Assembly from 1814 to 1815. In 1815 he was appointed District Attorney of the Eighth District of New York, which then comprised Lewis, Jefferson, and St. Lawrence Counties, a position he held until 1818. When the prosecutorial structure was reorganized, he became District Attorney of Lewis County, serving in that capacity from 1818 to 1840. In addition to his prosecutorial work, he participated in the broader restructuring of state government as a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821, which revised the state’s fundamental law and expanded democratic participation.

Collins was elected as a Crawford Democratic-Republican to the Eighteenth Congress and served in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1823, to March 3, 1825. His term coincided with one of the most consequential presidential contests in early American history, the election of 1824. Because no candidate—John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, or William H. Crawford—secured a majority of the electoral votes, the choice of President devolved upon the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment. In this contingent election, Henry Clay, having finished fourth, was not eligible for consideration by the House and threw his support to Adams. Members of the House voted by state delegations, with each state casting a single vote determined by the majority of its representatives. Collins favored William H. Crawford. Within the New York delegation, the vote split 18 for Adams, 2 for Jackson, and 14 for Crawford. As Adams’s supporters held the majority of the delegation, New York’s single state vote was cast for Adams, who won the presidency on the first ballot with the votes of 13 states, followed by Jackson with 7 and Crawford with 4. Collins’s participation in this process placed him at the center of a pivotal constitutional and political moment in the early republic.

After his term in Congress, Collins returned to Lowville and resumed the practice of law. Over time he shifted his political allegiance from the Democratic-Republican faction that had supported Crawford to the emerging Anti-Masonic Party, reflecting the realignment of political forces in New York and the nation during the late 1820s and early 1830s. He continued to serve his community in local office, again holding the position of Town Supervisor of Lowville from 1827 to 1828 and from 1829 to 1831. In 1830 he was Chairman of the Lewis County Board of Supervisors, further consolidating his role as a leading figure in county affairs.

In addition to his legal and political work, Collins was active in economic and civic organizations in Lewis County. He became involved in the Lewis County Agricultural Society, supporting efforts to improve farming practices and promote agricultural development in the region. He also participated in several business ventures, including the Lewis County Mutual Insurance Company, which contributed to the economic stability and growth of the area. Through these activities he helped shape the institutional and economic framework of his community over several decades.

Ela Collins died in Lowville, New York, on November 23, 1848. He was buried in Jackson Street Cemetery in Lowville. His long career in law, local and state government, and national politics, as well as the subsequent public prominence of several of his descendants, secured his place in the political and civic history of New York and the United States.