 William B. Collins was born
on October 9, 1760 in Guilford, Connecticut. He
was of English ancestry and was the second child
born to William Collins and Ruth Cook.He enlisted as Private in
the 17th Connecticut Regiment in April 1777. The
regiment was under the overall command of Colonel
Jonathan Meigs. He served in several different
companies in the 17th until the unit was
disbanded after eight months In 1799 he served as
a waiter to his uncle , Major Augustus Collins in
the Connecticut Militia under the command of
General Andrew Ward. He was discharged after two
months service.
The Collins family
moved to the area later to be known as
Collinsville in the 1820's. The family was very
active in community affairs. The community began
to grow and flourish.The Collins family made a
request to the Postmaster General to name the new
village Unionville. The request was turned down
due to the fact a Unionville Illinois was already
in existence. The Postmaster made the suggestion
of Collinsville since the request was made by the
Collins family. William applied for a
Revolutionary War pension on August 12, 1840. He
died April 19, 1849 and was buried in the
Glenwood Cemetery.
Pension Record of
William B. Collins contributed by Doris M. Bauer (View Details)
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