John Collins (Surveyor General)

John Collins
John Collins
Died	1795; Quebec
Nationality	British
Occupation	Surveyor
Known for	negotiated the Toronto Purchase

John Collins was an influential Deputy Surveyor General in the Province of Canada shortly after it was captured by the British.[1]

Collins negotiated the Toronto Purchase.

Personal life

According to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography little is known of Collins's early life.[1] Samuel Johannes Holland, Surveyor General when Collins was appointed his deputy, on September 8, 1764, wrote that he had been “imployed for many years as a deputy Surveyor in the Southern Colonys”.

The Dictionary of Canadian Biography notes he was a prominent Freemason.[1] His wife, Margaret, died in 1770, and he had at least one child, a daughter, Mary, who married John Rankin, also a surveyor.

Work as a surveyor, in Canada

Collins was appointed Deputy Surveyor General on September 8, 1764.[1]

His first major assignment, in 1765 was to survey the border between Canada and the Province of New York.[1]

On September 23, 1787, Collins represented Governor General Lord Dorchester in the negotiation of the Toronto Purchase.[2]

Provincial legislator and administrator

In the Province of Canada the Legislative Council's laws were not fully binding on the Governor, and the Governor appointed many of its members. Collins was first appointed to the Legislative Council in 1773.[1] And was entrusted with positions on multiple administrative committees.

References

Robert J. Hayward. "COLLINS, JOHN, surveyor and office-holder; d. 15 April 1795 at Quebec". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2019-12-25. Collins had also become involved in the political life of the colony. In January 1773 he was sworn in as a member of the Council. In 1775 he became a legislative councillor, a position he held for the duration of the Quebec Act and, under the Constitutional Act of 1791, until his death.
"Remembering the Toronto Purchase and its Settlement: June 8: Snapshots in History". Toronto Public Library. 2018-06-10. Retrieved 2019-12-25. On September 23, 1787, the British Crown (represented by Deputy Surveyor-General John Collins under the auspices of Governor-General Lord Dorchester) agreed to purchase 250,880 acres (101,527.5 hectares) of land from the Mississaugas of The New Credit (represented by three Chiefs) that comprises present day York Region and most of the City of Toronto (with Lake Ontario as the southern border, Etobicoke Creek and Highway 27 as the approximate western boundary, Ashbridge's Bay, Woodbine Avenue, and Highway 404 as the approximate eastern border, and Sideroad 15 and Bloomington Road as the approximate northern boundary).

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[DictCdnBioJohnCollins-1] Robert J. Hayward. "COLLINS, JOHN, surveyor and office-holder; d. 15 April 1795 at Quebec". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2019-12-25. Collins had also become involved in the political life of the colony. In January 1773 he was sworn in as a member of the Council. In 1775 he became a legislative councillor, a position he held for the duration of the Quebec Act and, under the Constitutional Act of 1791, until his death.

[Tpl2018-06-10-2] "Remembering the Toronto Purchase and its Settlement: June 8: Snapshots in History". Toronto Public Library. 2018-06-10. Retrieved 2019-12-25. On September 23, 1787, the British Crown (represented by Deputy Surveyor-General John Collins under the auspices of Governor-General Lord Dorchester) agreed to purchase 250,880 acres (101,527.5 hectares) of land from the Mississaugas of The New Credit (represented by three Chiefs) that comprises present day York Region and most of the City of Toronto (with Lake Ontario as the southern border, Etobicoke Creek and Highway 27 as the approximate western boundary, Ashbridge's Bay, Woodbine Avenue, and Highway 404 as the approximate eastern border, and Sideroad 15 and Bloomington Road as the approximate northern boundary).