James Collins was my 3rd great grandfather. He brought his large family to the United States from Ireland about 1848 or 1849 based on the birth of daughter Martha in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1849. James worked as a drayman for several years. He listed his occupation as 'furniture store' on the 1860 census and I believe the family owned the store. As was fairly common in those days I think they lived over the store and also rented rooms. Among the others living there were men whose occupations were carpenters. One of the men boarding there, Morgan Lewis Fitch, married Jane Collins and they became my second great grandparents.
Apparently the family fortunes declined after the Civil War. James died of heart disease and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. He may have become weakened by disease and was unable to work. His children dispersed after the war.
The 1870 census shows a James Collins living in Liberty, Highland County, Ohio, born in Ireland to parents of foreign birth. This James Collins is a pauper. In the same dwelling are many other people listed as paupers. I can only surmise that this was the county Poor Farm or Poor House.
I am not certain that the above is the correct James Collins. The 1850 and 1860 census records are inconclusive regarding his age and birth. I can only estimate his date of birth from the burial record from Spring Grove(posted here) which says he was 67 at the time of death in 1871.
My father often opined that we were on the way to the poor farm when spending seemed extravagant to him. I gather that he had heard mention of this fate when he was a youngster living in Ohio. The poor farm system may have begun with the best of intentions but too often the people housed there were not only poor but also sick in spirit and mind. They were not always pleasant places to live - or die.
Apparently the family fortunes declined after the Civil War. James died of heart disease and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. He may have become weakened by disease and was unable to work. His children dispersed after the war.
The 1870 census shows a James Collins living in Liberty, Highland County, Ohio, born in Ireland to parents of foreign birth. This James Collins is a pauper. In the same dwelling are many other people listed as paupers. I can only surmise that this was the county Poor Farm or Poor House.
I am not certain that the above is the correct James Collins. The 1850 and 1860 census records are inconclusive regarding his age and birth. I can only estimate his date of birth from the burial record from Spring Grove(posted here) which says he was 67 at the time of death in 1871.
My father often opined that we were on the way to the poor farm when spending seemed extravagant to him. I gather that he had heard mention of this fate when he was a youngster living in Ohio. The poor farm system may have begun with the best of intentions but too often the people housed there were not only poor but also sick in spirit and mind. They were not always pleasant places to live - or die.
James Collins was my 3rd great grandfather. He brought his large family to the United States from Ireland about 1848 or 1849 based on the birth of daughter Martha in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1849. James worked as a drayman for several years. He listed his occupation as 'furniture store' on the 1860 census and I believe the family owned the store. As was fairly common in those days I think they lived over the store and also rented rooms. Among the others living there were men whose occupations were carpenters. One of the men boarding there, Morgan Lewis Fitch, married Jane Collins and they became my second great grandparents.
Apparently the family fortunes declined after the Civil War. James died of heart disease and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. He may have become weakened by disease and was unable to work. His children dispersed after the war.
The 1870 census shows a James Collins living in Liberty, Highland County, Ohio, born in Ireland to parents of foreign birth. This James Collins is a pauper. In the same dwelling are many other people listed as paupers. I can only surmise that this was the county Poor Farm or Poor House.
I am not certain that the above is the correct James Collins. The 1850 and 1860 census records are inconclusive regarding his age and birth. I can only estimate his date of birth from the burial record from Spring Grove(posted here) which says he was 67 at the time of death in 1871.
My father often opined that we were on the way to the poor farm when spending seemed extravagant to him. I gather that he had heard mention of this fate when he was a youngster living in Ohio. The poor farm system may have begun with the best of intentions but too often the people housed there were not only poor but also sick in spirit and mind. They were not always pleasant places to live - or die.
Apparently the family fortunes declined after the Civil War. James died of heart disease and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. He may have become weakened by disease and was unable to work. His children dispersed after the war.
The 1870 census shows a James Collins living in Liberty, Highland County, Ohio, born in Ireland to parents of foreign birth. This James Collins is a pauper. In the same dwelling are many other people listed as paupers. I can only surmise that this was the county Poor Farm or Poor House.
I am not certain that the above is the correct James Collins. The 1850 and 1860 census records are inconclusive regarding his age and birth. I can only estimate his date of birth from the burial record from Spring Grove(posted here) which says he was 67 at the time of death in 1871.
My father often opined that we were on the way to the poor farm when spending seemed extravagant to him. I gather that he had heard mention of this fate when he was a youngster living in Ohio. The poor farm system may have begun with the best of intentions but too often the people housed there were not only poor but also sick in spirit and mind. They were not always pleasant places to live - or die.
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