John Collins (Surveyor General)
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John Collins | |
|---|---|
| Died | 1795 Quebec |
| Occupation | Surveyor |
| Known for | negotiated the Toronto Purchase |
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John Collins was an influential Deputy Surveyor General in the Province of Canada shortly after it was captured by the British.[1]
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.