Résumé

Draftsman, Solvay Process Company, Trona, CA, 06/1917. The Solvay Process Company existed between 1880 and 1985 producing soda ash and potash for industrial use. Its main headquarters was in Syracuse, NY, but this firm purchased a joint interest with the Pacific Coast Borax Company in a Trona potash factory in 1916. (See George I. Smith, Subsurface Stratigraphy and Geochemistry of Late Quaternary Evaporites, Searles Lake, California, [Washington, DC: US Department of the Interior, 1979], Geological Survey Professional Paper, No. 1043, p. 5.)

Sergeant, United States Army Expeditionary Forces (AEF), France, 1917-1918. He was given a special discharge from the AEF on 05/25/1918, leaving from Brest, France. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 101. Source Information: U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, accessed 04/30/2020.)

Partner, John Galen Howard and Associates, Architects, San Francisco, CA, c. 09/1923- . Collins would have come to know John Galen Howard while a student at the University of California.

Principal, Henry C. Collins, Jr., Architect, Palo Alto, CA, c. 1930. In 1930, Collins was one of two architects (plus one more architectural designer) listed in the R.L. Polk and Company's Classified Business Directory with an office at 502 Waverley Street, Room #207. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Palo Alto, California, City Directory, 1930, p. 449.)

Professional Activities

Member, State Association of California Architects, Northern Section, c. 1930-1937.

College

B.Arch., University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Berkeley, CA, 1917.

Relocation

Born in San Francisco, CA, Henry C. Collins, Jr., spent his life in the Bay Area, aside from service in France during World War I. In 1900, he inhabited a house with his parents at 1610 Lyon Street in San Francisco. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Page: 8; Enumeration District: 0217; FHL microfilm: 1240105, accessed 04/30/2020.)

The Collins Family lived at 221 Ashbury Street in San Francisco in 1910.

His World War I draft card of 06/02/1917, listed a permanent address of 2625 Piedmont Avenue in Berkeley, CA, likely an address he had while a student at the University of California. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: Registration State: California; Registration County: Alameda; Roll: 1530662; Draft Board: 1. Source Information: U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 04/30/2020.)

His father died in 1919, and the following year, mother and son remained at 221 Ashbury. The 1920 US Census noted that Henry, Jr.'s 96-year-old maternal grandfather, William M. Spence, (born c. 1824 in England) also lived with his mother and him. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 27, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_142; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 330, accessed 04/30/2020).

He resided in an apartment with his mother at 766 Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto, CA, in 1930. They rented the unit for $50 per month. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0018; FHL microfilm: 2339952, accessed 04/30/2020.)

Parents

His father was Henry Charles Collins, Sr., (born c. 06/1859 in CA-d. 02/23/1919 in San Francisco, CA), his mother, Bertha Adelaid Spence (born 01/1863 in WI). They wed c. 1891. In 1900 and 1910, Henry, Sr., worked as a freight agent for a railroad, according to the US Censuses. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Page: 8; Enumeration District: 0217; FHL microfilm: 1240105, accessed 04/30/2020.) According to his will, Henry, Sr., retired in 04/1915, and at which time "...his financial affairs [underwent] a change since my retirement from business….” (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: Author: California. Superior Court (San Francisco County); Probate Place: San Francisco, California. Source Information: Ancestry.com. California, Wills and Probate Records, 1850-1953 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: California County, District and Probate Courts, accessed 04/30/2020.) Because of this financial reduction, he reduced the size of his will's bequest to his sister, Cordelia, from $1,000 in gold to $250. The remainder of his estate was split between Bertha and Henry, Jr.

Henry, Jr., was the only child of Henry Collins, Sr., and Bertha Adelaid Collins.

Spouse

He wed Eleanor Freeman (born 04/06/1896 in Eureka, CA-d. 05/24/1979 in Eureka, CA) in Carson City, NV, on 11/06/1939.

Biographical Notes

According to this World War I draft card, dated 06/02/1917, Collins, at age 22, was tall and slender, with gray eyes and black hair. In response to his World War I draft card’s question, “Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?” He answered, “Yes hold certificate of suitability for Officers’ Reserve Training Camp.” (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: Registration State: California; Registration County: Alameda; Roll: 1530662; Draft Board: 1. Source Information: U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 04/30/2020.)

Henry C. Collins, Jr., was elected to the Palo Alto City Council in 1933.

He and his wife Eleanor took a trip to the Hawaiian islands in 1953. They were aboard the Matson liner, S.S. Lurline, that sailed from Honolulu, HI, 10/19/1953, arriving in San Francisco about one week later.See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Passenger Lists of Vessels Departing from Honolulu, Hawaii, compiled 06/1900 - 11/1954; National Archives Microfilm Publication: A3510; Roll: 174; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: RG 85, accessed 04/30/2020.)