John A. Collier

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title: "John A. Collier" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1787-births", "1873-deaths", "politicians-from-litchfield,-connecticut", "anti-masonic-party-united-states-representatives-from-new-york-(state)", "new-york-(state)-whigs", "new-york-state-comptrollers", "politicians-from-binghamton,-new-york", "lawyers-from-binghamton,-new-york", "litchfield-law-school-alumni", "yale-college-alumni", "burials-at-spring-forest-cemetery", "19th-century-american-lawyers", "19th-century-united-states-representatives"] description: "American politician (1787–1873)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_A._Collier" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician (1787–1873) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	John A. Collier
image	John A. Collier.jpg
caption	Sketch of Collier in 1897 publication
order	12th
office	New York State Comptroller
term_start	January 27, 1841
term_end	February 7, 1842
governor	William H. Seward
preceded	Bates Cooke
succeeded	Azariah C. Flagg
state2	New York
district2	21st
term2	March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833
preceded2	Robert Monell
succeeded2	Henry Mitchell
office3	District attorney of Broome County
term_start3	1818
term_end3	1822
birth_date
birth_place	Litchfield, Connecticut, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Binghamton, New York, U.S.
resting_place	Spring Forest Cemetery
Binghamton, New York, U.S.
party	Anti-Masonic
spouse	{{plainlist
* {{marriage	Barbara Doty
* {{marriage	Lydia Shephard
relatives	Edwin Arthur Hall (great-grandson)
children	6
alma_mater	Yale College
Litchfield Law School
occupation
::

| name = John A. Collier | image = John A. Collier.jpg | caption = Sketch of Collier in 1897 publication | order = 12th | office = New York State Comptroller | term_start = January 27, 1841 | term_end = February 7, 1842 | governor = William H. Seward | preceded = Bates Cooke | succeeded = Azariah C. Flagg | state2 = New York | district2 = 21st | term2 = March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833 | preceded2 = Robert Monell | succeeded2 = Henry Mitchell | office3 = District attorney of Broome County | term_start3 = 1818 | term_end3 = 1822 | birth_date = | birth_place = Litchfield, Connecticut, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Binghamton, New York, U.S. | resting_place = Spring Forest Cemetery Binghamton, New York, U.S. | party = Anti-Masonic | spouse = {{plainlist|

• Elizabeth Morris | relatives = Edwin Arthur Hall (great-grandson) | children = 6 | alma_mater = Yale College Litchfield Law School | occupation = |}}

John Allen Collier (November 13, 1787 – March 24, 1873) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Early life

John Allen Collier was born on November 13, 1787, in Litchfield, Connecticut. He attended Yale College in 1803, then studied law at Litchfield Law School. He was admitted to the bar at Troy, New York, in 1809.

Career

After graduating, Collier started practicing law in Binghamton, New York. He was District Attorney of Broome County from June 11, 1818, to February 25, 1822. He partnered with Daniel Leroy in developing projects in Binghamton. They built bridges and roads, and developed parcels. Leroy would move west and leave Collier to continue the work himself.

Collier was elected as an Anti-Mason to the 22nd United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1831, to March 3, 1833. He was defeated for re-election in 1832.

He was New York State Comptroller from January 27, 1841, to February 7, 1842, elected by the New York State Legislature to fill the unexpired term of Bates Cooke. Then, he resumed the practice of law.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1844 to the U.S. Congress. He was appointed a commissioner to revise the state statutes in 1847. He was a presidential elector on the Whig ticket in 1848. He gave a speech at the 1848 Whig National Convention that suggested Millard Fillmore as the vice presidential candidate on Zachary Taylor's ticket. When Fillmore became president, Collier was reportedly selected by Fillmore for appointment as collector of taxes in San Francisco, but Fillmore's allies prevented the appointment from happening due to Collier's personal affairs. Collier's son James was appointed to that role, but only served for six months before he was removed from the role due to "fiscal malfeasance".

Personal life

Collier married Barbara Doty in 1810. They had four children. His wife died in 1826. In 1829, Collier married Lydia Shephard. They had one child and she died during the birth in 1829. He then married Elizabeth Morris. They had one child. He had a reputation as a womanizer and was arrested for exposure at an Albany hotel. He was the great-grandfather of United States Representative Edwin Arthur Hall.

Collier built Ingleside in 1837. It was a Greek Revival house on Chenango Street in Binghamton. The house was demolished in 1967.

Collier died on March 24, 1873, at his home in Binghamton. He was buried at the Spring Forest Cemetery in Binghamton.

Legacy

A street in Binghamton is named in his honor.

References

References

1. "Collier, John Allen". [[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]].
2. Smith, Gerald R.. (2016-10-22). "Local Founder: The rise and fall of developer John Collier". [[Press & Sun-Bulletin]].
3. Hough, Franklin B.. (1858). ["The New-York Civil List"]({{Google books).
4. (2014-08-04). "Lawyer earned posthumous praise". [[Press & Sun Bulletin]].
5. (1929-04-11). "Mansion Built in 1837 by Lawyer John A. Collier Now Motor Freight Depot". [[The Binghamton Press]].
6. (1999-09-25). "Remembering when...". [[Press & Sun Bulletin]].
7. (1873-03-25). "Obituary". [[The New York Times]].
8. (1976-07-04). "Rivers aid Binghamton's growth". [[Press & Sun Bulletin]].

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