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I am seeking information about my Great Grandfather, Michael NMI Collins. Born sometime around the 1850's in Ireland or possibly Canada and apparently spent time as a groom somewhere in England(family oral history based on his speech patterns, accent and policitial leanings). Family history had him being forcibly deported to Canada for unknown reasons, and settling in the Detroit MI area around 1872. He is recorded marrying an Anna Brigid Ryan in 1874 or 1875 in Detroit. Anna was the daughter of James Ryan, a blacksmith from Toronto who later relocated his family to Detroit around 1872 himself and we've always wondered if Michael Collins, who ended up as a teamster for the Detroit Fire Department's Gratiot Blvd. and Grady firehouse; met Anna through her father's farrier service in Canada? James Ryan also apparently sold his own patent recipe linament for horses in both Canada and the US and was known as a trainer and expert of racing 'sulkies' trotters.
It is possible that Michael Collins was actually born in Canada, apparently he always refused to speak of his family and history, was estranged from any relatives and had no contact with them that anyone recalls and had quite a temper when challenged on any point. Apparently Anna Ryan's mother was fond of saying about Michael that he 'was from Limerick where the liars come from' not like her Kerry ancestors but this is undocumented.
Michael Collins and Anna Ryan-Collins had several children, all of whom stayed in the Detroit area. Their offspring were:
-Mary Brigid Collins(Cromie) b. 1876, married William Cromie who also worked for the Detroit Board of Education and had numerous offspring
-Thomas Collins b. 1878? in Detroit and who ran away at age 16 after a beating regarding racing a 'trotter' in his father's care. I personally think the horse in question wasn't a DFD team horse but a racehorse in care of Michaels' father-in-law James Ryan and not Michael himself. Thomas Collins was presumed killed in the Spanish American war under an assumed name, as we have found no enlistment under his own name.
-Henry "Hank" Collins b. 1879, a bachelor and avid outdoorsman and guide in the Harsens Island Flats area.
-John "Jack" Collins b. 1880 a plumber for the Detroit Board of Education.
-James Collins, b. 1882 a real estate agent and insurance broker who was called the 'Mayor of Eastern Market' because of his handling of the business affairs of widows whose husbands owned businesses in the Farmer's Market. James had numerous offspring.
-William Martin or Matthew Collins b.1886 , my Grandfather and the Purchasing Director for the Detroit Board of Education during WWII. He married Annie Lenore McGraw of Detroit, built her a home on Rosemary Street in St. David's parish and had five offspring: Ryan, Lois, Norma Jeanne, William (my father) and Terrance Patrick. His middle name was reportedly Michael, after his father and he changed it himself to Martin and then to Matthew later because of a fight with Michael Collins. My grandfather's birth certificate is lost but all his later documentation has either 'Michael' or 'Matthew' and in one instance 'Martin' as his middle name.
-Charles James Collins b. 1888? , an ambulance driver in WWI, who married a french widow after the war and returned to Detroit after her passing in the 1920's. He apparently drove a truck for hire out of the Eastern Market in later years and never re-married, no offspring.
-Joseph Collins, b. 1889 a fireman with the City of Detroit who married a girl who lived on Rosemary Street named Sulkowski and whose relatives lived one house down from my grandfather.
-Margaret Collins b. 1890(Schulte) whose husband Ed schulte also worked for the Detroit Board of Education.
Michael Collins and Anna Ryan-Collins are both buried in Mt. Eliot Cemetary in Detroit, as are most of their descendants.
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