Lewis Preston "Pat" Collins II (December 25, 1896 – September 20, 1952) served as the 26th

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held by Winsome Earle S ...

from 1946 until his sudden death in office in 1952. He was usually known as L. Preston Collins or Pat Collins.

Early life

The son of Lewis Preston Collins and Ella Bolling Moorman, Collins was born in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

, and educated in the public schools of

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mari ...

. He began studies at

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

, but interrupted them to serve in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After discharge, he attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

to study law, and graduated with a LL.B. degree in 1922, the same year he received his undergraduate degree from

. Admitted to the Virginia bar in 1922, Collins practiced law in Marion (the county seat of

Smyth County Smyth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,800. Its county seat is Marion. History Smyth County was formed on February 23, 1832, from Washington and Wythe counties. The county ...

), and also owned and operated a department store there. He also represented clients in nearby Washington County and Wythe Counties.

Politics

Known as a

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

Democrat, Collins was first elected to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

(a part-time position) in 1936, and was re-elected several times. In 1945 Collins ran for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nomination for lieutenant governor. He appeared to lose to another Byrd Democrat, Charles R. Fenwick of Arlington (Senator

Harry F. Byrd Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that becam ...

not having endorsed either, and Leonard Muse of Roanoke running on an anti-Byrd platform). Despite the Byrd Organization's "clean government" image, the vote totals for Fenwick in Wise County (winning 3,307 to 122) and for Collins in Appomattox County (winning 1610 to 25) seemed improbable. Collins challenged the Wise County results (particularly since mailed ballots far exceeded the number of eligible voters and many poll books had disappeared), and a Richmond judge threw them out. Fenwick did not pursue an inquiry into the Appomattox returns, but accepted defeat. Collins easily won the general election in November 1945 and was re-elected in 1949.

Death and legacy

During his second term as lieutenant governor, Collins suffered a heart attack while being introduced to dedicate an elementary school near Austinville in Wythe County, and died. He was buried in Marion, survived by his wife Pauline (1900-1962) and their son, Lewis Preston Collins III. The University of Virginia received his papers, and maintains them in a special collection in the law library.

References

People from Marion, Virginia 1896 births 1952 deaths Lieutenant Governors of Virginia Virginia lawyers Virginia Democrats Washington and Lee University alumni Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni Yale Law School alumni Politicians from Lynchburg, Virginia American military personnel of World War I 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Virginia {{Virginia-politician-stub