Vinson Allen Collins (March 1, 1867 - July 5, 1966) was a Texas politician.

Early life and education

Vinson Allen Collins was born in Hardin County, Texas near

Honey Island Honey Island is an unincorporated community in Hardin County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Beaumont– Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Kountze Independent School District provides public schools for area students. T ...

on March 1, 1867. He was the seventh child of Warren Collins and Eboline Valentine Collins. The Collins family had moved to Texas from Mississippi in 1854. He graduated from Sam Houston State Normal College (now part of

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

) in 1893.

Career

He started his career as a schoolteacher in Big Sandy Independent School District in Polk County, Texas while studying the Law. He was admitted to the

State Bar of Texas The State Bar of Texas (the Texas Bar) is an agency of the judiciary under the administrative control of the Texas Supreme Court. It is responsible for assisting the Texas Supreme Court in overseeing all attorneys licensed to practice law in Te ...

in 1901 and opened a law practice in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...

. He served three terms in the Texas Senate as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He sponsored the law that established a workers' compensation system in Texas and established the Texas Industrial Accident Board, and the law restricting work to eight hours a day. In a race for the United States House of Representatives, he was defeated by Martin Dies, Sr. In 1924, his campaign for

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

against Felix D. Robertson and Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson was unsuccessful and Ferguson was elected. He was a supporter of prohibition and of

women’s suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...

Personal life

He was married twice, first to Elizabeth (Lizzie) Hopkins and later to Nannie Kuykendall. He had six children.

Carr Collins, Sr. Carr P. Collins Sr. (May 12, 1892 – January 17, 1980) was an American insurance magnate and philanthropist. Early life Carr P. Collins Sr. was born on May 12, 1892, in Chester, Texas. His father was Vinson Allen Collins and his mother, Eli ...

, son of V.A. Collins and Lizzie Hopkins, was an insurance executive and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Death

Collins died in Dallas, Texas on July 5, 1966Obituary: Dallas Morning News, July 6, 1966 and is buried in Livingston, Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Vinson Allen 1867 births 1966 deaths People from Hardin County, Texas Sam Houston State University alumni Texas lawyers Democratic Party Texas state senators