Collection #

SC 2804

 

 

James A. Collins
Papers, 1931, 1945

Collection Information

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Contents

Cataloging Information

 

 

 

Processed by

Brent Abercrombie, and Dorothy A. Nicholson
January 2006

Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

 

COLLECTION INFORMATION

VOLUME OF
COLLECTION:

1 folder

COLLECTION
DATES:

12 December 1931; 14 March 1945

PROVENANCE:

Evaline H. Rhodehamel, Indianapolis, Indiana

RESTRICTIONS:

None

COPYRIGHT:

 

REPRODUCTION
RIGHTS:

Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society.

ALTERNATE
FORMATS:

 

RELATED
HOLDINGS:

 

ACCESSION
NUMBER:

2003.0183

NOTES:

 

BIOGRAPHiCAL SKETCH

James Adams Collins was born 12 October 1870 in Arlington, Massachusetts to Joseph and Jane (LaVelle) Collins. He attended public schools and Washington Grammar School of Cambridge. He worked in the business sector in Massachusetts and New York before moving to Indianapolis in 1895. That same year he married Lillie T. Knapp of New York and they had two children, John and Elizabeth.

In Indianapolis he entered the law office of Griffith & Potts and enrolled in the Indianapolis Law School. By 1899 Collins was appointed deputy prosecuting attorney. He graduated from the Indianapolis Law School in 1904 and began practicing law at Averill & Collins. He remained there until 1909 when he was elected Police Judge of the Indianapolis City Court. While there he established an adult probation system. In 1914 he was elected judge of the Marion County Criminal Court where he remained for three terms. Judge Collins died on 4 December 1946.

Sources:

Information in Collection.

Brown, Paul Donald, ed. Indianapolis Men of Affairs, 1923. Indianapolis: American Biographical Society, 1923. General Collection: F534.I55 I532 1923.

Monks, Leander J. Courts and lawyers of Indiana, Volume III. Indianapolis: Federal Publishing Col, 1916. General Collection: F526 .C845 1916.

Thompson, Donald E., Indiana Authors and their Books, 1967-1980. Crawfordsville, IN: Wabash College, 1981. Reading Room Collection: RR Z1281 .B32 1981.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection contains a cover letter dated 14 March 1945 and a twelve page paper by former Marion County Judge James A. Collins entitled The Juvenile Court Movement in Indiana.  The paper was read before the Indiana Historical Society on 12 December 1931 and consists of a short history of how the juvenile court movement began in Indiana, specifically Marion County.  Collins attributes much of the influence behind the creation of a separate court system for juveniles to former Police Judge George W. Stubbs.  Collins also notes the development of the juvenile court system in Chicago, as well as the state of Illinois as a whole, as examples of how and why a juvenile court would be effective in Indiana. 

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Letter of 14 March 1945 to Mrs. Ben D. Hitz and,
The Juvenile Court Movement In Indiana, by James A. Collins Former Judge Marion County Criminal Court, A Paper read before the Indiana Historical Society December 12th, 1945

Folder 1

CATALOGING INFORMATION

For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:

1.      Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog:  http://opac.indianahistory.org/

2.      Click on the "Basic Search" icon.

3.      Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.

4.      Search for the collection by its basic call number SC2804

5.      When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.