Perry Collins facts for kids

Perry McDonough Collins (born in 1813, died in 1900) was a very creative person. He came up with the idea for the Russian-American Telegraph project. This project, which happened between 1865 and 1867, tried to connect America to Europe using a telegraph line. The plan was to send messages across the Bering Strait. Even though it didn't work out, it was a huge and exciting idea for its time!

Early Life and Big Ideas

Perry McDonough Collins was born in Hyde Park, New York, in 1813. He was named after famous American naval heroes like Oliver Hazard Perry and Matthew Perry. We don't know much about his early life.

When he was in his early thirties, Collins left his law job. He felt it wasn't exciting enough. In 1846, he moved south to New Orleans. There, he met people like William McKendree Gwin. These people strongly believed that America should expand across the continent.

When the California gold rush began, Gwin moved west. He wanted to become California's first senator. Collins followed him, but he wasn't interested in mining gold. Instead, he wanted to help the miners with their businesses. He tried being a lawyer in Sonora, California. He took part in seven cases, but only won one by accident!

After that, Collins started a business with Gwin called the American Russian Commercial Company. Their first idea was to ship ice from the Arctic to San Francisco.

Connecting with Important People

When Gwin became one of California's first senators, Collins had a direct connection to important people in Washington D.C. He planned to use this to support his new and exciting ideas. He wanted to look beyond the Pacific Ocean and into Asia.

At that time, Russia was also expanding towards the Asian side of the Pacific. In 1847, the governor, Nikolai Muraviev, wanted to expand Russian trade. He saw the Amur River, which was the border with China, as a very important place.

Gwin and William Seward noticed Russia's expansion. They thought it was similar to America's own expansion westward. Collins, who admired explorer Ferdinand von Wrangel, helped pay for a survey of the area. He later wrote that he believed the Amur River would be the way for American businesses to reach Northern Asia. He thought it would "open a new world to trade and civilization."

Adventures in Russia

In 1856, Collins met with President Franklin Pierce. He had help from Gwin and the Russian Ambassador, Edward de Stoekl. Collins impressed the President. He was then made the new Commercial Agent for the Amur region.

He sailed to St. Petersburg, Russia. There, he met Governor Muraviev. Then he traveled to Moscow and attended the coronation of Tsar Alexander II. After getting the necessary permits, he set out for Irkutsk.

People said Collins was very charming. He loved Russia and everyone he met. After Irkutsk, he met Muraviev again. They went to the border town of Kyakhta. He even crossed the border into the Chinese town of Maimattschin. He wrote in great detail about the Mongol New Year celebration there.

Exploring the Amur River

The next spring, Collins headed east to Chita (Chita, Russia). From there, he began his river journey on the Ingoda River, which flows into the Amur. All this time, he was thinking about business opportunities.

As explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson noted, Collins was always focused on business. He saw the beauty and resources of the land, but he also saw how they could be used for trade.

On July 10, he finally reached Nikolayevsk-na-Amure. He was very impressed. He believed this city could become a major center for trade. He thought it could connect eastern Siberia, Kamchatka, America, Japan, and China. His trip around the world convinced him that Russians and Americans could achieve great things by working together.

The Big Idea: Russian-American Telegraph

After returning to America, Collins first thought about building a network of railroads and steamships across the Pacific. He believed this would help him make his fortune and develop trade in the west.

He briefly returned to St. Petersburg in 1858. There, he was told his railroad idea was too early. Instead, he proposed a huge intercontinental telegraph line. This idea came about when the telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean failed.

Collins's plan was for the line to go through Canada or the western United States. Then it would go into British Columbia and the northern British territories. From there, it would cross into Russian America (which is now Alaska). It would then go over the Bering Strait to Siberia. Finally, it would run along the Amur River to Irkutsk and then connect to Europe. Collins believed that if this project worked, Americans would control all communication between continents.

Building Support for the Telegraph

In 1859, Collins approached Hiram Sibley. Sibley was the head of the Western Union Telegraph Company. He was also working on a telegraph line across the United States. Together, Collins and Sibley worked to promote this international overland line. They gained a lot of support.

As California senator Milton Latham said in 1861, this line would allow them to "hold the ball of the earth in our hand." He meant they could connect the world with "living and thinking wire."

The American Civil War paused their plans. But in 1863, Collins returned to Russia to push the project forward. He received approval there. He then met Lord Palmerston in London. They discussed the line going through British Columbia and the British Northern Territories. Paul Reuter, who ran the Reuters news agency, also supported Collins.

Collins made a good deal, though not perfect. He returned to Washington and re-published his book about his journey down the Amur River. He was now able to take a less active role. Sibley suggested to the Western Union board that they buy all of Collins's rights. They set up a new company called the Western Union Extension Company. Collins received $100,000 and a tenth of the stock in this new company. The rest of the stock was quickly bought up.

The U.S. Government officially supported the project with a bill signed by Abraham Lincoln. The British Columbia government also approved what had been agreed in London. This is how the Russian American Telegraph began. In British Columbia, it was known as the Collins Overland Telegraph.

Later Life

In 1876, Perry Collins moved to New York City. He lived in the St. Denis Hotel in Lower Manhattan for almost 25 years. When he died on January 18, 1900, he left a large fortune. Seventeen years later, his niece used $550,000 from his estate to create scholarships at New York University.