Jackson's militant priest, county recorder at odds over marriage licenses

Rev. Michael D. Collins, circa 1914 (Google Books; The Lyceum Magazine, Vol. 24)

The Rev. Michael D. Collins, pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jackson, didn't see eye-to-eye with Cape Girardeau County Recorder of Deeds G.M. Siemers about Missouri's marriage licenses.

Collins — who studied at Niagara University in Lewiston, New York; St. Mary's College in Baltimore and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, where he was ordained in 1897 — apparently thought "Catholic priest" should be among the choices on licenses of those who officiated weddings, instead of just "magistrate" and "preacher of the gospel."

The first sign of trouble arouse in January 1915, when it was reported in the Cape Girardeau newspaper that Siemers refused to record a marriage license because it had been altered by Collins.

Published Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1915, in The (Cape Girardeau) Daily Republican:

JACKSON PAIR ARE MARRIED SECOND TIME FOR SAFETY

FIRST BY PRIEST AND THEN BY MAGISTRATE — DOUBT ABOUT WORD IN CERTIFICATE.

JACKSON, Jan. 20 — A controversy has arisen between the recorder of deeds and Father (Michael D.) Collins of the Immaculate Conception Church, in regard to the marriage record in the recorder’s office. The marriage license, as filled out and sealed and signed by the recorder, says, among other things, that this permits any magistrate or preacher of the gospel to perform the marriage ceremony. Father Collins erased the word preacher and substituted the word priest. The recorder refused to file the license for the record, and was waiting for the court to pass on this question for him. Meanwhile John M. Shields and Miss (Hazel) Roussel were married by Father Collins, and when Mr. Shields found out about the state of affairs in the recorder’s office, he procured another license and was married a second time by Justice (J.A.) Armstrong. Just what the court will decide in this matter is the interesting part of the whole affair, and for the benefit of all concerned, it should be settled soon. The recorder claims that no one has the right to alter any document after it is signed, sealed, and delivered, and wants to know what the court may instruct him to do in the matter.

This is the second marriage license issued John M. Shields and Hazel Roussel by the Cape Girardeau County Recorder of Deeds. (Ancestry.com)

There was no follow-up to this story that I could find, and that may have been because Collins was out of town immediately after the article was published. For about a year, all was peaceful in the halls of the Cape Girardeau County courthouse. But on Dec. 9, 1916, the same argument arose once more.

This time, Siemers not only spoke his mind to a Republican newspaper reporter, he also recorded his opinion in writing, scribbling a line in the margin of a marriage license book about Collins and the liberties he took with an official, sealed county document.

Published Saturday, Dec. 9, 1916, in The Daily Republican:

RECORDER REFUSES TO RECORD LICENSE

FATHER COLLINS STRIKES OUT WORD ‘PREACHER’ IN THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE.

JACKSON, Dec. 9 — The feud between Father M.D. Collins of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church here and Recorder G.M. Siemers was again renewed this morning when a young pair who were married by Father Collins a few weeks ago came to the office of the recorder to file for record their certificate of marriage. The recorder refused to record the certificate, as he had done previously, on the ground that Father Collins struck out the word "Preacher" in the certificate, or license, and substituted therefor the words “Catholic Priest” after the recorder had signed and sealed with official seal the document in question.

The recorder claims that no one has any right to change anything after it has been officially signed and the seal attached. Father Collins, on the other hand, claims that he is not a “preacher” but a “priest” and therefore can not certify that he, as a preacher, performed the ceremony, and therefore further has the right to change the certificate as aforesaid.

This contention has been existing between the two for some time and crops out anew every time Father Collins performs a ceremony.

The Albert Bullinger-Louise Kern marriage license sports a hand-written message (below, with transcription) scribbled in its margin at left. (Ancestry.com)

Transcription: This license was recorded before (being) taken out of the office by the parties. When license was returned, the word “Preacher” was scratched (out) and the words “Catholic Priest” were written in above my signature and seal, and (I) refuse to file license for record.

The Rev. Michael D. Collins had a long history of run-ins with all kinds of people during his 42 years as a Catholic priest serving the Archdiocese of St. Louis, including members of his own parish.

His first brush with notoriety occurred in the fall of 1907. Having been assigned the pastorate at St. Marys, south of Ste. Genevieve, Collins came up against a faction wanting to keep liquor flowing, even on Sundays. Various newspapers of the time report that, after celebrating his first Sunday Masses at the church, Collins went around to the saloons in the town, asking the proprietors to close their doors during Mass times.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Sept. 9, 1907: "The (towns)people were Catholics, but of a most independent kind. They had no patience with a priest who attempted to oppose their Sunday diversions, and no priest stayed there very long.

"Into this town of St. Marys Father Collins went to teach that the Sabbath was a holy day.

"He is a man of about 35 years, 6 feet tall, thin as a fence rail, his coarse black hair standing straight up from his forehead like the stiff bristles on a scrubbing brush...

"When Father Collins celebrated his first Mass in St. Marys in the brick church on the hill, there were only about 50 persons in the congregation, and the sounds of the fiddles from the dance halls told where the others were.

"He went to each of the five saloons and made this proposition to the owners:

"'Sir, I am the priest of this parish. I come to ask you to keep your saloon closed each Sunday until after the last Mass. If you will do that, I will not bother you.'

"Each of the five saloon keepers made him exactly the same answer. It was, 'You go to Hell.'

"The next Sunday the saloons and dance halls were open again, ,and there were more persons drunk on the streets than were at Mass...

"The priest marched down again, wearing his sacred vestments, but this time he carried a cane, and he went first to the dance halls.

"He held the cane aloft and declared that if the dance halls were open the following Sunday he would drive out the young men of his congregation with his cane. He went to each of the saloons again and warned them:

"'This time I have come to you. The next time I have business with you, you will come to me.'

"The fighting priest then filled out his complaints against the five saloon keepers and served them himself.

"On the day the cases were to be tried, Father Collins was sick in bed, slowly recovering from an attack of pneumonia, but he arose, went to the court and appeared there as the prosecutor of the saloon keepers.

"When his authority was questioned, he drew from his pocket a certificate of admission to the bar. He was an attorney.

"The saloon men soon saw that even one determined man could force them to obey the law. They held a meeting and agreed to close the saloons and dance halls all day Sunday, and they have kept the agreement. For several months not a drop of liquor has been sold in St. Marys on Sunday."

Not only was Collins a priest and , according to the above article, an attorney, he was also a passionate letter writer. My first encounter with his epistles was one entitled "Any Scotch-Irish in Cape County? No such animal", published Oct. 4, 1913, in The Daily Republican. Collins' letter was an answer to a feature story the Republican printed about the "interesting life of 'Uncle Andy' Caldwell of Fruitland". The story claimed that the Caldwell family, along with others who settled in Cape Girardeau County before the Civil War, were of Scotch and Scotch-Irish descent.

Collins took exception to that claim in a lengthy letter, printed in three parts in three editions.

A reply was then published by The Republican Oct. 24, 1913, written by L.R. Johnson, a faculty member of the Normal School in Cape Girardeau. He wrote, in part: "I regret to take issue with my friend, Father Collins, but when he makes the amazing assertion that there existed no such persons as the Scot-Irishs [sic] and even attempts to prove it by historical references, I feel that some reply should be made... If there is one thing in the history of the colonies so well authenticated as to defy controversy, it is the fact that the Scot-Irish not only emigrated to this country in large numbers but by qualities inherent in the race have exercised a very considerable influence on the national life..."

Collins and Johnson traded letters back and forth in the pages of The Republican through early December 1913.

Collins was not only something of an expert on Irish history, he was also much in demand as a lecturer, his main subjects being "Mexico" and "Our Phoenician Ancestors". He was a regular speaker at Chautauqua gatherings in Missouri, using his vacations to go on the lecture circuit.

His talks also included anti-British sentiments as Europe barreled into World War I. His pro-German/anti-British utterings and writings eventually got him in trouble with the federal government. In June 1917, a report leaked out that Collins would be interrogated by "government agents if not a grand jury" for remarks he allegedly made against Liberty Bonds, advising people not to buy them, as they "were not worth the paper they were written on."

In April 1918 Deputy U.S. Marshal George Orchard received warrants to arrest several local men, including Collins, who had been indicted by a federal grand jury in St. Louis for disloyal talk. But it's doubtful the arrest was ever made, as Collins was (again) out of town when the warrants came down.

Published April 19, 1918, in the Southeast Missourian:

FATHER COLLINS IS NOW ENGAGED IN GOV'T WORK

REPORTED THAT HE WAS CALLED TO WASHINGTON BY UNCLE SAM

IS SAID TO BE IN CHICAGO MAKING PATRIOTIC SPEECHES...

The indictment of the Rev. M.J. (should read M.D.) Collins, the Catholic priest at Jackson, by the recent federal grand jury, naturally causes much surprise, even though the priest took a leading part in discussing the war from the day Germany started the invasion of Belgium.

Father Collins contributed a series of articles to The Missourian about that time that were rabidly pro-German. Being of Irish descent he had a bitter feeling against England and his views on the war were extremely radical. Finally his articles became so strong that The Missourian refused to publish them, although America had taken no official hand in the war.

In 1915 Father Collins sent an article to this paper on the subject of "Do Americans Want War?" in which he upheld the sinking of the Lusitania and criticized the United States for permitting the English government to draw it into the war against a long-suffering German empire. It was a most radical article and the last one published by this paper on the subject.

Father Collins then contributed his stuff to a Jackson paper, with the result that he made many enemies who had not been stirred up prior to that time.

Sermons don't please

After being barred from the newspapers, it is alleged by members of his congregation that he began preaching disloyalty, making statements so strong that some members left the services during the sermon. On one occasion, it is said, a member got up to go out during a sermon when the priest called to him to wait and hear the truth. This member is said to have been a witness before the recent grand jury.

Several members of his church, among them being a few women, were before the grand jury, and it is said, that a number of Jackson people outside his church were called.

Some time ago it was reported in Jackson that Father Collins had remarked in public that Liberty Bonds were not worth the paper they were written on and opposed their purchase. He made such a complete denial of the charge that it was never heard from again.

The Missourian tried to get Father Collins on the phone Wednesday and was told that he is now in Chicago. The lady who answered the phone said that Father Collins went to Washington two weeks ago on a call from the government and she presumed he was wanted for patriotic work. He went from Washington to Chicago and it is understood that he is there now aiding in some departmental activity. The lady said she did not know when he would return.

The priest will be expected to give bond for his appearance at the October term of federal court in Cape Girardeau. It is though that no special effort will be made by the marshal to apprehend him as it is thought that Father Collins will make no effort to evade trial...

Several days later, Collins' side of the story appeared in the newspaper.

Published April 23, 1918, in the Southeast Missourian:

FATHER COLLINS EXPLAINS POSITION

SAYS HE WAS PRO-GERMAN UNTIL AMERICA ENTERED THE WAR

Father M.D. Collins, the Jackson priest who was indicted for disloyalty by the recent federal grand jury, was in Cape Girardeau today. He told The Missourian that he does not fear the outcome of any proceedings taken against him.

He says he was strongly pro-German before the United States was pulled into the war. He was opposed to America's entrance into the war, he says, and exercised the right t0 say so. He also took a strong stand on all occasions for Germany as against England, he says, and has no apologies to make. But, when the United States entered the war after President Wilson gave his 14 reasons for declaring a state of war, he says he endorsed the President and has stood for his country loyally...

A year later, charges against him were dismissed.

Collins remained as pastor of Immaculate Conception in Jackson until the fall of 1921. In September of that year, St. Louis Archbishop John Glennon decided to establish a new Catholic parish in Glendale, and Collins was called as the founding pastor of Mary, Queen of Peace, Catholic Church.

He purchased two acres of land and had a small frame church erected on the site. It served the parish until Oct. 8, 1933, when it was destroyed by a fire. In an ecumenical move that should be an example to us all, the Webster Hills Methodist Church offered the use of its auditorium, and parishioners of Mary, Queen of Peace, attended Mass there the following Sunday. Subsequently, according to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published April 27, 1934, the 130 members of the Catholic church "attended Mass at Rev. Collins' residence...(in) Glendale." The Globe-Democrat, however, said the Catholic and Methodist congregations continued to share the Methodist building until a new Mary, Queen of Angels, was erected.

The cornerstone for the new, $11,000 stone church was laid Sept. 23, 1934, at the same location as the original edifice. It was dedicated June 16, 1935. In speaking of the new church to a reporter for the St. Louis News-Times (June 14, 1935), Collins said, "This structure replaces the one blown up by a bomb in the hands of a vandal, affiliated with certain groups who do not look eye to eye with myself on industrial and economic questions."

Collins may have been a bit paranoid. I found no suggestion that the fire that destroyed the first Mary, Queen of Peace, was anything but accidental.

Collins continued to serve the Glendale parish until his death Feb. 23, 1939. Numerous newspapers throughout the state carried obituaries at his passing, including the Southeast Missourian on Feb. 24, 1939. Unfortunately, several of the statements made in that article — including the years of his service at Immaculate Conception in Jackson — were in error.

Here's what the St. Louis Globe Democrat said about the "militant priest" in its Feb. 25, 1939 edition:

FR. COLLINS TO BE BURIED MONDAY

MILITANT PRIEST SUCCUMBS TO HEART DISEASE

Funeral services for the Rev. Michael D. Collins, pastor of the Catholic Church of Mary, Queen of Peace, in Glendale, St. Louis County, who died Friday night at St. Mary's Hospital, will be held at 10 a.m. Monday from the church, Berry Road and Beverly Avenue. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery. Father Collins, who was 70, died after a week's illness from heart disease.

In the more than 40 years of his priesthood, he built up a reputation as a militant and fire champion of the causes he believed to be right. When he was a priest at St. Marys, Missouri, just south of Ste. Genevieve, in 1907, he waged a successful one-man fight to have saloons and dance halls closed on Sunday, and won wide publicity in his efforts to clean up the river town. Sentiment among the saloon element was so strong against him that he was stoned, and was ordered from the town. But Father Collins fought the fight to a successful finish. Gov. (Joseph W.) Folk went to St. Marys to attend a picnic given by the priest, and backed his efforts.

Eloquent orator

A tall, impressive figure with a talent for oratory, Father Collins got into difficulties with federal authorities during the World War because of militant pacifism. For his alleged utterances against wartime organizations, he was indicted by the government in 1918, but the charges were dropped. Father Collins was keenly interested in current affairs, particularly the labor movement. Many years before it was generally talked of, he advocated the five-day week.

Before becoming a priest, Father Collins was a railroad telegrapher in North Salem, New York, where he was born, and continued working part time while attending Niagara University. He was once president of the Order of Railway Telegraphers of America.

He was ordained at Kenrick Seminary here in 1897, and was assistant pastor of St. John's Church, Sixteenth and Chestnut streets, before going to Jonesburg, Missouri, to assume a pastorate. He served in churches at St. Marys, and later in Jackson, Missouri, before founding the Mary, Queen of Peace, Church in 1921.

Surviving Father Collins are a sister, Mrs. Margaret Spaulding of Katonah, New York, and a cousin, Mrs. Clara J. Murphy of Glendale.