birth date found at http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi
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Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1956 Record Immigration & Travel
Name: Kreigh Collins
Birth: 1 Jan 1908 in Iowa
Arrival: 29 Jun 1928 in Quebec
Departure: Cherbourg, France
Name: Kreigh Collins
Arrival Date: 29 Jun 1928
Port of Arrival: St Albans, Vermont, United States
Ship Name: Empress of Australia
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Age: 20 Years 6 Months
Birth Date: 1 Jan 1908
Birth Place: Iowa
Birth Country: United States
Gender: Male
Record Type: Manifests

532 Gladstone Avenue, Grand Rapids, Mich.
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United States Census, 1930 for Kreigh T Collins

Image is not available for this record on FamilySearch.

Name: Kreigh T Collins
Event: CENSUS
Event Date: 1930
Event Place: Chicago (Districts 1501-1750), Cook, Illinois
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Birthplace: Iowa
Estimated Birth Year: 1908
Immigration Year:
Relationship to Head of Household: Head
Father's Birthplace: Illinois
Mother's Birthplace: Iowa
Enumeration District Number: 1731
Family Number: 31
Sheet Number and Letter: 31B
Line Number: 55
NARA Publication: T626, roll 489
Film Number: 2340224
Digital Folder Number: 4584290
Image Number: 00328
Household Gender Age
Kreigh T Collins M 22
Spouse Theresa Collins F 23
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http://www.americandecorativeart.com/lost.html

Lost Titles of Kreigh T. Collins

Kreigh T. (Taylor) Collins majored in art at Cincinnati (Ohio) High School. He also studied art in Cleveland (1924-1925), and in 1925 opened his own studio. He met Theresa VanderLaan, whom he married in 1929 after a year spent studying in Paris (with visits to North Africa). She became the model for characters in “Up Anchor” and “Kevin the Bold,” as well as model for many of his sketches and paintings. They moved to Chicago in 1929, where he made illustrations for an advertising agency. In the fall of 1930 the Collins family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he again took up advertising illustration. In 1931, he and Theresa returned to Paris where he studied and first began to concentrate on landscape painting.
They returned to the United States in the midst of the Depression, but Collins did well by selling landscapes he painted while living in the small village of Leland, Michigan. He also contracted with a newspaper syndicate to illustrate the “Do You Know” series by Willis Atwell for the Michigan Centennial. He painted portraits in Ohio, eight murals in Dallas, Texas, and landscapes in Taos, New Mexico. All this work caught up with him and by 1937 he could no longer use his right arm to paint. He discovered that he could make line drawings by resting his elbow on the arm rest of a chair with his forearm on a drawing board. The Methodist Publishing House, which had until then bought only a few of his travel sketches, started sending him large quantities of work. He also illustrated the Informative Classroom “Teaching Pictures.” In 1941 he found he could do a small amount of painting again without pain and it was then that he must have worked on book illutrations for the John C. Winston Company of Philadelphia.
In 1948 Collins syndicated a comic strip titled “Mitzi McCoy.” The strip was a great success, and in 1950 “Kevin The Bold” was launched. “Kevin” was equally successful, and had a long run. Then in 1968 Collins started a new type of comic strip “Up Anchor” which was a departure from either the adventure or the slapstick styles then in vogue. The new strip followed the daily lives of a family on a sailboat. This strip proved to be a success, and continued until Collins’ retirement in 1973. Collins died on January 8, 1974.
His wife gave many of his papers and much of his art work to the Grand Rapids Public Library where it is still being catalogued. But much of his illustration work needs research because there is no comprehensive list of the books he worked on. The illustrations shown below were apparently used in a book or books published by John C. Winston at about the same time (1942) as they published The Lone Woodsman. One series seems to be about the adventures of two American boys on a South Pacific island while the other seems to document Pre-Columbian culture in South America. Any information leading to identifying the book titles would be appreciated.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.grpl.org%2Fwiki%2Fimages%2F056.pdf

Grand Rapids History & Special Collections
Archives
GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC LIBRARY
Finding Aid for the
Illustrations & Papers of Kreigh T. Collins
Collection # 056
September 2009 version

Illustrations & Papers of Kreigh Collins
Coll #56
Biography (in revision & inaccurate still in parts)

Kreigh T. (Taylor) Collins was born in Davenport, Iowa, January 1, 1908, to Stephen W. and
Nora C. Collins. He attended high school at Cincinnati (Ohio) High, where he majored in art, but
dropped out at 16 to pursue art in earnest. He studied art in Cleveland (1924-1925), and in 1925 opened
his own studio. It was during this period that he met Theresa VanderLaan, whom he married in 1929
after a year spent studying in Paris (with visits to North Africa). She became the model for many of his
characters, especially in “Up Anchor” and “Kevin the Bold,” as well as model for many of his sketches,
paintings, and studies. They moved to Chicago in 1929, where he worked for an advertising agency.
Collins disliked advertising illustration. In the fall of 1930 the Collins family moved to Grand Rapids,
Michigan, where he again took up advertising illustration. Then, in 1931, he and Theresa, returned to
Paris, where he worked and studied, and first began to concentrate on his landscapes.
Upon their return to the states, the Depression was severe, but Collins did well, and in 1935
painted and sold many landscapes in the small village of Leland, Michigan. Then, in 1935-1936, he
contracted with a newspaper syndicate to illustrate the "Do You Know" series by Willis Atwell for the
Michigan Centennial. During the next two years, he painted portraits in Ohio, eight 20' X 40' or larger
murals in Dallas, and landscapes in Taos, New Mexico. All the work caught up with him, and in late
1937 he could no longer use his right arm to paint. He discovered, however, that he could make line
drawings by resting his elbow on the arm rest of a chair and his forearm on the drawing board. The
Methodist Publishing House, which had until then bought only a few of his travel sketches, started
sending him large quantities of work. He also illustrated the Informative Classroom "Teaching
Pictures." In 1941 he found he could do a small amount of painting again without pain, and among
other projects painted an official portrait of Supreme Court Justice McDonald.
In 1948 Collins signed an agreement with NEA to syndicate a comic strip to be titled "Mitzi
McCoy." The strip was a great success, and in 1950 "Kevin The Bold" was launched. "Kevin" was
equally successful, and had a long run. Then in 1968 Collins started a new type of comic strip "Up
Anchor" which was a departure from either the adventure or the slapstick form, the prevalent types then
in vogue. The new strip followed the daily lives of a family on a sailboat. This strip also proved to be a
success, and continued until Collins' retirement in 1973 due to ill health.
Collins died on January 8, 1974. Theresa Collins died January 9, 2008, with the obituary and
photo published in the Grand Rapids Press on Jan. 16, 2008. They had four sons, Eric, David, Glen, and
Kevin.
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U.S. Social Security Death Index for Kreigh Collins

First Name: Kreigh
Middle Name:
Last Name: Collins
Name Suffix:
Birth Date: 1 January 1908
Social Security Number: 368-34-6879
Place of Issuance: Michigan
Last Residence: Kent, Michigan
Zip Code of Last Residence: 49301
Death Date: January 1974
Estimated Age at Death: 66
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<HTML><META HTTP-EQUIV="content-type" CONTENT="text/html;charset=utf-8"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New',courier,monospace; FONT-SIZE: 14px">https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95907069
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Kreigh Collins
Birth 1908
Death 12 Jan 1974 (aged 65–66)
Burial
Ada Cemetery
Ada, Kent County, Michigan, USA
Plot sec: A-N A4-022-1E
Memorial ID 95907069 · View Source

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