Seaborn J. Collins was instrumental in developing the Baptist faith throughout the Seattle, WA area for African Americans.
Collins was born and raised in Georgia. He moved to the Seattle area with his wife, Alzada, and son in 1885. After arriving in Seattle, Collins found work as a mechanic and carpenter. He would later invest in local real estate and in 1888 purchased the Yesler neighborhood. Collins built a two-story house on the property which at the time was valued at $1,000. Three years later, the Collins family became the first African Americans to move to the Madison District, a middle-class suburban community on the northeastern edge of Seattle.
Collins was a charter member of the First African American Republican Club, and in 1892 he was nominated to run as the Republican nominee for the office of wreckmaster. He defeated Democratic nominee John A. Coleman and became the first African American elected official in King County.Three years later, the Collins family became the first African Americans to move to the Madison District, a middle-class suburban community on the northeastern edge of Seattle.
Collins was a charter member of the First African American Republican Club, and in 1892 he was nominated to run as the Republican nominee for the office of wreckmaster. He defeated Democratic nominee John A. Coleman and became the first African American elected official in King County.
Collins strong faith led him to gather the few African American children in the neighborhood and he formed the area’s first Sunday School. Collins served as one of the trustees for the first Baptist church in the city, the Jones Street AME Church which later became the Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
y 1900, Collins was the presiding elder at the Jones Street AME church. He continued to pastor churches for the remainder of his life in the Pacific Northwest, preaching at churches in Franklin, Roslyn, Tacoma, and Spokane.
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