On September 27, 1851, the Collins Party encounters Denny Party scouts at Duwamish Head. These two groups will be the first non-Indian settlers of the Seattle area. David Denny (1832-1903), John Low (1820-1888), and Lee Terry (1818-1862) are camping on Duwamish Head near a Duwamish Indian village. That evening a scow passes carrying Luther Collins (1813-1860), Diana (Borst) Collins (1816-1876), and their two children; Henry Van Asselt (1817-1902); Jacob Maple (1798-1884); and Jacob's grown son Samuel Maple (1827-1880) along with their household goods. The two parties greet each other and the scow continues on toward the Duwamish River where members of the Collins Party have selected Donation Land Claims.
Names and Ages of the Collins Party upon Their Arrival on the Duwamish on September 27, 1851
- Luther Collins, about 37
- Diana (Borst) Collins, about 36
- Lucinda Collins, 13 or 14
- Stephen Collins, about 7
- Jacob Maple, 53
- Samuel A. Maple, 23
- Henry Van Asselt, 34
Sources:
Arthur A. Denny, Pioneer Days on Puget Sound (Seattle: C. B. Bagley, Printer, 1888), 10-11; Emily Inez Denny, Blazing the Way: True Stories and Sketches of Puget Sound and Other Pioneers (Seattle: Rainier Printing Company, Inc., 1909), 43-45, 214-215, 217-218.
Note: Lee Terry's dates were corrected on November 12, 2009.
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