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Joshua Collins Gallery
Joshua Collins
Production Information
Portrayed by

Louis Edmonds
Andrew Collins

First appearance

367

Last appearance

661

Episode count

37

Audio appearances

Blood and Fire

Biographical Information
Name

Joshua Collins

Age

65 (1795)

Date of birth

1730

Year of death

1805

Origin

Maine, New England, USA

Profession

Merchant, Owner of the Collins Shipping Fleet
Veteran of The Revolutionary War

Family members

Unnamed Father (Deceased)
Naomi Collins (Wife)
Barnabas Collins (Son)
Sarah Collins (Daughter)
Abigail Collins (Sister)
Jeremiah Collins (Brother)

We have 3 images of Dark Shadows Joshua Collins

Joshua Collins (1730-1805) was the patriarch of the Collins family of Maine during the latter half of the 18th century until his death in 1805. He was known as the father of Barnabas Collins. Joshua was the grandson of Isaac Collins who founded Collinsport in the late seventeenth century. 

Background[]

Early Life[]

Joshua Collins, born in 1730, was the older brother of Abigail Collins and Jeremiah Collins. Due to his harsh personality and his control over the estate, his relationships with his siblings was strained and often cold.

He married Naomi Collins in 1767, and gave her the Old House as a wedding present. Their marriage was not always a happy or harmonious one (605). He had a son named Barnabas Collins and later in 1786, a daughter named Sarah.

Military Service[]

Joshua was enlisted to fight in The Revolutionary War in 1775, as a member of the Continental Army, and possibly fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, on July 17, 1775. He used the secret room in the family mausoleum along with the other soldiers, to store jewels and ammunition, after fighting the British (676). After the War's conclusion in 1783, Joshua was badly injured, and had to be carried into the house, and didn’t even recognize his own son Barnabas, which made the young Barnabas cry, but he cried in secret out of worry, his father Joshua would be mad to see him cry. (409)

The Curse[]

JoshuaBarnabas460

In 1795, Joshua underwent emotional turmoil as he watched each of his family members die off one by one. First, a bullet felled his younger brother, Jeremiah, during a duel with Barnabas (384). Joshua was grieved by the scandal surrounding his brother's death and published the story that Jeremiah had been cleaning his pistol when it accidentally went off—this was the first time Joshua altered history for the sake of the family's honor (392). He watched his son wither away and die from a mysterious illness (406-409), only to learn later that Barnabas had been resurrected as one of the un-dead (446). A short time later, young Sarah passed away from a sudden illness (415). Abigail died very suddenly afterwards (432), followed by his wife Naomi's suicide (458). 

While the vampire curse destroyed many of the people around him, Joshua was spared from the wrath of Angelique because he was unable to love his own son (Angelique's curse specified that Barnabas was fated to destroy those who loved him). Unable to end his son's torment once and for all, Joshua instead sealed Barnabas inside a coffin in the secret room in the Collins family mausoleum (460). 

Later Life[]

Following the deaths of his immediate family, Joshua resolved to adopt the orphaned Daniel Collins and care for the now-insane Millicent Collins the best he could. He hoped he would make a better father to Daniel than he ever had to his own natural children. Prior to his internment, Barnabas gave his blessing to this plan. He gave Ben Stokes his freedom before death and some land to start a new life, at his son's request. (460)

Little is known of Joshua following this event, but he lived on until finally passing away in the year 1805, at the age of seventy five.

following his death his adoptive son Daniel became his heir (Millicent being insane). Joshua's remains were interred next to those of his wife and daughter inside the Collins family mausoleum at Eagle Hill Cemetery. His cousin/adoptive son Daniel bore a striking resemblance to Joshua when he grew up.

Blood and Fire[]

In the 1760s, Joshua Collins was to marry Laura Murdoch Stockbridge, while his sister Abigail Collins, was to marry a desirable sailor named Abaraham Harkaway.

Laura was consumed by fire, In October 26, 1767, and she became a phoenix (Blood and Fire).

Background information and notes[]

  • In 210, the Collins family mausoleum shows the following dates: Joshua Collins: Born 1755, Died 1830 and Naomi Collins: Born 1761, Died 1821. However, in 458 Naomi's death is shown on-screen to occur in the year 1796. Accordingly these dates have been adjusted in order to retain the originally stated ages at the time of death and the age gap between Joshua and Naomi. So, Joshua's becomes: Born 1730, Died 1805 and Naomi's becomes: Born 1736, Died 1796. If Joshua Collins were born in 1755, as originally stated, he would have been fifteen years old at Barnabas' birth.
  • In real life, Louis Edmonds was a little over one year older than his on-screen "son" Jonathan Frid, and was in his mid-forties during the 1795 storyline rather than Joshua's mid-sixties.

Appearances[]

367, 368/369, 372, 373, 378, 382, 383, 387, 392, 395, 399, 401, 407, 409, 410, 411, 416, 422, 423, 424, 426, 428, 434, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 458, 459, 460, 623, 661

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