Mr. MacCollum was brought up on a farm, and passed through the usual experiences of a farmer's boy. He received his education in the public schools of New York City and Hudson County, N. J., having been born in West Hoboken, November 25, 1823. He is the son of Benjamin MacCollum and Hannah, daughter of Garret Van Vorst, and a grandson of Peter MacCollum. On the paternal side he descends from ancestors who were of Scotch-Irish antecedents, and who came to the United States from the North of Ireland. His father, Benjamin MacCollum, was born in Belleville, N. J., in 1790, and died in 1847. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, serving in the Dragoons. He was engaged in business as a tanner. His children were Mary, Susan. Sarah Ann, Cornelius, Garret, and John. On his mother's side Mr. MacCollum descends from the old Dutch family of Van Vorst, the founder of which in America came from Holland to New York during the early colonial period. His grandfather, Garret Van Vorst, was a patriot soldier during the Revolution. He died near New Durham, N. J., in 1833.