Barnabas Collins was born the son of Joshua and Naomi Collins in 1770 (1012). As a young man, he became active in the family business traveling to China and the Caribbean. He developed close ties with his uncle, Jeremiah Collins (some sources indicate that Jeremiah and Barnabas were brothers due to the closeness of their ages, but this has since been proven erroneous). Other members of Barnabas’ immediate family included his aunt, Abigail, his beloved sister, Sarah, and his cousins, Millicent Collins and Daniel Collins. As a child, Barnabas had developed a crush on his uncle's first wife, Laura Stockbridge Collins (760), who died suddenly in 1785 (741) (not knowing at the time that she was a Phoenix).