PART
TWO
The Second
Gloucestershire Line - 1550 to 1850
This
is the first of four sections of Part Two of the Collett family
Updated November 2022
This part deals with a line of the
Collett family that runs parallel to the one depicted in Part One. It is unusual in that it is connected to it
by the marriage of John Collett (Ref. 1F9) below, and Elizabeth Venfield in
1593 at the beginning, and by the marriage of Harry James Collett (Ref. 2P30)
and Alice Louisa Collett (Ref. 1P60) in 1909 at the end. In succeeding to establish the starting point
of this line, a life-long ambition has been achieved. All of the years of perseverance and
determination to unearth the link has been rewarded, the results of which are contained
within the contents of the three sections of Part Two.
Very special thanks must also go to Gordon John
Collett (Ref. 3Q5) of Boston in Lincolnshire, who unwittingly provided the
details that enabled the missing link to be found. John contacted me in December 2001 via the
Collett website of Don Collett in Australia, to whom my earlier work had been
given. In seeking my help with his own
family line, John kindly sent me all the information he and his son Martin
Collett (Ref. 3R3), also of Australia, had amassed. And it was from clues provided therein that I
was able to make the final link.
This part of the family
history is therefore jointly dedicated to father and son John and Martin
Collett.
During 2015, vital new
information was generously provided by Geoff E Collett (Ref. 2R18) of Coughton
in Warwickshire. Geoff’s research has
established his earliest known ancestor as Richard Collett (Ref. 2J17) in 1687,
and from whom his later ancestors settled in the village of Coughton, where
they have been living for the past 125 years.
JOHN COLLETT [2F1 & 1F9] was born in 1548 at Over
Slaughter. He married Elizabeth Venfield
of Naunton in 1583. In 1591 John
Collett, with his brother Thomas Collett (Ref. 1F8) and Richard Perratt they were
listed as Trustees of the Lands of Upper Slaughter which were purchased and
conveyed for the repair of the church and the relief of the poor. John’s son Anthony (below) married Margaret
Perratt who is likely to be Richard Perratt’s daughter. John Collett was Joint Lord of the Manor of Naunton with Giles Venfield, who was possibly
John’s brother-in-law, and that took place following the purchase of the
property by Giles Venfield around 1600.
However, and following the death of John Collett at Naunton in
1605 and his Will was proved later that same year, it is documented that Giles
Venfield and John Collett were still Joint Lords of the Manor in 1608. That very likely means the joint lordship was
passed to John’s eldest son of the same name
2G1 – John Collett was born in 1584 at
Naunton
2G2 – Sarah Collett was born in 1586 at
Naunton
2G3 – Henry Collett was born in 1588 at
Naunton
2G4 – Edmund Collett was born in 1590 at
Naunton
2G5 – Alice Collett was born in 1592 at
Naunton
2G6 – ANTHONY COLLETT was born in 1594 at
Naunton
John Collett [2G1] born at Naunton
around 1584, the first-born child of John Collett of Over Slaughter and
Elizabeth Venfield of Naunton. John was
mentioned in the 1608 Visitation, when he was also confirmed as Joint Lord of
the Manor of Naunton with Giles Venfield, a position he had inherited from his
father and namesake following his death in 1605. On the death of Giles Venfield in 1612, his
half of the manor passed to his son Thomas Venfield, who had sold it to William
Rogers by 1650. John Collett married
Anne Peart and was known as Lord of the Manor of Naunton up until his death in
1641, after which his half of the manor passed to his cousin Henry Collett
(Ref. 14G2) in 1642. As the nephew of Anthony Collett (Ref. 14F1),
vis-a-vis the son of Anthony’s older brother John Collett, ‘John Collett of
Naunton’ was named as one of three trustees to Anthony’s Will of 1627 for which
he was paid five shillings and was also a witness at the signing of the Will (see
Will in Legal Documents)
John Collett died in 1641
and was buried at Naunton and his Will was proved that same year. The couple had no children and after his
death Anne lived in Bourton-on-the-Water, although her body was returned to
Over Slaughter for burial on 3rd September 1678. John’s Will referred to his natural brother
Edmund Collett (below) and his wife Esther and their four children, his eldest
brother Henry Collett (below) and his wife Judith Collett, both of Upper
Slaughter, and their sons Henry Collett, Edmund Collett, and Richard Collett,
and their five daughters. It also referred to
Henry Collett of Nethercott and his son Anthony Collett and three other
children, John Collett - the eldest son of brother Anthony Collett (below) and
the rest of Anthony’s children, his sister Sarah Thorne (below) and her husband
Edmund Thorne and their children, and cousin John Collett of Gloucester. The sole executor of the Will was John
Collett’s youngest brother Anthony Collett (below) of Nether Slaughter
Sarah Collett [2G2] was born at
Naunton around 1586, the eldest daughter of John and Elizabeth Collett, who
later married Edmund (or Edward) Thorne and had a son Edmund, plus other
children
Henry Collett [2G3] of Upper Slaughter
was born at Naunton around 1588,
where he was also baptised, another son of John and Elizabeth Collett. Henry married Judith with whom he had nine
children, all of them baptised at Naunton.
Later in their lives Henry and Judith were referred to as being ‘of
Slaughter’. Henry’s cousin Henry Collett
(Ref. 14G2), of Bourton-on-the Water and the husband of Ann Lombard, made his
Will in 1645. In that document he
bequeathed to ‘Henry Collett and Judith Collett of Slaughter’ an annual supply
of wood to the value of five shillings per annum. The Will stipulated a time limit for the offer
of the wood, which would cease when the second son reached the age of 21
years. The burial records at Naunton
state that old Henry Collett was buried there on 4th June 1664,
while Elizabeth, relict of Old Henry Collett was buried with him on 9th
December 1667. On both occasions, the
parish register recorded the surname as Colet.
It now seems highly likely that it was Henry’s sons Edmund, who was
married to Grace since, widow Grace Collett of Naunton was buried at Notgrove
on 8th
January 1714. During the previous year,
Anne Miles, the last child of Thomas Miles and Elizabeth Collett, was baptised
at Notgrove on 24th May 1713, so it is possible that Elizabeth was
the daughter of Grace Collett
2H1 - Henry Collett was born in 1608 at
Naunton
2H2 - Alice Collett was baptised on 29th July 1610 at Naunton
2H3 - John Collett was baptised on 1st December 1611 at Naunton
2H4 - Elizabeth Collett was baptised on 20th February 1613
at Naunton
2H5 - Edmund Collett was born in 1618 at
Naunton
2H6 - Ann Collett was baptised on 26th November 1620 at Naunton
2H7 - Joan Collett was baptised on 17th December 1622 at Naunton
2H8 - Brigid Collett was baptised on 6th October 1625 at
Naunton
2H9 - Richard Collett was born in 1627 at
Naunton
Edmund Collett [2G4] was born at Naunton around 1590, the
fourth child of John and Elizabeth Collett, and was baptised at Naunton on 10th
January 1593. After his marriage to
Esther Brown, the couple settled in Gloucester, where their four children were
born
2H10 - Edmund Collett was born at Gloucester
2H11 - John Collett was born at Gloucester
2H12 - Sarah Collett was born at Gloucester
2H13 - Elizabeth Collett was born at Gloucester
Alice Collett [2G5] was born at
Naunton around 1592, another daughter of John and Elizabeth Collett, who was
also baptised at Naunton. She died in
1625 never having married and was living in Winchcombe at the time of her
death. Her Will was proved in 1625. The Winchcombe connection may be associated
with John Thorne and his wife Elizabeth both of whom were referred to in the
Will of John Collett (above) as being ‘of Winchcombe’. Alice’s sister Sarah Collett (above) also
married into the Thorne family
ANTHONY COLLETT [2G6] of Nether
Slaughter was born around 1594 at Naunton, but was not baptised there, the last
child of John Collett of Over Slaughter and his wife Elizabeth Venfield of
Naunton. Anthony married Margaret
Perratt of Over Slaughter on 9th October 1614. Margaret was the daughter of Nicholas Perratt
and was born at Naunton in 1595. Anthony
was referred to as a Yeoman of Lower Slaughter, where his children were born,
with their baptisms conducted at Bourton-on-the-Water. He died at Bourton-on-the-Water before
1648. His Will, proved at Gloucester in
1648, makes no reference to his eldest son John Collett even though he was
named in the 1641 Will of his brother John Collett (above) for which Anthony
was the sole executor. All of the other
children, including Elizabeth the widow of Anthony Collett (below), were
mentioned in Anthony’s Will, for which his son Thomas Collett (below) was the
sole executor (see Will in Legal Documents)
2H14 - John Collett was born in 1615 at
Lower Slaughter
2H15 - Edward Collett was born in 1617 at Lower Slaughter
2H16 - Anthony Collett was born in 1618 at
Lower Slaughter
2H17 - Thomas Collett was born in 1619 at
Lower Slaughter
2H18 - Nicholas Collett was born in 1621 at
Lower Slaughter
2H19 - Ann Collett was born in 1623 at Lower Slaughter
2H20 - William Collett was born in 1624 at Lower Slaughter
2H21 - Margaret Collett was born in 1625 at Lower Slaughter
2H22 – RICHARD COLLETT was born in 1627 at
Lower Slaughter
Henry Collett [2H1]
was born at Naunton, the eldest child of Henry and Judith Collett, who was
baptised there on 17th December 1608. Upon his death, he was referred to as old
Henry Collett, an indication that he was married and had a son of the same
name. His wife is likely to have been
Ann, with the burial at Naunton of Ann Collett, wife of Henry Collett taking
place on 1st September 1684, just one month before old Henry Collett
was buried there on 2nd October 1684, the parish register on both
occasions recording the surname as Colet
Edmund Collett [2H5]
was born at Naunton, where he was baptised on 1st November 1618,
another child of Henry and Judith Collett.
He was married to (1) Sarah who, upon her passing, was buried at Naunton
on 17th February 1663. Twelve
years after being widowed, Mary Collett daughter of Edmund Collett was buried
at Naunton on 30th May 1675.
There are therefore strong grounds to speculate that Edmund may have
taken a second and much young wife after the death of Sarah, with Mary possibly
being the second child of that second married.
If that can be proved, it is possible that Edmund may have married (2)
Grace, who gave birth to Elizabeth Collett at Naunton in 1670. Forty-four years later, on 8th
January 1714, the widow Grace Collett of Naunton was buried at Notgrove, where
her married daughter Elizabeth Miles and her family were living at the time,
with Grace possibly living with the Miles family prior to her passing
2I1 - Elizabeth Collett was born in 1670 at
Naunton
2I2 - Mary Collett was
born in 1674 at Naunton, and died in 1675
Richard Collett [2H9]
was born at Naunton in 1627, the ninth and last child of Henry and Judith
Collett, who was baptised on Naunton on 30th January 1627. He was forty-three years old when he died and
was buried at Naunton on 25th September 1670
Sarah Collet [2H12]t was one of the
four children of Edmund Collett of
Naunton and his wife Esther Brown born in Gloucester. Whilst her date of birth is not known, it is known
that on becoming a married woman, she became Sarah Lovatt
John Collett [2H14] was born at Lower
Slaughter in 1615, the first child of Anthony Collett, yeoman of Lower
Slaughter, and his wife Margaret Perratt.
It would appear that he died between 1641 and 1648 since, he was not
mentioned in his father’s Will of 1648, but was a beneficiary under the terms
of the 1641 Will of his uncle John Collett [2G1]
Edward Collett [2H15] was another son of
Anthony and Margaret Collett, who was born at Lower Slaughter and was baptised
on 4th June 1617 at nearby Bourton on the Water. He received two cattle and some household
items in the Will of Anthony Collett, Edward’s father
Anthony Collett [2H16] was
born at Lower Slaughter and baptised at Bourton-on-the-Water on 12th
February 1618, a son of Anthony and Margaret Collett. He later married Elizabeth Guyle in
1643. Only five years later, Anthony
Collett the younger died in 1648 as confirmed in the 1648 Will of his father
Anthony Collett in which Elizabeth was referred to as ‘my daughter-in-law,
late wife to Anthony Collett deceased’.
Her son John Collett was the only grandchild referred to in her
father-in-law’s Will, her first-born son Anthony Collett having already
suffered an infant death. Elizabeth Collett
nee Guyle, who died in 1651, is very likely to have been with-child at the time
of the death of her father-in-law Anthony Collett, because her third son
Richard Collett was born soon after the Will was made with no mention of him
therein. That also indicates that her
husband had just prior to the birth of his third child
2I3 - Anthony Collett was born in 1644 at Gloucester
2I4 - John Collett was
born in 1646 at Gloucester
2I5 - Richard Collett
was born in 1648 at Gloucester
Thomas Collett [2H17] was born at Lower
Slaughter around 1619 and he married Elizabeth Mason of Ayfred at Upper
Slaughter on 4th March 1644.
The marriage produced eight children for the couple and in 1650 Thomas
purchased the Old Parsonage at Lower Slaughter where the family lived. Thomas was sole executor of the Will of his
father Anthony Collett in 1648. Thomas,
who was referred to as ‘yeoman of Lower Slaughter, died at Lower Slaughter in
1684. His own Will made on 16th
October 1683, for which his eldest son Anthony Collett was sole executor, was
proved at Gloucester on 3rd May 1684. That same day, an inventory was prepared, the
total value of which was calculated at £346.
The Will included a request that he buried at Bourton-on-the-Water. Seven of their children were mentioned in
Thomas’ Will, in which his brother Richard Collett (below) and landlord William
Roberts were named as overseers. His
wife Elizabeth was the main beneficiary under the terms of the Will, and also
included their son John, his wife Edy, and their son John – each of whom
received ten shillings, Thomas’ married daughter Margaret Dassett – forty
shillings, her son Richard Dassett - twenty shillings, and two other children
Edmund and Mary Dassett - ten shillings to each of them. Thomas’ daughter Elizabeth received thirty
pounds, son Thomas forty pounds, son William three score and ten pounds, and
son Edmund one hundred pounds.
Son-in-law John Hunt was to received ten pounds within five months of
the birth of his wife’s first child, provided she be then alive. That was a reference to daughter Elizabeth
Collett. The document was signed by
Thomas with a large cross, in the presence of the aforementioned William Roberts. When Elizabeth Collett, nee Mason, died in
1693, she too was buried at Bourton. The
property known as ‘The Old Parsonage’ was still owned by the Collett family in
1896
2I6 – Anthony Collett was born in 1645 at
Lower Slaughter
2I7 – Thomas Collett was born in 1646 at
Lower Slaughter
2I8 – William Collett was born in 1648 at
Lower Slaughter
2I9 – Edmund Collett was born in 1650 at
Lower Slaughter
2I10 – Elizabeth
Collett
was born in 1651 at Lower Slaughter
2I11 – Margaret Collett was born in 1653 at
Lower Slaughter
2I12 – John Collett was born in 1655 at Lower
Slaughter
2I13 – Mary Collett was born in 1661 at
Lower Slaughter
Nicholas Collett [2H18] was
born at Lower Slaughter in 1621 and he died shortly after he was born, another
son of Anthony and Margaret Collett
Anne Collett [2H19] was born at Lower
Slaughter in 1623 and, by the time of the death of her father Anthony Collett
in 1648, she had not married
William
Collett [2H20] was
born at Lower Slaughter and baptised
at Bourton-on-the-Water on 12th August 1624, one of the sons of
Anthony Collett. Whilst there are no
details, available at this time, relating to William, it is of particular
interest that, after him in this line, there are no members of the family with
the same christian name for over one hundred years. He may therefore be the missing link between
this family line and that of the Collett family of Bourton-on-the-Water
detailed in Part 33, in which there is a William Collett in successive
generations. For this to be true, this
William Collett could be the grandfather of William Collett (Ref. 33J1) who was
born around 1685 at Bourton and it would seem logical, knowing family
traditions, that within the missing generation there was a William Collett who
was probably the father of William (Ref. 33J1).
Further research work needs to be undertaken to investigate this
possibility
Margaret Collett [2H21] was
born at Lower Slaughter in 1625, the youngest daughter of Anthony and Margaret
Collett. By the time of the death of her
father in 1648, Margaret was referred to in his Will under her maiden name,
indicating had not married prior to that year
RICHARD COLLETT [2H22], later an elder of Nether Slaughter and a Yeoman, was born at
Lower Slaughter and baptised at Bourton-on-the-Water on 3rd December
1627, the last child of Anthony Collett, yeoman of Lower Slaughter, and his
wife Margaret Perratt. Richard married
Elizabeth Hunt of Lower Slaughter, with whom he had seven children. He inherited land at Westcote from his father
Anthony Collett, who died in 1648, and that was later passed onto son Joshua
Collett in 1715. In 1683, and just eight
days prior to the marriage of his eldest son John Collett to Elizabeth Green,
Richard and son John signed a marriage indenture, that being a charter between
the two Collett men and the father and brother of Elizabeth Green, they being
Henry Green and Jeremiah Green. The Marriage Indenture 1683 related to land
at Westcote (see Legal Documents)
Richard Collett died at
Westcote on 6th August 1715 aged 89, and his Will dated 18th
February 1714, was proved that same year.
In the Will, Richard’s son Thomas Collett was referred to as ‘Thomas of
Sherborne’. Henry Akerman was named in
the Will together with his wife Sarah Akerman nee Collett with their children,
as was son-in-law John Eldridge, the husband of Margaret Collett, and his sons,
son William Collett and his children and daughter Elizabeth Smith nee Collett
(below) who had no children. However,
there was no reference to Richard’s daughter Margaret Eldridge nee Collett, the
late wife of John Eldridge, who had presumably died prior to 1714; likewise,
for Elizabeth’s husband John Smith, for whom there was also no mention. Curiously Richard’s sons John and Joshua were
named as joint executors of the Will, which was dated 18th February
1714, that being six years after son John had reputedly passed away. Richard’s and Elizabeth’s youngest son
William married Elizabeth Hunt [2J9] and she was the daughter of Elizabeth
Collett [2I10] and John Hunt
2I14 – JOHN COLLETT was born in 1658 at
Lower Slaughter
2I15 – Thomas Collett was born in 1660 at
Lower Slaughter
2I16 – Joshua Collett was born in 1661 at
Lower Slaughter
2I17 – Paris Collett was born in 1662 at
Lower Slaughter
2I18 – Sarah Collett was born in 1663 at
Lower Slaughter
2I19 – Elizabeth
Collett
was born in 1665 at Lower Slaughter
2I20 – Margaret Collett was born in 1667 at
Lower Slaughter
2I21 – William Collett was born in 1669 at
Lower Slaughter
Elizabeth Collett [2I1] was
born at Naunton around 1670 and was possibly the daughter of Edmund Collett by
his second wife Grace. She was around
twenty-four years of age when Elizabeth Collett and Thomas Miles were married at Notgrove
on 29th January 1694 (sources Parish Register & Bishop’s
Transcript). They were the
ninth-generation ancestors of Andrew Ellis, in Cornwall, who kindly provided
new details for this family line during 2018 and 2020. All of the children of Thomas and Elizabeth
were baptised at Notgrove, and they were Thomas Miles (baptised on 10th
October 1695), Elizabeth Miles (baptised on 30th January
1697), Edmund Miles (baptised on 5th January 1700), Mary
Miles (baptised on 21st March 1702, who died on 25th
February 1706), Jane Miles (baptised on 26th August 1705), Richard
Miles (baptised on 4th April 1708), Sarah Miles (baptised
on 13th August 1710) and Anne Miles on 24th May
1713. It is very interesting that,
recorded on the same page of the Notgrove parish register for the baptism of
Anne Miles, was the burial of Elizabeth’s mother Grace Collett of Naunton, a
widow, on 8th January 1714.
Upon the burial of the aforesaid Anne Miles on 28th July
1728, she was described as the daughter of Elizabeth Miles, who was a widow by
then
Thomas Miles died at
Notgrove in 1714 and was buried there on 15th May 1714, while his
wife survived him by over thirty-six years, when she too was buried at Notgrove
with her husband on 3rd December 1758. As regards their children, Thomas Miles
married Sarah Cook and remained living in Notgrove, where he was buried in
1770, Elizabeth Miles married Thomas White and moved to Farmington, where she
was buried in 1776, Edmund Miles married Mary Bubb and they also settled in
Farmington, he was buried in 1751, and Sarah Miles married (1) John Mustoe and
(2) Thomas Wheeler, and she died in 1769.
It is through Richard Miles that Andrew Ellis is connected to this
family line, Richard having married (1) Sarah and (2) Ann Clements, who also
moved to Farmington, where he was buried in 1795
Anthony Collett [2I3] was born in
Gloucester and was baptised at St Nicholas Church in the city on 9th
January 1644, the eldest son of Anthony Collett and Elizabeth Guyle. Tragically, he died on 26th May
1646, when he was only two years old
Anthony Collett [2I6] was born at Lower
Slaughter in 1645, the eldest child of Thomas Collett and Elizabeth Mason. He was also confirmed as his eldest son in
his Will of 1683, for which he was also the sole executor of the Will of Thomas
Collett. Anthony was married and is
known to have had at least six children, as named in his Will, by which time
his wife was no longer alive. Anthony
Collett died at Lower Slaughter in 1723, by which time his son Anthony had
died, as had a daughter omitted from the list below. His Will, made 10th December 1722
and proved on 12th October 1726, when probate was signed off by his
eldest son Thomas, referred to him as Anthony Collett the elder of Lower
Slaughter. The major beneficiary was his
son Thomas, who was also the executor of the Will. Thomas inherited all the residue of his
estate after deduction of fees and debts, including a separate bequeath of
two-hundred pounds. Three other children
were named, and they were daughters Mary, the wife of John Wood of Barton, and
Betty the wife of Thomas Collett of Naunton, each of whom received one
shilling, and son John Collett of Lower Slaughter who was to receive forty
pounds, paid within one year after his decease.
Granddaughter Sarah Collett, the daughter of son John, was bequeathed
five pounds, to be paid to her upon reaching twenty-one years of age. It is interesting that the first five named
beneficiaries were son-in-law Samuel Eliott of Long Barrow, who received one
shilling, and his four children Jane, Mary, Elizabeth and Joseph Eliott. Presumably, Samuel was a widower, with his
wife, Anthony’s daughter, not being named.
The children of brother Anthony, each received five shillings, under the
terms of Edmund Collett (below) when his Will was proved in 1739
2J1 – Anthony Collett was born at Lower
Slaughter
2J2 – Thomas Collett was born at Lower
Slaughter
2J3 – Mary Collett was born at Lower
Slaughter
2J4 – Elizabeth (Betty)
Collett
was born at Lower Slaughter
2J5 – John Collett was born at Lower
Slaughter
Thomas Collett [2I7] was born at Lower
Slaughter in 1646, another son of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett. He was referred to as Thomas of Slaughter in
later years. He received an inheritance
of £40 under the terms the 1683 Will of his father. He was also named as overseer of the Will
with his father’s landlord William Roberts.
Thomas was still alive in 1728, when he was referred to in the Will of
his younger brother Edmund Collett (below), which was proved in 1739 and which
also included mention of his children, who each received five shillings, while
Thomas was bequeathed ten shillings
William Collett [2I8] was born at Lower
Slaughter in 1648, the third son of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett. It is now understood that, when his brother
Edmund (below), moved from Lower Slaughter to Withington, William went with him
or later joined him there. While he was
still a single man, he inherited three score and ten pounds under the terms of
his father Will made in 1683. It may
have been after the move to Withington, that William met Elizabeth Browne, the
couple married at the Church of St John the Baptist in Gloucester on 7th
February 1686. Many years later
William’s brother Edmund married Katherine Browne of Withington, his third
wife. The marriage of William and
Elizabeth produced three children for the couple, all of them born and baptised
at Withington. It was also at Withington that William died
and was buried on 4th July 1721, while his widow Elizabeth survived
him by three years, when she too was buried at Withington on 7th
August 1724. Upon the death of his
brother Edmund (below), his Will written in 1728 and proved in 1739, bequeathed
the children of his deceased brother William Collett, the sum of five shillings
to each of them. Two days after burying
her husband, his widow signed, with a simple capital E, a legal document on 6th
July 1721 transferring the role of executrix to her eldest son Thomas, due to
her old age and infirmities. In addition
to her mark, the document was made in the presence of two witnesses, the second
of which was Elizabeth’s younger son John Collett. The other signature also had the surname
Collett, although the forename is not discernable. Two days after that, an inventory of the
possessions of William Collett was drawn up by John Young and Nicholas
Turks. That included five horses in his
stables, each valued at three pounds, sheep and lambs
worth twenty-four pounds, three hogs, etc, the total being one
hundred-thirty-three pounds nineteen shillings.
The Will of William Collett was proved over one year later on 6th
September 1722 and signed off by the mark of his son Thomas Collett
2J6 – Thomas Collett was born in 1690 at
Withington
2J7 – John Collett was born in 1692 at
Withington
2J8 – Elizabeth Collett born in 1696 at
Withington
Edmund Collett [2I9] was born at Lower
Slaughter in 1650, the fourth son of Thomas Collett and Elizabeth Mason. It is now believed that he was married three
times during his life. The 1683 Will of
his father named Edmund as his son, who received a legacy of one hundred
pounds. The first wife of Edmund Collett
was (1) Sarah, who died at Withington on 17th August 1715. Following his loss, Edmund Collett married
(2) Sarah Mason, both of Withington, at Cirencester on 1st May 1716,
Sarah possibly being related to Edmund’s mother. It was eight years later, when the marriage
of Edmund Collett and (3) Katherine Browne, again both of Withington, was
conducted at Cirencester on 30th April 1724. Edmund Collett Withington made his Will on 28th
October 1728, which was proved on 9th June 1739, and lawfully
constituted by Katherine Collett widow relict and sole executrix named in the
Will of the said deceased. Following his
death at Withington, Edmund Collett was laid to rest there on 13th
May 1739. Just over fourteen years after
being widowed, Katherine Collett was buried with her late husband at Withington
on 19th June 1753
From the details included in Edmund's Will, we
know that his surviving siblings in 1728 were Thomas and Mary, who had married
John Hunt at Bourton on the Water in 1683.
The first beneficiaries recorded in the Will were “the children of my
brother Anthony Collett deceased, that shall be living at my decease, each of
whom to receive the sum of five shillings”.
The same condition also applied to the children of brother John Collett
deceased, and deceased sisters Elizabeth and Margaret. Edmund’s surviving brother Thomas Collett
received ten shillings, and each of his children received five shillings, the
same applied to Edmund’s married sister Mary, who also received ten shillings,
with her children also receiving five shillings. All of the remainder of his estate and
personal effects were inherited by his wife Katherine, who was also the sole
executrix of the Will
Elizabeth Collett [2I10]
was born at Lower Slaughter in 1651 and she married John Hunt in 1683. It may be odd, but Elizabeth’s sister Mary
(below) was also recorded in the Bourton-on-the-Water parish register, that
same year, marrying John Hunt. Even more
strange, both Elizbeth and John were mentioned in the 1683 Will of her father
Thomas Collett, which also indicated that Elizabeth was with-child as the
inheritance of £10 was to be paid ‘within five months of issue’ and then
only if Elizabeth survived. Elizabeth
received thirty pounds, while it was her husband, ‘son-in-law John Hunt’
who was to retain the ten pounds for their first child, subject to mother and
child surviving the ordeal of birth for those stated five months. Elizabeth’s husband John Hunt was very likely
the nephew of Elizabeth Hunt who married Elizabeth Collett’s uncle Richard
Collett [2H22]. Their daughter Elizabeth
Hunt married William Collett [2I21] who was her mother’s cousin. See 2I13 and 2J20 for other connections with
the Hunt family. Within the 1728 Will of
her older brother Edmund Collett (above), proved in 1739, it was the children
of his deceased sister Elizabeth who each received five shillings
2J9 – Elizabeth Hunt was born in 1684 at
Lower Slaughter
Margaret Collett [2I11]
was born at Lower Slaughter in 1653, another daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth
Collett and she married Edward Dassett in 1673.
Both Margaret and her three children were referred to in the 1683 Will
of her father Thomas Collett. Margaret
Dassett received forty shillings, her son Richard Dassett received
twenty shillings, while Edmund Dassett and Mary Dassett each received
ten shillings. By the time her brother
Edmund (above) died in 1739, it was only the children of the late Margaret
Dassett who each received five shillings from their uncle
John Collett [2I12] was born at Lower
Slaughter in 1655, the youngest son of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett. When he was around twenty years of age, he
moved to Lower Guiting, where his older brother William (above) had settled a
little while earlier. That move was
confirmed on his wedding day on 3rd November 1679, when John Collett
of Guiting married Edith (Edy) Pierce at Preston, near Cirencester. Four years later, the couple and their young
son John, were each bequeathed ten shillings in the 1683 Will of Thomas
Collett, John’s father. However, by
then, the couple’s first son Job, was not mentioned, suggesting he may have
suffered an infant death. While the
couple’s children were born at Lower Guiting, they were baptised at Guiting
Power. John Collett, of Lower Guiting, made his
Will on 6th January 1723.
After he died, he was buried at Guiting Power on 20th April
1724, with his Will proved on 21st October 1724. Nearly five years after being widowed, Edith
Collett passed away and was also buried at Guiting Power with her late husband
on 20th March 1729. One year
earlier, the children of the late John Collett, were each bequeathed five
shillings in the 1728 Will of their uncle Edmund Collett, whose Will was proved
in 1739. The children of John Collett were specifically named in his Will, as Mary
Turner, Elizabeth Webb, Sarah Collett, each of whom received ten pounds, plus
five unnamed grandchildren, who each received ten shillings. The remainder of his estate was bequeathed to
John’s wife and their son John Collett, who were also named as joint executors
of the Will of “John Collett of Nether Guyting” (Lower Guiting)
2J10 – Job Collett was born in 1680 at
Lower Guiting
2J11 – John Collett was born in 1682 at
Lower Guiting
2J12 – Mary Collett was born in 1686 at
Lower Slaughter
2J13 – Elizabeth
Collett
was born in 1690 at Lower Slaughter
2J14 – Sarah Collett was born in 1693 at
Lower Guiting
Mary Collett [2I13] was born at the
Old Parsonage in Lower Slaughter during 1661, and was baptised at nearby
Bourton-on-the-Water on 23rd November 1661, the youngest child of
Thomas Collett and Elizabeth Mason. It
is rather strange that there was no mentioned of Mary Collett in the 1683 Will
of her father since, it was only five months earlier, at Bourton-on-the-Water
on 8th July 1683, when the marriage of Mary (Maria) Collett of Lower
Slaughter and carpenter John Hunt from Upper Slaughter had taken place. The couple’s daughter, Mary Hunt, was
baptised at Upper Slaughter on 15th March 1699, and later married
Richard Collett, the son of Joshua Collett, as confirmed in marriage indenture
dated 17th May 1720. When Mary’s
older brother Edmund (above), made his Will in 1728, Mary was one of only two
surviving siblings, brother Thomas being the other. However, following the death of Mary Hunt in
1732, she was buried at Upper Slaughter on 27th November that
year. Almost six years to the day, after
losing his wife, John Hunt died and was buried there with his wife on 14th
November 1738. A few months later, her
brother Edmund Collett passed away, when his 1728 Will was proved in 1739. Under the terms of the Will, Mary would have
received ten shillings had she still been alive. As it was, it was each of her children who
received five shillings, following the death of their uncle
JOHN COLLETT [2I14], of Naunton, as
he was known, was born at Lower Slaughter in 1658, the eldest son of Richard
Collett and Elizabeth Hunt. He married
(1) Margaret Thomas and later (2) Elizabeth Green of Upper Slaughter at
Bourton-on-the-Water on 17th July 1683. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry Green and
the brother of Jeremiah Green. Just eight
days prior to the marriage of John and Elizabeth a Marriage Indenture was drawn
up on 9th July 1683 between the Collett and Green families. That document was entitled ‘The Additional
Charter No. 42921’ and today it can be found in the British Library in
London. A transcript of the document has
been produced for the Collett website (see Legal Documents). All of the children came from the
second marriage and were born and baptised at Upper Slaughter as confirmed on
page 36 in Pedigree Six of The Collett Saga by Margaret Chadd and validated by
the details in the IGI. However, within
The Collett Saga, on page 27, Margaret suggests that John’s first wife was
indeed Margaret Thomas but, that after that relationship, he married the widow
of Mr K Akerman with whom he had two children, a son Thomas and a daughter Mary
who married W Cooke. Interestingly
John’s sister Sarah Collett (below) married Henry Akerman in 1692
Previously, as regards
the three named children of John Collett and Elizabeth Green (listed below),
there was a question raised that the brothers John and Richard were not the two
male siblings of Mary Collett. However,
despite the suggestion that Richard Collett was the son of Joshua Collett (below)
and his wife Elizabeth Hawkes, the IGI record for Upper Slaughter lists all
three of them as the children of John and Elizabeth. John Collett, who was referred to as ‘a
tenant of Lower Slaughter’, was originally understood to have died at Naunton
in 1707 even though he was named as joint executor, with his brother Joshua
(below), in his father’s Will which was made in 1714. That may indicate he was still alive in 1714,
while one year later the marriage of John Collett and Catherine Akerman took
place at Naunton on 8th May 1715.
That raises the question, were the aforementioned Thomas Collett and
Mary Collett, the two children of John Collett and Catherine Akerman
2J15 – first-born child
born in 1684 at Upper Slaughter
2J16 – John Collett was born 1n 1686 at
Upper Slaughter
2J17 – Richard Collett was born in 1687 at
Upper Slaughter
2J18 - Mary Collett was born in 1690 at
Upper Slaughter
Thomas Collett [2I15] was born at Lower
Slaughter and was baptised on 2nd September 1660 at Upper Slaughter,
the second child of Richard and Elizabeth Collett. He was later referred to in the 1715 Will of
his father Richard Collett as Thomas of Sherborne and through which he
inherited £31, the bulk of the estate at Westcote passing to Thomas’ younger
brother Joshua (below). He married Joan
and they had four children. All four are
likely to have been born at Sherborne since it was there that Thomas was buried
on 3rd February 1732 aged 68, followed by Joan who was buried there on
9th June 1740. It seems very
likely that there were other children born to the couple since, in the Will of
their son Thomas there was a reference to two kinswomen. One of them was his sister Elizabeth Hitchman
nee Collett and the other was Sarah Jones, who was very likely another sister
2J19 – Elizabeth
Collett
was born in 1692 at Sherborne
2J20 – Sarah Collett was born in 1695 at
Sherborne
2J21 – Richard Collett was born in 1698 at
Sherborne
2J22 – Thomas Collett was born in 1700 at
Sherborne
Joshua Collett [2I16] was born at Lower
Slaughter and was baptised on 12th October 1661 at
Bourton-on-the-Water, another son of Richard and Elizabeth Collett. Under the terms of the 1715 Will of his
father Richard Collett, Joshua inherited land at Westcote and, from then on, he
was known as Joshua Collett, yeoman of Westcote. He was also joint executor of the Will with
his older brother John Collett (above).
Joshua Collett married Elizabeth Hawkes and, although no record of any
children has been found, one source claims they had a son Richard. However, the only Richard of the right age,
who was baptised at Upper Slaughter on 10th February 1687, was the
son of Joshua’s brother John Collett (above) by his second wife Elizabeth
Green. However, the marriage indenture,
dated 17th May 1720, records that Richard Collett, the son of Joshua
Collett, was betrothed to Mary Hunt, the daughter of John Hunt and his wife
Mary Hunt, the former Mary Collett [2I13].
Joshua Collett died at Westcote during 1729 and his own Will was written
in 1723 and was proved shortly after his death in 1729
The Gloucester Records
Office holds some very interesting legal documents relating to members of the
Collett family with a connection to Upper Slaughter. One such document is a who was baptised at
Upper Slaughter on 15th March 1699
Paris Collett [2I17]
was born at Lower Slaughter and the baptised at Bourton-on-the-Water on 12th
September 1662, the eldest daughter and fourth child of Richard Collett and
Elizabeth Hunt
Sarah Collett [2I18] was born at Lower
Slaughter in 1663, another daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Collett. Sarah later married Henry Akerman in 1692 at
Bourton-on-the-Water, Henry was referred to as ‘son-in-law’ in the 1715 Will of
Sarah’s father Richard Collett
Elizabeth Collett [2I19]
was born at Lower Slaughter in 1665, another child of Richard and Elizabeth
Collett, who later married John Smith
Margaret Collett [2I20] was
born at Lower Slaughter in 1667, the youngest daughter of Richard and Elizabeth
Collett. Margaret Collett later married
John Eldridge
William Collett [2I21] was
born at Lower Slaughter in 1669, the youngest child of Richard Collett and
Elizabeth Hunt. It was around 1704 that
William married Elizabeth Hunt, the daughter of John Hunt and Elizabeth Collett
[2I10] who was born in 1684, Elizabeth being William’s cousin. That therefore means that Elizabeth Hunt was
the niece of ‘Uncle William Collett’ when they were married. William Collett died on 24th
February 1751, while his wife survived him by sixteen years when she passed
away on 1st March 1767. In
addition to the children listed below, it is also believed that Elizabeth
presented William with three other children all of whom suffered an infant death. One of them may have been born in 1714, with
the others likely to have been born between 1721 and 1727
2J23 – John Collett was
born 2nd March 1706 at Bourton-on-the-Water, and died 4th January 1783
2J24 – Elizabeth
Collett was born in 1708 at Bourton-on-the-Water, and died in 1773
2J25 – Richard Collett
was born in 1710 at Bourton-on-the-Water, and died in 1779
2J26 – Mary Collett was
born in 1712 at Bourton-on-the-Water, and died in 1786
2J27 – Ann Collett was
born in 1716 at Bourton-on-the-Water, and died in 1786
2J28 – Thomas Collett was born in 1718 at
Bourton-on-the-Water
2J29 – William Collett
was born on 25th June1721 at Bourton-on-the-Water, and died in 1745
2J30 – Joseph Collett
was born in 1727 at Bourton-on-the-Water, and died in 1795
Anthony Collett [2J1], whose date of
birth is not known, was a younger son of Anthony Collett. It would seem that he married late in his
life, probably to a wife who was many years younger than him.
2K1 – John Collett,
whose date of birth is not known, died in 1795 at Lower Slaughter
Thomas Collett [2J2], whose date of
birth is believed to be around 1670, was the son of Anthony Collett. He was married to Jane and he died in 1755
leaving no children of his own. The Will
of Thomas Collett, a yeoman of Lower Slaughter, was made on 8th
March 1746 and was proved by his widow Jane Collett on 4th June
1755. Apart from Jane, who was also the
sole executor of his estate, the other members of his family named within the
Will were (a) his kinsman Thomas Collett, the eldest son of his brother John
Collett, (b) Ann Collett, the daughter of his brother William Collett, and (c)
kinsman William Collett, the son of his brother William Collett See
Will in Legal Documents
Mary Collett [2J3] was possibly born
at Lower Slaughter and married John Wood, while knowledge of her existence
comes from her father’s Will made in 1722.
Within the Will of Anthony Collett, his daughter Mary, the wife of John
Wood of Barton, near Guiting Power, just north of Naunton, received one
shilling
Elizabeth (Betty) Collett [2J4] was
possibly at Lower Slaughter, another daughter of Anthony Collett of Lower
Slaughter, within whose Will of 1722, his daughter Betty, wife of Thomas
Collett of Naunton, received one shilling.
Their only known child was believed to be Elizabeth Collett, who later
became Elizabeth Webb although, she is now established as the daughter of John
Collett of Lower Guiting and his wife Edith Pierce. Who Thomas Collett of Naunton was, has still
to be determined
John Collett [2J5] was born at Lower
Slaughter and was referred to as John Collett of Lower Slaughter in the Will of
his father Anthony, which was made in 1722.
The Will stated that son John should receive forty pounds, to be paid to
him one year after the death of his father.
Also named within the Will, was granddaughter, Sarah Collett, the
daughter of John Collett, and she was to receive five pounds on reaching the
age of twenty-one years
2K2 – Sarah Collett was
born after 1702 at Lower Slaughter
Thomas Collett [2J6] was born in 1690
at Withington, where he was baptised on 27th April 1690, the eldest
of the three known children of William Collett and Elizabeth Browne, when the
family surname was written as Colet, as it was for the two younger siblings
(below)
John Collett [2J7] was born at
Withington in 1692 and was baptised there on 14th October 1692,
another son of William and Elizabeth Collett
Elizabeth Collett [2J8]
was born at Withington at the end of 1696, or early in 1697, and was the only
known daughter and the last child born to William Collett and Elizabeth
Browne. Just like her two older
brothers, Elizabeth was also baptised at Withington on 2nd March
1697
Elizabeth Hunt [2J9] was born in 1684,
the daughter of Elizabeth Collett and John Hunt, and she later married her
‘uncle’ William Collett. For details of
the continuation of their family, go to Ref. 2I21
Job Collett [2J10]
was born in 1680 at Lower Guiting, and was baptised at Guiting Power on 6th
December 1680, the son of John Collett, whose wife was Edith Pierce. Following the birth of his brother John
(below), it was only grandson John Collett, the son of John Collett, who was
named within the Will of his paternal grandfather Thomas Collett who died at
the end of 1683. It must therefore be
assumed that Job Collett had suffered an infant death by the time his
grandfather made his Will. Furthermore,
Job was not named the Will of his father, many years later
John Collett [2J11] was born at Lower
Guiting in 1682, the second of the five children of John and Edy Collett,
Whilst the baptism of his older brother Job (above), and his three younger
siblings, were recorded at Guiting Power, no such recorded for John has been
found. John’s father died in 1724 and
his Will, proved six months later, named all three of John’s younger female
siblings and five unnamed grandchildren, with the bulk of the estate left to
John himself, and his widowed mother, who were also the joint executors of the
Will of John Collett of Nether Guyting (Lower Guiting). Many years later, the children of the late
John Collett each received five shillings under the term of the 1728 Will of
their uncle Edmund Collett, which was proved in 1739
Mary Collett [2J12] was born at Lower
Slaughter in 1684, the first of the three daughters of John and Edy Collett,
who was baptised at Guiting Power on 2nd November 1684. By the time her father made his Will at the
start of 1723, Mary was already married, when she was referred to Mary Turner,
when she was bequeathed ten pounds, like all her surviving siblings. It was on 29th September 1711, at
Stratton near Cirencester, that the marriage of Mary Collett and Joseph Turner
took place and, in the absence of any alternative, it has been assumed that
Mary was the daughter of John and Edy Collett
Elizabeth Collett [2J13]
was born at Lower Slaughter in 1689, another child of John Collett, the husband
of Edy Collett, whose baptism on 21st June 1869 was conducted at
Guiting Power, like her other siblings.
Her father made his Will in 1724, which was proved in 1724, by which
time Elizabeth was referred to as Elizabeth Webb for received ten pounds
Sarah Collett [2J14]
was born in 1693 at Lower Guiting, but was baptised at Guiting Power on 30th
September 1693, the fifth and last child of John Collett and Edith Pierce. It is possible that she never married or, if
she did, it was much later in her life, as she was referred to as Sarah
Collett, the daughter of John Collett when he made his Will in 1723, which was
proved in 1724, through which she received ten pounds
John Collett [2J16] was baptised at
Upper Slaughter on 28th May 1686, the son of John Collett
(1658-1707) and his second wife Elizabeth Green. Although not proved, John may have married
and had a son Henry (1707-1788) who later married his younger cousin Sarah
Collett (1717-1757), the eldest daughter of John’s brother Richard (below). Knowing that his father was a tenant of Lower
Slaughter, it is possible that John was the John Collett mentioned in the
history of Upper Slaughter in the following way
“In 1729,
under the leadership of the lord of the manor, the landholders of Upper
Slaughter reached an agreement with those of Lower Slaughter to promote a
parliamentary enclosure and, although the competing claims of the two villages
and litigation between the lords of the manors seem to have delayed the
business, a separate award was made for each parish under an Act of 1731. Of the 1,640 acres enclosed in Upper
Slaughter, 709 acres were allotted to the lord of the manor, 225 acres to the
rector, and 211 acres to John Collett.
Ten other allotments were made, ranging from ½ acre to 138 acres.” In an earlier paragraph,
the Collett family was also mentioned, as follows: “On a less exalted
social level the Collett family is noteworthy. It was settled in the village by
the early 16th century, (fn. 54) and was active there in 1961. In the 17th and 18th
centuries several branches of the family between them formed a considerable
proportion of the population and farmed much of the land.”
RICHARD COLLETT [2J17] of Upper
Slaughter and Notgrove was baptised on 10th February 1687 at Upper
Slaughter, the son of John Collett and Elizabeth Green. He married Anne Male on 22nd
October 1716 at Charlton Abbotts in Gloucestershire, after which the couple
settled in the village of Notgrove, where all of their children were born and
baptised. Notgrove is a Gloucestershire
village nestling amongst the quiet country lanes of the Cotswolds. Within the churchyard are many Collett
memorials, although most are of such an age that the inscriptions are virtually
impossible to decipher. It is
interesting that the eldest child of Richard Collett and Anne Male, their
daughter Sarah, married her cousin Henry Collett in 1746, believed to be the
likely son of Richard’s older brother (Joshua Collett (above). Richard Collett died at Notgrove on 15th
October 1752 at the age of 64
At an earlier time,
concern was raised that Richard Collett, who was born in 1687, was not the
brother of John Collett (above), nor the son of John Collett and Elizabeth
Green, and that he was the son of John’s brother Joshua Collett [2I16] and his
wife Elizabeth Hawkes, who apparently had no issue. That source also suggested Richard Collett,
born in 1687, died during 1741 and that in 1720 he married Mary Hunt, who was
baptised at Upper Slaughter on 15th March 1699 (a daughter of John
and Mary Hunt), who died in 1754.
However, that Richard was the son of Joshua Collett
2K3 – Sarah Collett was born in 1717 at
Notgrove
2K4 – RICHARD COLLETT was born in 1719 at
Notgrove
2K5 – Henry Collett was born in 1721 at
Notgrove
2K6 – John Collett was born in 1724 at
Notgrove
2K7 – Joseph Collett
was born in 1726 at Notgrove, where he was baptised on 4th March
2K8 – Anne Collett was born in 1730 at
Notgrove
2K9 – Samuel Collett
was born in 1733 at Notgrove, where he was baptised on 22nd April
2K10 – Mary Collett was born in 1738 at
Notgrove
Mary Collett [2J18] was baptised at
Upper Slaughter on 26th July 1690, the daughter of John Collett and
Elizabeth Green. Although not yet
verified, it is likely that Mary married Thomas Brain at Little Rissington on 17th
February 1717, the first known marriage between the Collett and Brain
families. The second such marriage took
place on 11th October 1780, at Barton-on-the-Heath in Warwickshire,
when Henry Collett [2L3] married Margaret Brain
Elizabeth Collett [2J19]
was born at Sherborne where she was baptised on 5th August
1692. It was also at Sherborne that she
married John Hitchman who was a blacksmith.
Upon the death of her brother Richard Collett (below) Elizabeth’s
husband John inherited much of his estate.
A couple of years later Elizabeth and John both benefited from the Will
of Elizabeth’s other brother Thomas Collett (below) when they were bequeathed a
cottage with an orchard. Elizabeth and
John are known to have had a son Thomas Hitchman who, upon their passing, inherited
the cottage and the orchard left to them by his uncle Thomas Collett
(below). It may be interesting to note
that, in addition to the reference to him in Thomas Collett’s 1777 Will, Thomas
Hitchman was also named in the Marriage Indenture of Thomas Collett (Ref.
14L11) and Ann Tilling in 1796
Sarah Collett [2J20] was born at
Sherborne although, the date is not known and so far, no baptism record has
been found. She later married Mr Jones
and was referred to as kinswoman Sarah Jones of Northleach in the 1777 Will of
her brother Thomas Collett (below). As
there was no mention by name of Sarah’s husband, it might be assumed that he
had already passed away by 1777
Richard Collett [2J21] was baptised on
14th September 1698 at Sherborne.
He remained a bachelor all his life and left a Will proved in 1777. In the Will Richard made reference to his
brother Thomas Collett (below) but with no children of his own he left much of
his estate to kinsman John Hitchman, the husband of sister Elizabeth Collett (above). The Hitchman name also appears four times in
the Will of Thomas Collett (below)
Thomas Collett [2J22] was born at
Sherborne where he married Elizabeth. It
is thought that he may have been married twice, the second time also to an
Elizabeth. Elizabeth (1) died on 30th
May 1762, while Elizabeth (2) died on 25th January 1798, and both at
Sherborne. In his Will made on 11th
October 1777 and proved in 1779 – which he signed with a cross - he referred to
two kinswomen. The first was Sarah Jones
(above) of Northleach, while the second was Elizabeth Hitchman, wife of John
Hitchman, who was Thomas’ sister (above).
In addition to being given one house and orchard which, upon her death,
was to pass to her son Thomas Hitchman, Elizabeth was also named as sole
executor (see Will in Legal Documents). Others
mentioned in the Will were Thomas’ wife Elizabeth Collett, Thomas Hitchman of
Sherborne who inherited the freehold estate at Coopers Hill, and John Hitchman
of Sherborne the husband of sister Elizabeth Hitchman nee Collett (above)
Thomas Collett [2J28] was baptised at
Bourton-on-the-Water on 25th January 1718, the son of William
Collett and Elizabeth Hunt. It was
originally thought that he married Sarah Ball who was born in 1726, but more
recent information suggests that it was Sarah Bates that he married at
Bromsgrove in Worcestershire on 1st June 1748. All of the children of Thomas and Sarah were
born and baptised at Bromsgrove. Their
eldest son John Hunt Collett was named after his maternal great grandfather
John Hunt, the husband of Elizabeth Collett.
Thomas Collett of Bromsgrove made his Will on 8th April 1784
and died six years later, following which he was buried at Bromsgrove in 1790,
while his widow Sarah survived for another fourteen years, when she died in
1804 and was also buried at Bromsgrove
A number of interesting
legal documents, relating to the family, are held at the Gloucester Records
Office. The earliest ones concern the
aforementioned John Hunt, as follows. On
28th March 1709 and 29th March 1709, two indentures
between John Hunt and Richard Laughton.
Then, on 16th May 1720, John Hunt, together with John
Reynolds, had an indenture with Joshua Collett, and the next day another
indenture was made between Richard Collett, the son of Joshua Collett, and Mary
Hunt, the daughter of John and Mary Hunt, who was baptised at Upper Slaughter
on 15th March 1699. The Will
of John Hunt junior was made on 18th April 1725, in which there is
reference to the Collett family
2K11 – Elizabeth
Collett
was born in 1749 at Bromsgrove
2K12 – John Hunt
Collett
was born in 1750 at Bromsgrove
2K13 – Richard Collett was born in 1754 at
Bromsgrove
2K14 – Thomas Collett was born in 1760 at
Bromsgrove
Sarah Collett [2K3] was born at
Notgrove where she was baptised on 1st September 1717, the first
child of Richard Collett, of Upper Slaughter and Notgrove, and Ann Male. It was at Upper Slaughter that she married
her cousin Henry Collett by licence on 12th September 1746, when
both of them were described as being ‘of this parish’. It was also at Upper Slaughter that the
children of Sarah and Henry Collett were baptised. It is possible, although not proved, that
Sarah’ husband, Henry Collett (1707-1788) may have been the son of her father’s
brother John Collett [2J16]. The fact
that Henry Collett died in 1788, is validated by an indenture prepared on 2nd
July 1791, in which his wife Sarah Collett was described as a widow. The same indentured also included the name of
her son Henry Collett and his wife Margaret Brain
2L1 – Richard Collett was born in 1747 at
Upper Slaughter
2L2 – Mary Collett was
born in 1749 at Upper Slaughter, and baptised there on 26th December
2L3 – Henry Collett was born in 1751 at
Upper Slaughter
2L4 – Elizabeth Collett
was born in 1754 at Upper Slaughter, and baptised there on 17th March
2L5 – Hannah Collett
was born in 1756 at Upper Slaughter, and baptised there on 14th March
RICHARD COLLETT [2K4] was baptised on
25th September 1719 at Notgrove, the eldest son of Richard and Ann
Collett where he married Anne Didcote on 26th March 1744. The first child was born and baptised at
Notgrove, the remainder at the neighbouring village of Salperton. Whilst there may be children missing during
the years between 1745 and 1757, it is confirmed that Anne died on 23rd
July 1772
2L6 – Mary Collett was born in 1745 at
Notgrove
2L7 – JOB COLLETT was born in 1754 at
Salperton
2L8 – John Collett was born in 1756 at
Salperton
2L9 – Anne Collett was born in 1758 at
Salperton
2L10 – Betty Collett was born in 1762 at
Salperton
Henry Collett [2K5] was baptised on 9th
March 1721 at Notgrove, another son of Richard and Ann Collett. He married Mary Fluck of Cold Aston (only one
mile from Notgrove) on 6th May 1746 at Aston Blank (also known as
Cold Aston). Henry died on 2nd
June 1796 and Mary who was born in 1722 died on 3rd November 1793
aged 71, both of them at Notgrove. All
of their children were born and baptised at Notgrove. This family is the subject of Pedigree Seven
on page 39 of The Collett Saga
2L11 – Sarah Collett was born in 1747 at
Notgrove
2L12 – Richard Collett was born in 1749 at
Notgrove
2L13 – Ann Collett was born in 1751 at
Notgrove
2L14 – Hannah Collett
was bapt 5th March 1754 at
Notgrove; died there on 18th February 1776
2L15 – Henry Collett
was bapt 3rd December 1756 at
Notgrove; died there on 3rd February 1757
2L16 – Henry Collett was born in 1758 at
Notgrove
2L17 – Samuel Collett was born in 1762 at
Notgrove
2L18 – Jane Collett was born in 1763 at
Notgrove
2L19 – Robert Collett was born in 1765 at
Notgrove
2L20 – Mary Collett was born in 1768 at
Notgrove
John Collett [2K6] was baptised on 7th
September 1724 at Notgrove where he married Ann Harman on 9th
October 1750. Both of their known
children were born and baptised at Notgrove, where John Collett died on 16th
September 1796, and where Ann Collett nee Harman died on 16th
September 1775. The garden of the
property in which John and Ann lived was subject to a Notgrove Enclosure Award
of one and one-half penny in 1770
2L21 - Joseph Collett was born in 1752 at
Notgrove
2L22 - Elizabeth
Collett
was born in 1759 at Notgrove
Anne Collett [2K8] was baptised on 17th
October 1730 at Notgrove. She married
Richard David Larner of Ampney St Mary on 9th April 1757 at
Notgrove. Anne Larner nee Collett died
on 27th July 1769
Mary Collett [2K10] was baptised on 26th
November 1738 at Notgrove where she married William Trew on 22nd
March 1761. Mary Trew nee Collett died
on 6th November 1793
Elizabeth Collett [2K11] was
very likely born at Bromsgrove in 1749, following the marriage there of her
parents, Thomas and Sarah Collett, during June of the previous year. She later married the Reverend L
Edwards. Elizabeth died at Bromsgrove in
1775 at the age of 26, and was followed by her husband who died there in 1809
John Hunt
Collett [2K12],
named after his maternal great grandfather John Hunt [2I10], was born at Bromsgrove in 1750, where he was baptised
on 1st March 1751, the eldest son of Thomas and Sarah Collett. Sadly, he was only 24 when he died in 1774
Richard Collett [2K13] was born at
Bromsgrove in either late 1753 or early 1754, and it was there that he was
baptised on 10th May 1754, the son of Thomas and Sarah Collett. He later married Mary Wilson who was born in
1756, and who was the daughter of J Wilson.
Once married, the couple continued to live in Bromsgrove where their two
known children were born and baptised.
The parish records confirm that Richard Collett was the churchwarden at
St John the Baptist Church in Bromsgrove in 1778. It was also at Bromsgrove that Richard Collett
died and was buried in 1808. On 2nd
July 1791, Richard Collett of Bromsgrove and his wife Mary, together with Henry
Collett and his wife Margaret [2L3], plus his mother, the widow Sarah Collett
[2K3], were all named in an indenture drawn up that day. Two days later, on 4th July 1791,
another indenture was drawn up in the name of John Collett of Bromsgrove, which
may well have been Richard’s sixteen-year-old son
2L23 - John Collett was born in 1775 at
Bromsgrove
2L24 - Mary Collett was born in 1777 at
Bromsgrove
Thomas Collett [2K14] was born at
Bromsgrove in 1760, and it was there also that he was baptised on 20th
October 1760, the son of Thomas and Sarah Collett. He later married Mary Moore, although he died
at the relatively young age of 32 in 1792
Richard Collett [2L1] was baptised at
Upper Slaughter on 12th October 1747, the eldest child of cousins
Henry and Sarah Collett. Sadly, he was
only ten years old when he was buried at nearby Aldsworth on 6th
June 1757
Henry Collett [2L3] was baptised at
Upper Slaughter on 26th December 1751, the surviving son of Henry
Collett and Sarah Collett. He was twenty-nine when
he married Margaret Brain on 11th October 1780 at
Barton-on-the-Heath in Warwickshire, where Margaret had been born in 1759. Once married the couple settled in Upper
Slaughter, where all of their children were baptised. The name of Henry Collett of Upper Slaughter
was listed in a mortgage assigned on 13th May 1790. That same year, on 22nd December
1790, an indenture was drawn up between Henry Collett of Upper Slaughter and
Long Compton (Warws) and other parties.
Six months after that another indenture document, dated 2nd
July 1791, included the names of Henry Collett and his wife Margaret, Henry’s
widowed mother Sarah, and a cousin of his mother, Richard Collett of Bromsgrove
[2K13]. Six years later, a Bond was made
by Henry Collett of Upper Slaughter on 4th July 1797 in favour of
John Roberts
It was just over thirty years later that Henry Collett died in 1828 and his Will, made on
3rd August 1812, was proved on 29th December 1828, in
which he was referred to as ‘Henry Collett Yeoman of Upper Slaughter’. Between 23rd April 1802 and 13th
November 1813 Henry Collett ‘the elder’ of Upper Slaughter was named in eight
legal documents, ranging from Bonds and Indentures, to Mortgage
Assignments. The recipients included
Elizabeth Hall (in three of them), William Perkins and William Smith and, in
one for 1807, Henry was referred to as ‘late of Long Compton’. Another, dated 31st July 1812,
involved Castle and Holliday, those two surnames mentioned in a further
indenture document dated 7th November 1828, after Henry had died,
taken out by his eldest son John Brain Collett
2M1 – John Brain
Collett
was born in 1783 at Upper Slaughter
2M2 – Henry Collett was born in 1792 at
Upper Slaughter
2M3 – Carolina Collett
was bapt on 6th February 1795 at Upper Slaughter; died on 8th
May 1800
2M4 – Keziah Collett was born in 1797 at
Upper Slaughter
Mary Collett [2L6] was baptised 30th
September 1745 at Notgrove, the first child born to Richard Collett and Anne
Didcote. Mary was almost 23 years of age
when married William Parker on 12th August 1768. After around ten years of marriage, Mary
Parker nee Collett died in 1778
JOB COLLETT [2L7] was born around 1754,
the son of Richard and Anne Collett. He
was baptised at Salperton and, according to the IGI, the ceremony took place on
10th July 1757 and was a joint baptism with his brother John
(below). However, it would appear from
the parish register that the baptism actually took place of 1st July
1757. Sometime, when he was in his
twenties, Job moved from Salperton to nearby Bibury, and it was there on 3rd
January 1780 that he married Susannah Harden when both of them were described
as being of Arlington Row. While Job
signed his name in the parish register, his wife made her mark with a
cross. The witnesses at the wedding
ceremony were William Porter and Samuel Burge.
For another Burge connection, see Job’s sister Anne (below) who also
moved to Bibury around that time. It was
also at Bibury that all of their children were born and baptised. Job Collett died in 1839 at the age of 85
years, following which he was buried at Arlington in Bibury on 22nd
May 1839. According to Bibury parish
records, Susannah would have been born around 1755 since, at the time of her
death two years before her husband on 4th March 1837, she was 82
years of age
2M5 - John Collett was born in 1782 at
Bibury
2M6 – ELIZABETH COLLETT was born in 1785 at
Bibury
2M7 - Thomas Collett was born in 1788 at
Bibury
2M8 - Richard Collett
was bapt on 4th September 1791 at Bibury; buried on 20th
February 1812
John Collett [2L8] was possibly born
around 1756 and was baptised at Salperton in Gloucestershire on 10th
July 1757 in a joint ceremony with his brother Job (below), the children of
Richard and Ann Collett. The only other
known fact about John, is that he died six months later on 5th
January 1758
Anne Collett [2L9] was possibly born
around 1758 and was baptised at Salperton on 17th August 1760, the
daughter of Richard and Anne Collett.
The baptism date has been taken from the IGI, but differs from that
shown in the parish register, which gives the date as 15th August
1760. It was previously believed that Anne
married William Perry at Notgrove on 5th August 1780. However, that has now been disproved by the
fact that Anne never married during her life, even though she is known to have
given birth to three base-born children.
It would appear that Anne and her brother Job (above) both left
Salperton in the late 1770s, when they moved into the nearby village of
Bibury. For Anne, that may have been
around the end 1779, when she discovered that she was with-child
The Bibury parish records
show that Job Collett was married there in January 1780, while Anne’s first
base-born child was baptised there in the month of May that same year. The child’s father was named as John Burge,
who was very likely related to Samuel Burge, who had been a witness at the
wedding of her brother Job just four months earlier. Within the next two years Anne Collett gave
birth to her second child out of wedlock and, on the occasion of the baptism of
Elizabeth Collett, the father was named as Thomas Martin. Anne was around forty years of age when she
conceived her third child, although for that particular child the Bibury
baptism entry stated that the child was the son of Anne Collett, and of a
father not named. Just over forty years
later, according to the Bibury census of 1841, Anne Collett was 85 and was
living at the Arlington Row home of her nephew Thomas Collett and his wife Mary
Coates, Thomas being the son of Anne’s brother Job. It was just nineteen months later on 6th
January 1843 that Anne Collett died at Bibury.
She was 87 and the death certificate stated that the cause of death was
simply ‘old age’. During her later life,
in the 1800s, the name of Anne Collett was included in the parish poor list on
more than one occasion
2M9 – Mary Collett was born in 1780 at
Bibury
2M10 – Elizabeth
Collett was baptised on 29th February 1783 at Bibury
2M11 – Edmund Collett
was baptised on 26th May 1799 at Bibury
Betty Collett [2L10]
was the last child of Richard Collett and Anne Didcote who was born at
Salperton, where she was baptised on 18th April 1762. Sadly, her mother died when Betty was only
around ten years old
Sarah Collett [2L11]
was the first child of Henry Collett of Notgrove and Mary Fluck of Cold
Aston. She was born at Notgrove, where
she was baptised on 5th May 1747
Richard Collett [2L12], who was referred to as ‘of Lower Slaughter’ was baptised at Notgrove on 14th
April 1749, the eldest son of Henry and Mary Collett. He married Elizabeth Cooke of Notgrove by
licence on 29th May 1773 at Notgrove. Richard Collett was buried at Notgrove on 30th
March 1832 aged 83 and, at that time, he was described as 'of
Minchinhampton'. All of the children of
Richard and Elizabeth were born and baptised at Notgrove. In 1770 the garden of the property in which
Richard was living at that time was subject to a Notgrove Enclosure Award of
two pennies. According to the parish
register the family moved from Notgrove to Lower Slaughter in 1786 and, after the infant death of
their ninth child, they moved again to Hall Farm in nearby Aldsworth. Therefore, Richard’s association with
Minchinhampton must have been later in his life. It was also at Aldsworth, where his eldest
daughter Hannah was married in 1796, and where his last child William was
baptised, when his parents were confirmed as Richard Collett, a farmer of Hall
Farm, and his wife Eliza. Furthermore,
the Church Wardens & Parish Council
Accounts for St Bartholomew’s Church in Aldsworth include the name of Richard
Collett who carried out repairs to the church house between May 1793 and May
1795, for which he was paid Sixteen Shillings. Along with the entry for his
daughter’s wedding in the parish register, the very next entry related to the
baptism at Notgrove of the bride Hannah Collett on 19th September
1777, her parents named as Richard and Elizabeth Collett. Elizabeth Cooke, who was born in 1748, died
at Lower Slaughter and was buried at Notgrove in 1841 aged 93. Earlier that same year, according to the
census conducted in June 1841, Elizabeth Collett was living at Lower Slaughter,
in the dwelling next door to her married daughter Hannah Harris. The census that year allocated rounded ages
to adults, so Elizabeth Collett was recorded as being 95
2M12 – Mary Collett was
baptised on 11th January 1775 at
Notgrove; died on 3rd February 1778
2M13 – Hannah Collett was born in 1777 at
Notgrove
2M14 – Thomas Collett was born in 1780 at
Notgrove
2M15 – Richard Collett was born in 1782 at
Notgrove
2M16 – Robert Collett
was baptised on 6th February
1784 at Notgrove
2M17 – Jane Collett was born in 1785 at
Notgrove
2M18 – Mary Collett was
baptised on 13th February 1786
at Notgrove; died in 1825 at Lower Swell
2M19 – Henry Collett was born in 1786 at
Notgrove
2M20 – William Collett
was baptised on 14th October
1788 at Notgrove; infant
death
2M21 – William Collett was baptised on 15th April 1790 at Aldsworth
Ann Collett [2L13] was baptised on 17th
August 1751 at Notgrove, another daughter of Henry and Mary Collett. It was also at Notgrove that she married
Joseph Wood on 4th April 1783.
After just over six years, Ann Wood nee Collett died on 21st
July 1789
Henry Collett [2L16] was baptised on 5th
December 1758 at Notgrove where he married Mary Rowland (Ref. 10L2) on 1st
January 1787. His occupation was that of
cordwainer/shoemaker at which he was still known to be working in 1836. Mary was baptised on 15th April
1765 at Naunton, the daughter of William Rowland (Ref. 10K1) born circa 1740
who married Mary Stiles on 24th October 1762 at Naunton. Mary Rowland’s older brother William Rowland
(Ref. 10L1) married Sarah Jane Collett (Ref. 33M5) in 1813, Jane being the
daughter of William Collett (Ref. 33L1).
Details of the Rowland family are provided in Part 10 – Other Branch
Lines commencing with Robert Wake Rowland (Ref. 10J1). Later
in 1846, there was another marriage between the two families, on that occasion
it was John Collett (Ref. 3N4) and Sarah Rowland (Ref. 10M5). Details
of this family connection are provided in Part 3 – The Chedworth Line
commencing with the reference Ref. 3N4. And
there was yet another connection between the family of Mary Rowland and a later
generation of the Collett family and that was Walter Collett (Ref. 3O3) and his
wife Sarah Ann Dowler (Ref. 10O1). Both
of these were the great great grandchild of Henry
Collett who married Mary Rowland in 1787.
Details of this family connection
are provided in Part 10 – Other Branch Lines ending with the reference 10O1
Mary’s father William
Rowland (Ref. 10K1) died in 1818 and his Will made on 31st March and
proved on 30th October 1818 does not refer to daughter Mary Collett
(the wife of Henry) nor to his own wife Mary Rowland who had passed away in
1813 aged 69, and for whom there is a gravestone in the Naunton churchyard
confirming her death. All of the
children of Henry Collett and Mary Rowland listed below, with the exception of
Elizabeth Collett, were beneficiaries under the 1818 Will of their grandfather
William Rowland. The four daughters
Hannah, Jane, Sarah and Eliza, and son Robert each received £1, while the other
members of the family each inherited a house (see Will in Legal
Documents). What is of interest
is an earlier Will of William Rowland (Ref. 10K1) made on
It was obviously the
earlier than expected deaths of William’s wife and his daughter that resulted
in the need for him to rewrite his Will in the months leading up to his own
death. All of the children of Henry and
Mary Collett were born and baptised at Notgrove where Henry Collett died on 10th
July 1840, Mary having died before 1818 as described above. In his Will, made and signed at Notgrove on
17th November 1830, Henry left his cottage and land at Naunton
rented by William Chandler to Henry Collett his eldest son. The aforementioned Will of William Rowland
also makes reference to William Chandler as a tenant. All of the nine other children were also
named in Henry’s Will with the youngest daughter referred to as Eliza
Collett. Henry’s son Richard Collett was
named as sole executor and Robert Rowland (Ref. 10L4) of Naunton, Mary
Rowland’s brother, was named as trustee (see Will in Legal Documents). It was at the house of Robert Rowland
that a group of protestant dissenters, including Henry Collett and his family,
met to worship following receipt of a certificate of approval signed by the
Bishop of Gloucester in 1797. In the
following months a chapel was built and completed in 1800 which was replaced in
1850 by the chapel that is still there today (see Bishop’s Certificate in
Legal Documents)
Also of interest, is an
entry in the Naunton Chapel Good Works Fund which records that, on 10th
May 1806, the daughters of Henry Collett were each given four shillings to “encourage
the girls’ singing”. The girls were
referred to as ‘Hannah’ who would have been 18 years of age, ‘Betty’ 16, ‘Sophia’
14, and ‘Mary’ who was three
2M22 – Hannah Collett was born in 1787 at
Notgrove
2M23 – Elizabeth
Collett was
born in 1790 at Notgrove
2M24 – Sophia Collett was born in 1792 at
Notgrove
2M25 – Henry Collett was born in 1794 at
Notgrove
2M26 – Robert Collett was born in 1797 at
Notgrove
2M27 – Richard Collett was born in 1800 at
Notgrove
2M28 – Mary Collett was born in 1803 at
Notgrove
2M29 – Jane Collett was born in 1808 at
Notgrove
2M30 – Sophia Sarah
Collett was
born in 1810 at Notgrove
2M31 – Eliza Collett was born in 1787 at
Notgrove
Samuel Collett [2L17] was baptised on
12th June 1762 at Notgrove, another son of Henry Collett and Mary
Fluck. He married Martha Harris at
Cheltenham on 7th October 1788.
Eight years later Samuel’s niece Hannah Collett [2M13] married William
Harris at Aldsworth and, while the first child of Samuel and Martha was born at
Notgrove, there is a record at Aldsworth for the baptism of Henry Collett, the
son of Samuel and Martha in 1792. The
remainder of their children were born at Cheltenham, where the family must have
lived most of their life
2M32 – Henry Collett was born in 1791 at
Notgrove
2M33 – Mary Collett was
baptised on 22nd January 1794 at
Cheltenham
2M34 – William Collett
was baptised on 22nd March 1797
at Cheltenham
2M35 – Hannah Collett
was baptised on 11th April 1798
at Cheltenham
2M36 – Sarah Collett
was baptised on 11th April 1798
at Cheltenham
2M37 – Elizabeth
Collett was baptised on 5th
February 1800 at Cheltenham
2M38 – Samuel Collett
was baptised on 5th July 1805 at
Cheltenham
Jane Collett [2L18] was born in 1763
at Notgrove where she married Thomas Cooke on 28th December
1785. Thomas was very likely the brother
of Elizabeth Cooke who married Jane’s brother Richard Collett (above)
Robert Collett [2L19] was baptised at
Notgrove on 28th April 1765, the youngest son of Henry Collett and
Mary Fluck. He married Elizabeth Clarke
by licence on 1st April 1784 in the neighbouring village of Naunton,
where their two sons were born and baptised.
Elizabeth was born at Naunton in 1763 and it is understood that Robert
was slightly older, perhaps even born as early as 1759 making him anything up
to five years old when he was baptised. In 2002 Martin Collett (Ref. 3R3) from
Australia raised the question that perhaps Robert Collett had married Hannah
Hall rather than Elizabeth Clarke, but to date no proof has been provided to support
this theory, although it has since been established that Richard Collett
(below), the son of Robert and Elizabeth Collett, married Anne Hall
2M39 – Howell Collett was born in 1784 at
Naunton
2M40 – Richard Collett was born in 1786 at
Naunton
Mary Collett [2L20] was born at
Notgrove, where she was baptised on 26th January 1768, the last
child of Henry Collett and Mary Fluck.
Twenty-one year later, Mary Collett married John Wood at Notgrove on 21st
March 1789. There are other links
between the Collett and Wood families as detailed in Part 3 – The Chedworth
Line (Ref. 3M1)
Joseph Collett [2L21] was born at
Notgrove in 1752 where he was baptised on 19th November 1752, the
son of John Collett and Ann Harman. He
married Elizabeth (Betty) Beauchamp on 21st January 1776 at Cold
Aston (also known as Aston Blank), where all of the children were born and
baptised. Elizabeth was born on 9th
June 1754, the daughter of Benjamin and Esther Beecham at either Aston Blank or
possibly Temple Guiting. Joseph Collett
died at Aston Blank on 4th March 1824 aged 72
2M41 – Ann Collett was baptised on 10th
November 1776 at Aston Blank
2M42 – Esther (Hester)
Collett
was born in 1780 at Aston Blank
2M43 – John Collett was born in 1782 at
Aston Blank
2M44 – Richard Collett
was baptised on 17th July 1785 at Aston Blank; died on 25th
October 1792
2M45 – Mary Collett was born in 1788 at
Aston Blank
2M46 – Samuel Collett was born in 1790 at
Aston Blank
2M47 – Richard Collett was born in 1792 at
Aston Blank
2M48 – Betty Collett
was baptised on 5th July 1795 at Aston Blank
2M49 – Joseph Collett was born in 1798 at
Aston Blank
Elizabeth Collett [2L22] was
baptised on 14th October 1759 at Notgrove, the second of the two
known children of John Collett and Ann Harman.
It was also at Notgrove, where she married David Thornhill on 21st
March 1778
John Collett [2L23] was born at
Bromsgrove on 10th July 1775 and was baptised there on 11th
August 1775, the eldest child of Richard and Mary Collett. John’s father was the churchwarden at the
Church of St John the Baptist in Bromsgrove in 1778, and it therefore seems
highly likely that it was at that same church that John was baptised. It was also at Bromsgrove, at the age of 21,
that John Collett married (1) Mary Harman on 17th November
1796. Mary was the daughter of James
Harman and Sarah Patchett and was born on 21st July 1774. The marriage produced six children for John
and Mary, all of whom were born at Bromsgrove.
Tragically Mary Collett nee Harman died on 4th March 1813 and
it would appear that her last born child, her son James who was five years old
when she died, was given his mother’s maiden name by way of a tribute. Shortly after her death, Richard married (2)
Mary Freer and that may have been at the time that he was a Major in the North
Worcestershire Volunteers and was posted to Newfoundland, where he went in 1815
accompanied by the whole family. It was
after the family had arrived in Newfoundland that Mary Freer presented John
with a further four children, although the details of only three of them are
known. Tragically, it seems likely that,
John Collett died had before the birth of the last child. This is the family line of Bonnie Brown and
Max Collett of Newfoundland, the continuation of which is provided in Part 32 –
The Newfoundland Line
John
Brain Collett [2M1]
was born at Upper Slaughter in 1782 and was baptised there on 18th
January 1783, the eldest child of Henry Collett and Margaret Brain. He married Ann Lea on 24th
December 1812 at Upper Slaughter, where their children were born. Ann was the daughter of Thomas Lea of Kirkham
Farm in Upper Slaughter and his wife Esther Burford. By the time of the census in June 1841, their
eldest daughter had died six months earlier, when the family living at The
Square in Upper Slaughter comprised John and Ann Collett who had rounded ages
of 55 and 50 years respectively, and their five children John and Sarah Collett,
both with a rounded age of 20, Henry Collett who was 15, Jane Collett who was
13 and Hester Collett who was 10 years of age.
On that same day John’s son George was living and working at
Bourton-on-the-Water. Twelve years
earlier, on 31st August 1829, Edward Cook passed away and on 10th
December 1829 it was John Brain Collett who had released to him some property
previously in the name of Edward Cook.
Rather interestingly, Edward Cook was also referred to in the indenture
of marriage between John’s sister Keziah Collett (below) and Jacob Parker. On 6th October 1842 John Brain
Collett granted a mortgage of £450 to William Griffin
At the Gloucester Records Office there is a
document made in 1824 which linked Francis E Witts and John Brain Collett and
his wife Ann, and two of their children Sarah and George. It is now established that Francis Witts was
the parson who kept immaculate parish records at Upper Slaughter and the book,
compiled in 2017 by Alan Sutton entitled ‘The Complete Diary of a Cotswold Parson’,
relates to him. The diary includes
references to at least sixteen members of the Collett families from that area
of Gloucestershire, and these can be found here in Part 2, in Part 14 and in
Part 33. Below are the dated items when
John Brain Collett was mentioned, which includes the date that his daughter
Sarah Collett passed away
“17th November 1824 - The principal farmers of
Upper Slaughter, Messrs. Cook, Collett, E Lea, & Davis, dined with us.”
“25th September 1844 - Visited J. B. Collett’s
daughter, now apparently rapidly drawing to her end in the last stage of
consumption, sensible, and in a good frame of mind.”
“26th September 1844 - Administered the
Sacrament of the Lord’s supper to J. B. Collett’s eldest daughter, now lying
apparently on her death‑bed, her parents and Aunt Lea communicating with
her.”
“29th September 1844 - Of late the leading
farmers have been desirous to come to some understanding as to an entire
exclusion, at least, of pigs, but J B Collett objected, and the matter had been
allowed to sleep; but is now revived by the late dissentions as to pigs
trespassing between Davis and J B Collett.”
“2nd October 1844 - Visited poor Sarah Collett,
whose life is still protracted in a very feeble and suffering condition.”
“6th October 1844 - Sarah Collett died.”
“10th December 1844 - Engaged at home with the
Churchwardens and my Co-Trustee, Mr. E. Lea, (J B Collett being seriously ill)
in making various arrangements as to the parochial affairs.”
“28th January 1845 - Also visited J B Collett,
who is a great invalid. 11th
February - Called on J B Collett, who continues ill.”
“22nd January 1847 - Called at J. Collett’s on
business.”
“6th March 1847 - Transacting parish business
with Mr. Ed. Lea, Mr. Davis, Mr. Gregory & Mr. J. B. Collett.”
“8th March 1847 - A parish meeting was held at
my house, present Messrs. E Lea, John Brain Collett, W Gregory and myself.”
“2nd May 1848 - Engaged in parish matters with
W. Gregory, and J B Collett.”
“15th December 1849 - J B Collett’s Hill Barn
broken open and robbed: the perpetrators not detected.”
“17th December 1849 - The barn breakers, who stole
fowls & barley from J B Collett’s barn, have not yet been detected.”
“5th February 1850 - Conferred with my
Co-trustees, E Lea and J B Collett, as to the propriety of beginning to build
cottages on the Church land property near the Church.”
“9th July 1850 - Called on parish business at
Mrs. Collett’s and J B Collett’s.”
On the day of the census in 1851, farmer John B
Collett from Upper Slaughter was living there at the age of 68. With him was his wife Ann Collett who was 62
and born at Crudwell, and their unmarried son Henry Collett who was 26 and also
born at Upper Slaughter. John Brian
Collett of Upper Slaughter died later that same year, having made his Will on
26th December 1849. Following
his death, the valuation of his effects, amounting to £287 15 Shilling 9 Pence,
was recorded on 27th November 1851.
His Will was subsequently proved on 6th April 1852. His widow survived him by eight years when
she died in 1859, having been born in 1888, for whom there is a gravestone at
Upper Slaughter confirmed Ann Collett nee Lea passed away during 1859
“24th March 1851 - J B Collett retracted the
consent he had given; arguing under false prepossessions, and with an assumed
regard to integrity and charity, but also indulging a narrow, captious, and
contentious disposition; and pressing his views in a suspicious, offensive, and
misstating tone. It is true that much
allowance should be made for persons of contracted views, and little education,
hardly removed above the class of a peasant: but I judged it right to express
myself as justly offended. J B C’s
conduct was disapproved by all the Rate payers present.”
“26th March 1851 - Officiated at the wedding of
James Cambray and Jane Elizabeth Collett, both of this parish.”
“28th March 1852 - Mr. Kendal, who called on me
by appointment, that Mrs. J. B. Collett & her son might prove before me, as
Commissioner, the Will of the late J. B. Collett of which they are the
Executors.”
2N1 – Anne Eliza
Collett was born in 1814 at Upper Slaughter; died in 1840
2N2 – John Brain
Collett
was born in 1816 at Upper Slaughter
2N3 – Sarah Collett was
born in 1818 at Upper Slaughter; died in 1844
2N4 – George Collett was born in 1820 at
Upper Slaughter
2N5 – Henry Collett was born in 1824 at
Upper Slaughter
2N6 – Jane Elizabeth
Collett
was born in 1827 at Upper Slaughter
2N7 – Hester Margaret
Collett
was baptised on 25th July 1831 at Upper Slaughter; died in 1849
Henry
Collett [2M2] was
born at Upper Slaughter and it was there that he was baptised on 14th
August 1792, the second son of Henry and
Margaret Collett. It seems highly likely
that he was known as Harry Collett, to identify him separately from his father,
and it was as Harry Collett of Upper Slaughter that he was involved with a deed
poll on 1st October 1824 with his brother-in-law Jacob Parker, who
married Harry’s sister Keziah Collett (below)
Keziah
Collett [2M4] was
born at Upper Slaughter, where she was baptised on 24th December
1797, the youngest known child of Henry Collett and Margaret Brain. It was on 30th April 1816, that
Keziah Collett and Jacob Parker were involved in an indenture, drawn up prior
to their wedding day. On 3rd
May 1829 Keziah Parker and her brother John Brain Collett were recorded as
settling their accounts, and later that same year, on 25th September
1829, Keziah Parker made her Will.
Sometime during the next six years Keziah Parker nee Collett died and,
on 18th June 1835, the administration of the goods of Keziah Parker
was recorded at Upper Slaughter, when she was described as ‘previously
Collett’. On the following day was
documented a release of John Brain Collett from his sister Keziah Parker nee
Collett. Details of this were recorded in the parish diary at Upper Slaughter as
follows: “18th March 1835
- Engaged at home and at the office of Messrs. Wilkins & Kendal, Bourton,
transacting parochial business, in the matter of Jacob Parker. He is now come to claim some money, to which
he is entitled in right of his first wife, Kezia Collett, and which is chargeable
on the property of her brother, John B. Collett.”
John Collett [2M6] was born in 1782
at Arlington in the parish of Bibury, the eldest of the four known children of
Job Collett of Salperton and Susannah Harden of Arlington Row in Bibury. It was also at Bibury that John was baptised
on 8th March 1782. He
enlisted for military service at Winchester on
ELIZABETH COLLETT [2M6]
was born at Arlington in 1785 and was baptised on 17th May 1785 at
Bibury, the only known daughter of Job and Susannah Collett. Elizabeth’s only child, William Collett, was
born out of wedlock, the father being John Iles a farmer of Saddlewood in the
parish of Hawkesbury in Gloucestershire.
Details included in the Bastardy Bond (below) state that Elizabeth was
living and working in Hawkesbury. It
is therefore more than likely that she worked on John Iles’ farm, where she may
have been in service with the Iles family and had living quarters in the
house. The suggestion of a link
between the Iles family and that of Collett, even if only as an
employer/benefactor, occurs in Part 1 – The Main Line, when Charles Collett
(Ref. 1O30) who was born in 1846, has Iles as a second christian name. It was much later in her life that
Elizabeth married John Haynes at Bibury on 11th November 1826. By that time, she was only six months from
her forty-second birthday so, as a result, the marriage produced no children
for the couple. Instead Elizabeth Haynes
died ten years later on 1st December 1836 at Arlington. John Haynes, who was born in 1786, died on 10th
March 1864 in the Northleach Union Workhouse
1809 Bibury Parish
Records
Know all men by these presents
that I, John Iles of Saddlewood in the Parish of Hawkesbury in the County of
Gloucestershire, farmer, am held and firmly bound to Thomas Davis and William
Powell as Churchwarden and Overseer of the poor of the Parish Of Bibury in the
said County of Gloucestershire and their ancestors in the sum of Forty Pounds
of lawful money current in Great Britain to be paid to the said Thomas Davis
and William Powell or their certain attorney, executors, administrators,
ancestors or assigns for which payment to be well and faithfully made. I bind myself, my heirs, executors and
administrators and every of them firmly by these presents sealed with my seal
dated the ninth day of March in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred
and Nine. Whereas Elizabeth Collett of
the Parish of Hawkesbury aforesaid but now residing in the Parish of Bibury
aforesaid, single woman is big and pregnant with a bastard child and declares
that the said John Iles is the father of such child which if born in the said
Parish of Bibury will become chargeable thereto. And whereas the said Thomas Davis and William
Powell as Churchwarden and Overseer as aforesaid having it in contemplation to
remove the said Elizabeth Collett from this Parish of Bibury to the said Parish
of Hawkesbury the said John Iles hath applied to and requested them to permit
the said Elizabeth Collett to remain in the said Parish of Bibury for the
conveniency of having her mother with whom she resides to take care of her, to
which the said Thomas Davis and William Powell have consented on the said John
Iles entering into the above obligation to indemnify the said Parish of Bibury
from the burden of the said Bastard Child in manners hereinafter mentioned. Now the Condition of this Obligation is such
that if the above bounder John Iles his heirs, executors or administrators do
and shall from time to time and at all times hereafter fully and clearly acquit
free and discharge or well and sufficiently save defined keep harmless and
indemnified the above named Thomas Davis and William Powell Churchwarden and
overseer of the poor of the Parish of Bibury aforesaid and their successors for
the time being and every of them as also the inhabitants and parishioners of
the said Parish of Bibury which now are or hereafter shall be for the time
being and every of them of and from all manners of expenses, damages, costs and
charges whatever which shall or may at any time thereafter arise, happen, grow or
be imposed upon them or any or either of them for or by reason or measure of
the said Elizabeth Collett being big with child as aforesaid or for or by
reason of the birth, maintenance, education and bringing up of such child or
children as she the said Elizabeth Collett now goeth with and shall be
delivered of and of said from all other actions, suits, troubles, charges,
damages and demands whatsoever breaking or concerning the same then the above
written obligation to be void otherwise to be and remain in full force and
virtue
John Iles signed his name in a clear, bold,
flowing style, as did Thomas Davis and William Powell
2N8 – WILLIAM COLLETT was born in 1809 at
Bibury
Thomas Collett [2M7] was born at
Bibury in 1788 where he was baptised on 21st September 1788, the son
of Job and Susannah Collett. It was also
at Bibury that Thomas Collett married Mary Coates of Quenington on 16th
September 1811. By the time of the
census in 1841 the marriage of Thomas and Mary had produced ten children for
the couple, and all except one of them was baptised at the parish church in
Bibury, the odd one being Joseph who was baptised at Taynton, near Burford, in
Oxfordshire. The census that year listed
Thomas as 55, although it was common practice in the first national UK census
for adult ages to be rounded to the nearest five years. Thomas’ wife Mary also had a rounded age of
55, and Thomas was recorded as working as an agricultural labourer. Thomas was also the founder member of the
Arlington Baptist Church, the couple having originally been members of the
Baptist Church at Fairford. Living with
Thomas and Mary in June 1841 at Arlington Row in Bibury were their daughters
Mary who was 12 and Martha who was 10, their married son John and his wife
Mary, and 85-year-old Anne Collett who was the aunt of Thomas Collett, being
the younger sister of his father Job Collett, who had only died two years
earlier in 1839 at Bibury
Unlike the later census
records, the 1841 Census did not include address details. However, it has subsequently been determined
that Thomas Collett and his family did actually live at Arlington Row in
Bibury, as stated above. By the time of the
next census in 1851, Thomas and his wife Mary were both aged 65 and were still
living at Arlington Row in Bibury. Also
still living there with them at that time was their daughter Martha Collett was
19 and born at Arlington, together with their son Joseph Collett who was 28 and
listed as ‘a journeyman miller of Faringdon’ who was born at Taynton. In addition to those two children, Thomas and
Mary’s older married son John, and his wife Mary from Down Ampney, and their
son William, were once again sharing the accommodation with them. It was just six years later that Mary Collett
nee Coates died and was buried at Bibury on 18th May 1857, and she
was followed one year later by her husband Thomas who was buried with her on 17th
April 1858
2N9 – Richard Collett
was baptised on 12th April 1812 at Bibury; buried 13th
October 1812
2N10 – Mary Ann Collett
was baptised on 12th December 1813 at Bibury; buried 3rd
July 1814
2N11 – John Collett was born in 1815 at
Bibury
2N12 – Ann Collett was born in 1818 at
Bibury
2N13 – Job Collett was born in 1821 at
Bibury
2N14 – Joseph Collett was born in 1822 at Taynton,
Oxfordshire
2N15 – Susannah Collett was born in 1824 at
Bibury
2N16 – Elizabeth
Collett
was born in 1826 at Bibury
2N17 – Mary Collett was born in 1829 at
Bibury
2N18 – Martha Collett was born in 1831 at
Bibury
Mary Collett [2M9] was born around
1780 and was baptised at Bibury on 22nd May 1780, the first of three
base-born children of Anne Collett. The
father of the child was named as John Burge who may well have been related to
Samuel Burge, who was a witness at the wedding of Mary’s uncle Job Collett to
Susannah Harden at Bibury in January 1780
Hannah Collett [2M13] was baptised on 19th
September 1777 at Notgrove, the second child of Richard Collett and Elizabeth
Cook. She later married William Harris
at nearby Aldsworth on 5th April 1796 with whom she had five
children. The next entry in the Aldsworth parish register confirmed
the date (above) when Hannah was baptised at Notgrove, the daughter of Richard
and Elizabeth Collett. This
could be another link to Part 9 – The Aldsworth Line. However, in the census of 1841 widow Hannah
Harris, aged 60 – a rounded age, was living at Lower Slaughter in a dwelling
immediately adjacent to that of her elderly mother Elizabeth Collett, who died
not long after. After a further ten
years, widow Hannah Harris from Notgrove was 73 years of age, by which time,
she was living with her younger brother Thomas Collett (below) at his home in
Prescott near Winchcombe. Seven years
later, the death of Hannah Harris was recorded at Winchcombe (Ref. 6a 242)
during the second quarter of 1858
Thomas Collett [2M14], who was a
farmer, was baptised at Notgrove on 20th January 1780, the third
child and eldest son of Richard Collett and Elizabeth Cooke. He married Mary Fletcher on 24th
February 1807 at Sherborne in Gloucestershire.
Sherborne and Aldsworth, where Thomas’ sister Hannah (above) was
married, straddle the A40 road six miles west of Burford on the
Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire county boundary.
The first four children were baptised at Somerford Keynes, near
Cirencester, with the later children being born after the family moved to the
Kineton and Temple Guiting area, north of Notgrove, those later children being
baptised at Temple Guiting. Mary Collett
passed away in 1837, her death recorded at nearby Winchcombe (Ref. xi 357)
during the autumn that year. It now
appears, that despite his advancing years, Thomas married the much younger
Elizabeth Gardener from Cricklade, near Somerford Keynes, their wedding recorded
at Cirencester (Ref. xi 287) only a few months after he was widowed. Over the following three years, Elizabeth
presented Thomas with a son and a daughter, the new family of four being
together and living at Stanway near Winchcombe in 1841. Thomas was 60, wife Elizabeth was 34, Richard
Collett was three and Ellen Collett was one year old. Staying with the family was William Collett
aged 25 and his wife Eliza aged 24, neither of whom had been born in the
county. Who they were, has still to be
determined. By 1851, Thomas Collett from
Notgrove was 70 and living at Prescott near Winchcombe where he was described
as a farmer of 30-acres employing one labourer, who was once again a
widower. With him that
day was his son Richard Collett who was 13, and Thomas’ older married, but
widowed sister, Hannah Harris (above) who was 73 and also born at Notgrove
Thomas’ missing daughter
Ellen had died in 1843, her death recorded at Cirencester (Ref. xi 201) during
the final quarter of the year, where the birth of her older brother Richard
James Collett was recorded (Ref. xi 223) in 1838, with her birth recorded at
Winchcombe (Ref. xi 457) during the third quarter of 1840. The next census in 1861, recorded Thomas
Collett from Notgrove, as a retired farmer who was 83 and the son-in-law of
tailor William Walton, the husband of Thomas’ eldest daughter Anne Walton, nee
Collett. The Walton family lived at the
Market Square, where William Walton had a tailor’s shop. Two years later, the death of Thomas Collett
was recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold (Ref. 6a 288) during the first three months of
1863. The death of his son Richard James
Collett was also recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold twelve years later (Ref. 6a 333)
during the first quarter of 1875. It
is likely that Mary Fletcher was the sister of Anne Fletcher who married
Thomas’ younger brother Henry Collett (below).
There is also a further link, insofar as the children of that marriage
were also born and baptised at Somerford Keynes and Temple Guiting. It is also likely that the sister of Mary and
Anne Fletcher was Susanna Fletcher who married Mr Waine, whose son Joseph Waine
married Jane Collett (Ref. 9M23) at Aldsworth in 1840
2N19 – Anne Collett was born in 1807 at
Somerford Keynes
2N20 – Thomas Cooke Collett
was baptised on 22nd January 1809 at Somerford Keynes; infant death
2N21 – Richard Joseph Collett
was baptised on 17th June 1810 at Somerford Keynes
2N22 – John Collett was born in 1816 at
Somerford Keynes
2N23 – Mary Fletcher Collett
was baptised on 7th June 1818 at Temple Guiting
2N24 – Thomas Cooke Collett was born in 1821 at Kineton,
near Temple Guiting
Richard Collett [2M15], who was referred
to as ‘of Condicote and Naunton’ was
born at Notgrove, where he was baptised on 9th January 1782. It is now established that he was married at
Northleach on 4th October 1808 to Elizabeth Midwinter (born circa
1786) who died less than two years after Richard. This new information therefore
means that the previously mentioned marriage of Richard and Mary Humphries on
30th September 1822 at Guiting Power must relate to a different
Richard Collett. However, it has not yet
been determined whether or not Richard and Elizabeth every had any
children. On the day of the census in
June 1841, Richard and Elizabeth were recorded at Condicote when Richard
Collett was 59 and his wife was 54. Over
a period of years, Richard Collett of Condicote was mentioned in parish diary
records, as follows:
“8th March 1838 - An amendment that the salary
be £20 per ann. was moved by Smith and seconded by Collett, Condicote.
1st September 1842 - The other successful
Candidate was a Collett, nephew to the Guardian of Condicote, of apparently
delicate constitution, a little schoolmaster, having been apprenticed to a
Grocer, and managed a Grocery business in London, which he was obliged to leave
through indifferent health: this man writes well, and is conversant with
accounts, and has kept a school latterly at Lower Guiting, of which parish he
is also Assistant Overseer.
20th July 1850 - Justice business at home: wrote
a note to Mr. R. Collett of Condicote, advising him to take a certain course in
respect of a Servant who had lodged a complaint against him”
Less than a year later,
it was the census in 1851 which confirmed that the occupation of Richard
Collett from Notgrove was that of a farmer of 500 acres at Condicote, where he
employed 15 labourers. On that day
Richard was 68 and his wife Elizabeth was 64 and born at Aldsworth. Staying with the couple was their niece
Elizabeth Midwinter who was 26 and from Ascott in Warwickshire. Although he died on 16th January
1860 at Latter Place in London, a grand marble plaque inside St Andrews Church
at Naunton bears his name and that of his wife, as detailed here. “In Memory of Richard Collett of Dale House in the parish
and formerly of Condicote who died January 16th 1860 aged 78 years
also of Elizabeth his wife who died September 4th 1862 aged 76
years”
Jane Collett [2M18] was born at
Notgrove and was baptised there on 13th July 1785. In 1820 she married John Wood and in the 1850
Will of Henry Collett (below) – Jane’s cousin - there was a reference to land
purchased from John Wood (see Wills in Legal Documents)
Henry Collett [2M19] was baptised at
Notgrove on 13th February 1786 in a joint ceremony with his sister
Mary (above). It is therefore possible
that he and Mary may have been twins, the children of Richard Collett and
Elizabeth Cooke. Henry married Anne
Fletcher at Somerford Keynes on 14th January 1808. At the time of the baptism of Henry’s and
Ann’s son James Robert Collett in 1817, Henry was described as being a
farmer. Ten years earlier in 1807 the
parish Terrier for Somerford Keynes indicated that Croft House, with 290 acres
of the former Southby estate, was occupied by Richard Collett. He may have been Henry’s older brother
Richard (above) who would have been twenty-six years old. In the census of 1851, Henry was 65 and was living
at Daglingworth near Cirencester where he was working as a farm bailiff. It would appear that the family moved about a
lot during their life, judging by the different places that the children were
baptised. The first four were baptised
at Somerford Keynes, the next child at Kineton near Temple Guiting and, after
the birth and death of the couple’s sixth child, the last two children were
born at Fairford. Henry Collett died on
15th December 1852 at Daglingworth aged 66 and was buried at the
Sheep Street Independent Cemetery in Cirencester. The cause of death on the death certificate
was stated to be Cludin disease of the liver and jaundice. Anne was born on 9th May 1784, the
daughter of Joseph and Susannah Fletcher.
She died on 19th October 1865 at 7 Palmer’s Terrace, Holloway
in London at the home of her son Richard John Collett (below) and was buried at
Norwood Cemetery. The cause of death was
hydrothorax
2N25 – Henry John Collett was born in 1809 at
Somerford Keynes
2N26 – Susannah
Elizabeth Collett
was born in 1810 at Somerford Keynes
2N27 – Mary Jane
Collett
was born in 1812 at Somerford Keynes
2N28 – Phoebe Ann
Collett
was born in 1814 at Somerford Keynes
2N29 – James Robert
Collett
was born in 1816 at Kineton
2N30 – Nathaniel George
Collett was bapt on 11th March 1820 at Northleach; died on 1st
April 1820
2N31 – Nathaniel George
Collett
was born in 1822 at Fairford
2N32 – Richard John
Collett
was born in 1825 at Fairford
Hannah Collett [2M22] was baptised on
18th November 1787 at Notgrove.
She married Thomas Hawker at Chedworth on 11th November
1805. In the 1830 Will of her father
Henry Collett she was referred to as Hannah Hawker. Hannah was also a beneficiary in the 1818
Will of her grandfather William Rowland (Ref. 10K1)
Elizabeth Collett [2M23] was
baptised on 24th January 1790 at Notgrove where she married Mr
Carroll as confirmed in the 1830 Will of her father Henry Collett. Curiously Elizabeth and her brother Henry
(below) were the only children of Henry Collett and Mary Rowland not to be
named as beneficiaries in the 1818 Will of their grandfather William Rowland
Sophia Collett [2M24] was baptised on 15th
June 1792 at Notgrove where she married George Norton on 5th June
1815, as confirmed in the 1818 Will of her grandfather William Rowland and the
1830 Will of her father Henry Collett.
It would seem very likely that Sophia and George had a son born between
1816 to 1826 and that he married his cousin Mary Ann Collett (Ref. 3N6) born in
1828, the daughter of Henry Collett (below)
Henry Collett [2M25] was baptised on 7th
July 1794 at Notgrove where he married Mary Ann Margetts on 31st
July 1815. It may be of interest that
Henry’s nephew William Collett, the son of his brother Robert Collett (below),
married Elizabeth (Betsy) Margetts from Stowell in Wiltshire shortly after
1861. The married of Henry and Mary Ann
Margetts produced a total of nine children, and all of them born at Chedworth
in Gloucestershire. As the parents were
opposed to the ordinance of infants, the births were simply registered at the
Chedworth Independent Church. Henry
Collett died on 16th March 1850 aged 55 and was buried at Chedworth,
as detailed on his gravestone. His death
was recorded in the Northleach registration district. Henry’s Will was made and signed on 20th
February 1850 at Chedworth, the details of which are provided in Part 3 –
The Chedworth Line (Ref. 3M1)
Robert Collett [2M26] was baptised on 23rd
April 1797 at Notgrove. Robert was a
beneficiary in the 1818 Will of his grandfather William Rowland. He married (1) Sarah Wilson on 22nd
April 1822 at Chedworth. The marriage
was witnessed by Moses White and Sarah’s aunt Catherine Wilson, both of whom
were married there in October 1823 and the witnesses at their marriage were
Robert Collett and Mary Wilson, another of Sarah’s sisters. The name Wilson occurs many times around that
period, not least of which was the reference to land that was purchased by
Henry Collett (above) from Simon Wilson, as stated in the Will of the same
Henry Collett. See also Ref. 3N3 for
another link to the Wilson name. All of
Robert and Sarah’s children were born at Chedworth, where Robert was a
cordwainer and shoemaker during his working life. According to the Chedworth census in 1841
Robert’s rounded age was 40, while Sarah’s was 35, when living with them were
their three children Elizabeth, who was 15, John, who was also 15, and William
who was 10. Just over nine years later
Sarah Collet nee Wilson died at Chedworth on 5th September 1850 at
the age of 47. Her mother, Elizabeth
Wilson ‘a venerable widow’ and owner of Fields Farm in Chedworth, died in
October 1867 at the aged of 93. She had
been married to Joshua Wilson. The 1842 Commutation of Tithes Map shows Elizabeth Wilson as owning
Fields Farm, comprising Quarry Piece, Orchard House, yard and garden, Home
Piece, Far Piece, and two enclosures totalling nine acres three rods and 13
perches
The Will of Robert’s
brother Henry Collett (above) mentioned a dwelling house purchased from Joseph
Wilson and he could be the father of Joshua Wilson who was married to the
Elizabeth Wilson referred to above.
Following Sarah’s death, Robert married (2) Mary Knapp of Chedworth Lower
End on 22nd March 1852 as witnessed by his son William and his
future daughter-in-law Elizabeth Margetts from Stowell. Mary was born around 1813 and also at Stowell
in Wiltshire, the daughter of gamekeeper Thomas Knapp. On 30th March 1851, and prior to
the wedding, Robert was residing at Chedworth Fields where he was listed as a
cordwainer aged 53 and a widower of Notgrove, and had living with him his son
William, aged 21 and a cordwainer of Chedworth.
Also living with them was their granddaughter Fanny Collett (Ref. 3O19),
who was eight years old and the base-born child of Robert’s daughter Elizabeth
According to the 1861
Census for Chedworth, Robert Collett, aged 65, was a shoemaker from Notgrove,
and was living with his younger wife Mary, aged 48 and from Stowell, and his
son William who was 31 and a shoemaker journeyman. Robert enjoyed only thirteen years with his
new wife before his death at Chedworth on 27th August 1864, at the
age of 67, where he was buried as detailed on his gravestone. Following the death of her husband, Mary
moved in with her stepson William, as confirmed by the 1871 Census for
Chedworth, which described her as Mary Collett, aged 57 and born at Stowell,
the housekeeper to William Collett who was 41.
Less than two months after the census Mary Collett nee Knapp died at
Chedworth on 25th May 1871. A
single headstone marks the grave of Robert Collett at Chedworth, on which both
of his wives are also mentioned, as follows:
“In
The Memory Of Robert Collett who died Aug 27th 1864 aged 67 yrs;
Sarah Collett wife of Robert Collett departed this life 5th Sept 1850 and Mary
his second wife who died 25th May 1871”
2N33 – Elizabeth Collett was born 1824 at Chedworth
2N34 – John Collett was
born on 7th February 1826 at Chedworth; baptised 6th
February 1828
2N35 – William Collett was born in 1829 at
Chedworth
Richard Collett [2M27] was
born at Notgrove in 1800. Very little is known about him except that he
married Jane and was a shoemaker like his father, as confirmed in the 1851
Census for Notgrove. Richard, aged 51
and from Notgrove, was listed as a cordwainer, while his wife Jane was 43 and
had been born at Chedworth. By 1861
Census the couple had moved to Miller Villa in Bourton-on-the-Water where
Richard was a retired grocer. That may
mean he took over the job of grocer from his deceased brother’s wife Mary Ann
Collett (above) who was listed as a widow and grocer in the 1851 Census for
Chedworth, see Part 3 – The Chedworth Line. Richard was a beneficiary in the 1818 Will of
his grandfather William Rowland. In the
1830 Will of his father Henry Collett, Richard was named as being the executor
and in the 1850 Will of his brother Henry Collett (above) he was joint
beneficiary (see Will in Legal Documents)
Mary Collett [2M28] was born around
1803 at Notgrove and was baptised there in 1806. She married Thomas Mason of London on 14th
September 1823 at St Mary’s Church in Cornhill in the City of London. Mary’s married name was confirmed in the 1830
Will of her father Henry Collett. Mary
Mason nee Collett died on 3rd November 1858 and was buried at
Notgrove. Mary was also a beneficiary in
the 1818 Will of her grandfather William Rowland
Jane Collett [2M29] was born around
1808 at Notgrove. She married Thomas
Harris of Lower Slaughter on 28th May 1831 at Notgrove. Like her siblings, Jane was also a
beneficiary in the 1818 Will of her grandfather William Rowland. Thomas was a carpenter and a wheelwright
Sophia Sarah Collett [2M30] was
baptised on 8th April 1810 at Notgrove where she married George
Williams on 25th December 1834.
Within the 1830 Will of her father Henry Collett there was a reference
to Sophia’s sister Sophia Norton (above), but no reference to Sophia Sarah
Collett. She did however appear as a
beneficiary in the 1818 Will of her grandfather William Rowland, although she
was listed as Sarah Collett
Eliza Collett [2M31], whose date of
birth is not known, is expected to be after 1810. As Eliza she was not only a beneficiary in
the 1818 Will of her grandfather William Rowland but was also mentioned in the
1830 Will of her father Henry Collett (see Will in Legal Documents). However, there is a question over
whether Eliza was a family name for Sophia Sarah Collett, as there was already
an earlier Sophia in the family
Henry Collett [2M32] was likely born
at the end of 1791 and was baptised on 17th January 1792 at
Notgrove, the son of Samuel Collett and Martha Harris. Previously, there was a reference here,
relating to another Henry Collett who was baptised at Aldsworth on 26th
March 1792 who was also the son of a Samuel Collett and his wife Martha. However, in 2020 it was revealed that they
were two completely different Henrys, with the following now known about the
Henry of Notgrove whose parents moved to Cheltenham shortly after he was born,
where his six younger siblings were born.
Henry was still residing in Cheltenham in 1841, when the census that
year included him and his family residing on the High Street, where Henry and
his wife Jane had rounded aged of 45, and their three children were Jane
Collett who was 20, Evelina Collett who was 15, and Emily Collett who was eight
years old. Ten years later the couple’s
eldest daughter Jane from Cheltenham was 30 and still unmarried, who was employed
by Peter and Susanna Matthews as a governess at their home in Elkstone, near
Cirencester. On the same day, daughter Evelina was 24 and a domestic servant at
the Cheltenham home of Robert and Eliza Fullerton at Hatherley Place, when her
place of birth was also confirmed as Cheltenham. Where their mother Jane was in 1851 has yet
to be discovered, while in 1861, Jane Collett from Cheltenham was a widow at
the age of 67 residing at Montpellier Walk in Cheltenham with her two youngest
daughters. Evelina was 34 and Emily was 27,
both of them dressmakers. It was the
same situation in 1871, when Jane was 77, Evelina was 40 (sic) and Emily 33 (sic). The death of Jane Collett, their mother, was
recorded at Cheltenham (Ref. 6a 253) during the first three months of 1875,
when she was 81 years old. Having lost
their mother, it is known that Evelina never married and was recorded living at
Regent Street in Cheltenham in 1891 when, at the age of 61 (sic), she was a
dressmaker who had her younger sister Emily, who was 54 (sic) and also a
dressmaker, living there with her. Early
in the following year, the death of Emily Ann Collett aged 57 was recorded at
Cheltenham (Ref. 6a 60) during the first quarter of 1892. By 1901, the Cheltenham census that year
identified Evelina Collett from Cheltenham as being 74 and a dressmaker, a
lodger at the home of elderly couple William and Mary Gregory. Four years after that day, Evelina Collett at
the age of 79, her death recorded at Cheltenham register office (Ref. 6a 134)
during the second quarter of 1905
2N36 – Jane Collett was
born in 1821 at Cheltenham
2N37 – Evelina Collett
was born in 1827 at Cheltenham
2N38 – Emily Ann Collett
was born in 1835 at Cheltenham
Howell Collett [2M39] was baptised at
Naunton on 5th December 1784, the eldest son of Robert Collett and
Elizabeth Clarke who were married on the April that same year. It would appear that Howell left
Gloucestershire after the turn of the century when he may his way to
London. On 12th December
1808, when he was twenty-four years old, he married Mary Guderidge (Gutteridge)
at St Mary’s Church on the St Marylebone Road in the Marylebone district of
London
Richard Collett [2M40] was
born at Naunton where he was baptised on 14th May 1786, the son of
Robert Collett and Elizabeth Clarke.
Richard was a blacksmith and on 16th April 1812 at
Moreton-in-Marsh he married Ann Hall who was born around 1788. At that time Richard was already established
as a blacksmith in the hamlet of Buckland, just south of the town Broadway
across the county boundary in Worcestershire.
Their marriage produced many children for Richard and Ann, all of whom
were born in the hamlet of Buckland and, for four of them their baptism was
carried out at the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Broadway. In the first national census held in June
1841 Ann Collett had a rounded age of 55 when she was living within the
Cheltenham and Winchcombe area of Gloucestershire. Her husband appears to have been away from
home, since the only suitable Richard Collett was also 55 and was recorded in
the Headington area of Oxford. And with
him was his son Robert who was 14. That
would not be unreasonable, since Broadway lies on the main road to and from
Oxford, which was just thirty miles away.
As regards his other children, the two eldest sons Richard and George
may have been living within the Cheltenham and Winchcombe areas respectively
near to their mother, when both of them were given a rounded age of twenty-five
Rather strangely, the
three younger members of the family, Francis, Selena, and Lavinia were still
living at the family home in Buckland in 1841, where blacksmith Francis, who
was 21, was looking after his two younger sisters. The couple’s only other known child, Ann
Collett, was 20 and she was living and working in Buckland not far from the
family home. Ten years later blacksmith
Richard and his wife Ann were listed in the Winchcombe census of 1851 as being
66 and 62 respectively, Winchcombe being just five miles south of
Buckland. By the time of the census of
1861 Richard and Ann had returned to the Broadway area where Richard Collett
was 74 and his wife was 72. Richard died
during the following decade and, it was after that when, Ann died while still
at Broadway in 1870
2N39 – Richard Collett was born in 1815 at
Buckland
2N40 – George Collett was born in 1817 at
Buckland
2N41 – Francis Collett was born in 1820 at
Buckland
2N42 – Ann Collett was
born in 1822 at Buckland
2N43 – Selena Collett was born in 1824 at
Buckland
2N44 – Robert Collett
was born in 1826 at Buckland
2N45 – Lavinia Collett was born in 1827 at
Buckland
Ann Collett [2M41] was baptised at Aston
Blank on 10th November 1776, the first-born child of Joseph Collett
and Elizabeth Beauchamp
Esther Collett [2M42] was baptised at
Aston Blank on 31st December 1780, another daughter of Joseph and
Betty Collett. It was also at Aston
Blank on 28th October 1804 that she married Thomas Braggington by
licence, although on that occasion she was recorded as Hester Collett. Thomas was born at Wenlode in Worcestershire
John Collett [2M43] was baptised on 27th
September 1782 at Aston Blank. He
married Hannah Leech on 23rd December 1802 at Sherborne. The first two children were born and baptised
at Sherborne, the next two at Notgrove, and the remainder at Aston Blank. Whilst John appeared in the 1841 Census for
Aston Blank, his wife did not as she had died three years before and was buried
at Aston Blank on 18th October 1838.
Widower John was living with his daughter Sarah, the other members of
the family having already left the family home
2N46 – Jane Collett was
baptised on 18th February 1803
at Sherborne; died 23rd February 1804
2N47 – Joseph Collett was born 1804 in at Sherborne
2N48 – Jane Collett was
baptised on 20th July 1806 at
Notgrove
2N49 – Eliza Collett
was baptised on 13th March 1808 at
Notgrove
2N50 – Harriet Collett
was baptised on 1st July 1810
at Aston Blank; died in September 1810
2N51 – John Collett was born 1811 in at
Aston Blank
2N52 – Ann Collett was born 1813 in at
Aston Blank
2N53 – William Collett was born 1815 in at
Aston Blank
2N54 – Henry Collett
was baptised on 26th July 1818
at Aston Blank; died in 1818
2N55 – Sarah Collett
was born 1821 in at Aston Blank
Mary Collett [2M45] was baptised on 6th
June 1788 at Aston Blank. According to
the church records, in 1795 Mary was one of twelve children attending the
village school at the church, the school being funded by a charity. She later married Abraham Webling from
Oxfordshire on 14th October 1807 at Aston Blank
Samuel Collett [2M46] was baptised on 3rd
January 1790 at Aston Blank. Just like
his sister Mary (above), Samuel also attended the village school at the church
in Aston Blank as confirmed by the church record of 28th March
1796. At the time of the 1841 Census,
Samuel was 50 and was an agricultural labourer living at Johnson Cottage in
Aston Blank
Richard Collett [2M47] was baptised at Aston Blank (Cold
Aston) on 16th December 1792 and was the son of Joseph Collett and
Betty Beauchamp. It is now established
that Richard was an agricultural labourer at Aston Blank, as was his nephew
William Collett [2N53], one of the sons of his older brother John Collett (above)
and Hannah Leech. It also appears that
they both moved north to Shropshire, where they both raised a family of their
own, Richard being twice married, first to Mary Humphries from Hazelton, near
Cold Aston, on 30th September 1822 at Guiting Power. Over the next twenty years, Mary presented
Richard with eight known children, the first four born at Cleobury Mortimer, the
two at Ludlow, with the remainder born at Neen Savage just north of Cleobury
Mortimer, where the family was living in 1841 at Stone House. Head of the household Richard Collett was 48
and recorded as the only member of the family not born in Shropshire. By that time, his son John had already died,
so the remaining members of the family were his family Mary who was 38, Samuel
who was 18, Mary who was 15, Esther who was 13, Joseph who was eight, Elizabeth
who was five and Susan (baptised Louise) who was three years of age. On that day, Mary was over halfway through the
pregnancy of her eighth child, who was born just a couple of months later. Tragically, three more of the surviving seven
children died between 1841 and 1844, all buried at Neen Savage, where mother
died, with Mary Collett nee Humphries was buried on 9th February
1842 aged 39. The full story of
Richard Collett, his eight children, and his second wife Sarah Gillett, can be
found in Part 67 – The Collett Family of Cleobury Mortimer (Salop)
Joseph Collett [2M49] was also baptised
on 8th April 1798 at Aston Blank, the last child born to Joseph
Collett and Elizabeth Beauchamp. It was
also at Aston Blank where he married Ann Still on 23rd February 1820
and where the children were born and baptised.
Ann was born on 5th May 1799 at Aston Blank, the daughter of
William and Rebecca Still. Joseph
Collett died at Aston Blank on 12th December 1836 at the relatively
young age of 38. Following the death of
her husband, his widow Ann Collett married (2) Thomas Shaw at Aston Blank
2N56 – Henry Collett was born in 1820 at Aston
Blank
2N57 – Harriet Collett was born in 1822 at
Aston Blank
John
Brain Collett [2N2]
was born at Upper Slaughter, where he was baptised on 24th December
1816, the second child and eldest son of John Brain Collett and Ann Lea. The later marriage of John Brain Collett and
Mary Ann Cambray was recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold (Ref. xi 108) during the
second quarter of 1846. Mary Ann was
born at Great Rissington and baptised at Windrush on 1st February
1818, the daughter of Anthony and Mary Cambray. All of their children were born at Upper
Slaughter, where they were living in 1851, when the family comprised John B
Collett, aged 34 and an agricultural labourer, who was also described as a
farmer’s son, his wife Mary A Collett who was 29 and from Great Rissington, and
their two young daughters were Anne B Collett who was four, and Caroline S Collett
who was two. Ten years on from then and
the family had grown by the addition of three more children, as confirmed in the
census of 1861. John Brain Collett, aged
44, was a farmer of 52 acres at Upper Slaughter, when his wife Mary Ann Collett
from Great Rissington was 40. Their five
children were listed as Annabelle B Collett who was 14, Caroline S Collett who
was 12, John Brain Collett who was nine, Mary Jane Collett who was four, and
George Edward Collett who was only one year old, and all of them born at Upper
Slaughter
By the time of the census in 1871 two
additional children had been born into the family, when John was 54 and Mary
Ann was 50. Their eldest daughter
Ann/Annabelle must have married and moved away by then, as there was no record
of her living at Upper Slaughter. The
couple’s second daughter was listed as Caroline Sarah Collett, aged 22, and her
siblings on that day were John Brain Collett aged 19, Mary Jane Collett aged 14,
George Edward Collett aged 11, and new arrivals Margaret Ellen Collett who was
eight, and Francis William Collett who was four years old, all of Upper
Slaughter. John Brain Collett died on 14th
March 1880 at the age of 63, following which he was buried at Upper Slaughter
where a headstone in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church marks his grave. The Will of John Brain Collett was made on 13th
January 1880 and was proved on 14th June 1880. As a consequence, in the census of 1881, Mary
Ann Collett was described as a widow of 60 years living in the village of Upper
Slaughter with her youngest son Francis William, aged 14, who was a carpenter’s
apprentice. Mary Ann’s two other sons
had left the family home by then. Eldest
son John Brain Collett was married and was still living at Upper Slaughter,
while George Edward Collett was still a bachelor but was living at Deptford in
London. Within the next few years Mary’s
son Francis was married so by 1891 Mary, who was then 70, was listed in the
census records as still living Upper Slaughter but with her son and his young
family. Mary Ann Collett died at Upper
Slaughter on 13th July 1895 and was buried at St Peter’s Church with
her husband
2O1 – Annabelle B Collett
was born in 1846 at Upper Slaughter
2O2 – Caroline Sarah
Collett
was born in 1848 at Upper Slaughter
2O3 – John Brain
Collett
was born in 1851 at Upper Slaughter
2O4 – Mary Jane Collett was born in 1857 at
Upper Slaughter
2O5 – George Edward
Collett
was born in 1859 at Upper Slaughter
2O6 – Margaret Ellen
Collett was born in 1862 at Upper Slaughter
2O7 – Francis William
Collett
was born in 1866 at Upper Slaughter
George Collett [2N4] was born at Upper Slaughter during
1820, the fourth child of John Brain Collett and Ann Lea. He was absent from his family’s home at The
Square in Upper Slaughter in June 1841, by which time George was already
working as a butcher’s apprentice at the Bourton-on-the-Water home of George
and Mary Smith. It was just over five
years later on 15th October 1846 that he
married (1) Elizabeth Emms at Stanway, four miles to the north of Guiting
Power. Once married the couple settled
in Guiting Power where, around one year later, Elizabeth presented George with
a daughter Mary Ann Cooper Collett, whose birth was recorded at Winchcombe
(Ref. xi 460) during the last three months of 1847, and who was baptised at
Guiting Power on 30th November 1847.
However, prior to that date, Elizabeth Collett had died, either during
or shortly after the birth of their daughter, with the death of Elizabeth
Collett was recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold (Ref. xi 255) during the third quarter
of 1847. When his daughter was
three years old, widower George Collett married (2) Ann Butler at Guiting Power
on 30th September 1850. Nine
years earlier, on the day of the census in 1841, Ann Butler, born at
Bourton-on-the-Water in 1832, was the fifth child of her parents in a family of
six sons and three daughters. The census
recorded the family living at Bourton, where her father was an agricultural
labourer
That second marriage produced a further eight
children for George, and all of them were born and baptised at Guiting
Power. However, just over six months
later, and at the time of the Guiting Power census of 1851, the family only
comprised George Collett from Upper Slaughter who was 30 and a butcher and a farmer of 25-acres, employing one man,
his second wife Ann Collett who was 20, and his daughter Mary Ann C Collett who
was three years old and from Guiting Power.
A domestic servant was also employed by George, 15-year-old Ann Hall
from Upper Slaughter. Ten years later
the enlarged Guiting Power family of George Collett, aged 39 and a butcher and
a farmer from Upper Slaughter, comprised his wife Ann Collett from Bourton who
was 30, Mary A C Collett who was 13, Jane Collett who was nine, Emily Collett
who was seven, George Collett who was six, John W Collett who was four, Ann
Collett who was three, and baby Esther Collett who was eight months old. The five oldest children were all attending
the village school at that time, while employed by the family were two
17-year-old servants, Thomas Vicarage and Ellen Morris. Two more children were added to the family
over the next five years, but sadly George died not long after that
It was during the second quarter of 1868, that
the death of George Collett was recorded at Winchcombe (Ref. 6a 236) when he
was 47 years old, and following which he was buried in the churchyard at
Guiting Power. His Will was proved
nearly a year later at the Principal Registry on 16th March 1869,
the details within which confirmed the date he died as 14th May
1868, when the main beneficiary was named as James Walker. Three years after losing her husband, his
widow Ann Collett, aged 39 and a laundress, was still living at Guiting Power
in 1871, but with just her five youngest children for company. They were John W Collett who was 14, Annie E
Collett who was 12, Esther M Collett who was ten, James F Collett who was
seven, and Ellen F Collett who was four years old, all of them born at Guiting
Power. In addition to her income from
being a laundress, Ann also took in boarders and, on that census day, had
Joseph Hill and John Williams staying at her address. Four
years later, thanks to information received from Geoffrey Edward Collett [2R18],
it is established that widow Ann Collett nee Butler married Job Lanchbury at
Guiting Power on 17th November 1875.
Job was a widower who was ten years younger than Ann, who had three
children by his first wife. As a result,
the marriage was not approved of by Ann’s eldest son George Edward, who
subsequently left Gloucestershire, to settle in the area just south of
Birmingham, where he was married just over one later. In the census of 1881 Job and Ann, together
with Job’s three children, were recorded living at Sudeley Park Cottage within
the parish of Sudeley Manor. Job
Lanchbury was 39 and a farm servant, his wife Ann was 49, and the three
children were named as Joseph E Lanchbury who was 15 and an under-game keeper,
Ellen F Lanchbury was 14 and Aldwin J Lanchbury was 11, both of them still
attending school. Absent from the family
home that day was Job’s eldest son Thomas Lanchbury, who later married Ann’s
eldest daughter Jane Elizabeth Collett
In addition to that, Ann’s three eldest Collett
children, including Jane, have also been identified within the 1881
census. The two daughters were both
living and working in Cheltenham, but at separate addresses, while married son George
was residing within the Birmingham area.
Of the remainder of her children only Annie E Collett of Guiting has
been located, and she was 23 and working as a cook and a domestic servant in
Plymouth, although she returned to Gloucestershire to be married three years
later. In the churchyard at Guiting
Power is a flat memorial stone commemorating the deaths of two of the daughters
of George Collett and Ann Butler.
Unfortunately, the old weathered stone slab does not reveal which two
daughters they are, although they are likely to be two from Ann, Hester and
Ellen. Further information received from the aforementioned Geoff Collett in
2016, states that the grandmother of the former Labour Member of
Parliament Lord Edward (Ted) Stanley Bishop (1920-1984), life peer Baron
Bishopston of Newark in Nottinghamshire, was the daughter of George Collett of
Guiting Power
This is the only child
of George Collett by his first wife Elizabeth Emms:
2O8 – Mary Ann Cooper
Collett was born in 1847 at Guiting Power
These
are the children of George Collett by his second wife Ann Butler:
2O9 – Jane Elizabeth
Collett
was born in 1852 at Guiting Power
2O10 – Emily Collett was born in 1853 at
Guiting Power
2O11 – George Edward
Collett
was born in 1855 at Guiting Power
2O12 – John William
Collett
was born in 1857 at Guiting Power
2O13 – Ann Eliza
Collett
was born in 1858 at Guiting Power
2O14 – Esther Margaret
Collett
was born in 1860 at Guiting Power
2O15 – James Frederick
Collett was born in 1863 at Guiting Power; died 1877
2O16 – Ellen Frances
Collett
was born in 1866 at Guiting Power
Henry
Collett [2N5] was
born at Upper Slaughter in 1824, where he was baptised on 18th
August 1824, another son of John Brain Collett and Ann Lee. When Henry was twenty-three years old, he had
built up quite a bad reputation for himself, which was recorded in the Upper
Slaughter parish diary as follows:
“2nd
October 1847
- Walked to Bourton on the Water to
consult with Mr. Kendal as to proceedings to be taken against Henry Collett,
son of J. B. Collett, of this parish, a very turbulent, ill-conditioned young
man, who had attempted pound breach yesterday morning.”
It was also at Upper Slaughter where farmer’s
son Henry Collett married Mary Ann Dunford on 10th January
1855. Mary Ann was from Little
Rissington and during the first six years of their marriage she presented Henry
with three children, all born at Lower Swell, where the family of five was
living at Stone Road in 1861. The census
that year recorded the family as Henry Collett aged 32 who was a farm bailiff,
Mary Ann Collett who was 26, Richard H Collett who was three, Sarah Collett who
was two and George Edward Collett who was not yet one year old. One more child was added to the family just
over two years later when they were still residing at Lower Swell, but after
that the family moved south to Essex. By the time of the next census in 1871 the whole
family was recorded at Harold Wood, to the north-east of Romford in Essex. Sons Richard and George were 14 and 10 years
old respectively, while daughters Sarah and Mary were 12 and eight years of age
respectively, all four of them attending the local school. Although no other positive identification of
Henry has been found after 1871, the death of Henry Collett was recorded at
Romford (Ref. 4a 121) during the second quarter of 1888, when his age was
recorded as being 62. Three years after
losing her husband, Mary Ann Collett, aged 66, was living at Marlborough Road
in Cann Hall, near Epping Forest, who had her son George E Collett living there
with her. Curiously, on that occasion,
she gave her place of birth as Wigmore Street in West London
2O17 – Richard Henry
Dunford Collett
was born in 1857 at Lower Swell
2O18 – Sarah Ann
Collett was baptised on 25th December 1859 at Lower Swell
2O19 – George Edward
Collett
was born in 1860 at Lower Swell
2O20 – Mary Ann Collett
was baptised on 4th October 1863 at Lower Swell
Jane
Elizabeth Collett [2N6] was born at Upper Slaughter around 1827, a daughter of
John Brain Collett and Ann Lee. She
later married James Cambray at Upper Slaughter on 26th March
1851. At the time of the 1871 Census
Jane and James’ eldest daughter Sarah Anne Cambray was recorded as
working as a housemaid at the home of Rector Edward Francis Witts, the son of
the Reverend Francis Edward Witts, the author of the diary entries from the
2017 book compiled by Alan Sutton ‘The Complete Diary of a Cotswold Parson’. By a strange coincidence, also visiting the
Witts household on 2nd April in 1871 was Amy Collett (Ref. 14N10),
aged 21, of Upper Slaughter, whose occupation was also that of a housemaid,
whose older sister Harriet Collett (Ref. 14N6) was employed there in the same
capacity ten years earlier in 1861. Jane
Elizabeth Cambray nee Collett died in 1926
WILLIAM COLLETT [2N8] was born out of
wedlock on 10th March 1809 at Bibury and was baptised on the
following day, 11th March 1809.
His mother, who was residing at Hawkesbury at the time of the child’s
conception, returned to the family home in Bibury to be cared for by her mother
before and after the child was born.
However, in order to satisfy the strict requirements of the parish
elders, William’s father John Iles had to agree to sign a Bastardy Bond to
support his son while living in the village of Bibury. The bond amounted to the princely sum of £40,
which was to cover his education and welfare and any damaged he might cause
within the parish. The Bond was signed and sealed
by John Iles in front of the Thomas Davis Churchwarden and William Powell
Overseer of the Poor of the Parish of Bibury.
It was dated the ninth day of March in the year of Our Lord One Thousand
Eight Hundred and Nine, the day before William was born. It stated - “Whereas Elizabeth Collett of the Parish of Hawkesbury but now residing
in the Parish of Bibury, single woman is big and pregnant with a bastard child
and declares that the bounder John Iles is the father of such child which if
born in the said Parish of Bibury will become chargeable thereto.” (See Bond 1809 in Legal Documents)
Before he reached eighteen years of age,
William married Hannah Stockwell on 25th December 1826 at
Bibury. Two things were significant
about the marriage to Hannah, who was nine years older than William, he being
only 17 years old on their wedding day.
The first was that it took place just over a month after William’s
mother Elizabeth Collett married John Haynes, while the second was that the
first child of William and Hannah was born within seven months of the date of
the marriage. That perhaps indicates
that the families, or more likely the parish elders, who had overall control of
the child, deemed that the marriage should take place for the sake of
respectability. Hannah Stockwell was the daughter of John and Alison Stockwell,
who was baptised at Bibury on 26th February 1800. All of William and Hannah’s children were
baptised at Arlington Baptist Church in Bibury and it seems likely that their first
child died before reaching its first birthday as their second child was given
the same name. In the census for Bibury
in 1841, William was 35 and his occupation was stated as being that of an
agricultural labourer. His wife Hannah
was 40, and four of their children were listed as living with the couple. They were Sarah Collett who was 14, Elizabeth
Collett who was 11, William Collett who was six, and Hannah Collett who was
three years old
There was no record of
their son Joseph, who would have been 10, or their daughter Harriet, who would
have been eight, or the second William who would have been two years old. To register two children with the same name
seems curious, but the names of both boys named William Collett and born to
William and Hannah Collett were listed in the Bibury Parish Records on page 61,
entry no. 488, and page 76 entry no. 603, respectively. Sometime after the 1841 birth of their last
child Ruth, William and Hannah left Bibury and set up home at Crudwell in
Wiltshire, midway between Cirencester and Malmesbury, as confirmed by the
census in 1851. What may be of interest
is, that ten years earlier, the neighbouring village of Chelworth was the home
of James Collett (born in 1790) and his wife Ann born 1801 and their
four children Joseph Collett (baptised at Cricklade on 11th
January 1824) and Mary Ann Collett (baptised at Cricklade on 18th
June 1826), Elizabeth Collett (baptised at Cricklade on 24th
August 1828), and Henry Collett (birth recorded at Cricklade Ref. viii
275 in the third quarter 1840). James
was the son of James Collett and Ann Collett, who was baptised at
Preshute, near Marlborough, in Wiltshire on 15th August 1790
The 1851 Crudwell census recorded William
Collett, aged 42, as head of the household, an agricultural labourer who was
born at Bibury. With him was his wife
Hannah who was 50 and also born Bibury, who was described as undertaking
domestic duties. Living with them was
their son William Collett, aged 17 and a farm labourer born at Bibury, and
their daughters Hannah, aged 13 and an agricultural labourer, and Ruth who was
nine, both of them born at Bibury. Also living with the family at that time was Mary
Burnall aged 44 an agricultural labourer born at Dursley in Gloucestershire,
who was described as “married sister” which could mean that she was Hannah’s
sister, so being the former Mary Stockwell.
A further ten years on and the family was still living within the
Crudwell area, but at Chelworth, their home simply as ‘cottage’. William Collett, as head of the
household, was 50 and an agricultural carter born Bibury. His wife Hannah was 60, also of Bibury, and
with them was just one of their children, their daughter Ruth Collett who was
19 and a house servant born at Bibury.
Also included in the census return, with the family, was unmarried
visitor Ann Collett, aged 19, who was another house servant who had been born
at nearby Cowage (Cowich), two miles north-east of Malmesbury, the former name
of Bremilham. Ann was the second child
of James Collett (Ref. 64N4) from Abingdon-on-Thames and his wife Jane Hope who
were married at Bremilham on 28th November 1835. On that occasion their absent son William,
who would have been 27, was a sailor fighting in the China Wars with HMS
Chesapeake
However, during the next ten years William and
Hannah moved home and by the time of the 1871 census William Collett, aged 61
and an agricultural labourer born at Bibury, together with his wife Hannah who
was 70 and also of Bibury, were living at Coates just two miles west of
Cirencester. It seems very likely that the move was prompted by the return of their
son William, from the far-east, and his marriage to Caroline Ruth Watts at St
Matthews Church in Coates in April 1866.
Sometime after April 1871 William and Hannah appear to have moved to a
new home one mile south of Coates in the hamlet of Tarlton. Alternatively, it may have been there that
they were living anyway, since Tarlton lies within the parish of Coates and its
residents attended St Matthews Church.
The death of William Collett on 16th November 1873 was
recorded within the St Matthews Church parish register when he was described as
‘William Collett aged 63 of Tarlton’. By
April 1881, his widow Hannah Collett, aged 80, was living at the High Street in
Kemble midway between Coates and Chelworth.
Curiously on that occasion she gave her place of birth as Wootton-under-Edge
which is not far from Dursley where her sister Mary was born – see 1851 Census
details above. With Hannah on that day in April 1881 was visitor and married daughter
Ruth Parslow, aged 39 and of Bibury, with her son William Charles Parslow who
was three years old and born at Sherston Magna near Malmesbury
2O21 – Sarah Ann
Collett was baptised on 24th June 1827 at Bibury
2O22 – Sarah Ann
Collett
was baptised on 27th July 1828 at Bibury
2O23 – Elizabeth
Collett was baptised on 7th March 1830 at Bibury
2O24 – Joseph Collett
was baptised on 28th July 1831 at Bibury
2O25 – Harriet Collett
was baptised on 24th March 1833 at Bibury
2O26 – WILLIAM COLLETT was baptised on 13th
July 1834 at Bibury
2O27 – Hannah Collett was baptised on 4th
February 1838 at Bibury
2O28 – William Collett
was baptised on 7th April 1839 at Bibury
2O29 – Ruth Collett was baptised on 26th
September 1841 at Bibury
John Collett [2N11] was baptised on 7th
May 1815 at the parish church in Bibury, the son of Thomas and Mary
Collett. It was at Northleach that the
marriage of John Collett and Mary Brown was recorded (Ref. xi 165) during the
second quarter of 1841 where, fifteen months later the birth of their son was
also recorded. Mary Brown was born in
1817 at Down Ampney on the Gloucestershire border with Wiltshire. In the June census of 1841 for Arlington and
Bibury, John Collett was 25 and his wife Mary Collett was 24, and at that time
they were living at the Arlington Row home of John’s parents, Thomas and Mary Collett. Also listed within the same household was
John’s two sisters Mary and Martha, and the family’s maiden great aunt Anne
Collett. It was the same situation ten
years later, except that by then Mary had presented John with the couple’s only
known child. John and Mary were both
recorded in the 1851 Census as still living with John’s parents at Arlington
Row, where they were both 35, while their son William was eight years old. Also still living at the house was John’s
younger brother Joseph and his sister Martha.
No record of John and Mary has been found after 1851, while their son
was still living in Bibury in 1861, with the Harvey family
2O30 – William Collett was born in 1842 at
Arlington, Bibury (reg. Northleach)
Ann Collett [2N12] was baptised at
the parish church in Bibury on 24th May 1818, the daughter of Thomas
and Mary Collett. She was not recorded
as living at the family home in Arlington Row, Bibury in the 1841 Census so had
moved away by then. At some time in her
young life, Ann had travelled to the Isle of Wight and may have been later
joined there by her younger sister Mary Collett (below), since it is known that
both girls were married there. Ann was
the first to be married, when she wed Richard Clarke on 9th July
1848 at Northwood, just outside Cowes.
After they were married Ann and Richard continued to live on the island,
and it was there, at West Cowes, four years later, that Ann’s sister Mary was
married
Job Collett [2N13] was baptised on
18th March 1821 at the parish church in Bibury, the son of Thomas
and Mary Collett. Curiously in the 1841
Census, Job Collett from Bibury was listed as being 15, rather than 19, when he
was living and working at Highworth near Swindon. However, it is possible that his stated age was
19, but had been misinterpreted as 15.
The only other record so far found for Job is within the census return
for Bilston in Wolverhampton in 1861. In
that he was listed as Job Collett, aged 42 and from Bibury in
Gloucestershire. His was unmarried and
living in lodgings in Bilston, from where he was employed as a labourer at a
local colliery
Joseph Collett [2N14] was baptised at Taynton near Burford
on 24th November 1822, the youngest son of Thomas Collett and Mary
Coates, and the only one not born at Bibury.
By the time of the census in 1851, Joseph Collett was staying at the
house of his father in Bibury and was listed as a journeyman miller from Faringdon
who was 28 and born at Taynton (Oxon). It
was during the third quarter of 1857 that the marriage of Joseph
Collett and Eliza Porter was recorded at Northleach (Ref. 6a 33), the
wedding service conducted in the parish church at Withington, with the couple’s
first child born within six months of their wedding day. Between the birth of the child and the next
census in 1861, the family of three was rocked when Joseph’s wife was up in
court for some crime. That situation was
revealed in the census of 1861, when Eliza Collett from Foxcote (a hamlet within
the parish of Withington) was 26 and married to a farm labourer, who was further
described as a criminal prisoner serving time in the County Gaol in
Gloucester. So far, it is not known what
crime she had committed, or the duration of her prison sentence. The only possible clue to the sentence can be
assumed from the seven years between the first and second child. On that same day, Joseph Collett, a married
man from Taynton, was 40 (sic) and employed by the large Brooks family at
Foxcote as a servant and master agricultural labourer, which may suggest he was
a foreman in charge of a group of labourers.
Also on that occasion, their son Thomas Collett, aged three years, was
living with his maternal grandparents, William and Elizabeth Porter, at Foxcote. Four more sons were added to the family after
Eliza was released from gaol, the first of them in 1864,
and three of them born at Foxcote (Withington).
By the time of the next
census in 1871, the Collett family was temporarily living at Sevenhampton, east
of Cheltenham and north of Withington, where Joseph Collett, aged 51, gave his
place of birth as Bibury, by which time he was working as an agricultural
labourer. Living there with him was his
wife Eliza Collett, aged 38, and the couple’s three sons were Thomas Collett, a
plough boy of 13, William Collett who was seven, both born at Withington, and
Henry Collett who was eight months old and born at Sevenhampton. Also recorded with the family, was Eliza’s
elderly father, William Porter, who was 68 and an agricultural labourer from
Quenington. Two more children were born
into the family after they returned to Foxcote after 1871 but, four years after
the birth of his last child, Joseph Collett died at Withington on 9th
April 1880. Two months after his
passing, his Will was proved at Gloucester on 2nd June 1880, the two
main beneficiaries being his widow Eliza Collett, and Richard Tovy Iles. According to the census conducted in the
following year, widow Eliza Collett was 47 and an agricultural labourer, who was
still living in the hamlet of Foxcote, which is known as the source of the
River Coln, within the parish of Withington.
By that time her eldest son Thomas was no longer living with the family,
when he would have been 23. Every member
of the household, including Eliza, were said to have been born at Withington
and they were, William who was 16 and a farmer’s boy, Henry Joseph who was 10,
Jesse who was seven, and George who was four
Just a few months after
that census day in 1881, Eliza’s son Jesse died, while absent son Thomas was
married during the mid-1880s. By the
time of the next census in 1891, Eliza Collett was 54 when she was living with
her married son William at Foxcote. In
1901 Eliza Collett from Withington was still living there with just her
unmarried son Henry when, at the age of 68, she was a laundress. During the first decade of the new century,
Eliza’s daughter-in-law and the wife of her son William, passed away, resulting
in mother and son continuing to reside in Withington, but at the home of
William’s brother-in-law Charles Messenger.
That was confirmed by the census in 1911 when widow Eliza Collett was 77
and her widowed son William was 47. Three
years later Eliza Collett nee Porter died at Withington in 1914, her death
recorded at Northleach register office (Ref. 6a 87) during the second quarter
of that year, when she was 80 years of age
The
couple’s third son, Henry Joseph, was born at Sevenhampton,
north of Withington, with his birth recorded at Northleach (Ref. 6a 49) during
the third quarter of the year 1870. He
was a farm labourer who never married, who was still living within the parish
of Withington when he died at the age of 44, the death of Henry J Collett being
recorded at Northleach register office (Ref. 6a 26) during the fourth quarter
of 1914. The birth of Joseph and Eliza’s
fourth son, Jesse, was recorded at Northleach (Ref. 6a 156) during the first
three months of 1874. He was
subsequently baptised at the parish church in Withington on 10th May
1874, but tragically he died at Foxcote at the age of seven, his death recorded
at Northleach (Ref. 6a 167) during the third quarter of 1881. As regards the couple’s last child, his birth
was recorded at Northleach (Ref. 6a 36) during the first quarter of 1877, and
he was 11 years old when his death was also recorded at Northleach (Ref. 6a 76)
during the first three months of 1888
2O31
– Thomas Collett was born in 1857 at Foxcote
(Withington)
2O32 – William Collett was born in 1864 at Foxcote
(Withington)
2O33 – Henry Joseph
Collett was born in 1870 at Sevenhampton; died in 1914
2O34 – Jesse Collett
was born in 1874 at Foxcote (Withington); died in 1881
2O35 – George Collett
was born in 1877 at Foxcote (Withington); died in 1888
Susannah Collett [2N15]
was baptised on 11th July 1824 at the parish church in Bibury. She was not recorded as living at the family
home in Arlington Row in Bibury in 1841, when she would have been 16 years
old. However, it seems very likely that
she was already working as a domestic servant at the nearby Quenington home of
land surveyor Nicholas Webb. The census
that year recorded her as Susana Collett, aged 15 and born within the county of
Gloucestershire, who was a farm servant to the five members of the Webb family,
Quenington being less than two miles from where she was born. All that is known about Susannah is that she
married Henry Poole on 10th April 1847, after which the couple is
known to have later settled in Aberdare
Elizabeth Collett [2N16]
was baptised on 6th August 1826 at the parish church in Bibury, the
daughter of Thomas and Mary Collett.
Like her sister Susannah (above), she too was not recorded as living at
the family home in Bibury in 1841.
During the 1840s Elizabeth married Richard Howard, and by 1851 the
couple had been blessed with the arrival of two children. The census that year placed the family living
in the Cadoxton-Juxta-Neath area of Wales, to the east of Swansea. Elizabeth from Gloucestershire was 24, her
husband Richard was 25, and their two children were Neamiah Howard who
was two, and Ezra Howard who was one year old. Their marriage was only short-lived, when
Elizabeth died during 1856
Mary Collett [2N17] was born at the
end of 1828 and was baptised on 4th January 1829 at the parish
church in Bibury. She was recorded as
being 12 years of age in the census of 1841 for Arlington, when she was living
with her parents and younger sister Martha (above) at Arlington Row in
Bibury. She was not listed with her
family in the 1851 Census for Bibury, although it is known that, up to a few
years before then, she had still been living at Arlington Row with her
parents. It seems highly likely that,
possibly around the time she was twenty, Mary had joined her older sister Ann
(above) who was married on the Isle of Wight in 1848. What is known for sure is that it was at West
Cowes on the Isle of Wight that Mary Collett married Jacob Chambers on 20th
October 1852, and it was there, on the Isle of Wight, that the couple settled
and spent the early years of their married life together. This is the family line of sisters Jill &
Barbara Chambers; Jill’s website deals with the Swing Riots of 1830
(www.swingriotsriotersblacksheepsearch.com), while Barbara’s contains
information about the Napoleonic Wars (www.britisharmyresearchnapoleonicwars.co.uk)
Martha Collett [2N18] was baptised on 1st
May 1831 at the parish church in Bibury, the last of the ten known children of
Thomas Collett and Mary Coates. She was
recorded as being aged 10 years and 19 years respectively in the 1841 and 1851
Arlington and Bibury Census returns, when she was still living at the family
home with her parents at Arlington Row on both occasions. For the latter, her place of birth was
confirmed as Arlington. It would appear
that upon the deaths of her parents in the late 1850s Martha Collett took over
the house at Arlington Row. She was
nearly thirty-nine when she married the much younger George Hicks on 19th
February 1870. Whilst George was
thirteen years younger than Martha, it was very likely her advanced years that
was the reason why the marriage did not produce any children for the
couple. Martha and George, an
agricultural labourer from Cricklade, were confirmed as living at Arlington in
1871 when they were 39 and 25, in 1881 when they were 48 and 35, in 1891 when
they were 58 and 45, and again in 1901 when Martha was 68 and George was
55. There were still living at Arlington
Row in 1911, by which time Martha was 79 and George was 65. It was just three years later that Martha
died at Arlington Row in 1914
Anne Collett [2N19] was very likely a
honeymoon baby, born just nine months after her parents, Thomas Collett and
Mary Fletcher were married at Sherborne on 24th February 1807. Anne was baptised at Somerford Keynes on 12th
December 1807. As far as can be
determined the marriage of Anne Collett and William Walton, from Longborough in
Gloucestershire, took place in the early years of the 1840s, with whom she had
four sons. According to the census for
Stow-on-the-Wold in 1861, the couple and their four children were residing on
the Market Square where William was a tailor at the age of 40. His much older wife, Anne, from Somerford was
53 and the four sons were William Walton aged 15, John Walton
aged 14, Walter Walton aged 12, and Frederick Walton who was nine
years old. William employed a domestic
servant Julia Braggington who was 14, while staying with the family was Anne’s
widowed father Thomas Collett a retired farmer from Notgrove who was 83
Again, in 1871, the
couple was recorded in Stow-on-the-Wold where William had a tailor and draper
shop on the Market Place, where he employed nine men. Anne was 63 by then and her place of birth
was confirmed as Somerford Keynes. In
addition to their 22-year-old son Walter Walton, who was an out-of-work
ironmonger, two members of the Collett family were living with the family,
together with a domestic servant.
Assisting William in the shop was his 16 years old niece old Emily
Collett from Guiting, the daughter of Anne’s brother John Collett (below). Supporting the household was Ann Burrow 14, a
general servant from Little Compton in Gloucestershire. Also living there, at the age of nine years,
was Thomas Collett who was described as a nephew and a scholar from Lower
Slaughter, and he was the son of the Joseph and Eliza Collett referred to in
this paragraph (below). During the next
decade Anne Walton nee Collett died at Stow-on-the-Wold, leaving her husband
William to continue with the running of the tailor’s shop, perhaps with help
from Emily Collett, at least for a few more years. By 1881 widower William Walton was 60 and had
taken on the additional duties of postmaster while still living and working
from the premises in the Market Place.
The only person with him at that time was the widow Eliza Collett who
was 58 and from Lower Swell, the former wife of Joseph Collett (Ref. 33N21) a
farmer from Lower Slaughter
John Collett [2N22] was probably born
at Somerford Keynes, according to the census records, and may have taken place
prior to his family’s move to Kineton.
It was at Temple Guiting, near Kineton, that he was baptised on 16th
June 1816, the son of farmer Thomas Collett and his wife Mary. By June 1841 John was already a married man,
although on that occasion John Collett, aged 25, was not with his wife but was
visiting his widowed father Thomas Collett at his home in Guiting Power. It was during the months of April to June in
1840 that he had married Elizabeth Smith, the event being recorded at the
Winchcombe register office (Ref. xi 614).
Ten years later the Guiting Power census of 1851
confirmed the family as John Collett who was 34 and his wife Elizabeth who was
32, together with their four children.
They were Samuel Collett who was six, Andrew Collett who was four and
who appears to be the second child of the family not to survive, Mary Collett
who was two and Elizabeth Collett who was under one year old. Four more children were added to the family
at Guiting Power during the following decade, but by the time of the next
census in 1861 the family had taken up residence at The Mill in Naunton within
the Bourton-on-the-Water registration district.
Their son Andrew, whose birth was recorded at Winchcombe (Ref. xi 20)
during the last three months of 1846, died just after the census day in 1851,
his death also recorded at Winchcombe (Ref. 6a 16) during the second quarter of
1852
Curiously on the day the
census was conducted that year, John and Elizabeth only had four of their eight
children living there with them, even though it is known that it was their
second son Andrew who was the only child who did not survive. The family was made up of John who was 44,
Elizabeth, aged 42, Samuel George who was 16, Mary Ann who was 12, Otto John
who was eight, and Emily who was six.
John’s wife was with-child on the day of the census and gave birth to another
daughter at The Mill in Naunton sometime later that same year, where their
remaining children were also born. There
is a mystery surrounding the whereabouts of the couple’s two youngest daughters
Eva, who would have been three, and Eliza who would have been one year old,
while on that same occasion the couple’s older missing daughter Elizabeth
Collett from Guiting was living with a family in Chipping Norton, at the age of
10 years. Later that same year,
Elizabeth gave birth to another daughter, and during the following years at
least a further two children were introduced into the family. However, it was during the first few weeks of
1871 that Elizabeth Collett nee Smith died at Naunton, following which her
death was recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a
283) in the first quarter of that year. Therefore, not long after her passing, the
census in 1871 described her husband John Collett as a widower, at the age of
54, and a baker still living at The Mill in Naunton with just six of his
children. They were Samuel, who was 26,
Mary, who was 22, Otto, who was 18, Henrietta, who was 10, Ada who was eight,
and Thomas who was four years old. His
daughter Eva Collett, aged 14, was already working for a family in the
Shipston-on-Stour area of Warwickshire
Ten years later in 1881,
widower and baker John Collett from Somerford Keynes was still living at The
Mill in Naunton, where his unmarried daughter Elizabeth had returned home to
look after him and to act as his housekeeper.
John was 64, and Elizabeth was 30 and her place of birth was simply
given as Guiting. Still unmarried and
living at the family home in Naunton with their father was Samuel who was 36,
Otto who was 28, Eliza M Collett who was 22, and Ada who was 17. All of the children had been born at Guiting
except Ada, who was born after the family had moved to Naunton. Living with the family and supporting baker
John, was eighteen years old Amos Clapton from Cutsdean who was described as a
general servant (baker). Rather
curiously John’s daughter Eva was not listed with the family in any of the
census returns, although she was married by 1881 and had living with her in
Coventry her younger sister Henrietta.
It was just over two years later that John Collett died at Naunton, his
death being recorded at the register office in Stow-on-the-Wold (Ref. 6a
197) during the third quarter of 1883
2O36 – Samuel George
Collett
was born in 1844 at Guiting Power
2O37 – Andrew Collett
was born in 1846 at Guiting Power; died in 1852
2O38 – Mary Ann Collett was born in 1848 at
Guiting Power
2O39 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1850 at
Guiting Power
2O40 – Otto John
Collett
was born in 1852 at Guiting Power
2O41 – Emily Collett was born in 1854 at
Guiting Power
2O42 – Eva Alberta
Collett
was born in 1857 at Guiting Power
2O43 – Eliza Matilda
Collett
was born in 1859 at Guiting Power
2O44 – Henrietta Collett was born in 1861 at Naunton
2O45 – Ada Collett was born in 1863 at Naunton
2O46 – Thomas Collett
was born in 1866 at Naunton
Thomas Cook Collett [2N24]
was born at Kineton in 1821, very close to Temple Guiting where he was baptised
on 6th January 1822, the youngest son of Thomas Collett and Mary
Fletcher. It must be assumed that the
Cook part of his name stemmed from his grandmother Elizabeth Cooke. At some time in his life he left Kineton and
moved to Aldsworth where he was living in 1851.
The census that year recorded unmarried Thomas C Collett as a tailor,
employing one man, who was head of the household living next door to Henry
Collett (Ref. 9M21) and his family.
Henry Collett was the enumerator for the Aldsworth census in both 1861
and 1871. On 13th January
1853 Thomas married Minerva Stone at Aldsworth where she had been born in
1819. She was the daughter of Edmund
Stone who was born at Eastington in 1788.
Edmund was very likely the son of Edmund Stone who was born in 1750 who
married Sarah Collett the widow of Henry Collett (Ref. 1L12) on 5th
November 1800. Minerva Stone also had a
brother with the same name as their father who was born at Aldsworth in
1821. The 1851 Census for Aldsworth
recorded Edmund Stone as a carpenter of 63 living with his wife Jemima, who was
72 and of Sherborne, and their daughter Minerva, aged 32, and their son Edmund
a bootmaker at 30. By 1861 Edmund Stone
junior was a master cordwainer and was married to Amelia with whom he had two
sons and a daughter
The marriage of Thomas
and Minerva produced four children for the couple, the first being born less
than nine months after they were married.
Tragically the child did not survive, although the date of its passing
is not known, except that he was not listed with the family in the census of
1861. On that occasion Thomas and his
family were still living in Aldsworth where he was 40 and was described as a
tailor and a grocer. Living there with
him was his wife Minerva, aged 42, and their three daughters Mary, who was six,
Minerva, who was three, and Ann who was three months old. All three of the couple’s children were
recorded as having been born at Aldsworth, and also living with the family at
that time was Minerva’s widowed father Edmund Stone who was 73. Sadly, at the end of the following year,
Thomas suffered the loss of his second child when his youngest daughter Ann
died as she was approaching her second birthday
By April 1871 the family
had left Aldsworth and was living at Stow-on-the-Wold where Thomas’ occupation
had changed slightly, since he was then described as a grocer and a letter
carrier. The family at that time comprised
Thomas C Collett from Kineton, who was 50, and Minerva, aged 53, plus their
daughters Mary, who was 16, and Minerva who was 13. Ten years later, according to the 1881
Census, Thomas C Collett of Kineton was living at Church Icomb, near Stow-on-the-Wold,
with his wife Minerva and their two surviving daughters Mary, aged 26, and
Minerva, aged 23. Thomas’ occupation was
then a baker and a grocer, employing one boy.
In 1891 Thomas and his family were still at Icomb, but had an additional
person living with them in the form of Minerva’s brother Edmund Stone who was
70 and a shoemaker from Aldsworth.
Thomas Cook Collett was 70 and a baker and a grocer of Kineton, while
his wife Minerva was 72, and daughters Mary and Minerva was 36 and 33
respectively
During the next decade
Thomas Cook Collett died, so by the time of the census of 1901 his family had
moved to Bourton-on-the-Water, where his widow Minerva was 82. Still living with her were her two unmarried
daughters Mary Collett 46 and Minerva Collett 43. Just over five years later Minerva Collett
nee Stone passed away and her death at 88 years of age was recorded at the
Stow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a 229) during the third quarter of
1906. By April 1911 her two daughters
Mary Jemima and Minerva Jane, who were born at Aldsworth, were still living
together in Bourton-on-the-Water at the ages of 56 and 53
2O47 – Thomas Samuel
Collett was baptised on 1st September 1853 at Aldsworth; died in
1861
2O48 – Mary Jemima
Collett was born in 1855 at Aldsworth
2O49 – Minerva Jane
Collett was born in 1857 at Aldsworth
2O50 – Ann Amelia
Collett was born in 1861 at Aldsworth; died in 1862, buried 23rd
December
Henry John Collett [2N25] was
born at Somerford Keynes, where he was baptised on 28th May 1809,
the eldest son of Henry Collett and Anne Fletcher. It is understood that he moved from
Gloucestershire to London around 1830 and that he probably lodged with his
uncle Samuel Fletcher at Great Marlborough Street. He married (1) Amelia Sophia Mawbey of
Chicksands Lodge in Bedfordshire on 12th August 1834 at All Souls
Church in Langham Place. Amelia was
baptised on 17th October 1810 and was the daughter of William Mawbey
of Astwick Manor in Hertfordshire and Caroline Dennis of Blunkham in
Bedfordshire. Once married, the couple
initially lived at 60 Mortimer Street in Cavendish Square, London, where their
first child was born, while it was at King Street in Westminster where they
were living for the birth of the couple’s child, and at 47 Basinghall Street
for the birth of their third child, where they were living in 1841. Twelve months later, it was at 17 Nelson
Square in Southwark that the family was residing and where their fourth child
was born. At the time of birth of their next
child, son Charles Edward Collett, Henry and his family were living at 4 Warren
Street West near Regents Park. On the
birth certificate Henry’s occupation was given as commercial agent. However, two and a half years later, the
family had moved again, when they were living at 30 Penton Place in Camberwell
Ten years later Amelia
Sophia Collett nee Mawbey died from bronchitis on 9th December 1871
at 6 Sidmouth Street, Grays Inn Lane in St Pancras at the age of 66. Living at 10 Sidmouth Street at that time was
her son Arthur James Collett (below).
Nearly four year later Henry married (2) Louisa Foster on 31st
July 1875 at St Mary's Church in Islington and, for a while after they were
married, the couple lived at 67 Chesterton Road in North Kensington. By 1881 Henry John Collett was living at 171
Golborne Road in Kensington. His aged
was given as 71 and his occupation was warehouseman trimming, and the entry
confirms he was born in Somerford Keynes.
Living with him was his wife Louisa aged 52 and born in Manchester, who
was a Principal of a Day School. The
only other resident in the house was 20-year-old servant Mary Baldwin. From 1887 until his death Henry’s company
operated out of premises at 11 Wood Street.
He died on 28th March 1889, aged 80, after falling downstairs
at their home, following which he was buried at Norwood Cemetery where his
mother Anne Collett had been buried in 1865
Henry’s Will was made on
2O51 – Amelia Catherine
Collett was born on 17th May 1835 in London; died in June 1835
2O52 – Henry John
Richard Collett was
born in 1838 at Westminster, London
2O53 – Frederick
William Collett was born on 3rd Sept 1840 in London; died 30th
April 1842
2O54 – Arthur James
Collett was
born in 1842 in London
2O55 – Charles Edward
Collett was born on 21st Oct 1843 at St Pancras; died 31st
March 1846
2O56 – Clara Sophia
Collett was born on 1st Oct 1846 at Camden Town; died 16th
June 1848
2O57 – Alfred George
Thomas Mawbey Collett was born in 1848 at Camberwell, London
2O58 – Mawbey Ernest
Collett was
born in 1850 at Clerkenwell, London
Susannah Elizabeth Collett [2N26]
was baptised on 7th August 1810 at Somerford Keynes. She never married and died in 1895 although
there was no apparent record of her in the 1881 Census. She was however referred to in the 1891 Will
of her sister Mary Jane Cowle (below)
Mary Jane Collett [2N27] was
born on 19th April 1812 at Somerford Keynes and baptised there on 27th
April 1812. She married George Cowle on
16th December 1851, the younger brother of Francis Cowle who had
married her sister Phoebe (below).
George Cowle was nine years younger than Mary having been born in 1821
at Inwardleigh in Devon. It was in 1855,
and at the age of 44, that Mary gave birth to a stillborn child. During her life she established herself as an
exclusive milliner which made her a wealthy woman according to her Will. Mary Jane Cowle nee Collett died on 2nd
March 1892 while she was living at 40 Chesterton Road in Kensington. Her Will was made on 27th October
1891 and referred to her siblings and her nieces and nephews. The Will was made almost immediately
following the death of her husband in September 1891
Phoebe Ann Collett [2N28] was
born on 16th June 1814 at Somerford Keynes and it was there also
that she was baptised on 17th July 1814. She married London shopkeeper Francis Youlden
Cowle on 3rd March 1844 at Meysey Hampton, which lies midway between
Cirencester and Lechlade. Francis Cowle
was the brother of George Cowle who married Phoebe’s sister Mary Jane
(above). He was born at Inwardleigh in
Devon on 7th December 1819, the eldest son of George Cowle and
Joanna Gould Youlden. Prior to the
marriage, Phoebe lived at Meysey Hampton with her sister Mary Jane Collett
(above) where she kept a shop. By 1851
Phoebe and her husband had emigrated to Canada, as indicated by that year’s
census for Bowmanville in Ontario, in which Francis Cowle was listed as a
teacher. Francis Youlden Cowle died at
Bowmanville on 16th November 1877 and was followed by Phoebe Ann
Cowle nee Collett who died on 18th February 1882. Their marriage produced two daughters and a
son, they being Phoebe Ann Youlden Cowle who was born in London during
1847, Susannah Elizabeth Cowle who was born at Bowmanville on 24th
April 1853, and Francis George Cowle who was born in 1855. Phoebe Ann Cowle was named as sister in the
1891 Will of Mary Jane Cowle, together with her son Francis George Cowle
James Robert Collett [2N29] was
born on 18th November 1816 at Kineton in Gloucestershire and was
baptised on 23rd February 1817 at nearby Temple Guiting, when he was
confirmed as the son of farmer Henry Collett and his wife Ann Fletcher. James very likely worked on the family farm in
Kineton after leaving school, but eventually made his way to London. The marriage of James Robert Collett, son of
Henry Collett, and Elizabeth Yapp, daughter of Richard Yapp, took place at St
Andrews Church in Holborn, London, on 29th March 1851. The very next day, was the day that the census
was conducted for 1851, which recorded the couple residing at Princes Street in the St George Hanover Square area of
central London. James R Collett from
Gloucestershire was 34 and Elizabeth Collett from Orleton in Herefordshire was
28. His status, as an agent for an
American business, enabled him to be able to employ two young servants, Sarah
Warner 22 and William Read 16. One year
later, the couple’s first child was born and, during the remainder of that decade,
Elizabeth presented James with four more children, the first of them also born
at Princes Street, the other three after the family had moved to Marylebone in
London. It was also at Vere Street in Marylebone that the family was living in
1861, when they were recorded in that year’s census as James R Collett from
Kineton who was 45 and a lace merchant, Elizabeth Collett from Orleton who was
37 and a dressmaker, Mary who was seven, Walter who was four, Alice who was
three, and Flora who was one year old.
Again, on that day, there were two young live-in domestic servants. James and Elizabeth’s first-born child, nine-year-old Ellen Collett from Middlesex, London, was
attending a boarding school at Sheep Street in Stow-on-the-Wold.
The family continued to
reside in Marylebone, although their last child was recorded as having been
born at Ealing in the census of 1871. By that time, James R Collett was 54 and a
lace merchant from Kineton Hill and Elizabeth was 48. All six of their children were still living
with the couple that day, and they were Ellen Collett who was 19, Mary Collett
who was 17 and a saleswoman, Walter Collett who was 14, Alice Collett who was
13, Flora Collett who was 11, and Kate Collett who was only six years of
age. Visiting the family that day, was
Margaret Edwards aged 18 and from Orleton, a niece of Elizabeth Yapp
Collett. Also, on that day, James was
employing a governess, Louise Wilkinson aged 23, who was schooling the younger
children, in addition to just one domestic servant. There is a story within the family that
Walter Collett was one of three sons born to James and Elizabeth, with the
other two boys suffering infant deaths and of whom only one of them is included
in the list of children below. It was
during 1878, when James Robert Collett was 61 years of age, that he died with
his death recorded at Kensington in London (Ref. 1a 89) during the first three
months of the year. Although nothing
further is known about the couple’s second daughter, the birth of Mary Collett
was recorded at Hanover Square (Ref. 1a 156) during the fourth quarter of 1853
Having lost her husband, and with her older
surviving children having made their own way in the world, Elizabeth retired to
Hastings in Sussex, taking with her, her two youngest children. It was at Villa Road, near the seafront in
Hastings, that the three of them were recorded in the census of 1881. Elizabeth Collett from Orleton was 58, Flora
Collett from Marylebone was 21 and Kate Collett from Ealing was 16, none of
them credited with an occupation, but still able to employ two young domestic
servants, Rosina Billinghurst and Alice Ody, both from Buckinghamshire. Elizabeth Collett, nee Yapp, the daughter of
Richard and Mary Yapp, was baptised at the Church of St George in Orleton on 26th
November 1822. No obvious record of her
has been found within the census of 1891, so it has been assumed that she
passed away sometime prior to that. As
regards Elizabeth’s three youngest daughters, the birth of Alice Collett was
recorded at Marylebone (Ref. 1a 37) during the first quarter of 1858 who, in
1881, was visiting the Dyer family at their home on Burghley Street in St
Pancras, when unmarried Alice Collett from Marylebone was 23 with no stated
occupation. According to the next census
in 1891, Alice Collett was 33 and a teacher who was visiting the large Colesby
family of London at their home on Akerman Road in Lambeth. On that occasion she was recorded as Eliza A
Collett, perhaps taking on the addition forename in honour of her late mother. The birth of Flora Collett was recorded at
Marylebone (Ref. 1a 40) during the fourth quarter of 1859 and, after being with
her widowed mother in 1881, by 1891 Flora Collett from London was 31 and living
on her own means. On that census day she
was boarding with William and Frances London at their home on Blackfriars Road
in the Southwark area of South London. No record of the birth of Elizabeth’s youngest
daughter Kate has so far been unearthed
2O59 – Ellen Collett was born in 1852 at
Hanover Square, London
2O60 – Mary Collett was
born in 1853 at Hanover Square, London
2O61 – William Collett
was born in 1854 at Marylebone; died in 1854
2O62 – Walter Collett was born in 1856 at
Marylebone, London
2O63 – Alice Collett
was born in 1858 at Marylebone, London
2O64 – Flora Collett
was born in 1859 at Marylebone, London
2O65 – Kate Collett was
born in 1863 at Ealing, London
Nathaniel George Collett [2N31],
was named after his late brother, and was
born at Fairford on 30th January 1822, where he was baptised on 17th
February 1822. In 1841, Nathaniel was
attending an institution at Watling Street in the City of London, possibly a
school or college for young men aged 15 to 25, when he had a rounded age of 20
years. It was three years later, that the
marriage of Nathaniel George Collett and Eliza Susanna Walwyn was recorded at
Cheltenham (Ref. xi 101) during the third quarter of 1844. Their first two children were born at
Cheltenham, but it was at Clerkenwell, in London, that the couple was living in
1851. The census record that year,
placed the family, and their very young female servant, living at River Street in Clerkenwell, where Nathaniel G Collett
from Fairford was 29 and a silk warehouseman, Eliza S Collett from Cheltenham
was 24, Eliza W Collett was five and Frances A Collett was two years of age,
both of them confirmed as having been born at Cheltenham. Visiting the family was Eliza’s brother
Edward Walwyn, also from Cheltenham, who was 22 and a shipping clerk. They were not long at River Street, where the
couple’s eldest son was born, before the family moved to Ealing shortly
thereafter. Five more children were added
to the family after their arrival in Ealing, on the High
Street, where they were living in 1861.
The census return that year listed the enlarged family as Nathaniel George
who was 39 and a linen draper, Eliza Susanna 33, Eliza 15, Frances 13, Edward
Charles who was nine, Florence who was seven, Percy who was six, Sidney who was
three and another unnamed child who would have been Walwyn Collett. Visiting the family was Robert Walwyn,
Nathaniel’s brother-in-law from Cheltenham who was 23 and a nurse
Seven years later, the
electoral register for the Brentford Ward of Middlesex identified N G Collett
as still living on the High Street in Ealing, another entry stating that a Charles
Collett was living at Ealing Grove in Ealing. He was Charles Collett from Leeds, whose
family can be found in Part 55 – The Wakefield & Leeds Line (Ref. 55O7). Although no record of Nathaniel has been
identified in 1871, at the time of the marriage of his son Percy in 1878, the
family was living at 70 Ladbroke Grove Road in the Kensington area of London
when Nathaniel’s occupation was stated as being an auctioneer. Those same details were confirmed in the
census of 1881 when Nathaniel, aged 59 and of Fairford, was a retired estate
agent living at 70 Ladbroke Grove Road with his family. His wife Eliza S Collett from Cheltenham was 53,
when all of the children still living there with them were recorded as having
been born at Norwood Green within the London Borough of Ealing, and all of them
not married by 1881. They were Florence
A Collett who was 26, Sidney Collett who was 23, Walwyn Collett who was 21 and
Rose Collett who was 17, all of their birth’s recorded at Brentford. According to the next census in 1891, the
family was reduced to just three members, they being Nathaniel G Collett who
was 69 and living on his own means, Eliza S Collett who was 60, and their
youngest child Rose Collett who was 25, when they were
living at Tavistock Crescent in Paddington.
It was the same situation in 1901, except for some odd ages, with
Nathaniel from Fairford being 76, Eliza from Cheltenham being 65, and Rose from
Brentford being 30. Just over two years
after that day, the death of Nathaniel G Collett was recorded at Paddington
register office (Ref. 1a 337) during the second quarter of 1903, when he was 81
years old. Widow Eliza S Collett of
Cheltenham was 80 in 1911, when her unmarried daughter Rose was still living
with her in Paddington. The subsequent
death of Eliza S Collett was recorded at Paddington register office (Ref. 1a
33) during the last three months of 1913, when she was 86
According to stories told
within the family, Nathaniel was a poet and a wastrel who was reputedly thought
to have left England to go to live in China, perhaps where he was in 1871. However, that story may relate to his son
Walwyn Collett who, by the turn of the century, was a travelling poet. Furthermore, Walwyn was not a beneficiary in
the Will of Mary Jane Cowle nee Collett, whereas some of the other children of
the family were referred to, including Eliza Walwyn Collett, Frances Alice
Collett, and Edward Charles Collett, perhaps indicating his fall from
grace. Their father, Nathaniel George
Collett, was named as the brother of Mary Jane Cowle (above) in her Will of
1891
2O66 – Eliza Walwyn
Collett
was born in 1845 at Cheltenham
2O67 – Frances Alice
Collett
was born in 1848 at Cheltenham
2O68 – Edward Charles Collett was born in 1851 at Clerkenwell
2O69 – Florence Agnes
Collett
was born in 1853 at Norwood Green (Brentford), London
2O70 – Percy Collett was born in 1854 at Norwood
Green (Brentford), London
2O71 – Sidney Collett was born in 1857 at
Norwood Green (Brentford), London
2O72 – Walwyn Collett was born in 1859 at
Norwood Green (Brentford, London
2O73 – Rose Collett was born in 1861 at Norwood
Green (Brentford), London
Richard John Collett [2N32] was
born on 2nd June 1825 at Fairford, where he was baptised on 3rd
July 1825. It was on 20th May
1849, at the Church of Bartholomew the Great in the City of London, when Richard Collett married Mary Ann Dunn, the sister of a
US ambassador. Their first home was at
Trinidad Place in Islington, where they were living in 1851 and, where later,
their two children were born. The census
in 1851 recorded Richard from Fairford as 25 and a ribbon warehouseman, while
Mary Ann was 32 and from London St Giles.
Two other people were listed at the address, and they were Mary’s
widowed mother Mary Dunn from Essex, and domestic servant Sarah Martha
Hopwood. During the next decade Mary
presented Richard with a daughter and a son, after which it was very likely
Richard’s work that means the family was not in Great Britain on the day of the
census in 1861. On their return, the
family moved to Palmer’s Terrace in Holloway, London, where Richard’s mother
Anne Collett died while she was staying with the family in 1865. During the following year, Richard John
Collett was knighted by the King of Portugal, an electrical engineer involved
with the laying of the Trans-Atlantic Cable by the SS Great Eastern. Five years later, the family of four was
living in St Pancras, where Richard was 44 and an electrical engineer from
Fairford in Gloucestershire, Mary Ann Collett was 51, and their two children
were Ada Lily Collett, aged 17, and Harry Richard who was 16. Such was their high status, that Richard was
able to employ two female domestic servants, Hannah Dando, cook, and Emily
Campany, housemaid. According to the next
census in 1881, Richard Collett from Fairford was 55 and Secretary to the
Telegraph Company. Living with him at 23
St Mary’s Road in Willesden, Middlesex, was his wife Mary A Collett, aged 62 of
St Giles in Middlesex, and their unmarried daughter Ada L Collett, who was 27
and from Islington. At that time the
family employed 29-year-old Elizabeth Morgan from Bethnal Green as a domestic
servant. Eight years after that, the
death of their son Harry Richard Collett was recorded at Hendon (Ref. 3a 226)
during the third quarter of 1889, when he was 34. Richard was named as one of the two trustees
of the 1891 Will of his sister Mary Jane Cowle (above), apart from which, no
record of any member of the family has been found in the British Isles in 1891
or at any time thereafter.
2O74 – Ada Lily Collett was born in 1853 at Islington,
London
2O75 – Harry Richard
Collett was born in 1854 at Islington; died in 1889 at Hendon, London
Elizabeth Collett [2N33]
was born on 16th April 1824 at Chedworth and was baptised there at
the Congregational Church on 21st June 1824, the eldest child of
Robert Collett and Sarah Wilson. At the
end of 1842 she gave birth to a base-born daughter Fanny Collett at Chedworth. Six months later on
2O76 – Fanny Collett was born on 31st
December 1842 at Chedworth
William Collett [2N35] was born on 2nd
September 1829 at Chedworth and was not married by 1861, but was still living with
his father Robert Collett and his stepmother Mary when William was a shoemaker
journeyman at the age of 31. It was
therefore after 1861 that he married Elizabeth
(Betsy) Margetts who was born in 1831 at Stowell in Wiltshire. By the time of the 1871 Census
William, aged 41, was listed as a shoemaker.
His wife was not with him on the census day, but he did have living with
them his widowed stepmother Mary Collett nee Knapp, his father’s second
wife. She was listed as being 57 and had
been born at Stowell, who was described as the housekeeper of William
Collett. Less than two months after that census day Mary died at Chedworth on 25th
May 1871. The Morris Trade Directory of
1876 listed William Collett as a bootmaker, while the 1881 Census gave his
occupation as that of a shoemaker, like his father. The Chedworth census that year indicated that
William and Betsy were 51 and 48 respectively and living with them on that occasion
was Elizabeth’s mother Ann Margetts at 78 of Quinhampton in Wiltshire. Elizabeth Collett nee Margetts, who was
formerly a dressmaker, died at Chedworth on 28th August 1899. According to the next census in 1901 for
Chedworth, William Collett, aged 71, was a widower living on his own means and
it was also at Chedworth almost five years later that he died on 10th
March 1906 aged 76. Both William and
Elizabeth were buried in separate but adjacent tombs in Chedworth Independent
Chapel graveyard although William’s has been eroded over the years and cannot
be clearly deciphered (see Headstone Epitaphs).
Richard Collett [2N39]
was born in the hamlet of Buckland in 1815 and was baptised at the Church of St
Michael and All Angels in Broadway on 6th August 1815, the eldest
son of Richard Collett and Ann Hall.
Richard was 25 in 1841, there being only two individuals named Richard
Collett in the census that year. One was
living in the Cheltenham area, where Richard’s mother was believed to be living
at that time, while the other was living in the area of Stow-on-the-Wold. No positive identification of Richard has
been found in any subsequent census return
George Collett [2N40] was born at
Buckland in 1817 and was baptised at the Church of St Michael and All Angels in
Broadway on 13th July 1817.
He was the second child of Richard Collett and Ann Hall and in the
Broadway census of 1841 he had a rounded age of 20 when he was living
separately from him family. It was
during the last three months of 1850 when George married Mary Wells at
Winchcombe. Mary was also from Buckland
and, by the time of the census less than six months later in 1851, the
childless couple were still living at Buckland, when George was 34 and Mary was
slightly older at 38. Ten years later,
by the time of the census in 1861, the couple was still living at Buckland
where George Collett of Buckland was forty-four and was the publican and grocer
for the hamlet, while his wife Mary was forty-eight. It was the same story after a further ten
years, when George and Mary were continuing to live in Buckland, where George
was 54 and his wife was 56 (rather than fifty-eight). However, during the next decade Mary died
leaving George Collett listed as a widower in the census of 1881. Following the death of his wife it would
appear that George had left Buckland and moved the short few miles to live in
Broadway. At that time in 1881, George
was 64 and was living alone at a house on the Main Street in Broadway when he
was described as having been ‘formerly a grocer’
Francis Collett [2N41] was born at
Buckland in 1820 and was baptised at Broadway on 6th August 1820,
the son of Richard Collett and Ann Hall.
He followed in his father’s profession and, by the time of the census of
1841, he was a blacksmith living in a house on the High Street in
Broadway. Francis was 21 and living
there with him were two of his sisters, they being Selena who was 17 and
Lavinia who was 13. Although it is known
that their parents were still alive at that time, no exact trace of them has
been found so far in the 1841 Census.
However, living in the house next door to Francis and his sisters was William
Collett whose family details can be found in Appendix One at the end of
the fourth section of this family line.
In addition to that family, there was another William Collett living in
Broadway in 1841, and the details of that family can also be found in the same
appendix
It is established that
Francis Collett married Mary Ann who was born at Pershore and it would appear
that the couple lived all of their life together at Broadway. It was certainly at Broadway that they were
living in 1851 when Francis was 30 and a blacksmith from Broadway, Mary was 34,
and their two children were Amelia Collett, who was five, and baby George
Collett who was under one year old. The
same family was still living there in 1861 when blacksmith Francis Collett of
Buckland was 41 and his wife Mary Ann Collett of Pershore, was recorded in the
census return as being blind at the age of 42.
Living with the couple at High Street in Broadway, just adjacent to
Colletts Lane in the town, were their two children, and they were Amelia A
Collett, who was 15, and George Collett who was 10, both of them having been
born at Broadway. Ten years later, in
the census of 1871, the couple was recorded as still living in Broadway but,
just prior to that census day their son had died and was buried at Broadway on
29th March 1871
There is speculation that
he may have been a married by then, even those he was only twenty years of
age. The details of their son’s birth
and death, were both recorded at Evesham, while it was at Broadway that he was
baptised on 28th July 1850. In 1871, Francis and Mary’s daughter had left
the family home in Broadway and was working in Cheltenham, leaving Francis
Collett who was 50 and continuing to work as a blacksmith, and his wife Mary
Ann Collett who was 54. The census in
1881 confirmed that blacksmith Francis Collett of Broadway was 61 and that he
was living with his wife Ann Collett from Pershore at a house on Main Street in
Broadway. Ann was 67 and was again
recorded as being blind. Living with the
couple was their granddaughter Anne Collett who was two years old, who had been
born at Broadway. On that same day the
couple’s only surviving child, their daughter Amelia and the mother of Anne,
was a spinster who was employed by the Vicar of Childswickham, just two miles
west of Broadway. After a further six
years, the death of Francis Collett was recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 156)
during the last three months of 1887, when he was 67 years old. The death of Mary Ann Collett was also
recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 184) during the first quarter of 1889, when she
was 76.
2O77 - Amelia Ann
Collett
was born in 1846 at Broadway
2O78 - George Collett
was born on 30th June 1850 at Broadway; died Q1 1871 (Ref. 6c 324)
Ann Collett [2N42] was born at
Buckland in 1822, the eldest daughter of Richard Collett and Ann Hall. In 1841 she was listed in the June census as
being twenty years old and of Buckland, while living in the Broadway area, but
not with her three siblings who were living there at that time. With no further record of her as Ann Collett
it is possible that she was married during the 1840s
Selena Collett [2N43] was born at
Buckland in 1824, the daughter of Richard Collett and Ann Hall. By the summer of 1841 she was seventeen and
was living at a house in the High Street in Broadway. Her parents were not listed at the family
home on that occasion, instead Selena and her sister Lavinia (below) were being
looked after by their brother Francis Collett (above), the blacksmith. No further record of Selena Collett has been
found in any later census records, so it must be assumed that she became a
married lady
Lavinia Collett [2N45] was born at
Buckland in 1827 and was baptised at Broadway on 8th August 1827,
the youngest daughter of Richard Collett and Ann Hall. In the Broadway census of June 1841 Lavinia
was 13 and was living in the High Street in Broadway with her brother Francis
and her sister Selena. Where her parents
were at that time has not been determined, even though it is known that they
were still alive in the 1840s, the 1850s, and the 1860s. By 1851 the only Lavinia Collett living
anywhere in the United Kingdom who was born in 1827 was twenty-three years old
Lavinia Collett who was living at working within the St George’s district of
London in Hanover Square. It was just a
few years after that Lavinia married George Walford Humphries of Evesham, the
wedding taking place during the first half of the 1850s. Once married the couple settled in Tipton in
Staffordshire where they were living in April 1861. By that time Lavinia had presented her
husband with the first two of their five known children. The census that year recorded the family as
George W Humphries who was thirty and his wife Lavina who was thirty-two, and
their two children at that time were five years old Brightley Humphries
and Eva Humphries who was two.
Three further children were added to the family during the next decade
The later census of 1881
revealed the family living at 214 Horseley Heath in Tipton from where
fifty-year old George Humphries’ occupation was that of an auctioneer. His birth place was confirmed as Evesham,
while his wife Lavina was 49 (when she
was actually 52) and from Buckland in Gloucestershire. Living with the couple at that time were
their three youngest children. Henry
Humphries, aged 18, was a cab driver, Lavina Mary Humphries was 16
with no occupation, and Charles Humphries was 12 and was still attending
school. All three children were
confirmed as having been born at Tipton.
Also living with the family was George’s nephew William Hemming from Evesham
who was also 18 and a cab driver. Ten
years later in the Tipton Census of 1891 Lavinia Humphries was 62. By March 1901 George Humphries was still
living in Tipton where he was 70 and a general dealer from Evesham, while his
wife Lavinia from Buckland was 73. After
a further ten years the elderly couple had left Tipton and were recorded in the
West Bromwich registration district where George was 80 and Lavinia was 84,
although her name was recorded as Louisa Humphries. Of their five children, their daughter
Lavinia Mary Humphries, who was born in 1865, went on to marry William Wigston
Jowett who was born in 1863. The married
produced a number of children, one of which, Margaret (Maggie) May Jowett (born
in 1887), later married Thomas Ethelstone (born in 1885). Their daughter Hazel Daisy Ethelstone
(1908-1988) living in Walsall in 1911 married Alfred Dainty (1903-1983), the
son of George Henry Dainty and Frances Griffiths of Willenhall, Staffs. The latter pairing were the parents of James
R Dainty who kindly provided the initial information that has allowed this line
of the family to be developed
Joseph Collett [2N47] was born at
Sherborne and baptised there on 24th June 1804, the son of John and
Hannah Collett. He was a shoemaker and
he married Elizabeth of Aston Blank around 1830, where their first child born,
after which Joseph and Elizabeth set up home in Little Rissington, as confirmed
by the 1841 Census. Joseph had a
‘rounded age’ of 35, while his wife’s rounded age was 30. At that time, they had two surviving children
living with them and they were Edwin who was nine and incorrectly recorded as
Edward, and Albert who was one year old.
It would appear that son Harvey had died shortly after he was
baptised. By 1851 head of household
Joseph Collett, aged 46 and from Sherborne, was recorded as a shoemaker living
at Little Rissington. His wife Elizabeth was 43 and from Aston Blank, and the
children living with the couple at that time were Albert Collett, aged 10,
Reuben who was nine, James who was five, and Henry who was only two months old,
and all of them had been born at Little Rissington. Their son Reuben appeared in later records as
Herbert Reuben and Hubert. Also listed
as lodging with the family were two shoemakers George Guy, aged 47 and from
Little Rissington, and John Timms, aged 36 and from Chipping Norton. There would appear to be other connections
between the Collett and Timms families when John Collett (Ref. 33O14) married
Ruth Caroline Timms in 1862 at Great Rissington. And in 1890 at Broadwell there was born a Walter
Collett Timms, for whom further research is needed
By the time of the Little
Rissington census in 1861 Joseph was 56 and a shoemaker employing one man,
while Elizabeth was 52, but on that occasion her birthplace was stated as being
Cold Aston, which is the alternative name for Aston Blank. Living with them were shoemaker sons Albert
Collett 20 and James Collett 15, and Henry Collett who was ten years old. It was seven years later that Joseph Collett
died at Little Rissington on 27th April 1868, where he was also
buried and where a headstone marks his grave with the following inscription, “In Memory of Joseph Collett who died April
27 1868 aged 64 years”. Underneath
are written the words “I was so long with pain
oppressed, it wore my strength away, it made me long better rest, which never
can deny - Little Rissington, Stanley Edwin Collett”. On an inside wall of the
Church of St Peter in Little Rissington, on a board entitled THE MEN OF OUR PARISH,
are the words “We pray that these men in
God's keeping be, now and forever till war's shadows flee” below which,
there is a list of the names of the men from Little Rissington who served with
the armed forces during the Second World War.
That list includes the name of the aforementioned Stanley Edwin Collett,
the son of Edwin Collett and Violet Burford [2P124]. Colin Poynton from New Zealand, great
grandson of Joseph Collett, visited the church in 2012 and returned to the UK
in 2018 when, close to Joseph’s grave was a new cremation plaque for Howard
Victor Collett 1929-2014, who is believed to be the younger brother of Stanley
Edwin Collett
In the census of 1871
Joseph’s wife Elizabeth Collett, aged 63 and from Cold Aston, was living in a
private house in Little Rissington, where she was described as a widow
occupying 20 acres. Living with her was
her youngest son, Henry Collett from Little Rissington who was 20 years old and
a blacksmith, and her grandson William R Collett who was 11 and whose place of
birth was Northleach. It is now known
that William Reuben Collett was the eldest child of Elizabeth’s eldest son
Edwin Collett by his wife Maria. By that
time in her life, Elizabeth’s son James Collett was married and was living in
Kent. Sometime during the 1870s it would
appear that she travelled to Kent to live with James and his family, where she
lived out the rest of her life, possibly even taking her grandson William with
her. According to the census of 1881,
Elizabeth Collett, a widow of 73 from Aston Blank in Gloucestershire, was
living at 2 Cedar Terrace in Sevenoaks with her evangelist son James Collett
and his family, while also living in Sevenoaks at that time was her grandson
William. It seems highly likely that
Elizabeth died at Sevenoaks shortly after that time
2O79 – Edwin Collett was born in 1832 at Aston
Blank
2O80 – Harvey Collett
was bapt on 25th December 1838
at Little Rissington; infant death
2O81 – Albert Collett was born in 1840 at
Little Rissington
2O82 – Herbert Reuben Collett was born in
1841 at Little Rissington
2O83 – James Collett was born in 1845 at
Little Rissington
2O84 – Henry Collett was born in 1851 at
Little Rissington
John Collett [2N51] was born at Aston
Blank around 1811, the son of John and Hannah Collett, where he also married
Mary Brown, and where their daughter and only known child was born and
baptised. The marriage of John and Mary
was recorded at Northleach (Ref. xi 455) during the second quarter of 1841,
with their daughter born before the end of that same year, her birth also
recorded at Northleach. In the June
census of 1841, John Collett was 30 and living with Mary Collett, who was 25,
at Johnson Cottage in Aston Blank, from where he was a publican, possibly at
The Plough Inn in the village. Also
living in the village that day was John’s uncle Samuel Collett [2M45] who was
also said to be living at Johnson Cottage.
The birth of their only child at Aston Blank (Cold Aston) was recorded
at Northleach (Ref. xi 367) during the last quarter of 1841. Ann Mary Collett was nine months old when she
was baptised at Ashton-under-Hill on 13th August 1842, her parents
confirmed as John Collett and Mary Brown.
Sometime during the 1950s both of her parents passed away, so by 1851,
Ann Mary Collett aged nine was living at the New Orphan House in Ashley Down in
Clifton, Bristol St Andrews. Ann Mary
was still there in 1861, when she was 19, but not credited with any occupation.
2O85 – Ann Mary Collett
was born in 1841 at Aston Blank
Ann Collett [2N52] was born at Aston
Blank around 1813 and was the daughter of John and Hannah Collett. It was also at Aston Blank where she married
Thomas Shaw on 31st March 1838
William Collett [2N53] was
born at Aston Blank and baptised at Ashton-under-Hill on 22nd
October 1815, the son of John Collett and Hannah Leech. He was an agricultural labourer and, when his
uncle Richard Collett [2M46] moved from Aston Blank to Shropshire, William may
have been encouraged to join him there, since it is now confirmed that William
Collett from Aston Blank married and raised his family there. For the continuation of the family line of
William Collett go to (Ref. 67M2) in Part 67 – The Collett Family Cleobury
Mortimer (Salop)
Henry Collett [2N37] was baptised on 1st
October 1820 at Aston Blank, the only son of Joseph Collett and Ann Still. It was also at Aston Blank that he later
married Rhoda Acock during the December quarter of 1839, the wedding being
recorded within the Cheltenham registration district. Rhoda was born at Bibury in 1818 and at the
time of their marriage Henry’s occupation was that of a stonemason’s
labourer. Henry was 20 in the census of
1841 and was living with his wife Rhoda, who was also 20, at Ridit Farm in
Aston Blank, where he was recorded as an agricultural labourer. All of their children were born and baptised
at Aston Blank. By 1851 Henry, aged 30,
was still working as an agricultural labourer while he was living at Aston
Blank with Rhoda who was 32 and three of their children, Caroline, who was
seven, Joseph, who was four, and George who was only two months old. Ten years later the family had reduced to
just Henry and Rhoda and their son George who was 11, the absence of their
youngest child Harriett resulting from her death not long after she was born in
1854
Sometime before 1871 son
George had left the family home, leaving Henry and Rhoda who had staying with
them their grandson Jesse Beckley, who was four years old, the first child born
to the couple’s eldest surviving daughter Caroline Beckley nee Collett. He was still living with his grandparents ten
years later, as confirmed by the census in 1881. According to the census that year Henry
Collett of Aston Blank was 60, his wife Rhoda from Bibury was 62, while their
grandson Jesse Beckley was 14 and working as an agricultural labourer
presumably with his grandfather. At that
time in their life the three of them were living at Gilberts Grove in Aston
Blank. Henry and Rhoda were still living
at Gilberts Grove ten years later, at which time Henry was listed as ‘living on
his own means’. Today the road Gilberts Grove has been renamed Gilberts Grave. Henry Collett died during the second
quarter of 1893 at the age of 73, as recorded at Northleach. It was also there that his widow Rhoda
Collett nee Acock died during the first three months of 1898 when she was 82
2O86 – Joseph Collett
was bapt on 25th December 1842
at Aston Blank; died on 11th May 1843
2O87 – Caroline Collett was born in 1844 at
Aston Blank
2O88 – Joseph Collett was born in 1847 at
Aston Blank
2O89 – Thomas Collett
was bapt on 25th November 1849
at Aston Blank; died on 1st December 1849
2O90 – George Collett was born in 1851 at
Aston Blank
2O91 – Harriet Collett
was bapt on 15th January 1854 at
Aston Blank; died on 28th March 1854
Harriett Collett [2N58] was
baptised on 22nd June 1822 at Aston Blank, the only daughter and
second child of Joseph and Ann Collett.
It was also at Aston Blank that Harriett married Charles Haycock on 21st
December 1844