Part-2-The-Second-Gloucestershire-Line-Rev.29

PART TWO

 

The Second Gloucestershire Line - 1550 to 1850

 

This is the first of four sections of Part Two of the Collett family

 

Updated October 2024

 

 

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.  Eight years later, and after fathering four known children, John Collett, his brother Thomas Collett (Ref. 1F8) and Richard Perratt, were listed in 1591 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, following the death of John Collett at Naunton in 1605, it was his eldest son and namesake who took on the role of joint lordship of the Manor of Naunton with Giles Venfield as documented in 1608, three years after his father had passed away

 

The Will of John Collett was made on 4th March 1604 when his brothers Thomas Collett and Anthony Collett, together with brother-in-law John Venfield, were named as overseers, while the executors of the Will were his wife Elizabeth and son John Collett.  The full details in the very long Will of John Collett can be found within the website section Legal Documents.  One of the reasons it runs to three pages is the inclusion of 25 names of people who collectively owed John a considerable sum of money.  Within that list were two of his brothers Anthony Collett (£10) and Thomas (10 Shillings), and cousin William Collett of Leonard Stanley (£9 13 Shillings and 4 Pence). There was also a much short list of names to whom John owed money, which included sons John (£3), Henry (£23 for wool), and Edmund Collett (5 Shillings for wool), and daughter Sarah (£3)

 

In addition to his wife Elizabeth, who survived him, all six of their children were specifically named in the Will, with Elizabeth and eldest son John being the main beneficiaries.  John’s five younger siblings were given One Hundred Pounds apiece on reaching full age

 

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

 

The 1641 Will of John Collett included the following details:

I do give unto Anne Collett my loving wife, Ten Pounds, two of my best feather beds, rugs, coverlids, spoons, etc.  I do give Edmund Collett, my natural brother, Ten Pounds, unto Esther his wife Five Pound, unto his two eldest children Fifty Shillings apiece, and to his two youngest children Twenty Shillings apiece.  Unto Francis Thorne the younger, my kinsman, Five Pounds, unto his wife Bridget Thorne Five Pounds, unto Francis his eldest son Forty Shillings, and to his youngest children Twenty Shillings apiece.  Unto John Thorne of Winchcombe, my kinsman, Five Pounds, unto Elizabeth his wife Ten Shillings, and Forty Shillings to be divided amongst his four children, unto Sarah Thorne Forty Shillings, unto Elizabeth Thorne Five Pounds, unto Edmund Thorne the son of Edmund Thorne Ten Pounds

 

To Henry Collett of Upper Slaughter Forty Shillings, to Judith Collett of Upper Slaughter Twenty Shillings, to the Poor of Nether Slaughter Twenty Shillings, unto Henry Collett of Nethercot Ten Shillings, unto Anthony Collett eldest son of the said Henry Collett Twenty Shillings, unto the other three children of the said Henry Collett Ten Shillings apiece, unto Henry Collett, my brother’s eldest son Five Shillings, unto Richard Collett, my brother’s youngest son Five Pounds, and my desire is that Henry Collett of Nethercot and my Executor should employ it to the best use of the said Richard

 

I give unto Edmund Collett one of the sons of my brother Henry Two Pounds, unto the five daughters of my brother Henry Collett Ten Shillings apiece, to Henry Collett my eldest brother the third part of all my lands and tenements, I do give the other two parts of all my lands and tenements unto Henry Collett of Nethercote and his heirs forever he paying mine executor the sum of Two Hundred Pounds, unto John Collett the eldest son of my brother Anthony Five Pounds.  I do give the rest of my brother Anthony Collett’s children the sum of Ten Pounds to be equally divided amongst them, I give unto my cousin John Collett of Gloucester Twenty Shillings

 

All the rest of my goods and chattels I give unto Anthony Collett of Nether Slaughter, my natural brother, and I do make him sole Executor of this my Last Will and Testament 

 

Sarah Collett [2G2] was born at Naunton around 1586, the eldest daughter of John and Elizabeth Collett, who later married Edmund Thorne and had a son Edmund, plus other children.  The continuation of their family line leads to down to David Hartley, who made contact during the summer of 2023, who generously provided some new transcripts of four Wills, those of Alice Collett of Upper Slaughter in 1557 [1D1], Edith Collett of Over Slaughter in 1596, Henry Collett of Over Slaughter in 1791, and John Collett of Naunton in 1604.  Another son of Sarah Collett and Edmund Thorne was John Thorne from whom Charles Walmsley, the husband of Fleur, is related.  It was during the summer of 2022 that Charles contacted the collettfamilyhistory.net website with this information.

 

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 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 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 (above), which 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 Edith 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 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, after which, he married the widow of Mr K Akerman with whom he had two children, a son Thomas, and a daughter Mary who later 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 and was buried at Upper Slaughter on 8th January 1707.  Curiously, John was named as joint executor, with his brother Joshua (below), in his father’s Will made in 1714.  Also, during the following year, the marriage of a John Collett and Catherine Akerman took place at Naunton on 8th May 1715

 

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 fourth of the eight children of Richard Collett and Elizabeth Hunt.  It is possible that Paris was married to Joyce and that it was their son Paris Collett who was baptised at Upper Slaughter during 1708.  Furthermore, in the records at Upper Slaughter, was another for Paris Collett for 17th November 1717 which could be the burial of father or son

 

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.  Therefore that means 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 Edith (Edy), 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 [2I9], which was proved in 1739

 

The parish records for Upper Slaughter include the names of four children born to parents John and Ann Collett.  They were (possibly) twins Thomas Collett and Joan Collett in 1708, Ruth Collett 1709-1710, and John Collett in 1710.  These still need to be confirmed as his children, with a query why the eldest son was not named John, which would be more likely, it being the name of the child’s father and his grandfather.  That is why no nomenclature has been applied to the four children at this time

 

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.  If Mary Turner was still alive in 1739 she would have received five shillings as a child of John Collett, as stated in the Will of his older brother Edmund 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 in 1741 and was buried at Upper Slaughter on 12th May 1741.  Earlier, in 1720, Richard 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 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 [2K2] was born at Lower Slaughter shortly after 1702 and was the only known child of John Collett of Lower Slaughter.  The 1722 Will of her grandfather Anthony Collett confirmed that Sarah Collett, the daughter of John Collett, was to receive five pounds on reaching the age of twenty-one years.  Therefore, it is possible that she received the money around the time that she married Joseph Phelps at Upper Slaughter on 16th July 1723

 

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 they were both 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 [2K13] and his wife Margaret Brain of Upper Slaughter

 

2L1 – Richard Collett was born in 1747 at Upper Slaughter

2L2 – Mary Collett was born in 1749 at Upper Slaughter

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 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 [2L3] and his wife Margaret Brain of Upper Slaughter, plus Henry’s widowed mother 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, who 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

 

Mary Collett [2L2] was born in 1749 at Upper Slaughter, where she was baptised on 26th December 1749, the second child and eldest daughter of Henry and Sarah Collett

 

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 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

 

Elizabeth Collett [2L4] was born at Upper Slaughter in 1754 and was baptised there on 17th March 1754, another daughter of Henry and Mary Collett

 

Hannah Collett [2L5] was born at Upper Slaughter in 1756 and was the last of the five known children of Henry Collett and his cousin Mary Collett.  It was also at Upper Slaughter that she was baptised on 14th March 1756.  Tragically, nine months later, Hannah Collett was buried at Upper Slaughter on 26th December 1756, when she was confirmed as a child of Henry and Mary Collett

 

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 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 asof 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 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 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 1st July 1808 in which both his wife Mary Rowland and daughter Mary Collett nee Rowland are mentioned.  That may therefore point to the latter having died during the birth of her youngest daughter Eliza Collett (see Will in Legal Documents)

 

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 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 the other nine 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 their 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 the same church where 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 when her youngest child, her son James, was five years old and 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 before the birth of his 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 Shillings and 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 25th September 1803 and was medically discharged on 12th April 1823 as a result of diseased lungs.  During his time in the Guards, he fought in Spain and more importantly at the Battle of Waterloo on 18th June 1815, for which he received a medal.  Further details of his military service have been documented by Barbara Chambers [2N17] in 'The Adventures of Private John Collett 1st Regiment of Foot Guards (Grenadier Guards) 1803-1823'.  Barbara, who now lives in Dunbar, is currently preparing a new web page for the website www.british army research napoleonic wars.co.uk

 

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

 

John Iles’ Bastardy Bond for William Collett

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 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 asof 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 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, all of whom were 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

 

In 1844 Henry was an agent and silk merchant working out of 31 Gutter Lane near Cheapside, after which he moved to 4 Crown Court in Cheapside and, by 1846, he was a warehouseman in Camden when living there at 5 Seymour Place.  Two years later he formed his own company Henry John Collett & Co, while working at his office at 39 Friday Street in the City of London.  Upon the death of his daughter Clara at 30 Penton Place in 1848, she was the third of six Colletts to be buried in the family grave at Norwood Cemetery - grave No. 40, which was destroyed in 1940 during the Germany Blitz on London that year.  Amelia was a court dressmaker and milliner and in 1851 she and her family were living at 47 Amwell Street in Clerkenwell, where their last child was born.  During the following year Henry was working from another London office, on that occasion at 38 Gresham Street, from where he had expanded the business to include a shipping agency for London, Manchester, Yorkshire and Scotland.  By 1853 he was listed principally as a ‘Scotch Agent’ and from 1856 was working from premises at 31 Friday Street.  In 1861 Henry moved his office once again, that time to 5 Carey Lane

 

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 31st July 1875 the same day that he married Louise Foster. At that time Henry’s address was stated in the Will as being 91 Church Road in St Mary’s Islington.  (see Will in Legal Documents).  Henry’s first marriage produced eight children, four of whom died while still very young.  His eldest son Henry John Richard Collett (below) married Jane Johnson Thomas and their family is the subject of Pedigree Eleven in The Collett Saga written by his direct descendent Margaret Chadd

 

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 19th June 1843, while working as a servant at the home of David Holland in Cirencester, she was arrested for stealing a gown, a neckerchief, a collar and a cornelian stone from her employer.  The charges were brought by Harriett Holland, the wife of David, and related to the offence which had taken place on 17th June.  Elizabeth’s details at the time of her arrest were listed as follows: servant, aged 18, brown hair, brown eyes, oval visage, fair complexion, 4 feet 10 inches tall.  She was tried and found guilty at the Trinity Session on 27th June 1843 and was sentenced to two calendar months at Northleach (Committal Ref. Q/Gc5/7 Summer Assizes).  In the event, she only served one week and was released on 4th July 1843.  The release papers recorded that her behaviour was orderly, so her early release with good behaviour may have been influenced by the fact that she had a six-month old baby.  It seems likely that she was released into the care of her cousin Henry Collett (Ref. 3N3) whom she eventually married on 5th November 1844 at St Andrews Church in Chedworth.  Nine months later, in July of the following year, Elizabeth gave birth to the first of their twelve children with Henry Collett.  For further details of the life of Elizabeth and Henry Collett go to Part 3 – The Chedworth Line

 

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 wordsI 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