PART FORTY-FOUR

The Second Broughton Gifford Line – 1590 to 1900

Another large gathering of the Colletts of Broughton Gifford

can be found within Part 35 -The Melksham to Wisconsin & Ontario Line

Updated December 2023

Thanks to information received during 2014 from Carol Lyn Davis of Fort Worth in Texas, a whole branch of a South Wraxall family, previously included here in Part 44, has now been removed and inserted in its rightful place within the new Part 31 – The New Wiltshire-Somerset Line. That has greatly reduced this particular family line and resulted in the need to change the name.

This file also received two major updates in 2012. The first in May, following information received from Martin Chapman who confirmed that John and Drinkwater Collett were indeed brothers, and that their grandfather was Thomas Collett (Ref. 44J12). The second was in October, when it was proved by Martin Collett in New Zealand that William and Joseph were brothers and not cousins and that they were the sons of Henry and Martha Collett of Trowbridge. Joseph has therefore been removed from this family line and placed within his correct family in Part 62 – The Trowbridge to New Zealand Line.

The primary focus of this family line are the Wiltshire villages of Monkton Farleigh, South Wraxall and Atworth near Broughton Gifford. The Colletts of Broughton Gifford are also featured in Part 35 – The Melksham to Wisconsin Line, and Part 62 – The Trowbridge to New Zealand Line, while South Wraxall and Atworth also feature in Part 31 – The New Wiltshire-Somerset Line.

Earlier information suggested that Thomas Collett, who previously started this family line, may have been linked to the Collett families of Kempsford in Gloucestershire as detailed in Part 1 – The Main Line. However, the information received from Maureen Collett dispels this theory

Other Collett records which have been found that specifically relate to Broughton Gifford, but which have so far not been included in the main body of this file are:

William and Mary Collet whose son William was baptised on 20^th August 1671 and William, baptised on 27^th July 1677, the son of ‘Will Collet’ Edward Collett, whose son Edward and whose daughter Jane were both baptised on 15^th October 1666 John Collett, whose son Nicholas was baptised on 22^nd March 1667, whose own daughter Edith was baptised on 2^nd December 1694 who married Wm Gay on 12^th May 1714 at Broughton Gifford. She may have had a sister Ann Collett who married Timothy Gay there on 12^th April 1701 John Collett, whose son John was baptised on 19^th February 1671 Robert and Mary Collett’s daughter Anne was baptised on 28^th December 1686, while their other daughter Mary was baptised on 23^rd December 1688. Curiously, after Robert died, his widow Mary Collett, at the age of 50, was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 6^th January 1712.

44F1

Anthony Collett was born during the 1580s and he married Catherine Browne at Cherhill, a village and civil parish midway between Calne and Avebury, on the road to Marlborough. The day of their wedding was 12^th November 1610, placing Anthony’s birth in the early to mid-1580s. As Katherine Browne, the daughter of Thomas Browne, his bride was baptised at Kingston-St-Michael, to the north of Chippenham, on 5^th April 1584. The couple are known to have lived at Great Chalfield, where their only known children were born, although they were baptised at nearby Broughton Gifford.

44G1

John Collett

Born circa 1611 at Great Chalfield

44G2

Daniel Collett

Born circa 1617 at Great Chalfield

44G1

John Collett was born very likely born at Great Chalfield, while he would have been around twenty-one years old when he married Amy Barrett at Broughton Gifford on 16^th June 1632. Their daughter Amy Collett was baptised at Broughton Gifford in 1635 and was buried there on 20^th January 1690. John Collett was also buried at Broughton Gifford, either on 13^th August 1667 or 28^th September 1670.

44H1

Amy Collett

Baptised in 1635 at Broughton Gifford

44G2

Daniel Collett was born either in late 1617 or early in 1618 in the very small hamlet of Great Chalfield, just one mile from Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised on 17^th January 1618. He was the second child of Anthony Collett and Katherine Browne of Great Chalfield. Daniel was married and is known to have had at least two sons who were born and baptised at Broughton Gifford, although no record of his wife’s name has so far been discovered.

44H2

William Collett

Born in 1638 at Broughton Gifford

44H3

Luke Collett

Born in 1640 at Broughton Gifford

44H2

William Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1638, the son of Daniel Collett. He is known to have married Elizabeth at Broughton Gifford in 1663, and it was also there that Elizabeth, who was some years younger than William, presented him with seven children, all of whom were born/baptised at Broughton Gifford. Elizabeth Collett, the wife of William Collett senior, was buried at Broughton Gifford on 6^th September 1704. Fifteen years later William Collett ‘the senior’, was buried at Broughton Gifford with his wife on 10^th July 1719.

44I1

William Collett

Born in 1665 at Broughton Gifford

44I2

William Collett

Born in 1666 at Broughton Gifford

44I3

Elizabeth Collett

Born in 1667 at Broughton Gifford

44I4

Thomas Collett

Born in 1671 at Broughton Gifford

44I5

Daniel Collett

Born in 1673 at Broughton Gifford

44I6

William Collett

Born in 1677 at Broughton Gifford

44I7

Francis Collett

Born in 1682 at Broughton Gifford

44I8

Edward Collett

Born in 1687 at Broughton Gifford

44H3

Luke Collett was born at Broughton Gifford and most likely between 1640 and 1645. He was the second son of Daniel Collett of Great Chalfield and Broughton Gifford.

Prior to the January 2010 update of the Collett Family History website, Luke Collett was the first member of the family listed in Part 35 – The Melksham Line. As a result of the update to this file in January 2010 Part 35 and Part 44 are now known to originate from the same family. However, the task of combining these two large files would be a major logistical exercise so, for the time being at least, they will be retained as separate files.

Further details of the extension of this family line from Luke Collett (Ref. 35H1) can therefore be found in Part 35 – The Melksham to Wisconsin and Ontario Line

44I1

William Collett was born at Broughton Gifford during the first half of 1665, the first-born son of William and Elizabeth Collett. It was also at Broughton Gifford where he was baptised on 11^th June 1665, the parish register confirming that he was the son of William Collett. Tragically, two months later he died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 3^rd August 1665. Just over a year later, his mother gave birth to her second child, who was also given the name William.

44I2

William Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1666, the son of William and Elizabeth Collett, who was baptised there on 10^th September 1666 and confirmed as the son of William Collett. William Collett from Broughton Gifford was in his late twenties when he married Sarah Butler of the parish of Westbury on 24^th March 1694 at Westbury in Wiltshire, with whom he had at least four children who were baptised at Broughton Gifford. The parish register confirmed that the parents were William Collett, a dissenter, and his wife Sarah. An outbreak of smallpox at Broughton Gifford took the life of dissenter William Collett senior, who was died there on 17^th April 1725 and was buried there the following day.

Footnote: Less than two years before the smallpox death of William Collett, the death of his younger brother Francis Collett (below) from smallpox, resulted in him being buried at Broughton Gifford on 14^th November 1723, when he was described as “not worshipping God”.

44J1

John Collett

Born in 1695 at Broughton Gifford

44J2

William Collett

Born in 1700 at Broughton Gifford

44J3

Sarah Collett

Born in 1703 at Broughton Gifford

44J4

Isaac Collett

Born in 1704 at Broughton Gifford

44I3

Elizabeth Collett was born at Broughton Gifford during the latter half of 1668 and was baptised there on 27^th January 1669, the only known daughter of William and Elizabeth Collett.

44I4

Thomas Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1672 and it was there that he was baptised on 10^th January 1673, the son of William and Elizabeth Collett. Thomas later married Alice Brind at Marlborough in Wiltshire on 29^th July 1694.

44I5

Daniel Collett was born at Broughton Gifford, either at the end of 1673 or early in 1674, and was baptised there on 15^th March 1674, the son of William and Elizabeth Collett. He later married Jane Collett with all of their children baptised at Broughton Gifford. Thanks to David Hankey, towards the end of 2023, we now know that Jane, whose surname was previously unknown, was in fact the daughter of Henry Collett and was baptised at Chiseldon on 14^th October 1673. Henry Collett (Ref. 23I8) was the second of the five children of yeoman farmer William Collett and Mary Komm (Combe). When Jane Collett died at Broughton Gifford, where she was buried on 18^th December 1727, she was already a widow.

44J5

Jane Collett

Born in 1694 at Broughton Gifford

44J6

Ann Collett

Born in 1696 at Broughton Gifford

44J7

Margaret Collett

Born in 1701 at Broughton Gifford

44J8

Mary Collett

Born in 1704 at Broughton Gifford

44I6

William Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1677, where he was baptised on 27^th July 1677, a son of William and Elizabeth Collett, when his father was referred to simply as Will Collett. It seems rather odd that he was born eleven years after his old brother of the same name, who was buried at Broughton Gifford on 18^th April 1725. See William Collett (Ref. 44I2). Which raises the question, was he the son of an alternative William and Elizabeth Collett.

44I7

Francis Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1682 and was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 22^nd November 1682, another son of William and Elizabeth Collett. It was also at Broughton Gifford that he married Joan Hutton on 6^th April 1702, just thirty months before the death of his mother, where all of their children were baptised. At the time of the death of Francis Collett from smallpox, he was described as “not worshipping God” when he was buried at Broughton Gifford, with his son Thomas, on 14^th November 1723. His widowed survived him by twenty-eight years, when Joan Collett nee Hutton was buried at Broughton Gifford on 14^th September 1751.

Footnote: Francis’ older brother William Collett (above), was a dissenter, who also died from the outbreak of smallpox in Broughton Gifford, where he was buried on 17^th April 1725.

44J9

Elizabeth Collett

Born in 1704 at Broughton Gifford

44J10

Ann Collett

Born in 1711 at Broughton Gifford

44J11

Thomas Collett

Born in 1714 at Broughton Gifford

44J12

Thomas Collett

Born in 1716 at Broughton Gifford

44J13

Daniel Collett

Born in 1718 at Broughton Gifford

44J14

Sarah Collett

Born in 1722 at Broughton Gifford

44I8

Edward Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1687, where he was baptised on 24^th July 1687, the last child of William and Elizabeth Collett. Tragically, only ten days later, Edward Collett, the son of William Collett, was buried at Broughton Gifford on 4^th August 1687.

44J1

John Collett may have been born at Westbury, where his parents were married in 1694, or at Broughton Gifford, the first-born child of William Collett and Sarah Butler. It is most likely that he was some years old when he was baptised Broughton Gifford on 22^nd November 1698, when he was named as the son of William and Sarah Collett. It would appear that John was still in his teenage years when he married Eleanor who was born in Wiltshire around 1695. They had at least six children, the second of which died shortly after being born. The baptism of five of those children named the parents as John and Ellenor Collett. Sadly, for the family, Eleanor Collett died during the birth of the couple’s last child, and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 16^th December 1722, one week after the child was baptised there. Seven years after being made a widower, John Collett died and was buried with his wife at Broughton Gifford on 28^th September 1729.

44K1

Isaac Collett

Born in 1711 at Broughton Gifford

44K2

unnamed Collett

Born in 1714 at Broughton Gifford

44K3

Martha Collett

Born in 1716 at Broughton Gifford

44K4

Sarah Collett

Born in 1720 at Broughton Gifford

44K5

William Collett

Born in 1720 at Broughton Gifford

44K6

John Collett

Born in 1722 at Broughton Gifford

44J2

William Collett was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 8^th February 1701, another son of dissenter John and Sarah Collett.

44J3

Sarah Collett was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 7^th June 1703, the only known daughter of John Collett, a dissenter, and his wife Sarah. Daughter Sarah was 13 years old when she died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 14^th April 1716.

44J4

Isaac Collett was baptised at Broughton Gifford 7^th January on 1706, the last known child of John Collett and Sarah Butler. It is very likely that Isaac was a poorly child because, it was during the following day that he was buried at Broughton Gifford on 8^th January 1706.

44J5

Jane Collett was the first of the four known children of Daniel Collett of Broughton Gifford and Jane Collett of Chiseldon. She was born at Broughton Gifford and baptised there on 1^st April 1694, the daughter of Daniel and Jane Collett.

44J6

Ann Collett was another daughter of Daniel and Jane Collett who was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 1^st November 1696.

44J7

Margaret Collett was born at Broughton Gifford and was baptised there on 19^th May 1701, one of the four known daughters of Daniel Collett and his wife Jane. Margaret married (1) William Pocock with whom she had six children, one of which was John Pocock born in 1730. Upon the death of her husband in 1740, Margaret married (2) William Redman in 1752. All of her life would appear to have been spent at Broughton Gifford, where she was buried in 1767 at the age of 66. Her son John Pocock went on to marry Sarah Butler whose daughter, Elizabeth married George Freegard at Melksham on 11^th February 1801, George being the 4^th great uncle of David Hankey – a contributor to this family line.

Footnote. It was also at Broughton Gifford on 27^th December 1736 that Joseph Collett (Ref. 35J6) married Anne Redman and where Anne was buried on 7^th January 1750, immediately following the birth of the couple’s fifth daughter. William Collett (Ref. 44K10) also married Hester Redman at Melksham in 1780. In addition to this, Joseph Collett (Ref. 62K2) was born at Trowbridge around 1750 and he later married Jane Redman at Melksham in 1772.

44J8

Mary Collett was born at Broughton Gifford where she was baptised on 25^th July 1704, the last known child of Daniel Collett and his wife Jane whose maiden-name was also Collett. She was just short of reaching her fourteenth birthday, when she died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 16^th June 1718, when Mary Collett was again confirmed as the daughter of Daniel Collett.

44J9

Elizabeth Collett was born in 1704 and was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 1^st January 1705, the eldest child of Francis Collett and his wife Joan Hutton.

44J10

Ann Collett was another daughter of Francis and Joan Collett and who was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 21^st October 1711.

44J11

Thomas Collett was born at Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised on 31^st March 1714, the son of Francis Collett and Joan Hutton, although the baptism record only recorded the name of his father. Just less than ten months after being baptised, Thomas Collett, the son of Francis Collett, was buried at Broughton Gifford on 23^rd January 1715.

44J12

Thomas Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1716, following the premature death of his brother and namesake above. It may have been the tragic death of his brother that resulted in his father being referred to as ‘not worshipping God’ when he died from smallpox, when Thomas was only six years old.

It was later, that Thomas Collett married twenty-year-old Jane Woodman at Melksham on 25^th April 1739. The couple then settled there, and it was there also that all of their children were born and baptised, the baptism records confirming only the father’s name as Thomas Collett. One month after the death of their eldest son Thomas, at the age of six years, his place in the family was taken by the couple’s next child, also called Thomas, the father was described as Thomas Collett (widow). This probably indicates that his wife had died during the ordeal, although no record of her death has been found. After that sad event, when Thomas was only 30, it is likely that he was married for a second time, that second marriage producing the hitherto undiscovered missing son John Collett, who later married Hester Little.

Footnote: What is known, from the information provided by Martin Chapman in 2012, and referred to in the introduction, is that one of the sons of Thomas Collett, John, survived well into old age and gave birth to possibly five sons. In 2019, it was confirmed that their known grandsons John and Drinkwater Collett were members of a family of seven children born at South Wraxall to John Collett and Hester Little. Only the eldest sibling Jonathan, together with John and Drinkwater, survived beyond infancy. In the previous version of this family line, it was incorrectly stated that it was Thomas and Jane’s son William and his wife Hester Redman who were the parents of John and Drinkwater Collett, hence the reason for the non-discovery of the brother’s baptisms, or those of their older siblings.

44K7

Thomas Collett

Born in 1740 at Melksham

44K8

Henry Collett

Born in 1741 at Melksham

44K9

Sarah Collett

Born in 1743 at Melksham

44K10

William Collett

Born in 1745 at Melksham

44K11

Thomas Collett

Born in 1746 at Melksham

Below is the missing son of Thomas Collett, the father of Thomas’ grandsons John & Drinkwater Collett

44K12

John Collett

Born circa 1760

44J13

Daniel Collett was born in 1718 and was baptised on 23^rd November 1718, at Broughton Gifford, another daughter of Francis and Joan Collett.

44J14

Sarah Collett was the last child born to Francis Collett and Joan Hutton and was baptised on at Broughton Gifford on 27^th May 1722.

44K1

Isaac Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1711, the first-born child of John Collett and his wife Eleanor, who was baptised there on 18^th February 1711.

44K2

An unnamed Collett child died before it could be baptised and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 18^th May 1714, the child of John and Eleanor Collett.

44K3

Martha Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1716 and was baptised there on 20^th April 1716, the third child of John and Eleanor Collett. She was 12 years of age when she died, following which Martha was buried at Broughton Gifford on 2^nd May 1728.

44K4

Sarah Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1720, where she was baptised on 1^st January 1721 with her twin brother William (below), another two children of John and Eleanor Collett. One week later, Sarah Collett, daughter of John Collett, was buried at Broughton Gifford on 8^th January 1721.

44K5

William Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1720, the twin brother of Sarah (above), who were baptised together at Broughton Gifford in a joint ceremony on 1^st January 1721, the children of John and Eleanor Collett, also confirmed in the Bishops Transcripts.

44K6

John Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1722 and was baptised there on 10^th December 1722, the last child John and Eleanor Collett, his mother not surviving the ordeal of his birth. He later married (1) Anne Suddery at Holt – two miles south-west of Broughton Gifford, on 25^th November 1740, with whom he had four children who were all born and baptised at Broughton Gifford. The death of John Collett took place at Broughton Gifford, after which he was buried there on 24^th February 1752. By then two of his children, William and Sarah, had suffered infant deaths and, seventeen months later, Anne Collett, the wife of John, was buried at Broughton Gifford on 23^rd September 1753. This new information from the parish registers, throws doubt on John later marrying Sarah, with whom he is credited with a son Henry.

44L1

Mary Collett

Born in 1743 at Broughton Gifford

44L2

William Collett

Born in 1745 at Broughton Gifford

44L3

John Collett

Born in 1748 at Broughton Gifford

44L4

Sarah Collett

Born in 1750 at Broughton Gifford

The father of John and Henry (below) cannot be the child John who died in 1752, Henry’s parents’ names as John and Sarah Collett.

44L5a

John Collett

Died in 1761 at Broughton Gifford

44L5b

Henry Collett

Born in 1761 at Broughton Gifford

44K7

Thomas Collett was baptised at Melksham on 30^th April 1740, the eldest of the five children of Thomas Collett and Jane Woodman. He was six years of age when he died and was buried at Melksham on 14^th September 1746.

44K8

Henry Collett was baptised on at Melksham 20^th December 1741, another son of Thomas and Jane Collett. Curiously, the burial of Henry Collett took place at Melksham on 6^th February 1747, when he was described as a stranger.

44K9

Sarah Collett was baptised at Melksham on 18^th September 1743, the only daughter and third child of Thomas and Jane Collett. Although not confirmed, after consulting the parish burial records at Melksham, one source states she was buried there on 12^th October 1746. If proved to be true, that sad event happened a month after her older brother Thomas (above) had died and four months before the death of her brother Henry (above).

44K10

William Collett was baptised at Melksham on 2^nd July 1745, the son of Thomas Collett and Jane Woodman, although it was only his father’s name that appeared on the baptism record. In an earlier version of this family line, William Collett was said to have married Hester Redman at Melksham on 28^th March 1780. However, that William Collett was the son of Henry and Martha Collett (Ref. 62J1) who start Part 62 – The Trowbridge to New Zealand Line. William (Ref. 62K3) and his older brother Joseph, both married daughters of John Redman and Elizabeth Fox, Esther and Jane Redman respectively.

44K11

Thomas Collett was baptised at Melksham on 26^th October 1746, the youngest son and last child born to Thomas Collett and his wife Jane Woodman. As with his brother William (above), it was only his father’s name that was recorded at the baptism, but unlike before, on that occasion the parish register recorded him as Thomas Collett (widow), which indicated that his mother had died, mostly likely during the birth. It was at Melksham on 17^th November 1771 that Thomas married the much younger Mary Jones who was born at Trowbridge on 19^th March 1755. Mary, who was not yet seventeen years old when she married Thomas, was expecting the couple’s first child on their wedding day, who was baptised at Melksham just two months later. Four more children were added to their family over the following twelve years, and all of them were also born and baptised at Melksham.

44L6

Mary Collett

Born in 1772 at Melksham

44L7

Sarah Collett

Born in 1774 at Melksham

44L8

James Collett

Born in 1778 at Melksham

44L9

Catherine Collett

Born in 1781 at Melksham

44L10

Thomas Collett

Born in 1784 at Melksham

44K12

John Collett, whose date and place of birth or baptism has not been determined, must have been the son of Thomas Collett whose known grandchildren were John and Drinkwater Collett of South Wraxall. It was at Corsham, a few miles north-east of South Wraxall, on 4^th July 1785, that John Collett married Hester Little. On that day, John Collett was described as a butcher of South Wraxall. Twenty-three years earlier, as Esther Little, she was baptised at Biddestone, near Corsham, on 23^rd May 1762, the daughter of James Little, named as a bondsman and a yeoman at the wedding of his daughter to John. Once married, the couple settled in South Wraxall where their children were born and baptised, and where some of them were buried. On every occasion bar one, the parish baptism record gave John’s occupation as a butcher, while on the baptism of his second child he was described as a baker.

Upon the occasion of his passing, John Collett was buried at South Wraxall on 19^th June 1812, when he was recorded as being 47 years old, which places his year of birth around 1765. After twelve and a half years as a widow, Hester Collett was living at nearby Atworth, most likely with her married son John when she died, after which she was buried with her later husband and their children at South Wraxall on 13^th February 1825. The parish burial recorded noted that she was 62 years of age, confirming her year of birth around 1762, making her slightly older than her husband.

44L11

Jonathan Collett

Born in 1786 at South Wraxall

44L12

William Little Collett

Born in 1788 at South Wraxall

44L13

Drinkwater Collett

Born in 1790 at South Wraxall

44L14

Hester Collett

Born in 1795 at South Wraxall

44L15

William Collett

Born in 1796 at South Wraxall

44L16

John Collett

Born in 1799 at South Wraxall

44L17

Drinkwater Collett

Born in 1802 at South Wraxall

44L1

Mary Collett was born at Broughton Gifford and was baptised there on 11^th September 1743, the first-born child of John Collett and Anne Suddery of Holt. Mary was only three months old when she died at Broughton Gifford, where she was buried on 18^th December 1743.

44L2

William Collett was born at Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised on 19^th April 1745, the second child and eldest son of John and Anne Collett. Tragically four days later, the parish register at Broughton Gifford confirmed that he was buried there on 23^rd April 1745.

44L3

John Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1748 and was the third child of John and Ann Collett, following which he was baptised there on 4^th April 1748, as confirmed in 2019 with the receipt of the parish register for Broughton Gifford from Stephen Carpenter of the Wiltshire Family History Society. John Collett was twenty-six when he married Elizabeth Knapp at St James’ Church in Trowbridge on 9^th May 1774, when she was recorded as Betty Knapp. Elizabeth was the eldest of the six children of John Knapp and Mary Tucker and was baptised at Trowbridge on 16^th August 1749 and, on the day of her wedding, Betty would have been with-child. John and Betty are known to have been living at Trowbridge when their marriage was blessed with the birth of three children. In addition, the Ahnentafel Report confirms that John Collett and Elizabeth Knapp were the parents of the three children described below.

By the time their daughter was eight years of age, John Collett had died and his widow Betty Collett was married to widower Job Holloway, their wedding taking place at St James’ Church in Trowbridge on 9^th May 1888.

44M1

John Collett

Born in 1774 at Trowbridge

44M2

Thomas Collett

Born in 1777 at Trowbridge

44M3

Mary Collett

Born in 1780 at Trowbridge

44L4

Sarah Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1750, and it was there that she was baptised on 26^th December 1750, the last known child of John Collett and Anne Suddery of Holt. She only survived for a few days and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 13^th January 1751, the same day that her older sister Mary Collett (above) was buried.

44L5b

Henry Collett was born at Broughton Gifford in 1761 and was baptised there on 5^th July 1761, the only known child of John and his second wife Sarah Collett. Tragically, he did not survive and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 30^th January 1763. On that same day, John Collett (44L5a) was also buried at Broughton Gifford, who was possibly Henry’s brother. Who John and Sarah were, remains a mystery, particularly since John Collett (Ref. 44K6) died in 1752 and his wife Anne Suddery of Holt, also died at Broughton Gifford in 1753.

44L6

Mary Collett was born at Melksham in 1772 and was baptised there on 12^th January 1772, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Collett.

44L7

Sarah Collett was born at Melksham in 1774 where she was baptised on 11^th December 1774, the second of the four known children of Thomas and Mary Collett. Sarah later married James Gingell at St Michael’s Church in Melksham on 8^th June 1794 with whom she had two daughters, Sarah and Susannah Gingell, who were born during 1797 and 1799, although both were baptised at Melksham on the same day, that being 14^th April 1799. It was Susannah Gingell who later married Jacob Silverthorne at Melksham on 16^th October 1821, whose descendent is David Hankey from Leicestershire, who kindly provided these new details, plus further details in 2017 and 2018.

44L8

James Collett was born at Melksham and it was there that he was baptised on 22^nd March 1778 as James Collett the eldest son of Thomas and Mary Collett.

44L9

Catherine Collett was born at Melksham in 1781 and was baptised there as Catherine Collett on 19^th August 1781, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Collett.

44L10

Thomas Collett was born at Melksham in 1784 where he was baptised as Thos Collett on 21^st March 1784, the last known child of Thomas and Mary Collett.

44L11

Jonathan Collett was baptised at South Wraxall on 4^th June 1786, the first-born child of butcher John Collett and Esther Little.

44L12

William Little Collett was baptised at South Wraxall on 24^th February 1788, the second son of baker John and Esther Collett. Almost exactly seven years later, William Collett, son of John and Hester, was buried at South Wraxall on 20^th February 1795.

44L13

Drinkwater Collett was born at South Wraxall, where he was baptised on 14^th February 1790, another son of John Collett, a butcher, by his wife Esther. He survived for just under seventeen months, when he died and was buried at South Wraxall on 5^th July 1791.

44L14

Hester Collett was the only daughter of John Collett and his wife Hester Little, and was baptised at South Wraxall on 26^th July 1795. Tragically, she was fifteen years of age when she died, following which she was buried at South Wraxall on 2^nd August 1810, the daughter of John and Hester Collett.

44L15

William Collett was born at South Wraxall, where he was baptised on 20^th November 1796, another son of John and Hester Collett. Unlike nearly all of his older siblings, no early death or burial record as been found for William Collett at South Wraxall, so it is unclear what happened to him after he was baptised.

44L16

John Collett was baptised at South Wraxall on 4^th August 1799, one of the surviving sons of John and Hester Collett, and one of the known grandsons of Thomas Collett and Jane Woodman. It is also known that, on 29^th October 1823, at Kington St Michael, John Collett of Bradford-on-Avon married Elizabeth Pinnigar from Kington Langley, just north of Chippenham. Once married, the couple settled in the village of Atworth, where their children were all born. Furthermore, the baptism records at Atworth confirm the children’s parents were John and Elizabeth Collett, and that John was a labourer. It seems highly likely that John’s widowed mother Hester was living with him and his family at Atworth when she passed away in 1825, although she was buried at South Wraxall with other members of the family.

By the time of the Atworth census in 1841 John and Elizabeth had six children living there with them. The couple’s rounded ages did not reflect their true age, with John being 35 rather than 40, and his wife was 30 when she was also nearer forty. Their children at that time were Eliza Collett, aged 14, John Collett, aged 12, Mary Collett, who was nine, George Collett, who was seven, Alfred Collett, who was four, and Henry Collett who was not yet one year old. The couple’s eldest son Thomas Collett had already left home to make his own way in the world in South Wales, where he was later reunited with his younger brother John.

The family was still living within the Chapelry of Atworth in 1851 when agricultural labourer John Collett from South Wraxall was 51, his wife Elizabeth from Kington Langley was 50, and their four children on that occasion were Eliza Collett who was 24, John Collett, who was 22 and a cabinet maker, Henry Collett, aged ten years, who was attending the local school, as was his brother Edwin Collett who was five years old. Sadly, for the family, it would seem that the three missing children [Mary, George and Alfred] did not survive beyond childhood, since no further record of any of them has been found.

It would appear that Elizabeth Collett nee Pinnigar died sometime during the next decade, since by 1861 John Collett, aged 60, was a widower living in Atworth with just his youngest child Edwin Collett, aged 15, living there with him. After a further ten years widower John Collett from South Wraxall was still living at Atworth in 1871 when he was 71 years old and a cottager. Living there with him was his eldest son Thomas who was a bachelor of 46 and a servant not in employment. It is interesting to note that at Atworth in 1871 there were three Collett households in a row, with just the elderly Marriott couple separating John and Thomas from Henry Collett (Ref. 35M53) of Broughton Gifford and his two young children Sarah Ann and Thomas, who were living next door to Rose Cottage, the home of his sister-in-law Sarah Halstead Collett, the widow of his brother John Collett (Ref 35M52) from Broughton Gifford and her two Atworth born children Sarah and John.

Shortly after that John and Thomas moved into the town of Bradford-on-Avon, where they were residing at the time of the next census. According to the census in 1881, widower John Collett was 81 and was working as a general labourer, while living at Main Street in Bradford-on-Avon. Living with him was his unmarried son Thomas Collett who was confirmed as having been born at Atworth. It was the same situation in 1891 except that by then John Collett, aged 91 and living on his own means, was once again living in Atworth at Bath Road with just his eldest son Thomas for company, who was 66 and also living on his own means. It was one year later that the death of John Collett aged 92, was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 115) during the first quarter of 1892.

44M4

Thomas Collett

Born in 1824 at Atworth

44M5

Eliza Collett

Born in 1826 at Atworth

44M6

John Collett

Born in 1828 at Atworth

44M7

Mary Anne Collett

Born in 1831 at Atworth

44M8

George Collett

Born in 1833 at Atworth

44M9

Alfred Collett

Born in 1836 at Atworth

44M10

Henry Collett

Born in 1840 at Atworth

44M11

Edwin Collett

Born in 1845 at Atworth

44L17

Drinkwater Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1802, the youngest son of John Collett, a butcher, and Hester Little, and was baptised there on 10^th July 1802. He was certainly the younger brother of John Collett of South Wraxall (above) and the grandson of Thomas Collett and Jane Woodman. It was at nearby Atworth on 30^th November 1828 that Drinkwater Collett married Ann Reynolds, with whom he had four children, all of them born at Atworth. When their first two children were baptised at Atworth, Drinkwater’s occupation was stated to be that of a labourer. It was also at Atworth, around that time, when the family of Drinkwater’s brother John Collett, and his wife Elizabeth, were living there with their family, the children of both families having similar names.

In the Atworth (parish of Great Bradford) census of 1841, Drinkwater Collett was listed with a rounded age of 40, as was his wife Ann, while their children were John Collett, aged 14, Hannah Collett, who was five, and Thomas Collett who was one year old. Staying with the family that census day was Jane Reynolds, who was 25 and Ann’s younger brother. Their son Thomas tragically died during the months shortly after the census day in 1841, and the loss to the family was offset by the birth of another son, William. However, further tragedy struck the family over the following years when first, the couple’s last child suffered a premature death and, at the end of the decade, Drinkwater’s wife Ann Reynolds passed away and was buried at South Wraxall on 7^th April 1850. Her death was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. viii 189) during the second quarter of the year.

One year later, Drinkwater was incorrectly recorded as being 42 years of age in the Bradford-on-Avon census of 1851, when he would have been around 50, having regard for his given age ten years later in the census of 1861. The census return for 1851 described Drinkwater Collett as a widower who was working as an agricultural labourer, while he was living at Upper Wraxall. His place of birth was confirmed as South Wraxall. The only member of his family still living with him at Upper Wraxall was his daughter Hannah who was 17 and born at Atworth. She was described as being ‘at home’, presumably because she was looking after her father as his housekeeper.

Hannah may have married during the next ten years since, ten years later in 1861, Drinkwater Collett was a lodger at the home of James Pearce in Lower Street in Chalfield-by-Wraxall. He was described as a widower of 60 years of age from South Wraxall, at which time he was still working as an agricultural labourer.

44M12

John Collett

Born in 1829 at Atworth

44M13

Hannah Tabitha Collett

Born in 1836 at Atworth

44M14

Thomas Collett

Born in 1840 at Atworth

44M15

William Collett

Born in 1841 at Atworth

44M1

John Collett was born at Trowbridge in 1774, the first-born child of John Collett and Elizabeth (Betty) Knapp who were married at St James’ Church in Trowbridge on 9^th May 1774, where John was baptised on 11^th September 1774.

44M2

Thomas Collett was born at Trowbridge in 1777, another son of John and Betty Collett, who was baptised there on 10^th August 1777.

44M3

Mary Collett was born at Trowbridge in 1780, the last of the three children of John Collett and Betty Knapp, where she was baptised during April that year. When she was therefore twenty-one years of age, Mary married John Watts on 5^th August 1801 at St James’ Church in Trowbridge.

44M4

Thomas Collett was born at Atworth in 1824, where he was baptised on 20^th February 1825, the eldest child of John Collett and Elizabeth Pinnigar. By the time of the census in 1841, Thomas had left the family home in Atworth, possibly to make room in the house for his six younger siblings and, although no actual record of him has been located, he would have been around 16 years of age. Ten years later, in 1851, he was confirmed as having been born at Atworth and was 26, when he was residing at Maesteg near Bridgend in South Wales.

The only possibly record of Thomas in 1861 was the one who was 36 years of age, who was living alone in the Bath Lansdown registration district. What is known for sure, is that just after that he was back living at Atworth in 1871, where he was looking after his elderly widowed father John who was 71. Thomas Collett from Atworth was still a bachelor at the age of 46, when he was described as a servant out of employment. During the next few years Thomas and his father left Atworth and moved into the town of Bradford-on-Avon and it was there, in Main Street, that they were residing in 1881 when Thomas was described as a former domestic servant, perhaps indicating that he had retired from that work to care for the needs of his father. He was still unmarried by that time when he was 56.

With his father’s advancing years, Thomas and his father may have decided it was time to return to their home village of Atworth since, it was there at Bath Road, that they were still living together in 1891, when Thomas was 66 and also living on his own means like his father John Collett, who was 91. His father passed away within the next eleven months, with Thomas surviving him by six years. Like his father, the death of Thomas Collett was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon register office (Ref. 5a 88) during the first three months of 1898, when he was 73 years old.

44M5

Eliza Collett was born at Atworth near the end of 1826, after which she was baptised there on 18^th February 1827, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Collett. Eliza was 14 by the time of the census in 1841, when she was living at Atworth with her family, where she was also living ten years later in 1851 when she was 24. It is assumed that she was married shortly after that, as no record of her as Eliza Collett has been found in 1861.

44M6

John Collett was born at Atworth, towards the end of 1828, where he was baptised there on 22^nd March 1829, another son of John and Elizabeth Collett. In the Atworth census of 1841 John Collett, aged 12 years, was living there at the home of his parents John and Elizabeth Collett. He was single and was still living with his family in the Chapelry of Atworth in 1851, when he was a cabinet maker, aged 22 and from Atworth. Prior to 2019, it was thought that John Collett from Atworth had settled in South Wales, but he was the eldest son of Drinkwater Collett (Ref. 44L17) and his wife Ann Reynolds, as confirmed by his marriage certificate of 1864 at Bridgend in Glamorganshire. Therefore, all of the details for the John from Atworth, who moved to Wales in the 1850s, can be found under Ref. 44M12. What happened to John Collett, the cabinet maker of Atworth, after 1851, is currently not known, as is the case with some of his younger siblings.

44M7

Mary Anne Collett was born at Atworth in 1831 and was baptised there on 21^st August 1831, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Collett. She was nine years old in the Atworth census of 1841, but was not living with her family at Atworth in 1851 when she would have been 19. At that age she may have been too young to be married, so her absence might mean that she did not survive.

44M8

George Collett was born at Atworth in 1833, where he was baptised on 16^th February 1834, the son of John and Elizabeth Collett. In the Atworth census of 1841 George was seven years of age, although no further record of him has been found in any later census return.

44M9

Alfred Collett was born at Atworth in 1836, and it was there also that he was baptised on 26^th February 1837, the son of John and Elizabeth Collett. Like his brother George (above), Alfred was living at Atworth at the age of four in 1841, but was not living there with his family ten years later. Nor has any record of him been found after that time.

44M10

Henry Collett was born at Atworth in 1840, and baptised there on 7^th March 1841, the son of John and Elizabeth Collett. Unlike his two older siblings George and Alfred (above), Henry was recorded living with his family at Atworth in two consecutive censuses. He was under one year old in 1841, and was 10 years of age in 1851. However, just like his older siblings, no further record has been found for him, so he too may have suffered a childhood death.

44M11

Edwin Collett was born at Atworth where he was baptised on 10^th August 1845, the youngest child born to John and Elizabeth Collett. By the time of the Atworth census in 1851 Edwin was five years old when he was living there with his family. During the next decade Edwin’s mother died, so in the census of 1861 he was living with his widowed father John Collett at Atworth at the age of 15. No further record of this particular Edwin Collett has been found after 1861. He should not be confused with Edwin Collett (Ref. 31P14) of the same age, who was born at Monkton Farleigh to William Collett and Ellen Cottle.

44M12

John Collett was born at Atworth in 1829, where he was baptised on 9^th August 1829, the eldest of the four known children of Drinkwater Collett and his wife Ann. In the previous version of this file, the details for this John Collett of Atworth were placed under the name of John Collett of Atworth (Ref. 44M6), the two of them being born with six months of each other, who is now known to be the son of John Collett and Elizabeth Pinnigar. In the Atworth (Bradford-on-Avon) census of 1841 John’s age was incorrectly recorded as being 14, when he was still living there with his family. Ten years, John Collett from Atworth was said to be 19 and an agricultural labourer who was living with the family of John and Mary Pickett at their home on Dark Lane in Upper Castle Combe near Chippenham in Wiltshire.

Perhaps it was the lure of better wages in South Wales, that encouraged John to move to Glamorganshire sometime during the 1850s. That situation was confirmed in the census conducted in 1861, when John Collett from Atworth in Wiltshire was 31 and unmarried, who was employed as an iron ore labourer. At that time in his life, he was a lodger at a property on McGard Row in Llangynwyd, Glamorganshire, two miles south of Maesteg.

Just before Christmas, three years later, John Collett married widow Ann Jones on 13^th December 1864 at Llangynwyd, the event recorded at Bridgend (Ref. 11a 729) during the last quarter of that year. The record of their wedding day, confirmed that John was the son of Drinkwater Collett and that Ann was the daughter of John Jones. Although, not determined, it seems likely that Ann was a widow who already had a daughter from her previous marriage. That child was living with the couple on the day of the next census in 1871 at Cwn Du, to the east of Maesteg. John Collett from Atworth was 43 and a hauler, Ann Collett was 48 and her daughter Mary A Collett was 14 years of age, mother and daughter both recorded as having been born at Llancaen Crilwyn in Cardiganshire. Living with the three of them were William D Jones, who was four years old and described as John’s stepchild, and boarder George James from Cheltenham.

Sometime during the next decade, perhaps after the wedding of Ann’s daughter, the couple move to 2 Concrete Cottages in Cwmdu, where they were living in April 1881. John’s occupation was that of a carter and haulier at the age of 52, while Ann was 58. No place of birth was given for either of them in the 1881 Census, by which time their married daughter Mary Ann Evans was also living nearby at Cwmdu, with her young family. Not further record of John or Ann has been found after that time.

44N1

Mary Ann Collett formerly Jones

Born in 1856 at Llancaen Crilwyn

44M13

Hannah Tabitha Collett was born at Atworth in 1836 and was baptised there on 25^th September 1836, the only daughter of Drinkwater and Ann Collett. It was as Hannah Collett, aged five years, that she was recorded living with her family at Atworth in 1841. Over the following years, the family was struck by the triple tragedy of the deaths of her mother and two of her three brothers so, by 1851, Hannah Collett, aged 17 and from Atworth, was ‘working at home’, keeping house for her widowed father in Upper Wraxall, Bradford-on-Avon.

44M14

Thomas Collett was born at Atworth in 1840 and it was there also that he was baptised on 14^th June 1840. He was the son of Drinkwater and Ann Collett and was listed with them in the Atworth census of 1841, as being one year old. The death of Thomas Collett at Atworth was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. viii 169) during the third quarter of 1847.

44M15

William Collett was born at Atworth just after the census day in 1841, the last child of Drinkwater Collett and Ann Reynolds. His mother died in 1850 and William was not living with his widowed father in 1851, so may also have suffered a premature death.

44N1

Mary Ann Collett was born at Llancaen Crilwyn, in Cardiganshire, during 1856 as Mary Ann Jones, the daughter of Ann Jones. Upon her widowed mother’s marriage to John Collett from Atworth in 1864, the child took up the Collett surname and it was as Mary A Collett, aged 14, that she was living at Cwmdu, east of Maesteg in 1871, with John and Ann Collett. Just before her twentieth birthday she married coal miner James Evans who was four years older than Mary and who had been born at Carew in Pembroke. In 1881 the couple was living at 3 MacGregor Row in Cwmdu, where Mary Ann Evans was 24 and her husband was 28. On that occasion, Mary’s place of birth was said, in error, to be Maesteg. Their three Maesteg (Cwmdu) born children were Edith Alice Evans who was five, James John Evans who was two, and Eliza Jane Evans who was just six months old.