Collett family history

PART ONE The Gloucestershire Main Line - 1485 to 1800 This is the first of four sections of the first Collett family line Updated February 2015 The information for the July 2012 update was generously provided by Sarah Ahlstrom, Simon Collett, and Kelvin Parker in Christchurch, New Zealand The January 2012 update of this file was thanks to new information received from Brian Gregory Collett (Ref. 1R49) from Cairns in Australia, Andrew Collett (Ref. 3Q14), and Marilee Rylett Magder (Ref. 1P85) of Whitby in Ontario The information used in previous updates to this file has been kindly provided by Bob Rolfe (Ref. 1N37) and Dennis Collett The starting point for this family has long been the subject of speculation that it most likely began at Kimble or Wendover to the south of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. What is known about that branch of the family is that Henry Colet, born circa 1360, was the brother of Thomas Colet who was the Rector of Little Kimble up to 1408. Whilst Henry married and had children, no such records have been found for Thomas. However, one of Henry’s grandchildren was a Thomas Colet born at Wendover circa 1430 and, although no such record has been found, he may have had a son who was also called Thomas.

He would then have been around the right age to be the father of Thomas Colet of Over Slaughter who was born there in 1485. Having said all of this, it is also established from records at the British Library, relating to Buckinghamshire, that Thomas Colet left Little Kimble on 9th October 1408, when he travelled to Gloucestershire, where he settled in the village of Barnsley near Cirencester.

Details of the Colet families of Kimble and Wendover can be found in Part 18 – The Suffolk Line, and Part 63 – The Collett-Stratfold-Collet Family of Buckinghamshire 1C1

Unknown COLLETT. The names of Thomas and Robert Colet were prevalent in the branches of the Colet family residing at Kimble and Wendover from 1360 onwards.

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1D1

THOMAS COLLETT Robert Collett

Born in 1485 Date of birth unknown

THOMAS COLLETT was born in 1485 at Over Slaughter in Gloucestershire and he married Alice around 1517. Thomas was Joint Lord of the Manor of Over Slaughter with Mr Venfield and was godfather to ten children. For other references to the name Venfield see Ref.1F9 and 1F11.

Thomas Collett died in 1538 and his Will of 24 th March 1538 was proved in 1539 (see Will in Legal Documents). It names wife Alice and son Henry Collett (below) as executors. The Will, like all of the Wills available to view on this website, has been translated into current day English. It is understood that Thomas Collett was buried in the south transept of Tewkesbury Cathedral.

Alice died in 1557 and her Will dated 22 nd June 1557 (see Will in Legal Documents) included the names of all of her children, with the exception of eldest son William and eldest daughter Marian. The Will actually refers to her four daughters so it is possible that Marian may have died before reaching her fortieth birthday, although it is known that son William was alive at the time Alice made her Will. So it is curious why the two eldest children were excluded from the Will.

Important footnote: In 2013 the website My Heritage included the names of the parents and grandparents of Thomas Collett of Over Slaughter, as placed there by John Riddle in New Zealand. It must be noted that the details are incorrect, with Over Slaughter being confused with the village of Over in Cambridgeshire. The details for Thomas Collett who was born at Over near St Ives in 1480 can be found in Part 69 – Other Cambridgeshire Families.

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Marian Collett William Collett Henry Collett Elizabeth Collett Alice Collett Joan Collett Agnes Collett JOHN COLLETT

Born circa 1517 Born in 1518 at Over Slaughter Born in 1520 at Over Slaughter Born in 1521 at Over Slaughter Born in 1522 at Over Slaughter Born in 1523 at Over Slaughter Born in 1524 at Over Slaughter Born in 1525 at Over Slaughter

1D2

Robert Collett was born at Cutsdean in Gloucestershire and he died in 1544. He was referred to in the Will of 1538 of Thomas Collett (above) as ‘brother’.

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Marian Collett may have been born around 1517 or before. To date no record has been found for her birth. However, the 1557 Will of her mother Alice Collett makes no reference to daughter Marion but does include a Robert Rooke who, with Anwin Matthews, received a sheep for ‘their pains’. Robert Rooke was also a witness at the signing of her Will. Almost twenty years earlier a Richard Rooke from Bourton-onthe-Water married a Marian Collett of Upper Slaughter at Upper Slaughter on 16 th January 1538. This would place her date of birth around 1517 or slightly earlier and could place her as the first born child of Thomas and Alice Collett. The later Will of Edith Collett, made in 1597, makes reference to Elizabeth the second daughter of Richard Rooke. Therefore it seems likely that Elizabeth was the daughter of Marian Collett and Richard Rooke. Edith Collett was the second wife of Marian’s brother Henry Collett (below).

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William Collett was born around 1518 at Over Slaughter and he married (Anne) or Agnes Hanks on 26 th October 1542 at Upper Slaughter. It would seem rather curious that following the birth of the couple’s first child, that the next four children were born to William some thirty years later when Agnes would have been in her late fifties. The alternative, and perhaps more logical explanation, might be that William was married twice, first to Anne and later to an Agnes who may even have been Anne’s sister, since some of the birth records indicate the mother’s name as either Agnes or Anne Hanks.

William Collett died in 1587 at Upper Slaughter after acting as sole executor of Agnes’ Will which was proved in 1587. (Over Slaughter and Upper Slaughter are different references for the same village). From this it might be concluded that William initially married Anne Hanks, with whom he had a son, and later married Agnes Hanks the daughter of Richard Hanks who was born at Upper Slaughter around 1538. The records also show that all of the later four children were born at Upper Slaughter. The list of

Gloucestershire Wills includes an entry for William Collett of Upper Slaughter, a shepherd, whose Will of 1587 has the reference number 1587/269.

1F1 William Collett (later of Stanley) Born in 1543 The following are the children of William Collett by his second wife Agnes Hanks: 1F2 Edmund Collett Born in 1571 at Upper Slaughter 1F3 Joan Collett Born in 1577 at Upper Slaughter 1F4 Robert Collett Born in 1581 at Upper Slaughter 1F5 Thomas Collett Born in 1584 at Upper Slaughter 1E3

Henry Collett was born in 1520 at Over Slaughter where he married (1) Joan Hanks in 1540, the mother of all his children. After her death Henry married (2) Edith Arnold, a lady of some wealth, who was born in Cirencester in 1520 and who died in 1598. Henry was a Yeoman of Over Slaughter and Church Warden of the Parish. He was also the sole executor of the Will of his mother Alice Collett.

Henry Collett died in 1592 and was buried in the churchyard at Over Slaughter. His Will of 20th August 1591 in the 33rd year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, was proved in 1592 (see Will in Legal Documents).

The document named his eldest son Thomas Collett (below) as sole executor. All of his children, with the exception of Henry Collett the youngest son, were named in the Will with Thomas Collett the eldest son being allow to reside in one half of the house occupied by his stepmother Edith until her death, at which time it would become his property. It also stipulated that Edith would get nothing if she did not agree to this provision.

In addition, Henry’s Will also provided for the following: £10 and the best bed in the house to wife Edith; ten shillings to the poor of the village; £3 of good and lawful money of England to each of seven of his eight children; and a plough and a pair of harrows to his son Anthony Collett (below).

It seems likely that Joan Collett nee Hanks, Henry’s first wife, died during or just after the birth of Henry Collett (below) their last born child. And it is interesting to note that the child was not mentioned in his father’s Will.

Henry’s second wife Edith Collett made a Will on 18 th November 1597 which was proved in 1598 (see Will in Legal Documents). In this she bequeathed nothing to any member of the Collett family. The only Collett named in her Will was ‘Thomas - a friend’ who, with Thomas Carter, was charged with overseeing the Will. Thomas Collett was very likely the eldest of her stepsons and this seems the most likely option since he was also sole executor to her husband’s earlier Will. The bulk of her estate was shared amongst the members of her own Arnold family, although there is also reference to the Rooke, and Avro families. In addition, eight pence was bequeathed to every poor house and six pence to every resident of St Edwards Almshouse.

Will Of interest is the name Robert Rooke in the 1557 Will of Alice Collett the husband of Thomas Collett (Ref. Notes 1D1) who was named as an overseer of her Will and who was witness to the signing thereof. This then raises the question, was Robert Rooke the father of Richard Rooke who married Marian Collett (Ref. 1E1) the daughter of Thomas and Alice Collett and whose daughter Elizabeth was referred to in the 1597 Will of Edith Collett.

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Alice Collett Elizabeth Collett Thomas Collett John Collett William Collett

Born in 1541 at Over Slaughter Born in 1545 at Over Slaughter Born in 1547 at Over Slaughter Born in 1548 at Over Slaughter Born in 1551 at Over Slaughter

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Jane Collett Anthony Collett Henry Collett

Born in 1553 at Over Slaughter Born in 1554 at Over Slaughter Born in 1556 at Over Slaughter

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Elizabeth Collett was born in 1521 at Over Slaughter and was married there to John Bayliss on 19 th July 1546. John, and a Thomas Bayliss who may have been his father, were witnesses for the Will of Alice Collett, Elizabeth’s mother.

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Alice Collett was born in 1522 at Over Slaughter and married David Anthony Taylor of Bourton on the Water. In the 1557 Will of her mother Alice Collett there is a clause specifically excluding the children of Anthony Taylor. However, later in the Will Eleanor Taylor who could be a daughter to Anthony and Alice was named as being bequeathed one sheep.

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Joan Collett and Agnes Collett were born in 1523 and 1524 respectively at Over Slaughter and one of them married Thomas Hanks the likely brother of Joan Hanks who married their older brother Henry Collett (above). An Elizabeth Hanks was bequeathed a sheep in the Will of their mother Alice Collett, so Elizabeth was probably the daughter of the couple and therefore the granddaughter of Alice Collett.

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JOHN COLLETT was born in 1525 and he married (1) Marion Jakes at Broadwell just north of Stow-on-the Wold on 15th June 1547 or 16th June 1547, where all of their children were born and baptised and where Marion Jakes was born around 1528. Under the terms of the 1538 Will of John’s father Thomas Collett, John and all of his sisters (above) but excluding Marian Collett, were bequeathed twenty shillings and ten sheared sheep (see Will in Legal Documents).

John Collett of Broadwell died in 1597 and his Will was proved that same year. It was originally believed that John‘s wife Marion died eleven years after her husband in 1607, but this has been disproved – see note below. The recent discovery of John’s Will (see Will in Legal Documents) has provided additional information about his wife and children at the time of his death which conflicts with the list of children credited to John and his wife Marion in an earlier version of this file.

The Will also referred to John’s wife as Katherine who was previously (2) Katherine Sanders who married John Collett at Broadwell on 1st November 1582 or 11th November 1582, Katherine having been born there in 1555. This means that John’s first wife Marion had died after the birth of their last child in 1558 and before 1582. John being married twice now makes sense of the statement in his Will about his sons ‘Henry Collett the elder’ and ‘Henry Collett the younger’ that is, one from each of his two marriages.

Therefore the revised lists of his children from those two marriages are now reproduced below, in accordance with the details extracted from his Will.

In addition to his own children, the Will also included the names of two grandsons, they being Thomas and John the sons of Henry Collett the elder. It is also interesting to note that the witnesses to the signing of the Will were ‘neighbour William Wright of Broadwell and John Collett of Naunton’. This John Collett (Ref 1F9) was the son of John’s older brother Henry Collett (above) who, at the time of his death in 1605, was referred to as John Collett of Naunton.

Under the terms of the Will of John Collett, the church at Broadwell received twenty pence, and the poor of the town were to receive a strike of corn. Henry the younger son was to receive the great brass pan and iron bedstead in the nether chamber, while Anthony was to get the second best brass pan and iron bedstead from the upper chamber upon the death of his mother Katherine. Notable absentees from the Will were John’s daughter Francis and son Robert (both from his first marriage) and Philip and Anne (from his second marriage). No later records have been found for Philip and Anne, so it seems very likely that

they both had died while still very young. However, the older two children did survive beyond childhood and their adult details are included later on.

1F14 1F15 1F16 1F17 1F18

William Collett Elizabeth Collett Francis Collett (a daughter) Robert Collett HENRY COLLETT ‘the elder’

Baptised on 08.01.1548 at Broadwell Baptised on 06.04.1550 at Broadwell Baptised in April 1552 at Broadwell Baptised on 19.08.1554 at Broadwell Baptised on 04.11.1558 at Broadwell

The five children above were the children of John and Marion Collett, and the five children listed below were the offspring of John and Katherine Collett. It seems highly likely that the earlier reference to John’s wife dying in 1607, ten years after he had passed away was, in all probability, a reference to his second wife Katherine.

1F19 1F20 1F21 1F22 1F23

Henry Collett ‘the younger’ Philip Collett Anne Collett Anthony Collett William Collett

Baptised on 31.08.1583 at Broadwell Born in 1584 at Broadwell Baptised on 28.08.1586 at Broadwell Baptised on 07.03.1589 at Broadwell Date of birth after 1597 at Broadwell

1F6

Alice Collett was born in 1541 at Over Slaughter and was the daughter of Henry Collett and Joan Hanks.

Alice later married Mr Humphries.

1F7

Elizabeth Collett was born in 1545 at Over Slaughter and was the daughter of Henry Collett and Joan Hanks and she later married Mr Haynes.

1F8

Thomas Collett was born in 1547 at Over Slaughter and was the eldest son of Henry Collett and Joan Hanks. Thomas Collett married Edith with whom he had ten children as detailed in Pedigree 2 of Margaret Chadd’s book The Collett Saga published in 1987. Margaret Chadd and the complier of this website worked together during the years from 1992 to 1997 to assemble and eventually publish a supplement to The Collett Saga.

Thomas Collett of Over Slaughter, together with his brother Anthony Collett (below) were overseers, with Nicholas Perratt, of the 1603 Will of John Hules of Over Slaughter who was the father-in-law of Anthony Collett who married Elizabeth Hules (see Will in Legal Documents). Thomas Collett, who was mentioned in the 1605 Visitation, died in 1620.

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John Collett Anthony Collett Mary Collett Paris Collett Henry Collett Elinore Collett Richard Collett Margaret Collett Elizabeth Collett Thomas Collett

Born in 1576 Date of birth unknown Date of birth unknown Date of birth unknown Date of birth unknown Date of birth unknown Date of birth unknown Born in 1592 Born in 1595 Born in 1598; died 1676

1F9

John Collett was born in 1548 at Over Slaughter and was the son of Henry Collett and Joan Hanks. He married Elizabeth Venfield of Naunton in 1583. In 1591 John Collett, with his brother Thomas Collett (above) and Richard Perratt are listed as Trustees of the Lands of Upper Slaughter which were purchased and conveyed for the repair of the church and the relief of the poor. John was Joint Lord of the Manor of Over Slaughter with Gyles Venfield, who was possibly John’s brother-in-law, being his wife’s brother.

On a wall inside the Church of St Peter at Upper Slaughter is a plaque dated 1792 with the heading ‘Benefactors of this Parish’ that reads as follows: ”In 1594 certain land were purchased and conveyed to the trustee for the repair of the church and the relief of the poor. At the enclosure 56 acres were allotted in lieu of the said lands which are now upon lease at £56000. John Collett, Richard Perratt and Thomas Collett are the only surviving trustees. Several sums of money have at different times been given to the poor amounting in the whole £52 which is lent upon mortgage to the Trustees of the Church Estate. The interest is distributed annually. January 1789 the Reverend F T Travell conveyed by deed to the three Trustees vis the Rector of the Parish for the time being, John Collett and William Cook.”

William Cook was the brother-in-law of John Humphries whose Will was made in 1771. The document also revealed that John Humphries’ daughter Mary Humphries married Thomas Collett (Ref 14K9). It is therefore very likely that the aforementioned trustee John Collett was Thomas’ brother (Ref. 14K7) who was known as John Collett of Upper Slaughter (see Will in Legal Documents). The John Collett here, who was born at Over Slaughter in 1548, died at Naunton in 1605 and his Will was proved later that same year.

Details of his children and the continuation of his line can be found in Part 2 - The Secondary Line from 1550 to 1775 commencing with the reference 1F9.

This is also the family line of Gordon John Collett (Ref. 3Q5) of Boston in Lincolnshire and his son Martin who was living in Australia around the start of the 21 st Century From Part 2 the line continues to Part 32 – The Newfoundland Line as the family line of Max Collett, Bonnie Brown and Natasha Young of Placentia Bay

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William Collett was born in 1551 at Over Slaughter and was the son of Henry Collett and Joan Hanks. He was married by licence to Ann Harwood of Great Rissington in Gloucestershire on 9 th November 1576 at Upper Slaughter. Very little else is known about William and Ann, except that he died in 1633.

1F11

Jane Collett was born in 1553 at Over Slaughter and was the younger daughter of Henry Collett and Joan Hanks. It was also at Over Slaughter where Jane married John Venfield of Naunton in 1573. John was the brother of Elizabeth Venfield who married Jane’s brother John Collett (above).

1F12

Anthony Collett was born in 1554 at Over Slaughter and was the son of Henry Collett and Joan Hanks.

He married Elizabeth Hules of Upper Slaughter in 1593. The marriage produced four children for Anthony and Elizabeth as detailed in Pedigree 5 of The Collett Saga and as shown in Part 14 of this website.

Anthony Collett died on 20th May 1627 and his Will, which was made on 8 th April 1627, was proved on 5 th July 1627.

For the continuation of this family line See Part 14 – The John Kyte Collett Line (Ref. 14F1)

1F13

Henry Collett was born in 1556 at Over Slaughter and was the last child born to Henry Collett and Joan Hanks. Sadly his mother died either during the birth or shortly thereafter.

1F14

William Collett was baptised on 8th January 1548 at Broadwell and was the first born child of John Collett and Marion Jakes, and he later married Elizabeth Chegner at Broadwell on 29 th June 1579. His father John died in 1597 and, as the eldest son, the name of William Collett was the first of John’s children mentioned in his Will which was proved in 1597 (see Will in Legal Documents). However, under the terms of the Will he only received three pence. Thirty years later, under the terms of the 1627 Will of his cousin Anthony Collett (above), William was to be paid forty shillings each year during his life by his cousin’s son Henry Collett (Ref. 14G2).

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Elizabeth Collett was baptised on 6th April 1550 at Broadwell and was the second child of John Collett and Marion Jakes. She married William Collins on 30 th July 1580 at Broadwell, and seventeen years later in 1597 she was a beneficiary under the terms of the Will of her father who had died in 1597. As Elizabeth Collins, she was to receive two strikes of corn and four pence for each of her children (see Will in Legal Documents).

1F16

Francis Collett was born in 1551 at Broadwell and was the daughter of John Collett and Marion Jakes.

The name Francis, spelt this way, would usually indicate a male, but the 1606 Will of Robert Currier (see details under Ref. 1F19) clearly indicates this was a female by mentioning Francis Mason as the daughter of Francis Mason (see Will in Legal Documents).

Francis Collett married Edmund Mason on 1 st October 1571 at Broadwell. Rather strangely there was no reference to daughter Francis in the 1597 Will of her father John Collett who died that year. This could mean that she had died by then, thus leaving a daughter Francis Mason who was the one referred to in the Will of Robert Currier ten years later. Furthermore the 1629 Will of John Currier (see also under Ref. 1F19) not only referred to the children of Francis Mason, but also to members of the Collett family including Francis’ half brother Henry Collett the Younger (below) and his children, two of which were specifically named, they being Elizabeth Collett (Ref. 1G17) and Robert Collett (Ref. 1G19) (see Will in Legal Documents).

1F17

Robert Collett was baptised on 19th August 1554 at Broadwell and was the son of John Collett and Marion Jakes. He too, like his sister Francis (above) who may have died, was not mentioned in his father’s Will of 1597, although it is clearly evident that he was alive long after his father passed away. Robert Collett married (1) Elizabeth but from which union no children were produced, before he married (2) Alice much later in his life. It was also later in his life that he was referred to as Robert Collett of Guiting Power. All four of his children were born and baptised at Guiting Power and all from his second marriage to Alice.

The dates of birth of the children indicate that Alice must have been a very young bride compared to an aging Robert, perhaps even thirty to forty years younger than her husband.

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1F18

Elizabeth Collett Alice Collett Edmund Collett Richard Collett

Baptised on 22.02.1625 at Guiting Power Baptised on 20.01.1627 at Guiting Power Baptised on 29.08.1630 at Guiting Power Baptised on 05.09.1633 at Guiting Power

HENRY COLLETT (Henry the Elder) was baptised on 4th November 1558 at Broadwell and was the last child presented to John Collett by his wife Marion Jakes prior to her death. Following the death of his mother, his father married Katherine Sanders and their first child together was also named Henry Collett (below). From that time on the two boys were referred to as Henry the elder and Henry the younger.

Henry Collett was married by licence to (1) Elizabeth Insil at Upper Slaughter on 22 nd May 1593 and

accordingly to the parish register Elizabeth Insil was the daughter of John Insil. The marriage produced two sons for Henry and Elizabeth and both were named in the 1597 Will of Henry’s father John Collett, as Thomas and John, the sons of Henry Collett the elder. Sometime after the birth of the two boys it would appear that Elizabeth died leaving Henry to take a much younger second wife some years later, with whom he had a further five children who are listed in Part 4 – The Great Western Line.

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THOMAS COLLETT John Collett

Born in 1594 Born in 1596

Henry Collett later married (2) Elizabeth Goodwin of Lower Dorsington in the Parish of Welford. He died in 1647 at Broadwell and his Will was proved in 1648. However, to avoid a major revision to the layout of this family line, and that of Part 4, the details of Henry Collett’s second marriage to Elizabeth Goodwin have been retained in Part 4 and it is in there that the family lines of two of their five children are extended.

Details of the children from his second marriage can be found in Part 4 - The Great Western Line from 1560 to 1950 commencing with the reference 4F1.

This is the family line of Charles Benjamin Collett (Ref. 4N7), Chief Mechanical Engineer with the Great Western Railway who designed the Kings and Castles classes of locomotives at Swindon in the 1920s and 1930s.

1F19

Henry (Harry) Collett (Henry the Younger), who was later referred to as Henry Collett of Westcote was baptised at Broadwell on 31st August 1583 and was the first child born to John Collett and his second wife Katherine Sanders. Henry was also the half brother of Henry Collett (above) the last child of John Collett and Marion Jakes.

In order to separately identify his two sons with the same name at the time of his death, John Collett referred to them in his Will as Henry Collett the elder and Henry Collett the younger. And it was the younger Henry, who with his brother Anthony (below) shared half of their father’s estate with the other have being left to Henry’s wife Katherine (see Will in Legal Documents). Henry Collett married Joan Currier of Kempsford in Gloucestershire on 19 th June 1609 at Charlton Kings in Gloucestershire. Joan was the daughter of Robert and Margaret Currier – see below. All of their children were born and baptised at Charlton Kings.

Henry died in 1642 and his wife Joan was named as sole executor of his Will dated 3 rd November 1641 (see Will in Legal Documents). This refers to seven of their eleven children so an assumption has been made that the missing four children had already passed away by the time of their father’s death. Second surviving son Walter Collett was the main beneficiary, inheriting all of his father’s land purchased from William Hilton.

The Will also states that eldest son Henry Collett had already had bestowed upon him his inheritance.

For the remainder of his children: Elizabeth received all rents and profits from land at Westcote for the next five years; Walter Collett received the bedstead, furniture, ploughs and harrows and usage of the land for the next twelve years; while Joyce Collett, Sarah Collett, Joan Collett and Jane Collett each received an annual annuity for five years from the land at Westcote.

The Will also set aside money to repair the church at Charlton Kings and there was a gift of three pence for each of the poor people of the village. Henry’s brother William Collett (below) and cousin Richard Wager were named as overseers of the Will.

Henry Collett was buried at Charlton Kings on 13 th May 1642. In the book ‘Men & Armour of Gloucestershire in 1608' he was described as ‘husbandman of medium stature suitable for Musketeer'.

Henry’s wife Joan died twelve years after her husband and her Will was proved on 22 nd August 1654. In the document she was referred to as ‘Joan Collett, widow of Charlton Kings’. Henry and two of his children, Elizabeth Collett and Robert Collett, were named in the 1629 Will of John Currier (see Will in Legal Documents) who was the brother of Joan’s father Robert Currier – see below. Joan Collett nee Currier died twelve years after her husband, when she passed away in 1654.

Robert Currier was married to Margaret and his Will of 1606 (see Will in Legal Documents) named Joan Collett (the wife of Henry) as his daughter and to whom he bequeathed: four sheep, one cow, a corn wagon, a dung wagon both with iron band wheels, a plough, a pair of harrows with small implements of husbandry. His step-daughter Isobel Gosling, his wife’s daughter from an earlier time, received: £40 to be paid out at the rate of £10 per year but starting in the sixth year after his death, one fallow heifer and two sheep. Robert’s brother John Currier was appointed as an overseer of his Will in which John’s son William was left free land while younger son John received one bushel of barley. Curiously the name of Richard Wager appears in all three Wills and is stated as ‘cousin’ in the Wills of both John Currier and Henry Collett.

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Elizabeth Collett Henry Collett Robert Collett Walter Collett Margaret Collett Joyce Collett Francis Collett Sarah Collett Francis Collett Joan Collett Jane Collett

Born in 29.05.1610 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 13.09.1612 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 30.10.1614 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 14.03.1618 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 02.04.1621 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 24.08.1623 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 28.01.1625 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 03.05.1628 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 12.07.1630 at Charlton Kings Born circa 1633 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 16.11.1635 at Charlton Kings

1F20

Philip Collett was born at Broadwell in 1584 and was the second of four children born to John Collett and his second wife Katherine Sanders. Curiously Philip and his sister Anne (below) were two of the four children of John and Katherine not to be mentioned in the Will of their father when he died in 1597. He would have been twelve years old at the time, and therefore it is highly likely that Philip had already died prior to 1597.

1F21

Anne Collett was baptised at Broadwell on 28th August 1586, the daughter of John Collett and Katherine Sanders. Anne, like her brother Philip (above), possibly died before 1597 since she too was not mentioned in the Will of her father who died that year.

1F22

Anthony Collett was baptised at Broadwell on 7 th March 1589 and was child of John Collett and Katherine Sanders. His father died when Anthony was only eight years old and in his Will John Collett bequeathed that half of his estate should be divided between his two sons Henry the younger (above) and Anthony, but that is should remain in their mother’s hands until they reached the age of twenty-one.

The other half of the estate went to John’s wife Katherine. Fourteen years later, when Anthony had reached the age of 21, he married Mary Perkes at Broadwell on 30 th January 1611, following which he received his inheritance. In the book ‘Men & Armour of Gloucestershire in 1608’ Anthony is listed as ‘husbandman of short stature suitable for Calyver’. The first child of the marriage was baptised at Broadwell, while the remainder were born / baptised at Bourton-on-Water.

1G28

Ann Collett

Baptised on 09.07.1617 at Broadwell

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Anthony Collett Richard Collett Thomas Collett Mary Collett

Baptised on 12.02.1618 at Bourton Date of birth unknown at Bourton Date of birth unknown at Bourton Date of birth unknown at Bourton

1F23

William Collett, whose date on birth is not known, must have been born after 1597 and the death of his father John Collett due to his absence from the Will. His name is included here based solely on a reference to him as an overseer of the 1642 Will of his eldest brother Harry (Henry Collett the younger above) in which William is stated as being the brother of the deceased.

1G1

John Collett was born in 1576 the eldest child of Thomas and Edith Collett. He married Mary and they had a son Joseph. John Collett died in 1657.

1H1

Joseph Collett

Date of birth unknown

1G2

Anthony Collett, whose date of birth is not known, was the son of Thomas and Edith Collett and he married Mary Booch.

1G3

Mary Collett, whose date of birth is not known, was the daughter of Thomas and Edith Collett and she married William Arcot.

1G4

Paris Collett, whose date of birth is not known, was the son of Thomas and Edith Collett and he married Ann.

1G5

Henry Collett, whose date of birth is not known, was the son of Thomas and Edith Collett and he married Alice (Alyce).

1G7

Richard Collett, whose date of birth is not known, was the son of Thomas and Edith Collett and he married Elizabeth Tatum.

1G13

Edmund Collett was baptised at Guiting Power on 29 th August 1630 when he was confirmed as the son of Robert Collett. He attended Christ Church College at Oxford where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts on 28th February 1659.

1G15

THOMAS COLLETT was born at Broadwell in 1594 and was only three years old when his grandfather John Collett died. In his grandfather’s Will of 1597 Thomas and his brother John (below) were listed as the sons of Henry Collett the elder and they were to receive half a guinea shared between them. Thomas Collett married Elizabeth Kingly around 1617 at Broadwell and all of the children from the marriage were born and baptised at Broadwell. The youngest of his known children was only two years old when Thomas Collett died in 1642.

1H2 1H3 1H4 1H5

William Collett Catherine Collett Philip Collett THOMAS COLLETT

Baptised on 13.06.1619 at Broadwell Baptised on 15.07.1621 at Broadwell Baptised on 09.06.1624 at Broadwell Baptised on 28.10.1627 at Broadwell

1H6 1H7 1H8

Maria Collett Elizabeth Collett John Collett

Baptised on 02.12.1636 at Broadwell Baptised on 12.04.1638 at Broadwell Baptised on 29.07.1640 at Broadwell

1G16

John Collett was born at Broadwell around 1596 and was named as a beneficiary under the terms of the 1597 Will of his grandfather John Collett. In this John and his brother Thomas (above) received a half guinea which was to be shared between the two boys. Within the Will, John and Thomas were described as being the sons of Henry Collett the elder, the deceased John Collett having another son named Henry from his second marriage. John Collett married Alice Marshall on 2 nd August 1633 at Guiting Power. He is believed to have died in 1690 and his Will as ‘John Collett Gentleman of Upper Slaughter’ was proved on 25th November 1690.

1G17

Elizabeth Collett was born at Charlton Kings on 29th May 1610 and it was there that she was baptised on 8th June 1610. She was a beneficiary under the terms of the 1641 Will of her father Henry Collett, her mother Joan Collett nee Currier being the sole executor of the Will.

1G18

Henry Collett was born at Charlton Kings where he was baptised on 13 th September 1612, the son of Henry Collett and Joan Currier. Henry married Edith around 1634 at Charlton Kings and known as a Yeoman of Charlton Kings. All of Henry’s and Edith’s children were born and baptised at Charlton Kings.

In his father’s Will of 1641 he was referred to as already having received his heritance prior to the death of his father Henry Collett.

Henry died in 1669 and his Will dated 5 th January 1669 was proved in 1670 (see Will in Legal Documents). In the Will he names his best friend, John Collett of Cheltenham as an overseer of the Will. Henry’s wife Edith and his children Margaret Collett, Henry Collett and Robert Collett were all referred to in the Will. It is therefore assumed that the other two children had already passed away.

The property was divided 50/50 between his wife Edith and his eldest daughter Margaret. Eldest son Henry Collett received the furniture, while youngest son Robert Collett received a one-plank bed with bed sheet, cushion and blankets. The aforementioned John Collett of Cheltenham appeared in the 1672 Hearth Tax records as having seven hearths, indicating the ownership of a substantial property. In the year 1637 he was living at Charlton Kings where his son Robert Collett was baptised on 4 th January.

1H9 1H10 1H11 1H12 1H13

Margaret Collett Edith Collett Henry Collett Edward Collett Robert Collett

Baptised on 29.09.1639 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 14.11.1641 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 06.11.1643 at Charlton Kings Baptised on 20.10.1646 at Charlton Kings Date of birth unknown at Charlton Kings

1G19

Robert Collett was born at Charlton Kings and was baptised there on 30 th October 1614, the son of Henry Collett and Joan Currier. It is assumed that he died before 1641 as he was not referred to in his father’s Will of that year. He was however mentioned in the 1629 Will of John Currier. It therefore seems likely that he died approaching his twenty-fifth birthday and was not even married before his death in 1639. The Will of ‘Robert Collett Yeoman of Westcote’ was proved on 4 th July 1639 which probably corresponds with Robert’s father Henry owning land at Westcote.

1G20

Walter Collett was born at Charlton Kings where he was baptised on 14 th March 1618, the son of Henry Collett and Joan Currier. Apart from his elder brother Henry, Walter was the only other surviving son of Henry Collett to be named in his Will of 1641.

1G21

Margaret Collett was born at Charlton Kings and baptised there on 2 nd April 1621, the daughter of Henry Collett and Joan Currier. The lack of any reference to Margaret in her father’s Will in 1641 probably indicates that she had died by then.

1G22

Joyce Collett was born at Charlton Kings and it was there that she was baptised on 24 th October 1623.

She was one of the children of Henry Collett to be named in his Will of 1641.

1G23

Francis Collett was born at Charlton Kings where he was baptised on 28 th January 1625. The fact that the next child born to Henry Collett and Joan Currier was also named Francis probably indicates that this particular Francis suffered an infant death prior to 1630.

1G24

Sarah Collett was born at Charlton Kings where she was baptised on 3 rd May 1628 and was one of seven surviving children of Henry Collett and Joan Currier to be named in her father’s Will in 1641.

1G25

Francis Collett was born at Charlton Kings and it was there that he was baptised on 12 th July 1630.

However, it would appear that he suffered a childhood death as he was not referred to in the 1641 Will of his father Henry Collett.

1G26

Joan Collett, whose date of birth is not known, and the daughter of Henry Collett and Joan Currier and was a beneficiary under the terms of her father’s Will in 1641.

1G27

Jane Collett was born at Charlton Kings where she was baptised on 16 th November 1635. She was one of seven surviving children of Henry Collett to be named in his Will of 1641.

1G28

Ann Collett was born on 20th June 1617 and was baptised on 9 th July 1617 at Broadwell, the eldest child of Anthony Collett and his wife Mary Perkes.

1G29

Anthony Collett was baptised at Bourton-on-Water on 12th February 1618. He married Mary of Great Dorsington around 1660. He died in 1686 and his Will was proved in 1687. The couple’s four known children were born and baptised at Dorsington near Welford-on-Avon.

1H14 1H15 1H16 1H17

1H1

Dorothy Collett Thomas Collett Richard Collett Mary Collett

Born during 1660 at Dorsington Baptised on 11.10.1663 at Dorsington Baptised on 01.02.1666 at Dorsington Baptised on 03.07.1668 at Dorsington

Joseph Collett, whose date of birth is not known, was the son of John and Mary Collett. He married Mary with whom he had a son Edmund.

1I1

Edmund Collett

Date of birth is unknown

1H5

THOMAS COLLETT was baptised on 28th October 1627 at Broadwell and he married Elizabeth around 1660. It is understood that he moved to Westcote five miles south of Broadwell, once he was married, to manage the land there which had been owned by his great uncle Henry Collett (the younger). And it was at Westcote that all of the couple’s children were born and baptised. Thomas’ wife Elizabeth, who was born in 1630, died during 1701, and was followed four years later by Thomas who was buried at Westcote following his death on 2nd October 1705.

1I2 1I3 1I4 1I5

FRANCIS COLLETT Sarah Collett Ann Collett Margaret Collett

Baptised on 21.09.1661 at Westcote Baptised on 21.02.1662 at Westcote Baptised on 24.10.1667 at Westcote Born circa 1670 at Westcote

1H7

Elizabeth Collett was born at Broadwell where she was baptised on 12 th April 1638. It would appear that she never married and that she died in 1701.

1H8

John Collett was baptised on 29th July 1640 at Broadwell. He married Aymer circa 1664. All of the children were born and baptised at Westcote.

1I6 1I7 1I8 1I9 1I10 1I11

Richard Collett Margaret Collett Elizabeth Collett Aymer Collett Walter Collett Joseph Collett

Baptised on 28.03.1665 at Westcote Baptised on 05.10.1665 at Westcote Baptised on 05.10.1666 at Westcote Baptised on 17.09.1668 at Westcote Baptised on 21.03.1670 at Westcote Baptised on 21.03.1672 at Westcote

1H9

Margaret Collett was born at Charlton Kings and was baptised there on 29 th September 1639. She was just one of three children to be named in her father’s Will of 1669.

1H10

Edith Collett was born at Charlton Kings and it was there that she was baptised on 14 th November 1641.

However, she may have died prior to 1669 since there was no mention of her in her father’s Will produced that year.

1H11

Henry Collett was born at Charlton Kings and that may have taken place around 1639 from his stated age at the time of his death. What is known was that he was baptised at Charlton Kings near Cheltenham on 6th November 1643, where he also later married Elizabeth on 20 th March 1669. Elizabeth was considerably younger than Henry having born in 1651 and she died on 17 th August 1724 aged 73.

The couple’s three daughters were all born and baptised at Charlton Kings, as was Henry’s base-born son Henry, who was born two years before his marriage to Elizabeth.

Henry Collett, who was known as a Gentleman of Tewkesbury, died on 29 th September 1712 aged 73 and was buried at St Catherine's Chapel in Tewkesbury Abbey. In his Will dated 14 th January 1712 (see Will in Legal Documents) he was referred to as Yeoman. The Will was drawn up in the tenth year of the reign of Our Sovereign Lady Anne Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland. The Will was proved on 26th May 1716 and mentions his wife Elizabeth and their three daughters Joyce Collett, Elizabeth Collett and Sarah Goodrich nee Collett, but makes no mention of any sons or his two younger daughters.

Details of his children and the continuation of his line can be found in Part 5 – The Tewkesbury Line from 1630 to 1960 commencing with Ref. 5I6

1H12

Edward Collett was born at Charlton Kings and was baptised there on 20 th October 1646. As they was no reference to him in his father’s Will of 1669 it has been assumed that Edward had died before then.

1H13

Robert Collett, who was born at Charlton Kings but whose date of birth is not known, was referred to as ‘Robert son of Henry Collett’ in his Will of 1669.

1H14

Dorothy Collett was born at Dorsington around 1660 where she married Thomas Hemming on 21 st October 1684.

1H15

Thomas Collett was baptised at Dorsington on 11 th October 1663 where he married Susanna Roberts on 12th July 1687.

1H16

Richard Collett was baptised at Dorsington on 1st February 1666 where he married Anne, and where all of their children were born and baptised.

1I12 1I13 1I14 1I15

1I2

Thomas Collett Elizabeth Collett Anne Collett William Collett

Baptised on 05.03.1702 at Dorsington Baptised on 03.04.1706 at Dorsington Baptised on 23.10.1708 at Dorsington Baptised on 06.06.1714 at Dorsington

FRANCIS COLLETT was baptised on 21st September 1661 at Westcote. He married Susannah Sanders of Kempsford in 1685. His occupation was that of blacksmith working at The Old Forge In Kempsford.

Susannah, his wife, was born at Kempsford on 17 th January 1654, the daughter of Edward and Sybil Sanders. She was buried at Kempsford on 4 th October 1728 followed by Francis who was buried there on 17th December 1729. His Will of 19th November 1729 was proved on 24th May 1736.

All of their children were born and baptised at Kempsford but only sons James Collett and Leonard Collett, and daughter Sarah Collett were referred to in their father’s Will. It must therefore be assumed that daughter Deborah Collett had already died. Henry Collett, his only other son, is known to have died earlier in 1716. The Will is of vital importance to the continuation of this family tree because it verifies what was, before its discovery, the missing link spanning between two generations. Within the Will the main beneficiary was Francis’ grandson Francis Collett (Ref. 1K10) - the son of Henry Collett (Ref. 1J2) who was also named as the whole and sole executor of the Will.

Grandson Francis was an orphan and had been taken in and brought up by his grandfather Francis Collett. That happened following the death of his father Henry Collett when he was only five years of age. His mother Mary Collett had already died shortly after his birth. Francis Collett (the grandfather) therefore taught the young Francis his trade as a blacksmith and hence it was logical that he should pass the business onto him.

Through the Will the young Francis Collett, then aged 18 years, inherited the dwelling house, furniture, household goods, the blacksmith’s shop and tools, new and old iron, the penthouse, coal-house, Barn Garden and Backside (the backyard) which comprised The Old Forge at the corner of the High Street and Wharf Lane in Kempsford.

The reason the Will took six and a half years to go through probate, probably stemmed from it being contested by the three surviving members of Francis’ family, all of whom received only a pittance. Each of them, sons James Collett and Leonard Collett, and daughter Sarah Newport nee Collett, received just one shilling of lawful money of Great Britain. The Will was signed by Francis before witnesses William Edwards, William Leveridge and Charles Cowley. On the day it was proved the following statement was added.

“This Will was proved the twenty-fourth day of May in the year of Our Lord 1736 before the worshipful Sir Henry Pomice, Knight Doctor of Law, Vicar General in Spirituals of the Right Reverend Father in God, Martin by Divine Permission Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Gloucester and of his Episcopal Convistory official principal Lawfully Constituted by Francis Collett sole executor and so forth to whom and so forth after having first sworn well and faithfully to administer to the said Will and also to exhibit an inventory and render an account and so forth.”

1J1 1J2 1J3 1J4 1J5

James Collett HENRY COLLETT Leonard Collett Sarah Collett Deborah Collett

Baptised on 21.10.1686 at Kempsford Baptised on 18.03.1688 at Kempsford Baptised on 22.06.1690 at Kempsford Baptised on 28.12.1692 at Kempsford Baptised on 11.03.1695 at Kempsford

1I5

Margaret Collett was born at Westcote around 1670. She died in childbirth in 1690 and was buried on 11th April 1690 at Westcote. Margaret was never married and gave birth to a bastard son Thomas who was baptised on 14th April 1690. He died before reaching his second birthday in 1692 and was buried on 11th March 1692 at Westcote.

1J1

James Collett was born at Kempsford in September 1686 and was baptised there on 21 st October 1686.

He married Elizabeth Haynes of Kempsford on 31 st March 1714 at Kempsford. Referred to as James of Whelford, he was buried at Kempsford on 3 rd October 1742. Elizabeth, his wife, was baptised on 20th June 1687 at Kempsford and was buried there on 17 th January 1738. All of their children were baptised at Kempsford, although it is likely that they may have been born at Whelford, there being no church or chapel at Whelford until the latter part of the nineteenth century.

1K1 1K2 1K3 1K4 1K5 1K6 1K7 1K8 1K9

1J2

Robert Collett Mary Collett a daughter James Collett Dinah Collett Elizabeth Collett John Collett Sarah Collett Susannah Collett

Born in 1715 at Whelford Born in 1716 at Whelford Baptised on 29.04.1718 at Kempsford Born in 1719 at Whelford Born in 1721 at Whelford Born in 1722 at Whelford Born in 1724 at Whelford Born in 1726 at Whelford Born in 1729 at Whelford

HENRY COLLETT was baptised on 18th March 1688 at Kempsford, where he married Mary in 1709.

Mary died shortly after giving birth to their only child and was buried at Kempsford on 27 th July 1711. Her husband Henry Collett died five years later during 1716. Once orphaned, their son Francis spent his early years living with his grandparents Francis and Susannah until their deaths in 1729 and 1728 at which time he inherited the family blacksmith business. More details on this can be found under Francis Collett (Ref. 1I2).

1K10

FRANCIS COLLETT

Baptised on 08.07.1711 at Kempsford

1J3

Leonard Collett was baptised on 22nd June 1690 at Kempsford and it was there that he married Susannah Wiggins on 29th December 1715 and it was there that all of their children were baptised.

Leonard died in 1751 and was buried at Kempsford on 17 th December 1751. His wife Susannah had died twelve years earlier and was also buried at Kempsford on 4th August 1739.

1K11 1K12 1K13 1K14

Jane Collett Mary Collett Elizabeth Collett Henry Collett

Baptised on 06.02.1716 at Kempsford Baptised on 10.10.1718 at Kempsford Baptised on 04.09.1720 at Kempsford Baptised on 02.10.1722 at Kempsford

1J4

Sarah Collett was baptised on 28th December 1692 at Kempsford. She married John Newport on 4 th October 1722 at Kempsford. All of their children were born and baptised at Kempsford and they were Elizabeth Newport (baptised on 1 st September 1723), Rachel Newport (baptised on 17 th September 1725), John Newport (baptised on 13 th November 1727), Susannah Newport (baptised on 7 th December 1729), and a second John Newport (baptised on 14th June 1733).

1K1

Robert Collett was very likely born at Whelford, following which he was baptised at Kempsford on 13 th June 1715, the eldest child of James Collett of Whelford. And it was there that he was buried on 11 th August 1790. No record has been found to confirm whether or not he ever married. It seems possible that he did not, and that he shared his life with his unmarried sister Mary Collett (below).

1K2

Mary Collett was born at Whelford but was baptised at Kempsford on 25 th September 1716, the eldest daughter of James Collett of Whelford. She was 70 when she was buried at Kempsford on 6 th June 1786. The parish burial record noted that she was a ‘single woman of Whelford’.

1K4

James Collett was baptised on 10th November 1719 at Kempsford and was buried there three months later on 12th February 1720.

1K5

Dinah Collett was baptised on 12th March 1721 at Kempsford. She later married John Holyoak at Fairford on 6th July 1760.

1K6

Elizabeth Collett was baptised on 27th November 1722 at Kempsford, the daughter of James and Elizabeth Collett. She never married and it was also at Kempsford where she died on 7 th March 1786 at the age of 63.

1K7

John Collett may have been born at Whelford or Kempsford during May 1724 and was baptised at Kempsford on 28th June 1724. It was also at Kempsford that he married (1) Mary Smith on 27 th July 1755, and was later buried there on 1 st May 1808. It now appears that John lost his wife around the time of the birth of their son James, who may also have died at that same time. The records at Kempsford indicate that John Collett, a widower, was married there on 20 th October 1761 to (2) Mary Francis just about nine months before the birth of John’s second child Elizabeth. All of his children were baptised at Kempsford, although it is established that his son Robert was born at nearby Whelford, perhaps where all of them were born, if that was the home of the family.

1L1 James Collett Baptised on 06.06.1756 at Kempsford The following are most likely the children of John Collett by his second wife Mary Francis:

1L2 1L3 1L4 1L5 1L6 1L7 1L8 1L9 1L10 1L11

Elizabeth Collett Ann Collett Sarah Collett Robert Collett William Collett Martha Collett Michael Collett Mary Collett Hannah Collett Catherine Collett

Baptised on 08.08.1762 at Kempsford Baptised on 11.02.1764 at Kempsford Baptised on 09.02.1766 at Kempsford Baptised on 12.04.1767 at Kempsford Baptised on 25.01.1770 at Kempsford Baptised on 19.05.1771 at Kempsford Baptised on 10.10.1772 at Kempsford Baptised on 28.11.1773 at Kempsford Baptised on 02.02.1777 at Kempsford Baptised on 13.06.1779 at Kempsford

1K8

Sarah Collett was baptised on 14th May 1726 at Kempsford and was buried there on 9 th August 1730 within a few days of her year old sister Susannah (below).

1K9

Susannah Collett was baptised on 8th June 1729 at Kempsford where she was buried on 16 th August 1730 one week after her four-year old sister Sarah (above).

1K10

FRANCIS COLLETT was baptised on 8th July 1711 at Kempsford and was an orphan from the age of five, his mother having died in 1711 and his father in 1716. Francis was raised by his grandparents Francis and Susannah Collett (Ref. 1I2) until their deaths in 1729 and 1728 respectively.

Francis’ occupation was that of blacksmith, a trade he had learned from his grandfather Francis Collett and from whom he inherited the family business.

The ‘smithy’ operated from The Old Forge in Kempsford which was situated at the corner of High Street and Wharf Lane.

The Old Forge was still there in the early 1930s as shown in this picture.

Francis married Katherine Cowling in 1735 and all of their children were born and baptised at Kempsford. Katherine’s ancestors were stonemasons and The Cowling (Couling) family had been brought to Kempsford from Oxford to build the church tower in the 1300s, from which time they had settled permanently in the village. The recent discovery of the marriage certificate for Francis and Katherine in Dean’s Wiltshire Marriage Bonds confirmed the details as follows. Francis Collett, blacksmith of Kempsford in Gloucestershire, married Catherine Cowley, of Highworth in Wiltshire, on 11 th June 1735 at Highworth, the marriage being witnessed by bondsman Joseph Titchener, a tailor of Highworth.

It took almost seven years to resolve and prove the Will of Francis his grandfather, which eventually happened on 24th May 1736. The delay may have been due to the Will being contested by Francis’ three surviving children each of whom only received one shilling, while his grandson inherited the family business and all the property that went with it.

Francis (the younger) died in Kempsford having lived there all his life and was buried there on 1 st September 1768. He died before making a Will, so a Bond of Administration dated 9 th August 1769 (see Bond in Legal Documents) was taken out by his eldest son Henry Collett in order to dispose of his property. His wife Katherine, who was baptised at Kempsford on 8 th October 1713, died on 29 th October 1768 and was buried there barely two months after her husband.

Details Katherine Cowlings’ family can be found in Part 10 - Other Branch Lines commencing with the reference 10H1/Cowling.

The Bond of Administration states that it was drawn up jointly by Edward Harris and Henry Collett for Francis Collett his late father deceased, to make a true inventory of all his goods, chattels and credits.

This he had to produce within a period of approximately twelve months in order to comply with the stipulated expiry date of the last day of August 1770. Within the text of the Bond reference was made to an Act of Parliament entitled ‘An Act for the Better Settling of Intestate’s Estates’ made in the Two and Twentieth and Three and Twentieth years of the reign of Our Late Sovereign Lord King Charles the Second.

1L12 1L13 1L14 1L15 1L16 1L17 1L18 1L19

Henry Collett Lawrence Collett Mary Collett James Collett Margaret Collett Francis Collett ROBERT COLLETT Thomas Cowling Collett

Baptised on 13.12.1735 at Kempsford Baptised on 05.08.1737 at Kempsford Baptised on 27.08.1739 at Kempsford Baptised on 28.02.1741 at Kempsford Baptised on 13.03.1742 at Kempsford Baptised on 05.05.1745 at Kempsford Baptised on 08.02.1747 at Kempsford Baptised on 07.10.1752 at Kempsford

1K11

Jane Collett was baptised on 6th February 1716 at Kempsford, where she married William Lukes on 6 th December 1747.

1K12

Mary Collett was baptised at Kempsford on 10th October 1718 where she was later married to William Hill of Kempsford on 31st July 1743.

1K13

Elizabeth Collett was baptised on 4th September 1720 at Kempsford, where she married clerk Robert Church on 7th February 1748. All of her children were born and baptised at Kempsford and it was there that she buried on 25th May 1795. The children were Mary Church (baptised on 11 th January 1748), Leonard Church (baptised on 26 th November 1750), Rachel Church (baptised on 3 rd December 1752), Elizabeth Church (baptised on 1st December 1754), Robert Church (baptised on 28 th May 1757), Susannah Church (baptised on 18th March 1759), and Henry Church (baptised on 22nd February 1761).

This is the family line of Jane Mettler whose husband Alex kindly supplied valuable details of the Wills of many of the Collett family during the late 1990s. It is also the line of Mick Coggins of Rothwell in Northamptonshire, the five times great grandson of Elizabeth Collett and Robert Church, through their eldest daughter Mary Church. Mick’s late father John Bernard Coggins was buried at Ramsgate in 1985, while his cousin John Francis Coggins was buried at Coventry on 15 th April 2011, his funeral being attended by his brother-in-law of Alex Mettler and the aforementioned Mick Coggins.

1K14

Henry Collett was baptised on 2nd October 1722 at Kempsford, where he married Mary Cooper of Kempsford on 10th October 1747. In the Kempsford parish register at the time of his marriage he was referred to as ‘Henry Collett of Fairford’. He was buried at Kempsford on 16 th July 1808, while his wife Mary was buried there a few years earlier on 1 st April 1797. All of their children were baptised at Kempsford.

1L20 1L21 1L22 1L23

1L2

Aaron Collett Mary Collett Ann Collett Henry Collett

Baptised on 24.07.1748 at Kempsford Baptised on 26.09.1756 at Kempsford Baptised on 24.06.1759 at Kempsford Baptised on 06.12.1761 at Kempsford

Elizabeth Collett, was referred to as Betty, was baptised at Kempsford on 8 th August 1762, the eldest child of John Collett and his second wife Mary Francis. She married Richard Arnold on 18 th June 1789.

She was his second wife, Richard having previously been married to Jane Harvey in 1782 but who died a few years later in 1786. Elizabeth and Richard had two daughters Sarah and Margaret and a son John (1791-1851). John Arnold married an Elizabeth around 1824 and their son William Arnold married Ann Hill. In the next generation William and Ann’s daughter Elizabeth Arnold (1853-1932) married Joseph Bunker (1841-1934) and their daughter Lilly May Bunker (1882-1921) married George Edward Gay (1884-1954).

George Edward Gay was the grandfather of Les Durham of Bagnaria in Italy.

And it was Les who kindly supplied confirming information regarding this Collett family.

Further information about the Gay, Bunker, and Arnold families of Les Durham can be found at http://digilander.libero.it/GAY_FAMILY/BUNKER-ARNOLD-COLLETT.htm

1L3

Ann Collett was baptised at Kempsford on 11th February 1764, the third child of John and Mary Collett.

She later married Robert Hewer, who was the 4x great grandfather of David Cook. It may be of interest that Henry Collett of Sherborne (Ref. 9M6) married Jane Hewer in 1849, and it is known that her family had connections with the Meysey Hampton area near Kempsford. There was also a connection between the Hewer family and the Bowne family of Stow-on-the-Wold, which is again interesting since William Collett (Ref. 56L3) of Upper Slaughter married Susannah Bowne of Northleach in 1792.

1L4

Sarah Collett was baptised on 9th February 1766 at Kempsford, the daughter of John and Mary Collett.

Sadly around the time of her seventeenth birthday she died at Kempsford, where she was buried on 14 th February 1783.

1L5

Robert Collett was born at Whelford in March 1767 and was baptised at Kempsford on 12 th April 1767 the son of John and Mary Collett. He married Anne Constable by banns at Kempsford on 21 st September 1789, as confirmed by the Bishop’s Transcript. At the time of his death he was referred to as Robert Collett of Whelford when he was buried at Kempsford on 30 th April 1859. Anne was buried at Kempsford on 3rd March 1839 at the age of 70. According to the 1851 Census for Kempsford, Robert was a widower at the age of 83, when he was a farmer of eight acres who had been born at Whelford, where all of his children were born, although they were all baptised at nearby Kempsford.

1M1 1M2 1M3 1M4 1M5

Isaac Collett Sarah Collett Robert Collett Hannah Collett William Collett

Born in 1791 at Whelford Born in 1793 at Whelford Born in 1796 at Whelford Born in 1798 at Whelford Born in 1802 at Whelford

1M6 1M7 1M8 1L7

Mary Collett John Collett James Collett

Born in 1804 at Whelford Born in 1807 at Whelford Born in 1808 at Whelford

Martha Collett was baptised at Kempsford on 19 th May 1771, the daughter of John and Mary Collett.

She never married, but gave birth to a base- born daughter who was also born at Kempsford.

1M09

Mary Collett

Born in 1793 at Kempsford

1L9

Mary Collett was born at Kempsford where she was baptised on 28 th November 1773, the daughter of John and Mary Collett. It seems unlikely that she was only sixteen when she married, although it is very curious that it was at Kempsford that a Mary Collett of that parish married Richard Arnold of Fairford by licence on 18th June 1789, as detailed in the Bishop’s Transcript for Kempsford. This must be an error because it was Mary’s older sister Elizabeth who married Richard Arnold on that day.

1L10

Hannah Collett was baptised at Kempsford on 2nd February 1777, the penultimate child of John Collett and his second wife Mary Francis. She later married John Eggleton at Kempsford on 23rd May 1802.

1L12

Henry Collett was born at Kempsford during November 1734 where he was baptised on 13 th December 1735. His occupation was that of blacksmith like his father Francis and previous generations of his family. He married Sarah (Frances) Lawrence of Bourton on the Water by licence on 16 th January 1769, less than three months after the deaths of his parents. Sarah was born during 1743. It would appear that Henry, who having sought a Bond of Administration (see Legal Documents) following the death of his father who left no Will, moved away from Kempsford and took up residence at Bibury where he continued in the family trade as a blacksmith.

He was referred to as Henry Collett of Bibury in various subsequent records and this would appear to be the earliest reference to a Collett living in Bibury. It was at Bibury that Henry Collett died on 1 st April 1799. Following his death his widow Sarah Collett married Edmund Stone on 5 th November 1800 at Bibury. Edmund, who was born in 1750, died two and a half years later on 22 nd June 1803 as inscribed on the gravestone of Sarah’s first husband Henry Collett. Sarah Stone, formerly Collett nee Lawrence, was buried there on 14th August 1810, as inscribed on the same headstone. All of the children came from her marriage to Henry and all of them were baptised at Bibury. Even though it is understood from later records that the couple’s eldest child was born at Bibury, it may be that the family moved to Bibury shortly after he was born, and this may be the reason why no baptism record for him has been found there.

1M10 1M11 1M12 1M13 1M14

Giles Collett Catherine Collett Sarah Collett Mary Ann Collett Henry Collett

Born or baptised on 29.06.1770 Baptised in September 1772 at Bibury Baptised on 27.05.1776 at Bibury Baptised on 03.06.1779 at Bibury Baptised on 05.11.1783 at Bibury

1L13

Lawrence Collett was born in July 1737 and was baptised on 5 th August 1737 at Kempsford. It was also there, as Laurence Collett, that he married Mary Edwards on 25 th March 1759 who gave birth to his first child within the next five months. All of their children were born and baptised at Kempsford and it was there where Lawrence was buried on 12th June 1811. Mary died at Kempsford nearly twenty-two years after her husband when she was 92 and was buried with him on 17 th March 1833. In 2014 unverified information noticed on the internet suggests that Lawrence’s wife was Mary Day, rather than Mary Edwards. It is possible this is only an assumption based on the second forename of the couple’s third child.

1M15 1M16 1M17 1M18 1M19 1M20 1M21 1M22 1M23 1M24 1M25 1M26 1M27

James Collett Rachel Collett William Day Collett Thomas Cowling Collett Elizabeth Collett Rachel Collett Walter Collett Catherine Collett Lawrence Collett Lawrence Collett Thomas Collett Mary Collett Edith Collett

Baptised on 29.08.1759 at Kempsford Baptised on 21.09.1761 at Kempsford Baptised on 11.11.1763 at Kempsford Baptised on 26.09.1764 at Kempsford Baptised September 1765 at Kempsford Baptised on 02.04.1769 at Kempsford Baptised on 16.07.1771 at Kempsford Baptised on 26.09.1773 at Kempsford Baptised on 12.08.1774 at Kempsford Baptised on 05.08.1775 at Kempsford Baptised on 12.04.1778 at Kempsford Baptised on 09.03.1780 at Kempsford Baptised on 10.02.1782 at Kempsford

1L15

James Collett was born in January 1741 and was baptised on 28 th February 1741 at Kempsford, where he died and was buried on 17th April 1742.

1L16

Margaret Collett was born on 2nd February 1742 and was baptised at Kempsford on 13th March 1742, where she was also buried just four years after on 18th April 1746.

1L18

ROBERT COLLETT was baptised at Kempsford on 8th February 1747, and he later married Mary Tackley at Liddington on 8th September 1768. All of their children were born and baptised Kempsford.

The recent discovery of the marriage certificate for Robert and Mary within the Bishop’s Marriage Bonds for Wiltshire confirmed the details as follows. Robert Collett, aged 21 and bachelor of Kempsford in Gloucestershire, married Mary Tackley, aged 21 and spinster of Liddington in Wiltshire, on 8 th September 1768, the marriage being witnessed by bondsman Robert Pigot of Chiseldon.

The marriage bond does not make it clear where the marriage ceremony took place but, thanks to Dennis Collett who recently visited the Wiltshire & Swindon Archive in Chippenham, it has been discovered in the parish records there that the wedding took place at Liddington. Robert Collett died in 1777 and was buried at Kempsford on 4th May 1777. After his death Mary gave birth to two base-born children, the first

by Joseph Bunce, a local blacksmith.

1M28 1M29 1M30 1M31 1M32 1M33

John Collett Henry Collett JOHN COLLETT Elizabeth Collett William Collett (base-born) Judith Collett (base-born)

Baptised on 10.09.1770 at Kempsford Baptised on 27.04.1772 at Kempsford Baptised on 16.05.1774 at Kempsford Baptised on 23.03.1777 at Kempsford Baptised on 16.10.1778 at Kempsford Baptised on 10.02.1782 at Kempsford

1L19

Thomas Cowling Collett was born during September 1752 and was baptised on 7 th October 1752 at Kempsford, where he died and was buried four months later on 14 th February 1753.

1L20

Aaron Collett was baptised on 24th July 1748 at Kempsford. He married Anne Habgood at Latton near Cricklade in Wiltshire on 5th April 1774, and his occupation was that of blacksmith. In 1790 he was churchwarden at St Swithun’s Church in Leonard Stanley, just south-west of Stroud, where all his children were baptised, and where he was buried on 15 th April 1832. Aaron’s wife Anne was baptised at Latton on 20th October 1754 the daughter of William and Susanna Habgood who owned and lived at the Habgood Manor, adjacent to the parish church in Latton. One of the witnesses at their wedding was William Waine who, five years earlier, had married Anne’s sister Sarah Habgood. Aaron and Anne both signed the register in their own hand.

The adjacent Banns of Marriage in the church register is very interesting as it was for the union of William Jock and Susanna Stockwell who made her marked, while one of their witnesses was James Habgood.

Interesting because one Hannah Stockwell married William Collett at Bibury in 1834. Like her husband, Anne was also buried in St Swithun’s churchyard almost a year after he passed away, when she was laid to rest with him on 8th March 1833.

1M34 1M35 1M36 1M37 1M38 1M39 1M40 1M41 1M42 1M43 1M44

Aaron Collett Anne Collett Mary Collett Miriam Collett William Collett James Collett Susannah Collett Sarah Collett Thomas Collett Charles Collett Hannah Collett

Born in 1775 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1778 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1780 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1781 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1783 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1785 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1787 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1789 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1790 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1792 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1794 at Leonard Stanley

1L23

Henry Collett was baptised at Kempsford on 6 th December 1761, the youngest child of Henry Collett and Mary Cooper. Although not proved that it is this Henry Collett, but a Henry Collett married Elizabeth Shaw at Kempsford on 5th November 1792.

1M1

Isaac Collett was born at Whelford and was baptised on 3 rd July 1791 at nearby Kempsford, the eldest child of Robert Collett and his wife Anne Constable. Sadly it was also at Kempsford that he was buried on 1st January 1794 when he was only thirty months old.

1M2

Sarah Collett was born at Whelford and was baptised at Kempsford on 3 rd September 1793, the second child of Robert Collett and Anne Constable.

1M3

Robert Collett was born Whelford on 15th March 1796, but was baptised at Kempsford on 15 th May 1796. It was also at Kempsford where Robert married Mary Trotman on 28 th November 1817. He was referred to as Robert Collett of Whelford when he was buried at Kempsford on 20 th November 1858.

This, and subsequent census records, indicate that Robert and Mary lived in Whelford, where all of their children were born. However, as there was no church in Whelford (the Chapel of St Anne’s in Whelford was only opened in 1864) the people from the hamlet had to be baptised, married and buried at ceremonies conducted in the nearby parish church at Kempsford.

Mary Collett, Robert’s wife, was also buried at Kempsford on 1 st November 1850, aged 57 years. All of their children were baptised at Kempsford for the reason given above. According to the 1851 Census Robert Collett, age 54, was an agricultural labourer and a widower living at Kempsford with sons Isaac Collett, age 20, and Joseph Collett, who was 16, both of them agricultural labourers, together with his daughter Sarah Ann Collett who was nine years old, all four of them having been born at Whelford.

The Trotman name occurs again in Part Three – The Chedworth Line (Ref. 3N9).

1N1 1N2 1N3 1N4 1N5 1N6 1N7 1N8 1N9 1N10

Sarah Collett William Collett Mary Ann Collett Richard Collett Anne Collett John Collett Isaac Collett Charles Collett Joseph Collett Sarah Ann Collett

Born in 1818 at Whelford Born in 1820 at Whelford Born in 1822 at Whelford Born in 1824 at Whelford Born in 1826 at Whelford Born in 1828 at Whelford Born in 1830 at Whelford Born in 1833 at Whelford Born in 1835 at Whelford Born in 1841 at Whelford

1M4

Hannah Collett was born at Whelford and was baptised on 20 th May 1798 at Kempsford, where she was also buried less than two years later on 22nd July 1800.

1M5

William Collett was born at Whelford and baptised at Kempsford on 23 rd May 1802. He married Hannah Dixon at Kempsford on either 21st September 1825 or that same day in 1828. Sometime after they were married the couple moved to Highworth in Wiltshire where their first two children were born before finally settling in Fairford around 1840.

The 1851 Census for Fairford listed the couple as William Collett, age 50 and a carpenter of Kempsford, and his wife Hannah Collett, age 42 and a laundress born in London. Living there with them were their four children, daughters Frances Collett, age 19, and Clara Collett, age 14, both of them employed as laundresses and both of them born at Highworth, their son Cornelius Collett, who was seven, and their daughter Elizabeth Collett who was five years old, and both of them having been born at Fairford.

By 1861 the family was still living at Fairford where William was 59 and a carpenter, and Hannah was 52 and a laundress. William’s place of birth was then given as Whelford and that would correspond with that of his father who was referred to as Robert Collett of Whelford. Only two of their children were living with the couple at that time, and they were Cornelius Collett, age 17, and his sister Elizabeth Collett who was 15. On that occasion Cornelius was working as an apprentice plumber.

It was five years later that the death of William Collett, at the age of 64, was recorded at Cirencester (Ref. 6a 197) during the third quarter of 1866. Following his passing, his widow travelled north to Hartlepool where she lived the rest of life at the home of her son Cornelius and his family until her own death at Hartlepool during 1877.

1N11 1N12 1N13 1N14

1M6

Frances Collett Clara Collett Cornelius Collett Elizabeth Collett

Born in 1831 at Highworth, Wilts Born in 1836 at Highworth, Wilts Born in 1843 at Fairford Born in 1845 at Fairford

Mary Collett was born at Whelford and baptised on 12 th January 1804 at Kempsford, where she later married Thomas Jordan on 28th February 1826.

1M7

John Collett was born at Whelford, perhaps as early as 1805, and it was at Kempsford that he was baptised on 10th February 1807. He later married Mary Maria Ferris at St Mary’s Parish Church in Cheltenham on 18th April 1835. Mary, who was referred to as Maria in all the national census records, was born in 1814. Once married the couple settled in Whelford, where all of their children were born, although it is acknowledged that all of the children were baptised at the parish church in Kempsford.

By June 1841 the marriage had produced the first two children for John and Maria, they being sons Edwin Collett, who was four, and Alfred Collett who was only one year old. The boy’s parents’ had rounded ages were 30 and 20 respectively which, in reality, would have been nearer 33 and 26.

Over the next ten years two further sons were added to the family and John’s occupation on the birth certificate for son Frederick was stated as being that of a carrier. The certificate also revealed that Maria had registered the birth at Fairford, six days after Frederick Collett had been born.

In the next census in 1851 John’s age was given more accurately as 45, when his occupation was confirmed as being that of a carrier. His wife Maria was 37 and both of them were confirmed as having been born at Whelford. Three of their children were living with them, and they were Edwin Collett, age 15, Frederick Collett who was seven, and Robert Collett who was three years of age, and all of them born at Whelford. Why son Alfred was not listed with them remains a mystery, since he was back living with the family in 1861.

In addition to the family, niece Hannah Collett, age 16 and a servant from Whelford, was also staying with the family on the day of the census in 1851, Hannah (Ref. 1N21) being the daughter of James Collett (below), the brother of John. Just over four months after the census day that year the couple’s youngest son Charles Robert Collett died, and he was followed eight months later by his mother Maria Collett who died at Whelford and was buried in the parish churchyard at Kempsford on 31 st March 1853 at the age of 39.

By 1861 the family was still living at Whelford but by then widower John Collett was 53 years of age.

Living with him were his three surviving sons Edwin Collett, who was 24, Alfred Collett, who was 21, and Frederick Collett who was 17.

Ten years later the details in the 1871 Census confirmed that John was 66, that he had been born at Whelford, and that he was still employed as a carrier. Living with him at Whelford were his two sons Edwin Collett, age 35, who was an agricultural labourer, and Alfred Collett, age 31, who was a carrier presumably working with his father. Both sons were recorded as having been born at Whelford. Also living with them as housekeeper was widow Emma Maslin, age 40 and of Kempsford, who was formerly Emma Collett (Ref. 1N19) the niece of John Collett. With her were her children Clara Maslin, age 11, Elizabeth Maslin, who was seven, Ernest Maslin, who was also seven, Louisa Maslin who was six, and Angelina Maslin who was five years old, and all of them born at Whelford.

There was little that had changed over the next ten years since, in the 1881 Census for Kempsford, John Collett at the age of 76 was still a carrier, and still had living with him his two unmarried sons agricultural labourer Edward (Edwin) Collett, age 45, and carrier Alfred Collett who was 41, all of whom were recorded as having been born at Kempsford on that occasion. Still living with them was John’s niece, the widow Emma Maslin, age 49, who was still performing the role of housekeeper for the three men. It is now established that John Collett died eight years later when he was 84, his death recorded at Cirencester (Ref. 6a 261) during the first three months of 1889.

1N15 1N16 1N17

Edwin Collett Alfred Collett Frederick Collett

Born in 1836 at Whelford Born in 1840 at Whelford Born in 1843 at Whelford

1N18 1M8

Charles Robert Collett

Born in 1848 at Whelford

James Collett was born at Whelford but was baptised at Kempsford on 3 rd July 1808, where he later married (1) Elizabeth Tyrrell on 18th August 1830. All of their children were baptised at Kempsford although they were born at nearby Whelford. At the time of the first census in 1841 the family comprised James Collett and his wife Elizabeth, both with a rounded age of 30, together with their five children Emma Collett, age 10, Eliza Collett who was eight, Hannah Collett who was six, Job Collett who was three, and Timothy Collett who was just one year old.

It would appear that James’ wife Elizabeth died after the birth of their last child during the following year, and that sometimes after that sad event James married (2) Susannah with whom, it would seem, he had no further children. Certainly by 1871 James, age 62, was married to Susannah, who was 55, and by then the couple had left Gloucestershire and instead were leaving at Highworth in Wiltshire. Living there with them was James’ youngest daughter Ruth and her base-born child Elizabeth Collett.

By the time of the census in 1881 James was a hurdle maker at the age of 72, when he was living at Hampton Hill Farm House in Highworth with his wife Susannah, age 65. James gave his place of birth as Whelford, while Susannah said she was born at Wanborough near Swindon. It would appear than Susannah died during the 1880s because by 1891 James Collett was back living alone at Whelford where he was recorded as being 83.

1N19 1N20 1N21 1N22 1N23 1N24

Emma Collett Eliza Collett Hannah Collett Job Collett Timothy Collett Ruth Collett

Born in 1831 at Whelford Born in 1833 at Whelford Born in 1835 at Whelford Born in 1837 at Whelford Born in 1840 at Whelford Born in 1842 at Whelford

1M10

Mary Collett was born at Kempsford in 1793 and was the base-born daughter of Martha Collett and an unknown father. She survived for only a very short while and was buried at Kempsford on 8 th November 1793.

1M11

Giles Collett was born or was baptised on 29th June 1770, following the marriage of his parents Henry Collett and Sarah Lawrence at Bourton-on-the-Water in January 1769. The baptism records for all of his younger siblings have been located at Bibury, so it is possible that Giles was born prior to his parents settling in Bibury. It was also at Bibury on 17 th April 1797 that Giles Collett was married by licence to Elizabeth May Gregory with whom he is known to have the eight children listed below, who were all baptised at St Mary’s Church in Bibury.

Brian Collett, the Collett Family History webmaster, visited Bibury on 29 th August 1991 and saw the graves of Giles and Elizabeth Collett, but at that time he had not connected them to this, his own family line. It is now thanks to Kelvin Parker from Christchurch in New Zealand that we know he is part of this Collett family. The records at the Gloucestershire Records Office in Gloucester reveal that Elizabeth May Collett nee Gregory, age 53, died at Bibury on 10 th May 1827, and she was buried there on 14 th May. It was just over six years later that Giles Collett, age 64, who died on 14 th June 1833, was buried with his wife on 21st June. In addition to this, all of the baptism dates for their children were also obtained during the visit to the Gloucestershire Records Office in 1991.

1N25 1N26 1N27

Barbara Collett Giles Lawrence Collett Isabel Collett

Born during 1799 at Bibury Born during 1801 at Bibury Born during 1803 at Bibury

1N28 1N29 1N30 1N31

Francis Collett Catherine Collett Henry Collett Frances Collett

Born during 1804 at Bibury Born during 1806 at Bibury Born during 1808 at Bibury Born during 1812 at Bibury

1M13

Sarah Collett was born at Bibury, was baptised there on 27 th May 1776, and was buried there on 26th August 1819, aged 43.

1M14

Mary Ann Collett was born at Bibury in May 1779 and was baptised there on 3 rd June 1779. It was also at Bibury where she married John Sessions on 24 th April 1802. All of their children were born and baptised at Bibury, and they were James Sessions, who was baptised on 18 th June 1802, Sarah Sessions, who was baptised on 16 th January 1804, John Sessions, who was baptised on 14 th August 1808, and George Sessions who was baptised on 2 nd February 1812. George was married twice, the second time on 4th May 1847 to Caroline Stratton of Holborn Saint Andrew, and he died twenty-nine years later during 1878.

This is the family line of Elizabeth Jack of Longlevens in Gloucestershire.

1M15

Henry Collett was born at Bibury during October 1783 where he was baptised on 5 th November 1783. It was originally thought that he married Ann Fletcher at Somerford Keynes in Gloucestershire on 14 th January 1808. However, according to Margaret Chadd in her book The Collett Saga, Anne Fletcher of Somerford Keynes, who was born on 9 th May 1784, married Henry Collett (Ref. 2M18) of Notgrove who was baptised there on 13th February 1786.

Details of the family of Henry Collett and Anne Fletcher can be found in Part 2 - The Secondary Line from 1775 to 1870, commencing with the Ref. 2M18

1M17

Rachel Collett was baptised at Kempsford on 21 st September 1761 and was the eldest daughter and second child of Lawrence Collett and his wife Mary Edwards. Tragically she survived for less than three months, when she buried at Kempsford on 8th December 1762.

1M18

William Day Collett was baptised at Kempsford on 11th November 1763, the third child of Lawrence and Mary Collett. At some time in his later life he married and had at least one child, Henry Collett. By the time of his death at the age of 64 he was residing in a property on Crown Street in the Hackney area of London. And it was at St Leonards Church in Shoreditch that he was buried on 2 nd April 1828.

1N32

Henry Collett

Born circa 1790

1M21

Rachel Collett was born at Kempsford, where she was baptised on 2 nd April 1769. She was given the same name as the first daughter born to Lawrence and Mary Collett, who had died within three months of her birth. According to the Bishop’s Transcript, it was on 20 th October 1789 that Rachel Collett married Thomas Peard by banns at Kempsford.

1M22

Walter Collett was born at Kempsford in 1767, where he was baptised on 16 th July 1771, the son of Lawrence and Mary Collett. On moving to London he married Mary Marshall at St Saviours Church in Southwark on 30th July 1800, the bride being the daughter of John and Sarah Marshall. Once married the couple settled in South Wales.

Details of the family of Walter and Mary and the continuation of this line can be found in Part 53 - The South Wales Branch Line, commencing with the reference 53M1 1M24

Lawrence Collett was born at Kempsford where he was baptised on 12 th August 1774. He only survived for a very short time and died an infant death.

1M26

Thomas Collett was baptised at Kempsford on 12 th April 1778. Kempsford lies about twenty miles east of Norton in Wiltshire to which there is virtually a straight road running between Cricklade (near Kempsford) to Malmesbury (near Norton), which would enable easy passage between the two settlements. Although not yet proved, it seems very likely that Thomas married Elizabeth who was born in 1783. The place of their wedding has not yet been determined but it is known that a Thomas and Elizabeth Collett were the parents of children born at Norton in the early 1800s.

If this eventually proves to be true then the continuation of this family line is as depicted in Part 44 – The Malmesbury District Line

1M29

John Collett was baptised on 10th September 1770 at Kempsford, where he was buried one month later on 14th October 1770.

1M30

Henry Collett was born on 2nd April 1772 and was baptised at Kempsford on 27 th April 1772, the second son of Robert Collett and his wife Mary Tackley. His was a tragic family with his older brother John (above) and younger sister Elizabeth (below) having both died very young and before Henry reached five years of age, shortly after which his father died.

In addition to those sad events, his mother became a loose woman after the death of her husband and all of this may have been a contributing factor in Henry eventually deciding to leave Gloucestershire for a new life in London, where he married Elizabeth Woods on 31 st December 1798 at St Mary’s Church on Marylebone Road in the City Borough of Marylebone. Shortly after they were married the couple left the City of London and settled at Harefield in Middlesex, where all of their children were born.

For the continuation of this family line See Part 41 – The Middlesex Harefield Line

1M31

JOHN COLLETT was baptised at Kempsford on 16 th May 1774. He married Elizabeth (Betty) around 1798 or 1799 at Cricklade in Wiltshire. John, who was a labourer, was buried on 1 st December 1849 at St Peter's Church in the village of Siddington near Cirencester. Their first child, Lydia, was born at Cricklade before the family settled in Siddington, where the other members of the family were all born.

1N33 1N34 1N35 1N36 1N37 1N38 1N39 1N40

Lydia Collett James Collett James Collett Henry Collett Betty Collett JOHN COLLETT Thomas Collett Dinah Collett

Born in 1799 at Cricklade Born in 1801 at Siddington Born in 1802 at Siddington Born in 1805 at Siddington Born in 1808 at Siddington Born in 1811 at Siddington Born on 01.10.1813 at Siddington Born on 20.04.1816 at Siddington

1M32

Elizabeth Collett was baptised at Kempsford on 23 rd March 1777, where she was buried on 13 th May 1777. That was just nine days after her father Robert Collett was also buried there.

1M35

Aaron Collett was born at Leonard Stanley during January 1775 and was baptised there on 5 th March 1775, the eldest child of Aaron Collett and his wife Anne Habgood. He was a carpenter and wheelwright and he married Sarah Stephens on 12 th April 1798 at Stonehouse, where all of their children were born and baptised. According to the 1851 Census, Sarah was a widow living at the home of her son Martin Collett and his family, in the village of Ham, south of Gloucester in the Vale of Berkeley, near to the River Severn.

Aaron Collett died on 2nd February 1835 and was buried at Stonehouse on 8th February 1835 at the age of 59. His Will and Codicil (see Will and Codicil in Legal Documents) made on 19th and 29th January 1835 respectively named all of the surviving children. In the Will Aaron’s eldest daughter Nancy Collett inherited two cottages at Stonehouse. And it was at nearby Wheatenhurst that Aaron’s widow Sarah Collett was living with her youngest son Martin and his wife in June 1841, when she was recorded with a rounded age of 70.

Aaron’s brother-in-law John Stephens was one of the joint executors of the Will, but on 11 th November 1842 (see Letter of Administration in Legal Documents) as the sole surviving executor he renounced this, leaving widow Sarah Collett nee Stephens and her son Martin Collett to take over responsibility for carrying out the long term objectives contained within the Will (see Adcon Cum Testo Annexo in Legal Documents). Sarah Collett the widow of Aaron Collett died on 20 th August 1857, aged 86.

1N41 1N42 1N43 1N44 1N45 1N46

Nancy Collett Sarah Collett John Collett Martha Collett Hester Collett Martin Collett

Baptised on 19.05.1799 at Stonehouse Born during 1802 at Stonehouse Baptised on 15.04.1804 at Stonehouse Baptised on 28.09.1806 at Stonehouse Baptised on 24.12.1809 at Stonehouse Baptised on 07.11.1813 at Stonehouse

1M36

Anne Collett was born at Leonard Stanley during February 1778 and was baptised there on 15 th March 1778, the daughter of Aaron and Anne Collett. It was also at Leonard Stanley that she married William Huntley on 8th May 1803.

1M37

Mary Collett was born at Leonard Stanley, either at the end of 1779 or during the first few days of 1780.

It was there also that she was baptised on 30 th January 1780 and, where twenty-two years later, she married John Golding on 2nd September 1802.

1M38

Miriam Collett was born at Leonard Stanley in 1781, where she was baptised on 8 th September 1781. It was also at Leonard Stanley that she married John Church on 13 th April 1802. John was very likely the grandson of Elizabeth Collett (Ref. 1K13) and Robert Church.

1M39

William Collett was born at Leonard Stanley in 1783, and was baptised there on 11 th May 1783. He was still at Leonard Stanley when he married Sarah Watts on 16 th November 1802. William was a timber decker by trade and the family lived at Bownham Cottage in Minchinhampton, where all of their children were born.

The witnesses to the marriage were William’s sister Susannah Collett (below) and Sarah’s father Daniel Watts. Daniel’s name also appears as a witness to other entries in the register, so he is likely to have been the church warden or connected to the church in some other way. As an example, see the marriage of William’s son George Collett who was married there thirty-two years later in 1834, when once again Daniel Watts was named as a witness.

Sarah Collett nee Watts was born at Rodborough and was baptised on 12 th September 1784 at Leonard Stanley, where she was buried in 1816 at the relatively young age of 33. William Collett also died that same year and was buried at Leonard Stanley on 20 th October 1816. Their deaths and that of their youngest son Joseph around the same time, perhaps indicates the occurrence of a tragic accident or a serious illness within the family. Some records show that the family was living at Rodborough at the time of their passing.

See also Part 10 – Other Branch Lines for more details of the Watts family.

1N47 1N48 1N49 1N50 1N51 1N52 1N53

Harriett Collett Ann Collett John Collett William Collett Sarah Collett George Collett Joseph Collett

Born in 1803 at Minchinhampton Born in 1805 at Minchinhampton Born in 1807 at Minchinhampton Born in 1809 at Minchinhampton Born in 1811 at Minchinhampton Born in 1813 at Minchinhampton Born in 1815 at Minchinhampton

The aforementioned references to the Watts family and Minchinhampton is a subject that requires further research, since it was there in 1848 that Caroline Ruth Watts was born, who married William Collett (Ref. 2O6) of Bibury in 1866.

1M40

James Collett was born at Leonard Stanley in 1785, where he was baptised on 18 th September 1785, the son of Aaron and Anne Collett. It was also at Leonard Stanley that he married Hannah Land on 5 th June 1808, and there where James and his family lived up to around 1818. And it was there that his first four children were born and baptised before the family moved to nearby Woodchester, where James and his wife lived for the rest of their lives.

After the family had moved to Woodchester the baptism records for the couple’s last four children, for some reason, gave the parents’ names as James and Elizabeth Collett, rather than James and Hannah Collett. Originally it was thought that James may have been widowed and had re-married, but the existence of Hannah in the census of 1851 proved this not to be the case.

James Collett died in 1830 when he was around 45, following which he was buried at Leonard Stanley on 14th April 1830 where the parish register referred to him as James Collett of Woodchester. Although no record of his wife Hannah (or Elizabeth) has been found in the census of 1841, it was as Hannah Callett (sic), age 63, in 1851 that she was living at Selsey Road in Woodchester with her unmarried daughter Susanna Callett, when she was described as a widow, a pauper, and a former laundress. Curiously when Hannah Collett died she was not buried with her late husband at Leonard Stanley, instead she was buried at Woodchester on 9th December 1852, at the age of 65 years.

Thanks to Diane Fussell from Tamatea, Napier in New Zealand, who supplied a copy of the death certificate for James’ daughter Elizabeth, it is now known that James Collett was a wheelwright, the same occupation as his three brothers Aaron (above), and Thomas and Charles (below).

1N54 1N55 1N56

William Collett Thomas Collett John Collett

Born in 1808 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1811 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1814 at Leonard Stanley

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Elizabeth Collett Edwin Collett Joseph Collett Caroline Collett Susannah Collett

Born in 1817 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1819 at Woodchester Born in 1823 at Woodchester Born in 1826 at Woodchester Born in 1829 at Woodchester

Susannah Collett was born at Leonard Stanley during 1787 and was baptised there on 3rd August 1787, the daughter of Aaron and Anne Collett.

Thanks to Joyce Gedye in New Zealand, the great great great granddaughter of Susannah, we now know that Susannah married Charles Tanner on 3 rd March 1808 at the village church in Standish, two miles north of Stonehouse. Charles was born at Stonehouse on 23rd February 1792. Susannah and Charles lived at Charlton Kings near Cheltenham where their children were born.

In 1841 the family at Charlton Kings was recorded in the census that year as Charles and Susannah Tanner, with three of their children. They were Julia Tanner, age 15, Thereza Tanner, age 13, and Charles Tanner who was 11. Both the ages for Charles and Susannah were stated in error as 50 and 45, when certainly Susannah was 53 and Charles would have been 48.

Her age was more accurately represented in the census of 1851 when she was still living at Charlton Kings. It was as Susan Tanner age 63 that she was recorded with her three children were then described as Julia Tanner, who was 25, Harriet Tanner, who was 23 and was surely Theresa Tanner, and Charles Tanner who was 21. Her husband was Charles Tanner, who would have been 58 which, from the census return, has been misinterpreted in error as 88.

In both 1861 and 1871 Susannah was living with her married daughter Julia Wallis and her husband George Wallis at their home at 8 Union Street in Cheltenham. The census of 1861 listed the couple in error under the name of Tunner, when Charles was 71 and Susannah was 73. It is understood that Charles Tanner died during the first quarter of 1866, leaving Susannah as a widow age 83 still living at 8 Union Street with her daughter in 1871. No trace of Susannah Tanner nee Collett has been found after that time and it is believed that she may have died on 12 th November 1878 when in her early nineties.

Susannah’s daughter Theresa Tanner, who was born at Charlton Kings in 1828, married William Edge of Pedmore, near Halesowen, and once they were married they emigrated to New Zealand. They eventually settled at Waikaka where they built a hotel, which is still standing today and in very good order. Two of Theresa's direct descendants, who are in their eighties, are still living at Waikaka in 2012, where they are still fit and able enough to shear their sheep.

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Sarah Collett was born at Leonard Stanley during February 1789, and was baptised there on 8 th March 1789. Sarah was in her mid-twenties when she married William Thomas at Leonard Stanley on 8 th October 1815. The marriage ceremony was part of a double wedding with her sister Hannah Collett (below).

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Thomas Collett was born at Leonard Stanley during April 1790, where he was also baptised on 3 rd June 1790, and where he also married Ann Antill on 25 th October 1812. Seven of their nine children were born and baptised while the couple were living at Leonard Stanley. It was not ling after the birth of their seventh child, who was baptised at Leonard Stanley, that the family moved the five miles north to Haresfield, just south of Gloucester, and it was there that Ann presented her husband with their last two children. It is interesting that their seventh child Edward later gave his place of birth as Haresfield, perhaps not knowing he had moved there from Leonard Stanley when he was still very young.

And it was also at Haresfield that the family was living when the first national census was conducted in June 1841. The census return listed the family at that time as Thomas Collett, age 50, Ann Collett, age 53, George Collett, age 18, Thomas Collett, age 13, Jane Collett, age 11, Samuel Collett, who was nine, and John Collett who was eight years old. Also living apart from the family at that time, but still living within the same area registration was Thomas’ unmarried daughter Mary Collett who was 25. Two of the couple’s older children, Charles and Elizabeth, together with missing son Edward, were recorded residing within the Bibury & Chedworth area of Gloucestershire which included Coln St Aldwyns where Thomas was living ten years later.

Two years later in 1843 Thomas’ wife Ann died and was buried at Haresfield on 11 th October 1843, aged 55 years. Thomas remained living at Haresfield after the death of his wife and was still living there at the time of the census in 1851. By that time the only one of his children still living with him was his youngest son John, who was 17. Thomas Collett of Leonard Stanley was described as a widower and a wheelwright of 60 years of age.

Not long after 1851 it would appear that Thomas left Haresfield, when he moved east, some twenty miles to settle in Coln St Aldwyns, close to the villages of Hatherop and Quenington. The move was very likely to do with the fact that his son Edward was living in Hatherop at that time, while another son, Samuel, was living in Coln St Aldwyns on the occasion of the census in 1851 who, later that same year, moved to Quenington where he lived until he emigrated to New Zealand in 1858.

According to the next census in 1861, widower Thomas Collett, age 70 and from Leonard Stanley, was in lodgings at Coln St Aldwyns. The only other difference from the previous census was that on that occasion his occupation was stated as being that of a carpenter. With no record of him having been found in the next census in 1871, it must be assumed that Thomas Collett died some time during the 1860s.

There follows a brief outline regarding two of the sons of Thomas and Ann who ended up in New Zealand where, a little while later, two of the couple’s grandsons joined them there. New information about one of the grandsons has been kindly provided by Kelvin Parker of Christchurch in 2014. The first of the sons to sail to New Zealand in 1840 was Henry Collett who had married his first cousin Elizabeth Collett and they were one of the earliest families to settle in Petone, where Collett House is still a local landmark. Henry brought the skills of a wheelwright to the colony and later took up farming. His family of ten carried on his professions and spread throughout the lower districts of the North Island. The next to make the long journey was their son Samuel Collett in 1858. He was a carpenter and he and his family settled in Christchurch where he built many houses and prominent buildings before taking his family to Waimate where he carried on building and renovating, and also diversified into undertaking and soft drink manufacturing.

The couple’s third son George Collett had a son, their grandson Thomas Collett, who was born at Eastington and he too was a carpenter and joiner like his father, but until 2014 nothing was previously known about him after his family had moved to Cheshire in 1871 without him. The new details of his short life supplied by Kelvin confirm that he arrived in Otago during 1875, with his wife and two daughters, and settled in Dunedin where several other Collett families had also made their home. The last of the four was their grandson Edward William Collett, the son Thomas and Ann’s son Edward and his second wife Mary Anne Bracknell. Edward William was born in Ireland and was listed as a farm

labourer on his arrival at Lyttelton in 1876. It was in Akaroa near Lyttelton that he settled and it was there that he was married and raised his family.

There is a very interesting link between these two grandsons, insofar as the aforementioned Thomas Collett from Eastington died at Dunedin in 1877, where he was buried, and in the same grave buried with him less than nine months later was four-months old Susan Harris, the daughter of Alexander Joseph Harris and Mary Ann Pearce of Union Street in Dunedin. It is possible that Susan Harris from Ireland, the wife of Thomas Collett (below), was related to the much younger Susan Harris, since the two Thomas Colletts were first cousins.

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Ann Collett Mary Collett Charles Collett Henry Collett Elizabeth Collett George Collett Edward Collett Samuel Collett John Collett

Born in 1813 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1815 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1817 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1818 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1820 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1822 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1824 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1832 at Haresfield Born in 1833 at Haresfield

Charles Collett was born at Leonard Stanley during March 1792 and it was in the following month that he was baptised there on 15 th April 1792, the youngest son of Aaron Collett and his wife Anne Habgood.

Charles was still in Leonard Stanley twenty-five years later, when he married the much younger Sarah Edmunds on 9th September 1827. Charles' sister Hannah Collett (below) married Sarah’s brother John Edmunds. All of the children of Charles and Sarah were born and baptised at Leonard Stanley, with their first two children being born while Sarah was still a teenager.

By June 1841 Charles and Sarah had already suffered the infant death of their son William. The census return for Leonard Stanley that year recorded the family as Charles Collett, with a rounded age of 45, who was a wheelwright, Sarah Collett who had a rounded age of 30, James Collett, age 16, Aaron Collett, age 12, Charles Collett, age 11, Anthony Collett who was eight, Sarah Collett who was six, Ann Collett who was four, and Miriam Collett who was ten months old.

From the census details it might perhaps be assumed that none of the couple’s children were baptised during the first few months of their lives, particularly their eldest son, who appears to have been around three years old when he was baptised. Furthermore, it is highly likely that Sarah was with-child on the day of the census since, sometime after the sixth of June and before the first of November 1841 she presented her husband with their last known child.

Ten years later in 1851 the only member of the family seemingly still living within the Stroud & Stonehouse registration district was Sarah Collett who was 42. No other member of her family has been located anywhere in Great Britain. The census that year placed her as a married house-servant living and working at the home of Samuel S Marling, age 40, a manufacturer of woollen cloth, in the Ebley area of Stonehouse, when her place of birth was recorded as Ardington near Wantage in Berkshire. It is also interesting that she was described as being either blind, deaf, and/or dumb.

New information received in November 2011 from Andrew Collett (Ref. 3Q14) gives the reason why Sarah was not living with her family in 1851. Towards the end of 1841 her husband and the older sons sailed to Canada and arrived at Prince Edward Island that same year. It was then twenty years later that Charles Collett died on Prince Edward Island on 13 th December 1861. Perhaps it was the fact that his wife was disabled in some way that prevented her from following her family to Canada. Either that or the Sarah Collett who was 42 in 1851 was not the wife of Charles Collett.

Once in Canada, Charles fathered another child, his youngest daughter Susannah who was named in his Will on 1861. The baptism records for Prince Edward Island included the birth of Susannah Collett at Lot 29, Upper Westmorland around 1847, to a single parent named as Charles Collett. This raises the question, did Charles from England take a second younger wife after he settled there, since he would have been around 55 years old when the child was born. It was also at Lot 29 that this Collett family was living around the time of the death of Charles Collett senior towards the end of 1861 or during the first five months of the following year.

The Will of Charles Collett of Summerside was made on 29 th October 1861 and was proved on 10th June 1862. Within the Will there was no mention of a wife, the main beneficiary being his son Charles Collett junior who inherited the plot of land in Summerside which had been purchased from Jonathan Weatherby on 9th June 1855. Only five other children of Charles Collett senior were named in the Will and they were his daughters Susannah Collett, Sarah Goldsmith, Ann Beers, Miriam Gould and Mary Chaswell – see Will in Legal Documents. The same document also referred to Charles Collett senior being the maker of cart saddles.

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James Collett Aaron Lot Collett Charles John Collett William Collett Anthony Collett Sarah Elizabeth Collett Anne Collett Miriam Collett Mary Matilda Collett Susannah Collett

Born in 1824 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1828 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1829 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1832 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1832 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1834 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1836 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1840 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1841 at Leonard Stanley Born in 1847 at Lot 29 Upper Westmorland

Hannah Collett was born at Leonard Stanley in September 1794. Just over a month later she was baptised at Leonard Stanley on 26th October 1794, the youngest child of Aaron Collett and Anne Habgood. It was just after her twenty-first birthday that she married John Edmans at Leonard Stanley on 8th October 1815. Hannah’s wedding day was also the same day that her sister Sarah Collett (above) was married, and therefore it is highly likely that it was a double wedding celebration.

The baptism records at Leonard Stanley indicate that their marriage produced six children for Hannah and John, the first of which was baptised only four months after they were married. The six children were Miriam Edmans (baptised on 4th February 1816), Charles Edmans (baptised on 25 th August 1822), John Edmans (baptised on 25th March 1827), Sarah Edmans (baptised on 4 th February 1816), Jorada Edmans (baptised on 11th April 1830), and James Edmans (baptised on 8th April 1832).

In the census of 1851, Hannah, age 56, and John Edmands (sic), age 58, were living at ‘The Street’ in Leonard Stanley with just their youngest son James who was 19. Hannah was listed as being a laundress, John was a carpenter, and son James was an agricultural labourer.