Introduction

                This photograph was taken in the front garden of 7 Bathampton Street in Swindon

 

Standing: Mrs Elizabeth Taylor (C), ? , Mrs Caroline Hood (C), Arthur C, John C, Fred Taylor  >>

                            2P3                         ?                2P4                        2P8        1P28           2P3

          >> Bertram C, Duke Bisley, Ernest C, Maurice C, Percy C, Fred Hood, Mervyn C, Mrs Maurice C

                   1P30             2P7             1P31           2P9           2P10           2P4          2P11             2P9

 

Seated: Mrs Nell Bisley (C), Mrs Ernest Collett, Groom, Bride, Lily Collett, Mabel Collett, C R Collett

                        2P7                             1P31             2P5     1P27          1P33          1P35               2O6

Children:                               George Taylor, Ella Bisley, Fred Taylor Jnr

 

On 13th March 1909 a young man by the name of Harry James Collett (Ref. 2P5) pictured above was married at Saint Mark’s Church in New Town Swindon.  His bride was Alice Louisa Collett (Ref. 1P12).  Harry, who was thirty years of age, had been born in Swindon and Alice, who was approaching her twenty-eighth birthday, had been born in the neighbouring county of Gloucestershire.

 

History will reveal that this was not the first time a Collett had been joined in matrimony to another of the same name.  Those listed in this collection from earlier times were often cousins, the families being well known to each other.

 

However, on this occasion there appears to be no connection between the two families and perhaps it was viewed as a pure coincidence by the separate families at that time.

 

Could this really be the case?  Could it just be a coincidence?  Or did the families know of each other before hand?  Unfortunately the initial research into the family history only began after the death of Alice Louisa and therefore the opportunity of asking her, how and where she met Harry, is lost forever.  Perhaps through the research all would eventually be revealed.

 

This, therefore, was the objective of the exercise.  It was a very single-minded attempt to determine that both Harry and Alice had origins in the same family somewhere back in time.  Details of both can be found under reference 1P12 in Part One.

 

Obviously such an undertaking could not hope to succeed without help and advice from other family history researchers, and a big vote of thanks must go to all those involved.

 

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As many generations of my family before me worked for the Great Western Railway it seems only right that each section of my family history should carry the reference to Line.  Each part of the work has been referenced in this way.

 

Part One – The Main Line is the longest of the family line commencing in the Gloucestershire village of Over Slaughter at the end of the fifteenth century to my own family in the early part of the twenty-first century.

 

It commences with Thomas Collett who was born in 1485.  It is thought that he was the first of his name to be born in the county and it is believed that his family was connected in some way to the Colletts of London.

 

However, to date, no work has been completed to verify this.

 

It is acknowledged that over the intervening centuries the largest Collett population living in the county of Gloucestershire has been based in and around the town of Stow-on-the-Wold.

 

Needless to say, the numerous records gathered during the production of this particular genealogical work have been retained in the hope that one day it might be possible to find the link that connects them to the families listed on this website.