PART FOURTEEN

The John Kyte Collett Line - 1550 to 1810

This is the first of two sections of the fourteenth part of the Collett family

Updated June 2011

It includes a great many references to the Colletts of Bourton-on-the-Water

and should be read in conjunction with Part 33 – The Bourton-on-the-Water Line

This line commences at Anthony Collett (Ref. 1F12) in the very first section of Part One – The Main Line.

It may be of interest to know that the surname Kyte appears at other times connected to the Collett name.

The first in the Will of Thomas Collett in 1538, the next in 1621 when Robert Collett married

Editha Kyte at Mickleton in north Gloucestershire and again in 1714 when Mary Collett

married Richard Kyte at Westcote near Stow-on-the-Wold.

The underlined names indicate the family line of Wayne Arthur Collett (Ref. 14Q10) of Brisbane

	This family line has been based on the information contained in Pedigree 5 of The Collett Saga by Margaret Chadd but which has been further developed using other research material to add more details and additional branches.
14F1	ANTHONY COLLETT (Ref. 1F12) was born in 1554 at Over Slaughter and he married Elizabeth Hules of Upper Slaughter in 1593. Elizabeth was the daughter of John and Ann Hules of Over Slaughter. Ten years after Anthony and Elizabeth were married John Hules made his Will (as John Hulles) in which his wife Ann and her three sons, William, John and Hugh were the main beneficiaries. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	In the Will made on 12^th May 1603 and proved in May 1604, the overseers were Anthony Collett (John’s son-in-law), his older brother Thomas Collett (Ref. 1F8) of Over Slaughter and Nicholas Perratt.
	Anthony Collett died on 20.05.1627 and his Will, which was made on 8^th April 1627, was proved on 5^th July 1627 (PROB11/152) and named his four children and his wife Elizabeth as beneficiaries. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	Elizabeth’s eldest brother William Hules, who was one of the three trustees listed in Anthony’s Will, was also one of the witnesses to the signing of the Will.
	In addition to William Hules, the other two trustees were Anthony’s eldest son Henry (below) and John Collett of Naunton (Ref. 2G1). William Hules was also one of the witnesses at the making of the Will of Anthony’s eldest son Henry Collett (below) in 1645.
	Under the terms of her husband’s Will, Elizabeth Collett inherited the house, the land and a hall belonging to it, but only if she remained a widow.
	14G1	Anne Collett		Born in 1598
	14G2	HENRY COLLETT		Born in 1601
	14G3	Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1610
	14G4	John Collett		Born in 1613
14G1	Anne Collett was born in 1598 and married Mr T Minchin on 02.05.1614. The couple had four children and Anne died in 1647.
	Under the terms of her father’s Will of 1627 Anne was bequeathed five pounds, with six pounds being giving to each of her four children within two years of his death.
14G2	HENRY COLLETT was born in 1601. With the death of his father in 1627 Henry inherited freehold and lease land at Naunton, together with free lands at Stow-on-the-Wold and Upper Slaughter, plus two hundred pounds, the second best bed, a plough and a harrow.
	Henry married Ann Lombard the daughter of Thomas Lombard. Prior to his death Henry held a lease on a farm at Nethercott which in 1647, after his death in 1645, passed to his eldest son Anthony Collett, as did all other lands at Naunton including land at Harford in the Parish of Naunton.
	The reason for the delay was that Henry’s Will had been disputed resulting in a lengthy process of proving the Will in which Henry had originally specified the property be passed to his wife Ann. The arguments over Henry’s Will were eventually settled on 20th February 1647 (PROB11/199). (see Will in Legal Documents)
	The farm and lands at Nethercott had been previously been granted to Thomas Lombard by the knight Sir Thomas Edmonds. Henry had inherited this from Ann’s father upon his death.
	The property at Upper Slaughter that Henry had inherited from his father was left to his second son Henry Collett (below), together with lands at Bourton-on-the-Water. All of Henry’s other children listed below were beneficiaries under the terms of the Will and received various sums of money on reaching the age of twenty-one.
	Other beneficiaries were (a) Henry Collett’s cousin Henry Collett of Slaughter and his wife Judith Collett who received five shillings of wood per year and (b) the poor of Bourton, Naunton, Upper Slaughter and Stow. Tragically Judith’s husband Henry also died in 1645 but obviously after the Will had been written.
	Further details of Henry and Judith can be found in the first section of Part 2 under the Ref. 2G3.
	Henry’s wife Ann lived a long life and died in 1692.
	14H1	Anthony Collett		Born in 1632
	14H2	Elizabeth Collett		Born circa 1633
	14H3	Sarah Collett		Born circa 1635
	14H4	Henry Collett		Born circa 1637
	14H5	Thomas Collett		Baptised on 01.03.1639
	14H6	JOHN COLLETT		Born in 1640
14G3	Elizabeth Collett was born in 1610 and died in 1628 shortly after her late father Anthony Collett. In comparison to her older sister Anne Minchin (above), Elizabeth would have inherited a small fortune from her father’s Will had she lived long enough to enjoy it.
	Under the terms of the Will she was left one hundred and fifty pounds, plus the third best bed and other furniture and household items.
14G4	John Collett was born in 1613. As the fourth and youngest child of Anthony Collett, John inherited from his father the fourth best bed and other furniture and fifty pounds, plus ‘all the timber at Nether Slaughter’ and the ‘free lands at Bourton’.
	John was referred to as “Gentleman of Naunton, Bourton and Upper Slaughter” and he farmed his own estate. He was married to Bridget with whom he had just two daughters. John died in 1690 following by Bridget who died towards the end of the following year and who was buried at Bourton-on-the-Water on 28.11.1691 age 76.
	John’s Will made on 14^th May 1685 and proved on 25^th November 1690 confirmed the names of his wife Bridget, his sole surviving daughter Mary and her husband John Collett, together with their children John, Ann, Mary and Elizabeth. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	The Will referred to land and property at Harford in the Parish of Naunton, Smith Mill at Bourton, plus lands at Upper and Lower Slaughter, all of which was bequeathed to John’s grandson John Collett (Ref. 14I12).
	Sole executor to the Will was son-in-law John Collett and the overseers were kinsman Thomas Collett of Bourton, Richard Collett of Lower Slaughter and Hercules Lydall of Lower Swell.
	‘Kinsman’ Thomas was probably the son of John’s older brother Henry (above) and the brother of son-in-law and sole executor John Collett (Ref. 14H6), being Thomas Collett (Ref. 14H5).
	14H7	Ann Collett		Born in 1654
	14H8	Mary Collett		Born in 1654
14H1	Anthony Collett was born in 1632 and he married Anne Greening in 1673 with whom he had three children. Although he was referred to “Gent of Bourton”, his estate covered other areas of Gloucestershire and parts of Oxfordshire.
	Under the terms of the 1645 Will of his father Henry, Anthony upon reaching 21 years of age, inherited his father’s property at Naunton including Harford
	Anthony died at Bourton-on-the-Water on 02.11.1682 and his Will proved in 1683 left property to his wife for the duration of her widowhood. The remainder of his estate went to his children upon them reaching 21 years of age. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	His Will, made on 25^th July 1679 revealed the extent of his land and property, most of which was held in trust by Anthony’s wife until his eldest son Anthony (below) reached the age when he was able to take them over.
	Only the property at Bourton was directly left to his wife Anne. The properties that ultimately passed to son Anthony were those in Oxfordshire being at Rawford, Chalgrove, Great Haseley and Watlington
	The lands and property at Naunton including Harford in Naunton were to be inherited by son Henry (below) upon reaching 21 years of age. Daughter Anne was bequeath various sums of money under the Will but would only inherit property in the event of the death of her brothers before reaching their twenty-first birthdays.
	Anthony’s two younger brother Henry and John (both below) were named as the executors to the Will.
	There is a monumental inscription at Bourton that confirms Anthony Collett died on 02.11.1682 aged 50.
	14I1	Anthony Collett		Born in 1674
	14I2	Henry Collett		Born in 1676
	14I3	Anne Collett		Born in 1678
14H2	Elizabeth Collett was born around 1633 and inherited money from her father’s estate following his death in 1645 but only payable to her on reaching her twenty-first and twenty-fourth birthdays.
14H3	Sarah Collett was born around 1635. When she was just ten years of age her father died and provision was made in his Will for Sarah to receive money, but only upon reaching 21 years of age. It therefore seems unlikely that she ever inherited the money as she died when close to her twenty-first birthday in 1656.
14H4	Henry Collett was born around 1637. It seems very likely that Henry was married to Ann (?), since such a pairing was named within the joint guardianship of Anthony Collett (Ref. 14I1).
	Following the death of his father in 1647, and upon reaching the age of 21, Henry inherited property at Upper Slaughter and at Bourton-on-the-Water. He was also reputed to own property known as the Shapes Closure and Lake Kedow, although these were not specifically named in his father’s Will.
	Henry, together with his brother John (below), was an executor of the 1679 Will of their eldest brother Anthony Collett (above).
	Henry Collett died in 1684.
14H5	Thomas Collett was baptised on 01.03.1639. Together with his brother John (below), Thomas benefited from his father’s Will in 1647 to the tune of £8 per year until reaching 21, plus a further £8 on two specified days during each year. In addition, each was paid two further sums totalling of £485 two years after their father had passed away in 1645.
	Thomas lived the life of a yeoman farmer at Nethercott near Great Wolford just north of Bourton-on-the-Water. He married Ann Lumbert and was a nonconformist for which he was fined in 1685 for not attending church. He died in 1720 aged 81 and was buried at Bourton.
	It seems very likely that, as the nephew of John Collett (Ref. 14G4) and the brother of John Collett (below), he was one of three overseers referred to ‘kinsman Thomas Collett’ in the 1685 Will of John Collett (Ref. 14G4).
	14I4	Elizabeth Collett			Date of birth unknown
	14I5	Thomas Collett			Buried in 1739
	14I6	Henry Collett			Date of birth unknown
	14I7	Hannah Collett			Date of birth unknown
	14I8	Sarah Collett			Died in 1713
14H6	JOHN COLLETT was born in 1640. Together with his brother Thomas (above), John benefited from his father’s Will in 1647 to the tune of £8 per year until reaching 21, plus a further £8 on two specified days during each year. In addition, each was paid two further sums totalling £485, two years after their father had passed away in 1645.
	He upset the family when, in his 30s and against their wishes, he married (1) his much younger cousin Ann Collett (Ref. 14H7) who died without issue in 1674 aged 20.
	There was further upset within the family following her death when, shortly after, John married (2) Ann’s twin sister Mary Collett (Ref. 14H8) apparently, upon the express wish of his first wife when she knew she was dying.
	John’s second marriage to Mary Collett took place in 1675 and the witness at the marriage was uncle John Collett (Ref. 14G4) of Upper Slaughter who acted as bondsman. Uncle John was the father of Ann and Mary and the brother of John’s father Henry Collett (Ref. 14G2).
	Both marriages between the cousins at that time were viewed as incestuous. As a result of all the trouble with the church John and Mary later turned dissenters and had their goods confiscated by the State. The property John owned at Upper Slaughter was referred to as Tidmarshes and it was there that all of their nine children were born.
	It was as ‘John Collett of Upper Slaughter’ that in 1679 John was named as joint guardian of five years old nephew Anthony Collett (Ref. 14I1) following the death of his father Anthony Collett, John’s older brother (above).
	John was named as the sole executor in the 1685 Will of his uncle and father-in-law John Collett (Ref. 14G4), in which his own eldest son John (below) was named as the main beneficiary in his grandfather’s Will. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	John Collett eventually died in 1716 at the age of 76, and it is believed that his body was buried in the burying ground of the Meeting House, off Station Road in Bourton-on-the-Water. Mary, his second wife, who died in 1729 at the age of 75, may have been buried with her husband.
	John, together with his brother Henry (above), was an executor of the 1679 Will of their eldest brother Anthony Collett (above).
	In 2001 Phyllis Collett Tyler (Ref. 33P38) wrote a booklet entitled ‘Cotswold Romance’ the 17^th Century story of John Collett of Upper Slaughter who first married his cousin Anne Collett and, when she died in 1675, he then married her sister Mary. In doing so, in the eyes of the authorities, John committed the most vile and detestable sin of incest.
	So upset were the authorities by his actions, the sentence of divorce between John and Mary was pronounced in the Parish of Upper Slaughter on 1^st November 1785, the sentence confirmed by the Dean of the Archbishops’ Court of Delegates, by virtue of an order from the Lord Bishop and Court of Gloucester. The document was signed by Joseph Stone (Minister), Richard Perratt and John Perratt (Churchwardens).
	14I9	Ann Collett		Born in 1676
	14I10	Mary Collett		Born in 1679
	14I11	Elizabeth Collett		Baptised in 1681
	14I12	JOHN COLLETT		Baptised in 1683
	14I13	Sarah Collett		Born in 1686
	14I14	Henry Collett		Born in 1689
	14I15	Hannah Collett		Born in 1692
	14I16	Freelove Collett		Born in 1695
	14I17	Ruth Collett		Born in 1697
14H7	Ann Collett was born in 1654, possibly a twin sister to Mary Collett (below). Ann married her much older cousin John Collett (above) who was born in 1640. The marriage must have taken place around 1674 when Ann was just 20 years old but tragically she died that same year perhaps during childbirth, although there was no resulting child.
	However, Ann must have known there was a chance she might die, as it was pre-arranged with her sister Mary that she would marry her husband John Collett in the event of her death. See John Collett (above) for more details.
14H8	Mary Collett was born in 1654, possibly a twin sister to Ann Collett. Upon the early and untimely death of her twin sister Ann in 1674 it was agreed that she would marry her sister’s widowed husband John Collett which she did in 1675. See John Collett (above) for more details.
14I1	Anthony Collett was born in 1674 and was just five years old when his father Anthony Collett died. Thereafter he came under the joint guardianship of his uncles John Collett (Ref. 14H6) and Henry Collett (Ref. 14H4) and his wife Ann.
	For whatever reason, Anthony ‘Gentleman of Bourton-on-the-Water’ as he was known, was not baptised until he was 21 years of age in 1695. It was also at that time that Anthony inherited the bulk of his father’s estate at Bourton and at other locations in Oxfordshire (as listed below).
	He never married and twenty-four years later he died at Bourton on 12.04.1719 aged 45.
	In his Will, made on 16^th January 1716, Anthony’s estate comprising land at Bourton and at Chalgrove, Rawford and Watlington in Oxfordshire was equally divided between his two siblings Henry and Anne (both below).
	The Will also referred to the fact that his sister Anne was married to John Collett and that she and her brother Henry were joint executors of the Will. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	Also within the Will, which was proved on 15.05.1719, Anthony bequeathed the sum of ten pound per year to be paid to a schoolmaster to teach and instruct five poor boys in Bourton-on-the-Water.
	Anthony was buried just inside the doorway of St Lawrence’s Church at Bourton and upon the stone slab are the words “Interred under this stone the body of Anthony Collett gent who departed this life April 12^th 1719 aged 45”
	Also at Bourton on the wall inside the church there is a memorial tablet dedicated in his name which highlights his generous annual donations to support the teaching of twelve poor boys of the town.
14I2	Henry Collett was born in 1676 and married his cousin Mary Collett (Ref. 14I10) the daughter of John and Mary Collett (Ref. 14H6). All of the children of Henry and Mary were born and baptised at Bourton-on-the-Water.
	Following the death of his father in 1682 and upon reaching 21 years of age, Henry inherited his father’s land and property at Naunton including land at Harford within the Parish of Naunton.
	In addition, Henry and his children, although not named specifically, were listed as beneficiaries in the Will of Henry’s bachelor brother Anthony Collett (above). Anthony’s estate, comprising extensive lands in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, was divided equally between his only two siblings Henry and his sister Anne (below).
	Henry died at Bourton in 1731 and Mary followed six years later on 25.12.1737 aged 58, which corresponds exactly with the year in which Mary was born, that being 1679.
	14J1	John Collett		Baptised on 14.04.1706
	14J2	Richard Collett		Baptised on 15.10.1710
	14J3	Mary Collett		Baptised on 23.11.1712
	14J4	Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1713
	14J6	Ann Collett		Baptised on 13.05.1716
	14J7	Anthony Collett		Born in 1716
14I3	Anne Collett was born in 1678 and married her cousin John Collett (Ref. 14I12) on 04.02.1707 at Great Rissington. John Collett was the son of John and Mary Collett (Ref. 14H6). See John Collett (Ref. 14I12) for more details.
	Anne was just four years old when her father died in 1682 and in his Will Anne inherited £400 on reaching the age of twenty-one. The Will also stipulated that, in the event her two brothers died before reaching 21, Anne would inherit the whole of her father’s extensive estate in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.
	In addition, Anne and her children, although not named specifically, were listed as beneficiaries in the Will of Anne’s bachelor brother Anthony (above). Anthony’s estate comprising extensive lands in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire was divided equally between his only two siblings Anne and her brother Henry (above). The Will also made reference to sister Anne being married to John Collett.
14I4	Elizabeth Collett, whose date of birth is not known, married in 1718 her cousin Henry Collett (Ref. 14I14) of Bourton-on-the-Water who was born in 1689. See Henry Collett (Ref. 14I14) for more details.
14I5	Thomas Collett, whose date of birth is not known, married Mary Tombe and the union produced four children. Thomas died at a relatively young age in 1739.
	14J8	Ann Collett		Born circa 1715
	14J9	Hannah Collett		Born circa 1720
	14J10	Thomas Collett		Born circa 1723
	14J11	William Collett		Born circa 1729
	The continuation of this family line is provided in Part 15 – The Kenilworth Line, being the family line of Neil Collett of Kenilworth.
14I7	Hannah Collett, whose date of birth is not known, died on 04.10.1713 and was buried in St Lawrence’s Church Cemetery where a gravestone bears her name. (see Headstone Epitaphs)
14I9	Ann Collett was born in 1676 and was a beneficiary under the terms of the 1685 Will of her grandfather John Collett (Ref. 14G4). In this she was to be given two hundred pounds upon reaching eighteen years of age, plus twenty nobles each year for her maintenance and education up until she was eighteen.
	Ann married John Gorle at Great Rissington on 01.06.1708.
14I10	Mary Collett was born in 1679 and was a beneficiary under the terms of the 1685 Will of her grandfather John Collett (Ref. 14G4). In this she was to be given one hundred and fifty pounds upon reaching eighteen years of age, plus twenty nobles each year for her maintenance and education up until she was eighteen.
	Mary married her cousin Henry Collett (Ref. 14I2) the son of Anthony and Ann Collett. See Henry Collett (Ref. 14I2) for more details.
14I11	Elizabeth Collett was baptised in 1681 and was a beneficiary under the terms of the 1685 Will of her grandfather John Collett (Ref. 14G4). In this she was to be given one hundred pounds upon reaching eighteen years of age, plus twenty nobles each year for her maintenance and education up until she was eighteen.
	Elizabeth married Benjamin Horniblow and died in 1726.
14I12	JOHN COLLETT was baptised in 1683 and was referred to as “Gent of Bourton” and had property at Upper Slaughter and Naunton. As the eldest and only male heir at that time, he was the main beneficiary in the 1685 Will of his grandfather John Collett (Ref. 14G4). The Will also made allowance for his maintenance and education with an annual sum of twenty pounds which ceased upon him reaching the age of eighteen years. (see Will in Legal Documents).
	On 04.12.1707 at Great Rissington he married his cousin Ann Collett (Ref. 14I3). Ann was from Naunton and was the daughter of Anthony and Ann Collett.
	John died in 1734 and his Will made on 15^th April 1734 was proved at Canterbury later that same year. In the Will his eighth child John was referred to as the “eldest son” and was named as the sole executor of the Will, while Thomas was referred to as the “youngest son”. The only other surviving child being a beneficiary in the Will was daughter Sarah.
	For full details of the contents of the Will (see Will in Legal Documents).
	14J12	John Collett		Born in 1708; died in 1710
	14J13	Anthony Collett		Born in 1710, died in 1710
	14J14	Ann Collett		Born in 1711; died in 1711
	14J15	Moses Collett		Born in 1712; died in 1712
	14J16	Joshua Collett		Born in 1712; died in 1712
	14J17	Henry Collett		Baptised in 1713; died in 1714
	14J18	Sarah Collett		Baptised on 20.03.1714
	14J19	JOHN COLLETT		Born in 1716
	14J20	Mary Collett		Born in 1718; died in 1718
	14J21	Thomas Collett		Baptised in 1719
	14J22	Henry Collett		Baptised in 1720; died in 1723
14I13	Sarah Collett was born in 1686 and she married John Rushton at Great Rissington on 29.09.1708. She died in 1749.
14I14	Henry Collett was born in 1689 and lived at Bourton-on-the-Water. He married his cousin Elizabeth Collett (Ref. 14I4) the daughter of Thomas and Ann Collett (Ref. 14H5). In 1734 he acted as trustee for his brother John Collett (Ref. 14I12) and died shortly thereafter.
	There appears to be a great number of years between the birth of Henry Collett and the baptism dates of his children. There is therefore a possibility that they were born some years prior to their christening dates.
	14J23	Thomas Collett		Baptised in 1728
	14J24	John Collett		Baptised in 1731
	14J25	Henry Collett		Baptised in 1734
14I15	Hannah Collett was born in 1692 and she married Job Goodman. She died in 1756.
14I16	Freelove Collett was born in 1695 and she married Joseph Ryland in 1722. Joseph was the son of John Ryland and was born at Sezincote and had first married a wealthy widow at Lower Ditchford near Shipston-upon-Stour. The marriage produced no children and upon her death Joseph who was a bailiff married Freelove with whom he had three children.
	John Collett Ryland was born in 1723, Joseph Ryland in 1727 and daughter Freelove Ryland was born the following year but died young. It would appear that her mother Freelove may have died during her birth as she died in 1828.
	Their eldest son John was baptised in October 1741 following which he was taken into the ministry and went to Bristol to study. In 1750 he was ordained and became Pastor of the Baptist Church in Warwick.
	He later moved to Northampton where he was a minister for 26 years and where he established a strong Baptist presence as well as opening a Baptist school in the town. John was well known as Doctor John (Collett) Ryland and died in 1792.
	His brother Joseph initially joined the army but later became a member of the Baptist Church at Eagle Street in London.
	For other references to the name Ryland see Ref. 14M10 and Ref. 14N12.
14I17	Ruth Collett was born in 1697 and she married John Collett of Loughborough, the son of yeoman John Collett.
14J1	John Collett was born at Bourton-on-the-Water possibly in 1704 and was baptised there on 14.04.1706. However before reaching his twentieth birthday he died on 12.04.1719 in the Reign of Queen Ann.
14J2	Richard Collett was baptised on 15.10.1710 at Bourton-on-the-Water. He married Sarah circa 1728 and all of the four children listed below were born and baptised at Bourton-on-the-Water.
	14K1	Elizabeth Collett		Baptised on 05.07.1729; infant death
	14K2	Mary Collett		Baptised on 16.05.1731
	14K3	Anne Collett		Baptised on 22.07.1733
	14K4	Anthony Collett		Born in 1740
	14K5	Elizabeth Collett		Baptised on 08.08.1742
14J4	Elizabeth Collett was born in 1713 and she married William Moore of Bourton. And it was he that held the Manor of Naunton through his heiress wife.
14J7	Anthony Collett was born in 1716 and baptised in 1717. He died on 14.09.1732 aged 16 and was buried at Bourton-on-the-Water.
14J18	Sarah Collett was baptised on 20.03.1714 at Bourton-on-the-Water. She married Andrew Paxford on 31.05.1735 at Upper Slaughter.
	Andrew’s mother may have been Ann Paxford who was a tenant of land at Bourton Hill owned by the Collett family and who was listed as such in the Marriage Indenture of 1740 between John Collett and Ann Hanman (below).
	It may also be of interest to note that John Collett (Ref. 14K11) married Sarah Paxford at Stow-on-the-Wold on 07.06.1768. There is a very strong possibility that Sarah Paxford was the daughter of Sarah Collett and Andrew Paxford and, as such, she and John Collett were first cousins.
14J19	JOHN COLLETT was born in 1716 and he married Ann Hanman on 09.10.1740 at Bourton-on-the-Water as confirmed by the entry in the parish register.
	Earlier in that same year a Marriage Indenture was drawn up for the couple and this was signed the day before the wedding by John, his future bride Ann, his future mother-in-law Margaret Hanman, and was witnessed by John Reynolds, Richard Boswell and Henry Collett. (see Marriage Indenture 1740 in Legal Documents)
	Ann Hanman was the daughter of the late Robert Hanman and his wife Margaret. Robert’s Will was dated 20^th October 1737 (PROB11/685) while his wife’s Will of 1746 was proved in Gloucester on 22^nd June 1749 (PROB11/115). This latter document makes her granddaughter Ann Collett the sole beneficiary, Ann being the eldest child of John Collett and Ann Hanman. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	John Collett died in January 1776 and was buried at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water on 18.01.1776. His Will, in which he was referred to as ‘Gentleman of Bourton-on-the-Water’ was proved on 28.03.1776 (PROB11/1017) and makes reference to land and property at Northmoor near Oxford.
	John’s wife Ann was the sole executor of his Will, in which she was also the sole beneficiary. There is no reference at all to any of their children who would have all been in their thirties so perhaps already well established financially. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	The two witnesses to the signing of the Will were John’s niece Sarah Fox nee Collett (Ref. 14K13) and her husband Samuel Fox.
	John’s wife Ann was born in 1713 and died in 1794 and was also buried at Bourton on 09.02.1794.
	14K6	Ann Collett twin		Born in 1741
	14K7	JOHN COLLETT twin		Born in 1741
	14K8	Sarah Collett		Born in 1743
	14K9	Thomas Collett		Born in 1746
	14K10	Anthony Collett		Born in 1747
14J21	Thomas Collett was born in 1713 and baptised in 1719. His year of birth is known from the fact that in his father’s Will of 1734 was referred to as being the youngest surviving son of John Collett (Ref. 14I12) at the age of twenty-years old.
	In 1742 Thomas married Mary Beale who was born in 1712, but who died in 1750. The eight year marriage produced three children for the couple. Thomas died twenty-four years later in 1774. See references 14K6 and 14M24 for other Beale connections.
	14K11	John Collett		Born in 1743
	14K12	William Collett		Born in 1746
	14K13	Sarah Collett		Born in 1747
14J24	John Collett was baptised in 1731 and he married Mary. Their son was baptised at Bourton-on-the-Water. It is possible that John died at nearby Lower Slaughter when around 66 years of age. A gravestone in the churchyard of the Church of St Mary at Lower Slaughter reads ‘John Collett died September 25^th 1797’. No alternative John Collett has so far been found that this might apply to.
	14K14	William Collett		Baptised on 17.10.1766
14K4	Anthony Collett was born in 1740. Very little is known about him except that he died in 1823 and was buried on 19.03.1823 aged 83 at Bourton-on-the-Water as recorded in the non-conformist records at the Baptist Chapel.
14K6	Ann Collett, who was one half of a set of twins, was born in 1741 and probably at Upper Slaughter. When she was just five years of age her grandmother Margaret Hanman wrote her Will in which her granddaughter Ann Collett was the sole beneficiary. Margaret died shortly after and the Will was proved at Gloucester on 22^nd June 1749. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	She was married by licence to James Beale of Stow-on-the-Wold on 06.06.1768 at Bourton-on-the-Water with whom she had seven children. James was very likely a nephew of Mary Beale who married Thomas Collett (Ref. 14J21). Ann Beale nee Collett died in 1811.
14K7	JOHN COLLETT, who was one half of a set of twins, was born in 1741 and probably at Upper Slaughter, the eldest son of John Collett and Ann Hanman.
	He married Elizabeth Shelburn on 03.05.1768 at the Church of St Michael’s in the village of Budbrooke, to the west of the town of Warwick. The birth of all of their children was included in the non-conformist records of the Baptist Chapel at Bourton-on-the-Water, and in which John and Elizabeth are described in each entry as being ‘of Upper Slaughter’.
	The chapel records for two of the children also gave the dates that they died, again with the note that their parents were ‘of Upper Slaughter’.
	John Collett died in 1811 aged 70 and was buried at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water on 23.05.1811. Elizabeth his wife died in 1817 aged 73 and was buried on 10.10.1817. The first entry refers to John as ‘of Upper Slaughter’ while Elizabeth’s states she was the ‘relict of John late of Upper Slaughter’ – relict being an archaic word for widow.
	A plaque on an inside wall of the Church of St Peter at Upper Slaughter makes reference to John Collett, who with the Rector of the Parish and William Cook, were the Trustees of the Lands of Upper Slaughter. This was a charitable fund set up in 1591 by John Collett (Ref. 1F9) joint Lord of the Manor of Upper Slaughter and his brother Thomas Collett (Ref. 1F8) for the upkeep of the church and support of the poor of Upper Slaughter.
	The aforementioned trustee William Cook was listed in the 1771 Will of John Humphries together John Collett’s brother Thomas Collett (below) who married John Humphries’ daughter Mary.
	14L1	John Collett		Born on 28.04.1769
	14L2	Thomas Shelburn Collett		Born on 06.12.1771
	14L3	Sarah Collett		Born on 18.04.1773
	14L4	Elizabeth Collett		Born on 25.10.1774
	14L5	Ann Collett		Born in October 1776
	14L6	Martha Collett		Born on 12.02.1779
	14L7	ROBERT COLLETT		Born on 08.08.1780
	14L8	Job Collett		Born on 15.07.1782
	14L9	Joseph Collett		Born on 07.03.1785
14K8	Sarah Collett was born in 1743 and died in 1744.
14K9	Thomas Collett was born in 1746 and he married Mary Humphries at Upper Slaughter on 08.11.1770. Mary was the daughter of landowner John Humphries and his wife Ann. During February of the following year John Humphries made his Will in which his daughter Mary Collett and her children were beneficiaries. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	At the time of writing the Will, his daughter was four months into her pregnancy for the couple’s first child. Sadly the child did not survive but Mary was with child again a short time after.
	Thomas Collett died in 1773 around the time of the birth of their second child, his death coinciding with the death of his cousin John Collett (below).
	Following the death of her husband, Mary later married John Hanks at Little Rissington on 20.10.1779 with whom she had two sons John and Robert Hanks. And it was as Mary Hanks that she was referred to in the Codicil to her father’s Will which was drawn up in 1780.
	What is of interest in the final proved version of the Will (PROB11/1073) is the list of monies loan out as mortgages and bonds by John Humphries. This list includes a £200 mortgage given to Thomas Collett on 27^th April 1762, although at the age of sixteen this was probably not the Thomas that married John’s daughter. It was more likely his uncle Thomas Collett (Ref. 14J21) whose wife had died in 1750 leaving him with a young family to raise.
	In addition to this, there were further bonds of £80 and £20 paid to the same Thomas Collett, together with an entry of a note that £180 was handed to Mary Collett now Mrs Hanks. The very last item on the list was a reference to a Jos Collett who had been paid a bond of £100 which ‘was lost due to the party being insolvent’. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	The later Will of John Humphries’ brother Robert Humphries made in 1802 named Mary Ann Kyte and her two sisters each of whom received £200. The Will was proved in 1806 just a few months immediate prior to Mary Ann marrying Robert Collett (Ref. 14L7).
	Also under the terms of this Will the main bulk of the estate comprising two houses, stables, outhouses and gardens in Bourton was left to Thomas Collett the son of Thomas Collett and Mary Humphries, to which was added £400. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	The same Will also bequeathed £100 to each of the aforementioned son of John and Mary Hanks.
	Another of the many links between the Collett and Hanks family was the marriage of Sarah Collett and John Hanks which took place at Bourton-on-the-Water on 05.04.1774. And a son John Hanks was a beneficiary in the 1839 Will of one Emma Hanks. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	14L10	Ann Collett		Born on 23.07.1771; infant death
	14L11	Thomas Collett		Born on 23.03.1773
14K10	Anthony Collett was born in 1747 and died later that same year.
14K11	John Collett was born in 1743 and was the eldest son of Thomas Collett and Mary Beale.
	It was at Stow-on-the-Wold where John married Sarah Paxford on 07.06.1768. At an earlier time Sarah Collett (Ref. 14J18), the sister of John’s father, married Andrew Paxford at Upper Slaughter on 31.05.1735. So it is possible that Sarah Paxford was their daughter, which would make John and Sarah second cousins.
	Sadly John Collett died in 1773 before the birth of his fourth child and around the same time that his cousin Thomas Collett (above) also died.
	14L12	Samuel Collett		Born in 1769
	14L13	Sarah Collett		Born in 1771
	14L14	John Collett		Born in 1772
	14L15	Mary Collett		Born in 1774
14K12	William Collett was born in 1746, the second of the three children of Thomas Collett and Mary Beale. Sadly William died in 1755 when he was around eleven years old.
14K13	Sarah Collett was born in 1747, the youngest of the three known children of Thomas Collett and Mary Beale. Sarah was twenty-five when she married Samuel Fox at Bourton-on-the-Water on the 08.01.1772. However, she tragically died during the birth of the couple’s first and only child which must have taken place after July 1775 – see note below.
	Sarah Fox and Samuel Fox were the two named witnesses at the making of the Will of John Collett (Ref. 14J19) on 22^nd July 1775. The relationship between them was that Sarah was the niece of John Collett, she being the daughter of his younger brother Thomas Collett.
	It may be of further interest that two earlier Wills were witnessed by a John Fox who may have been the grandfather and father respectively of Samuel Fox, unless they were the same John Fox. The Wills in question were for John Collett (Ref. 14G4) in 1685 and John Collett (Ref. 14I12) in 1734. Likewise the 1683 Will of Anthony Collett witnessed by Mary Fox, who made her mark.
	The Fox family also featured in the 1771 Will of John Humphries and that of his brother Robert Humphries in his 1802 Will (see Will in Legal Documents). It was their sister Elizabeth Humphries that married William Fox who was very likely the brother of Samuel Fox who married Sarah Collett (above).
14K14	William Collett was baptised on 17.10.1766 at Bourton-on-the-Water where he married Sarah and where two of the couple’s children were born. The birth entries for both children in the Baptist Chapel non-conformist records identify the parents as being ‘of Lower Slaughter’.
	And it was at Lower Slaughter that William died. He was buried in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church and his headstone reads ‘William Collett who departed this life July 10^th 1849 aged 83 years’.
	14L16	Ann Collett		Born on 19.05.1782
	14L17	Hannah Collett		Born on 02.05.1784
14L1	John Collett was born at Upper Slaughter and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water on 28.04.1769. He married Ann Herbert on 20.10.1792 at Little Rissington and their two daughters were both born at Bourton-on-the-Water.
	The birth entry for daughter Anne in the non-conformist records of the Baptist Chapel at Bourton-on-the-Water lists her father John Collett as ‘a school master’ although this note does not appear alongside the birth entry for daughter Elizabeth. The baptism record for both girls gave their parents’ names as John and Ann Collett.
	Sometime around the time that son John was born the family had moved to Evesham in Worcestershire, fifteen miles north of the village, where the couple’s two sons were born, although the boys were still baptised at Bourton.
	John Collett died in 1816. It may be of interest to note that on 23.08.1834 at Stow-on-the-Wold an Anne Collett married a James Herbert, but further work is needed to find if there is a direct link.
	14M1	Anne Collett		Born on 24.10.1793
	14M2	Elizabeth Collett		Born on 30.08.1795
	14M3	John Collett		Born on 01.04.1800
	14M4	Thomas Samuel Collett		Born circa 1810
14L2	Thomas Shelburn Collett was born at Upper Slaughter on 06.12.1771 and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water. His death twenty years later was also recorded there, the entry stating that he was ‘of Upper Slaughter’ and that he had died on 03.03.1791.
	Thomas’ parents were the first in the family to adopt the mother’s maiden name as a child’s Christian name and this tradition was carried on a great many times hereafter.
14L3	Sarah Collett was born at Upper Slaughter on 18.04.1773 and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water. The records there also list her death twenty years later as ‘died on 04.04.1793’ and ‘of Upper Slaughter’.
14L4	Elizabeth Collett was born at Upper Slaughter on 25.10.1774 and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water, the daughter of John Collett and Elizabeth Shelburn. Elizabeth Collett married James Ashwin on 12.10.1808 at Bourton-on-the-Water and the marriage resulted in the birth of three children, who were all baptised at Bourton.
	James Ashwin was the son of Richard and Esther Ashwin and was baptised at Bourton on 29.04.1771. James was also one of the three named trustees in the 1818 Will of Elizabeth’s cousin Thomas Collett (Ref. 14L11).
	The three children of James and Elizabeth were: James junior who was baptised on 25.08.1809; Hester who was baptised on 21.07.1813; and Richard who was baptised on 13.10.1815.
	James Ashwin died prior to the census day in 1851, so the census return confirmed that Elizabeth of Upper Slaughter was a 76 years old widow and annuitant, and head of the household at Bourton-on-the-Water. Supporting her in her old age were two servants, sixty years old Mary Dickenson from Chedworth, and twenty-two years old Elizabeth Tombs from Bourton-on-the-Water.
	By 1851 Elizabeth’s eldest son James Ashwin was married to Anne who was forty-three and from Lower Slaughter. The couple were living at Bourton where James was a farmer of 485 acres at the age of forty-one. Living with the couple was James’ sister-in-law Sarah Williams who was 33 and a builder’s wife from Lower Slaughter, and servant Louis Mitchell who was 31 from Aston Blank.
	Also by 1851 Elizabeth’s other son Richard Ashwin was married with a family of his own. This comprised Richard, his wife Sarah, the daughter of John and Sarah Harris who was born at Adlestrop in 1809, and their two children Hester Mary Ashwin who was born in 1840 and Richard Ashwin who was born in 1848. By 1871 Richard Ashwin junior was a farmer of 400 acres at Bourton-on-the-Water.
	Elizabeth Ashwin nee Collett died during 1853.
14L5	Ann Collett was born at Upper Slaughter in October 1776 and baptised at Bourton-on-the-Water where she died 1791.
14L6	Martha Collett was born at Upper Slaughter on 12.02.1779 and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water where she died in 1802.
14L7	ROBERT COLLETT was born at Upper Slaughter on 08.08.1780 and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water. And it was at Bourton that Robert married Mary Ann (Marianne) Kyte on 29.01.1807. According to the IGI, Mary Ann Kyte was a Baptist who was born at Bourton-on-the-Water on 17.07.1786, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Kyte.
	What is of interest is that during the year preceding their wedding, Mary Ann Kyte was named as a beneficiary in the 1802 Will of Robert Humphries proved in 1806 (PROB11/1441). (see Will in Legal Documents)
	In another Will, the 1839 Will of Emma Hanks, there is a reference to Emma’s sister Mary Ann Collett, and she is understood to have been Mary Ann Kyte, making Emma Hanks’ maiden name as Kyte. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	All of the children of Robert and Mary listed below were baptised at Bourton-on-the-Water, although the first four children’s dates of birth were recorded in the non-conformist register at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton.
	Each entry in the non-conformist register included the addition note that the family were ‘of Upper Slaughter’ indicating it was there that the family was living at the time of the birth of the children and indicating that they were actually born there, rather than at Bourton..
	After the birth of their fourth child the family moved from Upper Slaughter and settled in Bourton where their remaining children were born. However, it is also understood that the Collett family left Gloucestershire around 1830, when they moved south to Shepton Mallet in Somerset.
	It is likely that it was Robert’s work that prompted the move, since it is established that he was the registrar for the town of Bourton-on-the-Water, a position that he also held for many years at Shepton Mallet, where his son Thomas Shelburn Collett was the deputy registrar. The first national census in June 1841 confirmed that Robert and his family were living in the town. Robert Collett was 60, his wife Marianne Collett was 54, and living with them at that time were just three of their children. They were Emma Collett, age 25, Emily Collett, age 19, and Mary Collett who was 12.
	Also living in Shepton Mallet on that occasion was Robert’s and Mary Ann’s married son Thomas with his wife Ann, and their daughter-in-law Julia Collett, the widow of their late son Robert Hanman Collett. It was almost eight and a half years later that Mary Ann Collett died at Shepton Mallet on 28.12.1849 so, by the time of the next census in 1851, Robert Collett was recorded as a widower at the age of 70.
	At that time he was still working as the town’s registrar, while he was living in the High Street at Shepton Mallet with his daughter Lucy Ann Collett, age 25, being the only member of his family still living with him. Just over six years after that Robert Collett died at Shepton Mallet on 01.09.1857.
	14M5	Mary Ann Collett		Born on 28.07.1808
	14M6	ROBERT HANMAN COLLETT		Born on 19.08.1809
	14M7	Thomas Shelburn Collett		Born on 24.01.1811
	14M8	Elizabeth Kyte Collett		Born on 31.08.1812
	14M9	Emma Humphries Collett		Born on 23.11.1814
	14M10	John Ryland Collett		Born on 19.08.1816
	14M11	Susan Collett		Born on 02.03.1818
	14M12	Emily Collett		Born on 21.06.1821
	14M13	Lucy Ann Collett		Born on 27.02.1823
	14M14	Ellen Hook Collett		Born in 1825
	14M15	Mary Anne Collett		Born in 1828
14L8	Job Collett was born on 15.07.1782 at Bourton-on-the-Water and he married Ruth Reynolds in 1806. Ruth may have been the granddaughter of John Reynolds who was a witness to the Marriage Indenture for Job’s grandparents John Collett and Ann Hanman (Ref. 19J19).
14L9	Joseph Collett was born on 07.03.1785 at Bourton-on-the-Water where he married Mary Bryan on 03.04.1811. All of the children listed below were born at Bourton-on-the-Water.
	On page 51 of the 2005 Supplement to The Collett Saga by Margaret Chadd, Joseph Collett (above) is stated as being married to Martha, under which there is a note regarding a subsequent ancestor by the name of Arthur who went to Perth in Australia.
	New research in early 2007 has unearthed an Arthur Collett who was born in 1874/5 who was the eldest son of Joseph’s grandson George Collett, who in turn was the son of his own son George Bryan Collett listed below – see subsequent generations for details.
	However, the Arthur referred to by Margaret Chadd (whom she met at Mansion House Dinner on 6^th March 1989 given by her father Sir Christopher Collett The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of London) was not of this line. He was born in 1913 and his family is depicted in Part 29 – The Turkdean to Australia Line (Ref. 29Q1).
	14M16	George Bryan Collett		Born on 23.01.1812
	14M17	Mary Collett		Born on 01.09.1813
	14M18	Sarah Collett		Born on 03.07.1815
	14M19	Elizabeth Collett		Born on 06.12.1816
14L11	Thomas Collett was born at Bourton-on-the-Water on 23.03.1773 and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel. He married Ann Tilling at Bourton on 31.05.1796 where it is believed all their children were born. Thomas was described as ‘gentleman’ but how he came by his wealth is not known.
	On 6^th May 1796, and just over three weeks prior to their wedding day, Thomas and Ann signed a Marriage Indenture in exactly the same way that his grandfather John Collett (Ref. 14J19) had fifty-six years earlier. (see Marriage Indenture 1796 in Legal Documents)
	Following the death of his mother’s brother Robert Humphries in 1806, Thomas as the only son and heir of Thomas Collett and Mary Humphries inherited two dwellings, stables, outhouses and gardens in Bourton, together with £400. (see Will of Legal Documents)
	Thomas died there on 09.01.1818 aged 44 and was buried in the St Lawrence’s Church Cemetery on 14.01.1818 as listed in the non-conformist records at the same Baptist Chapel. His wife Ann died in April 1849 aged 74 and was buried with her husband and their eight years old daughter Martha, as confirmed by the gravestone. (see Headstone Epitaphs)
	His Will, written only four days prior to his death, was proved on 13.02.1818 (PROB11/1601). In this he was referred to as ‘Thomas Collett Gentleman of Bourton-on-the-Water’. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	Only eight of Thomas’ nine children were named in his Will, due to the earlier death of his daughter Martha. Eldest son Thomas (below) was the main beneficiary of the Will, with all of his other children each receiving substantial sums of money.
	Two of the three trustees named in the Will were James Ashwin and John Beale. James was the husband of Elizabeth Collett (Ref. 14L4) who was the cousin of the deceased Thomas Collett. And John Beale, the son of trustee John Beale, married Mrs Mary Collett the widow of Thomas Collett junior (below) a few short years after his death in 1869.
	14M20	Mary Collett		Born in January 1798
	14M21	Ann Collett		Baptised on 11.12.1798
	14M22	Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1800
	14M23	Martha Collett		Born in 1802
	14M24	Thomas Collett		Born in 1805
	14M25	John Collett		Born in 1807
	14M26	Henrietta Collett		Born in 1811
	14M27	Robert Collett		Born in 1813
	14M28	Emma Collett		Born in 1816
14L12	Samuel Collett was possibly born at Upper Slaughter in 1769, the son of John and Sarah Collett, and was baptised at St Within’s Church in Worcester on 22.10.1777. It seems highly likely that this took place when he was seven or eight years of age.
	This new information comes indirectly from Alan Stanier via Marilyn Stoddard, whose families feature in Part 48, which suggests the parents of Samuel Collett were John Collett and Sarah Paxford.
	For the continuation of this family line See Part 48 – The Dudley West Midland Line (Ref. 48L2)
14L15	Mary Collett was born at Bourton-on-the-Water in 1774. She never married and she died in 1823. In her Will, which was proved on 28.08.1823, she was referred to as ‘Mary Collett spinster of Bourton-on-the-Water’.
14L16	Ann Collett was born at Bourton-on-the-Water on 19.05.1782. It is believed, although not yet proved, that she married Thomas Hanks in the early 1800s. What is known from a headstone in the graveyard at St Lawrence’s Church is that Thomas and Ann Hanks had a second daughter Sarah Hanks born in 1811 and a son Thomas Collett Hanks who was born in 1816.
	The headstone epitaph reads ‘Sacred to the memory of Thomas Collett Hanks son of Thomas and Ann Hanks of Little Rissington who died January 30^th 1838 aged 22’. Beneath this were two more epitaphs. The first reads ‘Also Sarah their second daughter who died April 17^th 1866 aged 55’ and the second ‘Loving memory of two children of Thomas and Ann who died in infancy’.
14L17	Hannah Collett was born at Lower Slaughter on 02.05.1784 and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water. It seems likely that she married later in life as at the same Baptist Chapel there is listed a Hannah Collett who married by licence John Fox on 03.01.1822.
14M2	Elizabeth Collett was born on 30.08.1795 at Bourton-on-the-Water where she was baptised at the Baptist Chapel and where she married Stephen Marshall on 21.04.1819.
14M3	John Collett may have been born at Badsey near Evesham in Worcestershire around 1792., but one record indicates that he was born at Bourton-on-the-Water on 01.04.1800, where his sisters Elizabeth (above) and Anne were also born. John later married Jane and by the time of the June census in 1841 the couple were both listed as being 45, while they living in the parish of Church Lench, within the Evesham registration district, with their nine years old son John.
	Ten years later the couple were living in a dwelling on the Evesham to Church Lench Road in Atch Lench, where agricultural labourer John Collett from Badsey was 59, while his wife Jane Collett from Atch Lench was 55. By that time their son John Collett, age 19 and from Church Lench, had left the family home, but was still living in the Evesham area.
	14N1	John Collett		Born in 1831 at Church Lench
14M4	Thomas Samuel Collett was possibly born at Evesham around 1806 after his parents moved there from Bourton-on-the-Water where his three older siblings were born. Thomas later married Elizabeth Goodwin Eddles, of Bledington, by licence on 07.10.1833 at Eyford within the parish of Upper Slaughter.
	According to the Upper Slaughter census of 1841 Thomas was 30 and Elizabeth was 28 and with them were four children for which so far only three baptism records have been located. The census would appear to reveal their first and oldest child was Ann aged 6 and so born in 1834.
	The other three children were Elizabeth aged 4, Thomas aged 2, and Alfred who was one year old. Ten years later the 1851 Census for Upper Slaughter confirmed the couple’s details as Thomas aged 40 and a carpenter and wheelwright of Evesham and Elizabeth aged 38 of Bledington.
	All of the children were born and baptised at Upper Slaughter and each of the individual baptism records includes their father’s name as Thomas Samuel Collett. The children listed in 1851 were: Elizabeth 14, Thomas 12, Alfred 10, Harriet 9, Ellen 7, Sarah 4 and Amy aged 1.
	Tragically Thomas’ wife had passed away sometime before the April 1861 Census as Thomas was listed as aged 50, a widower, and a master carpenter of Evesham. Acting as housekeeper was 25 years old Mary Ann Collett who was born at Upper Slaughter. The only other members of the family living with Thomas at that time were son Thomas aged 22 a carpenter like his father, and daughters Sarah 15 and Amy 13.
	Daughter Harriett Collett aged 18 was working as housemaid at Upper Slaughter in the house of Edward Witts Rector and Justice of the Peace for Upper Slaughter. It is interesting to note that ten years later her position at the Witts home had been filled by her younger sister Amy who was aged 21 in 1871.
	14N2	Ann Collett	Born in 1834
	14N3	Elizabeth Collett	Baptised on 26.02.1837
	14N4	Thomas Collett	Baptised on 04.11.1838
	14N5	Alfred Collett	Baptised on 05.07.1840
	14N6	Harriet Collett	Baptised on 26.06.1842
	14N7	Helen (Ellen) Collett	Baptised on 21.04.1844
	14N8	Sarah Collett	Born circa 1846
	14N9	Samuel Collett	Baptised on 28.02.1848; infant death
	14N10	Amy Collett	Born circa 1850
14M5	Mary Ann Collett was born at Upper Slaughter on 28.07.1808 and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water, the eldest child of Robert Collett and his wife Mary Ann Kyte. She died on 22.07.1830 and the burial record at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton-on-the-Water recorded that she was aged 21 and the daughter of Mr R Collett.
14M6	ROBERT HANMAN COLLETT was born on 19.08.1809 at Upper Slaughter and was baptised at the Baptist Chapel in Bourton where his date of birth was listed in the non-conformist records. Later in his life Robert’s family left Bourton when they moved to Shepton Mallet, where his father Robert Collett held the post of town registrar for many years, having previously been the registrar at Bourton.
	Once settled in Shepton Mallet it is believed that Robert assisted his father with his work as the town’s registrar, until his brother, Thomas Shelburn Collett (below) was later appointed to the post of deputy registrar to his father. It was also during that time in his life that Robert met his future wife.
	It was during the mid-1830s that Robert Hanman Collett married Ann Julia Speed of Shepton Mallet. After they were married the couple set up home in the town, and both of their children were born while the couple were living at Longbridge House in Cowl Street in Shepton Mallet. It was there also that Robert ran an academy for young men. Sadly some great tragedy fell upon the house, when Robert died just a few years later in 1838. As a result Julia, now a widow with two very young children, moved to a smaller house in Garston Street, where she opened a small grocery shop. It was there also that Julia was living with her two children in June 1841.