PART THIRTY-ONE

The Wiltshire to New Zealand Line

including the family line of Captain Clive Franklyn Collett (Ref. 31O5)

Updated January 2010

The July 2009 update saw the withdrawal of a random Collett family from the Appendix One at the end of this line, which has now been placed in its rightful place in Part 35 – The Melksham Line (see Ref. 35P43)

This is the family line of Phil Collett (Ref. 31R1) which is denoted by the names in capital letters and Shirley Anderson nee Collett (Ref. 31Q21) of Wiltshire whose line is denoted by the names underlined

It is also the family line of Ian King of Plymouth whose great great grandmother was Sarah Elizabeth Collett (Ref. 31N34)

It starts with William Collett (Ref. 44K7) whose earlier family members, dating back to 1595, can be found in Part 44 – The Malmesbury District Line (incorporating Broughton Gifford), with another branch of the family featuring in Part 35 – The Melksham Line

Previously this family line, and that of Captain Clive Franklyn Collett of New Zealand, was contained in two separate files which have now been amalgamated into this single line

Philip Goddard (Ref. 1R8) was the eldest son of Nell Collett (Ref. 1Q5) and Leslie Goddard and was born in Swindon on 02.08.1947. As a member of the Royal Air Force for almost fifteen years he had a great interest in everything to do with aviation. And so it was that, just prior to his untimely death in January 2005, he was making steady progress gathering together the details of the family and the life of the New Zealand First World War fighter pilot Captain Clive Franklyn Collett.

This section of the Collett family history was initially completed using the information he had collected, and to which other information has since been added.

There are locations in New Zealand in this family line that also appear in Part Six – The New Zealand Line, but to date no direct connection has been made that would link the two lines together

~~~

All of the locations referred to in this family line such as South Wraxall, Bradford-on-Avon, Atworth, Box, Monkton Farleigh, Walcot in Bath, Frankleigh in Bradford, and Melksham, all lie within a few miles of each other

In addition to all of the Colletts listed in this family line, many others with a South Wraxall connection have been found during its compilation. In the hope that they might one day be included, they are currently listed in an appendix at the end of this file for future reference

31K1	WILLIAM COLLETT (Ref. 44K7), who was born at Melksham in 1745 and was the son of Thomas Collett and Jane Woodman, was baptised at Melksham on 02.07.1745.
	When William was thirty-five he married the much younger Hester Redman at Melksham on 28.03.1780, where their three known children were also born. It is likely that the marriage may have produced other children in addition to those listed below.
	Hester Redman was born at Melksham and was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Redman. She was also baptised at Melksham on 10.03.1762 when she may have been up to two years old.
	31L1		Betty Collett		Born in 1780
	31L2		WILLIAM COLLETT		Born in 1785
	31L3		John Collett		Born in 1788
31K2	William Collett, whose date of birth or baptism has not so far determined, married Ann Morris at South Wraxall on 06.10.1791. This event possibly fixes William’s date of birth as being prior to 1770. However, with South Wraxall being less than five miles from Melksham there is the possibility that William had previously been married to Hester Redman, the son of Thomas Collett and Jane Woodman, therefore Ann Morris would have been his second wife.
	The only child of William and Ann that has been found to date is John, but at the moment there is nothing to confirm whether or not he had any siblings.
	31L4		John Collett		Born in 1799
31L1	Betty Collett was born at Melksham in August 1780 where she was baptised on 12.01.1781.
31L2	WILLIAM COLLETT was born at Melksham in March 1785 and was baptised there on 09.01.1786. He later married Harriet Mence at St James’ Church in Paddington, London on 21.12.1811. Harriet was born at St Pancras in London around 1790.
	It would seem that the early years of their married life were spent in or near Melksham where their first two children were born, even though these same two children were baptised in London. All of the couple’s other children were born in London following the family’s move to the capital during the Spring of 1814.
	At the time of the first UK national census in June 1841 William and Harriet were living at Shoreditch where many of their children were born. The census listed William and Harriet as both having a rounded age of 50 - all adult ages were ‘rounded’ to 5 and 10 years in this first census, while the age of children was recorded more accurately.
	William’s and Harriet’s children on that occasion were recorded as sons Charles 20, Edwin 17 and George 12, and daughters Helen 15 and Louisa aged 10.
	Ten years later William was more accurately described as being aged 65, while his wife was aged 61. At this time there place of residence was within the St Leonards district of Shoreditch and with them was their widowed son Charles 29, their unmarried son George, and daughter Louisa who was 19.
	William died just over five years later on 27.10.1856 at Dalston, a district without the Borough of Hackney in London. A search of the 1861 Census has not revealed the existence of his wife, so it may be assumed that Harriet had also died sometime after 30^th March 1851 and before 7^th April 1861.
	31M1		William B Collett twin		Born in 1814
	31M2		Harriet Collett twin		Born in 1814
	31M3		Hester Collett		Born in 1815
	31M4		Henry Collett		Born in 1817
	31M5		Charles Collett		Born in 1821
	31M6		EDWIN COLLETT		Born in 1824
	31M7		Helen Collett		Born in 1825
	31M8		Alfred Collett		Born in 1827
	31M9		George Collett		Born in 1829
	31M10		Louisa Caroline Collett		Born in 1831
	31M11		Frederick William Collett		Born in 1833
	31M12		Horace Walter Collett		Born in 1835
31L3	John Collett was born at Melksham in 1788. And it was at Melksham that he married Charlotte Crook on 28.11.1811. Charlotte was born in 1791 and she died in Wiltshire in 1837. John’s occupation was that of a farmer and he also died in Wiltshire but two years before his wife, on 20.08.1835.
	In the first national census, and following the deaths of their parents, the children of the family were living at “Wraxall Chipley, Bradford in Wiltshire”. There may be an error in this description as there are two villages named Wraxall neither of which is in Wiltshire. One lies south of Shepton Mallet in Somerset and the other one is near Nailsea to the west of Bristol.
	Also the village of Chipley lies close to Bradford-on-Tone in Somerset. Further research needs to be carried out to determine the precise details of the 1841 Census information as it would be more reasonable for the location to be South Wraxall near Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire.
	John and Charlotte are known to have had at least six children between 1811 and 1830, all of whom were born at South Wraxall near Bradford-on-Avon.
	31M13	Thomas Collett		Born in 1812
	31M14	William Collett		Born in 1816
	31M15	Betsy Collett		Born in 1817
	31M16	John Collett		Born in 1820
	31M17	Arabella Collett		Born in 1823
	31M18	Andrew William Collett		Born on 01.04.1829
31L4	John Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1799 although the exact details of his birth and his parentage have still to be discovered. What is known is that he married Martha, probably sometime just after 1820, and their two known sons were born while they were living at Atworth.
	According to the census of 1841 John and Martha were living within the Bradford–on-Avon registration district and both of them were listed with a rounded age of 40.
	John has so far not be located in the 1851 Census but his wife Martha, who was aged 55, was listed as living within the south-eastern registration district of Bradford-on-Avon.
	Martha seems to have died during the next decade, while John later reappeared and was listed in the 1861 Census as being a widower aged 61 while living within the south-eastern Bradford-on-Avon
	By the time of the 1881 Census widower John was aged 81 and was working as a general labourer while living at Main Street in Bradford-on-Avon. Living with him was his unmarried son Thomas Collett who was confirmed as having been born at Atworth.
	Atworth lies to the north-west of Melksham and is situated fairly close to South Wraxall. It seems very likely that John and Martha had more than just the two children indicated below.
	31M19	John Collett		Born in 1823
	31M20	Thomas Collett		Born in 1825
31M1	William B Collett was one half of a set of twins born at Melksham in 1814. However, both children were baptised on 01.06.1814 at Old Church in St Pancras following their parent’s move to London.
	Around 1838 William married Sarah P in London where she was born in 1816. The census of 1841 recorded William and Sarah as living at Bradford Chipley in Wiltshire with their first child Matilda who was one year old. William’s occupation was stated as being that of a yeoman, def. ‘a man who cultivates his own land’.
	Shortly after the census day in June that year the family was extended by the birth of a son while William and Sarah were still living within the Bradford-on-Avon area.
	By the time of the 1851 Census William and Sarah had returned to London where the family was living within the Stoke Newington with Hackney registration district. William was listed as a gardener aged 36 who had been born in Wiltshire, while his wife Sarah was aged 35.
	Ten years later in 1861 William B Collett aged 46 was a gardener and journeyman living within the Edmonton with Tottenham registration district with Sarah P Collett aged 45 and four of their five children. These were Henry was aged 20, Edward aged 9, Amy aged 7 and Francis aged 4.
	William’s occupation had changed to farmer by 1871, this being consistent with him being described as a yeoman thirty years earlier. The family living at Tottenham comprised William B Collett 56, his wife Sarah 54, and their daughter Amy aged 15 and their son ‘Frank’ for Francis aged 13.
	According to the next census of 1881 William and his wife were living at The Poplars, 9 Markfield Road in Tottenham. William gave his place of birth as South Wraxall and his aged as 67. His occupation was then recorded as that of a dairyman. Markfield Road was still there in 2009.
	His wife was aged 63 and her place of birth was confirmed as the City of London. Living with William and Sarah was their youngest daughter Amy who was then married to James Watson of London.
	Also listed with the family was granddaughter Ada Collett aged 13 years a milkmaid born at Tottenham. She was the daughter of the couple’s oldest son William Henry Collett. It can safely be assumed that Ada was working with her grandfather William at that time and in the same dairy business.
	As there appears to be no record of William or Sarah in either the 1891 or 1901 census records it must be assumed that both of them had died during the 1880s.
	31N1	Matilda Collett		Born in 1839
	31N2	William Henry Collett		Born in 1841
	31N3	Edward Collett		Born in 1851
	31N4	Amy Collett		Born in 1854
	31N5	Francis James Collett		Born in 1857
31M2	Harriet Collett was one half of a set of twins born at Melksham in 1814 just prior to her parents move to live in London. And it was after their arrival in London that she was baptised in a joint ceremony with her brother William (above) on 01.06.1814 at Old Church in St Pancras.
	It is understood that Harriet married a Mister Dalloway in London and that they lived for many years in the Shoreditch area of the city where her three younger brothers were born. In the 1881 Census she was described as a widow aged 67 born at Melksham and a laundress living at 31 St James Street in Shoreditch.
	Living with her at that address was her daughter Ellen aged 22 a milliner born at Shoreditch. Ellen was very likely the youngest of Harriet’s children taking account of the difference in their ages.
31M3	Hester Collett was born on 07.10.1815 at St James in Clerkenwell, Middlesex and was later baptised at Pentonville Chapel in St James on 25.10.1815.
	Hester married Edward Randall and by 1861 the couple were living in Clerkenwell with their four children. Esther was 45, Edward was 38, and their daughters Emma and Elizabeth were 12 and 4 respectively, while their sons William and Charles were 8 and 3.
	Twenty years later in 1881 Esther A Randall who had been born at Clerkenwell was 65 and a widow. At that time she was working as a general servant at the home of James D Cook a thirty-three years old maker of printing material living at 6 Gayhurst Road in Hackney with his large family.
31M4	Henry Collett was born on 05.09.1817 at Shoreditch in Middlesex and was later baptised at Christchurch St Leonard in Middlesex on 29.10.1817. However, with no apparent record of him in any census it is likely that he had died before 1841, although he would have been 24 and may have left the UK by then.
31M5	Charles Collett was born at Shoreditch on 15.04.1821 and was baptised there at St Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch on 14.10.1921. At the time of the 1841 Census Charles was aged 20 and was living at Shoreditch with his parents.
	He married (1) Elviner Mayhew Merry on 26.05.1847 at Hackney in London. Elviner was born on 04.09.1824 at Shoreditch and was the daughter of George and Charlotte Mayhew. However, within a year of their wedding day Elviner died on 15.02.1848 while the couple were living at Hackney. She was buried at Abney Park Cemetery in London on 19.02.1848.
	The 1851 Census recorded Charles as being a widower aged 29, by which time he had returned to living with his parents at Shoreditch St Leonards. During the period after the death of his wife Charles met (2) Martha Yates whom he eventually married at Hackney on 24.07.1852.
	Charles died eight years later while still living in Hackney area and, just like his first wife, he too was buried at Abney Park Cemetery on 15.03.1860. It is not known whether their marriage produced any children during the 1850s.
31M6	EDWIN COLLETT was born at Shoreditch on 09.01.1824 and was baptised at St Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch on 30.01.1824. He was listed as being aged 17 in the census of 1841 when he was living at Shoreditch with his family.
	He married Mary Cook on 15.04.1847 at Lambeth in Surrey. Mary was born at Southwark in London in 1824 and was the daughter of William Cook. The couple’s first two children were born at Lambeth but they then moved to live at Leytonstone where the next four children were born.
	By 1851 Edwin was aged 27 and Mary was 28 and the family was living at Leytonstone in the West Ham registration district of East London.
	Rather strangely there was no obvious census record of the family in the UK in 1861 even though their last three daughters were born at Hackney either side of this date. However, both Edwin and Mary were listed in the 1871 Census and were living at Hackney where Edwin was 47 and Mary 48.
	Two of their children were missing from the family in 1871 and these were their eldest daughter Mary who had died ten years earlier and their second daughter Clara who is also believed to have died, but no record to confirm this, apart from her absence in 1871, has so far been found.
	Edwin’s and Mary’s remaining children were listed as Horace 23, William 20, Julia 17, Eugenie 14, flora 12, Lily 10, and Elvina who was eight years old.
	Again, rather oddly, the family appear to be missing from the 1881 Census but had reappeared by 1891 and on this occasion Edwin and Mary were living at Wandsworth aged 67 and 68 respectively.
	Just over two years later Edwin died at Brixton on 15.07.1893 following which his wife later moved to Croydon. It was at Croydon where she was living in 1901 aged 78 and it was also there that she died on 27.03.1919.
	31N6		HORACE EDWIN COLLETT		Born in 1848
	31N7		Mary Louise Collett		Born in 1849
	31N8		William Collett		Born in 1850
	31N9		Clara Collett		Born in 1852
	31N10		Julia Collett		Born in 1853
	31N11		Eugenie Collett		Born in 1856
	31N12		Flora Emily Collett		Born in 1858
	31N13		Lily Collett		Born in 1860
	31N14		Elvina Mary Collett		Born in 1863
31M7	Helen Collett was born at Shoreditch on 31.12.1825 and was baptised there a month later on 27.01.1826 at St Leonard’s Church. She was aged 15 in 1841 and was living with her family at Shoreditch. At sometime within the next ten years it seems very likely that she was married as there was no record of her as Helen Collett in 1851.
31M8	Alfred Collett was born at Shoreditch on 03.07.1827 where he was baptised the following year at St Leonard’s Church on 16.03.1828. Unlike his siblings he was not living with his family at Shoreditch in 1841 when he would have been 13 or 14 years old, nor has he been located anywhere else.
31M9	George Collett was born at Shoreditch on 07.07.1829 and was baptised there on 20.09.1829 at St Leonard’s Church. By 1841 he was aged 12 and was living at the family home in Shoreditch.
	Ten years later he was aged 21 and was still living with his parents at Shoreditch St Leonards, but no trace of him has been found thereafter.
31M10	Louisa Caroline Collett was born at Shoreditch on 31.07.1831. She was baptised on 18.09.1831 seven weeks later in St Mary’s Church at nearby Haggerstone. In 1841 she was aged 10 and in 1851 was aged 19 and on both occasions was living with her parents at their Shoreditch home.
	Four years later she married John Cairns on 10.09.1855 at St John’s Church in Hackney. John’s parents were Charles Cairns and Frances Rockcliffe.
31M11	Frederick William Collett was born at Shoreditch on 29.05.1833 and was baptised there at St Leonard’s Church on 10.07.1833.
	He married Sindia Frances Turner on 18.05.1857 at Old Church in St Pancras. Sindia was born in 1836 at Bethnal Green and was the daughter of Joseph Turner.
	At the time of the birth of their only child, Frederick was working as a book keeper with a carrier company at a time when he and Sindia were living at 18 Weymouth Terrace in Shoreditch.
	By 1881 Frederick and Sindia had moved to Islington and were living at 11 Pleasant Row. Frederick was aged 47 and was confirmed as having been born at Shoreditch. His occupation was that of a cabman. His wife was aged 44 and was of Bethnal Green and she was working as a milliner.
	Whether by coincident or not, but living at 5 Pleasant Row in nearby Shoreditch in 1871 was Frederick’s cousin Andrew Collett (below) and his family.
	And it was also at Islington that Frederick died in 1886. Sindia, who was referred to sometimes as Lydia in some census records, died in 1901.
	31N15	Charles Frederick Collett		Born on 25.09.1857
31M12	Horace Walter Collett was born at Shoreditch on 22.08.1835 where he was baptised on 11.09.1835 at St Leonard’s Church. Sadly he only lived to be four years of age before he died at Bethnal Green on 21.11.1839 and was buried there at St Matthews Church.
31M13	Thomas Collett was the first born child of John and Charlotte Collett. He was born at South Wraxall in 1812 shortly after they were married. His parents both died in the late 1830s by which time Thomas had married Sarah. The 1841 Census recorded Thomas and Sarah as both having the ‘rounded’ age of 30 years.
	The census for Bradford-on-Avon indicated that Thomas had taken on the role of head of the household following the earlier deaths of his parents, and living with him and Sarah were four of Thomas’ five siblings.
	These were his sisters Betsy aged 23 and Arabella aged 17, and his brothers John aged 20 and Andrew aged 11. Thomas’ other brother William (below) had already left the family home by this time.
	Ten years later in 1851 Thomas’ wife Sarah was confirmed as being aged 38 but there was no Thomas living with her. The children living with her at South Wraxall at that time were all born there and they were Thomas aged 8, Sarah aged 6, Thirza aged 4, and Henry who was one year old.
	So far it has not been determined where the family was living in 1861. Only daughter Thirza has been located and she was living in the Corsham area of Wiltshire where she was referred to as Theresa aged 14 who was born at South Wraxall.
	By the time of the 1871 Census Sarah was 58 and was living in the Bradford-on-Avon north-western registration district where, ten years later, she was living with her married daughter Thirza Gale at 1 Bridge Cottages in Box in Wiltshire.
	According to the 1881 Census, Sarah Collett was born at South Wraxall and was a widow aged 69. Her daughter Thirza A Gale was aged 34 and was born at South Wraxall.
	Thirza’s husband was Samuel Gale, a 39 years old stone quarry foreman who had been born at Box. And living with them was their son George H Gale aged 10 and their daughter Sarah Gale aged 7, both recorded as having been born at Box, only a couple of miles north of South Wraxall.
	31N16	Thomas Collett		Born in 1842
	31N17	Sarah Collett		Born in 1844
	31N18	Thirza Collett		Born in 1846
	31N19	Henry Collett		Born in 1849
31M14	William Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1816 and he later became a carpenter and was just one of many men in this family who worked with wood. In the early 1840s he married Helen who had been born at Monkton Farleigh in Wiltshire in 1818.
	The family was listed in the 1861 Census for the Bradford-on-Avon north-western registration district which includes both South Wraxall and Monkton Farleigh. William was 44, his wife Helen was 42, and their children were Edwin 15, Ann 14, Daniel 13, William 12, Mary Jane 10, Thomas 8, Helen 4, George 3, and Mary who was one year old.
	William’s and Helen’s second son Whyatt was not listed with the family on this occasion, although it is possible that it was he who was recorded as Daniel aged thirteen, being of the same age.
	In 1881 William aged 64 was a carpenter living at Bubble Heap in Monkton Farleigh where their children were born. His place of birth was confirmed as South Wraxall.
	Living with him was his wife Helen aged 62 and his unmarried son George Collett aged 22. George was confirmed as having been born at Monkton Farleigh and his occupation was that of a carpenter like his father William and his older brother Whyatt.
	31N20	Edwin Collett		Born in 1845
	31N21	Ann Collett		Born in 1846
	31N22	Whyatt Collett		Born in 1847
	31N23	William Collett		Born in 1848
	31N24	Mary Jane Collett		Born in 1851
	31N25	Thomas Collett		Born in 1853
	31N26	Helen Collett		Born in 1856
	31N27	George Collett		Born in 1858
	31N28	Mary Collett		Born in 1859
31M15	Betsy Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1817 and was aged 23 in the 1841 Census for Bradford-on-Avon. With both her parents having died during the six years prior to the census date, Betsy was living with her older married brother Thomas Collett and his wife Sarah.
31M16	John Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1820. He married Sarah around 1850 and both were listed in the following year’s census for the Bradford-on-Avon south-eastern registration area aged 31 and 27 respectively.
	Ten years later John was aged 42 and Sarah 37 and living with them was their daughter Sarah aged 8 and their son John aged 3.
	The 1871 Census gave more precise details of their two children. This stated that their daughter was Sarah Mary Collett aged 18 and that their son was John Stamin Collett aged 13. There was no record of the children’s father so he may have died during the 1860s.
	Certainly by 1881 Sarah H Collett, aged 59 who had been born at Harwich in Essex, was a widow living at Main Street in Bradford-on-Avon. Also living on Main Street that same year was 81 years old John Collett (Ref. 31L4) and his son Thomas (below) aged 56.
	Living with Sarah was her unmarried son John S Collett aged 23, a carpenter who was born at Atworth. By this time Sarah’s unmarried daughter Sarah Mary Collett was aged 27 and had already left the family home and was living and working at Shaw Hill House on the Bath Road in Melksham.
	31N29	Sarah Mary Collett		Born in 1853
	31N30	John Stamin Collett		Born in 1857
31M17	Arabella Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1823. It was as Arabella that she was recorded in the 1841 Census aged 17 when she was living with her older married brother Thomas Collett (above) following the deaths of both of their parents.
	Twenty years later, according to the 1861 Census, she was listed as being Annabella and at that time she was living at a house in Church Street in Bingham just east of Nottingham.
31M18	Andrew William Collett was born at South Wraxall on 01.04.1829 and was baptised that same day at St James’ Church in South Wraxall. Following the death of his father when he was only 6 years old and his mother when only 8 years of age, Andrew was placed under the care of his older married brother Thomas Collett (above) at his home in Bradford-on-Avon where, in 1841, he was aged 11.
	At the time of his marriage to Sarah Curnick, nine years later on 12.05.1850 at Walcot Parish Church, Andrew was a resident at 7 Guinea Lane in the Walcot district of Bath.
	Sarah was the daughter of Robert and Hester Curnick and was baptised on 03.06.1827 at Winsley a village to the west of Bradford-on-Avon. In 1841 Sarah was living with her parents at Beanacre near Melksham, but at the time of the wedding her address was given as being 5 Myrtle Place in Walcot.
	Ten months after their wedding day the couple were living at Atworth in the Melksham registration area where they were recorded in the 1851 Census. Andrew was aged 22 and Sarah was 24. Shortly after this the couple moved to live at Portsea in Portsmouth where their first child was born.
	It would appear that they were only at Portsea for a short while since their next two children were born while the family was living south of the Thames in London. However, their fourth and fifth children, Sarah and William, were born at Shepton Mallet and Clifton in Bristol respectively, before the family returned to London where the last two children were born.
	These changes of address in fairly quick succession perhaps indicate that it was Andrew’s occupation as a cabinet maker that was the reason for their mobility.
	At the time of the birth of their son John in 1856, Andrew and Sarah were living at 54 Hardwick Place in Plumstead near Woolwich, but five years later in 1861 the census confirmed that the family had moved again and on this occasion they were living at 20 Holywell Row in Shoreditch.
	Appendix Two at the end of this family line includes another connection with Plumstead.
	The family at that time comprised Andrew aged 32 and his wife Sarah, and their children Margaret (who must have been Mary) aged 8 and born at Portsmouth, Thomas R (who must have been John R) aged 5, Sarah E aged 3, and William A who was under one year old.
	In addition to the changed names for the couple’s two oldest children, there was no daughter Charlotte. Instead there was a child by the name of Blanche who was the corresponding age of six years that Charlotte would have been. The differing name for their oldest son continued in subsequent censuses.
	Further changes of address took place during the 1860s and the 1870s. In 1871 they were living at 5 Pleasant Row in Shoreditch at which time the family comprised Andrew 42, Sarah 44, and their children Mary A aged 18, John R aged 15, William A aged 11, Henry aged 5, and 2 years old George.
	It may be of interest to note that in 1881 11 Pleasant Row in nearby Islington was the home of Andrew’s cousin Frederick Collett (above) who was born at Shoreditch.
	By the twenty-second of April in 1877 the family was residing at George Street in Bethnal Green, but four years after that they had moved yet again and were recorded in the 1881 Census as living at 31 Homer Road in the Homerton area of Hackney.
	The family at that time was made up of cabinet maker Andrew aged 52, Sarah aged 54 and an upholstress born at Winsley in Wiltshire, their sons William 20 who had been born at Bristol, Henry 15 who had been born within the City of London, and George aged 11 who was born at Shoreditch.
	The house at 31 Homer Road must have been a fairly large property since it was also home to two of Andrew’s and Sarah’s married children. The first of these was their son Thomas (previously John) and his wife Sarah, and the second was their eldest daughter Mary and her husband William Cottle, plus their three children.
	Sometime during the next ten to fifteen years Andrew and Sarah moved to 2 The Grove in Mare Street in Hackney where they were living at the time of Andrew’s death. He died on 28.10.1899 at the Homerton Infirmary in Hackney, the cause of death being recorded as senile decay, and acute pneumonia with which he had suffered during the previous eight days.
	Following the death of her husband, Sarah left The Grove and settled in her new home at 72 Chalgrove Road in Hackney where she continued to work as an upholsterer. However, Sarah was only a widow for just over two years when she died on 12.01.1902 at the Braxton Infirmary in Hackney. The cause of death was recorded as senile decay and bronchitis.
	31N31	Mary Arabella Collett		Born in 1852
	31N32	Charlotte Matilda Collett		Born in 1854
	31N33	John Robert Collett		Born on 21.03.1856
	31N34	Sarah Elizabeth Collett		Born on 23.04.1858
	31N35	William Andrew Collett		Born in 1860
	31N36	Henry John Collett		Born in 1865
	31N37	George Frederick Collett		Born in 1869
31M19	John Collett was born at Atworth in 1823. He married Ann in the late 1840s and they subsequently moved to Maesteg in South Wales where they were living in 1851. The only other person listed living with the couple on that occasion was John’s younger brother Thomas (below) although four years later Ann presented John with a daughter.
	No record of the family has been found in 1861, but according to the census of 1871 they were still living at Maesteg near Bridgend. John was aged 47 and his place of birth was confirmed as having been Atworth, while his wife was 48 and their daughter Mary was 14 years old.
	Sometime during the next decade the family move to 2 Concrete Cottages in Cwmdu in Glamorgan where they were living in April 1881. John’s occupation was that of a carter and haulier at the age of 57 and Ann was 58. No place of birth was given for either of them in the 1881 Census, by which time their daughter had married and left the family home.
	31N38	Mary Ann Collett		Born in 1856
31M20	Thomas Collett was born at Atworth in 1825. At the time of the 1851 Census he was confirmed as having been born at Atworth and was aged 26 while living at Maesteg near Bridgend in South Wales with his brother John (above).
	Although no record of Thomas has so far been found in 1861, he was back living with his recently widowed father at Bradford-on-Avon by April 1871.
	He never married and in 1881 he was 56 and was still living with his eighty-one years old father John Collett at Main Street in Bradford-on-Avon. Under occupation Thomas was described as being a former domestic servant.
31N1	Matilda Collett was born in Wiltshire in 1839 and appeared at the age of one year in the 1841 Census for Bradford-on-Avon registration district. It is not known if she survived beyond childhood as no further census records for her have been found to date.
31N2	William Henry Collett, who was referred to as Henry, was born at South Wraxall in 1841 but after the sixth of June when the first national census was conducted that year, so placing his date of birth between then and the end of that year.
	By the time of the 1861 Census he was 20 and was living with his parents at the family home in Tottenham. A few years later he married Mary A around the middle of the 1860s and together they had two daughters, both of whom were born at Tottenham.
	The 1881 Census recorded William H Collett as an out of work publican aged 39 who had been born at South Wraxall. Living with him at 2 Cambrian Cottages in Markfield Road in Tottenham was his wife Mary who was 48 and who had been born at Ipswich and their oldest daughter Elizabeth aged 15.
	The couple’s younger daughter Ada Collett was 13 as was recorded in the census as living nearby at the home of her grandfather William Collett at The Poplars, 9 Markfield Road in Tottenham. Her occupation was that of dairymaid, so she was presumably working with her grandfather who was a dairyman.
	31O1	Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1866 at Tottenham, London
	31O2	Ada Collett		Born in 1868
31N3	Edward Collett was born at Tottenham in 1851 and was aged 9 when he was living with his parents at Tottenham in 1861. What happened to him after that has still to be established.
31N4	Amy Collett was born at Tottenham in 1854 and was recorded as living there with her family aged 7 and aged 15 in censuses of 1861 and 1871. She later married James Watson who was a hairdresser and who was born in the City of London in 1856.
	According to the 1881 Census, Amy aged 26 and James aged 25 were living with Amy’s parents at The Poplars, 9 Markfield Road in Tottenham.
31N5	Francis James Collett, who was often referred to as Frank, was born at Tottenham in 1857. He was aged 4 and 13 in the censuses of 1861 and 1871 and was living with his parents at their home in Tottenham.
	Towards the end of the 1870s Francis married Elizabeth and by the time of the 1881 Census the couple were living at 12 Bridport Place in Hoxton overlooking Shoreditch Park.
	Francis was listed as being aged 24, a packing case maker and carpenter, while his wife Elizabeth was a wooden box maker aged 25 who had also been born at Tottenham. Living with them was their four months old daughter Florence, who was also born there.
	By the turn of the century the family of three was still living at Tottenham and the 1901 Census listed them as Francis James Collett aged 44 and born at Tottenham, his wife Elizabeth Jane aged 45 of Shoreditch, and their daughter Florence Amy aged 20 who had been born at Hoxton.
	Francis’ occupation at that time was that of a cabinet maker. Ten years later in April 1911 the family of three were living within the Edmonton district of London, which includes Tottenham, and was Francis who was 54, Elizabeth who was 55, and their daughter Florence who was 29.
	31O3	Florence Amy Collett		Born in December 1880
31N6	HORACE EDWIN COLLETT was born at Lambeth on 20.01.1848. By the time he was 23 Horace was still a bachelor and was still living with his family at Hackney in April 1871. Some time thereafter he emigrated to New Zealand.
	When he arrived in New Zealand has not been determined but it was there on 04.09.1882 that he married Alice Marguerite Radford. The wedding took place at a private residence in Marlboroughtown which today is Spring Creek in the Marlborough region of New Zealand’s south island.
	Alice had been born on 21.11.1860 at Shoreditch and was the daughter of Samuel Radford and his wife Sarah Anne Helena Benham. How or when she sailed to New Zealand has also not been discovered, but there is a possibility that she met Horace during the sea voyage.
	At the time of the birth of the couple’s second son at Blenheim within the Marlborough district, the child’s birth record stated that his father Horace Collett was from Tauranga on the Bay of Plenty to the south of Auckland on the north island of New Zealand.
	And certainly Horace was living on the north island of New Zealand when he died on 20.12.1902 at Auckland and was buried the following day at Purewa Cemetery at Meadowbank in Auckland.
	His widow Alice survived him by almost thirty years when she later died at Epsom (near Meadowbank) in Auckland on 18.08.1931. Alice was buried with Horace at Purewa Cemetery in Meadowbank the day after she had died.
	31O4		Horace Claude Collett		Born in 1883
	31O5		Clive Franklyn Collett		Born in 1887
	31O6		Norman Edwin Collett		Born in 1888
	31O7		Spencer Huia Collett		Born in 1892
31N7	Mary Louise Collett was born at Lambeth on 15.03.1849. She was a few months short of her thirteenth birthday when she died on 01.11.1861 at Hackney and was buried at Abney Park Cemetery on 06.11.1861.
31N8	William Collett was born at Leytonstone on 30.09.1850 and was aged 20 in 1871 when he was still living with his parents. Having seen his older brother Horace (above) sail off to a new life in New Zealand, it seems likely that this may have influenced him to emigrate to South Africa.
	Once in South Africa William met and later married Anna Susanna Basson who was born at Uitenhage in South Africa in 1860. It is likely that the couple were married just after 1880 although not record of this has so far been found.
	Their marriage produced five children for William and Anna and this may have happened while they were living at Port Elizabeth before William died there at the age of fifty-three.
	He died at Moor Park in Port Elizabeth in South Africa on 21.11.1902, while Anna lived on at Port Elizabeth for another forty-three years before she died on 17.07.1945 at Port Elizabeth on the Cape of Good Hope.
	31O8		William Edwin Collett		Born circa 1884
	31O9		Constance Louise Beatrice Collett		Born circa 1886 at Port Elizabeth
	31O10		Horace Owen Collett		Born circa 1888
	31O11		Reginald Harry Collett		Born circa 1890
	31O12		Neville Collett		Born circa 1892 at Port Elizabeth
31N9	Clara Collett was born at Leytonstone on 03.04.1852 but it would appear that she too, like her sister Mary (above), also suffered a childhood death as no further record of her has ever been found. Certainly she was not listed with her family at Hackney in 1871.
31N10	Julia Collett was born at Leytonstone on 30.12.1853 and she was aged 17 at the time of the Hackney census of 1871 when she was still living with her family.
	She later married Henry Astill Geake on 13.04.1882 at All Hallows Church in Tottenham. Henry was born at Mayfair in 1855 and both of their children were born at Southwark.
	In 1901 Julia and Henry were living within the St Saviours area of Southwark. Julia was listed as being 47 and born at Leyton in Essex, while Henry was 45 and of St Georges Hanover Square in Mayfair. His occupation was described as being a clerk in holy orders with the Church of England.
	Still living with them was their son Harry B Geake who was 17 years old and who was working as a bank clerk. His place of birth was confirmed as having been at Southwark. The couple’s daughter Frances C Geake was 15 and was undertaking her education at Devonport in Plymouth.
	Henry Geake died at Croydon in Surrey on 01.11.1915 and was followed six years later by his wife Julia Geake on 07.01.1921.
	31O13		Harry Blake Geake		Born in 1883 at Southwark
	31O14		Frances Constance Geake		Born in 1885 at Southwark
31N11	Eugenie Collett was born at Leytonstone on 04.04.1856 and was baptised at Leyton in Essex six months later on 19.10.1856 as the daughter of Edwin and Mary Collett. By April 1871 she was fourteen and was living at Hackney with her family.
	No record of Eugenie or her family has been found in the census of 1881, but by 1891 she was 35 and living in the Wandsworth area of London with her parents, and this was followed ten years later by the 1901 Census in which she was 44 and living in Croydon with her widowed mother.
	By April 1911 Eugenie Collett was living in the Lambeth area of London at the age of 54, so this would seem to indicate that she was never married. What is known is that it was as Eugenie Collett that she died at Croydon on 08.04.1935.
31N12	Flora Emily Collett was born at Hackney on 19.12.1858 and was twelve years of age at the time of the 1871 Census when she was still living with her parents at Hackney.
31N13	Lily Collett was born at Hackney on 26.07.1860 and was 10 in 1871 when living at Hackney with her family. It seems very likely that she may have emigrated to South Africa with her older brother William (above) but this happened after she was married and after her four children had been born.
	She married William Thomas Hooker on 08.08.1883 at All Hallows Church in Tottenham. William was the son of William Thomas Hooker and Sophia Elizabeth Newman and was born at Bethnal Green in 1853.
	Their children were all born in London, the first two at Stoke Newington and the second two at Stamford Hill.
	Sometime after 1890 the whole family moved to live in South Africa where they settled at Pinetown in Natal. William died when his youngest child was around twelve years of age leaving Lily to bring up her children single-handedly.
	William died at Pinetown on 18.01.1902 and was buried there in the St John’s Church Cemetery. Lily lived a widow’s life for the next forty-two years before she too died at Pinetown on 02.09.1944 and was also buried in St John’s Church Cemetery with her husband.
	It is believed, although not confirmed, that their two sons William and Henry died in 1912 and 1959 respectively, and both of them in South Africa.
	31O15		Cicely Hooker		Born in 1884 at Stoke Newington
	31O16		Violet Louisa Hooker		Born in 1886 at Stoke Newington
	31O17		William Edwin Hooker		Born in 1887 at Stamford Hill
	31O18		Henry Charles Hooker		Born in 1889 at Stamford Hill
31N14	Elvina Mary Collett was born at South Hackney on 08.03.1863 and was recorded as being 8 years old in the Hackney census of 1871. It seems unlikely that she ever married but it would appear that she joined her sister Lily (above) when she and her family emigrated to South Africa.
	Elvina died at Pinetown in Natal on 09.08.1931 and like her brother-in-law and her sister Lily, she too was buried in the cemetery of St John’s Church in Pinetown.
31N15	Charles Frederick Collett was born at Shoreditch on 25.09.1857 and at the time his parents registered the birth the family was living at 18 Weymouth Terrace in Shoreditch.
	Charles was a gold chain maker and in 1879 he married (1) Louisa Grist who was born at Chelsea in 1857. The couple started out their married life at Shoreditch where their first child was born.
	By the time of the 1881 Census Charles and Louisa were living at 115 Shaftsbury Street in Shoreditch. Charles and Louisa were both aged 24 and their places of birth were stated respectively as Shoreditch and Chelsea.
	Living with them was their one year old daughter Florence and a lodger, the widow Mary Ann Thompson who was a mantle maker of 41 from Whitechapel. Shortly after the census day Louisa presented her husband with their second child.
	In the mid 1880s Charles moved out of the family home in Shoreditch, leaving Louisa to look after her two daughters alone. A divorce for the couple may have followed as Charles later married or simply lived with (2) Mary Ellen Carter.
	Mary was the daughter of Peter Carter and Emma Gee and was born at Poulton near Fairford in Gloucestershire in 1855.
	Certainly on the birth certificate for the couple’s first child their names as the parents were recorded as being, Charles Collett – the father, and Mary Collett – the mother. The same birth certificate, which was for their son Frederick, gave their address at that time as 85 St John Street Road in Holborn.
	By the turn of the century Charles F Collett 43 was working as a commercial coachman while living at Clerkenwell with his wife Mary E Collett 46 and of Fairford, and their three youngest children, all of whom were listed as having been born at Clerkenwell. These were Charles 9 and twins May and Rose who were six.
	Also at that time Charles’ first wife Louisa and her two daughters were living in Shoreditch. The census of 1901 recorded the three of them as Louisa Collett 41 who was born at Knightsbridge, Florence Collett aged 21 and born at Hoxton, and Eleanor Collett 19 who was also born at Hoxton.
	All three ladies were employed at that time by the shirt manufacturer Lee & Scorf as all three were listed as being shirt makers for the company. It is unsure exactly what happened to Louisa and her daughters after this time as no record of any of them has been found in the census of 1911.
	On the other hand, Charles and Mary were listed in the Islington area of London with just three of their four children. Charles was 54, Mary was 56, their son Charles was 18 and the twins were both 16.
	Their son Frederick was married by then and was also living nearby in the Islington district of London.
	31O19		Florence Louisa Collett		Born in 1880
	31O20		Eleanor G Collett		Born in 1881
	31O21		Fredrick Charles Philip Collett		Born in 1887
	31O22		Charles Collett		Born in 1892
	31O23		May Collett twin		Born in 1894
	31O24		Rose Collett twin		Born in 1894
31N16	Thomas Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1842 and was aged 8 in the 1851 Census for the Bradford-on-Avon south-eastern registration district where he was living with his mother and the rest of his family.
	Twenty years later at the age of 28 Thomas was living within the north-western registration area of Bradford which once again confirmed he was born at South Wraxall.
	It was around four or five years later that he married Martha who was ten years younger that Thomas, Martha having been born at Annington-on-Avon (?) in 1852. According to the 1881 Census Thomas Collett of South Wraxall was 38 and was employed as a sawyer and parish clerk at Lower Wraxall near Bradford-on-Avon, while his wife Martha was 28.
	The marriage had produced four children for the couple by that time and all of them had been born at South Wraxall. These were Thomas Jonathan aged 4, Henry aged 3, Alice aged 2, and three months old William.
	It seems very likely that shortly after the census day in 1881 Thomas’ wife Martha died, since it would appear that he later married Cecilia Morris. Cecilia was the daughter of George Morris of South Wraxall and his wife Ann, and she was still living with her parents at Lower Wraxall in 1881 aged 28
	Certainly in the next two censuses of 1891 and 1901 Thomas’ wife was referred to as Cecilia. In the first of these Thomas was aged 48 and living with him was his wife Cecilia aged 38 and all four of his children aged 14, 13, 12 and 10 respectively.
	However, just after the turn of the century only Thomas aged 58 and Cecilia aged 50 were still living at South Wraxall. The census of 1901 confirmed that Cecilia was born at South Wraxall like Thomas who was working as a domestic gardener.
	Their daughter Alice had left home to be married by then and two of their sons had moved to Yorkshire where they were employed on the railway. The couple’s other son Henry was still living locally in Bradford-on-Avon.
	31O25	Thomas Jonathan Collett		Born in 1876
	31O26	Henry Collett		Born in 1877
	31O27	Alice Collett		Born in 1878
	31O28	William Collett		Born in 1880
31N17	Sarah Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1844 and was aged 6 in the 1851 Census, but no record of her has been found after that time.
31N18	Thirza A Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1846 and was aged 4 in 1851. In 1861, at the age of 14 and recorded as Theresa Collett, she was living and working at Corsham in Wiltshire. She later married Samuel Gale who was born at Box in Wiltshire and with whom she had at least two children.
	According to the 1881 Census Thirza A Gale aged 34 and her husband Samuel aged 39, a stone quarry foreman, were living at 1 Bridge Cottages in Box. Living with them were their two daughters Alice Gale aged 12 and Sarah Gale aged 7, and their son George H Gale aged 10, and all born at Box.
	Also living with the family was Thirza’s widowed mother Sarah Collett aged 69 whose relationship to Samuel Gale as head of the house was that of his mother-in-law.
31N19	Henry Collett was born at South Wraxall in 1849 and was one year old at the time of the 1851 Census. No other record has been found for Henry until the 1881 Census by which time he was married with three children.
	During those intervening years Henry had married Elizabeth around the early half of the 1870s. Although Elizabeth had been born at Marshfield in Gloucestershire in 1853 once married the couple lived at Bath where their three children were born.
	According to the census of 1881 Henry and his family were living at 2 Yew Cottages in Lyncombe-with-Widcombe district of Bath just a mile from the city centre. Henry of South Wraxall was 31 and was working as a dairyman.
	His wife Elizabeth of Marshfield was 27 and listed with the couple was their three children Alice aged 4, Thomas aged 3, and baby Frank who was just three months old, and confirmed as having been born in Bath.
	Ten years later the family still at Lyncombe-with-Widcombe was Henry 41, Elizabeth 38, Alice 14, Thomas 13 and ten years old Frank.
	The whole family was still living at Bath just after the turn of the century. In the Bath census of 1901 Henry was no longer a dairyman but was described as a farmer aged 51, his wife Elizabeth was 48, and their unmarried children were Alice 24, Thomas 23, and Frank who was 19.
	During the next few years Elizabeth died leaving Henry a widower by the time of the census of 1911. The census that year recorded Henry Collett as being a 61 years old widower, and a farmer who had been born at South Wraxall.
	On that occasion he was living at Violet Bank in Widcombe Hill in Bath and the only one of his children still living with him was his son Thomas with his wife and his three daughters.
	31O29	Alice Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1876
	31O30	Thomas Henry Collett		Born in 1877
	31O31	Frank Albert Collett		Born in 1880
31N20	Edwin Collett was born at Monkton Farleigh in 1845 as confirmed by the 1851 Census in which he was listed as being aged 5 and the 1861 Census in which he was aged 15. On both occasions he was living with his family within the north-western registration district of Bradford-on-Avon.
	It seems likely that it was his occupation as a carpenter that resulted in him travelling a lot to find work and in 1871 the only Edwin of the right age was working at Branborough in Doncaster aged 25.
	Shortly after this he returned to the west country and initially settled in Bath where he married Mary Ann and where their first child was born. Within a year the family of three had moved to Bristol where their second child was born, before returning to Bath for the birth of their third child.
	It is possible that it was during these years in the late 1870s that Edwin suffered an accident that rendered him blind which forced him to give up his work as a carpenter.
	According to the 1881 Census, Edwin and Mary Ann were living at 7 Dover Terrace in the Walcot district of Bath. The census record confirmed that Edwin at 35 had been born at Monkton Farleigh and that he was blind and an out of work carpenter.
	His wife was 31 and her place of birth was confirmed as Bath. The couple’s three sons at that time were listed as William aged 6 who was born at Bath, Edwin aged 4 who was born at Bristol, and ten months old Reginald who had also been born at Bath.
	With Edwin unable to earn a wage his wife Mary was the income provider through her work as a milliner. The family also took in lodgers to supplement Mary’s income and living with them at that time was lodger and bird stuffer Julia Stower aged 24 from Box.
	The couple’s fourth son was born two years after the census year while the family was still living at Walcot in Bath.
	It would appear that Edwin may have died prior to 1891 as no record of him or his family has so far been located for that year. By 1901 his wife Mary A Collett of Bath and aged 51 was a widow and was continuing her occupation as a milliner while still living in Bath. With her was her youngest son Arthur who was 18 and also born at Bath.
	Mary Ann Collett was again recorded as living at Bath in April 1911 when she was 61. And it was while she was living at 6 Highbury Terrace in Bath in October 1917 that she received the tragic news of the death of her youngest son Arthur who was killed at Ypres in the Great War.
	31O32	William H Collett		Born in 1874
	31O33	Edwin G Collett		Born in 1876
	31O34	Reginald H Collett		Born in 1880
	31O35	Arthur Thomas Collett		Born in 1883
31N21	Ann Collett was born at Monkton Farleigh in 1846 and was 14 in 1851. At the age of 35 she was still a spinster and was working as a domestic servant and house maid at Clifton in Bristol.
	The 1881 Census recorded her as Annie 35, living and working at the home of George R Woodward a magistrate, alderman and vinegar maker of 1 Cornwallis Grove in Clifton.
	It seems likely that she eventually married a Mr Mortimer as an Ann Mortimer born at Monkton Farleigh was aged 45 and 55 in the 1891 and 1901 Census records and was living at Trowbridge for the latter.
31N22	Whyatt Collett was born at Monkton Farleigh in 1847. So far no record has been found of Whyatt in the census details for 1851, 1861 or 1871. However, it has been established that Whyatt married Jane in 1873 from the census record of 1911 which stated that the couple had been married for 37 years.
	By 1881 Whyatt was 33 and was a carpenter living at 8 Lambridge Street in the Walcot district of Bath. Living with him was his wife Jane aged 37 who was confirmed as having been born at Churchill in Somerset.
	Living with them were their sons Edgar aged 6 who had been born at Atworth, Whyatt aged 3 who had been born at Frankleigh in Bradford-on-Avon, and one year old Frederick who had been born at Walcot, plus their daughter Frances aged 5 who was also born at Frankleigh.
	Three more children were added to the family over the next ten years and sometime between 1884 and 1888 the family left the Walcot district of Bath and by 1891 they were recorded as living at Twerton to the west of Bath. That year’s census recorded the family as Whyatt aged 43, Jane 47 and their children Edgar 16, Frances 15, Whyatt 12, Frederick, 9, Sidney 8, Albert 5, and Helen aged 4.
	At the turn of the century they were still living at Twerton where 53 years old Whyatt was employed as a carpenter and binder. Jane was then 57 and just five of her children were still living in the family home. These were Whyatt 23, Frederick 21, Sidney 18, Albert 16 and Helen aged 14.
	The Bath census of 1911 also confirmed that Whyatt and Jane were living at 106 West Avenue in Twerton. Carpenter and joiner Whyatt Collett of Monkton Farleigh was 63, while his wife Jane from Churchill near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset was 67. The only member of their family still living with them at that time was their son Whyatt.
	31O36