PART THIRTY-EIGHT

The Oxford Stonemasons Line

Updated April 2011

By May 2010 the size of this file was such that it was too large for emailing. It was therefore decided to separate the details and provide two files, one for the village of Combe and one for the village of Wolvercote
As the title indicates, this line is inextricably linked to the prominent family occupation of being stonemasons and affects the families in the Oxfordshire villages of Combe and Wolvercote. There are clues that perhaps suggest the families in these two villages are related, but for now they are shown as two separate families.
SECTION TWO – COMBE (1730 to 1920)
In order to avoid any conflict or confusion with the Colletts in Section One – Wolvercote, this section is distinguished from it by the use of a corresponding lower case middle reference letter
The first link to Section One – Wolvercote occurs with James Collett (Ref. 38m8), the youngest son of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett of Combe, who start this section. In addition to this, other links between the two branches of the family were later established in 1847, through the marriage of Ann Collett (Ref. 38o11) and Matthew Collett (Ref. 38N6), and more recently in 1930 through the marriage of Kathleen Grace Ellen Collett (Ref. 38q60) and Cyril Edward Collett (Ref. 38Q26), the parents of Wendy Kathleen Rattray nee Collett, who kindly provided the details of her family.
The start of this section, and the order of appearance of the early members of the family and their referencing, has been further complicated by the life of William Collett (Ref. 38n5) whose widow Phoebe married William’s cousin Richard Collett (Ref. 38n9) who subsequently married his late wife’s sister Rachel
38l1	THOMAS COLLETT was born possibly around 1733 although no actual record of his birth or baptism has so far been located. What is known is that he married Elizabeth who was born around 1742 but, yet again, no record has been found relating to the date or the place where their marriage took place.
	What is known is that their children were born and baptised at Combe in Oxfordshire, as confirmed by the parish register. The village of Combe lies just north of Long Hanborough and to the west of Blenheim Palace at Woodstock
	The burial records for Combe confirm Thomas died at 83 years of age and was buried at Combe on 08.03.1816. His wife Elizabeth survived for a further thirteen years and was also buried at Combe on 27.12.1829 aged 87.
	A recent discovery has revealed that a Thomas Collett was baptised on 19.11.1732 at Enstone, less than five miles from Combe, the baptism record confirming that he was the son of Thomas and Sarah Collett.
	38m1	Joseph Collett		Born in 1768 at Combe
	38m2	Rose Collett		Born in 1770 at Combe
	38m3	John Collett		Born circa 1771 at Combe
	38m4	Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1773 at Combe
	38m5	Rhoda Collett		Born in 1776 at Combe
	38m6	Anthony Collett		Born in 1778 at Combe
	38m7	Robert Collett		Born in 1781 at Combe
	38m8	JAMES COLLETT		Born in 1784 at Combe
38m1	Joseph Collett was born at Combe in 1768, where he was baptised on 14.08.1768, the eldest child of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett, although the surname was recorded as Collatt. He later married Rachel Collier at Combe on 13.06.1791 and it was later that same year that their first child was born at Combe.
	Rachel died in 1835 at the age of 76 and was buried at Combe on 03.05.1835.
	In the 1841 Census for Combe, Joseph was aged 70 and was living alone. He was a stonemason living a few doors from his stonemason brother Anthony (below), while living nearby was his eldest son Edward and his wife Elizabeth.
	Joseph survived as a widower for another twelve years after the death of Rachel before he died and was buried at Combe on 12.05.1847.
	38n1	Amy Collett		Baptised on 20.11.1791
	38n2	Edward Collett		Born in 1793
	38n3	Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1795
	38n4	Thomas Collett		Born in 1797
	38n5	William Collett		Born in 1799
38m2	Rose Collett was born at Combe in 1770, and it was there that she was baptised on 03.02.1771, the eldest daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Collet, although the surname was recorded as Collar. Rose Collett married Samuel Winchester on the 30.06.1794 at North Hinksey near Oxford, when she was described as a lodger living in the St Clements district of Oxford.
	Their first two children were Elizabeth Winchester, who was born in 1796, and Rhoda Winchester, who was born in 1799. Both daughters were baptised at St James Church in the Cowley area of Oxford, when their parents were confirmed as Samuel and Rose Winchester. Elizabeth was baptised during May in 1796, while Rhoda was baptised on 18.08.1799.
	It is also understood that Rose presented Samuel with at least two sons Joseph, who was born in 1803, and Samuel who was born in 1810, both born in Oxford. At the time of the first national census in June 1841, Rose Winchester, age 70, was a widow living at New Street in the St Ebbs district of Oxford, with her son Joseph and his family. Joseph was 35, his wife Mary was 25, and their children were Henry who was nine, Sarah who was five, Jane who was three, and Charles who was two.
	Rose’s other son Samuel was also living in Oxford, where he was 34 and his wife Emily was 24. On that occasion they had one child, their son James who was one year old. And it was four years after that, when Rose Winchester nee Collett died in Oxford during 1845.
	By the time of the next census in 1851 Joseph Winchester, age 47, was still living in Oxford wife his wife Mary who was 37, and four of their youngest children, Jane 13, Charles 11, Joseph 9, and James who was four years old.
	A Samuel Winchester born in Oxford around 1811, who was a gardener’s labourer, was living at 9 Carters Yard in St Aldates Oxford in 1881 when he was 69. His wife was Emily Winchester, age 60 from Oxford, who was a charwoman. Living with the couple was their Oxford born grandson, Alfred Simons (or Simeons), who was an errand boy at the age of 15.
	It was Rhoda Winchester, the daughter of Rose Winchester nee Collett, via her lineage through the Buckett family and the Brown family, that was the ancestor of Gillian Shaw who provided much of the detail for the March update of this family line.
38m3	John Collett was born at Combe around 1771, although no actual record has been found to confirm or deny that he was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett of Combe. He married Mary Busby at All Saints Church in Oxford on 04.05.1785 at which time he was listed as ‘John Collett from Combe’. Both of the couple’s two known children, listed below, were born and baptised at Combe.
	In view of the time interval between the birth dates of their daughters, it is very likely that there were other children born to John and Mary during that decade.
	In the census of 1841 a John Collett aged seventy-three was listed as living within the Banbury, Witney & Woodstock registration district, so it was very likely John Collett of Combe. If so, this would place his year of birth to be around 1768, rather than 1771.
	38n6	Jane Collett		Baptised on 22.10.1792 at Combe
	38n7	Rose Collett		Baptised on 29.11.1801 at Combe
38m4	Elizabeth Collett was born at Combe in 1773, and was baptised there on 05.09.1773, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett, although the surname was recorded as Collier.
38m5	Rhoda Collett was born at Combe in 1776, where she was baptised on 21.07.1776, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett.
38m6	Anthony Collett was born at Combe where he was baptised on 25.12.1778, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett. According to the parish register, the Bishop’s Transcripts and the IGI, Anthony Collett married Martha Hathaway on 19.09.1808 at Bletchingdon, six miles to the east of Combe.
	The couple’s first child was born in the following year and was baptised at Combe on 13.08.1809. The actual parish register appears to have recorded the child’s name as “Anthony Colcutt the son of Anthony and Martha” but it must be assumed that this was an error in the handwriting.
	The first national census in June 1841 recorded the family as Anthony with a rounded age of 60 and Martha with a rounded age of 50, their eldest son Anthony 30 (rounded), Richard 25 (rounded), John 25, Charles 20 (rounded), and James who was sixteen.
	Certainly in the 1881 Census there was an Anthony Collett aged 71 who was born at Combe and whose occupation was that of a stonemason.
	Following their marriage, all of Anthony’s and Martha’s subsequent children were also born and baptised at Combe.
	38n8	Anthony Collett			Baptised on 13.08.1809
	38n9	Richard Collett (see also Ref. 38n5)			Baptised on 03.11.1811
	38n10	John Collett			Baptised on 05.05.1816
	38n11	Charles Collett			Baptised on 01.11.1818
	38n12	Robert Collett			Baptised on 16.02.1822
	38n13	a son Collett			Baptised on 22.12.1822
	38n14	James Collett			Baptised on 16.07.1824
38m7	Robert Collett was born at Combe where he was baptised on 25.05.1781, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett. He was a mason and he married Elizabeth around 1804/05. Sadly it was only their daughter that survived beyond childhood.
	The family of three continued to live at Combe, where Robert carried on his work as a mason, up until the end of 1830s when Robert and Elizabeth discovered that their unmarried daughter was with-child.
	Their base-born granddaughter Leah was born at Combe in 1840, and perhaps it was for this reason, and the shame and embarrassment it brought to the family, that the family left Combe and moved into Oxford City. The census in June 1841 registered the family of four living in the St Giles district of the city, and this may have been at Summertown, where Robert and his daughter and granddaughter were living ten years later in 1851.
	However, it was during that next ten years that Robert’s wife died, possibly at Summertown. So in the census return for 1851 he was recorded as living in the Summertown district of Oxford within the St Giles area to the north of the city.
	At that time Robert was described as being 70 and a widower and a mason from Combe. Living with him was his daughter ‘Esther’ Collett who was 37 and from Combe who, with no stated occupation, was very likely keeping house for her elderly father.
	Also listed with Robert and Esther, and described as daughter, was Leah Collett who was ten years of age, who had also been born at Combe.
	38n15	George Collett		Baptised on 11.11.1805
	38n16	Charles Collett		Baptised on 14.08.1808
	38n17	Hester Collett		Baptised on 18.01.1811
	38n18	Robert Collett		Baptised on 23.01.1814
38m8	JAMES COLLETT was born at Combe in 1784 and it was there that he was baptised on 07.11.1784, the youngest child of Thomas and Elizabeth Collett. He was a stonemason, a trade that was passed along to at least four of his five sons.
	He married Mary Ladson at St Ebbes in Oxford on 16.04.1809. Mary was born at Wolvercote in 1786 where she was baptised on 26.03.1786. Wolvercote lies immediately to the north of the City of Oxford and it was there that the couple set up home and where all nine of their children were born and baptised.
	For the continuation of this family line see SECTION ONE – WOLVERCOTE (Ref. 38M8)
38n1	Amy Collett was baptised at Combe on 20.11.1791. Amy never married and died at the age of 27 and was buried at Combe on 04.04.1819.
38n2	Edward Collett was born in 1793 and was believed to have been the son of Joseph Collett. It is understood that Edward was married twice, the first recorded in the Combe Parish Register when he married (1) Mary Woods on 02.02.1818. Mary was born around 1796.
	Further parish register confirmation was recorded the following year for the baptism of a son to Edward Collett, a mason, and his wife Mary. The child was born in mid December that same year and virtually nine months later after their wedding. Tragically the child survived for only four weeks and it may have been this event that prompted Edward and Mary to leave Combe. It may also have been at this time that Edward ceased to work in the family business as a stonemason.
	A subsequent entry in the parish records indicated that Edward’s wife died and was buried at Combe on 20.08.1823 aged 27. It would therefore seem very likely that Mary died either shortly after or during the birth of their daughter Elizabeth in 1823. Neither the child’s birth nor her baptism was recorded in the parish register at Combe.
	It must therefore be assumed that, following the death and burial at Combe of their first child in January 1819, Edward and Mary moved away from the village to live elsewhere, where their daughter Elizabeth was born and baptised.
	Six months after the death of his wife Edward married (2) Elizabeth Gunnis at Oxford St Aldates on 28.02.1824. It maybe that it was at Oxford that Edward and his late wife Mary were living at the time of the birth of their daughter Elizabeth. And that also may have been the birth place of Edward’s third child and his and Elizabeth’s first child. Certainly it has been confirmed that the child was not born or baptised at Combe.
	It was however to Combe that Edward and Elizabeth returned around 1826 and it was there that their remaining seven children were born. It was also there where Edward worked as a baker rather than as a stonemason, his previous occupation before leaving the village seven years earlier.
	Fifteen years later the 1841 Census confirmed the family was living at Combe where Edward was listed as being a baker aged 45. Elizabeth was aged 40 but it should be noted that ages for adults were recorded to the nearest five years in this first national census.
	Likewise Edward’s two eldest daughters Elizabeth and Mary were both aged 15, while the younger children starting with Jane were 13, Fanny 12, Henry 10, Joseph 8, Emma 5 and William aged 2.
	By the time of the next census in 1851 more accurate records were made, thus Edward was now aged 57 and Elizabeth was 53. The children of Edward and Elizabeth listed below have been confirmed by both the Combe parish records and the census records, with all of them born at Combe.
	Excluding his late son John who was born at Combe, it was only Edward’s two daughters Elizabeth and Mary who were not born at Combe.
	It is interesting to note that living with the family in 1851 were two other members of the Collett family. These were niece Mary Collett (Ref.38o21) aged 23 and a glove maker of Combe who was the daughter of Edward’s brother William Collett, and 8 months old Julia Collett their grand-daughter, the base-born child of Edward’s daughter Fanny (below).
	It is known that Edward’s sons Joseph and William followed in their father’s footsteps and both worked as bakers during their lives. It has also been established that Edward was still alive in 1871 when he was living at Woodstock aged 77. However it must be assumed that his wife Elizabeth had passed away prior to 1861 since she was not listed in that year’s census.
	38o1	John Collett		Born in December 1818
	38o2	Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1823
	38o3	Mary Collett		Born in 1825
	38o4	Jane Collett		Baptised on 23.12.1827
	38o5	Fanny Collett		Baptised on 24.05.1829
	38o6	Henry Collett		Baptised on 14.08.1831
	38o7	Joseph Collett		Baptised on 27.06.1833
	38o8	Emma Collett		Baptised on 06.03.1836
	38o9	William Collett		Baptised on 04.12.1838
38n3	Elizabeth Collett was born in 1795 as confirmed by the Combe Burial Register which stated that she was buried on 22.12.1821 aged 26. In addition, the stray baptism records also revealed that she had a base-born daughter Rachel, who was named after Elizabeth’s mother who presumably cared for the child after Elizabeth had died.
	38o10	Rachel Collett		Baptised in 13.12.1818
38n4	Thomas Collett was born at Combe in 1797. He married Sophia Smith at Combe on 20.10.1820 at a time when Sophia was pregnant with Thomas’ child. A few days after the wedding Sophia gave birth to a daughter who was baptised at Combe on 29.10.1820. All of the couple’s other children were also born and baptised at Combe, where the family was living in 1841 and 1851.
	In 1841 Thomas and Sophia had rounded ages of 40, while their children were listed in the census as being John and Mary both 15, Elizabeth 12, William 10, Jane 7, Thomas 3, and Charles who was two.
	It would appear that Thomas’ wife Sophia died during the 1840s since she was not listed with her family in the Combe census of 1851. Thomas was 53, confirming that he was born at Combe in 1797, and with him were seven of his eight children.
	Only his eldest daughter Ann was missing, since she had already left the family home four years earlier to married Matthew Collett (Ref. 38N6) of Wolvercote in 1847. The other seven children were recorded as John 28, Mary 23, Elizabeth 22, William 20, Jane 16, Thomas 13, and Charles 10.
	No record has been found for Thomas Collett in 1861 so it is assumed that he died during the 1850s.
	38o11	Ann Collett		Baptised on 29.10.1820
	38o12	John Collett		Baptised on 07.12.1822
	38o13	Mary Collett		Baptised on 22.05.1825
	38o14	Elizabeth Collett		Baptised on 10.08.1828
	38o15	William Collett		Baptised on 20.02.1831
	38o16	Jane Collett		Baptised on 15.06.1834
	38o17	Thomas Collett		Baptised on 11.06.1837
	38o18	Charles Collett		Baptised on 23.06.1839
38n5	William Collett was born around 1799 and, although not confirmed, he seems very likely to have been the brother of Thomas Collett (above). He married Phoebe Woodward at Combe on 09.11.1822 and the marriage produced five children for the couple before William’s untimely death in 1827.
	Phoebe was baptised at Combe on 29.10.1800, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Woodward. She may also have been a cousin to Rachel Woodward (below).
	38o19	Emma Collett	Baptised on 08.02.1823
	38o20	Sophia Collett	Baptised on 14.11.1824
	38o21	Elizabeth Amy Collett	Baptised on 06.03.1826
	38o22	John Collett twin	Baptised on 18.09.1827
	38o23	Mary Collett twin	Baptised on 18.09.1827
	Tragically William died during an accident while at work. The Combe parish burial record confirmed that he died and was buried on 29.10.1827 aged 28. The register has the added comment that he was killed by a fall of rubble while working in a quarry closely adjoining the village of Combe.
	Five years after his death, Phoebe married for a second time when she married the much younger Richard Collett at St Aldates in Oxford on 15.07.1833 and with whom she had a further three children as listed below.
	38o24	Martha Collett	Baptised on 02.02.1834
	38o25	Abraham Collett	Baptised on 05.07.1835
	38o26	Jane Collett	Baptised on 05.10.1837
	This second marriage for Phoebe lasted just six years, her death coming only four months after the death of their third and last child. Phoebe was buried at Combe on 25.08.1839 aged 38.
	Phoebe’s widowed husband Richard Collett (below) was, by the time of 1841 Census, back living with his parents Anthony and Martha in Combe. With him were his two surviving children Martha 7 and Abraham 5. It has not yet been established where the children of William and Phoebe were at this time.
38n9	Richard Collett was baptised at Combe on 03.11.1811 where he was born earlier that same year. He married (1) the widow Mrs Phoebe Collett formerly Phoebe Woodward (above) who was eleven years older than Richard. Phoebe came into the marriage with the five children from her first marriage to William Collett (1799-1827) who was probably Richard’s older cousin (see details above).
	Following her death, and having lived with his two children at the home of his parents in Combe for two and a half years, Richard also married for a second time. This took place sometime during the three months from July to September in 1843 and the lady this time was possibly his late wife’s younger cousin (2) Rachel Woodward who was ten years younger than Richard.
	The marriage was recorded in the Woodstock parish register. Rachel was born at Long Hanborough near Combe in 1822 and Richard brought to the marriage the two surviving children from his first marriage. His marriage to Rachel produced a further four children for Richard all born at Combe, the first being born during the year following their wedding.
	Richard died at Combe aged 44 and was buried there on 04.02.1856 just a week after his latest child was baptised. The 1881 Census revealed that Rachel was his second wife and that his earlier marriage had produced offspring.
	According to that year’s census Rachel Collett of Long Hanborough was a widow aged 58 living in the village of Combe. Living with her was her son William Collett an unmarried general labourer aged 36 who was born at Combe.
	Rachel’s occupation was stated as being that of a glove maker and living and working in the house with her was Martha Collett another glove maker aged 47 and also of Combe. There was only eleven years difference between their ages and the relationship that Martha had to the head of the house Rachel was stated as being step-daughter, that is, the child of her late husband.
	Rachel lived the life of a widow for a further 38 years after Richard had passed away, before she died and was buried at Combe on 22.11.1894.
	Footnote: Sarah Woodward, who was born in 1812, married James Collett (Ref. 38N2) in Wolvercote in 1833. It is possible that Phoebe Woodward, who was born in 1801, was her sister, while Rachel Woodward, who was born in 1822 may have been their cousin.
	38o27	William Collett		Baptised on 26.05.1844
	38o28	Sarah Anne Collett		Baptised on 12.04.1846
	38o29	Amelia Collett		Baptised on 11.08.1850
	38o30	Amelia Jane Collett		Baptised on 27.01.1856
38n8	Anthony Collett was baptised at Combe on 13.08.1809 where he was born that same year. He was a stonemason and married Sarah Mary Edgington at Combe on 13.08.1838. Sarah was born at Bledington in Gloucestershire in 1818 and was the daughter of baker Richard Edgington.
	All bar one of their children was born while the family was living at Combe. In 1851 the family was still living at Combe but sometime after they moved to Oxford and lived at Summertown for a few years where their last child was born.
	In 1861 the family living in Summertown comprised Anthony 51, his wife Sarah 42, Eliza 19, Rhoda 18, Richard 16, Robert 15, Mary 12, Anthony 9, and Emily 4. The couple’s eldest daughter Jane Collett was 21 and was already living and working in Oxford.
	Ten years later Anthony was 61 and Sarah was 53 and they only had their three youngest children living with them at Summertown on the occasion of the 1871 census. These were Mary 23, Anthony 19, and Emily who was 13. Sometime after this the family moved to the Cowley area of Oxford.
	It was at Magdalen Road in the Cowley that the family was living at the time of the 1881 Census. By then son Anthony had left the family home leaving Anthony aged 71, whose occupation was confirmed as a stonemason, his wife Sarah aged 63 and their two youngest unmarried daughters.
	Living with them were their two youngest daughters, Mary E Collett a milliner and dressmaker aged 32 and born at Combe and Emily S Collett a dressmaker’s assistant aged 23 and born at Summertown.
	The couple’s sons had left home to be married between 1862 and 1866 and their daughter Rhoda had living quarters at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford where she was working.
	38o31	Jane Collett		Baptised on 06.01.1840
	38o32	Eliza Collett		Baptised on 20.06.1841
	38o33	Rhoda Collett		Baptised on 12.03.1843
	38o34	Richard Edgington Collett		Baptised on 26.05.1844
	38o35	Robert Collett		Baptised on 26.04.1846
	38o36	Mary Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1848
	38o37	Anthony Collett		Born in 1851
	38o38	Emily Sarah Collett		Born in 1857
38n9	Richard Collett was born at Combe where he was baptised on 03.11.1811 and due to the fact that he married his cousin William’s wife, his details are fully described under Ref. 38n5 for William Collett (above).
38n11	Charles Collett was baptised at Combe on 01.11.1818 where he was born and where he lived and worked all his life as a stonemason. During the three months from October to December 1863 he married Ann Blake who was also born at Combe in 1818 and whose occupation was glove maker like other female members of the family.
	In nearby Woodstock there were two established and well respected companies involved in the production of gloves. These were the Savernake Glove Factory and the Pullmans Glove Factory. The gloves made by the workers at these factories were of the highest quality and were made for the likes of the Lord Mayor of London and members of the royal family.
	The 1871 Census confirmed Charles and Ann as husband and wife and that they were living with Ann’s mother Ann Blake at Combe. In view of their advancing years at the time of their marriage it would appear most unlikely that they ever had any children. The census records reveal that both Ann and her mother aged 81 were blind.
	Ten years later according to the 1881 Census both were still living at Combe and their home at that time was within the premises known as the grocer’s shop in the village. Charles was aged 62 as was Ann. Living with them was Ann’s unmarried sister Jane Blake who was aged 50 and of Combe and who was another glove maker.
	Also living at the grocer’s shop but separately from the Colletts, was retired baker William Blake aged 52 of Combe, the brother of Ann and Jane, together with his wife Charlotte aged 56 of Combe.
	In addition to all of this, the actual grocer’s shop was, at that time, being managed and run by John Walker aged 38 and his wife Mary Ann aged 40 of Stadhampton in Oxfordshire and their daughter Clara, who was the grocer’s assistant aged 15 and born at Eynsham.
	John Walker was the older brother of Thomas Walker who married Emily Sarah Collett (Ref. 38o38).
38n12	Robert Collett was baptised at Combe on 16.02.1822 but died shortly thereafter and was buried at Combe on 05.03.1822.
38n13	Another Collett son was born at Combe later that same year on 22.12.1822 but only survived for three hours before he died and was buried on 27.12.1822.
38n14	James Collett was baptised at Combe on 16.07.1824. He was the youngest son of Anthony and Martha Collett.
	What is known is that James followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a stonemason. He was also married, possibly to Adelaide Emma Slatter, the marriage witnessed by Charles and Fanny Collett. The marriage may have produced a number of children for James although only one is listed below.
	His confirmed daughter Emily was born at Combe and it was in Combe that widower James and his then married daughter and her family were living in 1881. James was a stonemason aged 56, his daughter Emily Walker was 27 and was the housekeeper for her father.
	Also living with James, was Emily’s husband Thomas and their eight month old son Benjamin.
	James was still living there ten years later in 1891 when he was sixty-seven years old, the census return for Combe confirming that he was born there. No record of him has been found in 1901, so it must be assumed that he died during the 1890s.
	38o39	Emily Collett		Born in 1853
38n15	George Collett was born at Combe and was baptised there on 11.11.1805. As the oldest child, he was the longest surviving son of Robert and Elizabeth Collett. He died when he was just nine years, following which he was buried at Combe on 11.04.1815. His death almost coincided with that of his younger brother Charles (below), being only two months earlier, so perhaps indicating some sort of shared illness.
38n16	Charles Collett was born at Combe where he was baptised on 14.08.1808. His death in early 1815 was the second infant death in the family following that of his baby brother Robert (below) the year before. He was buried at Combe on 14.02.1815 aged six years.
38n17	Hester Collett was born at Combe where she was baptised on 18.01.1811. Tragically her three brothers all died when she was only a few years old. It would appear that Hester continued to live with her parents, but in 1840 she gave birth to a base-born daughter at Combe.
	It would appear that the shame and embarrassment that this brought to the family resulted in them leaving Combe and moving south to Oxford where Hester and her daughter were living with her parents at the time of the census in 1841, when he illegitimate child was under one year old.
	During the 1840s Hester’s mother died and by the time of the census in 1851 Hester was acting as housekeeper to her elderly widowed father at a house in the Summertown district of Oxford. According to the census return, Ester Collett from Combe was 37, and her daughter Leah Collett was ten years of age.
	38o40	Leah Collett		Born in 1840 at Combe
38n18	Robert Collett was born at Combe and baptised on 23.01.1814. He was the youngest son of Robert and Elizabeth Collett and tragically he died just over five weeks after he was born. He was the first of the three sons of Robert and Elizabeth to die within almost a year of each other. He was buried at Combe on 05.03.1814, and was followed by the passing of his two brothers during the spring of 1815.
38o1	John Collett was a honeymoon baby, born nine months after the marriage of his parents Edward Collett and Mary Woods. He was born at Combe in mid December 1818 where he was baptised on 03.01.1819. Tragically he only lived for four weeks and was buried at Combe on 17.01.1819 just two weeks after he was baptised there.
38o2	Elizabeth Collett was born around 1823 and her birth may have coincided with the death of her mother Mary who died in August 1823. Elizabeth does not appear to have been born at Combe which is where the majority of her father’s subsequent children, following his remarriage, were born and where the family was living in 1841, when Elizabeth was aged 15 – see earlier note about the 1841 census ages.
	It is possible that Mary was born in Oxford although this has not yet been proved.
38o3	Mary Collett was the first born child of Edward and Elizabeth Collett and was born around 1825. It would appear that Mary was not born at Combe where the remaining members of the family were born and where the family was living in 1841, when Mary was aged 15 – see earlier note about the 1841 census ages.
	Like her step-sister Elizabeth (above), it is very likely that Mary was born in Oxford where her parents were married in February 1824.
	It would appear that Mary was not married at the time of the censuses of 1851 and 1861 in which she was listed as being aged 25 and 35 respectively. Thereafter she may have married as there are no obvious sightings of her in any of the subsequent census records.
38o4	Jane Collett was baptised at Combe on 23.12.1827. She never married and would appear to have spent the majority of her life living Combe. In successive censuses Jane was aged 13 and 23, her age being given by her parents. However, in the census of 1861 she referred to herself as being 30.
	This seems to have set the trend for all future census returns when in 1871 she said she was 40, 50 in 1881, 60 in 1891, and 70 in 1901.
	At the time of the Combe census in 1881 she was working as the assistant school mistress at the village school, whereas twenty years later she was listed at Combe with no occupation.
38o5	Fanny Collett was baptised at Combe on 24.05.1829 and was aged 12 at the time of the 1841 Census for Combe. Nine years later Fanny gave birth to a base-born daughter.
	The 1851 Census listed Fanny as being aged 21 but not living with her family or her new baby. Instead the child was living at the home of her grandparents Edward and Elizabeth Collett in Combe where she was recorded as being eight months old.
	It is possible, but not yet proved, that during the following years Fanny either married a Mr Shaw or simply changed her name. Either way by 1861 at the age of 31 Fanny Shaw was living in Deddington to the north of Woodstock.
	38p1	Julia Collett		Baptised on 11.08.1850
38o6	Henry Collett was baptised at Combe on 14.08.1831. At the time of the first national census for Combe in 1841 Henry was ten years old and 19 years of age in 1851. His occupation was that of a draper.
	It would seem likely that he married (1) around 1860. After they were married Henry and his wife settled in Woodstock where their three children were born before tragedy struck the family with the death of Henry’s wife sometime around or just after the birth of their third child in 1867.
	The 1871 Census placed Henry 39 as a widower living at Woodstock with just two or his three children Flora aged 10 and Harry aged 8. Living with the family at that time was a servant, the 27 years old Rachel Wilson Freeborn whom Henry married (2) later that same year at Woodstock.
	By 1881 the family comprised draper Henry aged 49 of Combe, wife Rachel 37 of nearby Wootton, and their four children Harold 13, Elsie 8, Hedley 6 and one year old Henry.
	At that time the family was living at Park Street in Woodstock and was supported by nineteen years old domestic servant Sarah Quartermain of Lewknor in Oxfordshire. Park Street is one of the main streets in Woodstock today and comprises many large and grand houses.
	Henry was still living at Woodstock in 1901 where he was 69 and still working as a draper ably assisted by his daughter Elsie and son Henry. Henry’s wife Rachel was aged 56 and completing the family was their youngest daughter Hilda aged 15.
	Sometime during the next few years Henry passed away leaving his wife Rachel as a widow who still had some of her children living with her. By 1911 Rachel Wilson Collett was sixty-six and was still living in the Woodstock area.
	Also living with their mother was Hedley Joseph Collett who was 36, Henry Francis Collett who was 31, and Hilda Esther Collett who was twenty-five.
	38p2	Flora Collett		Born in 1861
	38p3	Harry Collett		Born in 1863
	38p4	Harold William Collett		Born in 1867
	38p5	Elsie Elizabeth Anne Collett		Born in 1872
	38p6	Hedley Joseph Collett		Born in 1874
	38p7	Henry Francis Collett		Born in 1879
	38p8	Hilda Esther Collett		Born in 1885
38o7	Joseph Collett was born at Combe and was baptised there on 27.06.1833. In 1841 Joseph was aged 8 and living with his family in Combe. Ten years later he had left school and was living and working in the Witney & Eynsham registration district and was seventeen years old.
	Like his father Edward Collett, Joseph’s occupation was that of a baker. It may therefore have been his work that took him from Oxfordshire to Birmingham where he was married to Naomi of Coseley near Dudley in the late 1850s.
	It was while the couple were living at Birmingham that all of their children were born. Joseph’s and Naomi’s first child was named after Joseph’s mother Elizabeth Gunnis and was 7 years of age in 1871. The other children at that time were Edward 5, Ernest 4, Rose 2 and Blanche under 1.
	Rather oddly Joseph gave his age as being 34 and Naomi said she was 33, whereas in reality they were 37 and 34 respectively. That year’s census recorded the family living in the Deritend & Bordesley district of Aston in Birmingham.
	Ten years later at the time of the 1881 Census Joseph, of Combe and aged 48, was a master baker with his own baker’s shop at 46 Larches Street in Aston.
	Listed living with him was his wife Naomi aged 45 of Coseley and their seven children Elizabeth 17, Edward 16, Ernest 13, Rose 12, Blanche 11, Maud 8 and Percy who was four years old.
	Within the next ten years it must be assumed that Joseph died, as no trace of him has been found in 1891 or 1901. However, his wife was aged 54 in 1891 and was still living in the Deritend & Bordesley area of Aston with sons Ernest 23 and Percy 14, and daughters Rose 21, Blanche 20 and Maud 16.
	By the end of March in 1901 Naomi was aged 64 and was still living at Aston.
	38p9	Elizabeth Gunnis Collett		Born in 1863
	38p10	Edward Joseph Collett		Born in 1865
	38p11	Ernest William Collett		Born in 1867
	38p12	Rose Alberne Collett		Born in 1868
	38p13	Blanche Emma Collett		Born in 1869
	38p14	Maud Mary Collett		Born in 1872
	38p15	Percy Henry Collett		Born in 1876
38o8	Emma Collett was born at Combe where she was baptised on 06.03.1836. In 1841 she was aged 5 and 15 in 1851, on both occasions living with her family at Combe.
	By 1861 she was living in the St Clements district of Oxford and was aged 24. Ten years later she was still living in St Clements where she was then aged 35. It is possible that she married later in her life as no further record of her as Emma Collett has been found.
38o9	William Collett was born at Combe where he was baptised on 04.12.1838. He was listed as being two years old in 1841 and 12 years old in 1851 in the census registration district of Woodstock. So far no trace has been found of William in 1861 when he would have been 22.
	It is not clear what happened to William during this time, except it is known that he married Frances Laughton of Stonesfield and that this probably took place as part of a joint ceremony with Frances’ sister Sara who married James Prior at Stonesfield in the second quarter of 1868.
	Frances (and Sara) formed part of the ninth generation of a farming family and was born at Woodstock in 1843 but had moved to Stonesfield with her family by 1851. Ten years later Frances was a candidate pupil teacher in Headington lodging at the house of William Woodward and Mary Davis.
	Three years after they were married William 32 and his wife Frances 28, were confirmed as living in the Deritend & Bordesley area of Aston in Birmingham during early April in 1871. Also living with them was their first born child Alice Elizabeth Collett who was just one year old.
	It should be noted that William was notoriously bad at giving the couple’s correct ages in subsequent census returns. This may have been intentional if he did not want to admit he was five years older than Frances. Their correct ages are therefore included in brackets in each case.
	Just one further chid was added to the family in the middle of the next decade and by 1881 the family was living at 207 Bordesley Green in Deritend. William stated that he had been born at Combe but that he was 40 (42) while Frances was 37 and confirmed she had been born at Woodstock.
	In addition, the census return stated that William was working as a post master and baker employing three men. It would therefore appear that he had followed his older brother Joseph (above) to Birmingham where they both continued to work as bakers, as their father Edward Collett had done so before them.
	Their two children at that time were Alice who was 11 and Laughton who was 5, both having been born in Birmingham. Also living with them was Frances’ nine years old niece Emma M Prior who was born at Stonesfield, the daughter of Sara and James Prior. The family was supported by 14 years old domestic servant Mary Bennett and helping William in the baker’s shop was Annie J Smith aged 25, a baker’s assistant from Pershore.
	Sometime between 1881 and 1891 William and his family moved house, going from 207 Bordesley Green to 79 Bordesley Green, where the aforementioned Emma Prior was still living with the family in 1891 at the age of 18.
	The Deritend census of 1891 listed William’s family as head of the household William who was 48 (52), Frances who was 45 (47), and their two children Alice 21, and Laughton who was 15.
	Ten years later in March 1901 the census that year confirmed that William from Combe in Oxfordshire was 59 (62) and his occupation was that of a baker and post-master. His wife Frances from Woodstock was 56 (57), and only son Laughton who was 25 and born at Birmingham was still living with the couple.
	Also still living and working with the family was Emma M Prior who was 28 and from Stonesfield who was employed by William as an assistant in the post office.
	With their daughter Alice already married by March 1901, it was not long after that Laughton became a married man and started a family of his own in Aston. So by April 1911 William and Frances were living alone in Aston. William said he was 70 (instead of 72), while Frances gave her correct age of 67.
	It was almost exactly three years later that William died at Aston during the first quarter of 1914, following which he was buried at Stonesfield. Frances survived for another seventeen years before she died on 02.04.1931 while living within the Birmingham South registration district.
	Frances was 88 when she died and she was buried with her husband at Stonesfield, where a single gravestone marks the spot.
	38p16	Alice Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1869
	38p17	Laughton William Collett		Born in 1875
38o11	Ann Collett was born at Combe in 1820 and was baptised there on 29.10.1820. She was the eldest child of Thomas Collett and Sophia Smith of Combe and she later married Matthew Collett of Wolvercote in Oxford in 1847.
	For the continuation of this family line see Section One – Wolvercote (Ref. 38N6)
38o12	John Collett was born at Combe and was baptised there on 07.12.1822. He was the eldest son of Thomas and Sophia Collett and it is known that he became a stonemason like many of the Collett family. In the Combe census of 1841 John had a rounded age of fifteen, when he was living there with his family.
	Ten years later he was still living with the rest of his family and his widowed father, following the death of his mother, at Combe when he was twenty-eight. Around the middle of the 1850s John Collett married Matilda Hunt who was born at Stonesfield in 1830.
	The marriage produced two known daughters for John and Matilda who, by 1871 were living at Stonesfield. John was confirmed as being 48 and a mason who was born at Combe. His wife Matilda was 40 and a dressmaker from Stonesfield, and their youngest daughter was ten years old Elizabeth Collett who was born at Combe. The whereabouts of eldest daughter Matilda in 1871 has not been fully confirmed.
	And it was at Stonesfield that the couple were still living ten years later. The census return for 1881 confirmed that John Collett of Combe was a stonemason of 58 and that his wife was Matilda aged 46 (sic) of Stonesfield who was a dressmaker. At that time they were living alone in a house in Boot Street in Stonesfield.
	At that same time their two daughters were living and working in Chertsey with their cousin Charles Hunt of Stonesfield, the nephew of their mother.
	When John did return to the Woodstock area of Oxfordshire he was recorded in the census of 1891 as being aged sixty-seven and born at Combe. His wife Matilda was not with him although they were reunited for the 1901 Census.
	Ten years later John was 78 years of age and was still listed as a stonemason, but whilst his place of birth was confirmed as being Combe, he was living at nearby Stonesfield with his wife Matilda Collett who was aged 70 and born there.
	John and Matilda did not survive for many more years after the turn of the century, since neither of them was listed in the next census of 1911.
	38p18	Matilda Collett		Born in 1854
	38p19	Elizabeth Collett		Born in 1860
38o13	Mary Collett was born at Combe where she was baptised on 22.05.1825. The baptism recorded confirmed that she was the daughter of Thomas and Sophia Collett. By the time of the census in June 1841 Mary was fifteen years old and still living with her family at Combe.
	During the next decade Mary’s mother died and by 1851 Mary was the eldest daughter at twenty-five still living with her widowed father at Combe, where she had taken over the role of housekeeper.
	Sometime after this is has to be assumed that Mary was married as there are no records for her as Mary Collett after 1851.
38o14	Elizabeth Collett was born at Combe where she was baptised on 10.08.1828. Elizabeth was twelve years old in 1841 and 22 in 1851 and on both occasions she was living in the family home at Combe. During the early half of the 1850s she married George Neville of Begbroke near Kidlington who was born there in 1830.
	It would appear that the marriage of George and Elizabeth only produced one son for the couple who was born after they had made their home in Yarnton one mile south of Begbroke. And it was at Yarnton that the family was living in 1881.
	The census that year revealed that the family was living in a private house in the village where fifty years old George Neville was a tailor. His son was Frederick Neville who was 23 and who occupation was also that of a tailor, working with his father.
	Possibly out of embarrassment of being older than her husband, Elizabeth gave her age as being fifty the same as George, whereas in reality she would have been 52. Living with the family was Elizabeth’s nephew Thomas W Collett who was also working with George Neville as a tailor.
	Thomas William Collett was the son of Elizabeth’s younger brother William Collett (below). He was twenty years old in April 1881 and his place of birth was confirmed as Burmington near Shipston-on-Stour.
38o15	William Collett was born at Combe where he was baptised on 20.02.1831. By the time of the first census in 1841 William was recorded as being ten years old while living at Combe with his family, and he was still there with his widowed father Thomas ten years later in 1851 when he was twenty.
	Towards the end of the 1850s William married Betsy Powell who was born at Shipston-on-Stour in 1836. Her name was written as ‘Betsey’ in the majority of the records that have been found for her, including her baptism at Shipston on 11.12.1836 which also recorded that she was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Powell.
	Once married William and Betsy settled in the village of Burmington just two miles south of Shipston where their first six children were born. The 1861 census return for the Shipston-on-Stour registration district listed the family as William Collett 29, his wife Betsy as 24, and with them their first child Thomas William who was still under one year old.
	During the next decade a further four children were added to the family when they were living at Burmington, but shortly after there was a move to nearby Cherington where the couple’s last two children were born.
	According to the census of 1871 the family was William 41, Betsy 35, and their children Mary Jane Collett, 9, William Collett 7, Alice Powell Collett 5, Mary Sophia Collett 3, and Betsy Powell Collett who was one year old. The couple’s oldest son Thomas William Collett was missing on that occasion.
	After only living in Cherington for around five or six years the family moved again during the second half of the 1870s, this time to Shipston-on-Stour where they were recorded as living in the census of 1881.
	The census return for Shipston confirmed that the family was living in Powells Cottage which was presumable where Betsy’s parents had lived and which she probably inherited at the time of their deaths.
	At that time the family was made up of William Collett who was fifty and who was working as an agricultural labourer, his wife Betsy of Shipston who was 42 (sic), and three of their children. These were William T Collett who was seventeen and described as being ill in bed, Mary Sophia Collett who was thirteen and born at Burmington as was her older brother, and six years old Eli Powell Collett who was born at Cherington.
	The other children from the marriage of William and Betsy had already left the family home by then and three of these were also listed in the census of 1881. See separate entries for their son Thomas William Collett, and daughters Mary Ann Collett and Alice Powell Collett.
	The only child for whom no later records have been found is their youngest daughter Betsy Powell Collett, so it might be assumed that she suffered a childhood death sometime between 1871 and 1881.
	William and Betsy did not stay long at living at Powells Cottage, since a few years later the couple moved south and in 1981 they were living within the Charlbury & Chipping Norton registration district, where William was 60, Betsy was 52, and the only children still living with them were sons Thomas who was 29, and Eli who was 16.
	Ten years later the census of 1901 contained some conflicting information regarding William and Betsy who, by then were living further south at Alvescot. William’s age was 65 although this was very likely an error in translation and should have been 69. Betsy’s age was given as 60 when is fact she would have been 64.
	William’s place of birth was confirmed as Combe in Oxfordshire, while Betsy’s birthplace was confirmed as Shipston-on-Stour. Still living with the couple at their Alvescot home was their youngest son Eli P Collett who was 25 and ‘a farmer’s son’ whose birthplace was confirmed as Cherington.
	It is interesting to note that, having been an ordinary agricultural labourer up to 1881, that William was described as being ‘a farmer’ twenty years later. It therefore seems likely that as well as inheriting Powells Cottage from his late in-laws, William also took over the running of a farm.
	During the next few years William Collett died leaving Betsy Collett as widow by the time of the Alvescot census of 1911. On this occasion her age was given more accurately as being 74. Betsy from Shipston had only one person living with her at that time, and that was her unmarried son Eli Powell Collett who was 37.
	38p20	Thomas William Collett		Born in 1860
	38p21	Mary Ann Collett		Born in 1861
	38p22	William Thomas Collett		Born in 1863
	38p23	Alice Powell Collett		Born in 1865
	38p24	Mary Sophia Collett		Born in 1867
	38p25	Betsy Powell Collett		Born in 1869
	38p26	Eli Powell Collett		Born in 1874
38o16	Jane Collett was born at Combe where she was baptised on 15.06.1834. The baptised record confirmed that her parents were Thomas and Sophia Collett and that in June 1841 Jane was living with her family at Combe the age of seven years.
	With the death of her mother during the 1840s, Jane was still living at Combe with her father and her brothers and sister in 1851 when she was sixteen years old.
	Jane was very likely married during the latter half of the next decade since she was not listed as Jane Collett of Combe in the census of 1861.
38o17	Thomas Collett was born at Combe where he was baptised on 11.06.1837 and was three years old in the Combe census of 1841 and was thirteen ten years after that when he was still living with his family in Combe.
	He took up the same profession as his father and became a stonemason. He later married Elizabeth who was born in 1836 at Aston in Oxfordshire, midway between Faringdon and Witney.
	By the time of the 1881 Census the family was living at 25 Stockmore Street in the St Clements district of Oxford. Stockmore Street runs between Cowley Road and the Iffley Road (A4158) and is still there today.
	Thomas aged 43 was still a stonemason, his wife was 44 and the children still living with them were Thomas aged 18 an unemployed mason, Alfred 15 and Elizabeth 12. The two sons had been born at Woodstock while Elizabeth had been born at (New) Hinksey on the outskirts of Oxford.