PART THIRTY-EIGHT

The Oxford Stonemasons Line – 1730 to 1945

Updated February 2010

This latest update comes courtesy of Sue Massen,

the daughter of Helen Annie May Collett (Ref. 38R7)

Part 37 – The Oxford City Line is the family line of Kevin Collett (Ref. 37S4) who, on 2^nd September 2006 married Lynda Davies whose own family had early Collett ancestors. This second Oxford Line is therefore an attempt to prove the earlier link between the two families.

Thanks go to Lynda’s father Martin Davies of Stourton in the West Midlands who provided the initial family information that has enabled this line to be developed.

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 Wolvercote and Combe. There are clues that perhaps suggest the families in these two villages are related but for now they are shown as two separate families.

Rather curiously for some reason, there was a major migration of Colletts from Wolvercote to the immediate surrounding Woodstock area sometime after 1901.

By the time of the census of 1911 only one Collett family was still living there,

and this was the family of Albert Ernest Collett (Ref. 38P33).

However, in 1911 seventeen Colletts who had been born in Wolvercote were

living in the adjacent hamlet of Godstow, well-known for The Trout Inn,

seven of whom were from the family of Daniel Collett

SECTION ONE - WOLVERCOTE

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 place that they were married.
	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.
	38M1	Joseph Collett	Born circa 1769
	38M2	John Collett	Born circa 1771
	38M3	Elizabeth Collett	Baptised on 05.09.1773 at Combe
	38M4	Rhoda Collett	Baptised on 31.07.1776 at Combe
	38M5	Anthony Collett	Baptised on 25.12.1778
	38M6	Robert Collett	Baptised on 25.05.1781
	38M7	JAMES COLLETT	Born in 1784
38M1	Joseph Collett was born around 1769. On 13.06.1791 he married Rachel Collier at Combe. His place of birth has still to be determined, but it is known that he was living in Combe in 1841 aged 70. Living nearby was his brother Anthony (below) and possibly his son Edward born in 1795.
	For the continuation of this family line see SECTION TWO – COMBE commencing with Joseph Collett (Ref. 38M1) born circa 1769
38M2	John Collett was born at Combe around 1771. 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 their 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.
	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.
	38N1	Jane Collett	Baptised on 22.10.1792 at Combe
	38N2	Rose Collett	Baptised on 29.11.1801 at Combe
38M5	Anthony Collett was baptised at Combe on 25.12.1778. According to the IGI Anthony married Martha Hathaway on 19.09.1808 at Bletchingdon which lies about six miles to the east of Combe. Confirmation of the marriage has also been found in the parish register and the Bishop’s Transcripts.
	It is worth noting the Bletchingdon, as it is known today, was often referred to as Bletchington within the Bicester area of Oxfordshire.
	The couple’s first child was born in the following year and was baptised at Combe on 13.08.1809. The actual parish register recorded the child’s name as “Anthony Colcutt the son of Anthony and Martha” but it must be assumed that this was an error.
	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 and they are likely to have had more than just the two indicated below.
	For the continuation of this family line see SECTION TWO – COMBE
38M6	Robert Collett was born at Combe where he was baptised on 25.05.1781. He was a mason and he married Elizabeth around 1804/05. Sadly it was only their daughter that survived beyond childhood.
	Sometime after the death of their three sons Robert and Elizabeth, together with daughter Hester, moved away from Combe and by 1841 they were living in the St Giles district of the City of Oxford.
	During the next ten years there was another family move, this time the miles or so north to Summertown where they were living by the end of March in 1851.
	38N3	George Collett	Baptised on 11.11.1805
	38N4	Charles Collett	Baptised on 14.08.1808
	38N5	Hester Collett	Baptised on 18.01.1811
	38N6	Robert Collett	Baptised on 23.01.1814
38M7	JAMES COLLETT was born at Combe in 1784 and it was there that he was baptised on 07.11.1784. 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.
	Tragically, at the age of 76 James was still working as a stonemason, when he fell to his death from scaffolding. He died in December 1860 and the Wolvercote parish burial record stated that he was buried in the parish churchyard on 19.12.1860.
	38N7	Elizabeth Collett	Baptised on 15.04.1810 at Wolvercote
	38N8	JAMES COLLETT	Born in 1812
	38N9	Joseph Collett	Baptised on 02.12.1815
	38N10	Ann Collett	Baptised on 05.05.1818
	38N11	William Collett	Baptised on 31.10.1819
	38N12	Matthew Collett	Baptised on 01.09.1822
	38N13	Charles Collett	Baptised on 18.09.1825
	38N14	Mary Anne Collett	Baptised on 22.06.1828 at Wolvercote
	38N15	Emma Collett	Born/baptised in June 1834
38N3	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 aged just nine years and was buried at Combe on 11.04.1815. His death coincided with that of his younger brother being only two months apart, so perhaps indicating some sort of shared illness.
38N4	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.
38N5	Hester Collett was born at Combe where she was baptised on 18.01.1811. Following the deaths of her three brothers she and her parents first moved to St Giles in Oxford and later to Summertown.
	In both the 1841 and 1851 Censuses it would appear that the unmarried ‘Esther’ had given birth to a base born child in 1840.
	38N16	Leah Collett	Born in 1840 at Oxford
38N6	Robert Collett was born at Combe and baptised on 23.01.1814. He was the youngest son of Robert and Elizabeth and tragically died only three weeks after he was born and was buried at Combe on 05.03.1814. A year later in 1815, his two older brothers both died (above).
38N8	JAMES COLLETT was born at Wolvercote in 1812 where he was baptised on 17.05.1812 and where he worked as a stonemason like his father and his brothers.
	He married Sarah Woodward at Wolvercote on 07.10.1833. Sarah was also born at Wolvercote in 1812 and it was there that they lived all of their life and where their eight children were born and baptised.
	This was just one of four marriages between the Collett and Woodward families, the other three being listed in SECTION TWO - COMBE. These were Phoebe Woodward born in 1801 who married William Collett (Ref. 38n5) who later married Richard Collett (Ref. 38n7), and Rachel Woodward born in 1822 who also married the aforementioned Richard Collett (Ref. 38n7)
	In 1841 James, a mason, and Sarah were both aged 29 and were living at Wolvercote with their first three children, these being William aged 6, Joseph aged 4 and Ann aged 1.
	According to the same census record, living in the house next door to James and Sarah were William Collett (below) and his wife Sarah, William being James’ brother.
	By the time of the 1851 Census the family was still living at Wolvercote and had increased in size by the addition of four more children, James aged 7, Anne aged 5, Eliza aged 3 and Emma aged 1, all born at Wolvercote. Sometime during the year following the 1851 Census Sarah gave birth to the couple’s last child Julia.
	Thirty years later at the time of the 1881 Census all of the children of James and Sarah had left the family home except their youngest child Julia.
	The census record stated that James, a stonemason, and his wife Sarah were both aged 69. Both were confirmed as having been born at Wolvercote and were living in a house on the main road through the village simply referred to as ‘village street’.
	Living with them was the aforementioned daughter Julia aged 28 who was not married and appeared to looking after her elderly parents as she was not credited with an occupation.
	Also listed in the 1881 census records as living with them was James’ grandson Joseph Collett aged 21 and a stonemason, and granddaughter Mary A Collett aged 16, both of whom had been born at Wolvercote.
	Joseph Collett (Ref. 38P3) and Mary A Collett (Ref. 38P6) were the children of James’ and Sarah’s eldest son William Collett who lived close by and who was suffering with a bad case of overcrowding, them having fourteen children at that time and another (the last) on the way.
	Over the following entries in this family line it will be noted that eight individual Collett families were recorded as living in houses along the main ‘village street’ in Wolvercote in 1881, indicating the prominence of the family within the local community.
	38O1	William Collett	Born in 1834
	38O2	JOSEPH COLLETT	Born in 1836
	38O3	Ann Collett	Born in 1839
	38O4	James Collett	Born in 1843
	38O5	Anne Collett	Born in 1845 at Wolvercote
	38O6	Eliza Collett	Born in 1847 at Wolvercote
	38O7	Emma Collett	Born in 1850
	38O8	Julia Collett	Born in 1852
38N9	Joseph Collett was baptised at Wolvercote on 02.12.1815. And it was there that he died and was buried on 22.03.1835, nine months before his twentieth birthday.
38N10	Ann Collett was baptised at Wolvercote on 05.05.1818 and where that same year she died and was buried on 22.09.1818.
38N11	William Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1819 and was baptised there on 31.10.1819. His occupation was that of a stonemason just like his brothers. He married Sarah A (surname not known) a young lady who was a year older than himself, having been born at Wolvercote in 1818.
	The couple lived the majority of their lives in Wolvercote where all of their children were born and where, in 1841, William and Sarah lived right next door to brother James Collett (above) and his wife Sarah.
	The 1851 Census reveals that William and Sarah now had two children, Mary aged 4 and Frederick aged 1. Ten years later these had been added to with the arrival of sons Daniel aged 8 and Henry aged 3, and daughter Eliza aged 1.
	According to the 1871 Census stonemason William was now 51, while his wife was 52. Only the three youngest children were still living with them at that time and these were Daniel 18 and a stonemason, Henry 13 and Rhoda 9. Living just one house away at that time was William’s brother Matthew (below).
	The couple’s two oldest children had left home by 2^nd April 1871. By 1881 William aged 61 and Sarah aged 62 and their two youngest and unmarried children Henry aged 23 and Rhoda aged 19 were living at ‘village street’ right next door to their son Frederick R Collett and his family.
	Also living with the family at Wolvercote in 1881 were two of the couple’s grand-children Lydia Robinson aged 9 and Horace J Collett who was one year old and the son of the aforementioned Frederick R Collett, both children having been born at Wolvercote.
	The existence of grand-daughter Lydia confirmed that William and Sarah had a daughter who married a Mr Robinson and that this was the child of their eldest daughter Mary.
	William Collett was still living at Wolvercote in 1891 at the age of 71, but by that time his wife Sarah had passed away.
	38O9	Mary E Collett	Born in 1846
	38O10	Frederick R Collett	Born in 1849
	38O11	Daniel Collett	Born in 1852
	38O12	Walter Collett	Born in 1854
	38O13	Henry Collett	Born in 1857
	38O14	Eliza Collett	Born in 1859
	38O15	Rhoda Collett	Born in 1861
38N12	Matthew Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1822 where he was baptised on 01.09.1822. He too followed in the family tradition by becoming a stonemason. He married Ann Collett of Combe between October and December 1847 as recorded in the Headington Oxford Register.
	Ann Collett was born at Combe and was baptised there on 29.10.1820, the marriage to Matthew Collett of Wolvercote proving another link between the two villages. Ann was the daughter of Thomas Collett and Sophia Smith who were married at Combe just nine days before Ann was baptised and presumably just prior to the birth. For further information about this branch of the Collett family go to Ref. 38n4.
	Matthew and Ann lived all their life in the village of Wolvercote where all of their children were born. The 1871 Census for Wolvercote listed the family at that time as: Matthew 48 and a stonemason, his wife Ann 50 and of Combe, Thomas 22, Joseph 20 and a stonemason, Alfred 15 and a servant, Annie 13, John 10, Edwin 8 and Benjamin 4.
	This census revealed that Matthew and his family were living just one house away from his brother William and his family (above).
	Within the next ten years three of their children left the family home so, by the time of the 1881 Census, the family had reduced to being just Matthew and Ann and their four youngest sons.
	At that time in April 1881 the family was living at ‘village street’ just a few doors along the road from Matthew’s brother William and his son Frederick. Matthew was aged 59 and Ann was aged 60, while their sons Alfred, John, Edwin and Benjamin were respectively aged 25, 20, 18 and 14 years.
	Ann must have died during the 1880s since Matthew was still living at Wolvercote in April 1891 and ten years later March 1901 where, on both occasions he was a widower and a retired stonemason aged 68 and 78 respectively.
	38O16	Thomas J Collett	Born in 1848
	38O17	Joseph Collett	Born in 1850
	38O18	Alfred Collett	Born in 1855
	38O19	Annie Sophia Collett	Born in 1858
	38O20	John Collett	Born in 1860
	38O21	Edwin Collett	Born in 1862
	38O22	Benjamin Collett	Born in 1866
38N13	Charles Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1825 and it was there that he was baptised on 18.09.1825. As with all the previous members of his family, he too took up the occupation of being a stonemason.
	He was first married in his younger days, the marriage producing at least two sons who were born at Wolvercote. However, he may have been divorced or suffered the premature death of his wife because it is known that he married the widow Mrs Elizabeth Simms when in his late forties or early fifties.
	Elizabeth was originally an Oxford girl having been born at St Giles in 1836, but had been married and lived at Camden Town in London where her son John Simms had been born in 1860.
	According to the 1881 Census, Charles Collett was 55 and a stonemason of Wolvercote who was living at ‘village street’ with wife Elizabeth aged 44 and son-in-law John Simms who was working at one of the university colleges as a domestic servant.
	Also listed as living at the house was one year old Alfred Collett (Ref. 38P66) who was born at Wolvercote and described as Charles’ grandson. This was the son of Charles’ second son John Collett (below) who continued to live with his grandparents until he was old enough to make his own way in life.
	Charles was 65 in the Wolvercote census of 1891 and still had his eleven years old grandson Alfred Collett living with him and his wife.
	In March 1901 Charles and Elizabeth were still living at Wolvercote. Charles was now 76 and Elizabeth from the Parish of St Giles in Oxford was aged 64 and their grandson Alfred had left their home only a few years earlier.
	38O23	Charles Thomas Collett	Born in 1850
	38O24	John Collett	Born in 1854
38N15	Emma Collett was born and baptised at Wolvercote in June 1834. A few months after her twentieth birthday she died at Wolvercote where she was buried on 29.10.1855.
38O1	William Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1834 and he entered the family business and became a stonemason. He married Mary Ann Jones on 05.01.1856 at Wolvercote. Mary was born at Wolvercote in 1836 and was the daughter of shoemaker William Jones.
	The marriage produced sixteen children for the couple, although only fifteen are listed here. All of the children were at Wolvercote, and they all lived at ‘village street’ in Wolvercote until they left the family home, as confirmed by the census returns for 1871, 1881 and 1891, as detailed below.
	According to the census of 1871 William was 36 and Mary was 34. Their children at that time were William 14, Ellen 13, Joseph 11, Henry 10, George 8, Mary A Collett 6, Edward 5, Vincent 2, and Emma who was under one year old.
	By April 1881 William was 46 and his wife Mary A Collett, who was pregnant with their last child, was 44. Ten of the fourteen children up to that time were still living with the couple in Wolvercote. These were Henry 20, George 18, Edward 15, Vincent 12, Emma 11, Ellis 9, Lydia 7, Edith 5, Thomas 4, and Agnes who was two.
	The two eldest children William and Ellen had already left the family home prior to April 1881, William to be married, and Ellen who was in domestic service in Oxford. The other two missing children were Joseph and Mary A Collett who were living nearby in Wolvercote with their grandparents to ease the overcrowded Collett home.
	Ten years later the family was somewhat reduced. William was 56 and Mary was 54, and the only children still living with them at Wolvercote were Edward 24, Ellis 19, Lydia 18, Thomas 13, Agnes 11, and latest arrival Gertrude who was nine years old.
	By March 1901 William was aged 66 and was still working as a stonemason at Wolvercote. There was no record of his wife in the census that year, so it is assumed that William was a widower.
	And it would appear that William passed away sometime during the next few years since no record of him has been found in the census of 1911.
	38P1	William James Collett	Born in 1856
	38P2	Ellen Collett	Born in 1858
	38P3	Joseph Collett	Born in 1859
	38P4	Henry Collett	Born in 1860
	38P5	George Collett	Born in 1862
	38P6	Mary A Collett	Born in 1864
	38P7	Edward Collett	Born in 1865
	38P8	Vincent Collett	Born in 1868
	38P9	Emma Collett	Born in 1870 at Wolvercote
	38P10	Ellis Collett	Born in 1871 at Wolvercote
	38P11	Lydia Collett	Born in 1873
	38P12	Edith Collett	Born in 1875
	38P13	Thomas Herbert Collett	Born in 1876
	38P14	Agnes E Collett	Born in 1878
	38P15	Gertrude Doris Collett	Born in 1881
38O2	JOSEPH COLLETT was born at Wolvercote in 1836. It is more than likely that he was a stonemason like his father, this profession also being taken up by his eldest son. When in his early twenties he met and married Lavinia Lindsey who was born at Witney in 1836.
	The wedding ceremony took place around 1858 and by 1871 the marriage had produced five children for Joseph and Lavinia and all of them born while the family was living at nearby Summertown in north Oxford.
	In April 1871 Joseph and Lavinia living in the Headington & St Clements area of Oxford where they were both 33 years old. Just three of their four children were listed with them and they were Henry J Collett 11, Samuel T Collett who was 7, and Ernest H Collett who was 5.
	Sadly, around his fortieth birthday, Joseph died on 13.11.1876 from cirrhosis of the liver while living at Rose Cottage on Banbury Road in Summertown.
	Approximately one year after the death of her husband, Lavinia married another stonemason, Richard Stroud. Richard was fifteen years her senior and had been born at Wootton, north of Woodstock in Oxfordshire.
	Shortly after they were married Richard and Lavinia were living in the Iffley area in south Oxford where their son Frank Stroud was born in 1878.
	According to the 1881 Census the family had moved again, this time to Howard Street in the Cowley district of the City of Oxford. Howard Street runs between Iffley Road (A4158) and Cowley Road to the east and is virtually the same today as it was at that time.
	Living with Richard, Lavinia and their son Frank Stroud were two of the children of the late Joseph Collett, these being son Samuel and daughter Lavinia. Of his other two children missing from the 1881 census return, his son Ernest was serving in the navy, but it is not known what had happened to Henry.
	38P16	Henry J Collett	Born in 1859
	38P17	SAMUEL THOMAS COLLETT	Born in 1863
	38P18	Ernest Henry Collett	Born in 1865
	38P19	Lavinia J Collett	Born in 1870
38O3	Ann Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1839 but died in 1842 and was buried at Wolvercote on 03.09.1842.
38O4	James Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1843. Unlike other members of his family who had entered the traditional family business of being a stonemason, James took up the profession of clock and watch maker.
	It was around 1870 that he married Elizabeth who was eight years younger than James and who was born at Woodstock in 1851. Shortly after they were married Elizabeth presented James with his first child who was born at Wolvercote, where all of their subsequent children were born.
	According to the 1881 Census James aged 37 and Elizabeth aged 29 were living with their three children at Woodview Cottages in Wolvercote where Elizabeth was employed at the local paper mill in Wolvercote as a rag cutter.
	Their children at that time were daughters Blanche aged 9 and Evelyn aged 7, and son Charles James who was one year old. The fact that no further children were added to the family for almost another ten years, raises an interesting possibility, bearing in mind what happened next to this family.
	With Elizabeth being eight years younger than James, there is a chance that a liaison with another man resulted in the birth of her last child. On discovering that his wife had been unfaithfully, James may have assaulted the gentleman concerned, and it may have been this action that caused him to be jailed during the first few years of the child life. All of this is purely supposition at this time.
	What is known for sure, is that by the time the child was born in 1889, Elizabeth was no longer living in Wolvercote following the family’s eviction from the house in Woodview Cottages, and with her husband being incarcerated in prison, she had been moved to the Oxford Workhouse.
	Due to his misdemeanour, hereto not confirmed, James Collett spent time in the Oxford H M Prison in New Road and was recorded as still being there at the time of the census of 1891 when he was forty-seven. At this same time in their lives James’ wife Elizabeth was living at the Oxford Workhouse, where she was recorded as Elizabeth Collett who was thirty-nine. Listed there with her at the workhouse in the St Clement area of the city was her two years old son Roland (Rowland of Summertown).
	Of the couple’s other children, eldest child Blanche Collett was nineteen and was employed as the only general domestic servant at the home of baker William Lanburn, and his seamstress wife Elizabeth, at 3 St Mary's Road in the Cowley district of Oxford. Rather curiously, the couple’s eldest son Charles was listed in the census of 1891 as living in Oxford where he was recorded as Charles J Collett who was 9.
	Just after the start of the new century James and Elizabeth were living at Littlemore to the west of Oxford. According to the census of 1901 James was 57 and from Wolvercote and was continuing to work as a watch and clock matcher, while Elizabeth was 49 and a laundress also from Wolvercote.
	Still living with them were two of their children. These were Evelyn who was 27 and from Wolvercote who was a packer at a laundry, and Roland H Collett who was eleven and born at Summertown in Oxford.
	By 1911 James’ wife had died and he had moved back into Oxford and was living at Marston. James Collett of Wolvercote was 67 and still had living with him his daughter Evelyn 37, and son Roland who was 21.
	38P20	Blanche Collett	Born in 1871
	38P21	Evelyn Collett	Born in 1874
	38P22	Charles James Collett	Born in 1880
	38P23	Roland Herbert Collett	Born in 1889
38O7	Emma Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1850 and was baptised there on 19.05.1850. When she was 30 she was unmarried and was working as a live-in housemaid and servant at the homes of 68 years old master draper John C Cavell at his extensive properties at 11 to 12 Magdalen Street and 1 to 2 Friars Entry in the St Mary Magdalen district of Oxford.
	Both addresses were just off Cornmarket Street and Broad Street in the centre of the city centre and are still there today - see note below.
	In the mid 1900s, and perhaps for many decades earlier, there was a large and very grand departmental store in the centre of Oxford at the intersection of Cornmarket Street, Broad Street and George Street that was Ellison & Cavell. It can therefore safely be assumed that draper John Cavell may have been the co-founder of this emporium, which was later taken over by Debenhams.
	At the age of 39 in 1891 and 49 in 1901 Emma was still a spinster but at this time she was a shopkeeper selling dairy produce in the St Giles district of Oxford. No record has been found for Emma after this time.
38O8	Julia Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1852 and in 1881 was still living with her parents at their home in ‘village street’ in Wolvercote. The census record indicated that she was aged 28 and was unmarried with no stated occupation or employment.
	It can perhaps therefore be assumed that her role in life was to care for her elderly parents James and Sarah Collett who were both approaching their seventieth birthdays. Sometime during the following twenty years her parents passed away and by the time of the census of 1901 Julia Collett was listed as being aged 47 and was working as a paper sorter at the Wolvercote paper mill.
	Early in the new century Julia Collett of Wolvercote married John Carey of Launton near Bicester and by April 1911 the couple were living within the Woodstock area where Julia was 57 and John was 54. In 1901 John had been living at Launton and was employed as a platelayer on the railway.
38O9	Mary E Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1846. She later married Mr Robinson, probably in Wolvercote, with whom she had a son and a daughter before he died prior to 1881. Both of the children were born at Wolvercote.
	According to the 1881 Census, Mary E Robinson, a widow aged 34, was still in Wolvercote living and working at the vicarage for the unmarried Reverend Henry A Redpath aged 32 and of Forest Hill in Kent.
	Living at the vicarage with Mary was her son Frederick W Robinson aged 12 who, whilst still at school, was listed in the census record as being a servant at the house, supporting his mother with her domestic and general servant duties.
	Mary’s other child, nine years old Lydia Robinson, was living with her grandparents William and Sarah Collett in ‘village street’ in Wolvercote.
	From other information in the 1881 Census it is likely that Mary’s husband was the brother of cattle dealer and farmer of 56 acres William Robinson aged 29 of Ramsden north of Witney, who was living with his wife Fanny in ‘village street’ in Wolvercote at that time.
38O10	Frederick R Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1849. His occupation was that of a stonemason like many of the Collett family of Wolvercote. And also like many of the Colletts he lived in ‘village street’ in Wolvercote.
	When he was near twenty he married Elizabeth Ann (surname not known) and their children were all born at Wolvercote, where Elizabeth was also born in 1851. The birth of their first child would indicate that the couple were married at Wolvercote in either late 1869 or earlier 1870.
	There was a large paper mill in Wolvercote where Elizabeth was employed as rag sorter which she may have been able to do at home while caring for her young family.
	In the census of 1881 the family was listed as Frederick 31, Elizabeth 29, and their children Frederick 10, Walter 6, Philip 2, and an unnamed one month old baby. With the arrival of the new son (later named Arthur) their other baby son Horace was staying in the house next door belonging to Frederick’s parents William and Sarah Collett.
	The census return for 1891 listed the family as Frederick R Collett 41, his wife Elizabeth K Collett 39, and their children at that time as Frederick C Collett 20, Walter 17, Philip 12, Arthur 10, Ralph 6, and Ernest E Collett who was three.
	Stonemason Frederick was aged 51 in the 1901 Census, while his wife Elizabeth was aged 49 and both of them were still living at Wolvercote with the youngest members of their family.
	It would appear that Frederick died during the first ten years of the new century since by April 1911 his wife was a widow living in the neighbouring hamlet of Godstow with three of her children. Elizabeth Ann Collett of Wolvercote was 59, son Ralph was 26, and Ern Edward was 23, and her daughter Leah was 16.
	38P24	Frederick Charles Collett	Born in 1870
	38P25	Walter Collett	Born in 1874
	38P26	Philip Collett	Born in 1878
	38P27	Horace J Collett	Born in 1880
	38P28	Arthur Collett	Born in 1881
	38P29	George Mitchell Collett	Born in 1883
	38P30	Ralph Collett	Born in 1885
	38P31	Ernest Edward Collett	Born in 1887
	38P32	Leah Collett	Born in 1894
38O11	Daniel Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1852 and he entered the family business as a stonemason. Around the age of twenty years he met nineteen years old Ellen who was born in Abingdon-on-Thames and to whom he was married around 1874.
	Like the vast majority of the Colletts of Wolvercote the couple lived in a house in ‘village street’ where all of their children were born.
	At the time of the 1881 Census Daniel was 28, Ellen was 27, and their four sons were William 5, Albert 4, Percy 3, and Sidney who six months old. Twenty years later and Daniel, then 48, was still working as a mason and living at Wolvercote with his wife Helen from Abingdon who was 47.
	Ten years later more children had been added to the family. Daniel was 38 and Helen was 37, and their children were listed in the census of 1891 at William 16, Albert 14, Percy 13, Sidney 10, Ellen N Collett 7, Augustus 5, Helena 4, and Lillian who was just one year old.
	No further mention is made of Ellen N Collett in any later records so there is a likelihood that she died before the end of the century.
	According to the 1901 Census all of Daniel’s and Helen’s children were still living in the village of Wolvercote, although the three oldest were married by then. Still living with their parents were Sidney 20, Augustus 15, Helena 14, Lillian 11, Harry 9, Merrick 8, and Rose who was 5.
	By April 1911 the family had moved the very short distance from Wolvercote to Godstow on the banks of the River Thames. Daniel was 58, Helen 57, Sidney 30, Augustus 25, Lillian 21, Harry 19, Merrick 18, and fifteen years old Rose. Only Daniel’s daughter Helena had left home during the previous decade.
	38P33	William John Collett	Born in 1874
	38P34	Albert Ernest Collett	Born in 1876
	38P35	Percy Thomas Collett	Born in 1877
	38P36	Sidney H Collett	Born in 1880
	38P37	Ellen N Collett	Born in 1883; died before 1901
	38P38	Augustus Daniel Collett	Born in 1885
	38P39	Helena E Collett	Born in 1886
	38P40	Lillian M Collett	Born in 1889 at Wolvercote
	38P41	Harry T Collett	Born in 1891
	38P42	Merrick F Collett	Born in 1892 at Wolvercote
	38P43	Rose E Collett	Born in 1895 at Wolvercote
38O12	Walter Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1854. He was a carpenter and in March 1879 he married Elizabeth Ann Hearn at Brackley in Northamptonshire where she was born in 1852. Shortly after they were married Elizabeth gave birth to a son while the couple were living at Wolvercote.
	The family of three were recorded in the 1881 Census as living at 43 Nelson Street in the St Thomas district of Oxford. Walter was aged 26 a carpenter of Wolvercote while his wife was aged 48 of Brackley, and their son was aged ten months.
	Over the following years the couple may have had other children and at the time of the 1901 Census Walter aged 46 and Elizabeth 48 were living in the St Giles district of Oxford with son Albert 20 and daughter Emily who was 16.
	Ten years after son Albert had left the family home and the remaining members of the family moved to Marston in north Oxford. Walter was 56, Elizabeth was 58, and daughter Emily Maude Collett was 26.
	38P44	Albert H Collett	Born in 1880
	38P45	Emily Maude Collett	Born in 1884 at Oxford
38O13	Henry Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1857. He was a master carpenter and at the age of 23 was unmarried and still living at home with his parents at ‘village street’ in Wolvercote.
38O14	Eliza Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1859. On leaving school she entered into domestic service and by 1881 was working as a live-in servant and housemaid at the home of 80 years old widower and clergyman Richard Greswell at 39 St Giles Street in Oxford.
38O15	Rhoda Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1861 and was a dressmaker. In 1881 aged 19 Rhoda was still living at home with her parents at ‘village street’ in Wolvercote. Ten years later she was still unmarried and still living in Wolvercote.
38O16	Thomas J Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1848. According to the 1871 Census he was aged 22 and was still living in the family home in Wolvercote from where he was working as a compositor for a printing company.
38O17	Joseph Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1850 where he was baptised on 29.12.1850. Although he followed in the family tradition of being a stonemason, for some reason he left home in Wolvercote at an early age and moved to the neighbouring county of Buckinghamshire.
	The 1871 Census confirmed that Joseph was the son of Matthew Collett of Wolvercote and his wife Ann Collett of Combe. In this Joseph was stated as being aged 20 and a stonemason born at Wolvercote.
	Towards the end of the 1870s he met Ellen who was born at Waddesdon west of Aylesbury and who was eleven years younger than himself. This difference in their ages may have been the reason for the split from his family.
	It must be assumed, although not proved, that Joseph married Ellen around 1879 when she may have only been seventeen years old. However, it is known that the liaison produced a daughter who was born at Bow in London in 1880.
	So perhaps the couple may have fled to London to be married and have the baby “in secret”. Either way, by the 3^rd April 1881, all three were living at Wharf Row in the village of Buckland between Aylesbury and Tring. Wharf Row backs onto the Grand Union Canal and is still in existence today.
	The census return listed stonemason Joseph as aged 30 and of Wolvercote in Oxford, Ellen his wife as 19 of Waddesdon, and their daughter Alice as aged just one year. It has not been established if there were any subsequent children born to Joseph and Ellen.
	The subsequent census returns of 1891 and 1901 indicate that Joseph returned to live in London and was still married but on both occasions his wife was not listed as being with him and he was described as ‘lodger’. In 1891 he was 40 and living within the Mile End Old Town area and ten years later he was 50 and was a stonemason from Wolvercote living in the Battersea area of London.
	Joseph’s younger brother John was living in Monmouth at the start of the new century and it was to Monmouth that Joseph made his way during the new few years. So by April 1911 Joseph aged 60 and from Wolvercote was living with his brother John and his family.
	38P46	Alice Collett	Born in 1880 at Bow, London
38O18	Alfred Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1855 and was baptised there on 19.08.1855. By the age of 25 he was a carpenter and a joiner, but was not married and was still living at the family home in Wolvercote.
	About seven or eight years later and towards the end of the 1880s Alfred married Alice who was born at Burgh near Louth in Lincolnshire in 1865. The marriage produced three children for Alfred and Alice and all of them were born at Wolvercote.
	By 1901 Alfred was aged 45, while Alice was confirmed as being ten years younger, and they were living with their children at Wolvercote. Alfred’s occupation at that time was a carpenter and a joiner working with a local building company.
	During the next ten years the family moved to Headington where they were living in 1911. Alfred was 55, his wife Alice was 45, and their three children were confirmed as Dorothy 20, Hubert 19, and Wilfred S Collett who was twelve.
	38P47	Dorothy Collett	Born in 1890 at Wolvercote
	38P48	Hubert Collett	Born in 1891 at Wolvercote
	38P49	Wilfred S Collett	Born in 1898 at Wolvercote
38O19	Annie Sophia Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1858 where she was baptised on 14.03.1858. At the age of 23 she was working as a cook for the Vicar of St Philip & James Church the Rev. Edward C Denner of Lambeth in Surrey at his home in 24 Leckford Road in the St Giles district of Oxford.
	Leckford Road is situated about two blocks to the north of the Radcliffe Infirmary on the west side of the Woodstock Road (A4144) and is still today as it was at that time.
38O20	John Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1860 and was baptised there on 09.09.1860. According to the 1881 Census he was aged 20 and an unemployed stonemason living at ‘village street’ in Wolvercote with his parents and his two brothers.
	During the first half of the 1890s John married Elizabeth who was born at Coleford in the Forest of Dean area of Gloucestershire and it was there that the couple’s second child was born, with the first having been born across the Severn at Berkeley.
	The census of 1901 placed John and Elizabeth with their first three children living at Tortworth, near Wotton-under-Edge, where her daughter Alice had been born. John’s age was incorrectly recorded as being 37 and his place of birth was given as Dursley in Gloucestershire, and his occupation was that of a watchman and lodge keeper.
	John’s wife Elizabeth was 38, while their son Frederick who had been born at Berkeley was five, William of Coleford was 4, and daughter Alice was three years old. This was the only Collett family living in Tortworth in 1901, so why John did not offer his correct details is a mystery.
	The family remained living at Tortworth for at least another four years, since it was while they were still living there that Elizabeth presented John with their fourth and last children. A little while after the family moved to South Wales.
	By the time of the census of 1911 the family of six was living at Monmouth. John was 50 and from Wolvercote, his wife Elizabeth was 48, and their children were confirmed as Frederick 15, William 14, Alice 13, and six years old Charles.
	By the summer of 1917 John and Elizabeth had returned to Gloucestershire and were living at the Post Office in Christchurch near Coleford in the Forest of Dean when they received the tragic news that their eldest son Frederick had been killed during the fighting at the Ypres Salient.
	38P50	Frederick John James Collett	Born in 1895
	38P51	William H Collett	Born in 1896 at Coleford, Glos
	38P52	Alice Maud Collett	Born in 1897 at Tortworth, Glos
	38P53	Charles Ernest Collett	Born in 1904 at Tortworth, Glos
38O21	Edwin Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1862 and was baptised there on 12.10.1862. Like his older brother John has was an unemployed stonemason in 1881 and was 18 years of age living at the family home in ‘village street’ in Wolvercote.
	Towards the end of that decade Edwin married Sarah Ann around 1887 and the marriage produced four children for Edwin and Sarah before the end of the century.
	According to the census of 1901 Edwin was 38 and a stonemason from Wolvercote who was living with his young family in the Cowley St John area of Oxford. His wife was Sarah was 45 and from Blackwall in Kent, and their four children were William 11, Francis 9, Sidney 8, and Florence who was three.
	Ten years later the family was still living in the Cowley area where Edwin was 49, Sarah Ann was 55, William was 21, Francis was 19, Sidney was 18, and Florence was 14 years old.
	Midway through the First World War it is established that Edwin and Sarah were living at 50 Argyle Street off the Iffley Road in Cowley. It was while living here that they received the tragic news that their son Sidney had been killed in action during the Battle of the Somme.
	38P54	William George Edwin Collett	Born in 1889 at Oxford
	38P55	Francis Arthur Collett	Born in 1891 at Oxford
	38P56	Sidney Thomas Collett	Born in 1893
	38P57	Florence May Collett	Born in 1896 at Oxford
38O22	Benjamin Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1866 and was a 14 years old schoolboy at the time of the 1881 Census living with his family at ‘village street’ in Wolvercote. Ten years later he had left Oxfordshire and was living and working in Leicester at the age of 24 where his place of birth was confirmed as Wolvercote.
	Benjamin became a school teacher and in March 1901 he was living and working at a school in Caverswall near Stoke-on-Trent where his occupation was that a school master. Shortly after the census day Benjamin married Nellie
	By April 1911 the marriage had produced three children for Benjamin who was 44 and from Wolvercote, although at that time he and his family were living at Calne in Wiltshire. His wife was Nellie Marguerite who was 34, and the children were Eric 8, Mary 4, and Robert 3.
	38P58	Eric John Cyril Collett	Born in 1902
	38P59	Mary Elizabeth Collett	Born in 1906
	38P60	Robert Charles Collett	Born in 1908
38O23	Charles Thomas Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1850 where he was baptised on 20.04.1851. He was yet another of the Collett family who became a stonemason. When he was in his early twenties he met Eliza a young lady who was born at Marcham just west of Abingdon-on-Thames in 1855.
	They married around 1873 and lived for a short while at Wolvercote where their first child was born. Within two years the family had moved into the City of Oxford and were living at 1 Clarendon Buildings in the St Thomas district of the city.
	And it was there that their next two children were born. This was all confirmed in the 1881 Census in which stonemason Charles was 30, Eliza 25, and their three children were Thomas 6, Francis 4, and baby Clarice who was just nine months old. Also living with the family was lodger and medical nurse, 61 years old Eliza Wood of Oxford.
	Further children were added during the following ten years, so by 1891 the family comprised Charles 40, Eliza 36, and their children Thomas 16, Francis 14, Charles 6, and Bertha 4. No record of a Clarice has been found anywhere in the UK census of 1891 or 1901.
	By the end of the century just one more child had been added to the family. According to the census of 1901 for the St Thomas area of Oxford, Charles Collett of Wolvercote was 50 and a stonemason, his wife Eliza was 46 and from Marcham, and their three youngest children were charles 16, Bertha 14, and Agnes who was five.
	Charles and Eliza were still living in the St Thomas area of Oxford in April 1911 and still living with them were two of their children. Charles Thomas Collett was 60, his wife Eliza was 56, and the two children were Charles aged 26, and Agnes M L Collett who was fifteen.
	At that same time Charles’ son Thomas was married and was living in the Cowley area of the city with his family, although no record on his other son Francis has been found anywhere in the UK at that time.
	38P61	Thomas Walter Collett	Born in 1874
	38P62	Francis Charles Collett	Born in 1876 at Oxford
	38P63	Clarice L A Collett	Born in 1880
	38P64	Charles Collett	Born in 1884 at Oxford
	38P65	Bertha Collett	Born in 1886 at Oxford
	38P66	Agnes M L Collett	Born in 1895 at Oxford
38O24	John Collett was born at Wolvercote in 1854. Upon leaving school he became a stonemason, a trade he learned by working with his father. There is something of a puzzle about John’s early life and it is possible, although not proved, that he was married twice.
	This idea stems from the near twenty years difference in age between his first child and the second two children. Also it is known that John’s first son Alfred was taken in by the boy’s grandparents at the time of his birth and it was they who looked after him for all of the first twenty years of his life.
	The main reason that this happened was very likely that the boy’s mother died giving birth. It would then make sense that John was married for a second time many years later.
	It was John’s work that enabled him to travel around the country and through this he probably met and married Ellen who was born in 1859 at Wye near Ashford in Kent.
	The wedding very probably took place in the mid 1890s and, although it is not known where the couple were married, it is known that the two children of John and Ellen were born while they were living at Wolvercote.
	By March 1901 John and Ellen were living at the St Giles district of Oxford. John was 46 and a journeyman stonemason, while Ellen was 41. Living with them were their two sons David 2, and Christopher who was under one year old.
	As a journeyman stonemason it would either appear that John may have been away from home on business in April 1911. Either that, or he had died by then. His wife Ellen from Wye was 50 and was still living in the St Giles area of Oxford with her two youngest sons David who was 12, and Christopher who was 10.
	38P67	Alfred Collett	Born in 1879
	38P68