PART FORTY

The Hereford Line

This line commences with John Collett (Ref. 5M8)

whose earlier family feature in Part 5 – The Tewkesbury Line

Updated March 2010

This is the family line of Joan Cowdell (see Ref. 40O3)

40M1	JOHN COLLETT (Ref. 5M8) was born at Tewkesbury on 09.03.1763 where he was baptised six years later on 10.12.1769. It would appear that he had no ties when he left Tewkesbury and decided to settle in Herefordshire, either before or around the turn of the century.
	In 1807 he married Mrs Oriana Evans at Fownhope. Oriana’s maiden name prior to her first marriage had been Pritchard. Fownhope is a village some six miles south-east of the town of Hereford.
	The marriage is known to have produced three children for John and all of them were born at Fownhope before his untimely death there in 1813 when he was fifty years old.
	Following the death of her husband Oriana married James Powell in 1814 with whom she had a further two sons William Powell and Henry Powell.
	40N1	John Collett	Born in 1807
	40N2	Thomas Collett	Born in 1810
	40N3	JOHN COLLETT	Born in 1812
	40N4	William Powell	Born in 1815
	40N5	Henry Powell	Born in 1817
40N1	John Collett was born at Fownhope in 1807 and was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 01.11.1807. The baptism record confirmed he was the son of John and Oriana Collett. Tragically he was only two years old when he died in 1809.
40N2	Thomas Collett was born at Fownhope in 1810 and was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 11.06.1810, the son of John and Oriana Collett. However, there is no record on him from that time and it may therefore be the case that he was subject to an infant or childhood death.
40N3	JOHN COLLETT was born at Fownhope in 1812 and was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 30.05.1813. Twenty-two years later, on 17.12.1835, he married Ann Fletcher of nearby Hereford and they had eight children who, it is believed, were all born while the family was living at Fownhope.
	In the first national census on 6^th June 1841 John and Ann were living at Lower Nash in Fownhope with their daughter and their son. John was aged 29, Ann was 26 and the children were Jessy aged 5 and John aged 2.
	Over the next ten years a further four children were added to the family. So by 1851 the family comprised John aged 36 and Ann aged 35 and their children Jessie aged 14, John aged 11, Myra 8, Emma aged 5, Reuben aged 2 and baby Charles who was under one year old.
	Ten years later in 1861 the family had increased in size by the addition of a further two children, by which the family had left Fownhope and were then living in the City of Hereford. John was aged 47 and his wife Ann was 46. Of their eight children, five of them were still living with their parents.
	These were daughters (Myra) Elizabeth 18 and Grace 6, and their sons Reuben 11, Charles 9 and Ebenezer aged 8. The three missing children had already left home and were living and working elsewhere. Daughter Jessie was aged 24, Emma was 15, and John aged 21.
	Twenty years later John’s occupation was that of a stonemason and in the 1881 Census he was aged 68, his wife Ann was 66 and the only member of their family still living with them was their youngest daughter Grace A Taylor aged 25, together with her husband and their six months old son Walter.
	At that time they were living at 4 Tanbrook Place off Widemarsh Street in the All Saints district of Hereford. Living just a short distance away from John and Ann at 1 Tanbrook Place was their son Ebenezer and his young family.
	40O1	Jessie Collett	Born in 1836
	40O2	John Collett	Born in 1839
	40O3	Myra Elizabeth Collett	Born in 1842
	40O4	Emma Collett	Born in 1846
	40O5	Reuben Thomas Collett	Born in 1848
	40O6	Charles Henry Collett	Born in 1851
	40O7	Ebenezer Collett	Born in 1853
	40O8	Grace Ann Collett	Born in 1855
40N4	William Powell was born at Fownhope in 1815. He later married Elizabeth Apperley who was born at Fownhope where the couple were married in 1840. It was also at Fownhope that all of their children were also born. By 1861 the married had produced five children for William aged 45 and Elizabeth aged 46.
	Twenty years later most of the children had left the family home at Parkers Pitch in Fownhope leaving just William an agricultural labourer aged 66, his wife Elizabeth also 66, and their two unmarried sons William 29 and Charles 27 who were both working as labourers.
	William Powell appears to have spent his whole life living in Fownhope, since that was where he died in not long after the 1881 census day.
	40O9	Anne W Powell	Born in 1843
	40O10	Henry Powell	Born in 1845
	40O11	William Powell	Born in 1851
	40O12	Charles Powell	Born in 1853
	40O13	Frederick Powell	Born in 1855
40N5	Henry Powell was born at Fownhope in 1817 and was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawly on 04.04.1817, the son of James Powell and Oriana Collett.
40O1	Jessie Collett was born at Fownhope in 1836 and in June 1841 she was 5 and at the end of March 1851 she was aged 14. By the time of the next census in 1861 Jessie was living within the Cripplegate district of East London. She was recorded as being aged 24 and of Fownhope, and was working as a barmaid at the Brown Bear Inn in Aldersgate.
	It seems very likely that she moved to London with her brother John (below) who was also living and working there in 1861. However, no trace of her after this time has been found either a spinster or married.
40O2	John Collett was born at Fownhope in 1839 where he was baptised on 28.07.1839, the eldest son of John and Ann Collett. According to the census records for Fownhope, he was two years old at the time of the census in 1841 and eleven years old in 1851.
	Before 1861 his family left Fownhope and moved the short distance into the City of Hereford. John was not living with the family at the time of the census that year, but had travelled to London, probably with his sister Jessie (above) to seek work.
	According to the census record, John was aged 21 and was living in the Westminster area of the capital where he was employed as biscuit maker.
	As with his sister Jessie, no record of John living in the UK has been found after this time.
40O3	Myra Elizabeth Collett was born at Fownhope in 1842 and was baptised there on 07.07.1844. Her parents appear to have used her second named on some occasions and it was as Myra Collett that she was living with her parents at Fownhope in 1851. During the next ten years the family moved to Hereford where she was recorded as Elizabeth Collett aged eighteen in 1861.
	Myra married Albert William Hart at Holmer in Herefordshire in 1865. The first sixteen years of their marriage produced nine children for Myra and Albert. The first child was born during the year after they were married and while the couple were living in the city of Worcester. It is therefore very likely that it was at Worcester that they were married.
	Shortly after the birth of their first child, Myra and Albert left Worcester to live in the town of Hereford where their next five children were born. Sometime around 1875 the family made what was possibly a final move to the village of Abberley. And it was while they were living at Abberley that their last three children were born. Abberley is approximately five miles south-west of Stourport-on-Severn.
	By the time of the 1881 Census Albert was aged 36 and was a mason born in Gloucester around 1844. He and his family were living at Home Lodge in Abberley at that time and the family comprised the following.
	His wife Myra was aged 37 and she stated she was born at Hereford. Their sons were Albert 14, Charles 13, Arthur 11, Frederick 8, Thomas 2 and Henry aged one year and their daughters were Ada 10, Alice 6 and Leah aged 4.
	This couple were the great grandparents of Joan Cowdell whose first husband’s mother (Mildred Alice Jones the daughter of Ada Hart below) used to refer to Myra as ‘a nice old lady’.
	40P1	Albert Hart	Born in 1866
	40P2	Charles Hart	Born in 1867
	40P3	Arthur Hart	Born in 1869
	40P4	Ada Hart	Born in 1871
	40P5	Frederick Hart	Born in 1872
	40P6	Alice Hart	Born in 1874
	40P7	Leah Hart	Born in 1876
	40P8	Thomas Hart	Born in 1878
	40P9	Henry Hart	Born in 1880
	40P10	Jessie Hart	Born in 1882
	40P11	Annie Hart	Born in 1885
40O4	Emma Collett was born at Fownhope in 1846 and it was there that she was baptised on 15.03.1846. In the 1851 Census she was aged 5 and was living with her family in Fownhope. Sometime after the family left Fownhope and lived in the City of Hereford where they were recorded as living in the census of 1861
	By that time Emma had left the family and was employed in domestic service in Hereford where, at the age of 15, she was working as a servant, her place of birth confirmed as Fownhope.
	At the time of the 1871 Census Emma was still a spinster and at the age of 24 was a visitor at the Fownhope home of her aunt Emma Daw.
	The following year she married James Snead at Holmer just north of Hereford. However, no record of the couple has been found after this date.
40O5	Reuben Thomas Collett was born at Fownhope in 1848, and was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 01.10.1848, the son of John and Ann Collett. He was aged 2 years in late March 1851 and by 1861 was 11 and was living with his family who had moved from Fownhope to Hereford.
	Like his father John Collett, Reuben was a stonemason and he married Jane Nicholl of Tettenhall in Staffordshire around 1871 when Jane was just twenty years of age. The wedding may have taken place at Hereford since that was where the couple’s first child was born.
	Sometime around 1875 it would appear that Reuben and Jane, together daughter Minnie, left Hereford to move the four miles north to live in the village of Marden where their next two children were born. The marriage may have produced further children for the Reuben and Jane but this has not been determined at this time.
	Ten years after they were married the couple were still living in the village of Marden at somewhere referred to as ‘Wyatt’. For example, this may have been Wyatt House, Wyatt Lane, etc.
	That year’s census reveals that stonemason Reuben was aged 32, his wife Jane was three years younger at 29, and their three children were aged 8, 6 and 3 years.
	By the time of the 1891 Census Reuben 42 and Jane 39 had moved again, this time to Burghill just to the north-west of Hereford. There were also two additions to the family in the form of 8 years old Abel and 4 years old William, together with the couple’s two other sons Ernest aged 16 and Frank aged 13.
	At the turn of the century Jane had become a widow and was living at Withington just north-west of Hereford aged 49. The 1901 Census stated she was born in Staffordshire but at Stonebridge rather than Tettenhall, as stated twenty years earlier.
	In order to support herself Jane was then working as a grocer and shopkeeper in Withington. Living with her at Withington were her two sons Frank aged 23 and born at Sutton (St Nicholas near Hereford) and William aged 14 who was born at Withington. Both of them were working as carpenters at that time.
	Ten years later in April 1911, Jane was still living at Withington near Hereford and was 59 years of age. The only member of her family still living with her was her son Frank.
	40P12	Minnie S Collett	Born in 1872
	40P13	Ernest Collett	Born in 1874
	40P14	Frank S Collett	Born in 1877
	40P15	Abel Collett	Born in 1882
	40P16	William Collett	Born in 1886
40O6	Charles Henry Collett was born at Fownhope in 1851. He was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 24.08.1851, the son of John and Ann Collett. Charles was nine years old at the time of the census of 1861 when he was living with his family within the Hereford City registration area.
40O7	Ebenezer Collett was born at Fownhope in 1853 and was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 10.07.1853. The baptism register confirmed that he was the son of John and Ann Collett.
	He was a joiner and he married Agnes Stones on 13.10.1877 at Hereford where she was born. The marriage registered conformed that the bride’s father was William Stone and the groom’s father was John Collett. Shortly after they were married the couple moved to Newport in South Wales where their first child was born.
	However, Ebenezer and Agnes then moved back to live in Hereford just after birth of the child and in time for the birth of their second child. This was born while they were living at 1 Tanbrook Place off Widemarsh Street in the All Saints district of Hereford, which was only three doors from where Ebenezer’s father John Collett lived.
	The census return for 1881 listed the family as Ebenezer 27 of Fownhope who was a joiner, his wife Agnes of Hereford who was 26, and their two children Gertrude who was 2 and born at Newport, and Frederick W Collett who was just three months old and born at Hereford.
	The family was not long at Hereford because, by the time of the birth of Ebenezer’s and Agnes’ third child, they had moved once again. This time it was to Colwich in Staffordshire where all of their remaining children were born.
	According to the Colwich census of 1891 the family comprised Ebenezer 38, Agnes 37, Gertrude 12, Frederick 10, Charles 8, Grace 7, Alec 4, and baby Cecilia who was under one year old.
	Just after the turn of the century Ebenezer was 46 and was still working as a joiner, Agnes was also 46, and living with them at Colwich were just four of their six children. These were sons Frederick 20, Charles 17 and Alexander 13, and their daughter Cecilia who was referred to as Cissie aged 10.
	Ebenezer’s eldest daughter Gertrude had already left the family home in Colwich and was living an working in Allerton in Lancashire. Missing daughter Grace had already entered into domestic service and was living and working at a house in Weddington near Nuneaton.
	It would appear that during the first ten years of the new century Agnes died, leaving Ebenezer as a widower by April 1911. He was still living at Colwich on that occasion at the age of 57. Still living with him were three of his six children. These were Frederick, Alexander, and Cecilia.
	It should be noted that from 1881 onwards there were two Collett sisters living at Colwich. These were spinster Mary Ann Collett who was born at Bloxwich near Walsall in 1829 and her married/widowed sister Elizabeth Hopkins who had been born at Great Haywood near Colwich in 1838.
	Both ladies died while living at Colwich, Elizabeth first in 1899 and Mary twelve years later in 1911. Further details of this branch of the Collett family can be found in Part 43 – The Staffordshire Line under references 43O2 for Mary Ann Collett and 43O5 for Elizabeth Collett.
	It is possible that there is some connection between these two family lines but so far no direct link has been found.
	40P17	Gertrude Collett	Born in 1878
	40P18	Frederick W Collett	Born in 1881
	40P19	Charles Collett	Born in 1882
	40P20	Grace Collett	Born in 1883
	40P21	Alexander Collett	Born in 1886
	40P22	Cecilia Collett	Born in 1890
40O8	Grace A Collett was born at Fownhope in 1855. She married William Taylor who was born at Whitechapel in London in 1856. From the age of their first child the marriage took place in 1879 and possibly at Hereford where the child was born.
	William was a telegraph electrician and in early April 1881 he and his wife Grace and their son Walter were living at 4 Tanbrook Place off Widemarsh Street in Hereford All Saints. This was the home of Grace’s parents John and Ann Collett.
	No record of Grace, or her husband William, or her son Walter has been found after 1881.
	40P23	Walter F E Taylor	Born in September 1880
	Footnote: As far as can be determined there were no members of the Collett family living at Fownhope on 3^rd April 1881 at the time the census was conducted. There were however four male Taylors and five female Taylors born at Fownhope who were recorded in the 1901 Census.
40O12	Charles Powell was born at Fownhope in 1853 according to the earlier census records although the late records suggest it may have been two years later. He was in his late twenties when he married Margaret Ann with whom he is known to have had a least five children. All of their children were born at Fownhope where Charles and Margaret were living in 1891 aged 35 and 32 respectively.
	Listed with them in that year’s census was Emily aged 4, John aged 3, Ivan aged 2, and Sarah who was five months.
	Two years later their son Capel was born at Fownhope in 1893 as confirmed by the 1901 Census in which he was recorded as living with his family at Fownhope. Charles Powell was 45 and was working as a quarryman, and he had living with him Emily 14, John 13 and 7 years old Capel.
	No trace has been found of Charles’ wife Margaret in the 1901 Census.
40P12	Minnie S Collett was born at Hereford in 1872 and was recorded as being aged 8 in 1881 and living with her family at Marden just north of Hereford. She married Allen Pritchard at Withington in 1893 and by 1901 the couple were living with Allen’s father, 60 years old Jonathan Pritchard.
	The complete family at that time was Allen aged 32 who was a rural postman, his wife Minnie 29, and their two children Nellie 7 and Florence 4 both of whom were born at Withington.
40P13	Ernest Collett was born at Marden in 1874 and although he was listed living at Marden in 1801 aged 6 and at Burghill in 1891 aged 16, there has been no trace of him after that date.
40P14	Frank S Collett was born at Marden in 1877. Like his older brother Ernest, there has been no trace of him after 1891 when he was aged 13 and living with his parents at Burghill.
	Following the death of his father Frank, together with his younger brother William, was living with his mother at her home in Withington in 1901 and from where Frank was employed as a carpenter.
	Ten years later at the age of 33 Frank was still a bachelor living with his mother Jane at Withington near Hereford.
40P15	Abel Collett was born at Marden in 1882 and was living with his parents at Burghill in 1891 aged 8. However, just as with his brother Ernest (above), no record of him has been located in the census records for 1901 and 1911. It may therefore be assumed that he had moved to live abroad.
40P16	William Collett was born at Withington in 1886 and was aged 14 and was working as a carpenter in 1901. He was living with his widowed mother Jane and his older brother Frank who was also a carpenter. Just like his brother Ernest and Abel (above), no record of William has so far been found after 1901.
40P17	Gertrude Collett was born at Newport in South Wales in 1878. Shortly after she was born, she moved with her parents to Hereford where they were living in 1881 at 1 Tanbrook Place off Widemarsh Street and where Gertrude’s place of birth was confirmed as Newport and her age as two years.
	Within the next ten years the family moved again, this time to Colwich in Staffordshire as confirmed by the 1891 Census in which she was aged 12. By March 1901 Gertrude was 25 and had left the family home in Colwich and was living and working at Allerton in Lancashire.
	In the census that year she gave her place of birth as Colwich rather than Newport. This was very likely given in ignorance because of the short few months she had lived there with her parents, most of her past twenty plus years having been spent living at Colwich.
	The census return recorded that Gertrude was 25 and that she was employed as a domestic housemaid at an address within the Allerton registration district.
40P18	Frederick W Collett was born in late December 1880 or early January 1881 at 1 Tanbrook Place off Widemarsh Street in the All Saints district of Hereford. He was recorded as being three months old in the April census of 1881 when he was listed as Frederick W Collett. Later that same year, or very early in the following year, he and his family move to Colwich in Staffordshire.
	By 1891 Frederick was ten years old and he and his family were living at Colwich, midway between Stafford and Rugeley. Ten years later he was still living with his parents at Colwich aged 20 where his occupation at that time was that of a joiner like his father and brother Charles (below).
	Sometime during the following decade his mother passed away. So by April 1911 Frederick was still a bachelor at the age of 29 when he was still living at Colwich where he was still working with his widowed father Ebenezer Collett and his younger brother Alexander (below).
40P19	Charles Collett was born at Colwich in Staffordshire in 1882 where he was living with his family in 1891 aged 8. Like his father and his brother Frederick (above) he worked as a joiner on leaving school and in 1901 was still living at Colwich with his family at the age of seventeen.
	A few years later, perhaps around 1908, he married Alice Betts who was born at Colwich in 1885. Shortly after they were married Alice presented Charles with their first child. In April 1911 the family of three still living at Colwich were recorded as Charles 27, his wife Alice 25, and their son Lawrence who was ten months old. It seems very likely that further children were born to the couple.
	40Q1	Lawrence Collett	Born in June 1910
40P20	Grace Collett was born at Colwich in 1883 and was seven at the time of the 1891 Census. On leaving school she left the family home in Colwich and entered into domestic service and around the turn of the century was employed as an under-house maid at a house in Weddington in Nuneaton at the age of 17.
40P21	Alexander Collett was born at Colwich in 1886. He appeared as Alec in the 1891 Census aged 4, but was listed as Alexander aged 13 in 1901. On both occasions he was living with his family at Colwich which was recorded as being the place where he was born.
	When he was around twenty years of age his mother died and by April 1911, at the age of 23, he was still living at Colwich with his widowed father and two of his siblings, Frederick (above) and Cecilia (below).
40P22	Cecilia Collett was born at Colwich between mid 1890 and March 1891 and was listed as being under one year old in the Colwich census of 1891. At the time of the next census for Colwich in 1901 she was aged 10 and her name was recorded as being Cissie.
	Cissie was therefore the only daughter still living with her family during the first decade of the new century, and was present at the death of her mother Agnes. The next Colwich census in April 1911 recorded that Cecilia Collett was 19 and was still living with her father and two of her brothers Frederick and Alexander.