PART FORTY-ONE

The Middlesex Harefield Line

This line commences with Henry Collett (Ref. 1M28)

of Kempsford in Gloucestershire

Updated February 2009

This is the family line of Jean Ferguson (see Ref. 41P8) of Cheshire depicted

in capitals and Cheryl Collett (Ref. 41S1) in the USA, whose great grandfather

was George Collett (Ref. 41P4) of Harefield & Washington depicted by underlining.

As a result of the August 2008 update it is also the family line of

Trevor Collette (Ref. 41S4) of Kingston in Ontario

This latest update now includes the family line of Brian Arthur Collett (41R17)

of Sutton in Surrey who kindly provided the new information regarding his family

41M1	HENRY COLLETT (Ref. 1M28) was the second son of Robert and Mary Collett and was born at Kempsford on 02.04.1772 where he was baptised on 27.04.1772. He was born into a tragic family as his older brother John had died an infant death, his only younger sister Elizabeth also died in the same way when he was just approaching his fifth birthday, and shortly after his father died.
	So the family that would have otherwise been six in number was reduced to just three, these being Henry, his widowed mother Mary and only surviving younger brother John. Mary then appears to have sought solace with local blacksmith Joseph Bunce, as a result of which, just over a year later, she brought into the family a base born child. This was followed eighteen months later by a second base born child, the father of which is not known.
	In was initially believed that at sometime in his life Henry left Gloucestershire and initially made his way to Cornwall, most likely for work reasons. It was also believed that it was there that he met Elizabeth Withiell who was born in Cornwall in 1770. Not long after they met they were married at Philleigh on 16.08.1792, and Henry was recorded as being a farmer.
	It has long been acknowledged that there was a seven years gap between the date of their wedding and the birth of their first confirmed child leading to speculation that there may have been others born during this period.
	New information has recently come to light that places a question-mark over Henry’s marriage to Elizabeth Withiell. It would be more realistic that he moved to London, rather than Cornwall, where he married Elizabeth Woods on 31.12.1798 at St Mary’s Church on Marylebone Road in the City Borough of Marylebone. This date correlates better with the birth of their first child.
	Sometime after they were married the couple left the City of London and settled at Harefield in Middlesex where all of their children were born. The baptisms for all of the children listed below were conducted out at St Mary’s Church in Harefield.
	Previously it was thought that more children than listed below had been born in the years between 1793 and 1800 and that one of these may well have been Thomas Collett born in 1793. This now seems unlikely but is still worth a mention as Thomas Collett in 1841 was the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the Brentford, Staines & Uxbridge registration district which included Harefield.
	In that capacity he was the registrar in December 1840 for the birth of Richard Benjamin Collett the grandson of Henry Collett and the eldest son of Richard Collett (below) born in 1809.
	At the time of his son Richard’s marriage in December 1837 Henry was reported to be working as a watchman. This too seems at odds with him being a farmer in Cornwall in 1792 and again might be a clue that he was not the Henry who married Elizabeth Withiell at Philleigh.
	Four years later for the first national census in 1841 Henry and his wife Elizabeth were both listed as being 70 years of age while living at Copper Mill Lane in Harefield Living with them was their son Richard and his family, including the aforementioned grandson Richard Benjamin.
	It should be noted for this census only that the age of adults was crudely taken by the fifth and tenth years, i.e. 25, 30, 35, 40. Only the age of children was given more accurately.
	Almost four years later Henry’s wife Elizabeth died at Harefield during the second quarter of 1845 leaving Henry as a widower who was confirmed was being aged 79 at the time of the 1851 Census. The detail in the census recorded that he was born at Kempsford and was a labourer with a pension.
	Still living with Henry at that time was his son Richard, together with his wife Sarah and their eight children.
	Henry survived for almost another two years after the census day and died at Harefield during the first quarter of 1853.
	41N1	John Collett	Born and baptised in 1800
	41N2	Robert Henry Collett	Born in 1802
	41N3	WILLIAM COLLETT	Born in 1804
	41N4	Elizabeth Collett	Born in 1806
	41N5	James Collett	Baptised on 15.03.1807
	41N6	Richard Collett	Born in 1809
	41N7	Jonathan Collett	Born in 1811
	41N8	Ann Collett	Born in 1812
	41N9	Sarah Ann Collett	Born in 1816
41N2	Robert Henry Collett was born at Harefield in 1801, where he was baptised at St Mary’s Church on 09.05.1802. He was married to Ann (?) and the marriage produced at least eight children all born at Harefield. Robert was in his early thirties at the time of their wedding and Ann was about ten years younger than Robert.
	In 1841 he was listed in the census as being aged 35 and of Harefield while Ann was 25. Living with them at Harefield were sons Henry, Charles and Robert, and daughter Mary.
	So far no record of Robert has been located in 1851 although Ann was aged 38. Furthermore there are no obvious records of his whereabouts between 1851 and 1881. Although absence for the 1851 Census, Robert must have been in Harefield in 1852/53 as his wife gave parent to their last child in 1853.
	According to the 1881 Census Robert H Collett was a widower aged 80 years and born at Harefield where he was living at Park Lane, just one house along from son James and two doors from son Charles.
	Living with Robert in the spring of 1881 were his two unmarried daughters Mary aged 44 and Edith 41, both born at Harefield. Edith was recorded as being blind. Wherever Robert was during the missing decades it would appear that Mary and Edith were with him, as they too have not be positively identified in any of the intervening census records.
	41O1	Mary A Collett	Born in 1836
	41O2	Henry Collett	Born in 1837
	41O3	Charles Collett	Born in 1838
	41O4	Edith Collett	Born in 1839
	41O5	Robert Collett	Born in 1841 before 6^th June
	41O6	Elizabeth Collett	Born in 1845
	41O7	Jonathan Collett	Born in 1849
	41O8	Frederick Collett	Born in 1853
41N3	WILLIAM COLLETT was born at Harefield in 1804, where he was baptised at St Mary’s Church on 08.12.1804. He married Elizabeth Sheerwood (see below) who was also born around 1803 but at nearby Ickenham near Ruislip in Middlesex. Once they were married the couple settled in Harefield, where all of their children were born.
	William’s occupation was that of a butcher and the 1841 Census confirmed that he was married to Elizabeth and that they were living at Harefield village with five of their children. Also living with them was Betty Sheerwood aged 65 who was very likely Elizabeth’s mother.
	William and Elizabeth were recorded as being aged 35 (sic) whereas the ages of their children were more accurately stated. Their sons William, Isaac and Jacob were aged 15, 4 and 2 respectively, while their daughters Ellen and Emma were aged 9 years and six months.
	No trace has been found of the three missing children, George, Abraham and Sarah, in any of the national census records so it must be assumed that they died as infants prior to 1841. Nor has any trace been found of William’s youngest son John, either in the 1851 Census or later census records.
	By April 1861 William, now a master butcher, and Elizabeth were aged 57 and were living with their four unmarried sons at the High Street in Harefield. This again confirmed their places of birth as being Harefield and Ickenham. The unmarried sons were William aged 34, Jacob aged 21, David aged 17 and Job aged 15.
	Also living with the family was George Collett Jones aged 8 and born at Harefield who was listed as being the grandson of William and Elizabeth. George was the son of their daughter Ellen and was most likely base born, hence the reason for him being with his grandparents.
	William and Elizabeth both appeared in the 1871 Census and both were aged 67. By April 1881 William was living with son Jacob and his family in the High Street in Harefield, while Elizabeth for some reason was staying with son David and his family at the Grocer’s Shop in Harefield.
	41O9	William Henry Collett	Born in 1826
	41O10	Mary Collett	Born in 1829
	41O11	Ellen Collett	Born in 1831
	41O12	George Collett	Born in 1832; infant death?
	41O13	Abraham Collett	Born in 1833; infant death?
	41O14	Sarah Collett	Born in 1835; infant death?
	41O15	Isaac Collett	Born in 1836
	41O16	JACOB COLLETT	Born in 1839
	41O17	Emma Collett	Born in December 1840
	41O18	David Collett	Born in 1843
	41O19	Job Collett	Born on 27.06.1845
	41O20	John Collett	Born in 1846; infant death?
41N4	Elizabeth Collett was born at Harefield in 1806 and was baptised there in St Mary’s Church on 26.03.1806. In the 1841 Census she was listed as being 30 years old.
41N6	Richard Collett was born at Harefield in 1809 and it was there that he was baptised in St Mary’s Church on 26.12.1809. At the age of 28 he was a labourer at a local mill and he married Sarah Bolton on 25.12.1837 at Harefield. Sarah was 26 and had been born at nearby Chalfont in Buckinghamshire in 1811 and was the daughter of gardener Henry Bolton and his wife Elizabeth.
	Richard and Sarah were residents of Harefield at the time of their wedding and both made the mark of a cross on the marriage certificate which was witnessed by Sarah’s mother. After they were married the couple continued to live with Richard’s parent at Copper Mill Lane in Harefield, where all of their children were born.
	The Registrar at Uxbridge whose name appears on the birth certificate for the couple’s second child was Thomas Collett. It is possible that he was related in some way but this has not yet been determined. Richard’s occupation, as stated on the birth certificate at that time, was that of a groom.
	Six months later the 1841 Census confirmed that the family was living with Henry and Elizabeth Collett (both aged 70) at their home in Copper Mill Lane. The family comprised Richard aged 30, his wife Sarah aged 25, their daughter Elizabeth aged 2 and their son Richard aged 6 months.
	Ten years later, according to the census of 1851, Richard aged 41 and Sarah aged 39 and their eight children at that time were still living at Harefield at the house of Richard’s father Henry Collett of Gloucestershire.
	The listed children were Elizabeth 12, Richard Benjamin 11, Sarah 9, Mary Ann 8, Ann 6, James 3, and twins John and Harriet both aged two months. All of the children were confirmed as being born at Harefield.
	During the next ten years the family left Harefield and moved to Uxbridge. Richard was 52 and was working as a labourer, while his wife Sarah was 48. The children with them at that time were Richard 20, Ann 15, James 12, Harriet 10 and Thomas aged 7.
	However, it was at Harefield that Richard died five years later on 11.06.1866 at the age of 57, although his death was recorded at Uxbridge and was reported by his daughter Elizabeth.
	The death certificate recorded that Richard was formerly a gas maker and the cause of death was bronchitis.
	41O21	Elizabeth Collett	Born in 1838
	41O22	Richard Benjamin Collett	Born on 10.12.1840
	41O23	Sarah Collett	Born in 1841
	41O24	Mary Ann Collett	Born in 1842
	41O25	Ann Collett	Born in 1845
	41O26	James Theophilus Bolton Collett	Born in 1848
	41O27	John Collett twin	Born in January 1851
	41O28	Harriet Collett twin	Born in January 1851
	41O29	Thomas Collett	Born in 1853
41N7	Jonathan Collett was born at Harefield in 1811 and it was there that he was baptised in St Mary’s Church on 17.12.1811. He married Margaret (?) and both he and his wife were listed as aged 25 in the 1841 Census. With them were their two daughters Ruth aged 2 and Mary who was not yet one year old.
	By 1851 Jonathan was aged 40 and Margaret 38 and their daughter Ruth was 11. However, there was no record of daughter Mary. The same applied ten years later when Jonathan and Margaret were both recorded as being 48, while daughter Ruth was then aged 21.
	Sometime during the next decade both Jonathan and Margaret died living their unmarried daughter Ruth alone in 1871 but still living at Harefield.
	41O30	Ruth Collett	Born in 1839
	41O31	Mary Collett	Born in 1841 before 30^th March
41N8	Ann Collett was born at Harefield in 1812 and baptised there at St Mary’s Church on 26.12.1812. She was listed in the 1841 Census as being aged 25 and a spinster, still living in the family home at Harefield.
41O1	Mary A Collett was born at Harefield in 1836. She never married and at the age of 44 was living with her father Robert Collett and her sister Edith at Park Lane in Harefield.
	So far no trace of Mary or her sister Edith or their father Robert has been found in any of the census records for 1851, 1861 or 1871 which might indicate that they were out of the country during these times.
41O2	Henry Collett was born at Harefield in 1837 and was aged 3 years in 1841. His occupation was that of a baker and he married Ann Sears who was born at Rickmansworth in 1835. By 1881, and at the aged of 43, baker Henry was living at Newbury Street in Wantage in Berkshire (part of Oxfordshire from April 1974).
	With him was his wife Ann aged 45 and her nephew George T Sears aged 15 from Paddington in London.
	According to the 1901 Census, Henry 63 of Harefield and Ann 65 of Rickmansworth were then living in Cheltenham, where Henry was described as a journey baker.
41O3	Charles Collett was born at Harefield in 1838. He was a general labourer and lived all of his life at Harefield. It would appear that he never married and according to the 1881 Census he was aged 42 and living at Park Lane in Harefield with his unmarried siblings Elizabeth aged 35, Jonathan another general labourer aged 31 and Frederick aged 27 who was working as a bricklayer.
	All four of them were listed as having been born at Harefield. As Elizabeth had no stated occupation it seems reasonable to assume that she performed the role of house keeper for her brothers.
	It is interesting to note that the house in Park Lane in which they lived was situated right next door to the family of their brother James Collett (below).
	In 1891 Charles gave his age as 50 and ten years later he said he was 61, when he was still living at Harefield where he was working as a gardener and labourer.
41O4	Edith Collett was born at Harefield in 1839. It would appear that she never married and in 1881 was registered as blind and aged 41, living with her father Robert Collett and her sister Mary (above) at Park Lane in Harefield. As with her father and sister, there appears to be no earlier census records for these three members of the family.
41O5	Robert Collett was born at Harefield in 1841 before 6^th June that year. In the census his age was given as nought years. However, there are no further records to suggest that he survived beyond his early childhood.
41O6	Elizabeth Collett was born at Harefield in 1845 and it would appear that she never married. In April 1881 she was acting as housekeeper for her three unmarried brothers at the house of her older brother Charles (above) in Park Lane in Harefield.
	At the turn of the century she was still Elizabeth Collett now aged 55 and still living at Harefield with her brother Charles.
41O7	Jonathan Collett was born at Harefield in 1849. In 1851 he was aged 1 and 11 in 1861. By 1881 Jonathan was aged 31 and was working as a general labourer. He was not married but was living with three of his single siblings (Charles, Elizabeth and Frederick) at Park Lane in Harefield and next door to his brother James and his family.
	At the time of the 1891 Census for Harefield Jonathan gave his age as being 39, when it should have been 41. Also living in Harefield at that time was 42 years old Margaret Collett who cannot be placed elsewhere and may therefore be Jonathan’s wife.
	A similar problem occurred ten years later when, in the 1901 Harefield Census, Jonathan again gave an incorrect age saying he was 48 rather than 51. At this time he was employed as a bricklayer’s labourer probably working with his bricklayer brother Frederick (below)
41O8	Frederick Collett was born at Harefield in 1853. Whilst apparently missing from some census records, he was listed as living at Park Lane in Harefield with three of his unmarried siblings (Charles, Elizabeth and Jonathan) in 1881 when unmarried and working as a bricklayer aged 27.
	The Census of 1891 placed Frederick as living at Harefield where he was aged 36.
	Ten years later according to the 1901 Census for Harefield, Frederick was now aged 43 (sic) and was working as a bricklayer, possibly supported by his brother Jonathan (above).
41O9	William Henry Collett was born at Harefield in either later 1825 or early 1826 and was baptised there on 15.01.1826. The baptism record confirmed his mother as Elizabeth and his father as William, a master butcher. William Henry was listed as being aged 15 in 1841 but this may have been a ‘rounded age’ since his age varies from census to census.
	For example in 1861 he was aged 34. At that time he was still a bachelor and was still living with his parents at their home in the High Street in Harefield. His occupation was that of Master Butcher like his father, with whom he presumably worked.
	Seven weeks after the day of the census William married Ann Calcutt of Northamptonshire on 27.05.1861 at Limehouse in Stepney. The witnesses at the ceremony were David Collett, William’s younger brother, and Eliza Climpson. The marriage register recorded that both William and Ann were living at West India Road which was in Poplar close by Limehouse.
	Ann was born on 01.02.1838 at Steane Park just north-west of Brackley the daughter of James Calcutt and Hannah Matthews who were married at Lower Heyford in Oxfordshire on 03.11.1834. What may be of interest is that James Calcutt was a shepherd born at Stonesfield in Oxfordshire which also had a contingent of Colletts living there. See Part 38 - The Oxfordshire Stonemasons.
	During the ten years following their wedding day, the marriage produced three children for the William and Ann, and all of them born at Mile End Old Town in Stepney. The birth certificate for their third child revealed that the family was living at 7 William Street in Mile End Old Town.
	Within the next two years the family left William Street and by April 1871 they were living at 18 Roberts Place in Mile End Old Town in the St Philips West Tower Hamlets district of London from where William was continuing to work as a butcher.
	According to the 1871 Census the respective ages given for William and Ann was incorrect, being 40 and 39. Whereas they should have been nearer 44 and 32, with their age difference being twelve years. The reason for this may have been the ‘embarrassment’ of the difference in ages.
	In that same census William’s and Ann’s children were listed as Henry aged 8, Eliza aged 6 and Louisa (sic) aged 2.
	Four years later William Henry Collett died in 1875 and was buried at St Saviours Church in Bow Common. His aged upon his death was given as 55 which again conflicts with his actual age.
	So by the time of the census of 1881 Ann was recorded as being a widow. However, although she has been located within the records for that year, she was not with her three children nor have any of them been identified within that census. This raises the question as to whether or not they were being cared for by others outside the London area.
	The 1881 Census confirmed that Ann Collett of Steane Park, Brackley was a widow and a general servant working as a general servant at the Kings Arms public house at 18 Moor Street in Soho. Ann gave her age as being 40 when in fact she was forty-two. Moor Street is still there today, just off Cambridge Circus on Shaftesbury Avenue.
	The proprietor and licenced victualler of the inn was Mr W Wheatley 46 of Colmworth in Bedfordshire and his younger wife Emily aged 29 of Kingland in Middlesex. The couple’s daughter was two years old Beatrice who was born at Soho.
	Ten years later in 1891 Ann was listed as living at 29 Hilldrop Crescent with her unmarried daughter Laura. Ann was aged 49 and was employed as a cook, while Laura was aged 20 and was a domestic housemaid. Hilldrop Crescent is still there today, just off the A503 Camden Road.
	As no record of daughter Eliza has ever been found, except in the 1871 Census, it might be assumed that she may have died around 1875 when her father passed away.
	With no record for Ann found in the 1901 Census, coupled with no mention of her in 1894 at the time her daughter Laura was married, it must be assumed that she had died between April 1891 and October 1894.
	Prior to this update, the original information on William suggested that he died at Uxbridge in 1913, but this was obviously not correct and could not have been this particular William Collett.
	41P1	Henry James Collett	Born on 31.12.1862
	41P2	Eliza Collett	Born on 05.06.1865
	41P3	Laura Collett	Born on 07.06.1869
41O10	Mary Collett was born at Harefield in 1829 and was aged 22 in 1851
41O11	Ellen Collett was born at Harefield in 1831. As Ellen she was listed as being aged 9 in 1841. Around the age of twenty-one she fell pregnant and in 1853 she gave birth at Harefield to a base born son given the name George Collett Jones. It would appear that her illegitimate son was taken into the care of his grandparents in Harefield. At some later time Ellen appears to have married the boy’s father or possibly his brother or other relative
	The whereabouts of Ellen and her husband has not been determined from the 1861 Census, but Ellen’s son was then aged 8 and was confirmed as still living with his grandparents at their home in the High Street in Harefield. It would appear that when old enough, Ellen’s son dropped Jones from his name. It may also have been a result of the shame associated with having an illegitimate child that Ellen left Harefield and moved into London where she referred to herself as Helen.
	By 1881 Ellen, now confirmed as Helen Jones, was a widow aged 50 who had been born at Harefield. She was working as a letter carrier while living in the third house along the High Street in Harefield. Also living in the High Street at that time was her brother Jacob Collett and his family (see below).
	Living with her were her sons Frederick Jones aged 18 and David Jones aged 16, both working as brick maker’s labourers, together with her daughter Caroline Jones aged 11. All three children were confirmed as having been born at Harefield.
	It seems likely, although not confirmed, that in 1871 Helen Jones, her husband and two sons were living in the Southwark St Saviour area of London and that she only returned to live at Harefield upon the event of the death of her husband sometime between 1872 and 1880.
	41P4	George James Collett (Jones)	Born on 15.06.1853
41O15	Isaac Collett was born at Harefield in 1836. He was confirmed as being aged 4 in the 1841 Census and 14 in 1851 and living with his parents at Harefield, but there is no record of him living in the UK thereafter.
41O16	JACOB COLLETT was born at Harefield in 1839. He was listed as being aged 2 in 1841. On leaving school he took up employment as an agricultural labourer and in 1861 he was aged 21 and was unmarried and living with his parents at the High Street in Harefield.
	Five years later at Uxbridge he married Margaret Lacey in early 1865 and the couple settled in Harefield, where all of their children were born. Margaret was born at High Wycombe in 1845, the daughter of Alice Lacey.
	At the time of the 1871 Census for Harefield, Jacob gave his age as 32, while Margaret stated she was 26.
	Ten years later for the 1881 Census Jacob was working as a brick maker at Harefield but he gave his age in error as 39. This was the year he was born, rather than the 41 years of age that it should have been. Margaret stated she was 35 of High Wycombe. At that time they were living in the High Street in Harefield only a few doors away from Jacob’s sister Helen Jones nee Collett.
	The couple’s children living with them at that time were Isaac 14, Ellen 11, Emma 9, Flora 5, and Alfred 2, all confirmed as having been born at Harefield. Also living with the family was Jacob’s father and butcher William Collett aged 77. There was also a lodger, 14 years old Robert Bugbee of Harefield who was an agricultural labourer.
	Jacob’s son Isaac followed in his father’s footsteps and in 1881 was working with his father as a brick maker’s labourer. It would appear that sons Jonas and David were subject to infant deaths as neither was listed in the 1871 Census or any subsequent census records.
	The 1901 Census continued to find Jacob living at Harefield where he was aged 62 and now working as a bricklayer’s labourer rather than a brick maker as he had been twenty years earlier. Still living with Jacob was his wife Margaret aged 55 and some of their younger children.
	41P5	Jonas Collett	Born in 1865; infant death
	41P6	Isaac Collett	Born in 1866
	41P7	David Collett	Born in 1868; infant death
	41P8	ELLEN ELIZABETH COLLETT	Born on 06.09.1870
	41P9	Emma Collett	Born in 1872
	41P10	Flora Collett	Born in 1875
	41P11	Thomas Alfred Collett	Born in 1878
	41P12	Mabel Collett	Born in 1880
	41P13	Lewis Collett	Born in 1882
	41P14	Ethel Collett	Born in 1884
41O17	Emma Collett was born at Harefield in December 1840 and was aged six months in the 1841 Census which took place on 6^th June that year. By 1851 Emma was aged 10 and was living with her family at Harefield in the Uxbridge & Hillingdon registration district.
	It would appear that on leaving school Emma sought work in the Watford area and in the 1861 Census she was incorrectly listed as being aged 22. It was probably while she was at Watford that she met George Goodman and less than a year after the census day they were married at Holy Trinity Church in Kentish Town on 20.01.1862.
	George was a similar age to Emma having born at Rickmansworth in 1839. The couple’s first child was born later in the same year that they were married, and this was followed by a further nine children over the next two decades.
	In 1871 the family of seven was living in the ‘Leather Market’ in the St Olave district of Southwark on the south side of the River Thames in London. George was 31 and Emma was 30, and their children on that occasion were Janet 8, Alice 7, Eliza 5, David 3, and George who was 2.
	During the next ten years a further three children were added to the family, which by 1881 was living at 4 Abbey Street South in Bermondsey. Abbey Street today is the B202 link road between Tower Bridge Road (A100) and Jamaica Road (A200).
	George’s occupation was that of a carman and living with him was his wife Emma and six of their children. These were Eliza 15 who was working as a domestic servant, David 14 who was still at school, George 13 who was an errand boy, Edmond 9, Ellen 2, and Ernest who was just seven months old having been born on 12.08.1880.
	Two more children were born into the family shortly after the census year and so by 1891 the Bermondsey family comprised George 54, Emma 52, George 22, Edmond 18, Ellen 12, Ernest 10, Alfred 8, and John aged 7 years.
	Just after the turn of the century George was still working as a carman in London at the age of 62. Emma was then 61 and the only one of their children still living with them was John aged 17 who was employed as a wharf clerk.
	Their son Ernest Obid Goodman married Charlotte Payn on 17.07.1907. Charlotte was the daughter of fishmonger Harvey Payn of Westminster and his wife Elizabeth Payn of Bradford. In 1901 Charlotte was a shop assistant living with her parents in the Newington area of London.
	Ernest and Charlotte had many children but only one daughter Irene Lillian who was born on 04.08.1924 who later married Ronald Heard Valsler. And it was their daughter-in-law Janey Bullock, the wife of their son Colin Valsler, who kindly provided the details to open this branch of the family.
41O18	David Collett was born at Harefield in 1843 and was listed in the 1861 Census as aged 17 and still living at home with his parents at the High Street in Harefield. He was employed as an agricultural labourer at the time of the census.
	David was one of the witnesses at the Stepney Limehouse wedding of his older brother William Henry Collett (above) on 27.05.1861, at which David made his mark.
	He later married Charlotte Ward at Uxbridge during the April-June quarter of 1866, Charlotte having been born at Reading in 1839. Once they were married the couple moved to Harefield where they lived for the rest of life.
	Five years later in 1871 the couple were confirmed as living at Harefield where David was 28 and Charlotte 32. Also listed with them were their two daughters Lottie aged 4 and Elizabeth, who was born within the year, and their son William David age 3, all three of them having been born at Harefield.
	Ten years later the Harefield census of 1881 confirmed that David was 37 and that he was working as a builder. Living with him was his wife Charlotte aged 41 whose occupation was stated as being that of a grocer. This was perhaps an indication that she was the proprietor of the grocer’s shop in Harefield.
	Living with David and Charlotte in April 1881 were their seven children. These were Lottie aged 14, who had left school and was assisting her mother in the grocer’s shop, William aged 12, Elizabeth 10, Joseph 8, Alfred 6, Alice 5, and Grace who was two years old.
	Also living with the family at that time was David’s mother Elizabeth Collett aged 79 and of Ickenham, together with David’s younger brother Job Collett (below).
	In the 1891 Census for Harefield David was 48 and Charlotte was 51. The children still living with them on that occasion were Lottie 24, William 21, and Elizabeth 20 who was referred to as Clara Beth.
	By the turn of the century David was still working as a builder and was then aged 57. He was still living at Harefield with his wife Charlotte who was 61 and who seems to have retired from running the Harefield grocer’s shop by that time as she was listed as having no occupation.
	And it was at Harefield that Charlotte died on 23.06.1916 followed two years later by David, who died on 21.04.1918. A headstone in the churchyard of St Mary’s marks their joint graves.
	41P15	Lottie Collett	Born in late 1866
	41P16	William David Collett	Born in 1868
	41P17	Clara Elizabeth Collett	Born in 1870
	41P18	Joseph Collett	Born in 1872
	41P19	Alfred Collett	Born in 1874
	41P20	Alice Collett	Born in 1875
	41P21	Grace Collett	Born in 1878
41O19	Job Collett was born at Harefield on 27.06.1845 and on leaving school he became a bricklayer. In 1861 he was aged 15 and was living at the family home in the High Street in Harefield and 26 in 1871.
	A further ten years later and Job was still a bachelor but was now aged 34 and working as a bricklayer like his cousin Charles (above). According to the 1881 Census, Job was living with his brother David Collett in the property known as the grocer’s shop in Harefield.
	He reappeared in the 1891 Census aged 45 but strangely there was no record of him in 1901. It is known that he was a bachelor all his life and that he was a very eccentric character and was very careful, virtually Scrooge-like, with his money. At one time later in his life he was employed as a bird scarer, presumably at nearby London Airport.
	Job died at Harefield on 10.06.1934 aged 89 and left a considerable sum of money in his Will. His life is marked by a marble vault in St Mary’s Church at Harefield on which there is the following inscription ‘Job Collett son of William and Elizabeth of Harefield born 27^th June 1845 died 10^th June 1934’.
	See the newspaper article in Appendix Two to this family line which refers to Job visiting the church and planning the expensive tomb sixteen years before he died.
	His first Will was made on 5^th December 1923 over ten years before he died. This dictated that his estate would be held in trust for twenty years after his death and then divided into three split equally between nephews Harry Collett and his son Bert, Arthur Collett and Isaac Collett and his son Isaac.
	A Codicil to the Will two years later and made on 3^rd November 1925 removed Harry Collett and his son Bert who were replaced by Thomas Collett and his son Thomas. Also Isaac’s grandson was added, this being in addition to the inclusion of his son Isaac. All of these terms and condition were later superseded when Job made his last Will and Testament.
	Under his final Will the eventual main beneficiaries to his estate were his nephews, although it would appear that the Will was not proved until 1937, perhaps because of family disputes over its contents. In October that year the Sunday Pictorial included a headline article about the ‘miser’ Job Collett. This is reproduced in an Appendix at the end of this family line.
	Upon his death the cottage in which he had lived most of his later life passed to his eldest nephew Isaac Collett, with the stipulation that it must be renovated before he received his inheritance. In the newspaper article, Isaac makes reference to the eight years following the death of Job that it would take before any of the beneficiaries would receive their inheritances.
41O21	Elizabeth Collett was born at Harefield in 1838 and was 12 in 1851. She later married the younger James Green who was born at Rickmansworth in 1845. This happened after 1861 when, as Elizabeth Collett, she was a witness at the wedding of her brother Richard (below).
	In 1881 James was an attendant at the public baths in Clerkenwell when, at the age of 35 and with his wife Elizabeth aged 41, the couple were living at 7 Cumming Street in Clerkenwell.
	Living with the couple at that time was their daughter Julia Green aged 17 of Rickmansworth and Elizabeth’s niece Emily Collett aged 13 and born at Harefield. It seems likely that Emily was the base born child of Elizabeth’s younger sister Mary Ann Collett (below) with whom she was actually living in 1891.
41O22	Richard Benjamin Collett was born at Harefield on 10.12.1840 and was 11 in 1851 and 20 in April 1861. Five months later on 14.09.1861 at Hillingdon he married Caroline Hughes who was born at Harefield in 1842. Richard’s occupation at that time was that of a zinc worker.
	Caroline’s father, who was a witness at the wedding, was William Henry Hughes also of Hillingdon, who was a copper worker. The second witness to sign the marriage certificate was Richard’s sister Elizabeth Collett (above).
	Shortly after they were married Richard and Caroline were living at Abbey Road in Merton in Surrey where their first child was born. The child’s birth certificate stated that Richard Benjamin Collett was a copper forge.
	A year or so later the family had made the one mile move from Merton to Wimbledon where they were living at the time of the birth of the couple’s second and third child. The 1871 Census for Kingston & Wimbledon listed Richard as 30 and Caroline 29 and their two children as aged 5 and 2 respectively.
	The birth certificate for the couple’s third child placed the family as living at 2 Vine Cottages in Hubert Road in Wimbledon and made reference to Richard being employed as a foreman at the Garratt Copper Mills.
	Four years later the census of 1881 recorded the family of five as still living at 2 Vine Cottages but with Richard then working as a commercial clerk at the copper works.
	The family at that time comprised Richard B Collett aged 40 and Caroline aged 39, both of Harefield, and their three children Arthur F Collett 15 who was a draper’s porter, Clara C Collett aged 12 and Bernard B Collett aged 3.
	A further twenty years on and Richard aged 60 and Caroline aged 59 were living at Nutfield near Redhill in Surrey where Richard was working as a foreman at the Fullers Earth Works. Living with the couple at Nutfield was their 23 years old son Bernard who was also employed at the Fullers Earth Works, but as an engine driver.
	At the time of the marriage of his son Arthur, Richard was recorded on the marriage certificate as a Works Foreman.
	Sometime during the next few years Richard and Caroline left Nutfield and moved to Horley south of Reigate in Surrey, although it would appear from Richard’s death certificate that he continued to work at the Fullers Earth Works in Nutfield.
	Richard died on 09.10.1911 and, according to the certificate drawn up at Horley on 10^th October 1911, this happened at Cockley Pits in Nutfield where Richard was a foreman at the Fullers Earth Works. He was aged 70 and the cause of death was acute bronchitis. His passing was reported by his son Bernard who was present at Cockley Pits at the time of death.
	Following the death of her husband, Caroline moved to Newbury to live with her son Arthur at Shaw-cum-Donnington, where she died almost exactly eight years later on 11.10.1919.
	41P22	Arthur Frederick Collett	Born on 30.11.1865
	41P23	Clara C Collett	Born in 1868
	41P24	Bernard Bolton Collett	Born on 25.05.1877
41O23	Sarah Collett was born at Harefield in 1841 and was aged 9 in 1851. She may have married Charles Holloway a brick maker from Denham in Buckinghamshire. In 1881 she and Charles were living at Railway View in Horton Road in Hillingdon with their seven children.
41O24	Mary Ann Collett was born at Harefield in 1842 and was aged 8 at the time of the 1851 Census when she was living with her family at the home of her grandfather Henry Collett of Gloucestershire. No trace of her has so far been found in the 1861 Census.
	Around 1867 Mary Ann is thought to have given birth to a base born daughter Emily, but neither mother nor daughter has been located in the 1871 Census.
	In 1874 Mary Ann married Thomas Crook who was born at Hill End in Harefield in 1846. The marriage certificate confirmed that Mary Ann was the daughter of Richard Collett, labourer of Harefield. It seems likely that Mary Ann’s daughter was being cared for by other members of the family from the time the child was born up to 1881.
	It is possible that Thomas had been previously married and brought into this marriage a son who had been born at Harefield around two years before he married Mary Ann.
	By the time of the 1881 Census, Mary Ann Crook was aged 38 and her labourer husband Thomas was 34 and they were living at Hill End in Harefield with two children. These were Henry Crook aged 9 and Ernest Crook aged 1 who had also been born at Harefield.
	Ten years later the family was still living at Hill End where Mary Ann was 49, Thomas 43 and son Ernest was 11. Eldest son Henry, who would have been 19, was not living at the family home. However, there were two members of the Collett family living with them at that time.
	These were Emily M Collett aged 23 (Ref. 41P25) and Herbert E Collett aged 19 (Ref. 41P29) who were both described as being the stepchildren to head of the house Thomas Crook. Whilst this was very likely true in the case of Emily, she being the base born daughter of his wife Mary Ann, the reference to Herbert as a stepchild would appear to be an error.
	Just after the turn of the century Mary was listed in the 1901 Census as being aged 57, while her husband Thomas was 53. Both were still living at Harefield where Thomas was employed as a general labourer and where Mary Ann died two years later.
	The Harefield Parish Register recorded that Mary Ann Crook was buried during June 1903.
	41P25	Emily Mary Collett	Born in 1867
41O25	Ann Collett was born at Harefield in 1845. Ann later married house painter Frederick Ridrup who was born in 1843 and by 1901 both of them were still living in Harefield. However, it is likely that she married Frederick after 1891 as there is no listing of her as Ann Ridrup in the earlier census records.
	There is a chance that she was first married to William Windfield and although his wife was Ann Elizabeth she was also born at Harefield in 1844.
41O26	James Theophilus Bolton Collett was born at Harefield in 1848. It would appear that he lived most of his life at Harefield apart for a brief period shortly after he married Ann (?). He married Ann very close to his twentieth birthday and their first child was born at Marston Moretaine south-west of Bedford where Ann was born in 1848.
	During the two years after the birth of their first child the family of three moved to Harefield where their remaining children were all born. By 1881 James was aged 33 and was working as a gardener and labourer, while his wife Ann was aged 32.
	Living with them at Park Lane in Harefield were their daughters Margaret 13, Harriet 11, Sarah 9, Rose 5, and their sons Walter 3 and James aged one year. And right next door to their house in Park Lane was the home of four of James’ siblings (see Charles Collett above).
	In 1901 at the age of 52 James was still working as a gardener and was still living in Harefield with his wife Ann aged 51. Living with them at that time was their unmarried eldest daughter Margaret whose aged was given incorrectly as 30 rather than 33, and she and her mother were both confirmed as having been born at Marston Moretaine.
	Also living with them were the couple’s two youngest children Reginald aged 14 and Daisy aged 12, both confirmed as born at Harefield.
	It is not clear whether, at sometime after the children had grown up, that James and Ann moved from Harefield to live at Uxbridge, since Harefield lies within the Uxbridge district. What it known is that James’ death in 1916 was registered at Uxbridge.
	41P26	Margaret Collett	Born in 1867
	41P27	Harriet Collett	Born in 1869
	41P28	Sarah Ann Collett	Born in 1871
	41P29	Herbert Collett	Born in 1872
	41P30	Rose Collett	Born in 1875
	41P31	Walter Herbert Collett	Born in 1877
	41P32	James Thomas Collett	Born in 1879
	41P33	Reginald Richard Collett	Born in 1887
	41P34	Daisy Beatrice Collett	Born in 1889
41O28	Harriet Collett was a twin with her brother John and was born in January 1851. John appears not to have survived beyond his early childhood but Harriet was recorded as being age 10 in 1861 and born at Harefield where she was living at that time with her family.
	All that is known about Harriet after this is that she moved with her family to Uxbridge in the 1860s where she died in 1916.
41O29	Thomas Collett was born at Harefield in 1853. Shortly after he was born his family left Harefield and moved to Uxbridge where Thomas died in early 1871, before 2^nd April census day.
41O30	Ruth Collett was born at Harefield in 1839. According to the records she lived at Harefield where in 1841 she was 2, in 1851 she was 11, in 1861 she was 21 and in 1871 she was 31 and still a spinster. However, there was no record of her as Ruth Collett in the 1881, so she may have been married by then.
41P1	Henry James Collett was born at Mile End Old Town in Stepney on 31.12.1862. He was aged 8 in the 1871 Census and he and his family were living at 18 Roberts Place in Mile End Old Town from where his father William Henry Collett was working as a butcher.
	Sadly Henry’s father died four years later, following which his widowed mother Ann was forced to enter into service and took up the position of general servant at the Kings Arms public house in Soho. What happened to Henry and his two sisters has still to be determined as they were not living with their mother at that time, nor has it been discovered where they might have been.
	However, by 1891 Henry and his youngest sister Laura (below) both featured in the 1891 Census. Henry was aged 28 and was still living in the Mile End part of London.
	Ten years later in 1901 he was living in the Battersea area of London where he was recorded as being aged 38 and his occupation was stated as being that of a resident mechanic.
41P2	Eliza Collett was born at Mile End Old Town in Stepney on 05.06.1865. The only other information so far found relating to Eliza is the 1871 Census in which she was aged six and was living with her family at 18 Roberts Place in Mile End Old Town.
	Her father died in 1875 and by April 1881 Eliza’s widowed mother was working as a general servant at the Kings Arms in Soho, with no trace of her three children having been found to date.
	Eliza’s two siblings reappeared in the 1891, but nothing after 1871 has ever been found for Eliza so it must be assumed that she had passed away as a child.
	However, an entry in the Collett family bible includes the information that William Hayes and his wife Eliza both died in May 1933. It is therefore possible that Eliza Hayes may have been the former Eliza Collett and if so she would have been aged 68 at the time of her death.
	Other entries in the bible record the deaths of Arthur Collett on 3^rd August 1933 and Helen Ellen Morgan nee Collett on 7^th June 1927, although neither of these two individuals has yet been identified as part of this family.
41P3	Laura Collett was born at Mile End Old Town in Stepney on 07.06.1869 and at that time her family was living at 7 William Street. Her birth certificate confirmed her parents as William and Ann Collett.
	Laura was listed in the 1871 Census as living with her family at 18 Roberts Place in Mile End Old Town but was recorded in error as Louise aged two years. So far no record of Laura or her two siblings (above) has been found ten years later in the 1881 Census.
	By 1891 Laura was 20 and was domestic housemaid living once again with her mother Ann at 29 Hilldrop Crescent in Islington St Lukes midway between Kentish Town and Lower Holloway.
	Three and a half years later on 01.10.1894 Laura married George Pitts by banns at All Saints Church in Great Barford just to the east of Bedford. George was a railway porter from Great Barford and was living at Caledonian Road in Islington at the time of their wedding.
	The church records indicate that it was Laura’s brother Henry Collett who gave away the bride, with no reference made at all to her deceased father or her mother who may have also passed away by then.
	Just over six years after Laura and George were married they were living in Islington and the 1901 Census recorded them as Laura Pitts aged 30 of Stepney and George Pitts aged 31 of Great Barford who was working as a builder’s general labourer.
	Although not listed with the couple in 1901, they late had a daughter Emma who appears to have been born at Great Barford. Emma was the grandmother of Phil of Harrow who kindly provided the information relating to his family line. Phil was born and lived in Ipswich and after attending university he moved to Harrow, coincidentally close to his ancestral roots at Harefield.
	Later in their lives, Laura and George lived at 47 Friendly Street in Lewisham that is, until George passed away when Laura moved to Finchley Road in Ipswich to be near to her daughter Emma and her family.
	Laura Pitts nee Collett was described as a small, happy lady, who was always whistling and who loved her canaries.
41P4	George James Collett was born at Harefield on 15.06.1853 and was originally baptised George Collett Jones. He was the base born son of spinster Ellen Collett and his father was presumably Mr Jones who, it is thought, his mother may have later married.
	On 24.04.1874 at Harefield George married Emily Mary Heath who was born on 14.08.1854 in the hamlet of Shredding Green in the parish of Iver in Buckinghamshire. Emily was the daughter of William Heath and Susan Norman.
	The couple’s first three children listed below were born at Harefield where, in 1881, they were living at Chapel House and where George was working as a gardener. Chapel House was part of the Harefield Manor House estate in Chapel Road.
	The census details confirmed George Collett as being aged 27 and of Harefield, his wife Emily as being aged 26 and of Iver, and their children George junior as aged 5, and twins Lewis and Beatrice both aged 2 years.
	Between early April 1881 and December 1885 the family moved from Harefield to live at Watford where their son Cyril was born. It is possible that there may have been other children born between 1878 and 1885 but none have so far been discovered.
	Sometime after the birth of the child George and Emily emigrated to North America taking their children with them. It was original thought that this took place after the turn of the century but it would appear that they must have sailed to America prior to 1891 in which they were not listed as living in the United Kingdom. Nor was there any record of them in the UK in the 1901 Census.
	Unlike many immigrants to America, George and his family did not enter the country through Ellis Island in New York Harbour, but is understood that they lived their early years in the country in Minnesota.
	What has been established was that George died at Washington DC on 27.09.1913 and was buried there at the Glenwood Cemetery. Emily lived for another sixteen years before she died on 15.09.1929 and was buried with her husband.
	It is understood that Emily had relatives that lived in Washington and it was probably this fact that originally persuaded George and Emily to seek a new life in the Brave New World and eventually settle there.
	41Q1	George William Collett	Born on 22.04.1875
	41Q2	Lewis John Collett twin	Born on 31.08.1878
	41Q3	Beatrice Maude Collett twin	Born on 31.08.1878
	41Q4	Cyril Henry Collett	Born on 15.12.1885
41P6	Isaac Collett was born at Harefield in 1866 and he later married Mary Ann Gubby on 26.05.1890 at St Mary’s Church in Harefield. Shortly after they were married Isaac and Mary moved north to live at Sculcoates in Kingston-upon-Hull, and it was there that all of their children were born.
	By early April 1891 the couple were expecting the birth of their first child and were living at Sculcoates. Isaac was confirmed as being aged 23, while his expectant wife was 26.
	The 1901 Census confirmed the family was living at Sculcoates where Isaac was aged 34 and working as a labourer at the local cement works. It also confirmed that Mary was three years older than her husband and had been born at Southall in Middlesex in 1863.
	Their children at the turn of the century were Isaac aged 9, Albert aged 7, George aged 4, Alfred aged 2 and new arrival William not yet one year old.
	At sometime during the next fifteen years, possible around the outbreak of war, Isaac and Mary returned to live at Harefield. In April 1918 the couple were living at 6 Waterford Cottages in Harefield where they received the tragic news of the death of their son Alfred who was killed during the First World War.
	In addition to the death of their son Alfred, Isaac and Mary must have suffered another family loss since Isaac referred to his three children in a newspaper article in 1937. The article took the form of an interview with Isaac about the passing of his uncle Job Collett (Ref. 41O19) and the inheritance that had been left to his nephews with Job having never married and so had no children of his own.
	As the eldest nephew, Isaac had been made the executor of the Will by his uncle, in which he and selected other nephews were the sole beneficiaries. An earlier Will of 1923 and Codicil of 1925 also referred Isaac as Job’s nephew, in addition to which his eldest son Isaac was also listed.
	Upon the death of Job in 1934 his cottage at Harefield had passed to Isaac who, in 1937, was nearing completion of its restoration under the terms of the Will. See Isaac’s interview by a Sunday Pictorial reporter in October 1937 which has been reproduced at the end of this family line. This provides a fascinating insight to the man that was his uncle.
	41Q5	Isaac Collett	Born in 1891
	41Q6	Albert E Collett	Born in 1893
	41Q7	George Collett	Born in 1896
	41Q8	Alfred Collett	Born in 1898
	41Q9	William Collett	Born in 1900
41P8	ELLEN ELIZABETH COLLETT was born at Harefield on 06.09.1870 and she later married John Harman in Middlesex in 1889. John was born in 1869 at Norwood and was the son of Edward Harman (1832 – 1909) of Islington and Mary Ann Pierce of St Luke’s in London.
	It is possible, though not yet proved, that this particular Harman family may have been in some way connected to the Harman family that were the owners of the Harman Brewery in Uxbridge.
	The marriage of Ellen and John produced six children for the couple and all born at Harefield, these being: John (1889); Robert (1893); Ellen (1895); Alfred (1897); Ernest (1899); and Mabel born on 24.02.1900.
	Eldest son John Harman junior enlisted with the 16^th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment at the outbreak of the First World War. And so it was as Private Harman 6278 that he was tragically killed in action on 26.04.1917. He was buried at the Etaples Military Cemetery fifteen miles south of Boulogne in France.
	At the time of his death John was aged 28 and was not married. His parents Ellen and John, who were listed as his next of kin, were living at 8 Waterloo Villas in Harefield when they received the sad news.
	Ellen’s and John’s younger son Alfred Harman was interviewed for the making of a book about village life in Harefield. His recollections of his last day at school and starting his first job around 1910 can be found at the end of this family line in Appendix One.
	The couple’s youngest child, daughter Mabel Harman, married James Ferguson on 01.08.1921 and this marriage produced two children James and Jennifer.
	And it was James’ daughter Jean Ferguson who kindly provided the basic details which enabled this family line to be constructed. Her grandmother Mabel lived all her life at Harefield, where she died in 1984.
41P9	Emma Collett was born at Harefield in 1872 and she later married Philip Wiggins.
41P10	Flora Collett was born at Harefield in 1875 and she later married William Bowden.
41P11	Thomas Alfred Collett was born at Harefield in 1878. Sometime after the end of March 1901 he married Lillian Woodley. The census of 1901 confirmed that Thomas was unmarried and was aged 22 and born at Harefield, where he was living and working as a labourer at the local cement works.
	The same census also listed Lillian as single, aged 18 and born at Camberwell although at that time she was working as a domestic servant at a house in Lewisham.
	Thomas and Lillian are known to have had a son Thomas who was named in the 1925 Codicil to the 1923 Will of Thomas Alfred’s uncle Job Collett (Ref. 41O19) – (see Will in Legal Documents). No other details have been found regarding any further children that the couple may have had.
	41Q10	Thomas Collett	Date of birth unknown
41P12	Mabel Collett was born at Harefield in 1880 and she later married Harry Short.
41P13	Lewis G Collett was born at Harefield in 1882. By the turn of the century he was aged 18 and was working as an apprentice bricklayer. The 1901 Census recorded his name as Louis G Collett and indicated he was still living at Harefield with his parents.
41P14	Ethel Collett was born at Harefield in 1884. In 1901 she was aged 15 and was a cotton spinner living and working in Harefield. She later married Ted Cooper.
41P15	Lottie Collett was born at Harefield in 1866 and by the age of 24 years she was not married. However, it seems likely that she was married shortly after since she does not feature in the 1901 Census as Lottie Collett.
41P16	William David Collett was born at Harefield in 1868. In 1891 he was 22 and living in Harefield as he was ten years later. On the latter occasion he was aged 31 and working as a baker and shop keeper in the village. Working for him as shop assistants were his two sisters Alice and Grace (below).
41P17	Elizabeth Collett was born at Harefield in 1870 and at the age of 20 was referred to as Clara Beth Collett in the 1891 Census, even though she was listed as Elizabeth in both the 1871 and 1881 census records.
41P18	Joseph Collett was born at Harefield in 1872 and in 1881 he was aged 8 and living with his family at the grocer’s shop in Harefield. By 1891 he had left the family home in Harefield and was living at Uxbridge aged 18.
	It seems likely, although not yet proved, that Joseph married Annie Cawdell shortly after the 1891 Census, perhaps in late 1892 or early 1893.
	By 1901 the marriage between Joseph and Annie had produced three children for the couple, but at the time of the census bricklayer Joseph aged 27 was a patient in hospital in St Marylebone.
	His wife Annie who was born at Luton was aged 28 and was living at Willesden in Middlesex with their three children. These were Grace aged 7 and born at Aveley near Thurrock in Essex, Winifred aged 4 and born at Harefield, and Charles aged one and born at Harlesden not far from Willesden.
	41Q11	Grace Annie Collett	Born in 1893
	41Q12	Winifred Lillian Collett	Born in 1896
	41Q13	Charles William Collett	Born in 1899
41P19	Alfred Collett was born at Harefield in 1874 and like his brother Joseph had left the family home by 1891. For whatever reason, perhaps due to him taking part in the Boer War, no trace has been found of Alfred in the census that took place in March 1901.
	What is known from his death record is that his later occupation was that of a baker like his brother William (above) who ran the village bread shop in Harefield in 1901 ably assisted by Alfred’s two younger sisters Alice and Grace (below).
	And so it was that Alfred Collett, baker, died on 24.03.1920 at Harefield aged 46. No record has so far been found to indicate that he may have been married at sometime in his life.
41P20	Alice Collett was born at Harefield in 1875 and at the turn of the century she was aged 25 and was working as a shop assistant in Harefield with her brother William (above) in his baker’s shop.
	In 1905 Alice Collett married Francis Creighton at Uxbridge and later in 1923 Francis was one of the trustees in the Will of Alice’s uncle Job Collett (Ref. 41O19). (see Will in Legal Documents)
	Francis J Creighton was born at Penge in South London in 1873 and in 1901 he was a shoeing smith living at Isleworth in Middlesex. At that time he was married to Daisy and had a one year old son Francis.
	It would therefore seem very likely that Francis and Daisy were divorced sometime between 1901 and 1905 and that Daisy left her husband taking their son Francis with her.
	The reasoning behind this assumption is that on 05.03.1911 Alice Creighton nee Collett presented her husband with a son Francis Creighton. Tragically he only survived for just over three years before he died at Harefield on 06.10.1914.
	It was also at Harefield that Alice died on 25.06.1935, while her husband lived on for another twenty-four years before he passed away at Harefield on 27.12.1959.
41P21	Grace Collett was born at Harefield in 1878. By 1901 she was 22 and was working as a baker’s assistant in Harefield at the shop run by her brother William (above).
	In 1910 Grace Collett married Evelyn Hurden at Edmonton in North London. Just as her sister Alice’s husband had been a trustee in the Will of her uncle Job Collett, so was her husband Evelyn. (see Will in Legal Documents)
	Evelyn was five years younger than Grace and was born at Bow in London in 1883, the son of joiner Christopher Hurden and his wife Mary, both of Bosham in Cornwall. In 1901 Evelyn was living at Harefield with his family where he was also working as a joiner.
	No record of the death of Grace has so far been found, but it is established that Evelyn Hurden died at Harefield on 19.02.1943.
41P22	Arthur Frederick Collett was born at Abbey Road in Merton on 30.11.1865. His birth certificate for the registration district of Croydon gave the sub-district as Mitcham in Surrey. However, not long after he was born he and his parents were living just one mile from Merton at Wimbledon where Arthur’s two siblings were born. According to the 1881 Census, and at the age of 15, Arthur and his family were living at 2 Vine Cottages in Hubert Road in Wimbledon from where he was employed as a draper’s porter.
	The census record also confirmed his place of birth as being Merton. The photograph above would appear to have been taken possibly before or around the time that he was married in 1908.
	He later became a master decorator and specialised in ecclesiastical decoration. In association with this work he travelled to Czechoslovakia to learn everything he could about stain glass window making and restoration. And it may have been during the spring of 1901 that he was there as he has not so far been located in the UK national census that took place that year.
	Perhaps it was his work that took him to the Newbury area where he met Edna Digweed to whom he was later married. Eddie, as she was known within the family, was eighteen years younger that Arthur and was born at Yattendon, a village to the north-east of Newbury in 1883. At the time they met Edna was living with her parents at Shaw-cum-Donnington on the northern outskirts of Newbury.
	Edna’s father was Levi Digweed a blacksmith who was born at Greenham near Newbury in 1858 who was only seven years older than his future son-in-law. Edna’s mother was Fanny Levi who was also born in 1858. Edna was aged 17 and was working as dressmaker at the time of the 1901 Census for Shaw-cum-Donnington when she was living there with her family.
	The marriage between Edna aged 24 and Arthur aged 42 took place at St Mary’s Church in Shaw-cum-Donnington on 23.09.1908. Arthur’s place of residence was stated as being St Nicholas Road in Newbury and his father was confirmed as Richard Benjamin.
	Sadly the marriage only lasted for less than five years since, tragically on 23.05.1913, Arthur fell from a ladder while working on the redecoration of St Mary’s Church and never recovered from his injuries. Around this time the family was living at Shaw Cottage in Shaw-cum-Donnington.
	However, during their short life together the marriage produced three children for Arthur and Edna, all three being been while the couple were living in Newbury.