PART EIGHTY-SIX

 

The Collett Men Named Heber

 

Issued October 2025

 

This was previously an appendix to Part 71 in which Henry Collett changed his name to Heber Henry Collett

 

Henry Collett [86O3] sometimes referred to himself as Heber Henry Collett or Henry Heber Collett, and named his eldest son Alfred Heber Collett, with two grandsons also given Heber as a forename.  At the end of this file is an appendix in which has been placed other members of the extended Collett who had children named Heber

 

 

William Collett [86N1] was born at Bermondsey in 1817, and in 1841 had a rounded age of 25 when he was recorded with the Gale family at White Hart Yard, the High Street in Southwark.  Three years later the marriage of William Collett was recorded at London Farringdon (Ref. xi 238a) in 1844.  His wife Louisa gave birth to two children during the remainder of that decade, although tragically, the first of them died two years later.  That situation was confirmed in the Bermondsey census of 1851 when the three members of the family were residing at Maltby Street.  William Collett from Bermondsey was 34 and a leather dresser, his wife Louisa Collett was 35, and their son Alfred Collett was two years old, both born in Bermondsey.  In one of the later baptism records Louisa was referred to as Louisa Mary, with her surname still waiting to be discovered

 

With no trace of the family in 1861, by 1871 Louisa Collett was 57, a widow, and the head of the household at Maltby Street in Bermondsey.  The members of the family still living with her, were sons Alfred Collett who was 22 and a printer’s compositor, as was Henry Collett who was 18, plus daughter Alice Collett was 14.  Two years earlier, the family was confirmed again as living at Maltby Street where William Collett died at the age of 51, following which he was buried at the South Metropolitan Cemetery in Lambeth on 12th December 1868.  And it was still at Maltby Street that Louisa was living alone in 1881 at the age of 67.  Louisa Collett was 77 when she passed away, with her death recorded at St Olave Southwark (Ref. 1d 156) during the fourth quarter of 1891

 

86O1 – William Edward James Collett was born in 1845 at Bermondsey

86O2 – Alfred Oliver Collett was born in 1848 at Bermondsey

86O3 – Henry Collett was born in 1852 at Bermondsey

86O4 – Alice Caroline Collett was born in 1856 at Bermondsey

 

William Edward James Collett [86O1] was born at Bermondsey in 1845 and was the first child of William and Louisa Collett, his birth registered at Bermondsey (Ref. iv 34) during the third quarter of 1845.  He was baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Bermondsey on 13th July 1845, but sadly died two years later.  William’s death was recorded at Bermondsey (Ref. iv 28) during the third quarter of 1847, after which he was buried there on 19th August 1847

 

Alfred Oliver Collett [86O2] was born at Maltby Street in Bermondsey possibly near the end of 1848 and was baptised there at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on 28th January 1849, the second child of William and Louisa Collett.  Curiously, he was the only child listed with his parents at Maltby Street in 1851 at the age of two years.  After his father died in 1868, Alfred was preparing for his forthcoming marriage on the day of the census in 1871, while he was still living with his family at Maltby Street with his widowed mother and two younger siblings.  Alfred Collett was 22 and a compositor working alongside his brother Henry (below) for a printing company.  It was at the end of that same year when the marriage of Alfred Oliver Collett and Mary Ann Charlotte Whetcombe was recorded at St Olave Southwark (Ref. 1d 308) during the last three months of 1871.  Mary Ann was the daughter of Charles and Catherine Whetcombe and was baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Bermondsey on 26th December 1845

 

According to the next census in 1881, the family was residing at Alfred Street in Bermondsey where Alfred Collett was 31 and still employed as a compositor.  His wife Mary Ann Collett was 33 and close to giving birth to her fifth child, when her four children were recorded as Louisa Collett who was eight, Henry Collett who was six, Alfred Collett who was four, and Beatrice Collett who was two years of age.  Their births were all recorded at St Olave Bermondsey, with the census stating that every member of the household had been born at Bermondsey, conflicting with what was presumably recorded in error twenty years later.  Three more children were added to their family during the 1880s which was recorded at John Street in Southwark on the day of the census in 1891.  That census day, only Alfred senior and Alfred junior were said to have been born in Bermondsey; for all the other members of the household they were simply confirmed as having been born in London.  Alfred Collett was 42 and continuing to work as a compositor, Mary Ann Collett was 44, Henry Collett was 16, Alfred Collett was 13, Beatrice Collett was 11, William Collett was nine, Maud Collett was six, and Minnie Collett was four years old

 

By the end of March in 1901 head of the household at Hall Road in Camberwell, Alfred Collett, was 52 and a printer living there with his large family.  His wife and their three eldest children had been born at Brixton, the same given in error as Alfred’s birthplace.  Mary A Collett was 54, daughter Louisa Collett was 27, son Henry Collett was 26 and a printer, and Alfred Collett was 23 and a labourer at the electric light works.  The couple’s next three children had been born after settling in Hall Road, and they were William Collett who was 19 and a book binder, Maud Collett who was 16 with no occupation, as was Minnie Collett aged 14

 

Within days or weeks of that census day, Alfred Oliver Collett died while he was still 52 years old.  It was also under his full name that his death was recorded at Camberwell register office (Ref. 1d 487) during the second quarter of 1901.  Following the death of her husband, widow Mary Ann Collett assumed the role of head of the household, which was how she was described in 1911 when she was 63 and once again living in Camberwell.  Still living with her with her two youngest unmarried daughters, Maud Collett who was 25 and a book folder working for a printer, and Minnie Collett who was 24 and a tobacco porter employed by a tobacconist.  Temporarily staying with the family that day was unmarried son William Ernest Collett aged 27 and a steward with a steam ship company

 

It was not long after that day when Mary Ann Collett died at Camberwell, with her death recorded at St Olave Southwark register office (Ref. 1d 96) during the second quarter of 1911.  Either through poor handwriting, or from being misinformed by whoever notified the register office of her passing, her age was incorrectly entry as being 67, rather than 63

 

86P1 – Louisa Jane Collett was born in 1873 at Bermondsey

86P2 – Henry Charles Collett was born in 1874 at Bermondsey

86P3 – Alfred Oliver Collett was born in 1877 at Bermondsey

86P4 – Beatrice Lilian Collett was born in 1879 at Bermondsey

86P5 – William Ernest Collett was born in 1882 at Bermondsey

86P6 – Maud Collett was born in 1884 at Southwark

86P7 – Minnie Collett was born in 1886 at Southwark

 

Henry Collett [86O3], who was known as Harry, was born at Maltby Street in Bermondsey in 1852, and was another son of William and Louisa Collett of Bermondsey whose birth was registered there (Ref. 1d 79) during the third quarter of 1852.  It was at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Bermondsey where he was baptised on 29th September and confirmed as the child of William Collett and his wife Louisa.  On leaving school, Henry followed his older brother Alfred (above) into the printing business and in 1871 he was employed as a compositor at the age of 18.  On that census day Henry was still living at the family home within the Bermondsey parish of St Mary Magdalene with his widowed mother, brother Alfred, and sister Alice

 

Nearly two years after that census day, the marriage of Heber Henry Collette and Sarah Ann Knight, from Alcester in Warwickshire, was recorded at Birmingham (Ref 6d 149) during the first three months of 1873.  It is possible that the wedding service was conducted at Ashted (Aston?) where the couple’s first two children were born.  The first child of Henry and Sarah Collett was born towards the end of that same year, but did not survive.  Upon the baptism of the couple’s eldest son, Alfred Heber Collett in 1878, the parents were recorded as Heber Henry Collett and Sarah Ann Collett.  Three years later, Sarah had given birth to a further two children when the family was living to the south of Birmingham in 1881.  On that census day they were residing at Belgrave Street in Kings Norton when the family comprised Heber Collett from London who was 30 and a shop assistant and a traveller, his wife Sarah Collett who was 28, Alfred Collett who was three, and Arthur Collett who was one year old

 

The family was extended by the birth of two further children towards the end of the decade and, on the day of the census in 1891, the enlarged family was living at Edwardes Street in Balsall Heath within the Kings Norton registration district of Birmingham.  Head of the household was Heber Collett from London who was 40 and a manufacturer’s agent.  His wife Sarah Ann Collett from Warwickshire was 38, and their four children were Alfred Collett who was 13 and from Birmingham, Arthur Collett who was 11, both attending school, Lily Collett who was three, and Percival Collett who was under one year old.  The three younger children were recorded as having been born in Warwickshire

 

After a further period of ten years the family was recorded at Clarence Road in Sparkhill, within the Yardley registration district of South-East Birmingham at the end of March in 1901 when Henry Collett from Bermondsey was 49 and a traveller in oils and colour paint.  His wife Sarah was 48 and from Alcester, when 23-year-old son Alfred Collett was a pianoforte finisher.  The couple’s other children that census day were Lillian Collett aged 13, Percy Collett who was ten, Elsie Collett who was six, and Cicely Collett who was five years of age, all born in Birmingham.  By that time in their life absent second son Arthur was a sailor with the Royal Navy

 

Sometimes during the following decade, with their family completed, they travelled across the city of Birmingham and had settled in Smethwick to the west of the city centre, where they were recorded in the April census of 1911.  Henry Collett from London was 60 years of age and a commercial traveller in ‘brass papers’ within the wall-paper industry.  His wife of 38 years, Sarah Collett from Alcester, was 58, and their four youngest children were listed as Lillian Collett aged 24, Percy Collett aged 21, both working as clerks, Elsie Collett aged 17 was a warehouse woman, and Cecily Collett who was 16 and a warehouse assistant

 

Twelve years after that census day, the death of Henry H Collett was recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 6d 222) during the second quarter of 1923 when he was 72.  Just less than seven years later the death of Sarah A Collett was recorded at the same register office (Ref. 6d 338) during the first quarter of 1930 when she was 76

 

86P8 – Florence Sarah Ann Collett was born in 1873 at Aston, Birmingham

86P9 – Alfred Heber Collett was born in 1877 at Aston, Birmingham

86P10 – Arthur John Collett was born in 1880 at Aston, Birmingham

86P11 – Lillian (Lily) Collett was born in 1887 at Birmingham

86P12 – Percy Cornelius Knight Collett was born in 1890 at Birmingham

86P13 – Elsie Collett was born in 1894 at Birmingham

86P14 – Cecily H Collett was born in 1896 at Birmingham

 

Alice Caroline Collett [86O4] was born at Maltby Street in Bermondsey during the summer of 1856, where her birth was registered (Ref. 1d 73) during the third quarter of the year.  Just as with her older brothers (above) Alice was baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, as Alice Carolyn (sic) on 29th June 1856, the last know child of William and Louisa Collett, although no record of the family has been found in 1861.  So, by 1871, 14-year-old Alice was suffering the loss of her father three years earlier, when she was living with her widowed mother and two older brothers at Maltby Street, Bermondsey.  She and her mother had no stated occupation, so were likely undertaking housekeeping duties for the family, with her two brothers earning a living at a printing company

 

Nine years after that census day, the marriage of Alice Caroline Collett and Albert James Watts was recorded at St Olave Southwark (Ref. 1d 309) during the second quarter of 1880.  Albert was born at Southwark, with his birth registered at St Olave Bermondsey (Ref. 1d 17) during the second quarter of 1852.  Ten years before he married Alice, he was living with his family in London, when Albert J Watts was 18 and a printer’s compositor, the same line of work as Alice’s two older brothers.  So, maybe it was through them that Alice met Albert

 

After around nine months together, the census in 1881 recorded the couple residing at Northampton Street within the Southwark parish of St George the Martyr.  Albert J Watts was 28 and again working as a compositor, with his wife Alice C Watts being 23, when they both said they had been born at Southwark.  The first of their children was born at the end of the following year, with the birth of Albert William Watts registered at Southwark during the first quarter of 1883.  Unfortunately, no record of the family has been found within the next census, but by 1901 they had moved north of the River Thames and were living at Aldbridge Street in Newington Green, near Hackney in Middlesex

 

Albert J Watts from Horsleydown, Southwark was 48 and a printer’s reader (a proof reader), Alice C Watts was 43 from Bermondsey, Albert William Watts was 18 and a compositor, Ethel Margaret Watts was 15, William Watts was 13, Walter Watts was ten, and Alice May Watts was eight years old.  All the children, except Albert, had been born south of the River Thames at Walworth.  After a further decade, it was at Catford in the London Borough of Lewisham that the reduced family was living.  Albert was 58 and a corrector of press (a proof reader), his wife of 13 years (sic) Alice was 53, and sons Albert and William were 28 and 23, both compositors, and son Walter was 19 and a print machine manager.  Alice Caroline Watts, nee Collett, died on 10th February 1928 and her Will was proved in Kent on 10th March 1928, with the beneficiary being her husband Albert James Watts.  He survived his wife by five years, when he died in London during 1933 at the age of 80

 

Louisa Jane Collett [86P1] was born in 1873 at Bermondsey and was  the first of the eight children of Alfred Oliver Collett and Mary Ann Charlotte Whetcombe.  Her birth was registered at St Olave Bermondsey (Ref. 1d 276) during the first three months of that year and she was eight years old in the Bermondsey census of 1881 when her family was living at Alfred Street.  Although Louisa was not with her family at John Street in Southwark in 1891, she was employed as a domestic nursemaid at the home of Land Agent, Surveyor & Auctioneer Richard A H Seymour and his family at Knightrider Street in Maidstone, Kent.  It was perhaps her occupation that enabled to return to her family when the health of her father was failing towards the end of the century

 

Whether or not that was the reason, she was certainly living with her family at Hall Road in Camberwell, where Louisa Collett was 27 with no stated job of work, like her mother, the pair of them likely to be tending to the needs of her father, who died very shortly after that census day in 1901.  It is possible, but not yet proved, that the marriage of Louisa J Collett and John C Smithers was recorded at Kingston Surrey register office (Ref. 2a 889) during the first quarter of 1916

 

Henry Charles Collett [86P2] was born in 1874 at Bermondsey, the eldest son of Alfred and Mary Ann Collett, whose birth was registered at St Olave Bermondsey (Ref. 1d 265) during the last quarter of that year.  He was six years in 1881 at Alfred Street in Bermondsey, and was 16 in 1891 at John Street in Southwark.  After that he joined his father in the printing trade, as confirmed in the census of 1901 when their occupation was that of a printer, with 26-year-old bachelor Henry still living with his family, but at Hall Road in Camberwell.  Just after that census day in 1901, Henry’s father died and, five years later, Henry Charles Collett suffered a premature death which was recorded at Camberwell register office (Ref. 1d 540) during the last three months of 1906 when he was 32

 

Alfred Oliver Collett [86P3] junior was born at Bermondsey in 1877, another son of Alfred Oliver Collett senior and his wife Mary Ann Charlotte Whetcombe.  His birth was registered at St Olave Bermondsey (Ref. 1d 231) during the second quarter of that year and was four years old in the Bermondsey census of 1881 when he and his family were listing at Alfred Street.  He was 14 in 1891, when the family was living at John Street in Southwark and in 1901, at the age of 23, Alfred was working as a labourer at the electric light works when he was unmarried and still at home which, by then was Hall Road in Camberwell

 

Almost precisely one year later, the marriage of Alfred Oliver Collett and Florence Louisa Campbell was recorded at Southwark register office (Ref. 1d 63).  It was on 29th March 1902 that Alfred aged 24, and the son of Alfred Oliver Collett, married Florence Louisa Campbell aged 23 and the daughter of James Campbell.  The couple’s first child was born eighteen months later at Walworth within the London Borough of Southwark.  The next child was born at Tooting, and the third at Peckham, before the family arrived at Clerkenwell where the fourth child was born, and where the family was living in 1911.  By then Alfred had changed jobs and had entered the world of printing, like so many of his earlier family.  At the age of 33, Alfred Collett from Bermondsey was a printer’s cutter, his wife Florence Collett from St Giles London was 32, and their four children were Alfred Collett who was seven, Beatrice Collett who was four, Hilda Collett who was two, and baby Irene Collett whose birth had only just been recorded at nearby Holborn register office (Ref. 1b 568) during the first quarter of 1911

 

No more children were added to the family after that day, but Alfred was listed in military service records in both 1915 and 1919.  On the first occasion it was as 37-year-old Alfred Oliver Collett serving with the King’s Own Scottish Borders, service number 18294 while, in the latter record, he was 42 and living in London, a member of the Labour Corps of 801st Area Employment Company.  At the end of his life Alfred was residing in Hertfordshire where his death was recorded (Ref. 3a 1883) in 1940 at the age of 62

 

86Q1 – Alfred James Collett was born in 1903 at Walworth, London

86Q2 – Beatrice Lilian Collett was born in 1906 at Tooting, London

86Q3 – Hilda Florence Collett was born in 1908 at Peckham, London

86Q4 – Irene Collett was born in 1911 at Clerkenwell, London

 

Beatrice Lilian Collett [86P4] was born in 1879 at Bermondsey, possibly at Alfred Street, the fourth child of Alfred and Mary Ann Collett whose birth was registered at St Olave Bermondsey (Ref. 1d 247) during the last quarter of the year.  She was two years old in the census of 1881 when she and her family were recorded at Alfred Street in Bermondsey, and in 1891 she was eleven years of age, by which time the family was residing at John Street in Southwark

 

William Ernest Collett [86P5] was born at Alfred Street in Bermondsey near the start of 1882, when his birth was registered at St Olave Bermondsey (Ref. 1d 264).  It was simply as William Collett that he was recorded at the family home on John Street in Southwark in 1891 when he was nine years old.  On leaving school he joined the Merchant Navy, possibly the reason why he was not living with his family at Hall Road in Camberwell in 1901.  During a period of shore leave in 1911, William Ernest Collett returned to what was left of his family at Camberwell, after his father died in 1901 when, at the age of 27 (sic) he was a steward with a steam ship company.  It was later recorded that he served as a seaman with the Merchant Navy during the First World War

 

After completing his military service, William Ernest Collett met war widow Florence M Pring, whose later marriage was recorded at Camberwell register office (Ref. 1d 1933) during the spring of 1920.  It was also at Camberwell that the births of their two children were recorded, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Gray.  Florence’s first husband was Alfred Charles Pring (who died in 1914) to whom she was married during the summer of 1910 at Southwark when she was Florence Maud Gray, her birth having been registered at Lambeth (Ref. 1d 437) during the first three months of 1886.  Having survived through two world wars, William Ernest Collett was 70 years old when he died in London during 1953, where his death was recorded (Ref. 5c 328).  Four years earlier, the death of Florence M Collett was recorded at London register office (Ref. 5c 193) in 1949 at the age of 63. 

 

86Q5 – Dorothy M Collett was born in 1921 at Camberwell, London

86Q6 – Jack E Collett was born in 1925 at Camberwell, London

 

Maud Collett [86P6] was born at Southwark in 1884, with her birth registered at St Saviour Southwark (Ref. 1d 85) during the last quarter of the year.  She may have been born at John Street in Southwark, where her family was living in 1891 when Maud was six years old.  After leaving school Maud was 16 in 1901 when living at Hall Road in Camberwell, but with no stated job of work.  That may have been because her father was not well, his death recorded just after that census day.  In 1911 it was only Maud and her younger sister Minnie (below) who were continuing to live with their widow mother, although also making a temporary return to Camberwell was their older brother William (above) on shore-leave from the merchant navy.  By that time in her life Maud Collett was 25 and a book folder for a printing company

 

Minnie Collett [86P7] was born at Southwark in 1886, the seventh and last child of Alfred Oliver Collett and Mary Ann Charlotte Whetcombe.  Her birth was also registered at St Saviour Southwark (Ref. 1d 36) during the last three months of 1886 and she was four years of age in 1891 when living at John Street in Southwark.  Ten years later Minnie was 14 and had completed her schooling when she was living at the family home on Hall Road in Camberwell when she was not recorded as having an occupation.  Following the death of her father just a short time after that census day, Minnie, and her sister Maud, (above) became the bread-winners when they were the only children living with their widowed mother through the first decade of the new century.  In 1911 the three of them were recorded in the Camberwell census, when Minnie was 24 and was working as a porter for a local tobacconist

 

Florence Sarah Ann Collett [86P8] was born during 1873 at Aston (Ashted?) in Birmingham, where she was baptised at the Church of St James the Lesser on 28th December 1873.  She was the first-born child of Heber Henry Collett and Sarah Ann Knight and was only a few months old when she died at her mother’s former home of Alcester, where her death was recorded (Ref. 6d 443) during the first quarter of 1874

 

Alfred Heber Collett [86P9] was born at Aston, Birmingham near the end of 1877, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 6d 381) during the first three months of 1878.  He was the eldest surviving child of Henry Heber Collett and Sarah Ann Knight and was three years old in the Kings Norton census of 1881, when the family was living at Belgrave Street.  The family was still in the Kings Norton registration district in 1891 but at Edwardes Street in Balsall Heath, where Alfred was 13, while in 1901 it was at Clarence Road, Sparkhill in Yardley, that unmarried Alfred Collett aged 23 was a pianoforte finisher who was still living with his family.  Six months after that census day, the marriage of Alfred Heber Collett and Florence Garside was recorded at Solihull (Ref. 6d 1117) during the last quarter of 1901.  The marriage produced at least two children, although it must be pointed out that the birth of Dorothy Mabel Collett at Solihull (Ref. 6d 623) during the second quarter of the same year and six months prior to their wedding day, was the daughter of James Henry Collett from Staffordshire and his wife Clara from Alcester.  The census return in 1911 stated that they had been married for 14 years.  And it was their unmarried daughter Dorothy M Collett who died at the age of 34 on 7th May 1935, and who left a Will proved on 14th November 1936, when her mother Clara was the main beneficiary

 

The two known children of Alfred and Florence were born in Birmingham, with the four members of the family living at 28 St Paul’s Road in Balsall Heath on the day of the census in 1911.  Alfred Collett who was 33 and a pianoforte finisher and regulator, Florence Collett who was 31, Dorothy Collett who was nine, and Alfred Collett who was seven years of age, all confirmed as born in Birmingham.  The two children were attending school, with the census return confirming that Albert and Florence had been married for nine years.  With the outbreak of war in Europe, Alfred enlisted with the British Army, and was assigned to the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, as Lance Corporal service number 23199.  Tragically, he was killed at Le Treport in France on 16th September 1918 with the war close to coming to and end, and was buried at the Mont Huon Military Cemetery in Le Treport.  The Will of Alfred Heber Collett was proved in Birmingham on 28th March 1919, when his widow Florence Collett of 28 St Paul’s Road, Balsall Heath, was the main beneficiary

 

86Q7 – Dorothy Collett was born in 1901 at Birmingham - no registration of her birth found

86Q8 – Alfred Heber Collett was born in 1903 at Birmingham - no registration of his birth found

 

Arthur John Collett [86P10] was born at Duddeston in Birmingham early in 1880 and was the third child of Heber Henry Collett and Sarah Ann Knight.  His birth was registered at Aston (Ref. 6d 356) during the second quarter of that year prior to which he was baptised on 4th April 1880 when he and his family’s home was recorded as Ashted, possibly a misinterpretation of Aston.  A year later, aged one year, he and the family were living at Belgrave Street, Kings Norton in 1881 and ten years after that, at the age of 11, they were residing at Edwardes Street in Balsall Heath in 1891.  On leaving school he joined the Royal Navy and, in the 1901 census that year, he was described as Arthur J Collett from Duddeston who was 21 and an ordinary seaman, a member of the crew serving at sea or in ports abroad.  On leaving the navy Arthur returned to midlands and married Rose who was born in Wolverhampton around 1886, with whom he had a son at the start of 1911.  The census that year placed the family of three residing in Smethwick, where Arthur John Collett from Duddeston was 31 and a time-keeper and a packer with a pin manufacturer.  His wife Rose Collett from Wolverhampton was 25, and their son Arthur Alfred Heber Collett was only a few weeks old.  Two young people were visiting the family that day, and they were Emma Poyner who was ten, and Frederick Broomfield who was four, both born at Wolverhampton.  Although no record of the marriage of Arthur and Rose has been found, it may be significant that in 1901 Rose Poyner of Wolverhampton was fifteen years of age, who may have been Rosala Poyner, the five-year-old daughter of John and Sarah Poyner of Wolverhampton in 1891

 

86Q9 - Arthur Alfred Heber Collett was born in 1911 at Smethwick, west of Birmingham

 

Lily (Lillian) Collett [86P11] was born at Kings Norton, Birmingham in 1887 and her birth was recorded there (Ref. 6d 72) during final quarter of 1887.  In the following census she was also Lily Collett aged three years when she was recorded at Edwardes Street in Balsall Heath.  However, in the following two census returns her parents gave her name as Lillian Collett who was 13 in 1901 at Clarence Road in Sparkhill to the east of Birmingham, who was 24 in 1911 when she was working as a clerk for a timber merchant when she was still living at the family home, which by then was in the Smethwick area just to the west of Birmingham

 

Percy Cornelius Knight Collett [86P12] was another son of Heber Henry Collett and Sarah Ann Knight and was most likely born at Edwardes Street in Balsall Heath, Birmingham in 1890.  However, no record of his birth, or his baptism, have been found and then, in the census the following year, he was simply named as Percival Collett for the only time in his informative years.  As Percy Collett he was living with his family at Clarence Road in Sparkhill, Yardley, in 1901 when he was 10 years of age and, again in 1911, Percy Collett aged 21 was still living with his family but at Smethwick, from where he was employed as a clerk for a company manufacturing screws

 

Four years later the marriage of Percy C K Collett and Jessie A Lowe was recorded at Aston register office (Ref. 6d 853) during the second quarter of 1915.  It was at St Mary’s Church, Aston Brook that the couple was married on 23rd May 1915 when Percy Cornelius Knight Collett was 24, the son of Heber Collett, and Jessie Augusta Lowe was 22 and the daughter of William George Lowe.  So far, the research has not revealed any children

 

Elsie Edith May Collett [86P13] was born at Birmingham in 1894 and was six years old in the census of 1901 when she and her family were living at Clarence Road, Sparkhill, in the Yardley district of east Birmingham.  Her birth was recorded at Aston register office (Ref. 6d 193) during the third quarter of 1894, and very shortly after she was born, she was baptised at Sparkbrook in Birmingham on 8th July, with her parents confirmed as Heber and Sarah Ann Collett.  Her father’s work as a commercial traveller resulted in a move to nearby Smethwick, where the family was living in 1911, when Elsie Collett was working as a warehouse woman at a steel pen works when she was aged 17.  It was towards the end of 1915 when Elsie Collett married Benjamin Fisher, the event recorded at Aston register Office (Ref. 6d 1085)

 

Cecily H Collett [86P14] was born at Birmingham in 1896, the seventh and last child of Heber Henry Collett and Sarah Ann Knight.  She was five years of age in the Yardley census of 1901 when the family was residing at Clarence Road in Sparkhill.  Ten years later Ciccy Collett was 16 and was living with her parents in Smethwick, where she was employed as a warehouse assistant at a button works.  Exactly seven years later, the marriage of Cecily H Collett and William H Maguire was recorded at Birmingham (Ref. 6d 305) during the second quarter of 1918.  The marriage produced three children whose births were recorded at Birmingham register office, they being Norman W Maguire (Ref. 6d 315) during the third quarter of 1919, Robert Maguire (Ref. 6d 464) during the last three months of 1925, and Patricia Maguire (Ref. 6d 471) during the second quarter of 1930.  On each occasion, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett

 

Alfred James Collett [86Q1] was born at Walworth within the London Borough of Southwark on 25th October 1903, when his birth was recorded at Southwark register office (Ref. 1d 165).  He was baptised at Walworth on 13th November 1903, the first-born child of Alfred Oliver Collett and Florence Louisa Campbell.  He was seven years old in the Clerkenwell census of 1911, having previously lived in Tooting and Peckham prior to that.  Alfred J Collett was 26 years old when he married Hettie Harvey, with their wedding recorded at Fulham register office (Ref. 1a 1096) during the third quarter of 1930.  Hettie presented Alfred with two children, both births recorded at Hendon register office when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Harvey.  Alfred was living in Kent when he died, where his death was recorded (Ref. 5f 1763) in 1971 at the age of 68.  Hettie Harvey was born in London on 17th August 1905 with her birth recorded at Holborn register officer (Ref. 1b 612) during the third quarter of that year.  As Hettie Collett she was still living in Kent when she passed away at the age of 93, with her death recorded at the Thanet-with-Dover register office (Vol. 5751a a4e) in February 1999

 

86R1 – Charles H Collett was born in 1937 at Hendon, Middlesex

86R2 – Joan I Collett was born in 1940 at Hendon, Middlesex

 

Beatrice Lilian Collett [86Q2] was born at Tooting within the London Borough of Wandsworth on 26th June 1906, the eldest daughter of Alfred and Florence Collett.  Her birth was recorded at Wandsworth register office (Ref. 1d 672) during the third quarter of 1906 and she was four years old in the Clerkenwell census of 1911.  It was back on the south bank of the River Thames at Lambeth where   the marriage of Beatrice L Collett and George Radley was recorded (Ref. 1d 502) during the summer of 1932.  Just under six years after their wedding day, Beatrice gave birth to a son, with the birth of Michael Radley recorded at Edmonton register office (Ref. 3a 1346) during the second quarter of 1938, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed at Collett.  Beatrice died at Hove in Sussex on 1st April 1996 only a few weeks before her ninetieth birthday, with the death of Beatrice Lilian Radley recorded at Sussex register office (Vol. 4571 78c)

 

Hilda Florence Collett [86Q3] was the third child of Alfred and Florence Collett and was born at Peckham within the London Borough of Southwark in 1908.  Her birth was recorded at Camberwell register office (Ref. 1d 910) during the second quarter of that year and she was two years old in the census of 1911, by which time the family was living in Clerkenwell, within the London Borough of Islington.  Twenty-four years later the marriage of Hilda Florence Collett and Wilfred Thomas V Reed was recorded in London (Ref. 1b 770) during the second quarter of 1935.  Their only child was born in 1938, when the birth of Patricia H Reed was recorded at the London Hampstead register office (Ref. 1a 815) during the second quarter of that year

 

Wilfred was born on 14th February 1909 at Tottenham in London, the son of stonemason George Reed and his wife Eliza.  Wilfred was a builder and between 1936 and 1947 he travelled across the Atlantic Ocean, on one such occasion to New York it was aboard the liner Queen Elizabeth.  He was 60 years old when his death was recorded at Middlesex register office (Ref. 5c 1108) in 1969

 

Dorothy M Collett [86Q5] was born in 1921 at Camberwell, London, the older of the two children of William Ernest Collett and Florence M Pring nee Gray, whose birth was recorded there during the first three months of that year (Ref. 1d 1612) when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Gray

 

Jack E Collett [86Q6] was the son of William and Florence Collett and was born in 1925 at Camberwell, London, where his birth was recorded during the last three months of the year (Ref. 1d 1186) and where his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Gray. 

 

Alfred Heber Collett [86Q8] was born on 2nd August 1903 at Birmingham and was the only known son of Alfred Heber Collett and Florence Garside.  Just the same as for his older sister Dorothy, no record of the registration of his birth has been found.  By the time of the census in 1911 Alfred Collett was seven years of age and attending when he and his family were recorded in the Balsall Heath area of Birmingham.  The later marriage of Alfred Heber Collett aged 32 and Constance V E Hartland was recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 6d 1034) during the third quarter of 1935.  The birth of Constance V E Hartland was recorded at Birmingham’s Aston register office (Ref. 6d 239) during the last quarter of 1910.  Their only son Roy W Collett was born in Birmingham two years later.  Alfred appears to have lived all his life in Birmingham, where he died during the summer of 1984, with the death of Alfred Heber Collett recorded at Birmingham register office (Vol. 32 17).  Nine years prior to his passing, the death of Constance Vesta E Collett, nee Hartland, was recorded at Warwickshire register office (Vol. 32 0271) in 1975, record also providing her date of birth as 24th October 1910

 

86R3 – Roy W Collett was born in 1937 at Birmingham

 

Arthur Alfred Heber Collett [86Q9] was born in 1911 at Smethwick, west of Birmingham, with his birth recorded at Kings Norton register office (Ref. 6c 431) during the first quarter of 1911  He was the only known child of Alfred John Collett and his wife Rose, who may have been Rose Poyner.

 

Charles H Collett [86R1] was born in 1937 at Hendon, Middlesex, the eldest of the two children of Alfred J Collett and Hettie Harvey.  It was at Hendon register office (Ref. 3a 620) that his birth was recorded during the last quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Harvey.

 

Joan I Collett [86R2] was born at Hendon in Middlesex in 1940, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 3e 974) at the start of that year, with her mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Harvey.  Joan was 24 years of age when she was married, with the wedding of Joan I Collett and Clive E Ewing recorded at Willesden register office in Middlesex (Ref. 5f 758) during the first three months of 1965

 

Roy W Collett [86R3] was born in Birmingham during 1937 with his birth recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 6d 578) in the third quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hartland, being the only child of Alfred Heber Collett and Florence Garside.  Roy Collett was 21 when he married Norma E Cain in Birmingham with their wedding recorded there (Ref. 9c 421) during the last three months of 1958.  It was at Meriden and Solihull register offices that the births of their two sons were recorded; Neil S Collett in 1963, and Robert A Collett in 1965, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Cain

 

86S1 – Neil S Collett was born in 1963 at Meriden, Birmingham

86S2 – Robert A Collett was born in 1965 at Solihull, Birmingham

 

Neil S Collett [86S1] was born in 1963 and his birth was recorded at the Meriden register office (Ref. 9c 1669) east of Birmingham in the first three months of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Cain.  He was the older of the two sons of Roy W Collett and Norma E Cain, who later married Catherine Lynch, their wedding recorded at Birmingham register office (Vol. 32 112) in February 1985

 

Robert A Collett [86S2] was born in 1965, another son of Roy and Norma Collett.  Unlike his brother Neil (above), Robert’s birth was recorded at Solihull register office (Ref. 9c 2211) during the first quarter of the year, with his mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Cain.  The subsequent marriage of Robert A Collett and Carol A Malsbury was recorded at Solihull South register office (Vol. 073 0179) during the second quarter of 1995

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX

Other Men Called Heber

 

 

It was on 13th April 1815 that Cornelius Collett [86l1] married Mary Stimson at St Andrews Church in Holborn, and they were the parents of Cornelius Samuel Collett [86m1] who was baptised at Holborn St Andrews Church in London on 9th July 1817.  Later in his life he claimed he was from Ipswich in Suffolk, perhaps because he was educated there.  Cornelius and Mary followed the birth of their first child by adding two more sons to their family, the first of them just before 1820, the second before 1826.  Whether it was the result of a change in religion or not, we do not know, but it is confirmed that all three sons, Cornelius Samuel Collett [86m1], John Stimson Collett [86m2], and William Robert Collett [86m3], were all baptised together at St Clement Danes Church in Westminster on 4th August 1826.  The church register recorded that the parents were Cornelius and Mary Collett of Westminster.

 

Their eldest son was married twice in his life and was 23 years old when the marriage of Cornelius Samuel Collett and (1) Julia Constance Collins was conducted at St John-the-Baptist Church in Lewes within the Parish of Southover, Sussex, on 2nd September 1840.  Cornelius was described as a gentleman who was living at West Street in Brighton, the son of Cornelius Collett a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, when Julia was living at St Pancras Terrace and her father was named as Frederick Collins a dancing master.  Both the bride and the groom signed the marriage register of their own hand, while no member of either family was a witness

 

On the return to London Cornelius and Julia made their first home at Great Bland Street in Newington just south of Southwark, where the pair was recorded in the June census of 1841, awaiting the birth of the first child.  Cornelius was 24, his wife Julia was 25, and staying at the same address was his brother John Collett [86m2] who was 22.  Completing the household was William Tarner, his wife Elizabeth, and their son William Tarner aged ten years

 

Not long after that day, the couple was residing there for the birth of the first of their three daughters before moving to Somerset where the next two were born.  The first of them was Julia Mary Collett [86n1] who was born within the Southwark area of South London in 1841.  The second child was Elizabeth Catharine Collett [86n2] who was born within the Shuttern area of Taunton in Somerset early in 1844 and baptised in Taunton.  The third daughter was Emily Jane Collett [86n3] who was born at Creech-St-Michael, three miles to the east of Taunton, where she was baptised on 30th April 1846.  For all three events their parents were described as schoolmaster Cornelius Collett and his wife Julia Constance.  Sadly, Emily did not survive, and was buried in the churchyard at Creech-St-Michael on 24th August 1846.

 

Although no record of the death of Julia Constance Collett has been located, which may have coincided with the infant daughter of daughter Emily, by 1850 the wife of Cornelius Samuel Collett was Sarah Collett.  Later that year Heber Plumpton Cornelius Collett [86n4] was born at St Albans in Hertfordshire on 16th September 1850, where his birth was registered (Ref. vi 455).  However, his parents were only confirmed seven years after, when he was baptised at the Church of St Mary-the-Virgin in Bottesford, Leicestershire, on 19th July 1857 after travelling up the Great North Road (A1) to the Midlands.  He was the son of Cornelius Samuel Collett [86m1] and his Sarah White who was ten years of age in 1861 when, as simply Heber Collett, he was living with his family at Mill Hill in Weston within the Southwell registration district of Nottinghamshire, where his father Cornelius was a schoolmaster from Ipswich in Suffolk who was 43 and born in 1817.  His second wife Sarah from Hartfordbridge in Hampshire was 37, while the couple’s two other children were daughter Mary Collett aged 19 and born at Southwark in London aka Julia Mary Collett [86n1], and four-year-old Arthur Collett [86n5] who was four years old and born after the family had arrived in Bottesford, close to the county boundary between Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, midway between Nottingham and Grantham.  (2) Sarah White was the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth White and was baptised at Lyndhurst in Hampshire on 29th August 1824, whose family may have moved to Hartfordbridge in the north part of Hampshire sometime after that day.  Tragically, it was after the census day in 1861 that Cornelius Samuel Collett died at Mill Hill, with his death recorded at Southwell (Ref. 7b 170)

 

Julia Mary Collett [86n1] was baptised at Southwark on 28th July 1841 with her birth registered at Newington (Ref. iv 324) during the summer of that year, the first child of Cornelius Samuel Collett and his first wife Julia Constance Collins.  As Mary Collett she was 19 in the Nottinghamshire census of 1861, and it was eight years after that the marriage of Julia Mary Collett and William Tennant was recorded at Southwell (Ref. 7b 530) during the fourth quarter of 1869.  William was born at Donington, midway between Boston and Spalding in Lincolnshire on 8th October 1836 and was baptised at Boston on 31st October 1836, a son of John and Mary Tennant.  Two years later, when they were recorded in the 1871 census at Kingston-upon-Hull, the birth place of Julia Mary Tennant aged 29 was given in error as St Pancras, when William Tennant from Donington was 34 and a draper’s assistant.  No record of any child has been found, the death of either William or Julia

 

Elizabeth Catharine Collett [86n2] whose birth was registered at Taunton (Ref. x 487) at the start of 1844, was baptised on 11th January 1844 at the Anglican Church of St Mary Magdalene in Taunton when the family was living within the Shuttern district of the town

 

Heber Plumpton Cornelius Collett [86n4] born on 16th September 1850 at St Albans and he was baptised in a joint ceremony with his younger brother Arthur (below) on 19th July 1857 at Bottesford in Leicestershire

 

Arthur Wilfred Collett [86n5] was another son of Cornelius Samuel Collett and Sarah White, who was born at Bottesford on 14th January 1857, when his birth was registered at nearby Grantham (Ref. 7a 408) during the first three months of 1857.  It was later that same year that he was baptised with his brother Heber (above) at Bottesford’s Anglican Church of St Mary-the-Virgin on 19th July 1857, when he was confirmed as the child of Cornelius and Sarah Collett.  Three years after his father died, the premature death of Arthur Wilfred Collett was also recorded at Southwell (Ref. 7b 190) in 1864

 

 

 

 

These are the limits of the Heber named children in England, with just one other located in Newfoundland and he died on 12th September 1909, shortly after he was born at Fair Haven, Famish Cove in Newfoundland.  His infant death was recorded within the District of Placentia and St Mary’s when the cause of death was convulsions at the age of seven months, and was buried at Famish Cove.  Whilst it is established that John Collett (Ref. 32P50) of Famish Cove and his wife Sarah Higdon had six children born there from 1902 to 1918, their fourth child was born in September 1909, which would seem to discount them as being the parents of Heber Collett unless he was older than the seven months claimed on his death certificate.  There is still a chance he could, since the couple third child was born in 1906.  If, it could be proved he was their son, then Heber Collett would be (Ref. 32Q66)