PART EIGHTY-SEVEN

The Great Chalfield Wiltshire Line 1560 to 1800

(midway between Bradford-on-Avon and Melksham)

Issued November 2025

The initial details for this new family line were first included as an appendix with Part 60 – The Cambridgeshire Line from Tamworth to Australia and were gratefully received from Cathy Young in England (between 2013 and 2018) and Leanne Wroe in Australia (in 2016). It was towards the end of 2025 that a tremendous amount of new information was provided by Jonathan Leyland in North Wales relating to the Colletts of Great Chalfield near Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire. It was his generous offer of help that resulted in the development of this new family line

An early Collett in Great Chalfield was Anthony Collett who may have been the father OR grandfather of Tobias Collett, whose Inventory (Wiltshire Ref. P2/C/235) was dated 1602 which referred to him as Anthony of Great Chalfield. It is also very interesting that an Anthony Collett who was born at Great Chalfield in 1618 was the son of Anthony and Katherine Collett. That would seem to make him the cousin of the other Anthony of a similar age, the son of Tobias and Catherine. And for that reason, this new family line starts with the first named Anthony above

ANTHONY COLLETT [87E1] of Great Chalfield, about whom very little is known, completed an Inventory (Wiltshire Ref. P2/C/235) dated 1602. It is possible that upon being married he raised his family in the Wiltshire village of Box who, by the start of the new century had established himself in Great Chalfield just a few miles south-east of Box. At the time of compiling this family line, Anthony has been credited with three sons who were born at Box, although their dates of birth have not been verified by any baptism records

87F1 – TOBIAS COLLETT was born circa 1582 at Box, Wiltshire

87F2 - Anthony Collett was born circa 1585 at Box, Wiltshire

87F3 – Thomas Collett was born circa 1590 at Box, Wiltshire

TOBIAS COLLETT [87F1] was born at Box around 1582, the first of the three known sons of Anthony Collett of Great Chalfield. He was 26 years of age when Tobias Collett married the younger Catherine Stile at All Saints’ Church in Great Chalfield on 8^th February 1609, with whom he had at least the five known children listed below. However, there may have been other children born to the couple during the decade between the birth of their first two sons. Furthermore, their first child was born at Box, but baptised at Great Chalfield. In addition to this, and by the time of the birth of their second known child, the Bishop’s Transcript states that Anthony he was baptised at the Methodist Church of St Thomas-a-Becket in Box

Tobias and Catherine are the 10x great-grandparents of Peter John Leonard of Surrey in England, who generously provided some details for inclusion in his family line with their names denoted in capital letters

87G1 – Thomas Collett was born in 1610 at Box, Wiltshire

87G2 – ANTHONY COLLETT was born in 1620 at Box, Wiltshire

87G3 – Anne Collett was born in 1620

87G4 – Alice Collett was born in 1623

87G5 – John Collett was born in 1624

Anthony Collett [87F2] was another son of Anthony Collett of Great Chalfield who was born at Box around 1585, and confirmed as the brother of Tobias (above). Anthony Collett junior married Katherine Browne at Cherhill, a village and civil parish midway between Calne and Avebury, on the road to Marlborough. The day of their wedding was 12^th November 1610, when Anthony would have 25 years old. Katherine was the daughter of Thomas Browne who was baptised at Kingston-St-Michael, to the north of Chippenham, on 5^th April 1584. The couple are known to have lived at Great Chalfield, where their children were born, with two of them baptised at nearby Broughton Gifford in a joint ceremony on the same day. They may have been born in different years, or possibly twin brothers

87G6 – John Collett was born circa 1612 at Great Chalfield

87G7 – Anthony Collett was born circa 1615 at Great Chalfield

87G8 – Daniel Collett was born circa 1617 at Great Chalfield

87G9 – Thomas Collett was born circa 1620 at Great Chalfield

Thomas Collett [87G1] was born at Box in 1610 and was the first-born child and eldest son of Tobias Collett and Catherine Stile. Not long after he was born his parents settled in Great Chalfield where Thomas Collett of Box was baptised at All Saints’ Church on 16^th January 1611 when he was confirmed as the son of Tobias and Catherine Collett. It was also at Box where he was buried on 23^rd August 1668, at the age of 58, when the Bishop’s Transcript described him as a relative of John Collett

ANTHONY COLLETT [87G2] was born at Box on 2^nd March 1620 and was baptised at the Church of St Thomas-a-Becket on 11^th March, when the Bishop’s Transcript named his father as Tobye Collett. He was the second known child of Tobias Collett and Catherine Stile. Anthony married (1) Sarah and their two previously known children were born at Great Chalfield, while Peter Leonard’s family tree credits Anthony and Sarah with two earlier children named Anthony Collett, who was born in Gloucester, prior to a moved to Great Chalfield where their next three children were born, including Richard Collett, both of whom are now added to the list below

Anthony later married (2) Elizabeth Bond (1625- ) with their children born within the Stepney St Dunstan’s area of London. In addition to the four previously known children named below, as the children of Anthony and Elizabeth, Peter Leonard has three other children on his family tree, and they are Ann Collett (1654-1654), John Collett (1665-1671), and Elizabeth Collett (1667-1668), who were listed in reverse order with no dates attached to them, but who have now been inserted below

The handwritten entry for the death of Anthony Collet stated that he had died at Milk Street in the Parish of St Mary Magdalene (London) at the age of eighty-four years on the 31^st day of the eleventh month (called January) 1703/4, the cause of death being consumption. As a Quaker, he was buried at the Bull & Mouth Burial Ground, later the site of the Bull & Mouth Inn (a coaching inn). Another Anthony Collett – see 87G7, of Ratcliffe Highway (a road within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets), a former house carpenter, a citizen, and a haberdasher of London, died on 28^th January 1682

87H1 – Anthony Collett was born in 1644

87H2 – Richard Collett was born in 1848

87H3 - John Collett was born in 1649 at Great Chalfield

87H4 – Mary Collett was born in 1652 at Great Chalfield

The following are the three children of Anthony Collett by his second wife Elizabeth Bond:

87H5 – Ann Collett was born in 1654, died in 1654

87H6 – Benjamin Collett was born in 1656 at Stepney, London, died in 1656

87H7 – Tobias Collett was born in 1658 at Stepney, London

87H8 – James Collett was born in 1660 at Stepney, London

87H9 – ANTHONY COLLETT was born in 1660 at Stepney, London

87H10 – Mary Collett was born in 1663

87H11 – John Collett was born in 1665

87H12 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1667

87H13 – Martha Collett was born in 1669

John Collett [87G5] was born in 1624, possibly the last child born to Tobias Collett and Catherine Stile, although no record of his birth or baptism has been found. It is established that he died during 1633, with the Bishop’s Transcript indicating that he was buried at Heytesbury in Wiltshire on 30^th August 1633

John Collett [87G6] was born at Great Chalfield around 1612, the first-born child of Anthony Collett and Katherine Browne. He was born a year or more after his parents were married towards the end of 1610. For the continuation of this family line go to Part 44 – The Broughton Gifford to Connecticut Line (Ref. 44G1)

Anthony Collett [87G7] was born at Great Chalfield around 1615/1616, and was baptised in a joint ceremony with his brother Daniel at Broughton Gifford on 17^th January 1618, the two younger sons of Anthony Collett and Katherine Browne It is possible, although not proved, knowing members of this family lived in London after leaving Wiltshire, that this Anthony Collett may have died in London on 28^th January 1862, when he would have been 66 years old. That Anthony was described as “of Ratcliffe Highway (a road within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets), a former house carpenter, a citizen, and a haberdasher of London”

Daniel Collett [87G8] was born at Great Chalfield around 1617 and was baptised in a joint ceremony with his brother Anthony at Broughton Gifford on 17^th January 1618, two of the four sons of Anthony Collett and Katherine Browne. For the continuation of this family line go to Part 44 – The Broughton Gifford to Connecticut Line (Ref. 44G2)

Thomas Collett [87G9] was born around 1620 and was the youngest child of Anthony Collett and Katherine Browne. He married Mary Turner and their marriage produced at least one child, who arrived later in their life, suggesting the Mary was a few years younger than Thomas.

87H14 – John Collett was born in 1676 at Aldgate, London

Anthony Collett [87H1] was the first-born child of Anthony and Sarah Collett who was born on 9^th January 1644 at Gloucester where he died on 26^th May 1646.

John Collett [87H3] was born at Great Chalfield either at the end of 1648, or during the first week of 1649, where he was baptised on 8^th January 1649, the third child of Anthony Collett and his first wife Sarah. By the time John was nine years of age his parents had moved to Stepney in London. And it was there that the marriage of John Collett aged 21 married Elizabeth Glover at the Church of St Dunstan on 15^th July 1669.

Mary Collett [87H4] was born at Great Chalfield in 1652 and was baptised there on 19^th April 1652, the only known daughter of Anthony and Sarah Collett

Tobias Collett [87H7] was born at Stepney in London and was baptised at St Dunstan’s Church on 25^th March 1658, the son of Anthony Collett, a house carpenter, and his second wife Elizabeth Bond. It was during 1673 that Tobias was an apprentice haberdasher working under the guidance of his father Anthony for seven years. After completing his apprenticeship, Tobias Collett, a master haberdasher of London, took on apprentice John Fryer from Wiltshire in 1681 for a seven-year contract, and did the same thing for Thomas Townson from Lancashire in 1682. Shortly thereafter, he married (1) Elizabeth Adams who was buried in London on 4^th October 1685 following the birth of their daughter who was also buried with her mother on that same day. He then married (2) Mary Hull (1655-1702) and by whom his known children were born.

In 1686 Tobias took on freeman Thomas Bawne from Wiltshire for seven years and, two years after, having completed his apprenticeship, John Fryer was employed as a freeman by Tobias Collett, with the same offered to Thomas Bawne in 1693. The following year Tobias took on freeman Jonathan Mostee from Essex for a period of seven years, and in 1698 it was Theodore Markes from Northampton. On that entry, the father of Tobias Collett was described as a mercer, deceased. Two years after the birth of her last child, Mary Collett nee Hull, wife of Tobias Collett, died with a fever on 25^th December 1702 at the age of 41, when she was laid to rest in the Quakers Burial Ground at the Bull & Mouth in London. The handwritten record of her death confirmed she died at Milk Street within the Parish of St Mary Magdalene. Having spent the next nine years as a widower, Tobias married (3) Elizabeth Bouts, with that marriage conducted at Reading on 26^th March 1711, when his father was confirmed as Anthony Collett, deceased – see Marriage Bond details below. Later that same year, on 24^th September 1711, the name of Tobias Collett was included in the Quaker Records for a meeting that took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, although it is thought he never set foot on American soil

The ground on which the first United States Mint building was constructed was sold by William Penn to the Pennsylvania Land Company, and transferred to it by a Deed dated 12^th August 1699. At that time the Pennsylvania Land Company consisted of London haberdasher Tobias Collett the elder, later taken over by his son and namesake. It was William Penn (1644-1718), the son of Admiral Sir William Penn, who was a Quaker from England and the founder of the State of Pennsylvania named in honour of his late father who died in 1670, which he established as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minority groups in Europe. The year before his father passed away, William Penn was imprisoned at the Tower of London following a trial at the Old Bailey regarding his religious beliefs

Tobias Collett was a Quaker - a member of the Society of Friends, a cordwainer, and a master haberdasher, who died at Cumberwell near Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire on 1^st March 1725, and was buried at Cumberwell. In one record, Tobias was referred to as a Norwich factor, trading in Norwich Stuff, which is a woollen textile used by haberdashers. Curiously, the British History website lists just three children for Tobias and Mary Collett, and they are Mary, Elizabeth, and Ann – with daughter Mary missing from the list below

The earlier Marriage Bond made and signed by Tobias Collett and Elizabeth Bouts (abridged) as follows states: “Tobias Collett of Cheapside Citizen & Haberdasher of London son the Anthony Collett late Citizen & Haberdasher of London deceased and Elizabeth Bouts of Reading in the County of Berks Relict of Richard Bouts late Citizen & Draper of London. Having publicly declared their intention of taking each other in marriage before several meetings the people of God called Quakers, in Reading aforesaid according to the good order…………. Their said marriage, this 26^th day of the first month (called March) in the year One Thousand Seven Hundred & Eleven”. Both parties then gave a solemn pledge to each other for the rest of their lives in the presence of their witnesses. At the foot of the document, under a subheading “Relations” were the names: Elizabeth Collett, Benjamin Collett, Josiah Bouts, Mary Foster, Gabriel Adams, Martha Corderoy, and Henry Goldney – the witnesses

87I1 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1685 at London

The following are the children of Tobias Collett by his second wife Mary Hull:

87I2 - Josiah Collett was born in 1686 at London

87I3 - Joseph Collett was born in 1688 at London

87I4 - Elizabeth Collett was born in 1689 at London

87I5 – Tobias Collett was born in 1691 at London

87I6 - Ann Collett was born in 1693 at London

87I7 - Tobias Collett was born in 1694 at London

87I8 – Joseph Collett was born in 1696 at London

87I9 – Samuel Collett was born in 1698 at London

87I10 - Rebecca Collett was born in 1699 at London

87I11 - Benjamin Collett was born in 1700 at London

James Collett [87H8] was born at Stepney in the East End of London during 1660 and was baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldgate on 1^st November 1660, the fourth child of Anthony Collett by his second wife Elizabeth. He was only sixteen months old when he died in April 1662

ANTHONY COLLETT [87H9] was born in the Stepney area of London in 1660, with one source suggesting that he was a haberdasher which makes it reasonable that he was another son of London citizen and haberdasher Anthony Collett, the husband of Elizabeth Bond who died shortly after he was born. That may mean he was the twin brother of James Collett who died not long after he was born. The same source indicates that Anthony Collett first married (1) Margery Greene who presented him with four children, with Anthony suffering the loss of his wife and their two youngest children in 1684.

Unfortunately, this Anthony’s first wife cannot be Margery Greene, simply because her marriage to another Anthony was conducted on 24^th January 1659 (before he was born) at St Benet’s Paul’s Wharf in the City of London. Also, for the baptism of those four children from his first marriage, Anthony’s wife was referred to as Margrett. Anthony subsequently married (2) Margaret Blakeman (1666-1752) with whom he had a further five children, all as listed below and extracted from the family tree of Peter Leonard in the same order. Anthony Collett was 50 years old when he died in 1710

The above details in italics, then provoked the idea that Margery Greene may have been the third wife of Anthony’s father Anthony Collett [87G2], but that has now been disregarded since Elizabeth Bond has been confirmed as the mother of the later children in his marriage

87I12 – Priscilla Collett was born in 1678 in London

87I13 – Daniel Collett was born in 1682 in London

87I14 – Hannah Collett was born in 1684 in London

87I15 – Anthony Collett was born in 1684 in London

The following are the four children of Anthony Collett by his second wife Margaret Blakeman

87I16 – Anthony Collett was born in 1687 in London

87I17 – William Collett was born in 1687 in London

87I18 – MARY COLLETT was born in 1690 in London

87I19 – Jeremiah Collett was born in 1695 in London

87I20 – Anthony Collett was born in 1700 in London

Mary Collett [87H10] was born in London on 5^th March 1663 and was baptised at St Giles-without-Cripplegate on 14^th March 1663, another daughter of Anthony Collett. She was two years of age when Mary suffered an infant death on 21^st August 1665

John Collett [87H11] was born in London during 1665 another son of Anthony Collett and Elizabeth Bond. He was around six years old when he died at Ratcliffe in London on 19^th September 1671, the son of Elizabeth Collett

Elizabeth Collett [87H12] was born in 1667, the eighth child of Anthony and Elizabeth Collett. She was another of their children to suffer an infant death, when she was buried on 19^th May 1668 in London where she was confirmed as the daughter of Anthony and Elizabeth. That possibly happened at Ratcliffe in London, like her older brother John three years later. The date for Ratcliffe record of her death gave the date as 19^th July, the daughter of Elizabeth Collett

John Collett [87H14] was born early in 1676 at Aldgate, London, the son of Thomas Collett and Mary Turner. John was baptised at the Church of St Botolph-without-Aldgate on 20^th April 1676 when his parents were confirmed as Thomas and Mary. It may be that John was 22 years old when he married Ann Pemberton on 28^th August 1698 at St James’ Dukes Place in the City of London. Their three known children were baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldersgate, just south-west of Shoreditch where the first child was buried less than two months before Ann gave birth to the couple’s third child, who was given the same name

87I21 – Ann Collett was born in 1700 at Aldersgate, London

87I22 – John Collett was born in 1701 at Aldersgate, London

87I23 – Ann Collett was born in 1704 at Aldersgate, London

Elizabeth Collett [87I1] was born early in October 1685 at London and was buried there on 4^th October 1685, the only child of Tobias Collett and his first wife Elizabeth Adams who was buried with her baby

Josiah Collett [87I2] was born at Lumbard Street, All Hallows in London on 29^th March 1686, the first-born child of Tobias Collett, a cabinet maker, and his second wife Mary Hull. It was at Lavington, south of Devizes in Wiltshire, on 20^th August 1718, where Josiah married Rachel Pinnell (1693-1771) in a Quaker wedding, when his father was confirmed as Tobias Collett and his bride’s father was Jesse Pinnell. There is subsequent date for the celebration of their wedding when, on 17^th October 1718, the Relations of Josiah Collett and Rachell Collett were named as: Tobias Collett, Jonathan Barrow, Joannah Noyes, Ann Collett, Jeffrey Pinnell, Francis Pinnell, Israel Noyes, Joseph Hull, Mary Taylor, and John Cowling

The couple’s youngest child was ten years of age when Josiah Collett died in 1740. Prior to that sad event the Last Will & Testament of Josiah Collett of Reading was made on 15^th June 1740 and witnesses by Abraham Bonifield, John Hooper, and Mary Wright. The sole beneficiary was his wife to enjoy for the rest of her life, and after her death the remainder of the real or personal estate not sold, passed to any two or one of their children and their respective heirs. None of their children were named in the Will. Four months later the Will was proved at Canterbury on 31^st October 1740 by Rachel Collett widow derelict of the deceased and sole executrix named in the said Will to whom administration was granted of all and singular the goods chattels and credits of the said deceased she having first made a solemn and sincere declaration or affirmation by commission well and faithfully to administer the same

Following the death of her husband Rachel, together with daughter Mary and son Tobias, Rachel eventually moved to Bristol and, after thirty-one years as a widow Rachel Collett died at Bristol on 13^th November 1771 and was buried there on 17^th November. Settlement of her estate was resolved before the end of that same year, when the Will of Rachel Collett of Bristol was proved there during the last six weeks of 1771

87J1 – Jeffrey Collett was born in 1719 at Reading

87J2 – Josiah Collett was born in 1721 at Reading

87J3 – Mary Collett was born in 1722 at Reading

87J4 – Tobias Collett was born in 1725 at Reading

87J5 – Josiah Collett was born in 1729 at Reading

87J6 – Anthony Collett was born in 1730 at Reading

Joseph Collett [87I3] was born in London, Middlesex, on 2^nd May 1688, another son of Tobias and Mary Collett, who was baptised there on 3^rd May 1688. It was as the son of Tobias Collett that Joseph Collett died in London where he was buried on 20^th September 1694, leaving the next son born into the family to be give the name Joseph

Elizabeth Collett [87I4] was born in London on 19^th November 1689 the eldest daughter of Tobias and Mary Collett. And it was as Elizabeth Collett, the daughter of Tobias, that she was married at Lavington in Wiltshire on 16^th March 1723

Tobias Collett [87I5] was born in 1691 at London another son of Tobias and Mary Collett. He was three years of age when he died and was buried in London on 4^th November 1694 the son of Tobias Collett, whose brother Joseph (above) had died seven weeks earlier. The day Tobias was buried was the same day that his mother gave birth to her next child, a son, who was given the name Tobias (below)

Ann Collett [87I6] was born in London near the end of 1693 and was another daughter of Tobias and Mary Collett. It was much later in her life when she married Samuel Barney (1682-1769) the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Barney when, as Ann Collett daughter of Tobias and Mary, they were married by banns at Warborough in Oxfordshire on 28^th January 1756. At the end of their life the couple was residing in Reading when Samuel Barney died there on 17^th April 1769 and was buried on 22^nd April when he was 87. Two years later Ann Barney died on 8^th April 1771 and was buried on 14^th April at the Quaker Burial Ground in Reading aged 77

Tobias Collett [87I7] was born in London on 4^th November 1694 the sixth child of Tobias and Mary Collett. In 1720 Tobias was residing in Reading where he employed a servant, Elizabeth Berry. Tragically she died while there, when the handwritten entry for her death stated that Elizabeth Berry (servant of Tobias Collet of Reading), departed this life the twenty-eighth day of the tenth month (called December) anno 1720, and was buried in the new burying ground Oxford

During 1722, Tobias Collett & Company, aka the London Grove Company, was involved in land sales in Colonial America, specifically in Pennsylvania. The company sold large tracts of land for what became London Grove Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, for one large sale the purchaser was John Cook. Four years earlier, Tobias Collett sold land in America to William Pusey. For clarity, the present-day UK company London Grove Ltd is an entirely different enterprise. It was Tobias’ father who initially established the Pennsylvania Land Company and acquired land there in 1699, which became Tobias Collett & Company under his son. The Indenture for the transfer of land was prepared in London and taken to America by John Estaugh and registered at New Castle in Delaware

Within the document, Tobias Collett was the first-named representative of the company, which started with the words:

“This Indenture made the fourteenth of March anno domini One Thousand Seven Hundred & Twenty Two between Tobias Collett of London in the Kingdom of Great Britain, a haberdasher, Daniel Quare a watchmaker of London, and Henry Goldney of London ,a draper, of the one part and Joseph Robinson of Chester County in the province of Pennsylvania in America, yeoman of the other part” – the rest is difficult to decipher but certainly makes reference to the acquisition of land in 1699. Other copies of the Indenture have been located, but with different purchasers named. The three London gentlemen employed shareholder John Estaugh as their agent/attorney, who traversed the Atlantic in the pursuit of finalising the sale of plots of the land to the local Quaker settlers in Pennsylvania, Joseph Robinson being just one of many

It is understood that neither Tobias, or his father, ever visited Pennsylvania or the USA, although a certain Tobias Collett had a connection with New Castle when his name was recorded there in 1748. Nothing is currently known about his personal life, but it is very interesting that a possible son or grandson, another Tobias Collett, was residing at New Castle in Delaware on 13^th March 1822

Joseph Collett [87I8] was born in Middlesex on 27^th January 1696, the seventh child of Tobias and Mary Collett. He lived a long life and was 85 when he died at St Paul’s Westminster on 11^th June 1783 and was buried four days after on 15^th June at Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, within the London Borough of Islington where John Bunyan, William Blake, and Daniel Defoe are buried

Samuel Collett [87I9] was born on 19^th June 1698 with his birth recorded in Middlesex, another son of Tobias and Mary Collett. Just after his family had celebrated his first birthday Samuel died on 12^th August 1699, two weeks after that his sister Rebecca was born, who died just after her birth, perhaps from a similar or related cause of death

Rebecca Collett [87I10] was born in London on 30^th July 1699, the youngest daughter of Tobias and Mary Collett, who died on 30^th August 1699, two weeks after her brother Samuel (above)

Benjamin Collett [87I11] was born in London on 6^th February 1700, the tenth and last child of Tobias Collett and Mary Hull. It is possible, but not proved, that Benjamin Collett was in Bristol when he died in 1739 and was buried there on 6^th May 1739

Priscilla Collett [87I12] was born in London during 1678 and was the eldest child of Anthony Collett and his first wife Margrett, as it was for the next three children. Priscilla was baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldgate on 20^th December 1678, daughter Anthony and Margrett Collett. Priscilla Collett was 19 years old when she married John Tindall, with their wedding ceremony conducted at the Church of St Botolph Aldgate in London. The son, and only known child was John Tindall junior

Daniel Collett [87I13] was born in London during 1682 and was baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldgate in the month of November that year. He was the eldest son of Anthony and Margrett Collett

Hannah Collett [87I14] was born in London during 1684 and was baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldgate on 24^th November 1684 another daughter of Anthony and Margrett Collett. Hannah was probably the twin sister of brother Anthony (below), who was baptised there a week later, both suffering infant deaths before the end of the year

Anthony Collett [87I15] was born in London during 1684 and was baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldgate in December that year, another son of Anthony Collett by his first wife Margrett. It is likely that he was the twin brother of Hannah (above) who was baptised before Anthony, with neither of them surviving beyond the end of that same year. His father, having lost two of his four children, was also widowed around that same time

Anthony Collett [87I16] was born in London and was the first child of widowed Anthony Collett and his second wife Margaret Blakeman. Although one source suggests he was born and died in London, no record of his birth during 1687, or his death in 1698 has been found or verified

William Collett [87I17] was born in London in 1687 and was baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldgate during the month of October 1687, another son of Anthony and his second wife Margaret. He was a master carpenter and a citizen of London, and died in 1763. With his sister Mary (below) marrying a member of the Holbourn family it is possible that two years prior to that, William Collett had married Maryland Holburn at Whitechapel in London on 12^th October 1710. It has been established that Mary presented William with three sons, the first of which did not survive, with Anthony Collett buried at Whitechapel on 1^st April 1712

87J7 – Anthony Collett was born in 1711 at Whitechapel

87J8 – Erasmus Collett was born in 1712 at Whitechapel

87J9 – William Collett was born in 1714 at Whitechapel

MARY COLLETT [87I18] was born in London at the end of 1690, a daughter of Anthony Collett and Margaret Blakeman, and was baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldgate on 7^th January 1691. Mary married Stephen Holbourn on 22^nd July 1713, when their marriage bond gave Mary’s age as 22. Their children were Priscilla Holbourn, Susanna Holbourn, Margaret Holbourn, John Holbourn, and Sarah Holbourn. No record of their births has been found, while another child of Stephen and Mary Holbourn was born and baptised at St George-in-the East, Stepney on 26^th May 1730 and she was Mary Holbourn

Mary’s daughter Margaret who was born at Stepney during 1720 married Edmund Frisby and it was their first children Mary-Ann Frisby born at Stepney in 1738 who married John Meredith. Their son John Meredith was born at Shoreditch in 1769 and he Joanna Strickland who gave birth to daughter Hannah Meredith in 1800 at Bermondsey who married Jonathan Hammond

Their daughter Hannah Rebecca Hammond was born in 1833 at Aldgate in London and she married George Francis Collins, with their daughter Martha Marie Collins, who was born 1866 at Bermondsey, married George Alfred Henry Rose

In turn, their daughter Gertrude Beatrice Rose, born 1899 in Bermondsey, married Henry Edward Leonard. And it was Henry and Gertrude’s son John Henry Leonard, born during 1924 at New Cross London, who married Pamela Walton Sturmer the parents of Peter John Leonard who was born at Farnborough, Kent in 1959, who kindly provided the details of his family line. Today, in 2025, Peter and his wife Susan Ford are living in Surrey

Jeremiah Collett [87I19] was born in 1695 in London and was thought to be another son of Anthony Collett and Margaret Blakeman. However, the only birth of Jeremiah Collett that year in London was born/baptised at Westminster on 20^th April 1695, and he was the child of Richard and Elizabeth Collett

Anthony Collett [87I20] was born in 1700 in London and was believed the last child of Anthony Collett and his second wife Margaret Blakeman. Just like his mysterious brother Jeremiah (above), no such birth record of an Anthony born in London has been found

Ann Collett [87I21] was born in 1700 at Aldersgate in London and was baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldersgate on 14^th April 1700, the eldest of the three children of John Collett and Ann Pemberton. Tragically, four years later, when her mother was anticipating the birth of her third child, Ann died and was buried at Shoreditch on 15^th March 1704

John Collett [87I22] was born in 1701 at Aldersgate and was baptised there on 17^th March 1701, the only known son of John and Ann Collett. The subsequent marriage of John Collett and Elizabeth Chamberlin took place at St Mary Magdalene on Old Fish Street, south of St Paul’s Cathedral in London on 12^th November 1725 when he was 24. Three year later Elizabeth gave birth to twin daughters whose birth was recoded at Holborn, London, where they were baptised at St Andrew’s Church in a joint ceremony on 20^th April 1728, when they were confirmed as the children of John and Elizabeth Collett. It is possible, but not yet proved that daughter Mary Collett married John Salter at St Sepulchre Newgate in Holborn on 4^th July 1750, while her sister Elizabeth Collett may have already been a married woman by that time, since there are more than one wedding of an Elizabeth Collett in that area of London prior to 1750

87J10 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1728 at Holborn, London

87J11 – Mary Collett was born in 1728 at Holborn, London

Ann Collett [87I23] was born two months two weeks after her older sister Ann died aged four years, and was also given the name Ann. She was born at Aldersgate and was baptised at St Botolph-without-Aldersgate on 30^th May 1704, the daughter of John Collett and Ann Pemberton. The later marriage of Ann Collett and Robert Pomeroy took place at Shoreditch St Leonards in London on 2^nd February 1724 four months before her twentieth birthday. Over the next twenty-two years the couple gave birth to six children, followed by a set of twins. Those eight children, verified as the offspring of Ann and Robert, were: Mary Pomeroy baptised on 11^th June 1727 at Shoreditch; William Pomeroy born on 13^th October 1728 and baptised on 27^th October 1728; Joseph Pomeroy born on 17^th March 1730 and baptised on 29^th March 1730; Ann Pomeroy born on 6^th November 1732 and baptised on 26^th November 1732, who was four years old when she died and was buried on 28^th July 1737 at Shoreditch; Sarah Pomeroy born on 20^th June 1736 and baptised on 11^th July 1736; Robert Pomeroy born on 11^th January 1738 and baptised on 4^th February 1738; and twins Ann Pomeroy and Jenn Pomeroy born on 27^th September 1746 and baptised on 8^th October 1748

Jeffrey Collett [87J1] was born at Reading on 14^th September 1719, the eldest son of Josiah Collett and Rachel Pinnell. The handwritten entry for his birth stated that Jeffrey, the son of Josiah & Rachel Collet, was born in the parish called St Giles in Reading the fourteenth day of the seventh month called September anno one thousand seven hundred & nineteen. Jeffrey Collett later married widow Mary Leckonby (nee Skipp) at St Anne’s Church in Soho, Westminster, on 8^th April 1763, but was only married for a short while before he died on 13^th December 1769, after which he was buried at Reading on 17^th December 1769 in a Quaker Burial Ground. His burial record confirmed he was 50 years old, whose occupation had been a schoolmaster at Reading, and Warborough near Wallingford. Prior to marrying Jeffrey, the marriage of Mary Skipp and Samuel Leckonby was conducted at St Botolphs Aldersgate, Middlesex, on 7^th October 1734 when Mary was 23 and Samuel was 24 and from All Hallows, London Wall, Middlesex

On 10^th March 1763, that is four weeks before the wedding of Jeffrey and Mary, Jeffrey agreed to release property at Middlesex, Berkshire, Kent, and London, to Thomas Skipp Bucknell being a settlement made prior to their marriage, as reproduced here:

First Party: Jeffry Collett, schoolmaster, of Reading, Berkshire, and Mary Leckonby, widow, of St Ann's, Soho, Westminster

Second Party: Thomas Skip Bucknall, esquire, of Conduit Street, St George's, Hanover Square, Middlesex

In consideration of her intended marriage, release from Mary Leckonby to (2) of one undivided fourth part of five undivided sixth parts of the property described in Ne D 4886; property to be held by (2) to the use of Leckonby until the marriage, afterwards in trust for disposal, the monies raised to be placed out at interest for the use of (1) and their children; also sets out what is to happen to the money in default of their being any children of the marriage; permission to (2) to deduct costs and charges from the monies raised and invested; covenant by Collett that in the event that he should outlive his mother, he will convey her real estate to (2) for the same purposes

Recitals: (a) fact that Collett and Leckonby are to be married; (b) fact that Leckonby is seized of one undivided fourth part of the property in question; (c) fact that Leckonby has agreed to convey her share to (2) in trust

Registered at the Bank of England on 31^st May 1770 was the following Will extract. This stated “One Hundred & Eighty-Five Pounds consolidated annuities standing the joint names of Thomas Skipp Bucknell of Holborn Esquire and Jeffrey Collett of Reading in Berks, Gentleman. The said Jeffrey Collett is deceased and appears by his Last Will & Testament dated 22^nd August 1768 appointing Mary Collett now his widow sole executrix who proved the said Will at Doctors Commons London on 25^th January 1770. Now the said £185 are at the disposal of Thomas Skipp Bucknell the survivor”

The Will of Jeffry Collett, who died at the age of 50 on 13^th December 1769 and was buried at the Reading Quaker Burial Ground on 17^th December, included bequeaths to: his wife Mary; his mother Rachel Collett; his sister Mary Collett (below); his aunt Ann Barney [87I6] nee Collett; his cousin widow Mary Curtis of Bristol; and to Edward Swain, the son of John Swain a distiller of Reading. The Will was made on 22^nd August 1768 and proved at Canterbury and confirmed by his widow on 25^th January 1770 – see Legal Documents for a transcript of the 1770 Will of Jeffry Collett

Josiah Collett [87J2] was born at Reading on 14^th February 1721, another son of Josiah and Rachel Collett, who was only six months old when he died at Reading on 23^rd August 1721. The handwritten entry for his birth stated that Josiah, the son of Josiah & Rachell Collet, was born in the parish of St Giles in Reading on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month called February in the year one thousand seven hundred & twenty. The handwritten entry for his death stated that Josiah, the son of Josiah & Rachell Collett, departed this life the twenty-third day of the sixth month (called August) in the year one thousand seven hundred & twenty-one, and was buried in the new burying ground in Reading aged six months

Mary Collett [87J3] was born at Reading on 11^th January 1722, the only daughter in a family of sons of Josiah and Rachel Collett. The handwritten entry for her birth stated that Mary, daughter of Josiah & Rachell Collet, was born in the parish called St Giles in Reading the eleventh day of the eleventh month (called January) in the year one thousand seven hundred & twenty-two. Mary was still alive in 1769 when her eldest brother Jeffrey Collett (above) died when she was very likely living with her widowed mother in Bristol, where her mother Rachel died two years later. Both mother and daughter were beneficiaries under the terms of Jeffrey’s Will, made in 1768 and proved in 1770. It was there also that Mary Collett died aged 55 on 18^th October 1778, and was buried with her mother at Bristol a week later, on 25^th October, and where her Will was proved before the end of 1778

Tobias Collett [87J4] was born at Reading on 4^th June 1725, one of only three surviving children of Josiah and Rachel Collett. The handwritten entry for his birth stated that Tobias, the son of Josiah & Rachell Collet, was born in the parish called St Giles in Reading the fourth day of the fourth month (called June) in the year one thousand seven hundred & twenty-five. After his father died at Reading in 1740, his widowed mother moved to Bristol, most likely with son Tobias where, according to the Poll Book for 1754, Tobias Collett was a clerk residing within the Bristol district of St James. Unsurprisingly, he was not the only Collett named in the Gloucestershire document, the other being John Collett of St James, a sugar baker whose identity has still to be confirmed. Just twelve years later, Tobias Collett was 41 years old when he died during 1766 with his burial record confirming he had died at Castle Precinct on 28^th day of the 12^th month (called February) and was buried at Redcliffe burying ground, with the informant of his passing named as William Fry. The Will of Tobias Collett was proved at Bristol in 1767. Castle Precinct and Redcliffe are areas in Bristol

Also on the Bristol Wills listing were five other members of the extended Collett family, one of which was Tobias’ mother Rachel Collett, with her Will proved at Bristol in 1771, followed by Tobias’ sister Mary Collett (above) in 1778. The other three Wills were those of John Collett in 1626, Francis Collett in 1721, and John Collett in 1747

Josiah Collett [87J5] was born at Reading on 22^nd June 1729, the fifth and last child of Josiah Collett and Rachel Pinnell. Sadly, like his brother and namesake, he too did not survive and was five weeks old when he died at Reading on 4^th August 1729. The handwritten entry for his birth stated that Josiah, the son of Josiah & Rachel Collett, was born in St Giles parish in Reading on the 22^nd day of the fourth month (called June) 1729. The handwritten entry for his death stated that Josiah, the son of Josiah & Rachel Collett, departed this life the fourth day of the sixth month (called August) in 1729 and was buried in the new burying ground in Reading aged six weeks

Erasmus Collett [87J8] was born in London in 1712 and was baptised at St Marys Whitechapel on 5^th October 1712, the second of three sons of William and Mary Collett. At the age of 24, the marriage of Erasmus Collett and Margaret Rainbow took place at St George-in-the-East on 3^rd July 1737. No record of any children has so far been found

William Collett [87J9] was born at Whitechapel, London, in 1714 where he was baptised on 29^th August 1714, another son of William Collett and Maryland Holborn. Nearly two months after his brother Erasmus was married, and four days prior to his twenty-third birthday, the marriage of William Collett and Jane Goodman was conducted after the reading of banns in London Middlesex at St Katherine-by-the-Tower on 25^th August 1737. No record of any children has so far been found