PART THIRTY-FIVE
The Melksham to Wisconsin & Ontario Line – 1600 to 1830
This is the first of three sections of this family line
Updated September 2026
Our good friend Jonathan Leyland in North Wales and a member of the Collett line in Part One, can across a very interesting find in early 2026. It was record of the death of William Collett who was buried at Bishop Cannings east of Devizes in Wiltshire on 17th November 1644. He was soldier who died at Roundway, the site of Battle of Devizes in the Civil War, commencing in 1643. He precedes all the details in this family line.
At the end of 2019 Stephen Carpenter generously provided copies of the Wiltshire Parish Registers of Birth, Deaths & Marriages, transcribed by the Wiltshire Family History Society
The version of this file, released in April 2019, was produced with the help of Roger H Collett [35S11] of London, Ontario, who provided lots of early records of the Collett families of Broughton Gifford. The work involved, has resulted in a complete re-ordering of the early generations of this family line, through to the present day.
A big thank you must go to Rob Campbell of Lake Mills, Wisconsin in the USA, who has been researching the early settler families of Pierce County in Wisconsin. During the project Rob discovered two, seemingly separate, Collett families from the same Wiltshire village of Broughton Gifford. Prior to November 2014 those two branches of the family had been identified as two unrelated families, as set out in Part 35 and Part 62, the family of James Collett in the former and the family of Samuel Collett in the latter
Samuel had sailed across the Atlantic in 1856 and was following by James in 1858. However, a significant discovery in the autumn of 2014 revealed that they were related and that Samuel Collett [35O54] and James Collett [35O61] were first cousins, the grandsons of James Collett [35M3] of Broughton Gifford. Therefore, the previous line of Samuel Collett in Part 62 has been removed from that file and is now correctly installed here in Part 35
In addition to this major change, another significant transfer of data has also taken place for the update in November 2014. That involved the discovery that John Collett of Broughton Gifford, whose family details had previously been entered in Part 31 – The New Wiltshire-Somerset Line, indicated he was the son of Stephen Collett [35M17] and his wife Hannah Mortimer. Therefore, the branch line from John Collett has been removed from Part 31 and inserted here, which extends to Ontario, hence the title-change and the need to divide this, now much larger, file into two sections
The aforementioned Part 62 – The Trowbridge to New Zealand Line was first launched on the Collett Family History website in October 2012 using information previously included in Part 35 – The Melksham Line and Part 44 – The Broughton Gifford Line. Earlier information generously provided by Maureen Iliffe nee Collett [64R23] in 2009 confirmed that Part 44, then known as The Second Broughton Gifford Line, also commenced in Broughton Gifford and confirmed the vital link that connects Part 35 to Part 44. Part 62 was renamed The Wiltshire Line to New Zealand & Australia during the 2021
A previous update of this file was thanks to information received from Gloria Davies which helped to determine some of the earlier generations of this family, which previously had just been estimations. The information used in the December 2008 update of this file was kindly provided by Barry Collett in the USA who was then carrying out a Collett DNA Study. The line confirmed by DNA testing is denoted by the names that are underlined
The village of Broughton Gifford lies approximately one mile west of Melksham and it was there that this family line commenced in the late 1500s, as set out in Part 44 – The Broughton Gifford to Connecticut Line. Broughton Gifford also features in Part 62 – The Wiltshire Line to New Zealand & Australia.
Luke Collett [44H3] who starts this line, was the younger brother of William Collett [44H2] of Broughton Gifford 1638-1719, and the second known son of Daniel Collett [44G2] of Broughton Gifford who, in turn, was the son of Anthony Collett [44F1] of Great Chalfield, a very small hamlet just one mile from Broughton Gifford. All these details can be found in Part 44 – The Broughton Gifford to Connecticut Line
Luke Collett [35H1] may have been born around 1640, one of only two sons of Daniel Collett. He was married to Grace around 1666 and all their children were baptised at Broughton Gifford, including twin sons Joseph and John Collett. When the couple’s youngest child was barely three years old, Grace Collett, wife of Luke Collett, died at Broughton Gifford, where she was buried on 11th December 1684. After losing his wife, Luke entered a relationship with Edith who, upon her death in 1688, three months after the death of Luke’s youngest child Grace, she was referred to as the ‘pretend wife of Luke Collett, following which she was buried at Broughton Gifford on 30th April 1688
35I1 – Thomas Collett was born in 1668 at Broughton Gifford
35I2 – Luke Collett was born in 1670 at Broughton Gifford
35I3 – William Collett was born in 1672 at Broughton Gifford
35I4 – Joseph Collett was born in 1674 at Broughton Gifford
35I5 – John Collett was born in 1674 at Broughton Gifford
35I6 – Jane Collett was born in 1681 at Broughton Gifford
35I7 – Grace Collett was born in 1663 at Broughton Gifford
Thomas Collett [35I1] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1668, the eldest of the seven children of Luke and Grace Collett, and was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 24th May 1668.
Luke Collett [35I2] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 31st January 1670, the second child of Luke and Grace Collett. No record of a marriage has been discovered so far, while it was at Broughton Gifford that Sybilla Collett, wife of Luke Collett, was buried there on 24th May 1710. Two and a half years later, Luke Collett was also buried at Broughton Gifford on 7th November 1712
William Collett [35I3] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 18th February 1671, the third of seven known children of Luke and Grace Collett. It would appear that he was married around 1693, with his wife presenting him with a son during the following year. If his wife was Jane, then she outlived her husband, since Jane Collett, a widow, was buried at Broughton Gifford on 18th December 1727
35J1 – John Collett was in 1694 at Broughton Gifford
Joseph Collett [35I4] was born at Broughton Gifford and baptised there on 20th September 1674 in a joint ceremony with his twin brother John (below). Joseph later married Mary Wakeley early in 1699, although the parish register at Broughton Gifford stated that ‘the marriage did not take place here’. Once they were married Mary presented Joseph with eight children, all of whom were baptised at Broughton Gifford. The Wakeley surname appears many times in the records for Broughton Gifford and, on two occasions, it was again linked to the Collett family. The first of them was the marriage of Martha Collett (Joseph’s granddaughter through his son Joseph) to John Wakeley in 1762 and later, when the daughter of Joshua Mortimer and Ruth Wakeley married Benjamin Collett. In addition to this, the Mortimer family also had many other ties with the Collett family. By the time Mary Collett, nee Wakeley, died at Broughton Gifford in 1738 she was already a widow, when she was buried there on 4th April 1738
35J2 – Martha Collett was born in 1698 at Broughton Gifford
35J3 – Jane Collett was born in 1701 at Broughton Gifford
35J4 – John Collett was born in 1705 at Broughton Gifford
35J5 – Mary Collett was born in 1710 at Broughton Gifford
35J6 – Joseph Collett was born in 1714 at Broughton Gifford
35J7 – Leah Collett was born in 1717 at Broughton Gifford
35J8 – Daniel Collett was born in 1720 at Broughton Gifford
35J9– James Collett was born in 1722 at Broughton Gifford
John Collett [35I5] was the twin brother of Joseph (above) with whom he was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 20th September 1674, another child of Luke and Grace Collett. Under two months later he died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 15th November 1674
Jane Collett [35I6] was born at Broughton Gifford where she was baptised on 4th December 1681, the penultimate child of Luke and Grace Collett. When she was just over six years of age, Jane died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 9th February 1688
Grace Collett [35I7] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1683 and was baptised at the parish church on 11th November 1683, the seventh and last children of Luke and Grace Collett.
John Collett [35J1] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1694, the only known child of William Collett. It was also at Broughton Gifford that John later married Ann Archer of Melksham on 18th April 1720, although no record of any issue for John and Ann has so far been found. John Collett died at Broughton Gifford, where he was buried on 28th September 1729. Ann Collett, nee Archer, died in Broughton Gifford, where she was buried over thirty years after her husband on 7th December 1766
Martha Collett [35J2] was born at Broughton Gifford perhaps around 1698, being the first-born child of Joseph Collett and Mary Wakeley, who was baptised there on 15th October 1699. It was also at Broughton Gifford that a Martha Collett married Stephen Dark, of Calne, on 25th December 1714, while another record states that Martha Collett married John Young at Broughton Gifford on 4th March 1716. Having regard to the date of her baptism, it would seem more than likely that her husband was John Young
Jane Collett [35J3] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 11th June 1701, another daughter of Joseph and Mary Collett. Two years and two days later, she died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 13th June 1703. Therefore, she was not the Jane Collett who married William Brossire, of Bradford-on-Avon, at Broughton Gifford on 8th June 1721
John Collett [35J4] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 5th August 1705, the eldest son of Joseph Collett and Mary Wakeley. He was twenty-three years old when he married Millicent (Millie) Gearish at Broughton Gifford on 7th August 1728, when he was confirmed as the son of Joseph Collett. Millie had been born around 1707 and she presented John with four children, and all of whom were born and baptised at Broughton Gifford. John Collett died at Broughton Gifford during February 1766, and was buried there on 20th February 1766. His widow, described as Milly Collett, died nine years later during 1775, and was buried with her husband at Broughton Gifford on 7th July 1775
35K1 – Patience Collett was born in 1730 at Broughton Gifford
35K2 – Mary Collett was born in 1733 at Broughton Gifford
35K3 – Millicent Collett was born in 1736 at Broughton Gifford
35K4 – John Collett was born in 1739 at Broughton Gifford
Mary Collett [35J5] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1710 and was baptised there on 31st January 1711, another daughter of Joseph and Mary Collett. She later married John Bull at Broughton Gifford on 16th November 1728, when they were both described as junior. Once married, the couple settled in Broughton Gifford where their son William Bull was born and was baptised on 15th October 1732. Almost twenty years later William Bull married Martha Mortimer at Broughton Gifford on 17th September 1752. They were married for twenty-six years, when Martha died and was buried in the churchyard of the parish church at Broughton Gifford on 16th July 1778. It is very likely that the couple’s grandchild was Martha Bull who was born in 1779, who married George Mortimer in 1801. However, following her death in 1804, George Mortimer married Amelia (Millicent) Collett (Ref. 35M15)
Joseph Collett [35J6] was probably born at Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised on 24th October 1714, another child of Joseph and Mary Collett. He married (1) Anne Redman at Broughton Gifford on 23rd December 1736 and, together, they had five daughters who were all baptised at Broughton Gifford. Anne’s name was spelt without an e until the baptism of the fifth child, when both the child’s name and the mother’s name were recorded as Anne. Shortly after the birth of their fifth child, or even during the birth itself, Anne Collett, nee Redman, died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 7th January 1750, with the child baptised there one week later. Within the next twelve months Joseph married (2) Mary with whom he had a further two children, both of them baptised at Broughton Gifford. Joseph and Mary Collett both died very close together, since they were buried together at Broughton Gifford on 24th October 1766, when their youngest child was only twelve years old
35K5 – Mary Collett was born in 1738 at Broughton Gifford
35K6 – Martha Collett was born in 1740 at Broughton Gifford
35K7 – Betty Collett was born in 1743 at Broughton Gifford
35K8 – Sarah Collett was born in 1745 at Broughton Gifford
35K9 – Anne Collett was born in 1750 at Broughton Gifford
The baptism records for the next two children gave the parents as Joseph and Mary:
35K10 – Rebecca Collett was born in 1751 at Broughton Gifford
35K11 – Joseph Collett was born in 1754 at Broughton Gifford
Leah Collett [35J7] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 8th September 1717, another daughter of Joseph and Mary Collett
Daniel Collett [35J8] was possibly born around 1720, the son of Joseph and Mary Collett. He later married Ruth Burbridge from Seend on 19th February 1752 at Broughton Gifford, where their first three children were born and baptised. The couple’s last two children were born and baptised at Great Cheverell and, the day after the second of them was baptised there, Ruth Collett nee Burbridge, was buried at Broughton Gifford on 21st April 1767, having not survived the ordeal of the birth of her last child. The parish burial record described her husband as Daniel Collett of Great Cheverell, which lies five miles south of Devizes. After just over six years as a widower, Daniel Collett was buried at Broughton Gifford on 10th May 1773. The parish burial record described him as Daniel Collett of Melksham, Broughton Gifford being less than two miles from Melksham
35K12 – Thomas Collett was born in 1753 at Broughton Gifford
35K13 – Ruth Collett was born in 1756 at Broughton Gifford
35K14 – Ann Collett was born in 1758 at Broughton Gifford
35K15 – Daniel Collett was born in 1762 at Great Cheverell
35K16 – William Collett was born in 1767 at Great Cheverell
James Collett [35J9] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 17th March 1722 and was the youngest child of Joseph Collett and Mary Wakeley
Patience Collett [35K1] was born at Broughton Gifford and was baptised there on 11th June 1730, the eldest of the four children of John Collett and Millicent Gearish. It was much later in her life, when Patience married widower Samuel Mayell at Broughton Gifford on 27th December 1778
Mary Collett [35K2] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 30th August 1733, the second daughter of John and Millie Collett. It was also at Broughton Gifford where she married James Keen on 17th November 1753
Millicent Collett [35K3] was born at Broughton Gifford and it was there that she was baptised on 9th August 1736, another daughter of John and Millie Collett. And it was at Broughton Gifford where she married James Hill on 3rd February 1761
John Collett [35K4] was born at Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised on 16th May 1739, the fourth and last child of John Collett and Millicent Gearish. When he was around 24 years of age he was married by banns to Ann Matthews at Broughton Gifford on 31st March 1763. John signed the register in his own hand, when the witnesses were William and Elizabeth Gearish. Four months earlier, and on the same page of the parish register, was the marriage of John’s cousin Martha Collett (below) and John Wakeley. The first-born child of John and Ann Collett, James, was born shortly after their wedding day and was baptised two months into their married life together. At the baptism of all their children in Broughton Gifford the parents were confirmed as John and Ann Collett
35L1 – James Collett was born in 1763 at Broughton Gifford
35L2 – Martha Collett was born in 1766 at Broughton Gifford
35L3 – Henry Collett was born in 1769 at Broughton Gifford
Mary Collett [35K5] was born at Broughton Gifford and baptised there on 14th July 1738, the first-born child of Joseph Collett by his first wife Anne Redman. It was also at Broughton Gifford that Mary Collett married Moses Hooper on 13th December 1763
Martha Collett [35K6] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 24th February 1740, another daughter of Joseph and Anne Collett. It was also there where she was married by banns to John Wakeley on 5th December 1762, her grandmother having been Mary Wakeley, so it seems likely that John was a member of the same family. Martha and John signed the register with the mark of a cross, while the witnesses were Isaac Rudman and John Bull, two more surnames with links to the Collett family
Betty Collett [35K7] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 17th April 1743, the third child of Joseph Collett and Anne Redman
Sarah Collett [35K8] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 23rd June 1745, another daughter of Joseph and Anne Collett. It was also at Broughton Gifford, on 24th April 1768, that she married Stephen Bevan of North Bradley
Anne Collett [35K9] was born at Broughton Gifford very early in 1750 and tragically, during the birth or just after, Anne’s mother died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 7th January 1750. One week later, Anne Collett, the daughter of Joseph and Anne Collett, was baptised there on 14th January 1750. She was therefore the last child of Joseph Collett by his first wife Anne Redman. Anne Collett was nine months old when she died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 11th October 1750
Rebecca Collett [35K10] was born at Broughton Gifford, where she was baptised on 16th November 1751, the first child of Joseph Collett by his second wife Mary
Joseph Collett [35K11] was born at Broughton Gifford and was baptised there on 20th October 1754, the last child of Joseph Collett and his second child by his second wife Mary. Joseph was not yet three years old when he died at Broughton Gifford, where he was buried on 24th April 1757
Thomas Collett [35K12] was born at Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised on 25th December 1753, the eldest of the four known children of Daniel Collett of Broughton Gifford and Ruth Burbridge from Seend
Ruth Collett [35K13] was named after her mother when she was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 2nd February 1756, the second child of Daniel and Ruth Collett
Ann Collett [35K14] was born at Broughton Gifford and was baptised there on 24th February 1758, the third child of Daniel and Ruth Collett. No further information is known about her, except that at Broughton Gifford on 21st April 1794, an Ann Collett was buried there
Daniel Collett [35K15] was born in 1762 at Great Cheverell, just south of Devizes, the fourth of the five known children of Daniel and Ruth Collett, who was baptised at Great Cheverell on 14th June 1762
William Collett [35K16] was born at Great Cheverell, where he was baptised on 20th April 1767, the last known child of Daniel Collett and Ruth Burbridge. Tragically, his mother never recovered from the ordeal of his birth and was buried at Broughton Gifford the following day. His father died six years later and was also buried at Broughton Gifford, where William Collett was buried on 6th December 1778, when he was eleven years old and confirmed as the son of Daniel and Ruth Collett
James Collett [35L1] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1763 and was baptised there on 22nd May 1763. His parents, John Collett and Ann Matthews, had only been married for less than two months prior to his baptism. James Collett was married following the reading of banns to Margaret Addams of Chalfield at Broughton Gifford on 31st October 1787. Both signed the register with the mark of a cross, when the witnesses were John Baggs and Thomas Oating. Two years later, James and Margaret were still living there where their three known sons and one daughter were born
35M1 – John Collett was born in 1789 at Broughton Gifford
35M2 – Daniel Collett was born in 1794 at Broughton Gifford
35M3 – James Collett was born in 1799 at Broughton Gifford
35M4 – Mary Collett was born in 1808 at Broughton Gifford
Martha Collett [35L2] was born at Broughton Gifford, where she was baptised 11th May 1766, the daughter of John and Ann Collett. Nearly eighteen months later Martha Collett died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 28th October 1767
Henry Collett [35L3] may have been born at the end of 1768 and was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 19th February 1769, the third child of John Collett and Ann Matthews. It was also at Broughton Gifford that Henry Collett, already a widower when he was married by banns to (2) Susannah Mortimer*, a widow, on 4th January 1801, both of whom signed the parish register with the mark of a cross. Nine months later the first of their five children was born and baptised at Broughton Gifford, before the family settled in or near Melksham, where their remaining children were baptised. The parish baptism record for that first child named the parents as Harry and Ann, most likely a shortening of Susannah. It is possible their second child may have been born at Broughton Gifford, with the baptism delayed until after the move to Melksham, where their second and third child were baptised together on the same day. In each case, as with the last child, their parents were named as Henry Collett and his wife Ann. Before the couple’s youngest child was four years old, Susannah Collett, nee Mortimer, the wife of Henry Collett, died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 5th February 1812
35M5 – Thomas Collett was born in 1801 at Broughton Gifford
35M6 – William Collett was born in 1804 at Broughton Gifford
35M7 – Ann Collett was born in 1806 at Melksham
35M8 – Hannah Collett was born in 1808 at Melksham
35M9 – Maria Collett was born in 1811 at Melksham
*FOOTNOTE: Another member of the Mortimer family linked to the Collett family, was Hannah Mortimer, the daughter of William Mortimer and Mary Rudman, and she married Stephen Collett (below) at Broughton Gifford in 1808, while Susannah’s brother, George Mortimer, married Amelia (Millicent) Collett (below) at Broughton Gifford in 1804. Amelia and Stephen were siblings and cousins of Henry Collett
HENRY COLLETT [35L4] was originally thought to have been born at Broughton Gifford around 1746, a son of John and Ann Collett. That has now been proved to be incorrect, since the parish register lists all the children of John and Ann Collett, but not one named Henry. Who his parents were, has still to be determined. However, he did marry Mary Hayward at Broughton Gifford on 20th June 1768, where all of their children were born and baptised, as confirmed by the parish records, kindly supplied by Stephen Carpenter in 2019. In the earlier edition of this family line the Wiltshire IGI Records stated, in error, that Henry and Anne Collett were the parents of James who was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 5th April 1776, now re-affirmed as the child of Henry and Mary. Tragically, on the occasion of the birth of the couple’s last child Mary did not survive the ordeal and, just one e week later
It was on 26th July 1789 that Mary Collett, nee Hayward, the wife of Henry Collett, was buried at Broughton Gifford, the same day that her baby daughter Mary was baptised there and subsequentially buried with her a week later. Following his double loss, it is assumed, but not proved, that Henry would have had eight surviving children to look after, with his eldest child, daughter Ann perhaps acting as housekeeper for the family. Henry Collett survived his wife by nearly thirty-five years when he died at Broughton Gifford, where he was buried on 22nd February 1824
35M10 – Ann Collett was born in 1768 at Broughton Gifford
35M11 – John Collett was born in 1771 at Broughton Gifford
35M12 – HENRY (Harry) Collett was born in 1774 at Broughton Gifford
35M13 – James Collett was born in 1776 at Broughton Gifford
35M14 – William Collett was born in 1778 at Broughton Gifford
35M15 – Amelia (Millicent) Collett was born in 1781 at Broughton Gifford
35M16 – Thomas Collett was born in 1784 at Broughton Gifford
35M17 – Stephen Collett was born in 1787 at Broughton Gifford
35M18 – Mary Collett was born in 1789 at Broughton Gifford
John Collett [35M1] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1789 and was baptised there on 1st November 1789, the eldest child of James Collett and Margaret Addams. Around the time he was 22, John married Sarah Elmes at Broughton Gifford on 29th July 1811. Sarah was the daughter of William and Jane Elmes and was baptised at North Wraxall on 8th February 1789 whereas, previously, it had been stated here that she had been baptised at Broughton Gifford on 9th May 1790. It was also at Broughton Gifford where they settled after they were married, and where all their known children were born and baptised, their baptism records confirming their father John was a labourer. In the first national census held in the UK in June 1841, John was recorded with a rounded age of 50, as was Sarah his wife. Living with them that day, at Church Brook in the village, were four of their children, and they were Samuel who was 25, William who was 20, Sarah who was 11, and Eliza who was nine years old
Ten years later the Broughton Gifford census of 1851 revealed that agricultural labourer John Collett was 62 and his wife Sarah from Broughton Gifford was 60. Living at the same dwelling was the widowed daughter of John and Sarah, Elizabeth Ashman from Broughton Gifford who was 32 and had with her, her son James Ashman aged seven years from Marylebone in London, described as the couple’s grandson. Next door was an unoccupied property, while adjacent to that was the home of John’s brother’s family, wool weaver Sarah Collett aged 58, the widow of Daniel Collett (below), with her son James Collett who was 17 and another agricultural labourer
35N1 – Anne Collett was born in 1811 at Broughton Gifford
35N2 – Thomas Collett was born in 1814 at Broughton Gifford
35N3 – Samuel Collett was born in 1816 at Broughton Gifford
35N4 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1818 at Broughton Gifford
35N5 – William Collett was born in 1821 at Broughton Gifford
35N6 – Anne Collett was born in 1823 at Broughton Gifford
35N7 – Anne Collett was born in 1825 at Broughton Gifford
35N8 – Mary Collett was born in 1826 at Broughton Gifford
35N9 – Sarah Collett was born in 1830 at Broughton Gifford
35N10 – Eliza Collett was born in 1832 at Broughton Gifford
Daniel Collett [35M2] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 23rd November 1794, the second son of James and Margaret Collett. He was just over 21 years of age when he married Sarah Gowin at Broughton Gifford on 24th December 1815. The parish register confirmed the event as follows. “Daniel Collett, aged 21 years of this parish, and Sarah Gowin, aged 23 years of this parish, were married in this church by banns this twenty-fourth day of December in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifteen by me James Gisborne, curate. This marriage was solemnised between us Daniel Collett (who signed his name) and Sarah Gowin (who made her mark) in the presence of Thomas Gowin and James Bugg”
In 1841 Daniel and Sarah were both 45 when they and their family were recorded in the census for Broughton Gifford. Their children on that day were listed as George who was 20, Mary who was 15, Daniel who was 10, and James who was seven years old. The absence of earlier son James and his sister Sarah have both been confirmed by the record of their deaths, fifteen years and five years earlier respectively. As regards the couple’s two eldest daughters, Ann had married her cousin Thomas Collett (Ref. 35N2) during the previous year when she was 21, so it is possible that the slightly older Maria was also married by that time or perhaps she too had suffered the same fate as her two younger siblings. Just over five years later Daniel Collett died at Broughton Gifford on 23rd August 1846, with his death recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. viii 164) during the third quarter of the year
The Broughton Gifford census in 1851 listed just Sarah Collett, a widow of 58 who was a wool weaver, who had living with her James Collett aged 17, her youngest child. Both of them were born at Broughton Gifford and, while the adjacent dwelling was unoccupied, the next property contained the family of John Collett (above) her late husband’s brother and his wife Sarah. Living with the couple was their widowed daughter, Elizabeth Wheeler aged 32 and from Broughton Gifford who had with her, her son John Wheeler who was seven years of age and from St Marylebone in London
35N11 – Maria Collett was born in 1816 at Broughton Gifford
35N12 – Ann Collett was born in 1818 at Broughton Gifford
35N13 – George Collett was born in 1821 at Broughton Gifford
35N14 – Mary Collett was born in 1824 at Broughton Gifford
35N15 – James Collett was born in 1826 at Broughton Gifford
35N16 – Sarah Collett was born in 1827 at Broughton Gifford
35N17 – Daniel Collett was born in 1831 at Broughton Gifford
35N18 – James Collett was born in 1834 at Broughton Gifford
James Collett [35M3] was born at Broughton Gifford around 1797, where he was baptised on 20th June 1799, the third son of James and Margaret Collett. James was still living at Broughton Gifford when he married Martha Tarrant on 2nd April 1821, both with the consent of their parents. According to the census of 1841 James had a rounded age of 40, while his wife Martha was 44. On the occasion of the baptism of each of his children, James’ occupation was that of a labourer. The children living with the couple at Broughton Street in 1841 were Mary and Ann, both 15, George who was 12, Elizabeth who was 10, Margaret who was nine, Jane who was six, and Martha who was two years old, the family having suffered the loss of their sixth child seven years earlier. On the day of the Broughton Gifford census in 1851, James Collett was 53 and an agricultural labourer, his wife Martha was 55, and the only children still living with them were Elizabeth who was 20, and Martha who was 11
Seven years later, James Collett died at Broughton Gifford, with his death recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 66) during the third quarter of 1858, when he was 61, following which he was buried at Broughton Gifford on 26th September 1858. It was two years later, and also at Broughton Gifford, that his widow Martha Collett, nee Tarrant, was buried there on 11th November 1860, just three months after her youngest daughter Martha was married there. The death of Martha Collett, aged 64, was also recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 68)
35N19 – Mary Collett was born in 1823 at Broughton Gifford
35N20 – Anne Collett was born in 1825 at Broughton Gifford
35N21 – George Tarrant Collett was born in 1827 at Broughton Gifford
35N22 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1829 at Broughton Gifford
35N23 – Margaret Collett was born in 1832 at Broughton Gifford
35N24 – Jane Collett was born in 1833 at Broughton Gifford
35N25 – Jane Collett was born in 1835 at Broughton Gifford
35N26 – Martha Collett was born in 1839 at Broughton Gifford
Mary Collett [35M4] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1808 and was baptised there on 25th December 1808, the last child of James Collett and Margaret Addams, according to the parish records. Curiously, the IGI records the date as 25th January 1808
Thomas Collett [35M5] was born at Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 27th September 1801, the son of Henry Collett and Susannah Mortimer. The parish register recorded them as Harry Collett, a widower, and Ann Mortimer, a widow. It is likely that Thomas Collett married Ann Taylor at Melksham on 26th May 1823. Ann was the daughter of William and Ann Taylor, and had been born at Melksham in 1801, but was not baptised at Melksham until 1822, presumably so she could be married at the parish church. Once they were married, Thomas and Ann settled in the hamlet of Whitley, two miles north-west of Melksham, with all their child born at Whitley and baptised at St Michael & All Angels Church in Melksham. The parish records for each child described Thomas Collett as being weaver of Whitley. According to the first national census in June 1841, Thomas and his family were still residing in Whitley. Thomas had a rounded age of 40 and Ann had a rounded age of 35. Their children were listed as Stephen Collett was 15, as was Jane Collett, Maria Collett was 12, James Collett was 10, William Collett was seven, Henry Collett was five, Sarah Collett was two years of age, and Frederick Collett was around nine months old.
Ten years later, in 1851, when Thomas Collett was 50, his occupation was no longer that of a weaver, instead he was a butcher who was living at the family home in Whitley. With him was his wife Ann who was 48 and from Melksham, James Collett aged 20, William Collett aged 17, Sarah Collett who was 12, and Frederick Collett who was 10 years old and still attending the local school. By that time, the couple’s eldest son Stephen was married with children of his own, daughter Jane was a domestic servant at Shaw Hill House in Melksham, while son Henry had already died by then. Although no census record for the family has been located in 1861 or in 1871, it is established that Thomas Collett died during the month of June in 1872, while his wife Ann died less than two years later on 10th January 1874
35N27 – Stephen Collett was born in 1824 at Whitley, near Melksham
35N28 – Jane Collett was born in 1826 at Whitley, near Melksham
35N29 – Maria Collett was born in 1829 at Whitley, near Melksham
35N30 – James Collett was born in 1831 at Whitley, near Melksham
35N31 – William Collett was born in 1834 at Whitley, near Melksham
35N32 – Henry Collett was born in 1835 at Whitley, near Melksham
35N33 – Sarah Collett was born in 1838 at Whitley, near Melksham
35N34 – Frederick Collett was born in 1840 at Whitley, near Melksham
William Collett [35M6] was possibly born at Broughton Gifford around 1804 before his parents moved to Melksham, where William was baptised in a combined church service with his sister Ann (below) on 7th September 1806, the children of Henry and Ann (Susannah) Collett
Ann Collett [35M7] was baptised at Melksham on 7th September 1806, the same day as her brother William (above), the daughter of Henry and Ann Collett
Hannah Collett [35M8] was baptised at Melksham on 5th June 1808, another daughter of Henry and Ann Collett. She was said to be 17 years old, when Hannah died and was buried at Melksham on 10th May 1826
Maria Collett [35M9] was baptised at Melksham on 19th May 1811, the last child of Henry Collett and Susannah (Ann) Mortimer
Ann Collett [35M10] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 25th December 1768, the first child of Henry Collett and Mary Hayward. It was on 25th October 1790 that Anne Collett of the parish of Broughton Gifford was married to Aaron Gay, also of the same parish, following the reading of banns. Each of them signed the church register with the mark of a cross
John Collett [35M11] was born at Broughton Gifford where he was baptised on 20th October 1771, the eldest son and second child of Henry and Mary Collett. It was also at Broughton Gifford when he was twenty-one that he married Mary White on 20th November 1792, who gave birth to their first child within the next four months. The baptism records for all their children have been found at Broughton Gifford, when the parents were named as John and Mary Collett. Mary White was baptised at Yatton Keynell in Wiltshire on 14th February 1771 and, as Mary Collett the wife of John Collett, she died at Broughton Gifford, where she was buried on 25th December 1813, at the age of 41
35N35 - William Collett was born in 1793 at Broughton Gifford
35N36 - Mary Collett was born in 1795 at Broughton Gifford
35N37 - Robert Collett was born in 1796 at Broughton Gifford
35N38 - Henry Collett was born in 1798 at Broughton Gifford
35N39 - Elizabeth Collett was born in 1800 at Broughton Gifford
35N40 - Millicent Collett was born in 1803 at Broughton Gifford
HENRY (Harry) COLLETT [35M12] was born at Broughton Gifford, either at the end of 1773 or very early in 1774, and was baptised there on 31st January 1774, the third child of Henry Collett and Mary Hayward. It was around the turn of the century that he married Maria. All their children were born at Broughton Gifford, although only the baptism records for three of them have been found so far
35N41 – William Collett was born in 1801 at Broughton Gifford
35N42 – Daniel Collett was born in 1805 at Broughton Gifford
35N43 – Thomas Collett was born in 1807 at Broughton Gifford
35N44 – Maria Collett was born in 1812 at Broughton Gifford
35N45 – STEPHEN COLLETT was born in 1819 at Broughton Gifford
James Collett [35M13] was born at Broughton Gifford and baptised there on 5th April 1776, a son of Henry and Mary Collett. James was thirty years of age when he married Sarah Clack at Broughton on 24th May 1806, where all their children were born and baptised. Sarah was slightly younger than James, having been baptised at Broughton Gifford on 14th July 1782, the daughter of Thomas and Betty Clack. James and Sarah, of Broughton Gifford, both featured in the first national census. On that day in June 1841, James Collett had a rounded age of 65, while his wife Sarah had a rounded age of 55. Living with the couple, at their home on Broughton Street that day, were five of their children, Elizabeth who was 25, Sarah, Mary and Henry - all with a rounded age of 20, and Jane with a rounded age of 15. Their son James, who would have been 22, had already died by then. Also, by that time their eldest surviving son, Samuel was married with children of his own, and that may also have been the reason for the absence of their eldest daughter Ann.
During his life, James Collett had been a publican/inn keeper from around 1813 until after the baptism of his son James in 1818, as confirmed by the baptism records of his four children during that time. On the occasion of the baptism of his last child, his occupation was that of a labourer. The subsequent death of James Collett eight years after the 1841 Census, was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. viii 221) during the third quarter of 1849, following which he was buried at Broughton Gifford on 19th September 1849, at the age of 73. Less than two years later, James’ widow was living with their married son Thomas and his family at Slipper Lane, off Church Street, in Broughton Gifford, when the completed census return for 1851 described her as a pauper
35N46 – Thomas Collett was born in 1807 at Broughton Gifford
35N47 – Samuel Collett was born in 1808 at Broughton Gifford
35N48 – Ann Collett was born in 1810 at Broughton Gifford
35N49 – Samuel Collett was born in 1811 at Broughton Gifford
35N50 – Elizabeth Clack Collett was born in 1813 at Broughton Gifford
35N51 – Sarah Collett was born in 1815 at Broughton Gifford
35N52 – Mary Collett was born in 1817 at Broughton Gifford
35N53 – James Collett was born in 1818 at Broughton Gifford
35N54 – Henry Clack Collett was born in 1820 at Broughton Gifford
35N55 – Jane Collett was born in 1825 at Broughton Gifford
William Collett [35M14], who was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 28th September 1778, another son of Henry and Mary Collett, married Mary Line from Winkfield (today Wingfield), where they were married on 17th April 1804. Once married, the couple settled in Broughton Gifford, where their three known children were baptised. Tragically, their son James did not survive to adulthood and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 12th January 1826. The couple’s second son was baptised on the same day as another William Collett, and he was the son of Thomas and Maria Collett (below)., being William’s younger brother, the two infant William Colletts being cousins. Eighteen years after the birth of the couple’s first grandchild, William Granger Hulbert, the eldest son of their married daughter Mary Ann, William Hulbert was living at Grittleton with his unmarried uncle Thomas Collett, aged 30 and from Broughton Gifford. If the census in 1851 was absolutely correct in stating their relationship to each other, then that would indicate Thomas Collett was the brother of Mary Ann Hulbert nee Collett, and therefore a later son of William Collett and Mary Line, hence his inclusion below
35N56 – James Collett was born in 1807 at Broughton Gifford
35N57 – William Collett was born in 1809 at Broughton Gifford
35N58 – Mary Ann Collett was born in 1811 at Broughton Gifford
35N59 – Thomas Collett was born in 1820 at Broughton Gifford
Amelia (Millicent) Collett [35M15] was born at Broughton Gifford, where she was baptised in the parish church on 4th March 1781. She was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry and Mary Collett of Broughton Gifford and was married twice before she reached twenty-five years of age. At the time of her marriage to (1) Thomas Gore at Broughton Gifford on 24th August 1801, she was referred to as Millicent Collett, when both of them signed the register with the made the mark of a cross. However, within a very short time Amelia was made a widow. As a result of her loss, it was just three years after she was first married that Amelia, a widow, married (2) George Mortimer, a widower, at the parish church in Broughton Gifford on 24th September 1804. George was the youngest son of William Mortimer and Mary Rudman and was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 9th October 1785. George’s sister Hannah Mortimer married Amelia’s brother Stephen Collett (below)
Prior to his marriage to Amelia, George had been married to Martha Bull at Broughton Gifford on 18th January 1801. Tragically, Martha died just three years later and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 10th January 1804. It was over eight months later, that same year, when he married Amelia Collett. George died sometime between 1841 and 1850, and was followed by Amelia, who was buried at the Baptist Chapel in Broughton Gifford on 23rd November 1850
Amelia and George’s eldest son Henry (Harry) Mortimer was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 30th June 1805 and later married (1) Eliza Gay at Broughton Gifford on 7th April 1828. Just as had happened to his father George Mortimer, Harry’s first wife also died shortly after they were married, and less than a year later, on 15th January 1829, he married (2) Anne Mortimer who was born at Kington Langley in 1809. It seems highly likely that Anne was his cousin. Harry Mortimer was 47 when he died in 1852, following which he was buried in the graveyard at the Baptist Chapel in Broughton Gifford on 27th March 1852, just sixteen months after his mother Amelia had been buried there. The only member of the family to have their life story extended, is that of George and Amelia’s fourth child, their daughter Hannah Mortimer. The couple’s other Broughton Gifford born children, apart from eldest son Henry, were Joseph Mortimer (1807-1808), Sarah Mortimer (born 1809), George Mortimer (born 1815), Joseph Mortimer (born 1817), and Elizabeth Mortimer (born 1818)
35N60 – Hannah Elizabeth Mortimer was born in 1813 at Broughton Gifford
Thomas Collett [35M16] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 30th May 1784, another son of Henry Collett and his wife Mary Haywar. Very little is known about him, with there being a possibility that he was 45 when he died and was buried on 10th November 1830
It would be easy to mix him up with Thomas (Ref. 44L9) who was born at Melksham, where he was baptised at St Michael’s & All Angels Church in nearby Melksham on 21st March 1784, who was the son of Thomas Collett (Ref. 44K11) of Melksham and Mary Jones of Trowbridge, and the grandson of another Thomas Collett (Ref. 44J12) of Broughton Gifford and Jane Woodman of Melksham. The update of this file in September 2026 removed all the details previously credited to him, including two marriages, and the children, all of which relates to the aforementioned Thomas of Melksham (Ref. 44L9)
Stephen Collett [35M17] was possibly born in 1786 and was baptised on 4th March 1787 at Broughton Gifford, a son of Henry and Mary Collett. Stephen married Hannah Mortimer after the reading of banns on 31st May 1808 at Broughton Gifford, where their children were born and baptised. The church register was signed by the bride and the groom with the mark of a cross, while the two witnesses were Stephen’s older brother James Collett and Eliza Mortimer who signed in her own hand. Hannah Mortimer was the sister of George Mortimer who had married Stephen’s sister Amelia Millicent Collett (above) in 1804. Also, at Broughton Gifford on 6th April 1837, another Hannah Elizabeth Mortimer (Ref. 35N60) married Samuel Collett (Ref. 35N49), his first wife. That Hannah was Samuel’s cousin ‘one-step removed’ and was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 24th July 1813, the daughter of George Mortimer and Amelia Millicent Collett (Ref. 35M15), who was a cousin of Samuel’s father.
All the children of Stephen and Hannah Collett were born and baptised at Broughton Gifford and, in each case, the parish records confirmed that Stephen was a shoemaker, as they did at the time of the marriage of their daughter Mary in 1839. Furthermore, that was the occupation taken up by all his sons John, Harry, and Simeon, the older two boys being baptised on the same day in 1817 who, may or may not, have been twin brothers. In the Broughton Gifford census of 1841, Stephen and Hannah were the only ones still living at the family home on ‘the street’ in the village, when Stephen had a rounded age of 50 and Hannah a rounded age of 60. Both of them were recorded as having been born in Wiltshire. It was the same situation in 1851, by which time the pair of them was living on The Common in Broughton Gifford. Stephen Collett from Broughton Gifford was 64 and a former shoemaker, who was described as a pauper. Hannah Collett, also of Broughton Gifford was 70 years of age and ‘a pauper’s wife’. Almost exactly one year later, the death of Stephen Collett was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 33) during the second quarter of 1852. Although much older than her departed husband, his wife survived for another eighteen months, when the death of Hannah Collett, nee Mortimer, was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 39) during the last three months of 1853
35N61 – Sarah Collett was born in 1809 at Broughton Gifford
35N62 – Anne Collett was born in 1812 at Broughton Gifford
35N63 – John Collett was born in 1814 at Broughton Gifford
35N64 – Henry Collett was born in 1816 at Broughton Gifford
35N65 – Mary Collett was born in 1819 at Broughton Gifford
35N66 – Simeon Collett was born in 1823 at Broughton Gifford
Mary Collett [35M18] was born at Broughton Gifford and was the last child of Henry Collett and his wife Mary Hayward. Just like all of her older siblings, Mary Collett was also baptised at Broughton Gifford on 25th July 1789, the same day that her mother was buried there, having died during the birth. One week later, baby Mary Collett was buried at Broughton Gifford on 2nd August 1789
Anne Collett [35N1] was born at Broughton Gifford, within four months of the marriage of her parents, and was baptised there on 13th October 1811, the first children of John Collett and Sarah Elmes. Tragically, it was exactly one week later, when her death was recorded at Broughton Gifford on 20th October 1811
Thomas Collett [35N2] was born at Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised on 25th September 1814, the eldest son of labourer John and Sarah Collett. He was twenty-five years of age when he married his cousin Ann Collett (Ref. 35N12) at Broughton Gifford on 4th April 1840. Ann was twenty-one and the daughter of Daniel and Sarah Collett of Broughton Gifford, who was baptised there on 18th October 1818. Next year, according to the census of 1841, the recently married couple was still living in Broughton Gifford, where Thomas Collett was 26 and his wife was recorded as being only 20 years of age instead of 22, perhaps an enumerator’s error. During the following years Thomas and Ann moved to London when, in 1851, the childless couple was living at 18 West Street in the St George Hanover Square area, where Thomas was incorrectly recorded as 31 – a mistake perhaps for 37 – when he was a police constable, Ann was 32, and visiting them was Thomas’ sister Mary Collett (below) who was 25. All three of them had been born at Broughton Gifford. So far, no record of Thomas and Ann has been unearthed after 1851. It is possible, although not confirmed, that Thomas may have later returned to Broughton Gifford, where a Thomas Collett aged 53 was buried on 2nd July 1868. The death of that Thomas Collett was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 198) during the third quarter of 1868, where his age was stated as being 54
Samuel Collett [35N3] was born at Broughton Gifford on 5th September 1816 and was baptised there on 22nd September 1816. The baptism record confirmed he was the son of labourer John Collett and his wife Sarah, who was still a bachelor in June 1841, when he was still living with his family at Church Brook in Broughton Gifford, with a rounded age of 25. He was still in Broughton Gifford when he married Hannah Tailor on 4th July 1842, with the marriage register confirming that Samuel’s father was John Collett, while Hannah’s father was named as John Tailor. Perhaps because of his work, John eventually left Wiltshire when he took his family to live in Monmouthshire, South Wales. No records have so far been found to suggest that they may have had any children. According to the census in 1851, Samuel Collett from Wiltshire was 35 and a farm labourer who was living at Baneswell Road in Newport, with his wife and his younger cousin. His wife was recorded as Anna Collett who was 36, while the cousin was farm labourer George Collett (Ref. 35N13) who was 24 (sic), and with him his wife Charlotte Collett who was 21. All four of them had been born in Wiltshire
In the census of 1861 Hannah Collett was 46 and by 1871 the couple was living at Christchurch within the Newport area of South Wales, where Samuel Collett from Broughton Gifford was 55 and a labourer, and his wife Hannah Collett from Melksham was 57. Ten years later in April 1881, Samuel and Hannah were living at 17 Liswerry Common in Christchurch, near Newport. Samuel was still working as a general labourer at the age of 65, when he gave his place of birth as Norrington, which is the hamlet adjacent to Broughton Gifford, when his wife Hannah was 67 and from Melksham. Completing the family group on the day was three-year-old Alice Wilson from Newport, who was simply described as boarding with the couple
Two years later, the death of Samuel Collett was recorded at Bedwelty in Monmouthshire (Ref. 11a 73) during the first three months of 1883, at the age of 67. The body of Samuel Collett was then laid to rest, when he was buried at Aberystruth in Monmouth on 22nd March 1883. Four years after his passing, the death of his widow Hannah Collett, nee Tailor, was recorded at Newport (Ref. 11a 104) during the second quarter of 1887, when she was 74 years old. Although there is no direct link, this is yet another connection between the Collett families of Wiltshire and the Collett families of Christchurch near Newport, whose details are provided in Part 53 – The South Wales Branch Line
Elizabeth Collett [35N4] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1818 where she was baptised on 18th October 1818, the eldest surviving daughter of labourer John Collett and Sarah Elmes. By the time of the census in 1841 Elizabeth had left the family home at Church Brook in Broughton Gifford and was possibly living in London where, eighteen months later, she married James Ashman on 19th September 1842 at St James’ Church in Paddington. James Ashman was a bachelor and a gardener residing at Conduit Street in Paddington, the son of George Ashman, a weaver. His bride was described as Elizabeth Collett a spinster of Maida Vale whose father was John Collett, a farmer, while the witnesses were William Hogg and Elizabeth Mills. The marriage of Elizabeth and James produced just one child before James died during the 1840s. Being a widow with a young son, Elizabeth returned to Broughton Gifford, where she was living with her parents on the day of the census in 1851. Elizabeth Ashman from Broughton Gifford was 32 and her son James Ashman was seven years old and had been born at Marylebone in London
William Collett [35N5] was another son of labourer John Collett and was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 1st April 1821. He was listed as being 20 years old in the census of 1841, when he was still living there with his family at Church Brook
Anne Collett [35N6] was born at Broughton Gifford, where she was baptised on 1st June 1823 and confirmed as the daughter of labourer John Collett and his wife Sarah. Sadly, just like the couple’s first child, also named Anne, she did not survive, and was twenty-one months old when she was buried at Broughton Gifford on 26th February 1825
Anne Collett [35N7] was born at Broughton Gifford shortly after her sister and namesake passed away early in 1825. Like her deceased sister, she was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 21st August 1825, when she was confirmed as the daughter of labourer John Collett by his wife Sarah. She too, may not have survived, since she was not living with her family at Broughton Gifford in 1841
Mary Collett [35N8] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 5th March 1826, the daughter of labourer John and Sarah Collett. When her brother Thomas (above) was married in 1840 he and his wife moved to London sometime after 1841. Upon leaving school around that same time Mary travelled to London, where she stayed at her brother’s home while she was working elsewhere as a servant. It was in the census of 1851 that Mary Collett, aged 25 and from Broughton Gifford, was described as a visitor at 18 West Street in the St Georges Hanover Square who was employed as a servant. The other occupants of the house were her brother Thomas Collett and his wife Ann, both from Broughton Gifford
Sarah Collett [35N9] was born at Broughton Gifford during 1829, where she was baptised on 14th November 1830, the daughter of labourer John and Sarah Collett. She was 11 years old in the 1841 Census when she was still living with her parents at Church Brook in Broughton Gifford with just three of her siblings
Eliza Collett [35N10] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 18th November 1832 and was nine years old at the time of the 1841 Census when she was recorded as living there with her family at Church Brook. She was the last child born to John Collett and his wife Sarah Elmes
Maria Collett [35N11] was born at Broughton Gifford on 30th June 1816 and it was there that she was baptised on 22nd September 1816, the first-born child of Daniel Collett and Sarah Gowin. Tragically, she died when she was only fourteen months old at Broughton Gifford, where she was buried on 17th September 1817
Ann Collett [35N12] was born at Broughton Gifford where she was baptised on 18th October 1818, the second child of Daniel Collett and Sarah Gowin and she married Thomas Collett at Broughton Gifford on 4th April 1840. The register stated that Ann was 21 and the daughter of Daniel Collett, while Thomas was 25 and the son of John Collett. Ann and Thomas were first cousins, with their respective fathers being brothers. For more details of the family of Ann and Thomas Collett go to Ref. 35N2 (above)
George Collett [35N13] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 18th February 1821 and was 20, according to the census of June 1841, when he was still living with his family. It was also at Broughton Gifford that George Collett, the son of Daniel Collett and Sarah Gowin, married Ruth Mayell on 8th September 1845. The wedding was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon during the third quarter of the year (Ref. viii 108), where George was a labourer and confirmed as the son of Daniel Collett, with both the bride and groom being single. It is not known whether they had any children during the next four years but, just one year prior to the census in 1851, Ruth Collett died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 14th March 1850. Helping him get through the loss of his wife was his younger sister-in-law Charlotte Mayell, to whom he was married before the end of that year. Their marriage, most likely at Broughton Gifford, was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. viii 31) during the final three months of 1850
By the time of the census the following year, George and Charlotte were lodging with George’s older cousin Samuel Collett (Ref. 35N3) and his wife Hannah (Tailor) at their home on Baneswell Road in Newport, Monmouthshire. George was around ten years older than his new wife but, out of embarrassment, did not admit that to the census enumerator. As a result, the 1851 recorded the childless couple as George Collett, a farm labourer from Wiltshire who gave his age as 24, while his wife Charlotte Collett, also from Wiltshire, was 21. No further record of George or Charlotte has been found after that day
It may be of interest, that the Mayell name had earlier links with the Colletts of Broughton Gifford. Upon the marriage of Elizabeth Collett and William Tyler at Broughton Gifford on 13th October 1763, the first bondsman was John Mayell, a shoemaker of Broughton Gifford. Elizabeth Collett was a spinster aged 22 years, while William Tyler from Melksham was 27 and another shoemaker. A second relates to Patience Collett (Ref. 35K1) who married widower Samuel Mayell at Broughton Gifford on 27th December 1778. Another, more recent mention concerns the marriage at Bradford-on-Avon on 26th December 1837 between Henry Collett, aged 21 and a sawyer, and Ann Mayell who was also 21. Who they were, and where they belong, has still to be determined
Mary Collett [35N14] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 9th May 1824 and was 15 years of age in 1841 when she living there with her family
James Collett [35N15] was born at Broughton Gifford during February 1826, where he was baptised on 30th April 1826, a son of Daniel and Sarah Collett. Tragically, he was only eight months old when he died at Broughton Gifford, where he was buried on 28th October 1826
Sarah Collett [35N16] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 25th December 1827 and was recorded as being aged eight years when she died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 18th September 1836, a daughter of Daniel Collett and Sarah Gowin
Daniel Collett [35N17] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 6th March 1831 and was listed as living with his parents in 1841 at the age of 10 years
James Collett [35N18] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 30th March 1834 and his age was given as seven years in the census return of 1841. He was the last child of Daniel Collett and his wife Sarah Gowin with whom he was recorded at Broughton Gifford that year
Mary Collett [35N19] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1823 and was baptised there on 6th July 1823, the first child of labourer James Collett and his wife Martha Tarrant. She had a rounded age of 15 in the census of 1841, when she and her family were residing on Broughton Street. Four years later, Mary was more accurately recorded as being twenty-two years old when she married Gains Smith at Broughton Gifford on 25th December 1845, with the marriage register confirming that her father as James Collett, when the father of the groom, bachelor Gains Smith, was John Smith
Anne Collett [35N20] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1825 and was baptised there on 21st August 1825, another daughter of labourer James and Martha Collett, who was said to be 15 years old on the census return in 1841
George Tarrant Collett [35N21] was born at Broughton Gifford on 25th October 1827, where he was baptised on 11th November 1827, the only son and the third of eight children of labourer James Collett and Martha Tarrant. As simply George Collett, he was 12 years of age in 1841, when living at Broughton Street with his family. At the age of twenty-two he married Mary Ann Hill at Broughton Gifford on 28th February 1850, and just a few months later the couple emigrated to America. Their crossing of the Atlantic Ocean took place during May 1850 when they were passengers on board the sailing ship Sibernia which sailed out of Liverpool bound for Philadelphia
Once in America the couple settled in Chester Town, Delaware County in Pennsylvania. It was at Chester that their three children were born, before George’s untimely death on 27th October 1856 when he was only 29. His death was the result of an accident at the lumber yard where he worked. By 1870 the census conducted that year in Chester included his widow Mary Collett from England who was 46. Still living with her were her three children, Martha Collett who was 19, Mary Collett who was 17, and James Collett who was 15
35O1 – Martha Tarrant Collett was born in 1851 at Chester, Pennsylvania
35O2 – Mary Tarrant Collett was born in 1853 at Chester, Pennsylvania
35O3 – James Tarrant Collett was born in 1855 at Chester, Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Collett [35N22] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1829 and was baptised there on 6th June 1830, another daughter of James and Martha Collett. She was ten years of age in the Broughton Gifford census of 1841 when living at Broughton Street with her large family. Elizabeth was 20 in 1851, when she was the older of two daughters still living with her parents at Broughton Gifford, but with no stated occupation
Margaret Collett [35N23] was born at Broughton Gifford early in 1832, where she was baptised on 30th September 1832, the fifth child of labourer James Collett and his wife Martha. On the day of the census in June 1841, Margaret was confirmed as being nine years old and living at Broughton Street with her family
Jane Collett [35N24] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1833, where she was also baptised on 20th January 1833, the only child of James and Martha Collett to suffer an infant death. The next child born to the couple was also named Jane
Jane Collett [35N25] was born at Broughton Gifford and baptised there on 18th October 1835, the daughter of labourer James and Martha Collett. It was at Broughton Street that six-year-old Jane Collett was living with her family in 1841, but was absent from the family home in 1851. Instead, by then she was working as a domestic servant at the home of the Davis family at Bath Buildings in Melksham. However, she did return to Broughton Gifford to be with her family in 1857 when, at the age of 22, Jane Collett the daughter of James Collett married George Beverley Jones, who was also 22 and the son of David Jones. Their wedding was conducted at Broughton Gifford on 12th November 1857, after which George and Jane Jones moved to Brecon in Powys, South Wales. Although that is all that is currently known, Jane is confirmed as the great grandmother of the wife of Val Llewellyn of Brecon and Australia
Martha Collett [35N26] was born at Broughton Gifford in early 1839, where she was baptised on 25th July 1839, the youngest of the seven children of labourer James Collett and his wife Martha Tarrant. She was two years old in 1841, when living at Broughton Street with her family, and was 11 years of age and still attending school in 1851, one of only two children still living in Broughton Gifford with her parents that year. It was also at Broughton Gifford, just over nine years later, when Martha Collett married Michael Rudman on 9th August 1860, the event recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 187). The bride and groom were both 21 and single, with Martha confirmed as the daughter of James Collett, and Michael recorded as the son of Thomas Rudman. Although the couple has not been located within the census seven months later, their first child was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 8th June 1861. Their second child, George Rudman, was also baptised there on 8th March 1863 and died there on 20th March 1863, his little body buried at Broughton Gifford. No record of the family has been found after that day sad day
Stephen Collett [35N27] was very likely a honeymoon baby who was born in the hamlet of Whitley within the parish of Melksham during the early weeks of 1824. At the end of the second month Stephen was baptised in Melksham on 29th February 1824, the eldest child of Thomas Collett and Ann Taylor. In the Whitley census of 1841, Stephen had a rounded age of 15, when he was living there with his family. Five years later, Stephen married Catherine Collett (Ref. 31N37) from South Wraxall, at Holy Trinity Church in the neighbouring village of Shaw, within the parish of Melksham, with their wedding conducted on 21st September 1846. The marriage certificate confirmed that Stephen Collett from Whitley, near Melksham, was a yeoman and the son of Thomas Collett. Stephen and Catherine were both listed as being of full age, and both signed the certificate with the mark of a cross. One of the witnesses at the wedding ceremony was Sarah H Collett about whom nothing is currently known
By the time of the Melksham census of 1851, the marriage had produced three sons for the couple, the first two born at Corsham and the third at Whitley, where the young family was living in 1851. Stephen Collett was 27 and a farmer of 8 acres, his wife Catherine Collett was 26 and from Wraxall, and their three sons were Henry John Collett who was three, Tom Collett who was two, and William Collett who was under one-year-old. Also living with the family at that time was Catherine’s widowed mother Ann Collett of Wraxall who was 60, when the family employed one domestic servant, fifteen-year-old Mary Ann Davis. Ten years earlier, in June 1841, Catherine and her widowed mother were living together at Lower Wraxall, where Ann Collett had a rounded age of 50 and was an agricultural labourer, and her daughter Catherine Collett had a rounded age of 20 who was also working as an agricultural labourer. That situation followed the death of Catherine’s father William Collett, a butcher of South Wraxall, prior to 1841
For details of butcher William Collett (Ref. 31M19) and his wife Ann Boyer see Part 31
During the following decade a further four children were born into the family, the first three of them while the family was still living in Whitley, with the couple’s last child born after the family had moved to Norrington Common, immediately to the north of Broughton Gifford. Curiously, the recorded names of the children and their ages vary in the subsequent census returns, as did the recorded ages of both Stephen and Catherine. Having said that, no record of the birth or baptism of his wife has been found to confirm in which year she was actually born
According to the Norrington Common census in 1861 the family comprised Stephen Collett aged 36 and from Melksham, who was a butcher like his father before him, Catherine Collett was 35 and from South Wraxall, Henry Collett was 13 and from Corsham, an agricultural labourer, Tom Collett was 12 and a shoemaker also from Corsham, William Collett was 10 and also an agricultural labourer, James Collett was nine, and Sarah Ann Collett was five, both of them attending school, Benjamin Collett was three years of age, and Mary J Collett was seven months old. Once again, the family still employed the same servant as ten years earlier, with unmarried Mary A Davis from Box being 24 years old. The birth place for William, James, Sarah, and Benjamin was simply recorded as Melksham. By 1871 the family at Norrington Common was made up of Stephen Collett who was 48, Catherine Collett who was 44, and their children John Collett aged 21, Thomas Collett aged 18, James Collett aged 16, Sarah A Collett aged 14, and Benjamin Collett who was 12. Tragically, the couple’s last child, Mary Jane Collett, did not survive and had died just three years after the day of the census in 1861. Their missing son William had already left the family home by then and, in fact, had emigrated to New Zealand in 1874
It was nine years after that when Stephen Collett died at Norrington Common on 10th February 1880 and his death recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 96) at the age of 56. Following the death of her husband, Catherine Collett was listed as a widow in the census of 1881 when she was still living at Norrington Common. Rather curiously, her age was recorded as 45, when she was more likely nearer 50. She did however, confirm that her place of birth was South Wraxall, at a time in her life when she was working as a greengrocer. Living with her were her three sons Henry J Collett aged 28, James Collett aged 24, and Benjamin Collett who was 21. The first of them was confirmed again as having been born at Corsham in Wiltshire, with the other two having been born a few miles away at Whitley, near Melksham. Visiting the family on that occasion was 15 years old Annie Box from Broughton Gifford
By 1891, widow Catherine Collett was still working as a greengrocer at Norrington Common, when she gave her age as 57 years, as opposed to probably being just over sixty. Only two people were living there with her that day, and they were her unmarried eldest son John Collett and domestic servant Annie Page who, despite their twenty-years difference in age, were married during the next few months. After a further ten years, the Norrington Common census in 1901, included greengrocer and poultry dealer Catherine Collett from South Wraxall who, at the age of 71, was living with her then married son John Collett and his young wife Annie and their children. From that information, it is believed that Catherine was some years younger than her late husband Stephen and that, perhaps in their early days together, she inflated her age out of embarrassment. It is therefore possible, that her stated age of 71 years in 1901 would indicate that she was born around 1830, so it is odd that her mother said she had a rounded age of 20 years in the census of 1841. Furthermore, no record of her death or burial has so far been located
35O4 – Henry John Collett was born in 1847 at Corsham, Wiltshire
35O5 – Tom Collett was born in 1849 at Corsham, Wiltshire
35O6 – William Collett was born in 1851 at Whitley, near Melksham
35O7 – James Collett was born in 1854 at Whitley, near Melksham
35O8 – Sarah Ann Collett was born in 1856 at Whitley, near Melksham
35O9 – Benjamin Collett was born in 1857 at Whitley, near Melksham
35O10 – Mary Jane Collett was born in 1860 at Broughton Gifford
Jane Collett [35N28] was born at Whitley near Melksham in 1826 and was not baptised at Melksham until 1st March 1829, when there was a double christening with her sister Maria (below). Jane was the second child of weaver Thomas Collett and wife Ann, and was 15 years old in the Whitley census of 1841 when she was still living there with her family. She appears to have been approaching forty years of age when she married David Chapman, with their wedding day recorded at Melksham (Ref. 5a 241) during the last three months of 1865
Maria Collett [35N29] was born at Whitley in 1829 and baptised at the parish church in Melksham on 1st March 1829, the third child of Thomas Collett, a weaver of Whitley, and his first wife Ann. Maria Collett was 12 years old in the first national census in 1841 when she was still living at Whitley with her family. She was no longer living with them ten years later, since, by then, at the age of 22, she was working as a servant at Shaw Hill House in Melksham, the home of the Heathcote family. Curiously, it was Maria who was the first member of the Collett family to travel to Brighton to be married, and she was followed by her brother William and sister Sarah (below). Four years later, on 7th March 1855 at Brighton, Maria Collett married George Funnell who was born on 4th December 1817 at Rodmell, east of Brighton in Sussex, the son of Henry Funnell and Deborah Deddemeir Burtenshaw. The marriage of Maria and George produced five children who were all born at Brighton, and they were George Collett Funnell born in 1857, twins Henry John Funnell and William Thomas Funnell born in 1859, Frederick William Funnell born in 1861, and Florence Funnell who was born in 1865. In 1861 the family was residing at 11 Windsor Street in Brighton from where George was working as a poulterer’s assistant
By 1871 the completed family was living at Buckingham Street in Brighton, although curiously no record of them has been found in 1881. Not long after that George Funnell died at Hailsham in Sussex, while his widow Maria Funnell, nee Collett, died during March 1895. Their daughter Florence married Alfred Peckham during the summer of 1886 and in 1891 she and her two children and her mother-in-law Mary A Peckham, were living at 28 Artillery Street in Brighton. The enlarged family was living at that same address in 1911, by which time Alfred and Florence Peckham still had five of their children still living there with them. Their daughter Lily Eliza Peckham (1889- ) married Victor George Boxall at Brighton on 20th May 1909 who, in turn, had a daughter Nancy Lillian Boxall (1912-1998) who was the grandmother of Moana Shortland, nee Boxall, of Whangarei in New Zealand, who kindly provided details for this family during February 2013
James Collett [35N30] was born at Whitley in 1831, another son of Thomas and Ann Collett who was baptised at Melksham on 24th July 1831. At that time in his life, her father was working as a weaver. James was 10 years old in the Whitley census of 1841 and was 20 in 1851 when he was still living at Whitley with his family when, on the latter census day, James Collett was employed as a gentleman’s servant
William Collett [35N31] was born at Whitley in 1834, the son of weaver Thomas Collett of Whitley and his wife Ann. It was at nearby Melksham where he was baptised on 18th May 1834. He was seven years old in the census of 1841 and was 17 and a cordwainer in 1851 when, on both occasions, he was living with his family in Whitley. During the next five years he became a married man, as confirmed by the next Melksham census in 1861. William Collett married Elizabeth Fox in Brighton on 12th October 1856, where his older sister Maria (above) had been married during the previous year. Elizabeth Fox was baptised at Melksham on 28th August 1836, the daughter of Charles and Hannah Fox. Their choice of Brighton for their wedding raises the question that Elizabeth was already with-child when they fled from Melksham in shame. And this was borne out by the fact that their son William was born at Brighton, either before or just after their wedding day. This would then suggest that they ‘ran away’ to be with William’s sister Maria, thus avoiding shaming themselves and their families
Therefore, with William and his wife and their first-born child living in Brighton during 1856 and 1857, it made sense for William’s younger sister Sarah (below) to join him there during the summer of 1857 to be married when she was under adult age and very likely married without her parent’s consent. When William and Elizabeth’s son was around one-year-old, the couple left Brighton when they moved to Devizes where their second child was born, and shortly after that, the family returned to live in Melksham. On the occasion of the Melksham census in 1861, William Collett was 26, and his wife Elizabeth was 24, and their address was simply ‘city’ of Melksham. At that time in his life William was a shoemaker, his wife a (shoe) binder and, for both of them, their place of birth was confirmed as Melksham. The census return that year also confirmed the details for their three children, who were William T Collett who was four and born at Brighton, Maria Collett who was two and born at Devizes, and Sarah J Collett who was four months old
Two more children were added to the family during the next three years, but then tragically, around the time of the birth of the last child, William Collett died at Melksham on 6th August 1864 when he was only 30 years old. As a tribute to her late husband, Elizabeth added the name William to that of her latest son. Sometime during the following years Elizabeth married George Truman and moved in with him at his home in Semington Road in Melksham. The house on Semington Road was adjacent to the New Inn, and it was there that Elizabeth was living in 1871, but only with her three youngest children. What had happened to her eldest daughter Maria Collett has not been discovered at this time, whereas more is known about her missing eldest son William
The Melksham census return for 1871 listed the household as George Truman who was 30 and a labour at the local ironworks, Elizabeth Truman who was 34 and a boot builder, and George’s three stepchild, Sarah Jane Collett who was ten, James Collett who was eight, and Fredk W Collett who was six years old, and all born at Melksham. Ten years later at the time of 1881 Census, George and Elizabeth Truman had a child of their own, although Elizabeth’s two sons from her previous marriage were still living with the couple. Their address on that occasion was given as Semington Lane in Melksham from where George, who was 40, was a sawyer. His wife Elizabeth was 44, and their daughter Eliza Truman was eight years old. Elizabeth’s two Collett sons were James Collett who was 18 and a mat maker, and Frederick Collett who was 16 and a blacksmith’s labourer
35O11 – William Thomas Collett was born in 1856 at Melksham
35O12 – Maria Collett was born in 1858 at Melksham
35O13 – Sarah Jane Collett was born in 1860 at Melksham
35O14 – James Collett was born in 1862 at Melksham
35O15 – Frederick William Collett was born in 1864 at Melksham
Henry Collett [35N32] was born at Whitley in 1836. The parish records confirm that it was at Melksham that he was baptised on 26th June 1836, the son of weaver Thomas Collett and Ann Collett. An alternative source states the date was 18th October 1835, which may have been the date he was born. He was five years old in the Whitley census of 1841, but was absent from the family which was still living there in 1851. Furthermore, no record of a Henry Collett born anywhere in Wiltshire in 1835 has been located in the census of 1851, so it is possible that he had suffered a childhood death before then
Sarah Collett [35N33] was born at Whitley during 1838 and was baptised at Melksham on 26th August 1838, the daughter of Thomas and Ann Collett. She was two years old in June 1841 and had left school prior to March 1851 to start work as a shoe binder while living with her family at Whitley. Six years later, when Sarah was 19, she was the third member of her family to ‘run away to Brighton’. That move might indicate that she did not have her parents’ consent when she married Frederick White in Brighton on 6th July 1857. Frederick was the son of John White and Deborah Dicks, and was born in 1831 and baptised at Melksham on 1st December 1832. With the bride and the groom both being of the parish of Melksham perhaps underlines the fact that the wedding took place in Brighton against the wishes of Sarah’s parents, with her not having reach full adult age
The selection of Brighton was the obvious choice for the couple to run away to, since it was there that her older sister Maria was married in 1855 and where her older brother William was married in 1856, and both were still living with his family in July 1857. It was however over a year after they were married that Sarah presented her husband with their first child, and that event also took place in Brighton, thus dispelling any idea that she may have been with-child when they ran away from Melksham
In total, the marriage produced six known children for the couple and they were (a) Frederick White who was born at Brighton on 24th October 1858, who died there two weeks later on 9th November 1858, (b) Louise Jane White who was born at Brighton on 19th July 1860, who died in May 1883, (c) Sarah Amelia White who was born on 2nd February 1863, (d) Francis William White who was born at Brighton on 5th September 1865, and (e) Clara Mabel White who was born at Brighton on 14th June 1868. The couple’s sixth child was reputed to have been born at Powick in Worcestershire on 31st May 1871. That was Herbert Henry White who emigrated to America, where he died on 11th December 1940 at Boston in Massachusetts, following which he was buried at Wayland in Middlesex, Massachusetts. Sarah White, nee Collett, died on 24th December 1892, and that may have taken place at Brighton
Frederick Collett [35N34] was born at Whitley, near Melksham, during the autumn of 1840 and was the last child born to Thomas and Ann Collett. He was around nine months old in the Whitley census of 1841, and was baptised at Shaw and Whitley parish church on 4th October 1840 the son of Thomas and Ann, as confirmed by the Bishop’s Transcript. He was ten years old in the Whitley census of 1851, although no trace of Frederick or his family has been found in 1861 and 1871, with his father passing in 1872, followed by his mother in 1874. At the time of his demise, Frederick Collett was 46 years old and residing in Highworth, Wiltshire, where he died on 6th June 1877 when his date of birth was recorded as September 1840. His death was recorded at Highworth, near Swindon, (Ref. 5a 4) and was buried at Highworth on 11th June 1877
William Collett [35N35] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 17th February 1793, the eldest child of John Collett and his wife Mary White, who were only married there on 20th November the previous year. It was also at Broughton Gifford that William Collett married (1) Jane Webb around the same time that his sister Mary Collett (below) married Jane’s brother James Webb there on 18th December 1813. Jane Allen Webb was born at Broughton Gifford, where she was also baptised on 5th April 1795, the daughter of Robert and Eleanor Webb. William Collett was a shoemaker and all his children from his two marriages were born and baptised at Broughton Gifford. There is a chance that Jane gave birth to William’s first child before they were married, since the parish register included the entry of the child’s baptism on 7th July 1816, as Tabitha Webb, the daughter of Jane, a weaver, and William Collett, a cordwainer
Previously, William and Jane were credited with just two children. However, the four-year gap between their daughters could be filled by the birth of a son, named John after William’s father. The reason for suggesting this, are the facts that in 1841 William Collett had his son John living with him at Atworth, just a short distance north of Broughton Gifford. William had a rounded age of 55, with John having a rounded age of 20 years. Not long after that, John was married, when his father was recorded as William Collett, a shoemaker. For these two separate validated details, William has been credited with son John born in 1818, even though no birth or baptism record has been found
Between the years 1820 and 1822, William’s wife’s name changed from Jane to (2) Elizabeth for the baptism for his last three children at Broughton Gifford. To date, no record has been found for the premature death of Jane Collett, nee Webb, either around the time of the birth of her daughter Elizabeth, or shortly thereafter. In addition to this, it is perhaps interesting to note that no record of the first or second marriage of shoemaker William Collett has been found anywhere within the Wiltshire parish records. William Collett of Broughton Gifford, a former shoemaker, presumably retired by then, was visiting the home of the Pullen family from Atworth at Bradford-on-Avon in 1851. It is possible he came friendly with Francis and Rebecca Pullen when William was living in Atworth, where they and their three young children had been born between 1841 and 1851
35O16 – Tabitha Collett was born in 1816 at Broughton Gifford
35O17 – John Collett was born in 1818 at Broughton Gifford
35O18 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1820 at Broughton Gifford
The following are the three children of William Collett and Elizabeth;
35O19 – Hannah Collett was born in 1822 at Broughton Gifford
35O20 – Eliza Collett was born in 1826 at Broughton Gifford
35O21 – William Collett was born in 1828 at Broughton Gifford
Mary Collett [35N36] was born at Broughton Gifford, where she was baptised on 5th April 1795, the second child of John Collett and Mary White. It seems that she may have been the twin sister of Robert Collett (below), as they were both baptised there on the same day. The marriage of Mary Collett and James Webb was conducted at Broughton Gifford on 18th December 1813. James was born at Broughton Gifford in 1790 and was the son of Robert and Eleanor Webb. Mary’s brother William Collett (above) married there to James’ younger sister Jane Webb two years later
It is confirmed that the marriage of Mary and James produced two sons born in 1816 and 1818. However, it is likely that Mary was already expecting the birth of her first child, who was baptism seven months after the couple’s wedding day, when his parents were named (perhaps in error) as George and Maria Webb, rather than James and Mary. The confirming aspect of the baptismal record for baby George, the erroneous father George, was that his occupation was recorded as a weaver, the same as James the father of the two younger boys. This information was kindly provided in August 2023 by Jon Moya, who is a direct descendent of George Webb, the eldest of the three sons of Mary Webb, nee Collett, with the details also recorded in the Bishop’s Transcripts
So it can be stated, with some confidence, that the three sons of James Webb and Mary Collett were: George Webb who was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 17th July 1814; James Webb who was born on 26th December 1816; and Thomas Webb who was born on 28th December 1818, both later baptised in a joint ceremony at Broughton Gifford on 26th November 1820, when they were confirmed as the children of weaver James Webb and his wife Mary. Two days earlier, the father of the three children died at Broughton Gifford, with James Webb buried there on 24th November 1820, at the age of 30, his year of birth confirmed as 1790. Thirty months after being widowed, the marriage of Mary Webb and George Gore was recorded at Broughton Gifford on 11th May 1823, with whom she went on to have many more children, but at Hinton Blewett in Somerset, south of Bristol. The later death of Mary Gore was recorded at Frome in Somerset at the start of 1879
Robert Collett [35N37 was born at Broughton Gifford and was baptised there on the same day as his sister Mary (above), that being 5th April 1795, another son of John Collett and Mary White
Henry Collett [35N38] was born at Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised on 29th April 1798, the son of John and Mary Collett. Henry married Mary Morris on 3rd May 1825 at Melksham, where they settled and where all their children were born. Very shortly after their wedding day, Mary gave birth to their first child, who did not survive. At the baptisms of his children, Henry Collett was described as a shoemaker / a cordwainer. By the time of the census in June 1841, the family living at Town Tything in Melksham comprised Henry aged 40, who was listed as Harry, his wife Mary who was also 40, and their seven children. They were Henry and Sarah who were both 14, Eliza aged 12, Elizabeth (Betsy) who was nine, Ann who was six, Everest who was four, and John who was two years old. The family had been reduced in number by then, following the premature deaths of the couple’s first-born child Ann, with a later addition to the family given the same name
Eighteen months later, Mary gave birth to her second set of twins, but tragically, first Mary and then the twins all suffered premature deaths. The death of Mary Collett, the mother, was recorded at Melksham (Ref. viii 247) during the third quarter of 1842. Her two babies, George and Mary, were baptised together at Melksham on 11th August 1842, when their parents were confirmed as Henry and Mary Collett. After losing his wife, Henry then suffered the double deaths of the twins. The births of George and Mary Collett were recorded at Melksham (Ref. viii 344) during the third quarter of 1842, the same period that their deaths were recorded there (Ref. viii 248)
Henry Collett from Broughton Gifford was 51, a widower and a shoemaker, in the Melksham census of 1851. Living with him on that day was his daughter Sarah who was 24 and acting as his housekeeper, his son Henry who was also recorded as being 24, together with four more of his children. They were Eliza who was 22, Ann who was 16, Everest who was 14, and John Collett who was 11 years old. It was seven years later that the death of Harry Collett was recorded at Melksham (Ref. 5a 56) during the third quarter of 1858. Ten years after that, at the time of the marriage in London of his youngest surviving daughter Everest in 1868, her father was referred to as Henry Collett deceased
35O22 – Ann Collett was born in 1825 at Melksham
35O23 – Henry Collett was born in 1827 at Melksham
35O24 – Sarah Collett was born in 1827 at Melksham
35O25 – Eliza Collett was born in 1829 at Melksham
35O26 – Betsy (Elizabeth) Collett was born in 1831 at Melksham
35O27 – Ann Collett was born in 1835 at Melksham
35O28 – Everest Collett was born in 1837 at Melksham
35O29 – John Collett was born in 1839 at Melksham
35O30 – George Collett was born in 1842 at Melksham
35O31 – Mary Collett was born in 1842 at Melksham
Elizabeth Collett [35N39] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1800 and was baptised there on 23rd November 1800, the fifth child of John and Mary Collett. When Elizabeth was 24-years-old she married Francis Miles of Weston near Bath, the marriage taking place in the village of Weston on 12th October 1824. Francis had been born at Priston in Somerset during 1799. The marriage produced four children for Elizabeth and Francis, and they were Mary Miles who was born in 1825, John Miles born in 1827, Francis Miles born in 1830, and Thomas Miles who was born in 1836. By the time of the first national census in June 1841 the family was still living within the Bath registration district and comprised Francis who was 40 (rounded age), Elizabeth who was 35 (rounded age), and their four children, Mary 15, John 13, Francis 10, and Thomas who was four years old
Ten years later the family was recorded living in the Bath & Lansdown area, which included the village of Weston. The census of 1851 listed the family as Francis 52, Elizabeth 49, and their two sons Francis who was 22 and Thomas who was 14. By 1861 Elizabeth was a widow aged 59 who was living within the Bath & Walcot area with her unmarried son Francis Miles, who was 30 years old. It was eight years later that Elizabeth Miles nee Collett died at Bath in 1869. Her son Thomas Miles, born at Bath during November 1836, later married Emma Viner Russell who was born during 1839 at Walcot in Bath, and they had a daughter Emily Clara Miles who was also born there on 29th October 1866. Emily later married William Albert Smith who was born on 6th September 1865 at Limpley Stoke, Bradford-on-Avon, whose parents were Henry Charles Smith and Sylvia Wicks. Sylvia was the sister of Sarah Deborah Wicks who married Charles Collett (Ref. 64O17), Sarah being the great-grandmother of Maureen Iliffe Collett (Ref. 64R15), who kindly provided this information
Millicent Collett [35N40] was born at Broughton Gifford and baptised there on 11th September 1803, the last child of John Collett and Mary White. Although not proved to be this Millicent, a Millicent Collett was buried at Broughton Gifford on 25th December 1803, with parents named or age stated
William Collett [35N41] was born at Broughton Gifford and was baptised there on 27th October 1801, the son of Henry and Maria Collett. He later married Jane Gardner and once they were married the couple settled in Melksham area of Wiltshire, not far from Broughton Gifford. It was while they were living there, that their children were born and baptised, when the parents were described as William Collett, a weaver of Melksham Forest, and his wife Jane
Around the same time that William’s daughter was born, another Elizabeth Collett was baptised at Christian Malford to the north-east of Chippenham. That Elizabeth Collett (Ref. 35O36a) was born at Christian Malford on 3rd February 1827, and was baptised there one year later on 11th March 1828, the daughter of William Collett (Ref. 35N41a) and his wife Mary. That Elizabeth Collett never married and she was still living in Christian Malford when she died on 13th June 1866. William and Mary also had a second daughter Anne Collett (Ref. 35O36b) who was baptised at Christian Malford on 8th February 1829. Their details have been included here for completeness
It was at Cannonfield Tything in Melksham that the family was recorded on the day of the census in 1841. William Collett was 35, his wife Jane Collett was also 35, while their three surviving children were Elizabeth Collett who was 13, Thomas Collett who was 10, and William Collett who was seven years of age. New information has revealed that there is a headstone at the Church of St Nicholas in Biddestone which bears the name of William Collett and his wife Jane Gardner, on which the date of his death is 15th September 1844, when he was 44. The same headstone also includes his wife Jane who died on 26th November 1858, aged 50 years
35O32 – Charles Collett was born in 1826 at Melksham
35O33 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1828 at Melksham
35O34 – Thomas Walters Collett was born in 1830 at Melksham
35O35 – Thomas Walters Collett was born in 1832 at Melksham
35O36 – William Collett was born in 1834 at Melksham
Daniel Collett [35N42] was probably born during the middle of first decade of the 1800s, the son of Henry and Maria Collett of Broughton Gifford, where he was very likely also born, as were his other siblings. In the Broughton Gifford census of 1841, Daniel had a rounded age of 30 and by that time he was married to Sarah who also had a rounded age of 30. It was ten years or so earlier that he had married Sarah, since the three children with them in 1841 were Ann Collett who was eight, Stephen Collett who was three, and Mary Collett who was still under one-year old. The five years between their eldest child and the second one was possibly filled by a further child who may have been the victim of an infant death. No record of any member of the family has been found after 1841
35O37 - Ann Collett was born in 1832 at Broughton Gifford
35O38 - Stephen Collett was born in 1837 at Broughton Gifford
35O39 - Mary Collett was born in 1840 at Broughton Gifford
Thomas Collett [35N43] was born at Broughton Gifford and baptised there on 18th October 1807, another son of Henry and Maria Collett
Maria Collett [35N44] who was born at Melksham around 1812 and was later married to become Maria Daniels. In 1881 she was a widow aged 69 when she was living with her brother Stephen Collett (below) at Broughton Road in Melksham, when her place of birth was confirmed as Melksham
STEPHEN COLLETT [35N45] was born at Melksham in 1819 and by June 1841 he was married with a child when living at Woodrow Tything in Melksham with his widowed father Henry Collett. It was in 1840 when the marriage of Stephen Collett and (1) Grace Brinsdon was recorded at Melksham. Stephen was 21 and confirmed as the son of Henry Collett, while Grace was 23 and named as the daughter of John Brinsdon. In the census of 1841 Stephen was described as a woollen weaver with a rounded age of 20, the same rounded age given to his wife Grace who is known to have been slightly older than her husband. The very recent marriage of Stephen and Grace had already produced their first of the couple’s ten children born and baptised at Melksham, with their son George still under one-year old
In 1851 the family comprised Stephen 31 who was an agricultural labourer, Grace 34 who was a yarn wool quiller, George who was ten, Hannah who was nine, Jemima who was seven, Emma who was six, John who was three, and baby William who was not yet one-year-old on the thirtieth of March that year. By the time of the next census in 1861 only eight of the ten children were still living with their parents at Broughton Road in Melksham. On that day Stephen Collett was 41 and employed as an agricultural labourer, and Grace Collett was 46. Their children were George aged 20, Emma aged 15, John aged 13, William aged 11, Ellen who was nine, Thomas who was six, Maria who was five, and Frederick who was three years old
It was just shortly before the next census that Grace Collett nee Brinsdon passed away, with her death recorded at Melksham (Ref. 5a 81) during the first three months of 1871 when she was 54. As a consequence, by the time of the Melksham census of 1871, Stephen Collett was a widower and a gardener at the age of 51 years. Still living there with him were his three youngest children, Thomas Collett who was 17, Maria Collett who was 16, and Frederick Collett who was 13. Living nearby in Melksham on that same day was Stephen’s son William, aged 22, and his new wife Sarah A Collett who was 21. It would appear that Stephen may have already remarried by that time since, his second wife (2) Susan H Hayward, who was born at Plymouth in 1832, was recorded in the Charles district of Plymouth in the census in 1871 as Susan Collett aged 38. On that day she seems to have been visiting or staying with her parents in Plymouth, perhaps because she was pregnant with Emily, the first of the three children she had with Stephen
Ten years later, according to the 1881 Census, Stephen Collett was a gardener at 61, and was born at Melksham. Living with him at that time were two of his three youngest children. They were Emily who was nine, and Sidney who was six, both of them born at Melksham. Stephen’s wife Susan H Collett, who was 48 and from Plymouth, was described in the 1881 Census as a gardener’s wife and a visitor at the Plymouth home of James Taylor and his family. Accompanying Susan on her trip to Devon was her youngest son Frank S Collett who was three years old and born at Melksham. During his wife’s absence in April 1881, Stephen’s married sister Maria Daniels, nee Collett, (above) was living with him and his two children, Emily and Sidney, at Broughton Road in Melksham, presumably taking over the role of housekeeper. It was also in Broughton Road that Stephen’s two cousins, the brothers Henry and Simeon Collett, were living at that time. Also, by 1881, five of Stephen’s older children had left England and had sailed to North America, where they had settled in Michigan and Connecticut
Stephen and Susan were reunited for the census of 1891. Gardener Stephen was 71 and Susan was 58 when, living with the couple at Union Street in Melksham, was their youngest child Frank Collett who was 13. No record of their daughter Emily, or their son Sidney, has been found in 1891. By March 1901 Stephen and Susan were recorded as living at New Broughton Road in Melksham-Within, where gardener Stephen from Melksham was 81 and his wife from Plymouth was 69. Eight years later the death of Stephen Collett was recorded at Melksham register office (Ref. 5a 83) during the first quarter of 1909 when his age was thought to be 89
35O40 – George Collett was born circa 1840 at Melksham
35O41 – Hannah Collett was born in 1842 at Melksham
35O42 – Jemima Collett was born in 1843 at Melksham
35O43 – Emma Collett was born in 1845 at Melksham
35O44 – John Collett was born circa 1848 at Melksham
35O45 – WILLIAM COLLETT was born circa 1849 at Melksham
35O46 – Ellen Collett was born in 1851 at Melksham
35O47 – Thomas Collett was born circa 1854 at Melksham
35O48 – Maria Collett was born in 1855 at Melksham
35O49 – Frederick Collett was born circa 1858 at Melksham
The children from Stephen’s second marriage and living with him in 1881 were:
35O50 – Emily Collett was born circa 1871 at Melksham
35O51 – Sidney Collett was born circa 1875 at Melksham
35O52 – Frank S Collett was born circa 1877 at Melksham
Thomas Collett [35N46] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1807 and was baptised there on 1st November 1807 when he was confirmed as the first-born child of James Collett and Sarah Clack. By the time of the census in 1841, Thomas Collett had been married for nearly eleven years, since it was on 14th October 1830 at Broughton Gifford that he had married Joan Elizabeth Button, when he was nearly twenty-three years of age. The individual baptism records for all their children, listed below, described them as the children of labourer Thomas and Elizabeth Collett, while in that first census in 1841 his wife was curiously recorded as Ann Collett. However, she was correctly named as Betty (Elizabeth) in 1851. The Broughton Gifford census of 1841 listed the family at Chally Mead, as Thomas and Ann Collett, both with a rounded age of 30, while their children were confirmed as Samuel who was eight, Ann who was six, Elizabeth who was four, and James who was one-year-old. Sadly, by then, the family had suffered the loss of their eldest daughter and their fifth child, the first of the couple’s two sons named James. Two more children were added to the family over the next two years, with Thomas’ wife expecting the birth of the first of them on the day of the census, son Henry being born just a few weeks later
The family was still living in Broughton Gifford in 1851 when they were living at Slipper Lane off Church Street. Thomas Collett, aged 43, was an agricultural labourer, and his wife Betty Collett aged 42 was a washing woman. The children living with them on that occasion were Betsy Collett aged 14, James Collett aged 11, Henry Collett who was nine, and Simeon Collett who was seven years old. Every member of the family was confirmed as having been born at Broughton Gifford, while staying with Thomas and his family was his widowed mother Sarah Collett who was 68 and a pauper, together with his unmarried sister Mary Collett, who was described as a general servant at the age of 32. Thomas’ other two children were also living nearby in the village, and they were Samuel Collett who was 18, and Ann Collett who was 16
Next door to the Collett dwelling were two unoccupied properties, but adjacent to them was the home of James Gerrish aged 33, and his wife Mary who was 28 and the youngest sister of Thomas Collett (below). Living with them that day were their three children were Sarah Gerrish who was eight, Elizabeth Gerrish who was five, and Mary Anne Gerrish who was four months old. It was another Sarah Gerrish, the daughter of Samuel Gerrish and his wife Hannah Bull, who married Thomas’ eldest son Samuel Collett at Broughton Gifford in 1855, before they sailed to America during 1857. After that time every member of the family was missing from the next census in 1861. However, by 1871 three of them were once again listed as residing in Broughton Gifford, and they were Thomas Collett who was 60, as was his wife Elizabeth, while the only child living there with them was their son James who was still a bachelor at the age of 32. Thomas Collett died in 1880 and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 9th October 1880 at the age of 73. While no record of any other member of his family has been found in Great Britain after 1871, it is possible that during the 1870s some of them travelled to America where the couple’s eldest son Samuel was positively identified within the US Census of 1880
35O53 – Caroline Collett was born in 1830 at Broughton Gifford
35O54 – Samuel Collett was born in 1832 at Broughton Gifford
35O55 – Anna Maria Collett was born in 1834 at Broughton Gifford
35O56 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1836 at Broughton Gifford
35O57 – James Collett was born in 1838 at Broughton Gifford
35O58 – James Collett was born in 1840 at Broughton Gifford
35O59 – Henry Collett was born in 1841 at Broughton Gifford
35O60 – Simeon Collett was born in 1843 at Broughton Gifford
Samuel Collett [35N47] was born at Broughton Gifford, where he baptised on 25th December 1808, another son of James and Sarah Collett. Six weeks after being baptised, Samuel died and was buried at Broughton Gifford on 7th February 1809. Two and a half years later, Sarah gave birth to her third child, who was also given the name Samuel, in honour of the couple’s first child
Ann Collett [35N48] was born at Broughton Gifford and it was there also that she was baptised on 5th August 1810, the first daughter of James and Sarah Collett
Samuel Collett [35N49] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1811 and was the fourth child of James and Sarah Collett and was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 15th November 1811. He later married (1) Hannah Elizabeth Mortimer (Ref. 35N60) on 6th April 1837. Hannah was Samuel’s cousin ‘one-step removed’ and was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 24th July 1813. She was the daughter of George Mortimer and Amelia (Millicent) Collett (Ref. 35M15), who was a cousin of Samuel’s father. This was yet another of the many links between the Collett and Mortimer families. Others were (a) Ann Mortimer who married James Gay, who were the parents of Jacob Gay who later married Mary Collett (Ref. 35N65), the daughter of Stephen Collett (Ref. 35M17) and Hannah Mortimer, and (b) Ruth Mortimer the daughter of Joshua Mortimer and Ruth Wakeley, who married Benjamin Collett (Ref. 35O9) the son of Stephen and Catherine Collett
By June 1841 the family living at Broughton Gifford comprised Samuel, with a rounded age of 30, his wife Hannah who was 25, and their two children, James aged three years, and baby Sarah who was one-year-old. All Samuel and Hannah’s children were born and baptised at Broughton Gifford and, according to the next census in 1851, Samuel was an agricultural labourer at 39 and was living on the main street in Broughton Gifford with his wife Hannah aged 37, and the rest of his family. The children listed with them on that day were James who was 13, Sarah who was 11, and George who was two years old. Missing from the family home in Broughton Gifford on that occasion was their son Edwin who had died six years earlier. Residing only two doors from the home Samuel Collett was his ‘one-step removed cousin’ Simeon Collett (Ref. 35N66)
Further tragedy struck the family in late 1853, when Hannah Collett died and was buried at the Baptist Chapel in Broughton Gifford on 1st December 1853. Possibly following his loss, Samuel took his family at live in Bradford and, towards the end of the decade, he married (2) Fanny who was 14 years younger than Samuel. That was confirmed in the Bradford census of 1861, when Samuel Collett was 49 and a gardener living in the Budbury area of the town. Living there with him was his new wife Fanny Collett who was 36, and their daughter Anne Collett who was under six months old. Completing the household were three of Samuel’s children from his previous marriage, and they were Sarah Collett who was 21, George Collett who was 14, and Mary Ann Collett who was 12. No record of birth or baptism has been found for Mary Ann Collett, nor was she listed with the Collett family ten years earlier. She was therefore most likely the daughter of Fanny, possibly from an earlier marriage, who had taken on her mother’s new married name
By 1871 the family had left Bradford and, on that occasion, they were living at Bedminster near Bristol, where Samuel was 59, Fanny was 45, and the only children still living with them were Ann who was 10, Eliza who was eight, and Samuel who was three. Ten years later in 1881, Samuel was a gardener aged 69 and was recorded as living at 154 East Street in Bedminster with his wife Fanny aged 55, who was the proprietor of a grocer’s shop employing one assistant. The census details confirmed that Samuel was born at Broughton Gifford and that that his wife Fanny had been born at Corston, near Malmesbury. Living with them was their 18-year-old daughter Eliza Collett who was born at Bradford-on-Avon, and it was she that was the aforementioned grocer’s shop assistant to her mother. A little over four years later, the death of Samuel Collett was recorded at Bedminster (Ref. 5c 456) during the last three months of 1885, when he was 74. It was also at Bedminster, in Bristol, where he was buried on 22nd December 1885 in the churchyard of St John’s Church
35O61 – James Collett was born in 1837 at Broughton Gifford
35O62 – Sarah Ann Collett was born in 1840 at Broughton Gifford
35O63 – Edwin Collett was born in 1844 at Broughton Gifford
35O64 – George Collett was born in 1848 at Broughton Gifford
35O65 – Mary Ann was also born in 1848 at Broughton Gifford, the adopted child of Fanny (below)
The following are the three children of Samuel Collett by his second wife Fanny:
35O66 – Annie Collett was born in 1860 at Broughton Gifford
35O67 – Eliza Collett was born in 1862 at Broughton Gifford
35O68 – Samuel Collett was born in 1867 at Broughton Gifford
Elizabeth Clack Collett [35N50] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 1st November 1813, another daughter of publican James Collett and Sarah Clack. By June 1841 she was a spinster with a rounded age of 25, when she was still living with her parents at Broughton Gifford
Sarah Collett [35N51] was probably born at Broughton Gifford sometime between her siblings Elizabeth (above) and Mary (below), although the exact date is not known. It is also possible that she may have been a twin with her sister Mary, since they were both baptised at Broughton Gifford in a joint ceremony on 23rd February 1817. On that occasion her father, James Collett, was described as an inn keeper. Both of his daughters were also listed with a rounded age of 20 in the Broughton Gifford census of 1841, when they were still living with her parents James and Sarah Collett
Mary Collett [35N52] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 23rd February 1817 in a joint ceremony with her sister Sarah (above). At the time of the 1841 Census she was given a rounded age of 20, the same as her sister Sarah, which may indicate that they were twins. Ten years later, her age was more accurately recorded as 32 in the Broughton Gifford census of 1851. Unmarried Mary Collett, aged 32 and a general domestic servant, was with her recently widowed mother Sarah, staying at the home of her older married brother Thomas Collett and his family at Slipper Lane off Church Street. Also living there, was Mary’s recently married youngest sister Jane Tippett (nee Collett) and her husband Alfred
James Collett [35N53] was born at Broughton Gifford and baptised there on 18th October 1818, another son of inn keeper James Collett and his wife Sarah Collett. The death of James Collett, aged 20 years, was recorded in Wiltshire, following which he was buried on 28th February 1839, most likely at Broughton Gifford
Henry Clack Collett [35N54] was born at Broughton Gifford, where he was baptised on 2nd July 1820, the last son born to James Collett, a labourer, and Sarah Clack. His age was confirmed as being 20 in the census of 1841, when he was still living at the family home in Broughton Gifford. Just over four years later, bachelor Henry Collett and the son of James Collett, married spinster Maria Gore, the daughter of Thomas Gore, at Broughton Gifford on 30th October 1845, where Maria had also been born during 1822. It was at Broughton Gifford that the couple initially settled, where their first two children were born, before moving to Combe Down, just south-east of Bath, where the third of their five known children was born. Sadly, their second child died shortly after he was born. James Collett, whose birth was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. viii 271) during the third quarter of 1848, mother’s maiden name Gore, died at Broughton Gifford on 19th September 1849. By 1851 the family of four was still residing at Combe Down where Henry Collett was 31, Maria Collett was 30, and their two children were Elizabeth Collett who was five, and Thomas Collett who was one-year-old
Sometime thereafter Henry took his family to Monkton Combe, close by Combe Down, where the couple’s last two children were born. In was also at Monkton Combe that Henry and Maria appear to have lived out their lives. The census in 1861 confirmed the birth there of their third child when Henry was 41, Maria was 39, Elizabeth was 15, Thomas was 10e and Jane was four years of age. Two years later the final child was added to the family while, perhaps towards the end of the next decade, the two older children left the family home. So, according to the Monkton Combe census of 1871, Henry was 50, Maria was 47, their daughter Jane was 14, and their son James was seven
Ten years after that Henry Collett was 61 and a shepherd living there with just his wife Maria, and their son James. Living with the family in 1881, as a boarder and described as a domestic servant, was James Allan who was 18 and from Glasgow. Son James was still a bachelor living with his parents in 1891 when Henry Collett 70 and his wife Maria was 67
35O69 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1846 at Broughton Gifford
35O70 – James Collett was born in 1848 at Broughton Gifford
35O71 – Thomas Collett was born in 1850 at Broughton Gifford
35O72 – Jane Collett was born in 1856 at Broughton Gifford
35O73 – James Collett was born in 1863 at Broughton Gifford
Jane Collett [35N55] was the last child of James Collett and Sarah Clack, who was possibly born around 1827, considering her stated age in the census of 1851. She was therefore around six years of age when she was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 20th January 1833, while in the Broughton Gifford census of 1841, Jane Collett had a rounded age of 15 years. By 1851 she was married to Alfred Tippett from Lower Easton in Gloucestershire. The census that year recorded the couple as Alfred Tippett who was 23 and a plasterer, and Jane Tippett from Broughton Gifford who was 27, when they and Jane’s mother Sarah Collett, and older sister Mary Collett, were staying with Jane’s older married brother Thomas Collett and his family at Slipper Lane off Church Street in Broughton Gifford
James Collett [35N56] was born at Broughton Gifford where he was baptised on 12th April 1807, the eldest of the four known children of William Collett and Mary Line. Whether it was an injury sustained at work, or natural causes, James Collett was only 18 years of age when he was buried at Broughton Gifford on 12th January 1826
William Collett [35N57] was born at Broughton Gifford and it was there he was baptised on 12th February 1809, another son of William and Mary Collett
Mary Ann Collett [35N58] was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 14th January 1811, the daughter of William Collett and Mary Line. She later married William Granger Hulbert at some time prior to 1833, with whom she had nine children. That was confirmed in part by the census in 1841 when William and his wife Mary Ann Hulbert were living within the Melksham area of Wiltshire. Listed with the couple were their six older children, all of whom were baptised at Rowde, midway between Melksham and Devizes. The couple’s five youngest children were born after 1837 and are shown in the GRO index with mother's maiden name Collett
Ten years later, in the census of 1851, William and Mary Ann were both listed as having been born at Broughton, when they were living at North Petherton, in Somerset, with eight of their nine children, just the eldest son missing. He was William Granger Hulbert, baptised on 4th March 1833 at Rowde, and in 1851 he was one of three men working as a journeyman blacksmith who were living and working at Grittleton, north of Chippenham. William Hulbert was 18 and born at Rowde, the nephew of head of the household Thomas Collett, who was 30 and born at Broughton Gifford. The third blacksmith was Thomas Rudman, aged 28 and born at South Wraxall, who was one of the sons of Mary Collett (Ref. 31N8) and Thomas Rudman, a journeyman blacksmith himself. Another member of the later Collett family, Martha (Ref. 35N26), married Michael Rudman at Broughton Gifford on 9th August 1860.
William Granger Hulbert senior was born in 1805, whose death was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 74) during the last three months of 1872, when he was 67 years old. Just under two months later, probate was granted at Salisbury on 18th January 1873 to his widow Mary Ann Hulbert, the document also confirmed that William passed away on 25th November 1872. Nearly seven years after losing her husband, Mary Ann Hulbert, nee Collett, died at Atworth, where she was buried on 17th October 1878, her death also recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 83) at the age of 66. Likewise, it was at Salisbury, on 28th December 1878, that the executors of her estate were named as her sons Frederick and William Hulbert
The inscription on the Hulbert family tomb at Atworth, although badly frost damaged, is known to read as follows: “Sacred to the memory of Betty Hulbert who departed this life January 26th 1827 aged 72 years. Also to the memory of William Hulbert who departed this life April 16th 1829 aged 74 years. Also to the memory of William Granger Hulbert grandson of William and Betty Hulbert who died November 25th 1872 aged 68 years. Also to the memory of Mary Ann the beloved wife of William Granger Hulbert who died October 17th 1878 aged 67 years. Frederick Hulbert son of the above died May 1st 1926 aged 77. Sarah Anna wife of Frederick Hulbert died April 20th 1932 aged 82”
Thomas Collett [35N59] was born at Broughton Gifford around 1820, although it is yet to be proved that he was the son of William Collett and Mary Line. The only reason for his inclusion here is that in 1851 he was the uncle of William Hulbert, the eldest son of Mary Ann Hulbert nee Collett (above). That year he was a journeyman blacksmith and head of the household at Grittleton, when the census return confirmed he was 30 years old and born at Broughton Gifford. William Hulbert was also a journeyman blacksmith at the age of 18 and had been born at Rowde. The final person at the same dwelling was Thomas Rudman, another journeyman blacksmith, who was 28 and from South Wraxall, the son of Mary Collett (Ref. 31N8) and Thomas Rudman. Ten years later unmarried Thomas Collett from Broughton in Wiltshire was 38 and a blacksmith, a boarder at the home of the Burdon family in Devers Lane at Bathford in Somerset. No further record of Thomas Collett from Broughton Gifford has been found, although the death of a Thomas Collett was recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 32) during the third quarter of 1871. However, whoever reported his passing on 13th September 1871, gave his age as 53
Hannah Elizabeth Mortimer [35N60] was born at Broughton Gifford and was baptised there on 24th July 1813. She was the daughter of George Mortimer and Amelia (Millicent) Collett and eventually married one of her Collett cousins – go to Ref. 35N49 for the continuation of her life as Hannah Elizabeth Collett
Sarah Collett [35N61] was born at Broughton Gifford and was baptised there on 25th December 1809, the first child of Stephen Collett and Hannah Mortimer
Anne Collett [35N62] was born at Broughton Gifford, the second child of Stephen and Hannah Collett, her baptism conducted at Broughton Gifford on 24th May 1812
John Collett [35N63] was the eldest son of Stephen Collett and Hannah Mortimer and was born at Broughton Gifford, perhaps when his sister Mary (above) was two years old and two years before the birth of his brother Harry (below), placing his year of birth around 1814. It would also appear that his baptism was delayed and, in the end, he was baptised at Broughton Gifford in a joint ceremony with his brother Harry on 23rd February 1817. The parish register recorded the pair of them as the sons of shoemaker Stephen Collett and Hannah Mortimer, leading to the original speculation that they may have been twin brothers.
Although no record for John Collett of Broughton Gifford, son of Stephen and Hannah, has been found anywhere within the census of 1841, the subsequent census returns, up until his passing, confirm that he was born at Broughton Gifford in 1814. The marriage of John Collett and Jane Bailey, from South Wales, was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. viii 128) during the second quarter of 1843, but may have taken place at Broughton Gifford. Janes was seven years older than John, consequently they had no children and, in 1851 when John from Broughton Gifford was 36 and a shoemaker and an inn keeper, his wife Jane was 43. With the couple that day was servant Elvira Williams from Wales who was 20 and a general servant working at the inn, and lodger John Wilshire from nearby Holt, who was 73 and an agricultural pauper
By 1861, John had given up being an inn keeper and was simply a shoemaker, residing at Holt Common with the parish of Bradford-on-Avon at the age of 46. Jane Collett from Glamorganshire was 53 and had three gentleman boarders. They were Edwin Chandler 36, Samuel Mann 38, and Richard Gillingham who was 54. During the following decade, John and Jane travelled two miles to the village of Holt, where they were recorded in the census of 1871, when John from Broughton Gifford was 56 and again working as a shoemaker, while Jane was 63 and said to be from Laudmead in Wales (?). John Collett was 66 when his death was recorded at Devizes (Ref. 5a 77) during the first three months of 1881. The census just after the day of his passing identified his widow Jane Collett as having returned to Bradford-on-Avon, when she was living at Station Road in the town, where she was a lodging-house keeper at the age of 73. Staying at the lodging-house that day were two people, Alice Bristow who was 12 and male Jesse Reeves who was 28. It was fifteen years after that, when the death of Jane Collett, aged 89, was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon register office (Ref. 5a 365) during the last three months of 1896, following which she was buried on 27th November 1896
Henry Collett [35N64] was born at Broughton Gifford around 1816 and may have been the twin brother of John Collett (above) with whom he was baptised on 23rd February 1817 as Harry Collett, their father confirmed as shoemaker Stephen Collett. It was at Limpley Stoke, three miles west of Bradford-on-Avon, where Henry Collett married (1) Jane Lovelock on 10th October 1841. Both of them were of full-age, a bachelor and a spinster, Henry a shoemaker and Jane a dressmaker, both residing in Bradford. Henry’s father was confirmed as Stephen Collett, a shoemaker, while Jane’s father was Jacob Lovelock who was a labourer. Both Henry and Jane signed the register in their own hand, with the two witnesses not any member of either family. After giving birth to three children in Wiltshire, Henry’s work took the family to the Aston district of Birmingham, where they were living at Cheapside in 1851. Henry Collett from Broughton Gifford was 35 and a master boot and shoemaker, his wife Jane Collett was also 35, but born in Bradford-on-Avon, and their children were, Edwin Collett who was eight, and Albert Collett who was seven – both born at Holt in Wiltshire, and Francis Collett who was three and born at Biddestone
Two further children were added to the family while they were still living in Aston although, by 1861, the family was residing at Birchall Street in Aston. On that census day the family comprised Henry Collett who was 44 and a boot and shoe maker, Jane Collett who was 44 and working with her husband as a boot binder, Edwin Collett who was 18, Albert Collett who was 17, Francis Collett who was 15, Amy H Collett who was eight, and Sarah A Collett who was two years old. Another son, Thomas, was added to the family later that same year
Jane Collett, nee Lovelock, died on 21st April 1864 at 50 Lombard Street in Aston, Birmingham. Her death certificate confirmed that she was 40, the wife of Henry Collett, a cordwainer. The cause of death was cerebral disease over the previous six days, while informant on 2nd May was her son Edwin Collett, who made the mark of a cross. Following his loss, Henry returned to Wiltshire, when he initially settled in the village of Atworth, where he occupied the dwelling next door to John Collett [35O17] and his wife Sarah from Harwich in Essex. When John died in 1870 the census conducted during the spring of 1871 identified his widow Sarah Halstead Collett, aged 48 and a school mistress as the next-door neighbour of widowed Henry Collett from Broughton Gifford who was 50 and a boot and shoe maker. On that occasion Henry had living there with him his daughter Sarah Ann Collett who was 12, and his son Thomas Collett who was nine, both born in Birmingham and both attending the village school, where Sarah Halstead Collett was very likely their teacher. That same day Sarah had her two children living with her at Atworth, Sarah Mary Collett who was 18, and John Stanier Collett aged 13. Also in that row of cottages was 71-year-old John Collett [44L15] from South Wraxall and his son Thomas [44M16] aged 48
It was at Melksham on 23rd October 1876 that widower Henry Collett married (2) widow Elizabeth Eliza Scott who was born at Holt in Wiltshire in 1829 as Elizabeth Eliza Hutton. The marriage certificate confirmed that Henry, the son of shoemaker Stephen Collett, was 59 and a shoemaker, who signed the certificate in his own hand, and that his bride was 49, the daughter of carpenter John Hutton, who made the mark of a cross. One of the witnesses was Simeon Collett, Henry’s youngest sibling. By the time of the census in 1881 Henry, aged 64, was a bootmaker from Broughton Gifford who was living with his wife Elizabeth, aged 52, at Broughton Road in Melksham. Living just three doors away in Broughton Road was his cousin Stephen Collett, and also living further along in the same street was his bootmaker brother Simeon Collett (below). According to the next census in 1891, Henry Collett from Broughton Gifford was 74 and a boot and shoe maker, and his wife Eliza E Collett from Holt was 62, when they were living on Bath Road in Melksham. Nine years later, Henry Collett died at Melksham on 8th January 1900, with his death certificate confirming he was 83 and a former master shoemaker who had suffered with cerebral softening for nine years. The informant of his passing was Martha Doddimead who was present when he passed. who lived at Bath Road in Melksham and was Henry’s next-door neighbour
35O74 – Edwin Collett was born in 1842 at Holt, near Broughton Gifford
35O75 – Albert Collett was born in 1844 at Holt, near Broughton Gifford
35O76 – Francis Collett was born in 1845 at Biddestone
35O77 – Aimee Hannah Collett was born in 1851 at Aston, Birmingham
35O78 – Sarah Ann Collett was born in 1858 at Aston, Birmingham
35O79 – Thomas Collett was born in 1861 at Aston, Birmingham
Mary Collett [35N65] was born at Broughton Gifford in 1819. At the age of twenty years, Mary married Jacob Gay at Broughton Gifford on 25th December 1839. Jacob was born at Brought Gifford in 1819 and was the son of weaver James Gay and Hannah Borns. It may be of interest that there had been earlier marriages at Broughton Gifford between the Collett and Gay families. They were Ann Collett to Timothy Gay on 12th April 1701, and Edith Collett to William Gay on 12th May 1714. By the time of the first national census in June 1841 Mary and Jacob, whose rounded ages were both 20 years, were living at Broughton Gifford with their first child James Gay who had been born there, but who was not yet one-year-old. Ten years later Mary was confirmed as being 30, while her husband Jacob was 31, when they and their five children were still living at Broughton Gifford, where all their children had been born. The children were James who was 10, Ann Gay who was eight, John Gay who was six, John Gay who was four, and Mary Gay who was one-year-old
A further three children were added to the family over the next decade so, by 1861, the family comprised Mary aged 41, Jacob who was 42, and their children James 21, Ann 18, John 16, John 14, Mary 11, Isaac who was eight, Frank who was six, and George who was three years old. At that time the family was listed as living in Trowbridge, where the most recent children had been born. Three years after that census day Mary Gay, nee Collett, aged 44 died at Silver Street in Studley, Trowbridge and was buried at Trowbridge on 22nd October 1864. It is possible Mary died during the birth of the couple’s tenth child. It was during the following year that Jacob married Emma Randall, with whom he had a further five children. The marriage certificate confirmed he was a widower and the son of weaver James Gay, and a witness to the marriage was Jacob’s brother Isaac Gay who was born in 1826
Sixteen years later, according to the 1881 Census, Jacob Gay was 61 and working as a woollen weaver. He was living at 2 Silver Street Lane in Trowbridge with his wife Emma who was 45 and was a woollen weaver from Bradley in Wiltshire. Living with the couple were their five children Jane 14, William 12, Enos who was eight, Obadiah who was five, and Dinah who was two, all of them born at Trowbridge. Also, still living with his father, was Charles Gay aged 19, the only remaining child from Jacob’s first marriage. The full name of Mary and Jacob’s son Frank, who was six years old in 1861, was Frank Stephen Collett Gay. When in his mid-twenties he married Ada Searl from Portsmouth and both of them were woollen weavers in 1881, when they were living at 78 Dursley Road in Trowbridge, but with no children. Also living at Trowbridge in 1881 was Ephraim Gay and his wife Ruth Ricketts, who was possibly related to Jacob Gay. However, this was not Ephraim Gay of Broughton Gifford who was living there in 1881 when he was incorrectly listed as Ephraim Jay. It was the son of Ephraim Gay of Broughton Gifford, George Edward Gay, who married Lilly May Bunker in 1909. Lilly May was the great-great-grand-daughter of Elizabeth Collett (Ref. 1L2) of Kempsford
See Part One – The Gloucestershire Main Line (1700 to 1800) for further details of this family link
Simeon Collett [35N66] was born at Broughton Gifford around 1823, the youngest child of blacksmith Stephen Collett and Hannah Mortimer. It was at the parish church in the village of Keevil that Simeon Collett was married by banns to Sophia Stinchcombe on 13th May 1846, when both of them were recorded as being of full age (sic), he a bachelor and a cordwainer from Broughton, she a spinster of Keevil. The couple signed the parish register in their own hand, when one of the witnesses was Alijah Stinchcombe. Sophia was baptised at Broughton Gifford on 25th November 1827, the daughter of blacksmith Nathaniel Stinchcomb and his wife Ruth, her surname being given to Simeon’s second son. Sophia would therefore appear to have been around nineteen years of age when she married twenty-three-year-old Simeon. All their children were born at Broughton Gifford and baptised there, apart from their second son for whom no baptism record has been found. Tragically, the couple’s first three did not survive beyond infancy
According to the census of 1851 the family was living on the main street in Broughton Gifford, just two dwellings away from Simeon’s ‘one-step removed’ cousin Samuel Collett (Ref. 35N49) and his family. Simeon aged 27 was a cordwainer, his wife Sophia was 23, and the only child listed with them on that occasion was their son Francis who was four years old. All three of them were confirmed as having been born at Broughton Gifford. By that time, the couple’s second and third-born sons, James and Albert, had already died, with further tragedy to follow for Simeon and Sophia, later that same year, with the death of son Frank. Simeon’s wife Sophia would have been with-child on the day of the census since, shortly after, she gave birth to their fourth child who was baptised four months later. Sadly, that child also died before reaching her fourth birthday. By 1861 Simeon was 37 and was still a cordwainer living with his family in the main street in Broughton Gifford. Sophia was 33 and the only child listed as living with the couple at that time was their daughter Matilda who was five years old. It seems highly likely that all of their first six children had died as a result of some common illness. Once again Sophia was with-child on the day of the census and, three months, later she gave birth to another daughter
Ten years later, according to the 1871 Census for Broughton Gifford, Simeon was 46 and his wife Sophia was 45. Living with them were their two sole surviving children, and they were Matilda who was 15, and Abijah who was nine years old. Simeon was a shoemaker (a cordwainer) like his brother Henry Collett (above) and, again like his brother and his cousin Stephen (above), he was living at Broughton Road in Melksham by the time of the census in 1881. Living with him was his wife Sophia who was 53, together with their youngest daughter Abijah Collett who was 19 and also born at Broughton Gifford
What was interesting about Simeon was that, according to the IGI, he was the subject of an adult baptism at Broughton Gifford on 21st August 1870. The record also confirmed that he was the son of Stephen Collett and his wife Hannah Collett (nee Mortimer). It is possible that he had been persuaded to take this action in order to safeguard the lives of his two surviving daughters. By 1891 Simeon Collett was 69 when he was living within the Trowbridge & Melksham registration district with his wife Sophia Collett who was 63. Still living with the couple was their unmarried daughter Abijah A Collett who was 29. Over three years later, when the death of Simeon Collett was recorded at Melksham (Ref. 5a 64) during the last three months of 1894, he was estimated to be 70 years of age
35O80 – Frank Stinchcombe Collett was born in 1847 at Broughton Gifford
35O81 – James Collett was born in 1848 at Broughton Gifford
35O82 – Albert Collett was born in 1849 at Broughton Gifford
35O83 – Ruth Hannah Collett was born in 1851 at Broughton Gifford
35O84 – Alicia Collett was born in 1853 at Broughton Gifford
35O85 – Maria Collett was born in 1853 at Broughton Gifford
35O86 – Matilda Collett was born in 1856 at Broughton Gifford
35O87 – Abijah Alice Collett was born in 1861 at Broughton Gifford