PART THIRTY-FIVE

The Melksham to Wisconsin & Ontario Line – 1890 to 2020

This is the third of three sections of this family line

Updated September 2026

Paulina V S Collett [35P60] was born at Melksham in 1856.  She was listed with her father in 1861, as being aged four years, and was 14 in 1871 when she was living with her family at Melksham.  When she was twenty-one years old, she married painter, plumber and glazier William Blake of Melksham who had his own business.  By April 1881 Paulina had presented her husband with their first child. William Henry Blake was two years old and was living with his parents at Union Street in Melksham.  Neither Paulina, nor her husband, has been identified in later census records, although in 1911 their son William Blake of Melksham was 32 when he was married to Susan who was 31.  The childless couple was living at Eastbourne in Sussex on that occasion

Albert Henry Collett [35P61] was born at Melksham in 1857 and was 23 in 1881 when he was living with his recently widowed mother Harriet Collett at Holbrook Farm in Melksham, where his brother Charles and sister Florence (below) were also living at that time.  Plans for his wedding may have already been underway at that time, since it was shortly after the April census day that he married Emily Ann of Trowbridge.  The marriage produced two confirmed children for the couple, and in 1891 the family of four was living at Melksham where Albert was 32, Emily was 33, and their children were aged eight years and three years respectively.  Ten years later the same family was living in the Melksham Without registration district where Albert Collett was listed as a farmer at 42, living there with his wife Emily who was also 42.  Living with them was their daughter Lillian, who was 18, and their son Albert, who was 13

According to the next census in 1911 Albert Henry Collett from Melksham was 52 and was living in the Romsey district of Hampshire with his wife Emily Anne Collett from Trowbridge.  By that time both of their children had left the family home to make their own way in the world.  Albert Henry Collett passed away before his wife, although when that happened is not known at this time.  However, it was on 10^th November 1938 that his widow Emily Ann Collett of 4 Westbourne Road in Trowbridge died while she was a patient at the Trowbridge & District Hospital in Adcroft Street, Trowbridge.  Probate was processed at Winchester on 29^th January 1939 when her son and daughter were both named, when her estate was valued at £152 0 Shillings and 9 Pence

35Q38 – Lillian Edith Collett was born in 1882 at Melksham

35Q39 – Albert Edwin Collett was born in 1887 at Melksham

William James Collett [35P62] was born at Melksham in 1859 and by the time of the 1881 Census he was 21 and was working as a butcher, while living in Melksham at Linden Hall, the home of London tailor John Hayter.  Also living there was William’s younger sister Ada who was 18.  Around five years later William married Annie of Bulkington, midway between Devizes and Trowbridge.  The couple settled in Melksham and it was there that their two known children were born, and where the family was living in 1891 and again 1901.  In the first of the census returns, the family comprised William and Annie who were both 31, and their son Gilbert W Collett who was three years old.  The later census recorded William, aged 41, who was a butcher of Melksham, his wife Annie who was also 41, and their two children Gilbert W Collett who was 13, and Olive E Collett who was seven years old.  It is possible Annie may have died during the first decade of the twentieth century, since no record of her has been found in the census of 1911.  William James Collett was 51 and he was living in Calne with his daughter Olive Ethel Collett who was 17, when both were confirmed as having been born at Melksham.  William’s son Gilbert William Collett of Melksham had swapped Wiltshire for Surrey by then and was living in Croydon at the age of 23

35Q40 – Gilbert William Collett was born in 1887 at Melksham

35Q41 – Olive Ethel Collett was born in 1893 at Melksham

Charles S Collett [35P64] was born at Melksham in 1864 and in 1881 he was 16 when he living with his widowed mother Harriet Collett at Holbrook farm in Melksham, where his older brother Albert Henry (above) and younger sister Florence (below) were also still living.  Ten years later he was still a bachelor farmer at 27, when he was still living at Melksham with his mother and sister Florence.  By the start of the next century, he was a retired farmer at the age of 37, when he was still unmarried and was still living with his mother and sister.  By 1911 he was simply listed as Charles Collett, who was 46 and from Melksham, who was still living there with his eighty-one years old mother Harriet and his unmarried sister Florence.  Also living with them was Lillian Collett, aged 28, who was Charles’ niece and the daughter of his brother Albert Henry Collett (above)

Florence E Collett [35P65] was born at Melksham in 1869, the daughter of William Collett and Harriet Austin and in 1871 she was one year old.  Sadly, when Florence was ten years old, her father died during 1880, so by the time of the census in 1881 Florence was 11 and was living with her widowed mother and her family at Holbrook Farm in Melksham, where her two brothers Albert and Charles were also living at that time.  Florence never married and in the subsequent census returns, right up to April 1911, she, and her brother Charles (above), continued to live with their mother at Melksham.  In the 1911 Census she gave her age as 40

Eliza Ann Collett [35P66] was born in 1851 at Melksham and was baptised there on 28^th December 1851, the daughter of Henry Collett and Ann Pepler.  In 1861 at the age of nine, Eliza A Collett was living with her widowed mother Ann at Lowbourne in Melksham.  Upon leaving school, Eliza also left the family home to seek work, and in 1871 she was 19 and was still living close to where her mother was living in Melksham.  Ten years later in 1881, Eliza was an unmarried domestic servant living and working at Melksham Hall, the home of clergyman Edward L Barnwell.  Her age was recorded as 29

Henry John Collett [35P67] was born at Melksham in 1855, the only son of Henry Collett and Ann Pepler.  Sadly, when Henry was around four or five years old his father died, hence the reason he was not listed with the family in the census of 1861.  On that occasion Henry and his three sisters were living with their widowed mother at Lowbourne in Melksham, when he was described as Harry Collett from Melksham who was five years old.  According to the next census in 1871, Henry was 15 when he was still living at Lowbourne with his widowed mother Ann and just his two younger sisters.  In the mid-1870s Henry married Martha Feltham who was born at Keevil in Wiltshire in 1853.  In 1881 the couple and their first two children were living at Church Street in Steeple Ashton near Trowbridge, where Henry John aged 27 was a wheelwright, a carpenter, and a blacksmith, while his wife Martha F Collett from Keevil was 28.  Living with them was their daughter Everest M Collett aged three years, who had been born at Keevil, together with their son Henry John Collett.  He was two years old and had been born after the family had moved to Steeple Ashton.  The villages of Keevil and Steeple Ashton lie adjacent to each other.  The next three children were all born at Steeple Ashton, but by 1891 the family was once again living in Keevil, where the couple’s last five children were born.  However, by 1891 it is assumed their eldest child Everest had already died, since she was missing from the census that year

The census return only included the names of Henry John Collett 36, Martha Feltham Collett 38, their sons Henry John 12, Joseph Herbert who was nine, Edward Clement who was six, and William Frederick who was two, and their daughters Lillian Mary who was eight, and Amy Florence who was three years old.  Henry and Martha’s marriage was blessed with three more children before the end of the century.  By the time of the next census in 1901 Martha and her children were still living in Keevil following the death of her husband during the years between 1898 and 1901.  Martha F Collett was 47 and was being supported by her eldest son Henry J Collett who was 22.  The other children living with Martha on that occasion were sons William F Collett aged 11, Reginald F Collett who was eight, and Walter G Collett who six, and her daughters Amy aged 13, and Elsie M Collett who was just two years old.  Ten years later, in April 1911, Martha Feltham Collett of Keevil was 58 and was still living at Keevil with some of her children.  They were Edward Clement Collett, aged 26 of Steeple Ashton, and Reginald Frank Collett 18, Walter George Collett 16, and Elsie May Collett who was 12, all of whom were confirmed as having been born at Keevil

35Q42 – Everest Collett was born in 1877 at Keevil

35Q43 – Henry John Collett was born in 1878 at Steeple Ashton

35Q44 – Joseph Herbert Collett was born in 1881 at Steeple Ashton

35Q45 – Lilian Mary Collett was born in 1882 at Keevil

35Q46 – Edward Clement Collett was born in 1884 at Keevil

35Q47 – Amy Florence Collett was born in 1887 at Keevil

35Q48 – William Frederick Collett was born in 1888 at Keevil

35Q49 – Reginald Frank Collett was born in 1892 at Keevil

35Q50 – Walter George Collett was born in 1895 at Keevil

35Q51 – Elsie May Collett was born in 1898 at Keevil

Mary Jane Collett [35P68] was born at Melksham in 1857 where she was baptised on 30^th May 1858, the daughter of Henry Collett and Ann Pepler.  Sadly, her father died just prior to the 1861 Census since, at that time, Mary J Collett was three years old when she was living with her widowed mother in the Lowbourne area of Melksham.  Ten years after that the census in 1871 placed Mary Collett as 13 years of age when she was still living at Lowbourne with her widowed mother Ann and her brother Henry (above) and sister Everest (below).  Her eldest sister Eliza (above) had already left the family home by then and was living and working nearby in Melksham.  Where Mary was when the census was conducted in 1881 has still not been discovered, but it seems highly likely that she gave birth to a base-born son during the following year, who was born in Melksham

It is even possible that he was born at the Lowbourne home of Mary’s mother who, by then, was remarried and known as Ann Wiltshire.  It was certainly with Ann Wiltshire, his grandmother, that Sidney Collett from Melksham, aged eight years, was recorded in the Lowbourne census of Melksham in 1891 although, once again, the whereabouts of Mary Jane Collett aged 33 has not been revealed.  With her mother’s advancing years, and that fact that she was suffering with paralysis and unable to properly look after her grandson, Mary returned to live with her mother during the last decade of the old century.  That was confirmed in the March census of 1901 when the widow Ann Wiltshire had living with her at Lowbourne her daughter Mary Collett, aged 42 and a spinster, who was her housekeeper, together with her grandson Sidney Collett who was 18.  No record of mother or daughter has been located after that day

35Q52 – Sidney Collett was born in 1882 at Melksham

Everest Morris Collett [35P69] was born at Melksham in 1860 and was baptised there on 31^st March 1861, the daughter of Henry Collett and Ann Pepler.  One week later in the Melksham census of 1861, Everest was recorded as being under one year old.  By that time in her young life, her father Henry had already passed away.  Ten years later, at the age of ten, she was still living in Melksham with her widowed mother and the rest of her family, but by 1881, at the age of 21, Everest was an unmarried parlour maid at Semington House, in Semington near Melksham, the home of land-owner Thomas Bruges.  At the start of the next decade Everest Collett was still a spinster when, according to the census in 1891, she was 30 and was living and working in the Kensington district of London.  No record after that time has been found, which may indicate that she was married during the 1890s

Henry Charles Collett [35P70] was born at Melksham in 1864, where he was still living with his family in 1881.  They were living at Bath Street in Melksham at that time, from where Henry was working as an apprentice plumber at the age of 17.  It was around four years later that he married Eliza who was born in 1861.  It was then that they left Melksham to make their home at Radstock in Somerset, where the couple’s first two children were born.  They were only there for a few short years before they briefly lived at Holcombe three miles south of Radstock, where their next child was born.  For some reason, it was around that time in his life that Henry reversed his christian names.  So, by 1891 the family of five was living in the Nunnery district of Frome, when it comprised Charles Henry Collett 28, Eliza M Collett 30, Amy R Collett who was five, Mabel L Collett who was four, and Reginald Collett who was two years old.  Three further children were added to the family over the following six years, and all born in Frome.  The first two were born in the Marston Bigot area of the town, while the last was born in the Selwood district of Frome

According to the census of 1901, Charles and his family were still living at Selwood, where he was 38 and his occupation was that of a plumber and a painter.  His wife Eliza M Collett was 40, and the children were Amy 15, Mabel 14, Reginald 12, Percy who was eight, Leonard was six, and William who one year old.  The two oldest daughters had left school and were gainfully employed as a dressmaker, and a printing stitcher, respectively.  Two years later Eliza presented Charles with their seventh and last child.  Seven years after that, in April 1911, most of the family was still living at Frome; only Amy, Reginald, and Leonard were absence at that time.  For the remainder, Charles was 46, Eliza was 48, Mabel was 21, Percy was 18, William was 12, and latest arrival Jack was seven years old

35Q53 – Amy R Collett was born in 1885 at Radstock, Somerset

35Q54 – Mabel L Collett was born in 1886 at Radstock, Somerset

35Q55 – Reginald Collett was born in 1888 at Holcombe, Somerset

35Q56 – Percy Collett was born in 1892 at Marston, Frome

35Q57 – Leonard Collett was born in 1894 at Marston Bigot, Frome

35Q58 – William Collett was born in 1899 at Selwood, Frome

35Q59 – Jack Collett was born in 1903 at Selwood, Frome

William John Collett [35P71] was born at Melksham, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 5a 94) during the last three months of 1864.  On leaving school he became an apprentice grocer, as confirmed by the census of 1881 when he was still living with his parents at Bath Street in Melksham.  Towards the end of the next decade, around 1887 or 1888, William married Ellen who was born at Shaw near Melksham and, by the time of the census of 1891, they had two children.  The first of them was born at nearby Biddestone and before the family settled in Castle Combe just three to the north.  The Castle Combe census of 1891 recorded the young family living at West Street, as William and Ellen, both 26, and their children William J Collett who was two, and Francis E Collett who was under one-year old.  At that time in his life William was working as a carrier and a haulier.  His wife Ellen may well have been with-child on the census day in 1891, since later that year the couple received their third child.  A fourth child followed two years later, when the family was still living at Castle Combe

Sometime during the second half of the 1890s the family moved west towards Weston-super-Mare and it was at Banwell, just outside the town, where their last child was born and where the family was living in March 1901.  The census on that occasion listed the family as William J Collett, aged 36, whose occupation was that of a non-domestic coachman, his wife Ellen, also 36, and their children William, aged 12, who was a grocer’s errand boy, Francis who was 10, Eleanor who was nine, Alaric who was seven, and Harold who was three years old.  Whether relating to this family or not, on 7^th June 1904 a Frank Collett and the son of William John Collett and his wife Ellen (could he be Francis E Collett) was baptised in Wiltshire

Over the next few years William and his family left the village of Banwell and moved into Weston-super-Mare, and by April 1911 they were living at 21 Stanley Grove Road.  By that time the couple’s eldest son William had left the family home and, at the age of 23, he was living and working in Swindon.  William John Collett of Melksham was 46 and by that time he had reverted to his earlier occupation of being a grocer and a shopkeeper.  Ellen Collett of Shaw was 46 and was assisting her husband of twenty-three years in the family business.  The four children still living with them were Francis aged 20 and of Castle Combe, a grocer’s assistant, Eleanor aged 19 of Castle Combe, an assistant in a music shop, ‘Alasie’ who was 17 also of Castle Combe, a goods agent’s clerk with the Great Western Railway, and Harold who was 13 and of Banwell who was still attending school.  Visiting the family on that occasion was lady’s companion Annie Frost 25 of Weston-super-Mare, and Florence Membery, 29 from Bath, who was a trained nurse

35Q60 – William John Collett was born in 1888 at Biddestone

35Q61 – Francis Edward Collett was born in 1890 at Castle Combe

35Q62 – Eleanor Edith Collett was born in 1892 at Castle Combe

35Q63 – Alaric Robert Collett was born in 1893 at Castle Combe

35Q64 – Harold Collett was born in 1897 at Banwell, Weston-Super-Mare

Frederick W Collett [35P72] was born at Melksham in 1867 and it was there that he was living with his family in 1871 at the age of four years.  Ten years later in 1881, at the age of 14, he was attending Weston School in Somerset, the establishment of school-master Albert Browning and his wife Ann.  On leaving school Frederick took up the occupation of an engineer, as confirmed by the Melksham census of 1891, at which time he was 24 and living with his widowed mother Elizabeth at Bath Road in Melksham.  Following the death of his mother, before the end of the century, unmarried engineer Frederick Collett from Melksham was 34 in March 1901 when he was living within the Twerton area, to the west of Bath city centre, with his sister Emily (below)

Mary Jane Collett [35P73] was the fourth of the six children of John and Elizabeth Collett.  She was born at the Bell Inn on Bath Road in Melksham on 18^th February 1868, her birth recorded (Ref. 5a 105) during the first three months of that year.  She was then baptised at Melksham on 31^st March 1868 and died the following day, on 1^st April 1868.  Her passing was also recorded at Melksham (Ref. 5a 63) during the second quarter of that year

Emily Matilda Collett [35P74] was born at Melksham in 1869 and was two years old at the time of the Melksham census of 1871.  She was baptised at Melksham on 2^nd May 1869, when her parents were confirmed as John and Elizabeth Collett.  In 1871 Emily M Collett was two years of age and ten years later Emily was again living with her parents at The Bell Inn on Bath Road in Melksham, when she was recorded as being aged 12 years.  Where she was in 1891 has not been determined but, by 1901, Emily was 32, when she was working as a schoolteacher of English and music, when she was living with her brother Frederick (above) at the Twerton, Somerset, home of their mother Elizabeth Collett, within the Bath registration district.  Just over two years later the marriage of Emily Matilda Collett and Henry Clement Durnford was recorded at St George Hanover Square in London (Ref. 1a 1002) during the third quarter of 1903

Henry was four years younger than Emily and their marriage is known to have produced at least one child for the couple since, by April 1911, the family of three was living in the hamlet of Froxfield just north of Petersfield in Hampshire.  Emily Matilda Durnford from Melksham was 42, her husband Henry was 38 and a head domestic gardener from North Runcton in Norfolk and their son Clement George Durnford was five years old and born at Froxfield.  The death of Emily M Durnford was recorded at nearby Droxford (Ref. 2c 358) to the west of Petersfield during the second quarter of 1940 when she was 71 years of age

Eliza Collett [35P75] was the sixth and last child of inn keeper John Collett and his wife Elizabeth Collett (John’s cousin).  She was born at The Bell Inn on Bath Road in Melksham, and her birth was recorded (Ref. 5a 114) during the third quarter of 1870, following her birth on 11^th August.  It was just of two weeks later that she died (Ref. 5a 74) and was buried at Melksham on 28^th August 1870

William Thomas Collett [35P78] was born at Melksham in 1872, the eldest child of William Collett and Sarah Hayward, his birth recorded there (Ref. 5a 114) during the last three months of that year.  By April 1881 William, who was eight years old and born at Melksham, was living at Partridges Yard in Wantage with his mother Sarah and his three younger siblings, while his shoeing smith father was away working in Swindon and was in lodgings at 38 Newport Street in the town.  When his family moved to Gloucester, where William’s father established the family coach building business of Wm Collett & Sons, William Thomas Collett, aged 18 and from Melksham, was working for the Great Western Railway in Swindon as a factory labourer.  It was at Marlborough Road in Wroughton, just south of Swindon, that William was lodging at the home of the Cook family

William eventually returned to Gloucester, where he joined forces with his father William Collett in the family coach building business.  It was also during the last three months of 1896 when William Thomas Collett married Rosa Minnie Mould, the wedding recorded at Gloucester (Ref. 6a 598).  Rosa was born in Gloucester in 1870 and was the daughter of John and Harriet Mould.  Nine months after they were married, Rosa presented William with their first child.  By the time of the census in 1901 William Collett, aged 28 and from Melksham, was a coach-smith working with his father and younger brother Fred in the family business in Gloucester.  Living at Hanman Road with him was his wife Rosa M Collett aged 30, their daughter Ivy M Collett who was three, and their two sons William F Collett who was two years old, and Granville L Collett who was five months old.  All three children, and their mother, were confirmed as having been born at Gloucester

The enlarged family was recorded at Gloucester ten year later in the April census of 1911.  William Thomas Collett of Melksham was 39 and a coach builder, his wife Rosa Minnie Collett of Gloucester was 41, Ivy Minnie Collett was 13, William Frederick Collett was 11, Granville Livingstone Collett was 10, Ruby Victoria Collett was six, and twins Grace F N Collett and Edwin H Collett were seven months old.  Later in their lives William and Rosa settled in the village of Hucclecote to the east of Gloucester, and it was there that they both died and were buried in the same grave in the grounds of the Hucclecote Methodist Church.  Upon the death of William’s father, at Gloucester on 22^nd February 1917, his Will may have been contested, because it was not until 13^th July 1923 that it was proved in favour of his two sons William T Collett and Frederick Collett (below), prior to the death of their mother Sarah in 1928

Rosa Minnie Collett died on 25^th September 1947 at the age of 78, her death recorded at the Gloucester Rural register office (Ref. 7b 373).  It was nine years after that when the death of William Thomas Collett was recorded at Gloucester Rural register office (Ref. 7b 449), following his passing on 19^th June 1956, when he was 83 years old

35Q65 – Ivy Minnie Collett was born in 1897 at Gloucester

35Q66 – William Frederick Collett was born in 1898 at Gloucester

35Q67 – Granville Livingstone Collett was born in 1900 at Gloucester

35Q68 – Ruby Victoria Collett was born in 1904 at Gloucester

35Q69 – Grace F N Collett was born in 1910 at Gloucester

35Q70 – Edwin Hayward Collett was born in 1910 at Gloucester

Fanny Elizabeth Collett [35P79] was born at Wantage, Berkshire, in 1875, her birth recorded there (Ref. 2c 303) during the second quarter of the year.  She was listed as living there with her mother and her siblings at Partridges Yard in 1881 when she was six years old.  Over the following years her family settled at Tredworth Road in Gloucester, where Fanny Collet was 16 in 1891, and she was still living with her parents ten years later, when Fanny E Collett from Wantage was 26 with no stated occupation, at which time the family home was at Melbourne Street in Gloucester.  Within the following six months Fanny Elizabeth Collett married Walter John French at Gloucester (Ref. 6a 724) during the third quarter of 1901.  Walter was the son of James and Sarah Ann French of Derby Road in Gloucester, who was 24 and a bridge-man employed on the Great Western Railway

Two years into their married life, Fanny presented Walter with the couple’s only known child.  The birth of their daughter Doris Fanny French was recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 362) during the second quarter of 1904.  By the time of the census in 1911, the family of three was still living in Gloucester where Walter John French was 34 and still working as a rail bridge man, his wife Fanny Elizabeth French from Wantage was 36, and their daughter Doris Fanny French was six years old.  During the first three months of 1933, Doris Fanny French married Herbert H Moseley, the event recorded at Gloucester (Ref. 6a 425).  The death of Walter J French was recorded at Gloucester Rural register office (Ref. 7b 523) during the final quarter of 1965 when he was 89

Ellen Maria Collett [35P80] was born at Wantage in 1877, her birth recorded there (Ref. 2c 306) during the second quarter of that year, the third of the four known children of William and Sarah Collett.  As simply Ellen Collett, she was four years old in 1881 when living with her family at Partridges Yard in Wantage, and was 14 in 1891, by which time she and her family had settled in Gloucester at Tredworth Road.  In the summer of 1894, when Ellen would have been seventeen years of age, she fell pregnant out of wedlock.  The alternative option, which seems less likely, is that the base-born child might have been the offspring of Ellen’s older sister Fanny (above), the child being raised by Ellen’s parents at 13 Melbourne Street in Gloucester

During the last three months of 1898 Ellen Maria Collett married Sydney John Albert Bishop at Gloucester (Ref. 6a 608).  Seven years earlier Sydney J A Bishop was 15 years old and working as an errand boy, while living at Clegram Street in the South Hamlet district of Gloucester, the home of his parents John and Mary Bishop.  Once married, the couple took up residence at Knowles Road in Gloucester, where they were recorded in the 1901 census.  Sydney Bishop from Gloucester was 24 and described as a machinist driller of a road vehicle at the iron works.  His wife Ellen Bishop was 23 and her place of birth was confirmed as Wantage.  On that same day, Ellen’s assumed base-born daughter Lily Collett was six years when she was living with Ellen’s parents, as she was again in 1911

It seems likely that Ellen and Sydney did not have any children since on the day of the census in 1911, the childless couple was still living in Gloucester, where Sydney’s occupation was that of a school caretaker at the age of 33.  Ellen Maria Bishop from Wantage was 32, with no stated occupation.  Fifty-one years later the death of Sydney J A Bishop was recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 7b 412) during the second quarter of 1962 when he was 85

35Q71 – Lily Collett was born in 1895 at Gloucester

FREDERICK GEORGE COLLETT [35P81] was born at Wantage in 1880, where the birth was recorded (Ref. 2c 319) during the first three months of that year.  In 1974 local government changes to county boundaries meant Wantage became part of Oxfordshire.  In 1881, aged just one year old, Frederick Collett was living with his family at Partridges Yard in Wantage, where he was most likely born.  Only his mother Sarah A Collett and his two sisters and older brother were at home with him on 4^th April that year, since his father William Collett was working in Swindon, where he was in lodgings.  In 1901 Frederick was working with his father William Collett and older brother William Collett at the family business of Wm Collett & Sons coach builder on Melbourne Street in Gloucester.  Frederick’s job title at that time was coach painter and he later went on to take over and manage the business, which was eventually handed down to his grandson. 

It was during the second quarter of 1905 that Frederick Collett married Julia Ricketts, the daughter of Francis Emily Ricketts, as recorded at Gloucester (Ref. 6a 868).  Living with the couple on the day of the census in 1911 was Julia’s widowed mother Emily Ricketts, who was 72 years old.  Frederick Collett from Wantage was 31 and a coachbuilder who was residing at 2 Robinson Road in Gloucester with his wife and the first of their two known daughters.  Julia Collett of Gloucester was 30 and their daughter Vera was three years old.  Following the death of his father at Gloucester on 22^nd February 1917, there may well have been a dispute within the family, with his father’s Will taking over six years to pass through the probate process, to eventually be proved at Gloucester on 13^th July 1923, when the two main beneficiaries were Frederick Collett and his older brother William T Collett (above).

35Q72 – Vera Julia Dorthea Collett was born in 1908 at Gloucester

35Q73 – OLIVE E H COLLETT was born in 1912 at Gloucester

Etta Dahlia Collett [35P84] was born in North Haven, New Haven County on 23^rd April 1887 and was the third daughter of Thomas Collett and Julia Lena Truler.  While no record of the family has been found in 1890, by 1900, Etta was 13 when all five siblings were living at Norh Haven with their parents.  After a further six years, 19-year-old Etta Collett married 22-year-old Stephen Leddy from Mount Carmel, Connecticut, at Manhattan in New York on 30^th August 1906, when her parents were confirmed as Thomas Collett and Julia Truler.  Stephen was the son of Joseph Henry Leddy and Barbara Rourke.  By 1920 the childless couple  was residing at New Haven where Stephen H Leddy was 34 and a foreman at a munitions plant, when Etta Leddy was 32.  Six years later Etta Collett Leddy was 38 when she travelled from La Havre to New York, leaving the French port on 4^th June 1926, arriving in America ten days later.  The passenger list of the S S Tuscania recorded her birth as 23^rd April 1888 at North Haven, and her home address as 11 Brewster Street in New Haven, where the couple was living in 1930 and 1940

On the first of those census days, Stephen was 44 and a shop foreman in a hardware store, when Etta D Leddy was 42.  Ten years later when Etta was 53, Stephen was 55 when he was working as a cutlery foreman in an ammunitions factory.  The U S Social Program Correspondence for May 1943 included Etta Dahlia Hedley formerly Etta Dahlia Collett, the daughter of Thomas Collett and Julia Tremoule.  It was nearly four years later, on 13^th February 1947, that Etta Dahlia Collett Heddy died and was buried at Whitneyville Cemetery, Halifax, Windham County in Vermont aged 59, where he brother Robert (below) had been buried in 1908

Robert Stephen Collett [35P85] was born at North Haven, New Haven County during April 1889 and was 11 years of age in the North Haven census of 1900, the fourth child of Thomas Collett and Julia Truler.  Eight years after that census day, 19-year-old Robert Stephen Collett, a carpenter and the son of Thomas Collett and Julia Tremoule died at North Haven on 4^th June 1908 and was buried at Whitneyville Cemetery, Halifax, Windham County in Vermont.  The Medical Examiner’s Report on his death reads as follows:

“I the undersigned Robert B Goodyear, having notice of the death of Robert Stephen Collett, a white male, nineteen years old, late of North Haven, Connecticut who, on the fourth day of June 1908, came to a sudden death in the town of North Haven, and having viewed the body of said deceased, and made immediate inquiry concerning his death, do hereby notify that said Robert Stephen Collett died in the town of North Haven, on the fourth day of June 1908 from poisoning by carbolic acid

That said Robert Stephen Collett age 19, single, residing with his parents in the town of North Haven, committed suicide by taking carbolic acid in quantity sufficient to cause death, with the intent to end his life.  That deceased was apparently in usual health at noon, dined as usual with the family.  That about 4 o’clock P M, he went from the house to the barn in rear yard, told his father that he had taken carbolic acid, was tired of living and lay down on the ground and was soon suffering with the usual symptoms of the drug.  Physicians were immediately notified, Dr W S Lay responding promptly, found the said Collett dead.  Other neighbours were witnesses to his death

Further investigation by the Medical Examiner, Dr R B Goodyear found the bottle of Carbolic acid, with a portion of the contents remaining, in a closet in the room occupied by deceased, and the note written in pencil on a table in said room – Forgive me for this, but I am ready to die.  The world has gone against me.  Perhaps I do not realise what I am doing, but I am not afraid to die.  I am not a coward. My poor mother will feel this but remember I am happier dead.  Farewell dear ones”  

A fit of despondency intensified by a love affair is a reasonable explanation of the motive for suicide

Harry Joseph Collett [35P86] was born at North Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut on 23^rd March 1900, a son of Thomas Collett from Melksham in England and his wife Julia Tremoule from Hamden Connecticut.  The record of his birth at North Haven confirmed his father was 45 and his mother was 39.  The North Haven census, conducted on 19^th June 1900 included baby Harry Collett who was three months old, the youngest of the five children of machinist Thomas and Julia Collett who had been married for twenty years, during which they had given birth to five children, all living.  As Harry Collett he was 10 years old and one of two children living with their parents at Skiff Street in North Haven Town in 1910.  Eight years later Harry Joseph Collett, born on 23^rd March 1900 completed a Draft Registration Card on 12^th September 1918, with the following details.  He was 18 and living at 20 Skiff Street in Hamden, New Haven, the home of his parents, from where he was undertaking clerical work for Rattan Manufacturing Company at 552 State Street in New Haven.  He named his father, Thomas Collett, as his nearest relative at 20 Skiff Street

During the previous year, when he was still attending school at the age of 16, Harry completed a State of Connecticut legislature document approved on 7^th February 1917.  Most of the questions were answered with no, with the only yes for handling a team, and a good swimmer.  Three years later, 19-year-old Harry Collet was working as a purchasing agent for a local factory when he was the only child of Thomas and Julia Collett still living with them at 20 Skiff Street in Hamden.  Seven years later Harry Collett and Myrtle from Wisconsin were married, with the pair of them recorded in the 1930 Census for Hot Springs, Garland County in Arkansas as lodgers who were paying a rent to stay at 328 Quapaw Avenue.  They were both thirty years of age, with neither of them in a job of work

Four years later Harry Collett was on board the S S Olympic sailing out of Cherbourg on 26^th September 1934, which arrived in New York on 1^st October 1934, by which time 34-year-old Harry born at North Haven on 23^rd March 1900 was single, whose home address was 48 Henry Street in New York.  No further record of Harry Collett has been found

Anna Maria Collett [35P87] was born at Broughton Gifford on 12^th October 1855 and it was there where she was baptised on 11^th January 1857, the eldest child of Samuel Collett and his wife Sarah Gerrish.  In was later that same year when her parents left England for Wisconsin in America, where she later married William Harkness Berlin Campbell at Union Township in Pierce, Wisconsin on 26^th November 1873.  He was the son of William H Campbell and Phebe Jane Huller and had been born in Pennsylvania on 28^th January 1851.  Anna Maria Campbell nee Collett died at Exeland in Sawyer, Wisconsin on 4^th June 1942, her husband having died there seventeen years earlier on 10^th November 1924.  Both were buried in the Windfall Cemetery in Exeland

The marriage of Hannah and William produced six children for the couple, and the first two were Edward Campbell who was born on 12^th February 1875 and who died on 2^nd March 1875, and Ella May Campbell who was born at Rock Elm in Pierce, Wisconsin on 18^th April 1876.  She married Archie Alonzo Veness at Maiden Rock in Pierce on 19^th November 1896, the son of Leroy Alonzo Veness and Violetta Place, who was born on 1^st February 1874 at Arkansaw in Pepin, Wisconsin.  Archie died on 21^st February 1946, while Hannah M Veness nee Collett died in Wisconsin on 13^th October 1967.  The four other children were Emma Campbell, who became Emma Veness, Jennie Sarah Campbell (1882–1928) who married Archie L Crownhart (1882-1918) and who later became Jennie Sewal, Walther Campbell, and Esther Ethel Campbell, who became Ethel Hewitt.  Jennie Sarah Campbell was the great-grandmother of Michael Nelson who provided new family information during 2020

Mary Jane Collett [35P88] was born at Wisconsin, most likely at Dodge County, during September 1857 shortly after her parents arrived there from England.  She married William Alexander Martin on 2^nd March 1876 at Maiden Rock, he having been born in Canada on 28^th April 1853, the son of Abijah Martin and his wife Emily Harris.  It was during the previous year that her mother Sarah Collett nee Gerrish had died, living her father Samuel Collett and her three brothers (below) living at Union at the time of the census in 1880.  William Alexander Martin died on 5^th June 1933, probably in Orange County, California, where his widow Mary Jane Martin nee Collett may have died sometime before 1941

Mary Jane presented William with eleven children as follows.  Nellie M Martin was born in Wisconsin during March 1877 who married Reno Norman Holt in 1898, the son of Henry Stewart Holt and Olive Araminta (Minnie) Clark, who was born on 28^th July 1875 in Wisconsin and who died on 10^th May 1941 at Snohomish in Washington.  Mattie A Martin was born in Wisconsin in 1879.  Eddy Arlo Martin was born in Toronto on 3^rd September 1881 and he later married Ella Posey.  Leon Everette Martin was born at Brookings in South Dakota on 23^rd October 1883.  Merrel Uriah Martin was born at Brookings on 13^th October 1885 and he died in Los Angeles on 20^th September 1955, having married Edna Mae Mealey on 12^th October 1910 at Maiden Rock in Pierce, Wisconsin, the daughter of William B Mealey and Mary Jane Herbison, who was born at Pierce on 14^th December 1883 in Pierce, and who died at Red Wing, Goodhue in Minnesota on 20^th July 1966.  Lorenza Edward Martin was born in Jun 1887 in South Dakota.  Ina Vida Martin was born at Brookings on 29^th September 1889.  Ethel Eunice Martin was born at Brookings on 23^rd April 1892.  Myrtle Adell Martin was born at Brookings on 2^nd June 1893.  William Alexander Martin was also born at Brookings on 8^th May 1897, as was Amos Martin who was born in 1899, who sadly died that same year

James Collett [35P86] was born at Stonebank in Waukesha, Wisconsin on 13^th August 1862.  James was fifteen when his mother Sarah died in 1877 and three year later when he was 18, he was working with his father Samuel on their farm at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin and was living there with his two younger brothers Henry and Albert (below).  He later married (1) Alice Cary Kingsbury, the daughter of Asa Kingsbury and his wife Margaret Thalheimer.  Alice was born in Illinois on 4^th September 1867.  Before the end of the century James and Alice appear to have separated, since James Collett married (2) Nora Cushing at Pipestone in Minnesota on 22^nd December 1900.  She was the daughter of James Cushing and his wife Mary Ellen Lillis, and was born on 1^st November 1872 in Mason City, Cerro Gordo in Iowa.  James Collett died at Elmwood in Pierce, Wisconsin on 8^th December 1941, and was buried at Ono Cemetery in Salem Township, Pierce.  Alice Cary Collett nee Kingsbury died in Sacramento, California on 29^th January 1945, and Nora Collett nee Cushing died on 17^th May 1948 at Ellsworth in Pierce, Wisconsin, and was also buried at Ono Cemetery

The three children of James and his first wife Alice were born after the couple moved to South Dakota:

35Q74 – Edythe M Collette was born in 1890 at South Dakota

35Q75 – Walter Burton Collette was born in 1892 at Brookings, South Dakota

35Q76 – Alfred Collette was born in 1895 at South Dakota; died before 1941

The following is the only child of James Collett by his second wife Nora Cushing:

35Q77 – Etta May Collett was born in 1902 at Union, Pierce, Wisconsin

Henry S Collett [35P91] was born at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin on 6^th April 1869 in Union and was only eight years old when his mother Sarah died.  He was simply named as Henry Collett, aged 11, when he and his two brothers James (above) and Albert (below) were living with their widowed father Samuel on the family farm at Union.  Twelve years after that he married Eva Etta Clark at Union on 22^nd November 1893.  She was the daughter of John Calvin Clark and his wife Maranda Crandall, and was born at Shannon in Carroll, Illinois on 20^th August 1872.  Henry S Collett was living at Plum City in Pierce when died there on 15^th February 1946, following which he was buried at Ono Cemetery in Salem.  And it was also at Plum City where his wife Eva Etta Collett nee Clark later died on 4^th February 1950, after which she was also buried at Ono Cemetery.  The couple spent the whole of their early life together at Union, where their seven children were born

35Q78 – Gladys Collett was born in 1895 at Union. Pierce, Wisconsin

35Q79 – Myrtle Collett was born in 1897 at Union. Pierce, Wisconsin

35Q80 – Willard Faye Collett was born in 1901 at Union. Pierce, Wisconsin

35Q81 – Leafy Gaynel Collett was born in 1903 at Union. Pierce, Wisconsin

35Q82 – Ralph Dinsmore Collett was born in 1905 at Union. Pierce, Wisconsin

35Q83 – Donald Milton Collett was born in 1911 at Union. Pierce, Wisconsin

35Q84 – Gail Winslow Collett was born in 1915 at Union. Pierce, Wisconsin

Ida May Collett [35P92] was born at Wisconsin on 18^th April 1872, where she died on 19^th November 1872, the youngest of the three daughters of Samuel and Sarah Collett.  She was buried in the family lot at Ono Cemetery

Albert B Collett [35P93], who was known as Bert, was born at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin on 23^rd February 1874, the last child born to Samuel Collett and his wife Sarah Gerrish who died when Albert was only three years of age.  It was as A B Collett aged six years that he was recorded living on the family farm at Union with his father and his two older brothers in the census of 1880.  He married Lula May Harrison at Maiden Rock in Pierce, Wisconsin on 28^th November 1894.  She was the daughter of John Strange Harrison and his wife Minerva Jane Keeler, and was during August 1879 in Wisconsin.  Albert B Collett died at Ellsworth in Pierce, Wisconsin on 16^th December 1936, and was buried at Ono Cemetery.  Following the death of her husband Lulu married August Wilkens, the son of John Wilkens Louise Brown, and it was some years later that Lula May Wilkens formerly Collett nee Harrison passed away on 20^th May 1949.  During their married life together, Lula presented Albert with six children who were all born within the state of Wisconsin.  Sadly, for the family, two of the couple’s three sons did not survive, with both dying within a year of being born

35Q85 – Grace Minerva Collett was born 1895 at Wisconsin

35Q86 – Russell H Collett was born 1897 at Wisconsin

35Q87 – Lyle Clayton Collett was born 1899 at Wisconsin

35Q88 – Bernice Winifred Collett was born 1904 at Wisconsin

35Q89 – Ada Isabel Collett was born 1907 at Wisconsin

35Q90 – Herbert Collett was born 1908 at Wisconsin; died 1908

Harry Derrick Collett [35P94] was born at Bradford-on-Avon in 1866, the eldest child of Henry Collett and his wife Anne Rebecca Derrick.  His birth was recorded at Bradford (Ref. 5a 119) as simply Harry D Collett during the second quarter of that year, the same quarter in which his parents had been married that same year, but in Bath.  It was also at Bradford-on-Avon where Harry Collett was baptised on 6^th May 1866, when his parents were confirmed as Henry and Anne Rebecca Collett.  When he was very young, his father’s work as a policeman took the family of three to Downton near Salisbury and, in the census of 1871, it was at Charlton-All-Saints (in the parish of Downton) where the enlarged family was recorded, when Harry Collett from Bradford-on-Avon was five years of age.  By April 1881 he was living with his family at Langley Burrell, just outside Chippenham, where he was working as an apprentice painter and plumber at the age of 15.  Harry eventually joined the army and served overseas, and that was the reason was he was not located in Great Britain in the next census in 1891.  However, it was around that time that he was serving in Ireland, and it was there that he met and married Mary.  The marriage produced five children for the couple, the first two of which were born at Limerick, the next one during a posting to Valetta on the island of Malta, the next one at Plumstead near Woolwich in London, while their last child was born at South Tidworth in Wiltshire, following Harry’s tour of duty

It was in March 1901 that family was recorded as living in the South Tidworth area of Wiltshire, midway between Amesbury and Andover.  The family comprised Harry Collett from Bradford-on-Avon, aged 35, who was described as an ex-soldier and clerk with the Royal Engineers Office, his wife Mary Collett, aged 34 and from Ireland, and four of their ultimate five children, they being John, aged nine from Ireland, Annie seven also from Ireland, Frederick who was four from Malta and Clara who was one year old from Plumstead.  Whether his retirement was due to an injury sustained during his time in the army is not known, but it is known that by April 1911 Mary Collett was a widow living in the Windsor area with four of her five children.  Mary Josephine Collett was 45, and her children were Annie Evelyn 17, Frederick Victor 14, Clara Kathleen Collett 11, and Eileen Norah Collett who was nine years old.  By that time Harry’s and Mary’s eldest son John Henry Collett was 19 and was employed as a plumber, while lodging at the home of his uncle Frederick George Collett (below) at Burleston Cottages in Shipton Bellinger, to the east of Amesbury just over the county boundary in Hampshire

35Q91 – John Henry Collett was born in 1891 at Limerick, Ireland

35Q92 – Annie Evelyn Collett was born in 1893 at Limerick, Ireland

35Q93 – Frederick Victor Collett was born in 1896 at Valetta, Malta

35Q94 - Clara Kathleen Collett was born in 1899 at Plumstead, London

35Q95 - Eileen Norah Collett was born in 1901 at South Tidworth, Wiltshire

Sarah Jane Collett [35P95] was born at Charlton-All-Saints (Downton) south of Salisbury in 1867, the second of the thirteen children of Henry and Anne Collett, although her birth was recorded at nearby Alderbury (Ref. 5a 175) during the third quarter of 1867.  Sarah J Collett from Downton was three years old in the census of 1871, when she and her family were living in Charlton-All-Saints within the parish of Downton.  Her father’s job as a policeman meant the family moved around a lot and, around five years after she was born, Sarah’s parents moved first to Biddestone, and then to Langley Burrell.  On leaving school, as the eldest daughter, Sarah worked in the family home (a police station) as a general servant, supporting her mother in caring for the family, where she was 13 in 1881.  It was eight years after that when Sarah Jane Collett married David James Payne the son of David and Phoebe Payne.  Their wedding was recorded at Malmesbury (Ref. 5a 73) during the first three months of 1889, and it may have been through her father’s occupation that she first met police constable David Payne.  It was therefore David’s work within the Wiltshire Constabulary that initially saw the couple settle in Chilmark, eleven miles from Salisbury, and it was there too that nearly all their children were born.  In 1891 Sarah had already presented David with their first child Phyllis Lydia who was one year old, when David from Hackney in London was 29 and a constable, and Sarah was 23 and from Charlton-All-Saints.  On the census day their address was simply recorded as Ridge, while was on Wood’s Lane in Chilmark

Not long after the birth of their fifth child at Ridge, Chilmark, David was posted to Easton Royal, just east of Pewsey in Wiltshire, where the family was still living in 1901.  The census return that year listed the enlarged family as David J Payne who was 39 and a police constable with the Wilts Force, Sarah J Payne who was 34, Phyllis L Payne who was 11, Blanche E Payne who was 10, Harold J Payne who was eight, Francis E Payne who was seven, and Lionel D Payne who was four years of age.  It was at Easton Royal, shortly after that census day, when Sarah gave birth to the couple’s last child, as recorded in the next census of 1911.  David’s next posting was to Melksham Forest, where Sarah’s parents and some of her siblings were living and farming during the first half of the first decade of twentieth century.  On that occasion in April 1911, the remnants of the family were recorded as police constable David James Payne aged 49 and from Hackney, Sarah Jane Payne from Charlton-All-Saints aged 43, Francis Edgar Payne who was 17, Lionel David Payne who was 14, and Margaret Ida Payne who was nine years old, who had been born at Easton Royal, Pewsey.  And it must have been at Melksham that David and Sarah remained living after David retired from the police force, since it was there (Ref.5a 99) that the death of David J Payne, aged 73, was recorded during third the quarter of 1935

Their daughter Phyllis Lydia Payne, was the maternal grandmother of Angela Chilcott who provided some of the details for the updated version of this family line released in April 2016.  Phyllis and her parents, together with her husband Harry Douglas Carter, are all buried within the grounds of the Parish Church of St Michael in Melksham, where Sarah Jane’s parents are also laid to rest.  Angela Chilcott spent the first fifty-three years of her life living in the Warminster area of Wiltshire, before settling in the Netherlands in 2013

Arthur Collett [35P96] was born at Charlton-All-Saints (Downton) in 1869, the son of Henry Collett from Broughton Gifford and Anne Rebecca Derrick from Bradford-on-Avon.  His birth was recorded at Alderbury (Ref. 5a 198), midway between Downton and Salisbury, during the first three months of 1869.  It was later that year when he was baptised as Arthur Collett, the son of Henry and Anne Rebecca Collett, at Bradford-on-Avon on 5^th September 1869.  He was two years old in the Downton census of 1871 when he and his family were residing in the nearby village of Charlton-All-Saints.  Ten years later, on the day of the census in 1881, Arthur was 12 years old and still attending school at Langley Burrell, where he and his parents were living, where his father was a police constable.  By 1891 Arthur Collett from Wiltshire was 22 and had followed the same occupation as his father, when he was a police-constable lodging with the Anen family at Church Road in the parish of St George in the Barton Regis district of Bristol.  It was three years after that when he married Alice Maud Mary Bull at Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset on 18^th September 1894.  The record of the marriage confirmed he was the son of Henry Collett and that he was 26 years of age, while his bride Alice was from Weston near Bath in Wiltshire

Over the following years Alice presented Arthur with at least the three children listed below, the first two of which were born at Bristol, the third after the family had made the move to Essex.  That was revealed in the next two census returns for 1901 and 1911.  In the first of them, the family of four was residing at Plummers Hill Road in Bristol St George where Arthur Collett was described as a relieving officer at the age of 32.  His wife Alice Collett from Bath was 30, and their two children were Rayonette Collett who was five and Norman Collett who was three.  In the next census conducted in early April 1911, Arthur and his family were living at 17 Linton Road in Barking, Essex.  Arthur Collett from Downton Parish near Salisbury was 42 and described as working at the Receiving Office, a vaccination officer and a collector for guardians and custodians.  His wife Alice Maud Mary Collett from Weston Parish near Bath was also 42, and their three children were named as Ida Rayonette Collett who was 15 and a part-time student, Norman Temple Collett who was 13 and attending school, and Clarence Arthur Collett who was only three years old who had been born at Barking Town

35Q96 – Ida Rayonette Collett was born in 1895 at Bristol

35Q97 – Norman Temple Collett was born in 1897 at Bristol

35Q98 – Clarence Arthur Collett was born in 1908 at Barking, Essex

James Collett [35P97] was born at Charlton-All-Saints (Downton) in 1871, his birth recorded at Alderbury (Ref. 5a 182) during the third quarter of the year, another son of Henry and Annie Collett.  Soon after he was born, his father’s work as a police constable resulted in a family move to Biddestone near Chippenham, and it was there that he was baptised on 8^th February 1874.  By 1881 the family was recorded at Langley Burrell near Chippenham, when James Collett from Downton was nine years of age.  After completing his education and, on leaving the family home, James was lodging with the Kempton family at Stafford Road in Swindon on the day of the census in 1891.  Nineteen years old James Collett from Charlton had the occupation of a harness maker, just like that of his brother-in-law Bernard Woodbridge, the husband of James’ younger sister Clara (below).  The marriage of James Collett and Mary Jane Eyles took place at Henbury in Bristol on 8^th October 1895.  The event was recorded at Barton Regis (Ref. 6a 285) when James was 25 and the son of Henry Collett and Mary was 29 and the daughter of William Eyles.  Barton Regis does not exist today and was renamed Clifton in 1904.  Once they were married, they settled in Dursley where their two children were born, and it was at Silver Street in Dursley that the family was recorded in the census of 1901

James Collett from Charlton-All-Saints, near Downton, was 30 and working as an assistant overseer.  His wife Mary Jane Collett from Wootton-under-Edge was 32, and their two children were Amy Louise Collett who was four and Francis James Collett who was two years of age.  It was the same situation ten years later, when the Dursley census of 1911 again recorded the family living there and made up of James, who was 39 and still an assistant overseer, but also as the clerk to the parish council, Mary Jane who was 43, Amy Louise who was 14 and Francis James who was 12.  At that time in their lives the family employed a servant, Ada Louise Cox from Gloucester who was 30.  Sometime after 1911, the family moved to Bristol, where their daughter was married in 1921, and later to Painswick, where their son raised his family

35Q99 – Amy Louise Collett was born in 1896 at Dursley

35Q100 – Francis James Collett was born in 1898 at Dursley

Annie Louisa Collett [35P98] was born at Biddestone in 1873, another daughter of Henry and Annie Collett, whose birth was recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 57) during the last quarter of 1873.  It was also at Biddestone where she was baptised on 8^th February 1874, in a joint ceremony with her older brother James (above).  She was seven years old in the census of 1881, when Annie L Collett from Biddestone was living with her family in a police house at Langley Burrell. Over the following years her family moved first to Pewsey and then to Malmesbury, and it was at the latter that Annie L Collett was 17 in 1891.  Just over five years after that, Annie Louisa Collett married Philip Charles Winchcombe, their wedding day recorded at Highworth near Swindon (Ref. 5a 47) during the third quarter of 1896.  Philip was a policeman with the Wiltshire Constabulary and may have been introduced to Annie through her father, who was another member of the Wiltshire police force.  Philip Charles Winchcombe was baptised at Shrivenham on 4^th January 1874, the son of Wallace and Jane Winchcombe

Almost immediately after they were married Philip was posted to Calne, and it was at Sandy Lane in Calne where the couple’s first three children were born.  It was also at Sandy Lane that the family was living in 1901, when Philip Winchcombe from Shrivenham was 27 and a police constable, Annie from Biddestone was also 27, and their two children that day were Wallace Henry Winchcombe who was three, and Edith Blanche Winchcombe who was just one year old.  Philip’s next posting was to the village of Tilshead, which is said to be the geographical centre of Salisbury Plain, where to more children were added to the family

However, according to the next census in 1911, Philip had been promoted to the rank of Police Sergeant, still within the Wiltshire Constabulary, but by then he and his family were based in the village of Ramsbury, midway between Marlborough and Hungerford.  Philip and Annie were both 37, when their four children were confirmed as Wallace Henry who was 13, Edith Blanche who was 11, Christina Doreen Winchcombe who was seven, and Leonard Alexander Winchcombe who was four.  It was thirteen years later when the death of Annie L Winchcombe was recorded at Swindon register office (Ref. 5a 25) during the fourth quarter of 1924 when she was 40 years old.  Three years later widower Philip C Winchcombe married Ellen L Witt, when their marriage was recorded at Stroud (Ref. 6a 787) during the last three months of 1927.  It was nearly forty years later that the death of Philip C Winchcombe was recorded at Swindon (Ref. 7a 509) during the third quarter of 1966 when he was 92

William George Collett [35P99] was born at Biddestone in 1876, his birth recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 57) during the third quarter of that year, another son of Henry and Annie Collett, who was baptised at Biddestone on 6^th August 1876.  It was early in the following year that he died, his death recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 39) during the first quarter of 1877.  He was the only one of the couple’s thirteen children who did not survive to adulthood

Frederick George Collett [35P100] was born at Biddestone in 1878, the son of Henry and Anne Collett, whose birth was recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 66) during the first three months of that year.  Under his full name, he was baptised at Biddestone on 17^th February 1878.  Fredrick G Collett was three years old in the Langley Burrell census of 1881 and was 13 in 1891 when he was recorded as Fredk G Collett, living with his family at Gostins Lane in Brokenborough, one mile outside Malmesbury.  Four years later, Frederick George Collett, aged 17 and born in Wiltshire, entered military service in 1895 with the 3^rd Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment.  His absence from the 1901 Census may mean that he was very likely abroad, perhaps even in South Africa, taking part in the Boer War.  What is known prior to that, and after he had presumably completed his initial training, Frederick George Collett married Harriet Hannah Bannister who was born at Grays in Essex in 1877 but, just like her husband, Harriet was also absent at the time of the 1901 Census.  Harriet was the eldest daughter of John and Harriet Bannister, with whom she was living in 1881 and again in 1891 at Prospect Row in Grays, by which time she was already working as a domestic servant at the age of 12

As far as can be determined Frederick and Harriet had three children, with the births of all three recorded at Andover, although the first of them suffered a premature death.  The birth of Irene Norah Collett was recorded there (Ref. 2c 238) during the fourth quarter of 1901.  By April 1911 Frederick George Collett from Biddestone was employed by the War Department as a range warden, while living with his wife and only child at Burleston Cottages in Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire.  Frederick was 34, Harriet was 33 and from Grays in Essex, and their son Frederick John Henry was four and had been born at Shipton Bellinger.  Lodging with the family were William Smith aged 50, a bricklayer from Stroud; Charles Woodley aged 47, a bricklayer from Goring; and John Henry Collett aged 19, a plumber’s labourer from Limerick in Ireland.  The latter was Frederick’s nephew, the son of his older brother, the late Harry D Collett (above)

35Q101 – Irene Norah Collett was born in 1901 at Shipton Bellinger, near Andover

35Q102 – Frederick Henry John Collett was born in 1906 at Shipton Bellinger, near Andover

35Q103 – Olive D Collett was born in 1912 at Shipton Bellinger, near Andover

Mary Blanche Collett [35P101] was born at Biddestone in 1880, her birth recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 68) during the second quarter of the year.  It was on 24^th March 1880, at Biddestone, where she was baptised, another child of Henry Collett and Annie Rebecca Derrick.  Very shortly after her birth her policeman father was posted to Langley Burrell to the east of Chippenham, where one-year-old Mary B Collett from Biddestone was recorded with her family in March 1881.  Ten years later Mary B Collett was 11 years of age when living with her family, which was then recorded in the census of 1891 at Gostins Lane in Brokenborough near Malmesbury.  When her father retired from the police, he took up farming and in 1901 the family was living at Snarlton Lane in Melksham Forest on the outskirts of Melksham, when Mary B Collett from Biddestone was 21 and the eldest of the five children still living with their parents

Just over two years later Mary Blanche Collett married Edward Thomas A R Fell, with their wedding recorded at Melksham register office (Ref. 5a 234) during the third quarter of 1903.  Edward Thomas Abraham Richard Fell was the son of Thomas James Edward Fell, and his wife Caroline, and was born at Melksham in the summer of 1882.  It is possible that Edward worked with Mary’s father on the farm at Melksham Forest, and it was there also that the couple’s first child was born.  The birth of William Raymond Fell, the first of their two known children, was recorded at Melksham (Ref. 5a 109) during the final quarter of 1904

It was the census return in 1911 that confirmed the birth of their son had taken place at Melksham Forest, although of the intervening years the family of three has settled at Castle Eaton, Hannington near Highworth.  Edward Fell was 29 and a farmer, his wife Mary Blanche Fell from Biddestone was 31, and their son William was six years old.  On that census day Mary was already pregnant with the couple’s second child, which was born a few months later.  The birth of Margery Fell was recorded at Swindon (Ref. 5a 9) during the third quarter of 1911, when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett

William Collett [35P102] was born at Langley Burrell in 1882 and was another son of policeman Henry Collett and his wife Anne.  He was named in memory of his deceased older brother and his birth was recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 70) during the first quarter of 1882.  On leaving Langley Burrell the family moved first to Pewsey and then to Malmesbury and Brokenborough, where they were living at Gostins Lane in 1891 when William was nine years old.  It may have been military service that was the reason for his absence from the census in 1901, but shortly after that he married Christine with whom he had at least two children.  By 1911 he and his young family were recorded in the village of Lydiard Tregoze near Swindon as William Collett, aged 29 and a dairy farmer from Chippenham, Christine Collett, aged 30 and from nearby Wroughton, Henry Edward Collett who was seven and born at Hannington near Highworth, and Frances Margaret Collett who was four, who had been born at Cricklade

35Q104 – Henry Edward Collett was born in 1903 at Hannington, near Highworth

35Q105 – Frances Margaret Collett was born in 1906 at Cricklade, near Swindon

Francis Collett [35P103] was born at Pewsey in Wiltshire during in 1884, the son of Henry and Anne Collett, his birth recorded at Pewsey (Ref. 5a 169) during the last three months of that year.  By the time he was six, in 1891, he and his family were living at Gostins Lane in Brokenborough near Malmesbury, and ten years later he was 16 and a farmer’s son living and working on the family farm at Snarlton Lane in Melksham Forest.  It was just after the start of the second decade of the new century when the marriage of Francis Collett an Elizabeth Anne Hamar was recorded at Swindon register office (Ref. 5a 16) during the first three months of 1910.  Elizabeth Anne Hamar was born during the first few months of 1882, the daughter of Edward and Mary Hamar.  One year later the childless couple was living at Blunsdon St Andrew to the north of Swindon, Francis Collett from Pewsey was 27 and a dairy and arable farmer, and his wife Elizabeth Anne Collett from Malvern in Worcestershire was 30

Edith Jessie Collett [35P104] was born at Pewsey in 1885, the eleventh of the thirteen children of Henry and Ann Collett.  It was also at Pewsey that her birth was recorded (Ref. 5a 163) during the third quarter of the year.  She was five years of age and living with her family at Gostins Lane, Malmesbury in 1891 and by 1901 the family was living in Melksham Without where Edith J Collett, aged 15 and from Pewsey, was a dressmaker.  In 1911, at the age of 24, she was still living with her parents who, by that time, were living at Byde Mill Farm in Hannington near Highworth, Swindon, when Edith Jessie Collett from Pewsey was working for her father as a dairy maid

It was two years later that Edith Jessie Collett married Edward Thould, the event recorded at Swindon register office (Ref. 5a 1) during the second quarter of 1913.  The marriage produced two daughters and a son for the couple, the first being born one year later, when the birth of Iris A Thould was recorded at Dursley register office in Gloucestershire (Ref. 6a 489) during the second quarter of 1914.  Three years later Edith gave birth to their son, the birth of Edward J Thould recorded at Dursley (Ref. 6a 388) during the second quarter of 1917.  After a further three years the birth of the couple’s third and last child was again recorded at Dursley.  Dorothy O Thould’s birth was recorded there (Ref. 6a 502) during the last three months of 1920.  For all three children the other’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett

Clara Collett [35P105] was born in 1887 at Brokenborough, one mile from Malmesbury where her birth was recorded (Ref. 5a 58) during the third quarter of the year, the youngest daughter Henry Collett and Ann Rebecca Derrick.  She was three years old in the Brokenborough census of 1891when Clara and her family were living on Gostins Lane.  By 1901 her father was a police pensioner who was a farmer at Snarlton Lane in Melksham Forest when she was 13 and still at school.  Six years after that day the marriage of Clara Collett and Bernard Charles Woodbridge was recorded at Swindon register office (Ref. 5a 5) during the second quarter of 1907.  Bernard Charles Woodbridge was born at Highworth in 1886, the son of William and Rosetta Woodbridge.  The marriage of Bernard and Clara produced three daughters born prior to the census in 1911, with two sons born just after

In 1911 Clare Woodbridge from Malmesbury was 23, her husband Bernard was 24 and a harness maker from Highworth, when they were living at Grittleton near Chippenham with their three children.  They were Jessie Woodbridge who was three, Edna Woodbridge who was one, and Irene Woodbridge who was just three months old.  The family was affluent enough to employ a domestic servant, Edith Archer who was 13.  The first two daughters had been born at Swindon, where the births of Margaret Jessie Woodbridge, and Edna Evelyn Woodbridge were recorded (Ref. 5a 1) during the second quarter of 1908 and (Ref. 5a 2) during the fourth quarter of 1909.  It was after the second birth that the family settled in Grittleton, with the birth of Irene C Woodbridge recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 55) during the first three months of 1911

Their time at Grittleton appears to have been a short one, because it was back at Swindon where the births of the couple’s two sons was recorded.  Bernard Woodbridge was born towards the end of 1912 (Ref. 5a 52), and Reginald Woodbridge was born one year later (Ref. 5a 68) during the last quarter of 1913.  On both occasions the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett.  The death of Clara Woodbridge nee Collett was also recorded at Swindon register office (Ref. 7c 500) during the second quarter of 1952 when she was 64.  It was after fifteen years as a widower that the death of Bernard C Woodbridge was recorded at Swindon (Ref. 7c 712) during the third quarter of 1967, when he was 80 years of age

Reginald Collett [35P106] was born at Brokenborough in 1889, perhaps even at Gostins Lane, where he and his family were living in 1891 when Reginald was one year old.  His birth was recorded at nearby Malmesbury (Ref. 5a 64) during the third quarter of 1889 and he was the last of the thirteen children of Henry and Anne Collett.  In 1901, and following his father’s retirement for the Wiltshire Constabulary, the family was farming at Snarlton Lane in Melksham Forrest where 11-year-old Reginald was attending school.  On leaving school, Reginald worked with his father on the farm, possibly at Snarlton Lane, before the family moved again during the first decade of the new century, to Byde Mill Farm at Hannington near Highworth, to the east of Swindon

The census of 1911 recorded Reginald Collett aged 21 from Malmesbury still working on the family farm at Hannington, where he was described as a farmer’s son, assisting on the farm.  Of his family, apart from his parents, the only sibling also living on the farm was his older sister Edith Collett (above).  However, one other person was listed with the family that day, and that was Dora Cresser aged 19 and from Grove near Wantage in Berkshire.  She was the daughter of former hotel keeper Robert Cresser and his much younger wife Agnes Ellen Tame of Grove, with whom she was living at Aldbourne in 1901, midway between Hungerford and Swindon.  Whilst she was only described as a visitor, with no occupation, Dora Cresser was the future wife of Reginald Collett

Later that same year, during the last three months of 1911, the marriage of Reginald Collett and Dora Cresser was recorded at the Swindon register office (Ref. 5a 9).  The first of their three known children was born while the couple was still living in or around Swindon, but thereafter the family moved to the Devizes area of the county, and then onto Melksham where the third child was born.  Upon the registration of the birth of the three children, in each case, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Cresser.  Dorothy’s birth was recorded during the second quarter of 1912 (Ref. 5a 8), Robert’s birth was recorded during the second quarter of 1913 (Ref. 5a 190) and Margaret’s was recorded during the second quarter of 1920 (Ref. 5a 203)

35Q106 – Dorothy C Collett was born in 1912 at Swindon

35Q107 – Robert Collett was born in 1913 at Devizes

35Q108 – Margaret Collett was born in 1920 at Melksham

Sarah Jane Collett [35P107] was born at Rock Elm in Pierce County, Wisconsin on 26^th November 1862.  By the time of the US census of 1880, she was 17 and was still living with her parents on their farm at Rock Elm.  In 1884 she married John George Raab who was the son of Adam Raab and Anna Caroline Eberwein.  John Rabb was born in Germany on 2^nd May 1855.  The couple was living at Stevens in Minnesota when John died on 8^th September 1916.  Less than seventeen years later, at the time of her death, Sarah was living at Brooks, Marion in Oregon when she died on 19^th January 1933.  Upon the death of her father James at Rock Elm in 1905 Sarah was confirmed in the obituary as Mrs John Raab, who was living at Red Wing, Goodhue in Minnesota

The marriage of Sarah and John produced four children.  Edwin John Raab was born at Red Wing on 15^th September 1889, and he died there on 24^th July 1979.  He married (1) Elsie Alvina Sens who was born during 1895 in North Dakota.  He later married (2) Rachel Ophelia and she was born on 21^st September 1883.  When she died at Goodhue on 27^th January 1964 Edwin married (3) Florence A Moberg at Goodhue on 4^th February 1978, Florence having been born in 1897.  The couple’s second child was Clarence George Raab who was born at Red Wing on 6^th August 1891.  He died while at Ramsey in Minnesota on 20^th March 1982.  He married Ione Wolf at Deuel in South Dakota on 1^st December 1930.  She was born on 4^th December 1897 and died in Ramsey on 11^th December 1986

Minnie Angeline Raab was their third child and she was born on 17^th November 1894 at Red Wing, Goodhue, Minnesota, USA.  She married Fred Henry Crandall who was born at Waterville, Pepin in Wisconsin on 7^th October 1891.  He died at Rhineland in Wisconsin, while Minnie died on 13^th November 1959.  The last child born to Sarah Jane Collett and John George Raab was Florence M Raab who was born at Red Wing on 1^st February 1901.  She married Mercer Charles Smith who was born in Wisconsin on 18^th August 1898 and who died at Riverside in California on 8^th September 1996, two years short of him reaching the age of one-hundred-years.  His wife Florence had passed away nearly thirty years earlier, when she died on 24^th August 1967

Hannah Elizabeth Collett [35P108] was born at Rock Elm in Pierce County on 2^nd March 1865 and was named as Libbie Collett, aged 15, in the 1880 census for Rock Elm.  On 21^st July 1883 she married Jacob Jackson who was born on 12^th November 1857 at Bradford, Pennsylvania, the son of Jacob Jackson and Sarah Morris.  In the 1905 obituary for her father, Hannah was again named as Libbie, when she was listed under her married name of Mrs Jake Jackson of Olivet.  And it was while the couple was still living at Olivet, Gilman in Pierce County that her husband died on 7^th April 1925.  Hannah Elizabeth (Libbie) Jackson died thirty years later, on 5^th June 1955.  During their life Hannah presented Jacob with just two children, Fred Jackson, and Hazel G Jackson who was born in Wisconsin during September 1890.  She married William McCardle, the son of Mike McCardle and Mary Cunningham, and was born in Wisconsin during 1884.  William died in 1958 and on 12^th May 1976 Hazel McCardle nee Jackson passed away at Menomonie in Dunn, Wisconsin

Edwin James Collett [35P109] was born at Rock Elm in Pierce County during February 1868, the eldest son of James Collett and his wife Mary A Holcomb.  At the age of 13 he was referred to as Edwin Collett in the US census of 1880.  Thirteen years later he married Lulu Nelson at Ashland in Wisconsin on 4^th July 1893, who had been born in Norway during July 1866.  By the time of the census in 1900 Lulu had presented her husband with their first two children and the family of four was living at Precinct One in Hayward Town, Sawyer County, Wisconsin.  Edwin was named as Edward Collett was 32, Lulu Collett was 34, Florence Collett was three, and Raymond Collett was one year old.  However, in the next census of 1905 the family was recorded as Edwin J Collett aged 38, as was his wife Lulu from Norway, and by then they had four children.  Florence was eight, Raymond was five Marie was three, and Vernice was just eight months old.  Also, in 1905, at the time of the death of his father James, Edwin was one of the ten children listed in the obituary, when he was described as Ed Collett of Hayward

Two more children were added to their family over the next six years, the first born before the census in 1910, and the second just after.  The Hayward census of 1910 recorded the family under the name of Collette, when once again the head of the household was listed as Edward, who was 48.  His wife Lulu was 44, and their five children were Florence aged 13, Raymond aged 10, Mentia (Marie), who was nine, Verna (Vernice) who was six, and Prudence who was two years of age.  It appears that the name of their youngest daughter was changed over the following years, since every record for her after 1910 gave her name as Isadore Collett

The couple’s eldest daughter left home to be married around 1916, so by the time of the Hayward census in 1920 there were still five children living at the family home, following the birth of their last child.  On that occasion the family was listed as Ed Collett aged 53, Lulu Collett aged 55, Raymond Collett aged 20, Marie Collett aged 18, Vernice Collett aged 15, Isadore Collett who was 12, and Howard Collett who was eight years old.  By 1930 only unmarried Raymond and the two youngest children were still living at the family home in Hayward.  Ed J Collett was 63 by that time, and his wife Lulu was 64.  Raymond was 30, while Isadore was 23 and Howard was 18.  Lulu Collett nee Nelson died at Hayward in Sawyer County, Wisconsin during 1942, and eleven years after that Edwin James Collett also died at Hayward during 1953.  During their life together, they had six children

35Q109 - Florence Collett was born in 1897 at Hayward, Wisconsin

35Q110 - Raymond Collett was born in 1899 at Hayward, Wisconsin

35Q111 – Marie Florence Collett was born in 1901 at Hayward, Wisconsin

35Q112 - Vernice Collett was born in 1904 at Hayward, Wisconsin

35Q113 - Isadore Collett was born in 1907 at Hayward, Wisconsin

35Q114 - Howard Collett was born in 1911at Hayward, Wisconsin

Minnie A Collett [35P110] was born at Rock Elm in Pierce County during March 1870 and was ten years old in the US census of 1880 for Rock Elm.  She married Joseph B Taylor at Rock Elm on 10^th September 1895 in a joint ceremony with her sister Martha (below).  Joseph was the son of Joseph Taylor and Rosabelle Demo who was born in New York in August 1861.  In her father’s obituary published in 1905 she was described as Minnie, Mrs Joe Taylor of Glen Wood.  Minnie Jackson nee Collett died during 1931, while her husband passed away in 1948

Frederick Levi Collett [35P111] was born at Rock Elm in Pierce County during October 1871, the son of James and Mary Collett.  The Rock Elm census of 1880 included Fred Collett as being nine years old, when his parents were confirmed as James Collett, a farmer from England, and Mary Collett from Jasper, New York.  It was over seventeen years later that he married Anna Sophia Braatz at Durand, Pepin in Wisconsin on 21^st December 1897, the daughter of Fredrick Braatz and Augusta Bryan.  Anna was born in Wisconsin on 19^th June 1876 and over the next few years she presented Frederick with two sons.  The first of them was born prior to the census of 1900, by which time the family was living at Eau Galle Town in Dunn County, Wisconsin.  Fred L Collett was 29, his wife Annie L M Collett was 24, and their son was named as Clyde Collett aged two years.  It was as Fred Collett of Somo that he was listed as a child of James Collett in his obituary of 1905

By 1910 the family of four was residing at Cassian in Oneida County, Wisconsin when Fred L Collett was 37, Anna Collett was 32, Clyde E Collett was 11, and Earl C Collett was six years old.  During the next ten years Fred took his family back to Pierce County where the family was living in 1920.  By that time Fred Collett was 48, Anna S Collett was 42, Clyde E Collett was 20, and Earl C Collett was 15.  It was around three years after that when the couple’s eldest son left home to be married, so by 1930 there were only three of them living at the family home in Cassian.  Fred was 57, Anna was 52 and Earl was 25.  Two years later Frederick Levi Collett died in 1932 and his wife Anna Sophia Collett nee Braatz survived for a further thirty-eight years, when she died at Spring Valley in Pierce County on 28^th July 1970

35Q115 – Clyde Elmer Collett was born in 1898 at Wisconsin

35Q116 – Earl Claire Collett was born in 1904 at Wisconsin

Martha Ellen Collett [35P112] was born at Rock Elm, Pierce during 1874 and was six years old in Rock Elm census of 1880.  Fifteen years later she married Henry L Hess at Rock Elm on 10^th September 1895 in a joint ceremony with her sister Minnie (above).  Henry was the son of Lewis A Hess and Augusta Brose, and was born in Wisconsin during August 1871.  The 1905 obituary for Martha’s father James Collett listed Martha as one of his ten children using the description Mattie, Mrs Henry Hess, of Elmwood.  Henry Hess died at Hennepin in Minnesota on 27^th January 1941 and eleven years later Martha died there on 10^th October 1952.  The marriage of Martha and Henry resulted in the births of three children.  Earl Lamont Hess was born in Wisconsin on 1^st July 1901 and he died on 26^th December 1951, having married Emily Katherine (Katie) Heuftle.  She was born in Nebraska on 17^th July 1895 and she died on 20^th August 1985.  The couple’s second child was Vida May Hess who was born on 19^th November 1905, and who sadly died on 13^th July 1907.  Their last child was Myrtle M Hess was born in Wisconsin on 23^rd May 1907, who died in St Paul, Ramsey in Minnesota on 12^th January 1975

Albert H Collett [35P113] was born at Rock Elm, Pierce on 27^th December 1875, the only child of James Collett and his wife Mary A Holcomb who did not survive his father.  He was four years old in the census of 1880 but sadly, when he was just nineteen years of age he died on 6^th January 1895.  At the time of the death of his father in 1905 the obituary for James Collett included in the list of his ten children the name of ‘Bertie, now deceased’

William Arthur Collett [35P114] was born at Rock Elm, Pierce on 11^th November 1878 and was one year old in the census of 1880.  He was the youngest son of James and Mary Collett and before his nineteenth birthday he married (1) Elsie Delsia Fox at Rock Elm on 11^th October 1897.  She was the daughter of Sylvester John Fox and Juliette White, and was born at Rock Elm on 10^th August 1877, so was 21 on the day of her wedding.  By the time of the census in 1900 Elsie had presented William with their first child, and at that time the family of three was residing at Spring Valley in Pierce County, Wisconsin.  William Collett was 22, his wife Elsie was 23, and their son George was two years old.  It was still just the three of them again living at Spring Valley in 1905, having lost their second child during the previous year, on the same day that it was born.  William A Collett was 26, Elsie A Collett was 27, and George W Collett was six.  In that same year William Arthur Collett was named as Will Collett of Spring Valley, Wisconsin in his father’s obituary, and it was also 1905 that William’s wife died three days after giving birth to the couple’s third child who also did not survive

Just over three years after the death of his first wife at Spring Valley on 6^th December 1905, William married (2) Alma Regina Peterson there on 31^st March 1909.  She was the daughter of John Peterson and Anna Linder and had been born at Stockholm in Pepin, Wisconsin on 20^th April 1880.  Although they had four children, only two of them survived, with the other two being twins who died on the day that they were born.  According to the Spring Valley census conducted in 1910 W A Collett was 31, his wife Alma Collett was 29, and William’s son George Collett was 11.  Living with the family was William’s widowed mother Mary Collett, and someone by the name of Emma Johnson, who was 21.  Following the death of his mother in 1916, and the departure from the family home of his son George, William and Alma moved to Sawyer County in Wisconsin where they were living in 1920

The census that year recorded the family as William A Collett, aged 41, Alma R Collett, aged 39, while their daughter Allene was incorrectly listed as Allian I Collett who was six years old.  Living with the family in 1920 was Grace A Luke who was 17.  On the day of the census that year Alma was expecting the arrival of the couple’s fourth child, and only their second to survive.  That was confirmed in the next census of 1930, by which time William’s married son George had returned to live with the family at Hayward in Sawyer County.  The Hayward Town census in 1930 recorded the family as William A Collett, who was 51, Alma R Collett, who was 50, their two children Allene I Collett, who was 16, and Harland L Collett, who was 10, together with George W Collett, aged 32, and his much older wife Mary L Collett who was 49.  Supporting the family was servant Exelda M Nicolas aged 21.  William and Alma were married for twenty-five years, when William Arthur Collett died at Duluth, St Louis in Minnesota on 24^th March 1934.  Alma survived her husband by thirty-three years, when she passed away at Douglas in Wisconsin on 19^th November 1967

35Q117 – George William Collett was born in 1898 at Wisconsin

35Q118 – an unnamed Collett child - born and died on 18.09.1904 at Wisconsin

35Q119 – an unnamed Collett child - born and died on 03.12.1905 at Wisconsin

The following are the children of William Collett by his second wife Alma:

35Q120 –  Allene Irene Collett was born in 1914 at Wisconsin

35Q121 – an unnamed Collett child – born and died on 16.05.1917 Wisconsin

35Q122 – an unnamed Collett child – born and died on 16.05.1917 Wisconsin

35Q123 – Harland Leroy Collett was born in 1920 at Wisconsin

Belle H Collett [35P115] worn at Rock Elm, Pierce on 30^th July 1883, but was missing from the family home in Rock Elm at the time of the 1880 US Census.  Belle was still a spinster in 1905 when her father died, and it was his obituary that confirmed Belle, and her sister Vida (below), were unmarried and still living at home on that occasion.  It was during the following year that she married Warren J Weldon at Red Wing, Goodhue in Minnesota on 5^th July 1906.  He was the son of Elias E Weldon and Annie B Hamilton and was born in Wisconsin on 3^rd May 1883.  Warren died at Eau Claire in Wisconsin on 10^th September 1867, and just four months later Belle died there during January 1968.  Over the years after they were married Belle presented Warren with four children in Wisconsin, and they were Gail F Weldon – he was born in 1907 and died in 1912, Wayne A Weldon – born in 1910, Lawrence E Weldon - born in 1913, and Robert F Weldon who was born in 1916

Vida Leona Collett [35P116] was born at Rock Elm, Pierce on 24^th October 1888, the last of the ten children of James Collett and his wife Mary A Holcomb.  In 1905 Vida and her sister Belle (above) were still living at the family home at Rock Elm when their father passed away.  The obituary also confirmed that they were both unmarried at that time.  It was two years later that Vida married Milton John Hamilton at Spring Valley on 12^th March 1907.  John was born at Rock Elm on 14^th January 1879, the son of John Hamilton and Anna Belle Condit.  The marriage produced three children for the couple at Spring Valley, and they were Annabel Marie Hamilton (born 29.01.1908), Lucille Vida Hamilton (born 02.07.1909), and Clarence Hamilton (born 10.07.1913).  Milton died at Eau Claire on 12^th May 1951, and Vida Leona Hamilton nee Collett died at Baldwin, St Croix in Wisconsin on 17^th December 1958

There were three Hamilton children born to the couple in Pierce County, and the first of them was Annabelle Marie Hamilton who was born at Spring Valley on 29^th September 1908.  She married Arthur Hatch on 21^st August 1929, who was born in Wisconsin during 1906, the son of Frank Welsey Hatch and Ethel Brown.  Annabell Hatch nee Hamilton died at Eau Claire in Wisconsin on 7^th April 1939

The second child of Vida and Milton was Lucille Vida Hamilton who was born at Rock Elm on 2^nd July 1909, who married Elmer Kafus Olson on 10^th August 1932 at Grange Hall, Pierce in Wisconsin.  Elmer was born at Eau Galle in Dunn, Wisconsin on 18^th December 1895, and he died on 18^th July 1985 at Baldwin, St Croix in Wisconsin, where Lucille died on 12^th April 1999.  The last of the couple’s three children was Clarence Larence M Hamilton who was born at Spring Valley on 10^th July 1913.  He married Alma Thompson at Spring Valley on 2^nd June 1937, who had been born in Wisconsin in 1919.  Clarence died at Baldwin, St Croix in Wisconsin on 16^th April 1977

Ernest Collett [35P117] was born in 1875 at Bethnal Green, where his mother Emily was also born.  And it was with his family at 126 Broke Street in Shoreditch that he was living in 1881 when he was five years old.  During the following few years his father George Collett died leaving him and his sister Minnie (below) living with their mother by April 1891 when he was 15.  By the end of the century Ernest had left the family home and, in March 1901, he was living in the Hackney area of London where he was working as a quantity surveyor at the age of 22

Minnie Collett [35P118] was born at Shoreditch in 1878 and was living there with her family at 126 Broke Street in 1881 at the age of two years.  Following the death of her father she was living with her mother and brother Ernest (above) ten years later in the Islington & Upper Holloway registration district of London.  On leaving school she took up work as a vellum binder, as confirmed by the census of 1901, when she was 22, and was still living with her mother in the St Leonard Shoreditch area of London

Clarence Henry Collett [35P120] was born at Sculcoates, Hull during 1889, the second child and eldest son of Thomas Collett and his wife Rosa from Birmingham.  He was one year old in the census of 1891 and was 11 years old in March 1901 when he was living at 10 Brompton Terrace on Park Road in Sculcoates with his family.  Clarence was still living with his family ten years later, but at the outbreak of war he joined the army.  Midway through the Great War Clarence Henry Collett was a private [service no. 14/165] with 8^th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment when he was killed in action on 14^th July 1916.  He was 27 years old and his name is amongst those listed on the Thievpal Memorial.  It was his parents, Thomas and Rosa Collett of Melksham, East Ella Drive, Anlaby in Hull, who were named as his next-of-kin

Albert Edward Collett [35P121] was born at Sculcoates in Hull in 1893, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 9d 238) during the fourth quarter of the year.  In 1911, when he was 17 years old, he was working as a clerk for a paint and colour manufacturer at a local paint works, while still living with his family in Sculcoates.  It seems he lived all his life in the Hull area, since his death was recorded there (Ref. 2a 208) during the fourth quarter of 1967, when he was 74 years old

James Martin Collett [35Q4] was born at Chester, Pennsylvania on 23^rd April 1919, the only child of James Howard Collett and his wife Elsie Emma Rost.  No record of him or his parents has been found in 1920 and 1930, but by 1940 his father was in lodgings in Chester, while James, aged 23, and his mother were living at Collingwood Borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.  James later married Eleanor Marie Smith and they had three sons who are all living today in Pennsylvania.  James Martin Collett died in Philadelphia on 10^th March 1995.  All the information for this Pennsylvania family has been kindly provided by Kristen Collett who lives in Brookhaven in Pennsylvania, which is just two towns away from Chester, where most of her ancestors lived and were born

35R1 – a Collett son whose date and place of birth is not disclosed

35R2 – a Collett son whose date and place of birth is not disclosed

35R3 – a Collett son whose date and place of birth is not disclosed

Herbert Ronald Collett [35Q12] was born at Griffithstown, near Pontypool in 1906, the first child of Herbert John Collett and Alice Louisa Smith.  His birth was recorded at Pontypool register office (Ref. 11a 2010) during the first quarter of the year.  Having been living with his family at Keynsham in 1911, it was a few miles to the north of that town in 1940, that the marriage of Herbert R Collett and Lilian M Gerrish was recorded at Kingswood register office (Ref. 6a 841) during the second quarter of that year

Florence Louisa Collett [35Q13] was born at Bristol after her family moved there from South Wales, with her birth as Florence L Collett recorded there (Ref. 6a 203) during the first three months of 1910

Arthur C Collett [35Q14] was born at Keynsham, south-east of Bristol, in 1913 where his birth was recorded (Ref. 5c 909) during the first quarter of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Smith.  He was still living in that part of the country when he became a married man, with the wedding of Arthur C Collett and Grace E Chillcott recorded at Bristol register office (Ref. 6a 97) during the second quarter of 1940, when he was twenty-seven

Elizabeth M Collett [35Q15] was born in 1915 at Keynsham, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 5c 926) during the first three months of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Smith

Ruth Collett [35Q16] was born at Keynsham in 1917, her birth recorded there (Ref. 5c 782) during first quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Smith

Peter H Collett [35Q17] was the last of the five children of Henry John Collett and Alice Louisa Smith.  Like three of his older siblings, his birth was also recorded at Keynsham register office (Ref. 5c 896) during the last quarter of 1919, when again, his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Smith.  He was around 26 years of age when his marriage to Dorothy L Pratt was recorded at Colchester (Essex) register office (Ref. 4a 2589) during the last quarter of 1945

Joan F Collett [35Q18] was born at Melksham in 1921, her birth recorded there (Ref. 5a 117) during the last quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Wedlock.  Twenty-two later the marriage of Joan F Collett and Geoffrey F Francis was recorded at Trowbridge register office (Ref. 5a 300) during the last three months of 1943

David J Collett [35Q19] was born in 1925 at Melksham, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 5a 166) during the third quarter of the year when, once again, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Wedlock.  He was nearly twenty-five when he married Margaret J Balch, their wedding day recorded at Trowbridge register office (Ref. 7c 1379) during the second quarter of 1950.  The couple was still living in the Trowbridge area when their only known child was born during the first three months of 1956 (Ref. 7c 733)

35R4 – Jacqueline M Collett was born in 1956 at Trowbridge

Dennis J M Collett [35Q21] was born in 1929 and was the younger of the two children of Arthur Martin Collett and Lily E Jones, with his birth recorded at Chippenham register (Ref. 5a 90) during the last three months of that year when Jones was confirmed as the mother’s maiden-name.  The subsequent marriage of Dennis J M Collett and Rose I Miller was recorded at the Hertfordshire Hatfield register office (Ref. 4b 123) during the third quarter of 1954 when he was 25.  It was also at Hatfield that the births of their two sons were registered, where their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Miller.  Richard’s birth was recorded during the spring of 1956 (Ref. 4b 86), while Graham’s was during the first three months of 1959 (Ref. 4b 102)

35R5 – Richard J M Collett was born in 1956 at Hatfield, Hertfordshire

35R6 – Graham P M Collett was born in 1959 at Hatfield, Hertfordshire

Eulalie Zoe Collett [35Q22] was born in Devon during the summer of 1916 the eldest of the two daughters of William Collett and Daisy May Mortimore, her birth recorded at Newton Abbot register office (Ref. 5b 188), with her mother’s maiden-name reported as Mortimore.  From Devon she travelled to Hampshire at some time in her life, since it was at Southampton register office (Ref. 2c 342) where the marriage of Eulalie Zoe Collett and John W A Cook was recorded during the third quarter of 1940 when she was 24.  It appears the couple return to Devon where Eulalie gave birth to three children, with their mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Collett.  They were: David John Cook in 1944, his birth record at Devon register office (Ref. 5b 246); Peter W Cook in 1947 also at Devon register office (Ref. 7a 584), and Richard Cook in 1958 but recorded at Newton Abbot register office (Ref. 7a 525)

Joyce Collett [35Q23] was born in Devon during 1919 with her birth also recorded at Newton Abbot register office (Ref. 5b 225) during the last three months of that year, another daughter William and Daisy Collett, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Mortimore.  Nothing further is known about Joyce after this time

Frederick William Collett [35Q27] was born at Kettering on 17^th April 1909 and the first of the four children of Frederick Collett and Frances Mary Claypole.  His birth was recorded at Kettering register office (Ref. 3b 161) during the second quarter of 1909, following the wedding of his parents on Christmas Day of the previous year.  As Frederick William Collett, he was not yet two years old in the Kettering census of 1911.  Twenty-two years later Frederick William Collett married Beatrice E Warner, the event recorded at Kettering (Ref. 3b 474) during the last three months of 1933.  It would appear that their marriage produced just the two children listed below.  The death of Frederick William Collett was recorded at Kettering (Ref. 3b 1722) during the first three months of 1973, when he was 64

35R7 – Mary Collett was born in 1936 at Kettering, Northamptonshire

35R8 – John Collett was born in 1938 at Kettering, Northamptonshire

Leslie Edward Collett [35Q28] was born at Kettering on 8^th September 1910, his birth recorded there (Ref. 3b 130) during October that year, as confirmed in the Kettering census of 1911 when he was recorded under his full name as being six months old.  It was twenty-four years after that when Leslie E Collett married Kathleen A Stevenson at Kettering (Ref. 3b 491) during the final three months of 1935.  Their son was born at Kettering in 1943, his birth recorded there (Ref. 3b 382) during the second quarter of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Stevenson.  The death of Leslie Collett was recorded at (Ref. 7 2199) during the spring of 1989, when he was 78

35R9 - David Collett was born in 1943 at Kettering, Northamptonshire

Phyllis Mary Collett [35Q29] was born at Kettering on 13^th September 1912, her birth recorded there (Ref. 3b 255) during the fourth quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Claypole.  She was twenty-four when she married William H. Sharpe, the event recorded at Kettering (Ref. 3b 403) during the last three months of 1936.  It is possible that Colin Sharpe, whose birth was recorded at Thrapston in 1941 and his mother’s maiden-name was Collett, was the only child of William and Phyllis.  The death of Phyllis Mary Sharpe was recorded at Corby register office (Ref. 7 1919) during summer of 1986

Cyril Archibald Collett [35Q30] was born at Kettering on 13^th December 1915, the last child born to Frederick and Frances Collett, whose birth was recorded at Kettering register office (Ref. 3b 267) during the first three months of 1916.  The marriage of Cyril Archie Collett and Marjorie E Newman was recorded at Kettering (Ref. 3b 539) during the third quarter of 1934.  It was also at Kettering that their three children were born.  The death of Cyril Archie Collett was recorded at Kettering (Ref. 6691a a75d) at the end of 2005

35R10 - Pauline Collett was born in 1935 at Kettering, Northamptonshire

35R11 – Kenneth Frederick Collett was born in 1946 at Kettering, Northamptonshire

35R12 – Ann E Collett was born in 1947 at Kettering, Northamptonshire

John Edward Collett [35Q31] was born at Atworth near Melksham on 30^th May 1886, where his father John Stanier Collett had been born nearly thirty years earlier.  By April 1891 John’s parents had left Wiltshire and were living in Reading where John was recorded in the census return as John E Collett aged four years and from Atworth.  Ten years later in March 1901 John Collett from Atworth in Wiltshire was 14 and was already working as a labourer at the Huntley & Palmers Biscuit factory.  See historical note (below) within the notes relating to his sister Elsie Sarah Collett who was also working there by 1911, perhaps arranged by John.

John was also still an employee at the biscuit factory in April 1911 when he was 24 and single.  On that occasion he was still living with his family at 12 Hart Street in Reading when his place of birth was recorded as Melksham, the same as his father and younger brother Henry (below).  Thirty years later it was also as John E Collett aged 54 that he died in Reading on 17^th August 1940, where his death was recorded (Ref. 2c 848) during the third quarter of that year

Henry Thomas Collett [35Q32], who was referred to as Harry T Collett aged three years in 1891, was born at Atworth near Melksham on 12^th December 1887 and was baptised at Atworth on 9^th June 1889 as Henry Thomas, the son of John Staniard Collett and his wife Mary.  At the time of the 1891 Census, he was living at Reading with his father John S Collett and his older brother John E Collett.  His mother Mary must have been away visiting family or friends at that time.  Ten years later in 1901 he was recorded simply as Henry Collett aged 13 from Atworth in Wiltshire, while he was still living with his family in Reading, where his father John was working as a carpenter.

It was just over four years later that Henry Thomas Collett signed on with the Great Western Railway in Reading on 4^th September 1905.  The work appears to have only last for just over one year, since the GWR Staff Records confirmed that he left the company on 8^th October 1906.  By April 1911 Henry was 23 and was still living with his parents at 12 Hart Street in Reading.  However, sometime after October 1906 Henry was re-employed by the Great Western Railway since his occupation at the time of the 1911 Census was recorded as being that of ‘G W railway labourer’

The 1911 Census return listed his place of birth as Melksham rather than nearby Atworth, and it was also Melksham that was stated as being the birth place of his older brother John (above) and his father John, whereas they too had been born at Atworth.  It is assumed that later in that same year Henry Thomas Collett left England for a new life in Canada where, after initially arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he later went to work on a farm near Tobermory overlooking Lake Huron in Bruce County, Ontario.  After around ten years of living in Canada it was on 9^th November 1921 when Henry Thomas Collett married Ada Elizabeth Smith the daughter of Joseph Henry Smith and Cornelia Elliott

The wedding took place at Fairfield Plain in Brant County, Ontario, where Ada was born on 2^nd November 1891, and over the next nine years she presented Henry with four children who were all born in Brant County.  Henry Thomas Collett, who was known as Harry throughout his life, died at St Joseph’s Hospital, Brantford in Brant County on 23^rd February 1959, whereas his wife survived him by nearly thirty years.  Ada Elizabeth Collett nee Smith also died at Brantford on 1^st October 1988 and was buried with her husband in Fairfield Cemetery in Fairfield, Burford Township in Brant County, Ontario (left)

35R13 – Leonard Stanier Collett was born in 1922 at Brantford, Brant County

35R14 – Austin Edward Collett was born in 1924 at Burford, Brant County

35R15 – Howard Glen Collett was born in 1927 at Burford, Brant County

35R16 – Wilmer James Collett was born in 1930 at Brantford, Brant County

Rose E Collett [35Q33] was born at Reading on 25^th July 1891, the eldest daughter of John Stanier Collett and Mary Ann Simpson

In the census of 1901, she was nine years old and ten years later, at the age of 19, she was working as a laundry maid while still living with her family at 12 Hart Street in Reading

Tragically, she was only thirty-one when she died in the Royal County of Berkshire on 12^th October 1922

Elsie Sarah Collett [35Q34] was born at Reading on 31^st March 1893 and was listed as being seven years old in the Reading census conducted on 31^st March 1901.  In April 1911 she was 17 and was still living with her family at 12 Hart Street in Reading from where she was employed as a packer at the local Huntley & Palmers Biscuit factory – see historical note below.

The Huntley & Palmers factory was on the Kings Road in Reading not far from the railway station to which it was linked with its own internal railway line for distributing the biscuit worldwide.  At the peak of its success in 1903 the company was largest biscuit maker in the world, producing around 400 different types of biscuit, and employing over 5,000 workers. 

 It is now established that Elsie followed her brother Henry Thomas Collett (above) when he emigrated to Canada during the latter months of 1911, although it was thirteen years later that she crossed the Atlantic Ocean.  She eventually left Reading, where she had been living and working since 1911, and it was on the ship ‘Empress of France’ that she sailed from England on 7^th June 1924, arriving in Quebec on 14^th June 1924.  The ship’s passenger list confirmed that Elsie was 30, single and a Baptist from Reading, whose occupation was that of a packer.  The reason for her trip to Canada was noted as “to be married” while her ultimate destination was 131 Merritt Street in St Catharines, Lincoln County, Ontario, the home of Mr H J Fulker her fiancée.  Curiously, it was her mother Mrs M A Collett of 43 Williams Street in Reading who was named as her nearest relative, even though her father was still alive at that time and died four years later in 1928

Just over two years after her arrival in Canada Elsie Sarah Collett married Hubert John Fulker on 2^nd October 1926 in St Catharines in Lincoln County.  It was as Hubert John Fulker aged 17 that he was living in Reading in April 1911 where he had been born during January 1894, the son of William James Fulker and Helen Meredith.  Elsie Sarah Fulker nee Collett died at St Catharines in Lincoln County on 28^th April 1968 and had lived as a widow for the previous twelve years following the death of her husband on 17^th November 1956, also at St Catharines.  Elsie was buried with her husband in Victoria Lawn Cemetery at St Catharines in Lincoln County, Ontario, where a single marble headstone marks their last resting place.  It has the following inscription: “FULKER Hubert John 1894 – 1956 and his wife

Elsie Sarah 1893 – 1968”

Frederick George Collett [35Q35] was born at Reading on 12^th January 1896 which was where he was living with his family in 1901 aged five years and again in 1911 when he was 15.  By that time, he had left school and was working as a boot repairer, while living at 12 Hart Street.  Just less than five years later he enlisted with the regular army and signed a declaration form on 10^th February 1916 when he was 20 and living at 42 Williams Street in Reading from where he was still working as a repairer of boots.  He was described as five feet three inches tall and was assigned to the cavalry of the line.  It appears he only served for 112 days and was discharged on 9^th October 1916, when he was described as honest and hardworking, although he was apparently unfit for combat, according to the military medical officer.  Nothing more is known about him at this time except that he was still living in the Royal County of Berkshire when he died in 1969

Edward William Collett [35Q36] was born at Reading on 15^th May 1898 and was two years old in the census of 1901 and was 12 by April 1911 when he and his family were living at 12 Hart Street in Reading.  Not long after the census day in 1911 Edward’s older brother Henry (Harry) Thomas Collett (above) left the family home in Reading and sailed to Canada to embark on a new life in the New World.  On leaving school Edward, or Ted as he was known within the family, enlisted with the army at the outbreak of the Great War, and the photograph (below) of him in his uniform is an extract from a larger photograph with Ted sitting alongside his older brother Fred (above)

After the war, and with his brother Harry then settled in Canada, Ted sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on board the S S Minnedosa to be reunited with him.  The passenger list of the vessel, which sailed out of the Port of Liverpool, England, and arrived at Quebec on 20^th April 1921 included the following description of him.  Edward Collett was aged 21 years and a labourer with 25 Dollars who could read and write, who was intending to live with his brother in Canada, the son of J Collett of 43 Williams Street in Reading.  On arrival in Canada, Ted joined his brother Harry at Burford, Brant County in Ontario.  Three years later in 1924 their sister Elsie Sarah Collett (above) also sailed to Canada, where she was married in 1926.  It was at Simcoe in Norfolk County, Ontario, that Edward (Ted) William Collett married Constance Edith Richardson on 11^th October 1928.  Constance was the daughter of Owen Richardson and Jessie Cleare and was born at Great Hockham in the English county of Norfolk on 24^th June 1897.  Edward William Collett died on 12^th June 1973 while residing at Brantford in Brant County, Ontario, while it was also at Brantford where his wife passed away nearly eleven years after on 27^th May 1984.

A single flat gravestone laid in the ground at Farringdon Burying Ground in Brantford marks the spot where they were both laid to rest.  The simple stone reads “COLLETT Edward W 1898 – 1973 Constance 1897 – 1984”

35R17 – Edward Cleare Collett was born in 1933 a Simcoe, Norfolk County

Kate Alice Collett [35Q37] was born at Reading on 18^th August 1901, the last child of John Stanier Collett and Mary Ann Simpson.  Ten years later she was nine years old when she was living with her family at 12 Hart Street in Reading, from where her father John was a carpenter and a builder.  She remained a spinster all her life, with the death of Kate A Collett recorded at Reading register office (Ref. 6a 133) during the third quarter of 1968 at the age of 66

Lillian Edith Collett [35Q38] was born at Melksham in 1882, the only daughter of farmer Albert Henry Collett and his wife Emily Ann from Trowbridge.  She was eight years old in 1891 and 18 in 1901 and, on both occasions, she was living with her family in Melksham.  When her parents moved to Romsey in Hampshire, Lillian stayed in Melksham and in 1911 she was living at the Melksham home of her uncle Charles S Collett and her aunt Florence, Charles’ younger sister.  Also living there with them was Lillian’s grandmother, the octogenarian Harriet Collett and the mother of Charles and Florence.  During the following years Lillian married Percy Edginton whose occupation was that of a gentlemen’s outfitter.  That was confirmed at the time of the death of her already widowed mother in 1938, when Lillian Edith Edginton and her husband were named during the probate of her late mother’s estate in January 1939 at Winchester

Albert Edwin Collett [35Q39] was born at Melksham in 1887, the only son of farmer Albert Henry Collett and his wife Emily Ann.  He was three years old in 1891 and 13 in 1901, and on both occasions was living with his family at the family home in Melksham.  Like his sister Lillian (above), Albert also stayed in Melksham when his parents moved to Romsey in the neighbouring county of Hampshire.  And in 1911 Albert Edwin Collett was unmarried at the age of 23.  His occupation as that of a butcher was confirmed in 1938 on the death of his mother, when Albert Edwin Collett was named, together with his sister Lillian (above) and her husband, during the proving of his mother’s Will at Winchester in 1939

Gilbert William Collett [35Q40] was born at Melksham in 1887 and he was three years old in the census for Melksham of 1891.  Ten years later he was still living in Melksham with his parents when he was 13 years old.  Upon leaving school, he headed for London to seek work, and in 1911 unmarried Gilbert William Collett from Melksham was 23, when he was living and working in the Croydon registration district of Surrey

Henry John Collett [35Q43] was born at Steeple Ashton in 1878 and was two years old when living at Church Street in Steeple Ashton with his parents in 1881.  Ten years later he was 12 years old and, although it is known that his youngest sibling was born in 1898, there was no record of his father in 1901.  Instead, Henry, who was 22 and working as a wheelwright, was living at Keevil with his widowed mother Martha F Collett and his younger siblings, Amy Collett 13, William F Collett 11, Reginald F Collett who was eight, Walter G Collett who was six, and Elsie M Collett who was two years old.  His missing brother Edward Clement Collett (below) was living and working at Lacock at that time

Very shortly after the census day in 1901 Henry married Minnie Louisa Long from the nearby village of Poulshot, their wedding day recorded at Devizes register office (Ref. 5a 226) during the second quarter of 1901.  Minnie subsequently presented Henry with four children before his premature death on 7^th September 1910, which may have been the result of an accident at work with him being only 32.  It was at Belle Vue Farm in Poulshot that his children were all born, although the births were recorded at Devizes, and it was there where Henry worked as a wheelwright.  The Poulshot census in 1911 recorded his family as his widow Minnie Collett, who was 39, Reginald Collett, who was nine, Herbert Collett, who was seven, Arthur Collett, who was four, and May Collett, who was two years old.  The much later death of Minnie Louisa Collett nee Long was recorded at Chippenham in 1959

According to the administration records at Salisbury Henry John Collett, wheelwright of Belle Vue Farm, Poulshot died on 7^th September 1910 at the General Hospital in Bristol.  His estate to the value of £264 1 Shilling and 8 Pence was left to his widow Minnie Louisa Collett on 27^th January 1912.  Minnie Louisa Long was the daughter of farmer and sawyer William Long of Poulshot Green and his wife Harriet Perrin from the adjacent village of Potterne.  On leaving school Minnie worked in London and was recorded in the Wandsworth & West Battersea census of 1891 as Minnie Line from Poulshot, aged 19.  Her father died during the next decade which prompted Minnie to return to Poulshot to be with her mother, as confirmed by the census in 1901 when Minnie L Long was 29 and living there with her mother Harriet, a farmer, and her sister Edith H Long who was 24

35R18 – Reginald William Henry Collett was born in 1902 at Poulshot

35R19 – Walter Herbert Collett was born in 1903 at Poulshot

35R20 – Arthur Edward Collett was born in 1906 at Poulshot

35R21 – Edith May Collett was born in 1909 at Poulshot

Joseph Herbert Collett [35Q44] was born at Steeple Ashton in 1881, but after the third of April that year.  He was nine years old in 1891 when living with his family in the nearby village of Keevil.  No trace of him has been found around the turn of the century, when he would have been approaching twenty.  However, by April 1911 Joseph Herbert Collett of Steeple Ashton was 29 when he was living within the Melksham registration district

Lilian Mary [35Q45] Collett was born at Steeple Ashton in 1882, the daughter of Henry John Collett and Martha Feltham.  By 1891 she and her family were living at Keevil, where they had lived some years before Lilian was born.  At that time Lilian Mary Collett was eight years old, but ten years after that, at the age of 18, she was working as a general domestic servant at Bremhill near Calne in Wiltshire.  On that occasion she gave her place of birth as Keevil.  During the next decade Lilian left Calne to seek work in Bradford-on-Avon, and it was there that she was recorded at the time of the census in 1911.  However, she was recorded as Lilian Collett, aged 28 and from Steeple Ashton

Edward Clement Collett [35Q46] was born at Steeple Ashton in 1884 and was six years old in 1891, when he was living with his parents in the next village of Keevil.  By 1901 he was living at Lacock to the south of Chippenham where he was 17 and where he was working as a baker.  By April 1911 he was once again living with his family at Keevil, when he was 26 and his place of birth was confirmed as Steeple Ashton

William Frederick Collett [35Q48] was born at Keevil in 1888 and that happened just after his parents returned to live there from nearby Steeple Ashton, and where they had lived during the early years of their marriage life.  And it was at Keevil he was living with his parents in 1891, when he was two years old.  He was still living there with his family in 1901, when he was 11, but towards the end of the next decade William travelled south-west to seek work at Yeovil in Somerset.  The census in 1911 located him in the Yeovil area, where he was William Frederick Collett from Keevil who was unmarried at 22

Walter George Collett [35Q50] was born at Keevil in 1895, his birth recorded at Westbury register office (Ref. 5a 137) during the first quarter of that year, one of the sons of Henry John Collett and Martha Feltham.  It was as Walter G Collett aged six years, and as Walter George Collett aged 16 years, that he was living with his family at Keevil in 1901 and in 1911.  Twenty-two years later, when Walter was 38, he married Eveline (or maybe Evelyn) M Wheeler, the event recorded at Westbury register office (Ref.5a 327) during the last three months of 1933.  Their marriage endured for around fifty years, when the death of Evelyn Collett was recorded at Trowbridge in 1983.  Walter’s nephew Arthur Edward Collett (Ref. 35R20) married Edith May Wheeler in 1939 at Devizes, who was very likely related to Evelyn M Wheeler, perhaps even sister, as they were very similar ages

Sidney Collett [35Q52] was born at Melksham in 1882, his birth recorded there (Ref. 5a 116) during the last three months of that year.  He was the base-born son of one of the three daughters of Henry Collett and Ann Pepler, most likely their daughter Mary Jane Collett.  It is also possible that he was born at Lowbourne in Melksham the home of his grandmother with whom he was living in 1891 at the age of eight years.  According to the next census return he was still living with his grandmother Ann Wiltshire, formerly Ann Collett nee Pepler, in 1901.  By that time in his life Sidney Collett, aged 18 and from Melksham, was employed as an ironmonger, while the third member of the household at Lowbourne was Mary Collett his grandmother’s daughter.  It is for that reason that it has been assumed that Mary Jane Collett was the mother of Sidney Collett

Just over four years later, on 7^th August 1905 at Holt in Wiltshire, Sidney Collett married Ellen Mary Bailey, when they were both listed as being 23, with Sidney’s father named as Henry John Collett (who was actually his grandfather), Ellen being the daughter of Francis Bailey.  The event was recorded at Bradford-on-Avon (Ref. 5a 285), and one of the witnesses was Arthur John Gerrish, the Gerrish family having earlier links to the Collett family.  By April 1911 the couple was living in Melksham with their first three children.  Sidney and his wife were both 29, with Sidney described as an ironmonger manager, while their three daughters were listed as Phyllis Collett who was five, Vera Collett who was two, and Gervyn Collett who was just nine months old.  The young family was supported by a young servant, Emily Booth from Trowbridge who was 14.  All three children of the couple’s children had been born at Melksham and one other daughter was added to their family three years later.  The only birth records so far found, are that of Vera Gertrude Collett whose birth was recorded at Melksham register office (Ref. 5a 105) during the fourth quarter of 1908, and Joan M Collett also recorded at Melksham (Ref. 5a 187) during the third quarter of 1914, the mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Bailey

35R22 – Phyllis Collett was born in 1905 at Melksham

35R23 – Vera Gertrude Collett was born in 1908 at Melksham

35R24 – Gervyn Collett was born in 1910 at Melksham

35R25 – Joan M Collett was born in 1914 at Melksham

William John Collett [35Q60] was born at Biddestone during 1888 and was the eldest child of William John Collett of Melksham and his wife Ellen.  Not long after he was born his parents moved to West Street in Castle Combe where the family was living in 1891 when William J Collett was two years old.  After three of his siblings were born at Castle Combe the family moved again to Banwell near Weston-super-Mare, where they were residing at Church Street in 1901.  By that time William J Collett had already left school and, at the age of 12, was working as a grocer’s errand boy

During the next decade, his family went to live at 21 Stanley Grove Road in Weston-super-Mare but, by April 1911, the census that month recorded that William was no longer living with his family.  Where he was that year has still to be determined, whereas it is confirmed that he married Frances Kate Oram on 24^th January 1916, the wedding taking place at Clutton in Somerset (Ref. 5c 967), twenty miles east of Weston-super-Mare.  Frances’ birth was recorded at Langport in Somerset (Ref. 5c 375) during the third quarter of 1887, where she was living at Kirkham Street with her parents, William, and Elizabeth Oram, in 1891.  Their marriage produced three children, as listed below, two of them being born while the couple was still living in Somerset, at Taunton, straddling a few years when the family was residing in Melksham, where the middle child was born

The birth of William G Collett was recorded at Taunton register office (Ref. 5c 395) during the second quarter of 1917, and the birth of Robert G Collett was recorded at Melksham register office (Ref. 5a 126) during the second quarter of 1920, while the birth of Penelope A Collett was also recorded at Taunton register office (Ref. 5c 433) during the last three months of 1923.  The mother’s maiden-name for all three children was confirmed as Oram.  Frances Kate Collett nee Oram died at Westbury in Wiltshire, her death recorded at Westbury register office (Ref. 5a 114) during the third quarter of 1935 when she died relatively young at the age of 48 years.  Many years later the death of William John Collett was recorded at Warminster register office (Ref. 7c 843) during the first quarter of 1962.  Very little else is known about the life and children of William John Collett, except that in Biddestone Church there is a Roll of Honour for those men of the village who lost their life during the First World War, and that includes the names of A Collett – who may have been William’s brother Alaric Collett, plus two other men simply listed as W Collett and Wm Collett

35R26 - William George Collett was born in 1917 at Taunton

35R27 - Robert Gerrard Collett was born in 1920 at Melksham

35R28 - Penelope Ann Collett was born in 1923 at Taunton

Francis Edward Collett [35Q61] was born at Castle Combe in 1890, his birth recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 66) during the third quarter of that year

Eleanor Edith Collett [35Q62] was born at Castle Combe in 1892, her birth recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 69) during the first month of that year.  Curiously, when she was baptised on 31^st January 1892, her parents were named as William John Collett and his wife Eleanor, rather than Ellen

Alaric Robert Collett [35Q63] was born at Castle Combe in 1893, his birth recorded at Chippenham (Ref. 5a 65) during the final three months of the year

Harold Collett [35Q64] was born at Banwell near Weston-super-Mare in 1897, with his birth recorded at Axbridge (Ref. 5c 452) during the last quarter of that year.  He was the last known child of William John Collett of Melksham and his wife Ellen

Ivy Minnie Collett [35Q65] was born at Gloucester on 4^th June 1897, the first-born child of William Thomas Collett and Rosa Minnie Mould.  Her birth was recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 302) during the third quarter of that year.  Ivy M Collett was three years of age and was living at Hanman Road in Gloucester on the day of the census in 1901, while in the next census in 1911 she was described using her full name at the age of 13 when still living in Gloucester with her family.  Eight years later the marriage of Ivy M Collett and Frank W Eaglestone was recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 850) during the last quarter of 1919.  After a further seventy years, the death of Ivy Minnie Eaglestone was recorded at Gloucester (Ref. 22 1429) during the third quarter of 1989.  Her date of birth, inserted above, was obtained from her death certificate

William Frederick Collett [35Q66] was born at Gloucester in 1898, the eldest son of William Thomas Collett and his wife Rosa.  His birth was recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 274) during the first three months of the year under the name William Collett.  He was listed in the Gloucester census of 1901 as being William F Collett who was two years of age and living with his family at Hanman Road.  It was as William Frederick Collett aged 11 years who, with his family ten years later, were still living in Gloucester

Granville Livingstone Collett [35Q67] was born at Gloucester in 1900, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 6a 332) during the last three months of that year.  He was the third child of William Thomas Collett and Rosa Minnie Mould, his father working in the family business of Wm Collett & Sons Coach Builders.  Granville was only a few months old in the Gloucester census of 1901 when he was living at Hanman Road, in the city, with his family, where he was again recorded in 1911 at the age of ten years.  The marriage of Granville L Collett and (1) Beatrice Deane was recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 757) during the second quarter of 1926, when he was 25.  Prior to 2021, only one child had been credited to Granville and Beatrice, and he was born almost fifteen years after they were married.  The existence of their son John Collett has been confirmed by Barry Collett in the USA using a combination of family records and a DNA study.  However, it has now been revealed that his mother’s maiden-name was Turner, and that his birth was recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 20) during the first three months of 1941.  That would indicate that Granville had married for a second time, although no record of such a marriage, or the death of Beatrice, has been found.  The good news is that, while looking into this, two earlier children for the couple also had their births recorded at Gloucester register office, Beryl during the last quarter of 1928 (Ref. 6a 77) and Blair during the first three months of 1936 (Ref. 6a 31), when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Dean

35R29 - Beryl B Collett was born in 1928 at Gloucester (Ref. 6a 77 – 4^th Qrt

35R30 - Blair W Collett was born in 1936 at Gloucester (Ref. 6a 31 – 1^st Qrt

35R31 - John Collett was born in Feb 1941 at Gloucester (Ref. 6a 20 – 1^st Qrt

Ruby Victoria Collett [35Q68] was born at Gloucester on 25^th May 1904, possibly at Hanman Road where the family was residing in 1901.  It was at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 328) during the third quarter of 1904 that her birth was recorded.  Her later marriage to George H Slinn was recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 719) during the final three months of 1930.  Sometime in her later life Ruby lived in Stroud, where she died in 1979, and it was at Stroud register office (Ref. 22 2581) during the first quarter of the year that her death was recorded.  It was her death certificate that provided her date of birth, quoted above

Grace F N Collett [35Q69] was one half of a set of twins born to William and Rosa Collett at Gloucester on 9^th July 1910, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 6a 311) during the third quarter of that year.  It was not until 1935 that Grace became a married woman, with the event recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 1037) during the third quarter of 1935.  The marriage certificate did not reveal her full name, while her husband was named as John E Folley-Davey

Edwin Hayward Collett [35Q70], and his twin sister Grace (above), were born at Gloucester on 9^th July 1910, the last two known children born to William Thomas Collett and Rosa Minnie Mould.  Apart from being listed with his family in the Gloucester census of 1911, the only other details of life are as follows.  Firstly, it was at Cheltenham register office that his marriage to Winifred M Lindon was recorded (Ref. 6a 1059) during the first quarter of 1941.  The later death of Edwin Hayward Collett was also recorded at Cheltenham (Ref. 7b 732) during the second quarter of 1969, and it was the death certificate that confirmed his date of birth

Lily Collett [35Q71] was born at Gloucester in 1895, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 6a 306) during the first three months of that year.  She is believed to be the base-born daughter of unmarried teenager Ellen Maria Collett.  Ellen’s parents were William Collett and Sarah Ann Hayward, who took Lily into their home at 13 Melbourne Street in Gloucester, from where William ran the coach building company of William Collett & Sons.  In the census return completed by her grandparents in 1901, Lily Collett was six years old and described as their grandchild, while ten years later she was described in error as niece.  By that time Lily Collett was 16 years of age and working as a dressmaker, and was the only person living with William and Sarah Ann Collett

Just under eight years after that the marriage of Lily Collett and William H Gwinnett was recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 605) during the first three months of 1919.  William Herbert Gwinnett was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gwinnett and was born at Berkeley in South Gloucester.  In 1915 William enlisted with the Army Service Corps when he was 20 and still living at Berkeley and was assigned the service number T5/7717.  Sometime during their married life, Lily and William moved to Dorset and the south coast of England, where the death of William Gwinnett, aged 72, was recorded at Poole register office (Ref. 7c 713) during the second quarter of 1967.  Lily survived her husband by ten years, with her death recorded at Bournemouth register office in 1977

Vera Collett [35Q72] was born on 26^th March 1908 and celebrated her 99^th birthday in March 2007

OLIVE E H COLLETT [35Q73] was born in 1912 at Gloucester, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 6a 582) during the third quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed at Ricketts.  It was also at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 839) during the second quarter of 1937, that the marriage of Olive E H Collett and Eric W Simnett was recorded.  Their marriage produced a son

35R32 - ALLAN J SIMNETT was born in 1946 in Gloucester

Edythe M Collette [35Q74] was born in South Dakota on 28^th March 1890, the eldest of the three children of James Collett by his first wife Alice Cary Kingsbury.  She married John W Winters on 6^th April 1909 in Minneapolis, Hennepin, the son of William Milton Winters and Mary Victoria Cattron, who was born in Indiana during October 1883.  John died in Washington on 8^th August 1952, Edythe died on 19^th February 1967 at King in Washington.  Edythe and John had one child, Helen Winters who was born in Minnesota during 1910.  She married Harold C Johansen who was born in 1914 and who died at Tumwater in Washington on 22^nd January 1981, while his wife died nearly twenty years later in 2002

Walter Burton Collette [35Q75] was born at Brookings in South Dakota on 22^nd November 1892.  He was eighteen years old when he married Alice Olive Slayton on 23^rd March 1911.  She was the daughter of James Woods Slayton and Cora May Banker, and was born at Watsonville in Santa Cruz, California on 24^th April 1892.  The marriage of Walter and Alice produced the three children listed below.  Walter died in his forties on 2^nd August 1938, following which Alice lived the life of a widow until the time of her death in Sacramento on 22^nd December 1965

35R33 - Alice Cora Collette was born during 1912 in California

35R34 - Walter Burton Collette was born during 1913 in California

35R35 - Richard Asa Collette was born during 1918 in California

Etta May Collett [35Q77] was born at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin on 5^th November 1902, the only known child of James Collett and his second wife Nora Cushing.  She married (1) Winton Cyrus Peterson at Ellsworth in Pierce, who was the son of Edward A Peterson and Bertha Mary Olson.  Winton was born on 22^nd July 1900 in Wisconsin and he died on 6^th July 1948 while in Goodhue, Minnesota.  Following his death Etta May married was married for a second time, and later died at Ellsworth in Pierce on 17^th August 1972

Gladys Collett [35Q78] was born at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin during May 1895, the first-born child of Henry S Collett and his wife Eva Etta Clark.  She married (1) Frank Jasper Martin on 11^th June 1913 at Grange Hall in Pierce.  He was the son of James Martin and Minnie Belle Greene and was born at Union on 16^th March 1890.  Gladys was the first of three siblings from her immediate family, see Myrtle and Willard (below), to marry into the Martin family, her father’s sister Mary Jane Collett having previously married William Alexander Martin in 1878, who may or may not have been related.  Gladys’ husband died at Maiden Rock in Pierce on 3^rd February 1968, following which Gladys then married (2) William Wilbelt

During their life together, Gladys presented Frank with two children.  Gerald Wayne Martin was born on 27^th April 1917 at Grange Hall in Pierce, and he died at Hamilton Fields in California during 1942.  Marion Vesta Martin was born on 7^th March 1919 in Wisconsin, and she died on 5^th September 1985 at Santa Barbara in California, where she had married Joseph E Knowles on 6^th April 1967.  He was born in 1908

Myrtle Collett [35Q79] was born at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin on 14^th February 1897, the second child of Henry and Eva Collett.  She married Forest S Martin at Union on 19^th April 1916, the son of William Martin and Lulu Estella Burgess.  Forest was also born at Union on 20^th July 1893, and he died at Pepin in Wisconsin on 11^th July 1990.  His wife Myrtle had died thirteen years earlier, when she passed away on 30^th December 1976 while at La Crosse in Wisconsin.  Myrtle and Forest had two children and they were Gilbert William Martin, who was born in Wisconsin on 18^th January 1918, who died at Calumet in Wisconsin on 26^th July 1990, and William H Martin who was born on 27^th October 1923 in Wisconsin, who died in Minneapolis, Hennepin on 6^th April 2001

35R36 - Valera Donna Collett was born during 1922 in Wisconsin

35R37 - Lorna Collett was born during 1924 in Wisconsin

35R38 - Marjorie Collett was born during 1926 in Wisconsin

35R39 - Maxine Helen Collett was born during 1927 in Wisconsin

35R40 - Gail Collett was born during 1929 in Wisconsin

Leafy Gaynel Collett [35Q81] was born at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin on 8^th September 1903, where she died on 21^st May 1921 when she was 17.  She was buried in the family lot at Ono Cemetery

Ralph Dinsmore Collett [35Q82] was born at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin 15^th April 1905, the son of Henry and Eva Collett.  He married Edith Louisa Miller at Red Wing in Goodhue, Minnesota on 6^th May 1926, the daughter of George L Miller and Louisa Baumgardner.  She was born at Elgin in Fayette, Iowa on 24^th January 1909 and she died on 2^nd October 1987 while at Plum City in Pierce, Wisconsin.  Ralph Dinsmore Collett had died three and a half years earlier at Durand in Pepin, Wisconsin on 23^rd March 1984, following which he was buried at Ono Cemetery.  The marriage of Ralph and Edith produced the following four children, the youngest of whom were still alive in 2012, so their details have been withheld

35R41 - Vernon R Collett was born during 1931 in Wisconsin

35R42 - Bernard Henry Collett was born during 1939 in Wisconsin

35R43 - a Collett child – date and place of birth not revealed

35R44 - a Collett child – date and place of birth not revealed

Donald Milton Collett [35Q83] was born at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin on 22^nd January 1911, the son of Henry and Eva Collett.  He married Dorothy M Henn on 3^rd May 1934, the daughter of John Henn and Anna Dose.  She was born at Union on 18^th May 1916 and died at Eau Claire, Eau Claire, Wisconsin on 14^th November 1993, just three weeks after Donald had passed away at Durand in Pepin, Wisconsin on 24^th September 1993.  The marriage of Donald and Dorothy produced the three children listed below

35R45 – Jayd Collett was born during 1950 in America

35R46 – Donna Collett was born during 1953 in America

35R47 – Adela Collett was born during 1956 in America

Gail Winslow Collett [35Q84] was born at Union in Pierce, Wisconsin on 24^th June 1915, the youngest of the seven children of Henry S Collett and his wife Eva Etta Clark.  Sadly, he only survived for five years, when he died at Union on 29^th December 1920

Grace Minerva Collett [35Q85] was born in Wisconsin on 7^th November 1895, the eldest child of Albert B Collett and his wife Lula May Harrison.  She married Clarence L Clare at Union in Pierce on 11^th February 1920, the son of Henry Clare and Margaretha Meyers.  He was born at Lake City in Wabasha, Minnesota on 4^th October 1892.  Clarence was at Hennepin in Minnesota when he died on 6^th November 1971, and it was twenty years after that when Grave Minerva Clare nee Collett died at Pierce on 11^th April 1992 and was buried at Ono Cemetery

As a result of their marriage Grace and Clarence had the three children.  Elaine Clare was born on 20^th December 1921 and she married Dwight Albert Perry at Tucson in Pima, Arizona on 30^th May, and died on 11^th August 1989.  Vernon A Clare was born on 17^th April and he married Dorothy Batho on 12^th September 1945 the daughter of Lester Batho and Leola (Lola) Betterley, Dorothy having been born in Wisconsin during 1924.  Vernon died at Plum City in Pierce, Wisconsin, on 14^th October 2006.  While their last child Eugene C Clare was born at union in Pierce on 20^th October 1931 and he married Arvilla Bradshaw on 18^th April 1952 and died 10^th February 2005 at Duluth in St Louis, Minnesota

Russell H Collett [35Q86] was born in Wisconsin on 28^th May 1897, the eldest son of Albert and Lulu Collett.  His family had not celebrated his first birthday when he died on 17^th February 1898 and was buried at Ono Cemetery

Lyle Clayton Collett [35Q87] was born in Wisconsin on 2^nd September 1899, the only surviving son of Albert and Lula Collett.  He married Caroline Christine Larson at Salem in Pierce on 11^th June 1924.  She was the daughter of Hans L Larson and Annie Suter and was born in Wisconsin on 29^th December 1900.  Caroline died at Goodhue in Minnesota on 12^th October 1980 and had spent the last thirteen years as a widow, following the death of her husband Lyle Clayton Collett which also took place at Goodhue on 30^th July 1967.  However, he was yet another member of the Collett family to be buried at Ono Cemetery in Salem Township, Pierce County, Wisconsin

Bernice Winifred Collett [35Q88] was born at Maiden Rock in Pierce, Wisconsin on 4^th August 1904, the daughter of Albert and Lula Collett.  She married John Howard Riley at St Paul in Hennepin, Minnesota on 5^th January 1929.  He was the son of Charles Riley and Mary Reagan and was born at Ellsworth in Pierce on 19^th April 1905.  He died before his fiftieth birthday, when he passed away on 1^st January 1953.  Bernice outlived her husband by nearly thirty years, when she died at Ellsworth on 6^th March 1982.  During their married life Bernice presented John with two children, Jane Arlin Riley, who was born on 16^th January 1933, who died on 7^th January 1934, and Charles Howard Riley who was born on 7^th November 1940 at Goodhue in Minnesota

Ada Isabel Collett [35Q89] was born in Wisconsin on 2^nd August 1907 the youngest surviving child of Albert B Collett and Lula May Harrison.  She married George Dennis Driscoll who was the son of John and Anna Driscoll, who was born in Pierce on 20^th December 1903.  George died at River Falls in Pierce on 18^th April 1974 and just over ten years later Ada Isabel Driscoll, nee Collett, died at River Falls, St Croix, Wisconsin on 20^th December 1985.  The couple only had one Driscoll child, whose details have not been revealed as they were still alive in 2012

Frederick Victor Collett [35Q93] was born in 1896 at Valetta in Malta where his father Harry D Collett was serving with the army.  By the time of the census in 1901, when Frederick was four years old, he and his family were settled in South Tidworth in Wiltshire between Amesbury and Andover.  It would appear that his father died during the first decade of the new century so by 1911 Frederick Victor Collett, aged 14 and from Malta, was living with his widowed mother Mary Josephine Collett, and three of his siblings, in the Windsor area of Berkshire.  Within a few years he was a soldier with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, service number 9461.  However, at the outbreak of war Frederick and while still at Windsor, he enlisted with the 2^nd Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry where he was a private with the service number 20160.  In 1915 he was undertaking frontline duties in France and Flanders when he was critically injured and never recovered and died of his wounds on 10^th June 1915

Ida Rayonette Collett [35Q96] was born at Bristol in 1895, her birth recorded at Barton Regis (Ref. 6a 110) during the third quarter of 1895.  Ida was baptised at St Georges Church in Bristol on 4^th September 1895, when her parents were confirmed as Arthur Collett and his wife Alice Maud Mary Collett.  It was at Plummers Hill Road in Bristol in 1901 where five-year-old Ida was living with her family, after which they moved to Barking in Essex and in 1911 were residing at 17 Linton Road.  That year Ida Rayonette Collett from Bristol was 15 and a part-time student.  It was at St Martin in London (Ref. 1a 1147) where Ida married Henry R Woodcock during the second quarter of 1929

Norman Temple Collett [35Q97] was born at Bristol in 1897, his birth recorded at Barton Regis (Ref. 6a 105) during the third quarter of 1897.  It was in the following year that he was baptised at St Georges Church in Bristol on 2^nd March 1898, the son of Arthur and Alice Collett.  He was three years of age in the Bristol census on 1901 when the family was recorded at Plummers Hill Road although, later, the family moved to Barking, Essex, where Norman Temple Collett from Bristol was 13 and attending school.  Eleven years later Norman T Collett married Eileen M Battinson, the event recorded at Romford register office (Ref. 4a 1317) during the third quarter of 1922.  The birth of their only known child was also recorded at Romford (Ref. 4a 926) during the third quarter of 1923, when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed at Battinson

35R48  – Moira E T Collett was born in 1923 at Barking in Essex

Clarence Arthur Collett [35Q98] was born at Barking in 1908, with his birth recorded at the Romford register office (Ref. 4a 620) during the second quarter of the year and it was at 17 Linton Road in Barking that he was three years old in the census of 1911.  Twenty-two years after that the marriage of Clarence A Collett and Helen S Hewitt was recorded at Romford register office (Ref. 4a 1495) during the third quarter of 1933.  Perhaps it was the Second World War that delay the couple from starting a family, with their only known child born after Clarence return home after the campaign.  The birth of Norma A Collett was recorded at Ilford register office (Ref. 4a 669) during the first three months of 1946

35R49 – Norma A Collett was born in 1946 at Ilford, Essex

Amy Louise Collett [35Q99] was born in Dursley in 1896, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 6a 228) during the third quarter of that year.  She may have been born at Silver Street in Dursley, where four-year-old was living with her parents in 1901.  The family was still living in Dursley ten years later, while it was after a further ten years, when Amy was 25, that she married Percy Reginald Jenkins who was also 25.  Their wedding took place at St Mary’s Church in the Redcliffe area of Bristol on 19^th October 1921, when the bride’s father was confirmed as James Collett and the groom’s father as Thomas Jenkins.  Their two sons were born within the next five years; the birth of Reginald D C Jenkins was recorded at Bristol (Ref. 6a 124) during the third quarter of 1923, and the birth of Desmond B Jenkins was recorded at Chipping Sodbury register office (Ref. 6a 377) during the third quarter of 1926.  In both cases, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett

Francis James Collett [35Q100] was born at Silver Street in Dursley on 12^th December 1898 and his birth was recorded there (Ref. 6a 295) during the first quarter of the following year.  He was the son of James Collett and Mary Jane Eyles who were living at Silver Street in 1901 when James was two years old.  He was still there with them in 1911 when he was 12.  It was at Stroud register office (Ref. 6a 797) that the marriage of Francis J Collett and Lucy O Burdock was recorded during the last quarter of 1932.  The birth of the couple’s only known child was also recorded at Stroud (Ref. 5c 596) during the first three months of 1935.  The Electoral Roll for Painswick in, or after, 1956, recorded Francis J Collett, his wife Lucy O Collett, and their adult daughter Elizabeth B Collett, as residing at New Hall, now a Grade II Listed Building on the corner of New Street and Bisley Street, in Painswick.  Nearby, at 8 Gyde Alms Houses was Charles E Collett (Ref. 64P48) and his wife Sarah L Collett who feature in Part 64 – The Upper Swell Oddington (Gloucestershire) Line

It was also at Stroud, around twenty-five years later, that the death of Francis James Collett was recorded (Ref. 22 1826) during the summer of 1981 when he was 82.  Six years after being made a widow, the death of Lucy Olive Collett, nee Burdock, was recorded at Stroud register office (Ref. 22 1929) during the summer of 1987.  The death certificate also confirmed that she was born at Painswick on 2^nd July 1909.  On the day of the Painswick census in 1911 Lucy was living there with her parents Frank Elliott Burdock and his wife Annie Elizabeth Burdock, both born at Painswick

35R50 – Elizabeth Burdock Collett was born in 1935 at Stroud, Gloucestershire

Frederick John Henry Collett [35Q102] was born at Burleston Cottages in Shipton Bellinger, near Andover, on 16^th June 1906, his birth recorded at Andover register office (Ref. 2c 222a) during the third quarter of 1906.  However, it was at Shipton Bellinger that he was baptised on 22^nd July 1906, when his parents were confirmed as Frederick George and Harriet Hannah Collett, nee Bannister.  It was during the last three months of 1924 when Frederick J H Collett married Gladys M Crockford, the event recorded at Hampshire register office in Petersfield (Ref. 2c 451).  It was also in Hampshire that Frederick and Gladys set up home for their family, where all three of their children were born.  Perhaps, after the war, the family moved to the Middlesex area of North-West London, where the later marriages of their three children took place and were all recorded at Uxbridge register office.  Frederick John Henry Collett was 82 years old when he died during the month of March in 1989, with his death recorded at Hillingdon (Middlesex) register office (Vol. 13 1128)

35R51 - Molly D Collett was born in 1931 at Portsmouth, Hampshire

35R52 - Jean V Collett was born in 1935 at Portsmouth, Hampshire

35R53 - Brian A Collett was born in 1940 at Portsmouth, Hampshire

Olive D Collett [35Q103] was born at Shipton Bellinger near Andover in 1912, perhaps even at Burleston Cottages, where her family was residing in 1911.  The birth of Olive D Collett was recorded at Andover register office (Ref. 2c 451) during the first quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Bannister

Henry Edward Collett [35Q104] was born at Hannington near Highworth in 1903, his birth recorded at Swindon (Ref. 5a 6) during the last quarter of that year.  By 1911 Henry Edward Collett was seven years of age when he was living with his family at Lydiard Tregoze near Swindon, the only known son of William and Christine Collett.  The only other detail currently known about him comes from the registration of his death at Swindon during the early months of 1985 when his date of birth was stated as being 11^th November 1903

Frances Margaret Collett [35Q105] was born at Cricklade near Swindon in 1906 and it was at Cricklade where his birth was recorded (Ref. 5a 58) during the third quarter of the year.  She was listed with her family in the Lydiard Tregoze census of 1911 under her full name, as the age of four years.  She was baptised at the Church of St Sampson in Cricklade on 11^th August 1907, the second child and only daughter of William and Christine Collett.  Frances was nearly twenty-eight when she married Robert J Daniels at Cricklade (Ref. 5a 137) during the second quarter of 1935.  Their daughter Roberta J Daniels was born in Swindon where her birth was recorded (Ref. 5a 70) during the third quarter of 1937.  Six years later the birth of the couple’s second daughter, Susan M Daniels, was also recorded at Swindon (Ref. 5a 78) during the first quarter of 1943.  Both events recorded the mother’s maiden-name as Collett

Florence Collett [35Q109] was born at Hayward Town in Sawyer County, Wisconsin on 23^rd February 1897, the eldest of the six children of Edwin James Collett and his wife Lulu Nelson and was three years old at the time of the Hayward census in 1900.  It was there also that she was living in 1905, where she was eight, and again in 1910 when she was 13.  It was around six years later that Florence married Elmer Elsworth Blaisdell, the son of Ernest Rufus Blaisdell and Rosa Knott, who was born in Wisconsin on 25^th November 1897.  Elmer died on 6^th January 1980 at Ramsey in Minnesota and was followed ten years later by Florence who died at Chippewa in Wisconsin on 15^th March 1990.  Florence and Elmer had four children.  Elmer E Blaisdell - born in Wisconsin in 1917, Eldon R Blaisdell - born in Texas in 1919, Donald B Blaisdell - born in Minnesota in 1922, and Jack K Blaisdell who was also born in Minnesota during 1925

Raymond Collett [35Q110] was born at Hayward in Sawyer County on 17^th July 1899 and was one year old in the Hayward census of 1900.  He was five years old in 1905, was 10 years old in 1910, and was 20 years of age in the Hayward Town census of 1920.  It is possible that he never married, because he was still living with his parents at Hayward in 1930 when he was 30.  He died on 20^th December 1972 while at Ashland in Ashland County, Wisconsin

Marie Collett [35Q111] was born at Hayward in Sawyer on 9^th August 1901, the third child of Edwin and Lulu Collett, who was three years old in the Hayward census of 1905.  Five years later her name was recorded in error in the Hayward census of 1910 as Mentia Collette, who was nine years of age, although after a further ten years she was Marie Collett, aged 18, who was still living with her family at Hayward Town

Vernice Collett [35Q112] was born at Hayward in Sawyer on 5^th September 1904 and was eight months old at the time of the Hayward census in 1905.  Five years after that she was named as Verna Collett, aged six years in the Hayward census of 1910, but was Vernice again in 1920, when she was 15 and still living at Hayward with her family.  She later married Raymond Waldemar Bergin, who was born on 3^rd January 1907 at Minneapolis, Hennepin, the son of Carl John Bergin and Alma Josephine Holt.  He also died there on 8^th November 2004, with Vernice having passed away at Hennepin twenty years earlier on 5^th August 1984.  Vernice and Raymond had a son Raymond W Bergin who was born in Minnesota in 1930

Isadore Collett [35Q113] was born at Hayward in Sawyer on 8^th May 1907 and was two years old on the day of the 1910 census for Hayward, when she was curiously named as Prudence Collette.  However, in both the census returns for 1920 and 1930 she was named as Isadore Collett who was 12 and 23 respectively, when she was still residing at Hayward with her parents.  She later married Floyd Otto Gobler who was born in Minnesota on 15^th October 1907, the son of Otto Gobler and Theresa Alvina Stieve.  Isadore Gobler nee Collett died in Los Angeles on 8^th August 1983, while Floyd died there on 15^th September 1990.  Isadore and Floyd had a son Robert Gobler who was born in Wisconsin in 1935

Howard Collett [35Q114] was born at Hayward in Sawyer County, Wisconsin on 28^th October 1911, the youngest of the six children of Edwin James Collett and his wife Lulu Nelson.  He was eight years of age and 18 years old in the two Hayward censuses of 1920 and 1930, when he was still living with his family at Hayward.  The only other piece of information regarding Howard Collett is that he died in San Francisco on 3^rd October 1960

Clyde Elmer Collett [35Q115] was born in Wisconsin on 27^th January 1898, the eldest of the two sons of Frederick Levi Collett and his wife Anna Sophia Braatz.  He may have been born at Eau Galle Town in Dunn County, Wisconsin, where his parents were living in 1900 when Clyde Collett was two years old.  By the time he was 11 in 1910, he and his family were residing at Cassian in Oneida County, Wisconsin, but by 1920 the family had moved again, that time to Pierce County where his father had been born and where Clyde was 20 years old.  It was three years after that when Clyde Elmer Collett became a married man

He married Anna Arthfield in Wisconsin who was born there on 28^th September 1906.  Once married the couple settled in Rhinelander in Oneida County where their children were born and where the family was living in 1930.  By that time Anna had already presented Clyde with their first three children, although within the census that year their surname was incorrectly recorded as Colletts.  Clyde was 31, Anna was 23, Dorothy was six, Elaine Collett was three, and Betty Collett was one year old

Two more children were added to their family shortly after 1930, and by 1940 the complete family was living at Cassian in Oneida County, where his family had died seven years earlier and where his widowed mother was presumably still living.  On the occasion Clyde E Collett was 41, Anna A Collett was 33, and their five daughters were Dorothy M Collett, who was 16, Elaine M Collett, who was 13, Betty M Collett, who was 11, Shirley A Collett, who was nine, and Carol J Collett who was three years of age.  In addition to a lodger, Dorene Dewey aged 28, also staying with the family was Leona A Saude who was 19 and described as sister-in-law to head of the household Clyde.  The relationship must have been on his wife’s side of the family, since his brother’s wife was Marguerite

Anna Collett nee Arthfield died at Hartford in Washington County, Wisconsin on 26^th April 1973, and it was seven years later that Clyde Elmer Collett also died there on 9^th March 1980.  During their life together they had five children who were all born in Wisconsin

35R54 – Dorothy M Collett was born during 1924 in Wisconsin

35R55 – Elaine M Collett was born during 1927 in Wisconsin

35R56 – Betty M Collett was born during 1929 in Wisconsin

35R57 – Shirley A Collett was born during 1931 in Wisconsin

35R58 – Carol J Collett was born during 1933 in Wisconsin

Earl Claire Collett [35Q116] was born in Wisconsin on 17^th March 1904, the younger of the two sons of Frederick and Ann Collett, and he may have been born at Eau Galle Town in Dunn County, Wisconsin, since it was there that his parents had been living in 1900.  However, by 1910 the family were recorded at Cassian in Oneida County, Wisconsin, where Earl C Collett was six years old.  It was at Pierce County in Wisconsin that the family was living in 1920, when Earl was 15, although it was again at Cassian that he and his parents were living in 1930 after his brother Clyde had left to be married.  Earl C Collett was 25 at that time

It was in 1935 that he married Marguerite Elizabeth Wilcox who was born in Michigan on 6^th October 1905, the daughter of James Wilcox and Rosary Jensen.  Not long after they were married, they had two children who were born while Earl and Marguerite were still living at Cassian in Wisconsin.  The Cassian census in 1940 also confirmed that they had been living at the same address in 1935 following their marriage that year.  Earl C Collett from Wisconsin was 36, Marguerite E Collett from Michigan was 34, and their two daughters were Phyllis L Collett, who was four, and Sharon P Collett who was two years old.  Marguerite Elizabeth Collett nee Wilcox died while at Collin in Texas on 14^th October 1992 over eleven years after Earl Claire Collett had died in Los Angeles on 19^th January 1981

35R59 – Phyllis L Collett was born during 1936 in Wisconsin

35R60 – Sharon P Collett was born during 1938 in Wisconsin

George William Collett [35Q117] was born at Spring Valley in Pierce County, Wisconsin on 12^th September 1898, the eldest child of William Arthur Collett and his first wife Elsie Fox.  He was the only one of their three children who survived, his mother dying three days after the birth of the couple’s third child when George was seven years old.  George’s father was remarried in 1909 and that married produced two half siblings for George, with yet another two (twins) who died at birth.  When George was 11 in 1910, he was still living at Spring Valley but with his father and his stepmother Alma.  By 1920 George was no longer living with his father who, by then, was living at Hayward in Sawyer County.  No corresponding record of George has been found within the census of 1920, but by 1930 he was married to the much older Mary L Collett who was 49 and born in Wisconsin, when George W Collett was only 32.  On that occasion the couple was living at the home of George’s father at Hayward in Sawyer.  George W Collett was living at Contra Costa in California when he died on 18^th February 1969, his death record confirming that his mother’s maiden-name was Fox and that he had been born in Wisconsin

Harland Leroy Collett [35Q123] was born at Hayward in Sawyer County, Wisconsin on 24^th January 1920, the last of the seven children of William Arthur Collett and the fourth child by his second wife Alma Regina Peterson, and only the second of those four children to survive to adulthood.  In 1930 Harland L Collett, who was 10 years old, was living at Hayward in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, with his parents and older sister Allene I Collett who was 16.  He later married Vivian who had also been born in Wisconsin during 1919.  Harland Leroy Collett died while he was at Cameron in Texas on 19^th March 1985

Richard J M Collett [35R5] was born in 1956 the older of the two sons of Dennis J M Collett and Miller, with his birth recorded at Hatfield register office (Ref. 4b 86) during the second quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Miller.  Richard was around the age of thirty when the marriage of Richard J M Collett and Sharon J Arnold was recorded at the Hertford & Ware register office (Vol. 10 579) during the second quarter of 1986.  Their marriage provided Richard and Sharon with two daughters, whose births were recorded at Hatfield register office, Sophie Rebecca (Vol. 10 201) at the start of 1992, and Lisa Claire (Vol. 5321b b77c) during the second quarter of 1996.  On both occasions, their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Arnold

35S1 – Sophie Rebecca Collett was born in 1992 a Hatfield, Hertfordshire

35S2 – Lisa Claire Collett was born in 1996 a Hatfield, Hertfordshire

Mary Collett [35R7] was born at Kettering in 1936, her birth recorded there (Ref. 3b 176) during the first quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Warner.  Mary was 20 years of age when she married John C Ashby, their wedding recorded at Kettering (Ref. 3b 1565) during the third quarter of 1956.  Their marriage resulted in the birth of two children, Alyn J Ashby who was born at Kettering in 1957, and Stephen J Ashby who was also born there in 1960.  On both occasions the birth certificates confirmed their mother’s maiden-name was Collett

John Collett [35R8] was born at Kettering in 1938, his birth recorded there (Ref. 3b 198) during the first three months of 1938, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Warner

Pauline Collett [35R10] was born at Kettering in 1935, her birth recorded there (Ref. 3b 192) during the second quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Newman.  Pauline married Dennis A Cox and their wedding was recorded at Kettering (Ref. 3b 1429) during the first quarter of 1956 when she was 21 years old.  It was during one year later that Pauline presented Dennis with a daughter, Jane E Cox who was born at Kettering in early months of 1957

Kenneth Frederick Collett [35R11] was born at Kettering in 1946 where his birth was recorded (Ref. 3b 283) during the first three months of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Newman.  Kenneth was only 18 years old when he married Lesley E Foulds at Kettering where their wedding was recorded (Ref. 3b 1241) during the final quarter of 1964.  Nine months after they were married Lesley gave birth to a daughter and two years later, a son

35S3 - Joanne Lesley Collett was born in 1965 at Kettering, Northamptonshire

35S4 – Martin Kenneth Collett was born in 1967 at Kettering, Northamptonshire

Ann E Collett [35R12] was born at Kettering in 1947 and it was there that her birth was recorded (Ref. 3b 824) during the third quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Newman.  It was during the first few months of 1971 when Ann E Collett married Maurice Sherborne (Ref. 3b 1155).  Over the following years Ann gave birth to two children, Brett Michael Sherborne born in 1974 and Collette Michelle Sherborne born in 1977.  Both births were recorded at Kettering, when the children’s mother’s name was confirmed as Collett

Leonard Stanier Collett [35R13] was born at Brantford in Brant County, Ontario on 19^th September 1922, the eldest of the four sons of Henry Thomas Collett and Ada Elizabeth Smith.  He was named after his grandfather John Stanier Collett and he later married Genice Victoria Mauney on 18^th April 1953 at Prescott in Yavapai County, Arizona.  Genice was born in Mississippi, USA, on 7^th December 1927 the daughter of George Homer Mauney and Lizzie Rebecca Rickles.  Once married the couple settled in Ottawa, Carleton County, Ontario, where their son was born.  Leonard Stanier Collett was still a resident of Ottawa when he died there on 9^th March 2011 in Ottawa Civic Hospital

His brother Howard (below) died in January 2013 and in his obituary the widow of Leonard Collett was referred to as Genice Collett of Ottawa.  The obituary for Leonard Stanier Collett was published in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper two days after he died and read as follows:

“Len passed away peacefully after a struggle with Mesothelioma (a form of lung cancer).  He was predeceased by his son Ronald who died in 1973 and is survived by his devoted and loving wife Genice Collett (nee Mauney) and by three younger brothers Austin (and his wife Finnie), Howard (and his wife Helen), and Wilmer (and his wife Anne).  He leaves behind several nieces and nephews from both the Collett and Mauney families as well as close friends Keith Adam and family.  Len spent his pre-university years on a farm near Burford, Ontario, graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Physics and Chemistry, then completed his masters in Geophysics at the University of Toronto.  After four years with Newmont Mining in Arizona he joined the Geographical Survey of Canada for a full and valued career in Ottawa, retiring finally in 1990.  His greatest joy outside of his professional life was creating a haven of self-taught cabinet making on their farm near Hopetown, including the propagation of nut trees surrounded by a thriving grove of black walnut.  As a humanitarian, Len was active in community affairs, supported the arts and cultural life of Ottawa, and was a strong advocate of scholarships for students of geo-sciences”

Just over four years after losing her husband Genice Victoria Collett, nee Mauney, the widow of Leonard Stanier Collett died on 28^th May 2017 in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada while residing at the Chartwell Duke of Devonshire Retirement Residence.  She was in her 90th year, having been born on 7^th December 1927 in Tippah County, Mississippi, USA

35S5 – Ronald Bryan Collett was born in 1957 at Ottawa, Carleton County

Austin Edward Collett [35R14] was born at Burford in Brant County on 22^nd March 1924, the son of Henry and Ada Collett.  He first married (1) Golda Marie Chapman on 28^th March 1951 at Kingston in Frontenac County, Ontario.  It was there also that Golda was born on 25^th August 1926, the daughter of Alfred Earl Chapman and Ethel Mary Smith.  The couple settled at Brockville in Leeds County, Ontario, where Golda presented Austin with three children, the first child suffering an infant death shortly after she was born.  Golda Marie Collett nee Chapman died on 1^st July 1996 at Maitland in Grenville County, Ontario, following which Austin married (2) Josephine Preston on 4^th October 1997 at Maynard in Grenville County

Josephine was born on 27^th January 1923 at Grenville County, Edwardsburgh Township in Ontario and was previously married to Egbert Fretwell with whom she had a son Dale Fretwell.  Austin Collett and his wife Finnie of Prescott, Ontario were referred to in that way in the obituary of Austin’s brother Howard in 2013.  It was thirteen months after that when Josephine (Finnie) Collett nee Preston passed away on 27^th February 2014 and following which her funeral took place at Maynard Cemetery in the Spring on Tuesday 4^th March 2014 at 11 am.  Her obituary is reproduced below

“Peacefully at Wellington House, Prescott, on Thursday February 27^th 2014, the former Josephine ‘Finnie’ Preston aged 91 years.  Beloved wife of the late Egbert Fretwell and is survived by her husband Mr Austin Collett.  Dear mother of Dale Fretwell (and his wife Denise) of Prescott and the late Joene Preston.  Loving grandmother of Carly, Joe and Chadd Fretwell.  Mrs Collett is survived by her step-children Jo Ann Collett of Nepean, Brent Collett (and his wife Karen) of Brockville, Judy Burns (and her husband Steve) of Ottawa and step-grandchildren David and Matthew Burns, Leah, Justin and Anna Collett, a sister-in-law Vi Preston of St Lawrence Lodge as well as several nieces and nephews.  Pre-deceased by her parents Bill and Josephine (Robishud) Preston and siblings Hilda Seeley, Korleen Ewart, Madeline Gentile, Ruth Fortier, Joseph Preston, Jerrold ‘Joe’ Preston and Clifford Preston”

Austin Edward Collett, of Brockville, was 92 when he passed away on 31^st October 2016 at the Carveth Care Centre in Gananoque, Ontario, which lies on the west bank of the St Lawrence River.  He was then laid to rest at Roselawn Memorial Gardens in Maitland in Grenville County, Ontario.  His obituary read as follows:

“Beloved husband of the late Golda Chapman and Finnie Preston.  Loving father of Jo Ann Collett of Ottawa, Brent Collett (and wife Karen) of Brockville, and Judy Burns (and husband Steve) of Ottawa.  Cherished grandfather of David and Matthew Burns, Leah, Justin and Anna Collett, stepfather of Dale Fretwell (and his wife Denise), and step-grandfather of Carly Jo and Chad.  Also survived by brother Wil Collett (and his wife Anne), sister-in-law Genice Collett, brothers-in-law Sterling and Lorne Chapman, and special friend Ruth and several nieces and nephews.  Predeceased by brothers Len and Howard Collett (and his wife Helen)”

35S6 - a Collett daughter was born in 1957 at Brockville, Leeds County

35S7 – Jo Ann Coleen Collett was born in 1958 at Brockville, Leeds County

35S8 – William Brent Collett was born in 1959 at Brockville, Leeds County

35S9 - Judith Elizabeth Collett was born in 1961 at Brockville, Leeds County

Howard Glen Collett [35R15] was born at Burford in Brant County on 1^st June 1927, the third son of Henry and Ada Collett.  It was at Norwich in Oxford County, Ontario, that he married Helen May Everett on 4^th April 1953.  Helen was born at Norwich on 17^th May 1932, the daughter of David Everett and Flossie Evelyn McMullen.  The couple stayed in Oxford County after they were married and it was at Woodstock that they were living when all four of their children were born.  Howard Glen Collett died peacefully on Wednesday 30^th January 2013 while in the Tillsonburg Memorial Hospital in Oxford County, and it was just over three years later that his wife passed away at Tillsonburg – see below

His obituary stated that he was in his eighty-sixth year, was formerly of Otterville, Norwich and Woodstock in Ontario, the beloved husband of Helen Collett nee Everett of Tillsonburg, and cherished father of Bev (John) Esseltine of Tillsonburg, Roger Collett of London, and Harvey Collett also of Tillsonburg.  He was the father-in-law of Sylvia (Collett nee Audebert) of Kelowna in British Columbia and very proud grandfather of Ashley Collett and her fiancé Ryan Charlton of St Thomas, and Jack Collett of Kelowna.  He was the brother of Austin Collett and his wife Finnie of Prescott Ontario, Wilmer Collett and his wife Annie of Ottawa, and brother-in-law of Genice Collett of Ottawa and Harold and Jean Everett of Markham.  He was predeceased by his son Gord Collett, who died in 2002, and brother Len Collett who passed away in 2011.  Howard was a proud member of H A S C, Tri-Lakes Region since 1960 and had 36 years of service with W O B I

The obituary for his widow Helen May Collett nee Everett read as follows:

“Peacefully, at Maple Manor Nursing Home, Tillsonburg on Friday April 29, 2016, Helen Collett, formerly of Otterville, Norwich and Woodstock, died at the age of 83.  Beloved wife of the late Howard Glen Collett who died in 2013.  Beloved Mom of Bev (John) Esseltine of Tillsonburg, Roger of St Thomas, and daughter-in-law Sylvia (the late Gordon – 2002) Collett of Peachland BC.  Cherished grandmother of Ashley (Ryan) Charlton of St Thomas and Jack Collett of Peachland BC.  Sister of Harold (Jean) Everett of Markham.  Predeceased by mother Flossie Everett (1977), son Harvey (2014), sister Bertha Burdge (1989).  A private family service will be held on Wednesday May 4, 2016 at the Interment Oxford Memorial Park Cemetery, Woodstock, Ontario”

35S10 – Beverley Ann Collett was born in 1953 at Woodstock, Oxford County

35S11 – Roger Howard Collett was born in 1955 at Woodstock, Oxford County

35S12 – Gordon Mark Collett was born in 1960 at Woodstock, Oxford County

35S13 – Harvey Alan Collett was born in 1961 at Woodstock, Oxford County

 Wilmer James Collett [35R16] was born at Brantford in Brant County on 5^th August 1930, last child of Henry Thomas Collett and Ada Elizabeth Smith.  He was known as Wil, and he later travelled to New Zealand for reasons of work and it was there in Wellington that he married Anne Mary Phyllis Johns from London, England, on 15^th July 1961.  His work took the family all over the world, but upon retirement the couple now live at Ottawa in Canada.  It was as the brother of Howard Collett (above) that Wilmer Collett and his wife Annie were said to be of Ottawa in Howard’s obituary of 2013.  Just less than four years after that, Wil and Anne were named in the obituary of Wilmer’s older brother Austin Edward Collett in October 2016

Wilmer James Collett died on Sunday 22^nd March 2020 at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in Ottawa, with his family by his side.  He was the youngest of the four sons of Henry (aka Harry) Thomas Collett and Ada Elizabeth Collett, nee Smith, and brother to Leonard, Austin, and Howard.  The brothers all lived relatively long and very healthy lives with Len passing at the age of 88, Austin at the age of 92, Howard at the age of 85, and Wil at the age of 89.  He is survived by his loving wife Anne, to whom he was married for 58 years, daughter Michelle (Kay) and son David (Kim), and two grandchildren Libby (Elizabeth) and Ethan, David’s two children.  Wil graduated from The Ontario Agricultural College in 1953 and obtained an MBA from the University of Western Ontario in 1956.  He then joined the Foreign Service, ultimately ending his career of 34 years in External Affairs.  He capped off his career abroad by joining the United Nations as the Representative for the Food & Agriculture Organization [FAO] in various countries.  Wherever he went, he left a trail of friendships and honourable achievements in the name of Canada, a country he so proudly represented.  Our thanks go to his nephew Roger Collett for providing his obituary

35S14 – Michelle Anne Collett was born in Canada

35S15 – David James Collett was born in Canada

Edward Cleare Collett [35R17] was born at Simcoe in Norfolk County, Ontario, on 8^th February 1933, the only child of Edward William Collett and Constance Edith Richardson.  He married Doreen Margaret White, daughter of Edward James White and Elizabeth Black Cornelius on 10^th May 1958 at Brantford in Brant County, Ontario

35S16 – Stephen Edward Collett was born in 1964 at Brantford, Brant County

35S17 – Karen Diana Collett was born in 1966 at Brantford, Brant County

Reginald William Henry Collett [35R18] was born at Belle Vue Farm in Poulshot on 26^th March 1902, the eldest child of Henry John Collett and Minnie Louisa Long, whose birth was recorded at Devizes register office (Ref. 5a 97) during the second quarter of that year.  His father suffered a premature death in 1910, following which the family was still recorded at Poulshot six months later in the census in 1911, when Reginald Collett was nine years of age.  Twenty-one years later, when Reginald was thirty, he married Vera D Marshment, their wedding recorded at Devizes register office (Ref. 5a 211) during the first three months of 1932

Walter Herbert Collett [35R19] was born at Belle Vue Farm in Poulshot on 31^st December 1903, another son of wheelwright Henry Collett and his wife Minnie, whose birth was recorded at Devizes register office (Ref. 5a 104) during the first quarter of 1904.  As Herbert Collett he was seven years old in the Poulshot census of 1911, by which time his father had been dead for six months, leaving his four children living with their widowed mother.  According to the record at Trowbridge register office (Ref. 5a 489), it was during the last three months of 1940 when he married Kathleen F Tudgay.  It was there also, that the death of Walter Herbert Collett was recorded in December 1992

Arthur Edward Collett [35R20] was born at Belle Vue Farm in Poulshot on 3^rd August 1906, the third son of Henry and Minnie Collett, whose birth was registered at Devizes (Ref. 5a 103).  It was simply as Arthur Collett that he was four years of age in the Poulshot census of 1911, his father having died six months earlier.  Twenty-eight years later Arthur Edward Collett married Edith May Wheeler, the event recorded at Devizes register office during the third quarter of 1939.  It is possible that Edith may have been related to Evelyn M Wheeler who married Arthur’s uncle Walter George Collett (Ref. 35Q50), possibly sisters, as there was not a great difference in their ages.  The marriage of Arthur and Edith produced four children, as listed below.  It was at Chippenham, during the month of November in 1990, that Arthur Edward Collett passed away

35S18 – Hazel D Collett was born in 1940 at Devizes

35S19 – Edward K Collett was born in 1944 at Devizes

35S20 – Monica Collett was born in 1950 at Chippenham

35S21 – Valerie Collett was born in 1950 at Chippenham

Edith May Collett [35R21] was born at Belle Vue Farm in Poulshot in 1909, the only daughter and last child of Henry and Minnie Collett.  Her birth was recorded at Devizes register office (Ref. 5a 98) during the first quarter of 1909.  She was only eighteen months old when her father died and, in the census of 1911, May Collett was two years old when living at Poulshot were her widowed mother and three older brothers.  Many years later the marriage of Edith May Collett and Victor J Bridewell (or Brickwell) was recorded at Devizes register office (Ref. 7c 1187) during the third quarter of 1953

ALLAN J SIMNETT [35R32] was born in 1946, his birth recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 7b 791) during the last three months of that year.  He inherited the company Wm Collett & Sons established by his great-grandfather William Collett (Ref. 35O45).  In 1973 he set up the export division of the company under the trading name of Collett Export Limited.  The business is now based at Ledbury in Herefordshire where it is controlled by Allan, his son, and his daughter

Alice Cora Collette [35R33] was born at San Joaquin in California on 13^th January 1912, the eldest child of Walter Burton Collette and his wife Alice Olive Slayton.  Alice married Alfred W Schopf and died on 25^th October 1998

Walter Burton Collette [35R34] was born in California on 29^th October 1913, the eldest son of Walter and Alice Collette.  Nothing more has been revealed about him at this time, except that he died on 6^th March 2005.

Richard Asa Collette [35R35] was born at Los Angeles in California on 22^nd June 1918, the youngest of the three children of Walter Burton Collette and Alice Olive Slayton.  The only other known fact about him at this time is that he died at Sacramento on 31^st August 1999

Valera Donna Collett [35R36] was born at Plum City in Pierce, Wisconsin on 10^th April 1922, the first child born to Willard Faye Collett and his wife Alice Martin.  She later married Gerald Joseph Shafer on 22^nd June 1948 at El Paso in Pierce.  He was the son of Mathew Shafer and Julia Andersen and was born at El Paso on 25^th January 1922.  Valera died at Spring Valley in Pierce on 25^th January 1995 and was followed by her husband who passed away on 2^nd March 2007 when he too was still living in Spring Valley.  Four children were born to Valera and Gerald and they were Gary Shafer who married Kathy, Dennis Shafer, Peg Shafer who married Toby Vorlicek, and Diane Shafer who married Doug Lee

Lorna Collett [35R37] was born in Wisconsin on 13^th January 1924 and she later married E L Herbaly who was known as Herb

Marjorie Collett [35R38], who was known as Margie, was born at Salem in Pierce on 24^th February 1926, the third of the four daughters of Willard and Alice Collett.  Tragically she was only three years old when she died at Red Wing in Goodhue, Minnesota on 25^th May 1929.

Maxine Helen Collett [35R39] was born at Grange Hall in Pierce on 24^th April 1927, the fourth child of Willard and Alice Collett.  She married Ralph Matzek at Ellsworth in Pierce on 20^th August 1946, and she died at Maiden Rock in Pierce on 18^th June 2010.  Their three children were Douglas Matzek, who married Mary, Robert Matzek, who married Lori, and Nancy Matzek who married Doug Weiss

Gail Collett [35R40] was born possibly around 1929, but certainly after 1927.  He was the only son and fifth child of Willard Faye Collett and Alice Martin and he later married Marion with whom he had a daughter

35S22 – Linda Collett whose date and place of birth has not be revealed

Vernon R Collett [35R41] was born in Wisconsin on 7^th April 1931, the eldest of the four children of Ralph Dinsmore Collett and his wife Edith Louisa Miller.  All that is known about him at this time is that he died in Pierce on 2^nd October 1971

Bernard Henry Collett [35R42] was born in Wisconsin on 5^th April 1939 the second of the four children of Ralph and Edith Collett.  His wife was a member of the King family with whom he had four children.  In 2012, as his widow, she was still alive, Bernard Henry Collett having died many years earlier during April 1985

35S23 – a Collett living whose details have not been disclosed

35S24 – a Collett living whose details have not been disclosed

35S25 – a Collett living whose details have not been disclosed

35S26 – a Collett living whose details have not been disclosed

Jayd Collett [35R45] was born in America on 15^th April 1950, the eldest of the three children of Donald Milton Collett and Dorothy M Henn.  He was twenty-five when he married Roxanne D Aune on 19^th December 1975 at Clay in Minnesota, Roxanne having been born in 1952

Donna Collett [35R46] was born in America, possibly around 1953 and certainly after 1950, and was the daughter of Donald and Dorothy Collett.  She later married Don Ginsbac

Adela Collett [35R47] was born in America, possibly in the mid to late 1950s, and was the youngest of the three children of Donald and Dorothy Collett.  It is established that she later married to become Adela Kehl

Molly D Collett [35R51] was born in Hampshire in 1931, her birth recorded at Portsmouth register office (Ref. 2b 627) during the first three months of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Crockford.  Molly was twenty-seven when she married Ronald A Baker at Uxbridge (Ref. 5f 503) during the third quarter of 1958, the same place and time that her sister Jean (below) was also married

Jean V Collett [35R52] was born in Hampshire in 1935 and her birth was recorded at Petersfield register office (Ref. 2c 223) during the fourth quarter of the year, her mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Crockford.  Just after her older sister Molly (above) was married, so too was Jean, her marriage to Fred Dawson also recorded at Uxbridge (Ref. 5f 504) during the same third quarter of 1958, when Jean was twenty-two

Brian A Collett [35R53] was born in Hampshire in 1940, his birth recorded at Portsmouth register office (Ref. 2b 1012) during the last three months of that year.  The record of his birth also confirmed that his mother’s maiden-name was Crockford.  Brian was twenty-two years of age when he married Avril A MacLean, their wedding recorded at Uxbridge in Middlesex (Ref. 5f 272) during the second quarter of 1963e

Joanne Lesley Collett [35S3] was born at Kettering in 1965, her birth recorded their (Ref. 3b 843) during the third quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Foulds.

Martin Kenneth Collett [35S4] was born at Kettering in 1967, where his birth was recorded their (Ref. 3b 880) during the first three month of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Foulds

Ronald Bryan Collett [35S5] was born at Ottawa in Carleton County, Ontario, Canada on 26^th November 1957, the only child of Leonard Stanier Collett and Genice Victoria Mauney.  Nothing further is known about him at this time except that he died on 1^st July 1973 while still in Ottawa, Carleton County, as the result of a traffic accident when he was struck by a car while on his bicycle

a Collett daughter [35S6] was born at Brockville in Leeds County, Ontario, during June 1957, the first child born to Austin Edward Collett and his wife Golda Marie Chapman.  Tragically she died shortly after being born, her death also recorded during the month of June 1957

Jo Ann Coleen Collett [35S7] was born at Brockville in Leeds County on 3^rd June 1958, the eldest child of Austin Edward Collett and Golda Marie Chapman.  Following the death of her mother in 1996 her father married Finnie Preston in 1997 and, at the time of her death in February 2014, and again over two years later when her father passed away, Jo Ann Collett was recorded as residing at Nepean in Ottawa, Ontario

William Brent Collett [35S8] was born at Brockville in Leeds County on 28^th October 1959, the son of Austin and Golda Collett.  It was also at Brockville that he married Karen Darlene Evelyn Poole on 20^th August 1988.  Karen was also born at Brockville on 31^st October 1960, the daughter of Percy Everett Carson Poole and Verna Marilyn Poole White.  On the occasion of the death of his stepmother, William and his family were mentioned in her 2014 obituary in the following way - Brent and Karen Collett of Brockville and their three children Leah, Justin, and Anna.  It was the same situation two years later, when the obituary for William’s father, Austin Edward Collett, who passed away in October 2016, which again included the name of his son, as Brent Collett of Brockville, when his wife was confirmed as Karen

35T1 – Leah Ada Evelyn Collett was born on 22^nd February 1994 at Kingston, Frontenac

35T2 – Justin William Craig Collett was born on 5^th June 1996 at Kingston, Frontenac

35T3 – Anna Sarah Rose Collett was born on 14the March 2000 at Brockville, Leeds County

Judith Elizabeth Collett [35S9] was born at Brockville in Leeds County on 24^th July 1961, the daughter of Austin and Golda Collett.  On 1^st October 1983 at Brockville, she married Stephen Michael Burns who was born at Kingston in Frontenac County on 14^th June 1958, the son of Michael John Burns and Betty Phyllis Tinkess.  The couple adopted two boys, David Alexander Burns who was born on 23^rd July 1992 at Kingston in Frontenac County, and Matthew Michael Burns who was born on 12^th January 1995 at Greater Napanee in Lennox and Addington County, Ontario, Canada.  In the obituary of her stepmother in February 2014, as well as the later obituary of her father Austin Edward Collett, Judith and her family were referred to in the following way – Judy and Steve Burns of Ottawa and their two sons David and Matthew Burns

Beverley Ann Collett [35S10] was born at Woodstock General Hospital in Oxford County on 27^th October 1953, the eldest child of Howard Glen Collett and Helen May Everett.  She first married (1) Ivan Russell Day who was born on 25^th September 1956, their wedding taking place at Woodstock in Oxford County on 17^th July 1976.  She was married for a second time just three years later, on 15^th September 1979 when she wed (2) John Warren Esseltine, the son of Henry Warren Esseltine and Helen Marguerite Empy, who was born at Springfield in Elgin County, Ontario, on 11^th April 1949.  In the obituary for her father in 2013 the couple was simply named as Bev and John Esseltine of Tillsonburg

Roger Howard Collett [35S11] was born at the General Hospital in Woodstock on 10^th January 1955, the son of Howard and Helen Collett.  His first partner was Kimberly Elaine Palmer who was born on 19^th October 1956 at St Thomas in Elgin County, Ontario, and together they had a daughter while residing in St Thomas.  And it was Roger who kindly provided all the details of his family line from his grandfather Henry Thomas Collett (Ref. 35Q32).  At the time of the death of his father in January 2013, his son was described as Roger Collett of London, while his granddaughter was confirmed as Ashley Collett who was engaged to be married to Ryan Charlton.  By the time of the death of his mother in April 2016, Roger was described once again as being of St Thomas

35T4 – Ashley Brooke Collett was born in 1986 at St Thomas, Elgin County

Gordon Mark Collett [35S12] was born at the General Hospital in Woodstock on 4^th January 1960, another son of Howard and Helen Collett.  He was known as Gord and he married Sylvia Audebert on 20^th February 1993 at London in Middlesex County, Ontario.  She was the daughter of Roland Ugen Audebert and Jacqueline Suzanne and was born at Woodstock on 4^th June 1967 in the Woodstock General Hospital.  Their son was born in the General Hospital at Kelowna within the Central Okanagan Regional District of British Columbia in Canada.  Tragically, Gordon Mark Collett was killed in an aviation accident while working as a commercial helicopter pilot.  The incident happened on 11^th September 2002 on Pink Mountain at Fort St John within the Peace River Regional District of British Columbia.  At the time of the passing of Gordon’s mother Helen in April 2016 his widow Sylvia Collett and her son Jack were living at Peachland in British Columbia

35T5 – Jack Mark Collett was born on 20^th September 2001 in Kelowna, British Columbia

Harvey Alan Collett [35S13] was born at the General Hospital in Woodstock on 5^th September 1961, the youngest of the four children of Howard Glen Collett and Helen May Everett.  It seems likely that Harvey was not married by the time of the death of his father in 2013, since it was simply as Harvey Collett of Tillsonburg that he was named within his obituary.  Tragically, just fifteen months after the death of his father, Harvey Alan Collett was killed in a road traffic accident while riding on an e-bike on the morning of Friday 25^th April 2014 at the age of only 52.  His obituary, kindly provided by his brother Roger, is reproduced below:

“Harvey Collett of Tillsonburg, in his 53^rd year.  Beloved son of Helen Collett of Tillsonburg.  Brother of Bev and John Esseltine of Tillsonburg, Roger of London, and brother-in-law of Sylvia Audebert-Collett of Kelowna BC.  Uncle of Ashley and Ryan Charlton of St Thomas, and Jack of Kelowna BC.  Predeased by his father Howard (2013) and brother Gord (2002).  Harvey was a proud and dedicated member of the Tillsonburg Lions Club.  Friends will be received at The Arn-Lockie Funeral Home, 45 Main Street West, Norwich on Tuesday 29^th April, cremation to follow.  A Lions service will be held Tuesday evening at 6.30pm at the funeral home.

David James Collett [35S15] was the son of Wilmer James Collett and Anne Mary Phyllis Johns.  He later travelled to the homeland of his father and it was at Toronto in Canada that David married Kimberly Mouland with whom he had two children

35T6 – Elizabeth Sarah Anne Collett whose date and place of birth has not been disclose

35T7 – Ethan Wilmer Bruce Collett whose date and place of birth has not been disclose

Stephen Edward Collett [35S16] was born at the General Hospital in Brantford, Brant County, on 8^th July 1964, the eldest of the two children of Edward Cleare Collett and Doreen Margaret White.  He first married (1) Anne Pettigrew at Brantford in Brant County on 21^st September 1991 with whom he had a daughter.  Anne Pettigrew was born on 7^th June 1965.  Stephen later married (2) Olga Vrentzos who was born on 25^th June 1964, the wedding taking place at the Greek Orthodox Church in Kitchener, Ontario on 15^th June 2002

35T8 – Rachel Ellen Collett was born on 3^rd August 1994 at Brantford, Brant County

Karen Diane Collett [35S17] was born at the General Hospital in Brantford on 27^th December 1966, the daughter of Edward and Doreen Collett.  It was also at Brantford on 6^th June 1993 that she married Mario Baldassara who was born on 20^th September 1965.  Their two children were also born in the hospital at Brantford and they were Anthony Joseph Baldassara who was born on 12^th January 1998 and Julia Elizabeth Baldassara who was born on 5^th November 2001

Hazel D Collett [35S18] was born in 1940, her birth recorded at Devizes register office (Ref. 5a 304) during the third quarter of that year, the eldest for the four children of Arthur Edward Collett and Edith May Wheeler.  She was only 19 years old when she married David A Morse, the event recorded at Chippenham register office (Ref. 7c 947) during the first three months of 1960.  Their son, Nigel P Morse was born within the Chippenham area in 1963

Edward K Collett [35S19] was born in 1944, his birth recorded at Devizes register office (Ref. 5a 173) during the second quarter of that year.  He was twenty-three when he married Doreen Dodson, the wedding recorded at Bootle register office (Ref. 10b 1667) during the third quarter of 1969.  The marriage produced two children for Edward and Doreen, whose births were both recorded at the Chester/Ellesmere Port register office - Andrew Keith Collett during the first three months of 1977 (Vol. 35 91) and Elizabeth Alison Collett during first three months of 1979 (Vol. 35 268), and in both cases the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Dodson

35T9 – Andrew Keith Collett was born in 1977 at Cheshire

35T10 – Elizabeth Alison Collett was born in 1979 at Cheshire

Monica Collett [35S20] was the twin sister of Valerie Collett (below), their births recorded at Chippenham register office (Ref. 7c 441) during the second quarter of 1950, the daughters of Arthur Edward Collett and Edith May Wheeler.  She later married Terry J Barrett, with their wedding recorded at Chippenham register office (Ref. 7c 1821) during the second quarter of 1972 when she was 22 years of age

Valerie Collett [35S21] was the twin sister of Monica Collett (above), whose birth was recorded at Chippenham register office in 1950.  She later married Malcolm J Clark(e), the event recorded at Chippenham register office (ref. 7c 1778) during the second quarter of 1970, when she was around 20 years old.  Exactly two years later Valerie gave birth to twin daughter Sara Lindsay Clarke and Helen Elizabeth Clarke, their birth recorded at Chippenham register office during the second quarter of 1972

Linda Collett [35S22], the daughter of Gail and Marion Collett, whose date of birth is not known, married Don Fedie and they had a daughter Sara Fedie

Ashley Brooke Collett [35T4] was born at the General Hospital in St Thomas, Elgin County, on 21^st January 1986 the daughter of Roger Howard Collett and Kimberly Elaine Palmer.  It was also while she was still living in St Thomas that Ashley married Peter Ryan Charlton on 6^th July 2013.  He was the son of Peter Charlton and Rhonda Roberts and was also born at St Thomas Elgin General Hospital on 5^th June 1985.  Upon the death of her grandfather Howard Glen Collett in January 2013 his granddaughter Ashley Collett and her fiancé Ryan Charlton of St Thomas were mentioned in his obituary.  Ashley and Ryan were also included in the obituary for uncle Harvey Alan Collett who was killed in a road accident in 2014.  They were also named in the obituary for Ashley’s grandmother Helen May Collett, nee Everett, in April 2016

Jack Mark Collett [35T5] was born in Kelowna on 20^th September 2001, the son of Gordon Mark Collett and Sylvia Audebert.  Tragically his father, who was known within the family as Gord, died as a result of an aviation accident in September 2002, just nine days before Jack’s first birthday.  And it was simply as Jack Collett of Kelowna that he was named with his mother Sylvia Collett in the 2013 obituary of his grandfather Howard Glen Collett.  After the death of his father, Jack and his mother lived at Peachland in British Columbia where, in April 2014, they were both named in the obituary for Harvey Alan Collett, Jack’s uncle.  It was also at Peachland that Jack and his mother were still living two years later, as confirmed in the April 2016 obituary Helen May Collett, the mother of Jack’s father