PART SEVENTY-THREE
The Leeds (Armley-Wortley-Drighlington-Morley) Line
Updated October 2026
This is the family line of Mark Patrick Blackburn (Ref. 73T5), formerly Collett,
the line denoted by the names in capitals, and was previously included (in error) in Part 36 -The Barwick-in-Elmet (Leeds) Line
Some information was also previously included in Appendix 5 of that family line
WILLIAM COLLETT [73L1] was referred to as William Collett of Morley when his son William Collett was baptism in the town of Morley, near Leeds. The town also has a close proximity to Drighlington and Birstall, both of which feature in this family line
73M1 – WILLIAM COLLETT was born in 1749 at Morley
WILLIAM COLLETT [73M1] was baptised on 5th January 1750 at Morley, the son of William Collett of Morley. William was 38 years old when he married Hannah Masker at St Peter’s Church in Leeds on 31st January 1788.
73N1 – SARAH COLLETT was born in 1792 at Morley
SARAH COLLETT [73N1] was baptised at the Morley Congregational Church on 10th June 1792, the daughter of William Collett. She was also the unmarried mother of Frederick Collett who was born at Drighlington, two miles west of Morley, and baptised on 16th September 1810 at Birstall, midway between Drighlington and Batley. Sarah would have been only 18 years of age when she gave birth to her son
73O1 – FREDERICK COLLETT was born in 1810 at Drighlington
FREDERICK COLLETT [73O1] was born at Drighlington, west of Morley in 1810 and was baptised at Birstall, north of Batley on 16th September 1810, the base-born son of unmarried Sarah Collett. Fred, as he was named in many records, married (1) Kezia Burnett during 1829 and they and had three children before the untimely death of Kezia in 1837 at the age of 23. A year later Frederick Collett married (2) Maria Grayson Jackson at Bradford (Ref. xxiii 258) during the last three months of 1838, who had been born at Wortley on 3rd September 1812. That new relationship was confirmed in the Leeds census of 1841, albeit under the surname of Collitt, when the family was residing at Silver Royd Hill in Wortley, Leeds. Frederick and his wife Maria had a rounded age of 25, even though Fred was actually 30, while their children were Thomas Collett who was eleven, Burnett Collett who was nine, Mary Collett who was six, and William Collett who was two years old
After a further ten years, the family was living nearby at Stonebridge Lane in Wortley, where Frederick Collett was a master tailor aged 40 and Maria Collett was 38. Their seven children that census day in 1851 were Burnett Collett aged 17, Mary Collett aged 14 and born at Drighlington, William Collett aged eleven, Edna Collett who was eight, Emma Collett who was five, Simeon Collett who was two, and Edmund Collett who was one year old. Other Mary, all the other children had been born at Wortley. By 1861, the family was residing at Barracks in Wortley, where tailor Frederick was 49 and Maria was 44, when the five children living with them that day were Edna Collett who was 17, Emma Collett who was 15, Simeon Collett who was 13, Edmund Collett who was 12, and new arrival Emily Collett who was eight years of age
Ten years later, it was Frederick Collett who gave his place of birth as Drighlington, when he was 58 and still working as a tailor. His wife Maria was also said to be 58, but from Wortley, as were the three children who were still living with the couple in 1871 for the Wortley census hat year. They were sons Simeon Collett who was 23, and Edmund Collett who was 21, plus grandson Frederick Collett who was seven years of age. Ten years earlier, young Frederick’s parents, William and Lydia Collett, were residing at Hill Top in Armley, when William was a collier who was 31 and born at Wortley and his much younger wife Lydia was 19 and from Wortley. Their daughter Mary Ann Collett, who had been born at Wortley, was under three months old and sadly died within six months
In the next census of 1881, the family was again living in Wortley when, on that occasion, Fred said he was born at Adwalton, very close to Drighlington. Living with the tailor that day were his wife, simply M Collett who was 69, as was her husband, their unmarried son Simeon Collett who was 33, and their grandson Fred Collett who was 17. Most of their children had been born at Wortley in Leeds, as was their grandson, the surviving child of son William, whose mother Lydia Collett was working as a housekeeper at the Wortley home of William Todner on that same day in 1881
Frederick Collett died at Wortley in 1888 with his death recorded at nearby Bramley (Ref. 9b 234) during the second quarter of that year, when he was 77 years old. The Wortley census of 1891 identified the widow Maria Collett, aged 79, living at Silver Royd Hill, where her late husband’s Collett family had been living in 1841. Still living with her was her unmarried son Simeon and her grandson Frederick Collett, who had been living with her for over twenty years. Seven years later the death of Maria Grayson Collett, nee Grayson, simply named as Mary Collett, was recorded at Hunslet register office (Ref. 9b 213) to the south of Leeds during the last three months of 1898 at the age of 80
73P1 - THOMAS COLLETT was born in 1831 at Drighlington
73P2 – Burnett Collett was born in 1832 at Drighlington
73P3 – Mary Collett was born in 1836 at Drighlington
The following are the children of Frederick Collett by his second wife Maria Grayson Jackson:
73P4 – William Collett was born in 1839 at Wortley, Leeds
73P5 – Edna Collett was born in 1843 at Wortley, Leeds
73P6 – Emma Collett was born in 1845 at Wortley, Leeds
73P7 – Simeon Collett was born in 1848 at Wortley, Leeds
73P8 – Edmund Collett was born in 1849 at Wortley, Leeds
73P9 – Frederick Collett was born in 1853 at Holbeck, Leeds
Thomas Collett [73P1] was born on 25th May 1831 in the village of Tong, just north of Drighlington, according to the census in 1851, while later on his place of birth was said to be Birstall, to the south of Drighlington. It was at Birstall where Thomas Collett was baptised on 29th May 1831, the son of Frederick Collett and Kezia Burnett. Having suffered the loss of his mother when he was six years old, for the census in 1841, Thomas Collett was 11 years old, when living with his father and his stepmother and the rest of his family at Silver Royd Hill in Worley. Sometime during the first three months of 1851 he married (1) Rachel Helstrip (1830-1880) who was born at Wortley in Leeds. On the day of the census in 1851, the childless couple was residing at Windmill Hill in Wortley Leeds, from where Thomas Collett, aged 19 and from Tong, was employed as a labourer at a nearby brick works. His wife Rachel, from Wortley, was 21 and expecting the imminent birth of her first child, who was born during the next couple of months and named after Thomas’ mother. Between 1851 and 1867 the marriage produced a total of seven children, all of whom were born at Wortley in Leeds, with their births registered at Hunslet
Whilst no obvious record of the family has been found within the census of 1861, ten years later the completed family was still living at Windmill Hill in Wortley. On that occasion Thomas Collett from Birstall was 40 and working as a coal and clay miner. His wife Rachel Collett from Wortley was 41, and their seven children were Robert Collett who was 19, Clara Collett who was 18 and a woollen weaver, Kezia Collett who was 14, Lavinia Collett who was 12, Albert Collett who was 10, (Sarah) Ann Collett who was seven, and Flora Collett who was four years old. Nine years later Rachel Collett died, her death recorded at Bramley (Leeds) during the third quarter of 1880 (Ref. 9b 253) at the age of 50. She was closely followed by her husband, when the death of Thomas Collett was also recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 272) after he passed away on 17th September 1880, also at the age of 50, the cause of death reported as being cerebral disease and exhaustion. The informant of his death was Sarah Ann Kinder, who made the mark of a cross
Four years early, their unmarried daughter Kezia had given birth to a base-born daughter which was named after her mother. The birth of that child, Rachel Ann Collett, at Batley, was not unsurprisingly recorded away from the family, at Dewsbury early in 1877, to save them from the embarrassment of the situation. The census in 1881, raises a question for the family living at 146 Hill End Road in Armley. Why was it that eldest child Robert Collett was described as son, while his brother Albert was described as son brother, with all four sister were described as daughter sister. On that day Robert Collett was 29, Kezia Collett who was 25, Lavinia Collett who was 22, Albert Collett who was 20, (Sarah) Ann Collett who was 17, and Flora Collett who was 14 years old. Completing the family group was Rachel A Collett who was only four years of age, but described as daughter sister, rather than granddaughter or niece. Once again, all the children of Thomas Collett were recorded as having been born at Wortley, while his granddaughter Rachel A Collett had been born at Batley
73Q1 – Robert Burnett Collett was born in 1851 at Wortley
73Q2 – Clara Collett was born in 1853 at Wortley
73Q3 – Kezia Collett was born in 1855 at Wortley
73Q4 – Lavinia Collett was born in 1858 at Wortley
73Q5 – ALBERT COLLETT was born in 1860 at Wortley
73Q6 – Sarah Ann Collett was born in 1862 at Wortley
73Q7 – Flora Collett was born in 1866 at Wortley
Burnett Collett [73P2] was born at Drighlington on 4th July 1832, the second child of Frederick and Kezia Collett. When he was four years old his mother died and, shortly thereafter, his father re-married and settled in Wortley area of Leeds. It was at Silver Royd Hill in Wortley where Burnett Collett was living with his father and stepmother in 1841 when he was nine years of age. He was still living with his family in 1851, but at Stonebridge Lane in Wortley, when he was 17 and working as a clay miner. Five years later, the marriage of Burnett Collett and Elizabeth Wightman was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 302) during the second quarter of 1856. That was confirmed by the next census in 1861, when Burnett was 29 and Elizabeth was 27 and, living with them at Wortley were their two children, Frederick Collett who was four and Lavinia Collett who was one year old
Ten years later the family had been increased by the birth of a further two children. The Wortley census of 1871 recorded the family as Burnett Collett from Drighlington who was 39 and a coalminer, Elizabeth Collett from Morley who was 37, Frederick Collett who was 14, Lavinia who was 11, Annie Collett who was five, and Jonas Collett who was three. All the children were confirmed as having been born at Wortley. By 1881, Burnett was a widower at 49, who was a clay miner. Living with him at Ashley Road in Upper Wortley, were his five children. His son Fred was 24 and also a clay miner, while younger son Jonas was a ‘putter’ at the clay pit. A putter was someone who took (put) into the mine an empty container to be filled by the clay miners and, whose job it was to remove the one that had been filled. Burnett’s eldest daughter Lavinia Collett was 21 and working as a ‘piecener’ at the local wool mill, meaning she was the person who supplied the rolls of wool for the slubbing machine. Her sister Anne Collett was 14 and may have been working with her sister on that occasion, as her occupation was that of a cloth burler. Completing the family was Esther Collett aged nine years
The later death of Burnett Collett aged 58, was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 295) during the fourth quarter of 1890. Following that sad event, it was his daughter Annie who took over the role of housekeeper and head of the householder, as recorded in the Wortley census of 1891. In addition to her domestic chores at their Ashley Road home, Anne was also earning a living as a knotter in a woollen mill at the age of 24. The two brothers still living with her were Jonas Collett who was 21 and Walter Burnett Collett who was only six years of age. His birth was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 363) during the second quarter of 1885, when Burnett Collett was a widower and 54 years old. Walter was therefore the base-born son of unmarried Annie herself
73Q8 – Frederick Collett was born in 1856 at Wortley
73Q9 – Lavinia A Collett was born in 1859 at Wortley
73Q10 – Anne Collett was born in 1865 at Wortley
73Q11 – Jonas Collett was born in 1868 at Wortley
73Q12 – Esther Collett was born in 1871 at Wortley
Mary Collett [73P3] was born at Drighlington in 1836, the third child of Frederick Collett by his first wife Kezia Burnett. It may have been the unexpected death of her mother shortly after she was born, or during the birth, that was the reason she was not baptised until after her father had remarried and settled in Wortley. She was therefore around five years of age, when the baptism of Mary Collett at Bramley Church took place on 23rd January 1842. The baptism record indicated that she was the daughter of Frederick Collett and Maria Collett (his second wife). Interestingly, the couple’s first child, William (below), was baptised there one year later on the same day. It is therefore possible that they were baptised together in a joint ceremony
William Collett [73P4] was born at Wortley and his birth was registered at Leeds (Ref. xxiii 453) during the third quarter of 1839. His baptism, like that of his older half-sister was delayed and took place at Armley on 23rd January 1843. If the year had been 1842, it may very well have been a joint ceremony with his sister Mary (above). He was the eldest child from the second marriage of Frederick Collett by his second wife Maria Grayson Jackson. In 1841, when he was two years of age, he and his family were living at Silver Royd Hill in Wortley, where he may have been born. He was 11 years old in 1851, by which time his family’s address was Stonebridge Lane in Wortley. Less than nine years later, the marriage of William Collett and Lydia Stead, who was born at Lower Wortley in 1843, was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 420) during the fourth quarter of 1859
It is possible that Lydia Stead was an older sister of John Henry Stead who married Lavinia Collett in 1886. Just over a year after their wedding day Lydia presented William with a daughter, following which, according to the census in 1861, the three of them were residing in a dwelling on Hill Top Road in Armley, where William Collett was 21 and a collier from Wortley, his wife Lydia was 19 and also from Wortley, where their daughter Mary Ann Collett, aged two months, had also been born
Their son Frederick was born over two years later and was named after his grandfather but, shortly after that, William and Lydia seemed to have ceased living together, at which time son Frederick was taken into the care of William’s parents. On the day of the census in 1871, William Collett, aged 32, a married miner from Wortley, was a boarder at the Leeds home of spinster Jane Elwood who was 30 and a flax spinner from Leeds. Two years later, William’s third child, Simeon, was born and was named after William’s brother (below). It is highly likely that the child’s mother was the aforementioned Jane Elwood who, in 1881, was living with coal miner William Collett, aged 42, at 12 Canal Road in nearby Armley with son Simeon Collett who was nine years old. Spinster Jane Elwood from Leeds was 40 years of age and working as a flax spinner
On that same day, William’s former wife, Lydia Collett was working as a housekeeper at the home of iron foundry model maker William Henry Todner, aged 68 and from Sunderland, at his home at 1 Hedley Street in Wortley. In addition to her housekeeping duties, Lydia’s occupation was stated as being that of a dressmaker which was a similar occupation to that of her father-in-law, who was a tailor. She may have been using her skills in that field to work with William Todner’s unmarried niece Eliza Pickard, aged 27, who was also living at 1 Hedley Street and who was described as a tailoress of Upper Wortley
Lydia Collett was also said to be 40 years of age when her death was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 238) during the second quarter of 1882. Six years later, during the fourth quarter of 1888, the marriage of William Collett and Emma Taylor was recorded at Wortley (Ref. 9c 381). Whether he was the former husband of Lydia Stead has still to be determined. Thirteen years later, clay miner William Collett was again living in Wortley, when he was 61 and working alongside his two sons Frederick and Simeon, while his daughter, unmarried Mary Ann Collett was acting as their housekeeper. No further record of William or any of his three children have been found after that time
73Q13 – Mary Ann Collett was born in 1861 at Wortley
73Q14 – Frederick Collett was born in 1863 at Wortley
73Q15 – Simeon Collett was born in 1871 at Wortley
Edna Collett [73P5] was born at Wortley in 1843 with her birth registered at Leeds (Ref. xxiii 452) during the first quarter of the year, and was the eldest daughter of Frederick and Maria Collett, his second wife
Emma Collett [73P6] was born at Wortley in 1845 with her birth registered at Hunslet (Ref. xxiii 408) during the second quarter of the year, another daughter of Frederick and Maria Collett. The later marriage of Emma Collett and James Cook was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 443) during the second quarter of 1864. It was at Wortley where the couple settled and where all their children were born. The Wortley census of 1871 provided details of the family as follows: James Cook was 28; Emma Cook was 26; Simeon Cook was four; Levey Cook was three; and Abel Cook was one year old. Ten years later the family was residing at Marsden Street in Wortley when James was 37, Emma was 36 and working as a machine filler, Simeon was 14, Levi was 13, Abel was 12, and the latest edition to the family was Harry, who was nine years of age
With no census record for the family found in 1891, it was twenty years later when all the children had left the family home on Western Terrace in Wortley where James and Emma Cook were still living aged 57 and 56 respectively in 1901. The next census in 1911 confirmed that married Emma Cook from Wortley was 66 and an inmate at the Bramley Union Workhouse in Armley-with-Bramley. Just over four years later, the death of Emma Cook, nee Collett, was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 332) during the third quarter of 1915 at the age of 70 years
Simeon Collett [73P7] was born at Wortley in 1848, whose birth was registered at Hunslet (Ref. xxiii 374) during the second quarter of the year. He was a coal miner like his brother William (above) and, in 1881 he was unmarried at the age of 33 when he was still living with his parents at Wortley in Bramley. Following the death of his father in 1888, Simeon Collett was unmarried and 43 years old, when he was again living at the family home on Silver Royd Hill in Wortley with his widowed mother Maria and his nephew Frederick Collett. Just over nine years later, the death of Simeon Collett was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 209) during the third quarter of 1900 when he was 53 years of age
Edmund Collett [73P8] was born at Wortley towards the end of 1849 when his birth was registered at Hunslet (Ref. xxiii 337) during the first three months of 1850. According to the census in 1871, unmarried Edmund Collett was 21 when he was still living with his family at Wortley, where he was a clay miner. Within days of the census that same year, the marriage of Edmund Collett and Harriet Holdsworth, who was born at Armley around 1849, was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 460) in April 1871. It would appear that the first few years of their married life was spent living at Armley, where their first child was born. However, one year later and the family had moved to Wortley, where their remaining children were born
In April 1881 the family was living at Albion Street at Wortley in Bramley where Edmund was described as a clay miner and his wife Harriet as a cloth weaver. Edmund’s brother Burnett Collett (above) was also a clay miner, as was one of his sons. The whole family was still together ten years later in 1891, when they were recorded living at Fire Brick Yard in Beeston, within the Holbeck district of Leeds. Edmund Collett was 41 and a coalminer, Harriet Collett was 39, sons Alfred Collett and Arthur Collett were 19 and 16 respectively, and daughter Amelia Collett was 18
Just after the turn of the century, all of Edmund and Harriet’s children had left the family home by which time the couple was living in Wigton Entire in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Edmund from Wortley was 51 and employed as a pit deputy, while his wife Harriet from Armley was 49. It was the same situation in 1911, when mine deputy Edmund Collett was 61 and Harriet was 59, except that by then they were living in Holbeck. Edmund had enjoyed an extremely long life when the death of Edmund Collett was recorded at Bradford register office (Ref. 9b 164) during the last quarter of 1942 when he was 92 years old
73Q16 – Alfred Collett was born in 1871 at Armley
73Q17 – Amelia Collett was born in 1872 at Armley
73Q18 – Arthur Collett was born in 1873 at Wortley
Frederick Mann Collett [73P9] was born at Holbeck, near Leeds in 1853 with his birth registered under the name of Fred Mann Collett at Hunslet (Ref. 9b 267) during the second quarter of the year. He was a joiner and carpenter and he married Martha Oliver who was three or more years younger than her husband and born at Copley in County Durham. The wedding of Fred and Martha was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 684) during the second quarter of 187 and in 1881 the young couple was living alone together at 3 Albert Street in Holbeck having no children. Ten years later it was at Londesborough Street in Wortley that Fred Collett was 38 and Martha Collett was 32. By that time in his life, Fred was employed as a carter. After a further ten years, the childless couple was still living in Wortley, but at Armley Road, where Fred Collett was 48 and was a carting agent, while his wife Martha was described as 42 and born at Durham. The next census in 1911, confirmed that they had been married in 1877, by which time they were residing within the Armley-with-Bramley area, when Fred Collett was 58 and his wife Martha Collett was 55. Fred was described as employed by a general carter, where he was continuing to work as a carting agent. It was fifteen years later that the death of Fred Collett was recorded at Bramley register (Ref. 9b 288) during the last three months of 1926 when he was 72
Robert Burnett Collett [73Q1] was born at Windmill Hill in Wortley (Leeds) in 1851, the eldest child of Thomas and Rachel Collett. His birth, using his full name, was registered at Hunslet (Ref. 23 415) during the second quarter of the year. Curiously, no member of the family has been found within the census of 1861, but ten years later Robert Collett from Wortley was 19 and was still living with his family at Windmill Hill in Wortley. The census in 1871 stated that he was working as a brick-maker, his father having been a labourer at the brick works. Following the death of his mother and his father in 1880, he and his siblings were living at the family home at 146 Hill End Road in Armley in 1881. Robert Collett – incorrectly given the census status of son, was 29 and a bachelor from Wortley who, by then, was employed as a labourer at the local brickyard, working with his younger brother Albert (below)
Clara Collett [73Q2] was born at Windmill Hill in Wortley in 1853 and her birth was registered at Hunslet (Ref. 9b 210) during the second quarter of the year. With no record of her, or her family, in the next census, Clara was 18 and a woollen weaver in 1871 when she was living with her family at Windmill Hill in Wortley. The only other record for Clara Collett was the recording of her death at Bramley (Ref. 9b 265), less than three years later, during the first three months of 1874, when she was only 21. Her early death eliminates Clara from being the mother of base-born Rachel Ann Collett and places that role on her younger sister Kezia (below)
Kezia Collett [73Q3] was born at Wortley in 1856, the third child of Thomas and Rachel Collett, whose birth was registered at Hunslet (Ref. 9b 230) during the second quarter of that year. She was 14 years of age in the Wortley census in 1871 when she was living with her family at Windmill Hill, from where she was employed as a woollen mule piecer. Her mother and father both died nine years later, so in 1881 the family was living at 146 Hill End Road in Armley headed by her older brother Robert (above). Unmarried Kezia Collett from Wortley was 25 when she was working alongside her younger sister Lavinia (below), both of them described as woollen weavers. Living at Hill End Road with the family, was Rachel A Collett aged four years, who was most likely Kezia’s base-born daughter. Tragically, it was just over three years later, that the death of Kezia Collett was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 246) during the second quarter of 1884 when she was 29. Just over one year earlier, another Collett child was born at Armley who may well be the second base-born daughter of Kezia Collett. That assumption has been made purely from the fact that Kezia’s only surviving sister Lavinia was married in 1886 and had a family of her own, while Ada Collett was living with Rachel Ann Collett (her sister?) in 1891, following Kezia having passed away in 1884
73R1 – Rachel Ann Collett was born in 1877 at Batley
73R2 – Ada Collett was born in 1883 at Armley
Lavinia Collett [73Q4] was born at Wortley in 1858 and, like all her siblings, her birth was also registered at Hunslet (Ref. 9b 188) during the third quarter of the year. She was 12 years old in the Wortley census of 1871 but by 1881, and after the death of her parents during the previously year, Lavinia Collett was 22 and a woollen filler living at 146 Hill End Road in Armley with the rest of her family. After a further five years, the marriage of Lavinia Collett and John Henry Stead was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 560) during the last three months of 1886. With her father having passed away six years earlier, it is very likely that one of her brothers gave her away during the wedding ceremony
It was at Wilson Street in Bramley that John and Lavinia were living with two children in 1891. John H Stead was 34, Lavinia Stead was 33, Alfred Stead was four, and Ada Stead was two years of age, both born at Bramley. There was then a nine-year gap before the couple’s next child was born although the records at Bramley confirm that many Stead children born between 1891 and 1901 did not survive beyond infancy. The family’s address in 1901 was simply Town Street in Bramley, where shoemaker John Henry Stead was 44, Lavinia Stead was 43, Alfred Stead was 14, Ada Stead was 12, and John Thomas Stead was just three years old. The same family members were still together ten years later, according to the Armley & Bramley census of 1911. John was 54, Lavinia was 53, Alfred was 24, Ada was 22, and John junior was 13
Albert Collett [73Q5] was born at Wortley in Leeds in 1860, the fifth child and the youngest son of Thomas and Rachel Collett. His birth was registered at Hunslet (Ref. 9b 196) during the third quarter of that year. He would have been under one year old in 1861 when, unfortunately, no record of him or his family has been discovered. In 1871 Albert was 10 years of age when he was attending school and living with his family at Windmill Hill in Wortley. One of his first jobs was that of a brickyard labourer working with his older brother Robert (above), both of whom were still living together in 1881 at Armley with most of their other siblings. That situation followed the death of both of their parents during the previous year. On that occasion, Albert was 20 when he was residing at 146 Hill End Road in Armley with the rest of his family
Two years later the marriage of Albert Collett and Mary Ellen Lawton of Leeds, daughter of David and Mary Lawton, was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 615) during the second quarter of 1883. Their marriage produced a total of nine children, with the likelihood that Mary Ellen died during the birth of a tenth child, who also did not survive. In 1891 the family was living at Bosnia Terrace in Armley, where Albert Collett was 30 and a worker at the Fireclay Company. His wife Mary Ellen Collett was 25 and their three sons on that day were named as Arthur Collett who was five, Albert Edward Collett who was three, and William Lawton Collett who was one year old. Ten years later the family was recorded as living at Bosnia Grove in Armley when 40-year-old Albert was working as a brick-maker. His wife Mary E Collett was 35 and their seven sons were Arthur aged 15, Albert aged 13, William aged 11, David who was seven, Harold who was five, Walter who was three, and Norris Collett who was one year old, all born in Leeds
Albert’s wife was probably expecting the imminent arrival of the couple’s eighth child on the day of the census in 1901, because, later that same year, she gave birth to their only daughter. A further child was added to the family five years after that and, two years later, the death of Mary Ellen Collett, aged 43, was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 224) during the last quarter of 1908. Therefore, the census return completed in 1911 described the family residing at Cedar Mount in Armley-with-Bramley as widower Albert Collett who was 50 and employed by the Fireclay Company as a furnace-man, sons David Collett aged 17, and Harold Collett aged 15, who were also working for the Fireclay company, Walter aged 13, Norris aged 11, Lily who was nine, and Clarence who was four years old
During the Great War, Albert Collett was still living at Armley, according to the military records of two of his sons who tragically lost their lives during the campaign. However, having already suffered the loss of his wife, by the time the news of the deaths of two of his sons was reported by the War Office, Albert Collett had already passed away at Armley. Albert died at Armley on 23rd August 1916 with his death recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 276) aged 56. His third son William died during the summer of the following year, with his second son Albert having died of his injuries in November 1918. In both cases, the reference to their parents was recorded as “the late Albert and Ellen Collett of Armley in Leeds”
73R3 – Arthur Collett was born in 1885 at Leeds
73R4 – Albert Edward Collett was born in 1887 at Leeds
73R5 – William Lawton Collett was born in 1889 at Leeds
73R6 – David Collett was born in 1893 at Leeds
73R7 – HAROLD COLLETT was born in 1895 at Leeds
73R8 – Walter Collett was born in 1897 at Leeds
73R9 – Norris Collett was born in 1899 at Leeds
73R10 – Lily Collett was born in 1901 at Leeds
73R11 – Clarence Collett was born in 1906 at Leeds
Sarah Ann Collett [73Q6] was born at Wortley, either at the end of 1861 or within the first few weeks of 1862, with her birth registered at Hunslet (Ref. 9b 292) during the first quarter of 1862. She was seven years of age in 1871 when, as Ann Collett, she was living at Wortley with her family. Although she was 17 in 1881, the Armley census that year recorded that she was still a scholar, living at 146 Hill End Road with her siblings after both parents had passed away around six months earlier
Flora Collett [73Q7] was the last of the seven known children of Thomas and Rachel Collett. She was born at Wortley in 1866 and was four years old in the Wortley census of 1871. Her mother died when Flora was 14 years of age, after which her father took the family to nearby Armley, where she and her orphaned siblings were living in 1881 at 146 Hill End Road, with her father having died just after moving to Armley. Flora Collett, still aged 14 years, like her sister Sarah Ann (above), was described as a scholar. Sadly, just over eight years after that day, the death of Flora Collett was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 289) during the fourth quarter of 1899, at the age of only 23
Frederick Collett [73Q8] was born at Wortley in 1856, when his birth was registered at Hunslet (Ref. 9b 203) during the third quarter of the year. He was the eldest child of Burnett Collett and Elizabeth Wightman, and was four years old at the time of the 1861 Census for Wortley. By the age of 14, he and his family were living in the Bramley & Wortley district of Leeds. Shortly after, he left school and started work as a clay miner with his father, which he was still doing by April 1881. At that time Fred Collett was 24 and a bachelor who was still living and working with his widowed father at the family home on Ashley Road in Upper Wortley
When Fred was in his early thirties, he met and married Ann Welldon who was born at Thurlby in Lincolnshire. Their wedding day was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 413) during the first quarter of 1888. Just over one year later the first of their three known children was born at Wortley. By the day of the census in 1891, the three members of the family were living at Copley Street in Wortley. Frederick Collett was 33 and a miner of clay or coal, Ann Collett was 36, and their daughter Edith Collett was two years of age. Ann was expecting the birth of her second child on that census day, and three years after that she gave birth to her last child at Wortley
The couple’s second child was named jointly after Frederick’s father and his grandfather. Where Frederick was seven years after the birth of his last child remains a mystery, since no listing for him has been found in the census returns for 1901. On that day the remaining members of his family were still living at Copley Street in Wortley where Ann Collett, from Thurlby in Lincolnshire, was 46, her daughter Edith Collett was 12, and her sons Fred B Collett and Laurence Collett were nine years old and six years of age respectively. Visiting the family was Agnes Wightman who was 17 and from Leeds, who may have been a member of Frederick’s mother’s Wightman family. Eight years later, the death of Frederick Collett was recorded at Wortley register office (Ref. 9c 152) during the third quarter of 1909 at the age of 53. By 1911, his widow Ann Collett was 56 who was living in Armley-with-Bramley with her two sons Fred Burnett Collett who was 19, and Lawrence Collett who was 16. Her poorly daughter Edith Collett was living nearby at the Bramley Union Workhouse where she was described as 22 years of age and a sick inmate
73R12 – Edith Collett was born in 1889 at Wortley
73R13 – Fred Burnett Collett was born in 1891 at Wortley
73R14 – Lawrence Collett was born in 1894 at Wortley
Lavinia A Collett [73Q9] was born at Wortley in 1859 and in 1881 she was still living at the family home in Ashley Road in Upper Wortley, from where she was working at a local wool mill as a piecener. Just over one year later, the marriage of Lavinia Collett and Ben Hartley Stanhope was recorded at Holbeck (Ref. 9b 412) during the second quarter of 1882. By 1891, Ben and Lavinia were living at Vine Street in the Kimberworth area of Rotherham, and by which time they had a daughter. Ben H Stanhope was 35 and a mechanic, Lavinia Stanhope was 31, and their daughter Sarah H Stanhope was nine years of age. After a further ten years, the three of them were residing at Walter Street in Headingly-cum-Burley on the day of the census in 1901, where Ben Hartley Stanhope was 45 and a forge labourer, Lavinia Stanhope was 41, and Sarah Hannah Stanhope was 18, all said to have been born in Leeds
During the first decade of the new century, the family returned to Leeds, where they were living in 1911. That year, Ben was 56 and a labourer for a boiler maker, Lavinia was 51, and Sarah was 28. Completing the family was eight-year-old Edna Stanhope, whose was also named as daughter, when it is more than likely she was the base-born child of their daughter Sarah. It was at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 577) that the death of Ben H Stanhope was recorded during the first quarter of 1927, when he was 71. Lavinia survived as a widow for just four years, when the death of Lavinia Stanhope was also recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 455) during the second quarter of 1931, when she was 71
Anne Collett [73Q10] was born at Wortley in 1865 and was listed as Annie Collett aged five years in 1871. Ten years later she was probably working with her older sister Lavinia (above) at the local wool mill, where she was employed as a cloth burler while living at Ashley Road in Upper Wortley. After her father, Burnett Collett, died in 1890, Annie who took over the role of housekeeper and head of the household, as recorded in the Wortley census of 1891. In addition to her domestic chores at their Ashley Road home, she was also earning a living as a knotter in a woollen mill at the age of 24. The census return that year claimed the two males living with her were her brothers. They were Jonas Collett who was 21 and, curiously, Walter Burnett Collett who was only six years of age. He had been born in 1885, when Annie’s father was 54 and had been widowed for many years. It is therefore more likely that Walter Burnett Collett was the base-born son of unmarried Annie Collett, who was married just after the census day that year. The marriage of Annie Collett was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 552) during the second quarter of 1891, when her husband was either Jim Hobson or Arthur Stainton
73R15 – Walter Burnett Collett was born in 1885 at Wortley
Jonas Collett [73Q11] was born at Wortley in 1867 with his birth registered at Kirkstall (Ref. 9b 232) during the last three months of that year. He was three years old in the Wortley census of 1871 and, on leaving school in 1881, he worked as a putter in a clay pit, while living with his parents at Ashley Road in Upper Wortley. Whilst it is not clear where he was in 1891, it was at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 652) during the third quarter of 1897 that the marriage of Jonas Collett and Harriet Zillah Peart was recorded, with Harriet born at Bramley in 1874 and the daughter of Joseph and Harriet Peart
According to the census of 1901, Jonas Collett was 30 and a labourer in a stone quarry, when he was living at Silver Royd Hill in Wortley. His wife Harriet Zillah Collett was 27 and had been born at Bramley. The couple’s two children were Frederick Harold Collett who was three years old, and Clifford Collett who was under one year old, both sons having been born at Wortley. Harriet was probably pregnant with the couple’s third child on the day of the census, since it was just months later, that the child was born. Two further children were added to the family over the following ten years, the second of them born after they had settled in nearby Armley-with-Bramley
By 1911 the family was residing at Armley-with-Bramley and comprised Jonas Collett who was 41 and working as a driller in an engine shop foundry, Harriet Z Collett who was 37, and their five children, Frederick H Collett who was 13, Clifford Collett who was 10, Louisa F Collett who was nine, Edmund Collett who was seven, and Ernest Collett who was two years old. It was many years later, that the death of Jonas Collett was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 274) during the third quarter of 1944. After a further sixteen years, the death of Harriet Z Collett, nee Peart, was recorded at Yorkshire register office (Ref. 2c 387) in 1961 at the age of 86. It may be of interest that, unlike her siblings, no record of the birth of Louisa F Collett, together with no later record of her, has been found anywhere
73R16 – Frederick Harold Collett was born in 1898 at Wortley
73R17 – Clifford Collett was born in 1900 at Wortley
73R18 – Louisa F Collett was born in 1901 at Wortley
73R19 – Edmund Collett was born in 1903 at Wortley
73R20 – Ernest Collett was born in 1908 at Wortley
Esther Collett [73Q12] was born at Wortley in 1871 (after 3rd April) and very likely at Ashley Road in Upper Wortley, where her parents had been recorded on the census day that year. She later married and became Esther Walton and, at the age of 30, she was living in Bradford and was confirmed as born in Wortley in the 1901 Census
Mary Ann Collett [73Q13] was born at Wortley in January 1861, the first of the three children of William Collett, with her mother being Lydia Stead, to whom he was married at the end of 1859. The birth of Mary Ann Collet was registered at Hunslet (Ref. 9b 208) during the first quarter of 1861. She and her parents were living at Hill Top Road in Armley on the day of the census in 1861, when Mary Ann was two months old. Her parents appear to have separate after the birth of her brother Frederick (below) and Mary’s location over the following decades has not been revealed. However, by 1901 she was reunited with her father, brother Frederick, and half-brother Simeon, when unmarried Mary Ann Collett from Leeds, the 41-year-old daughter of widower William Collett, was residing at Morris Row in Wortley. No record of any member of the family has been found within the census of 1911
The later death of Mary Ann Collett, aged 82, was recorded at Tadcaster register office (Ref. 9c 852) midway between Leeds and York, during 1944. Coincidentally, only around six month after the birth of Mary Ann Collett was registered at Hunslet, so too was the death of a Mary Ann Collett recorded there (Ref. 9b 167) during the third quarter of 1861. However, no age was given on the record of the death, and with her confirmed living with her father in 1901, that earlier death record very likely to a completely different Mary Ann Collett, with the hope that she may be identified later on
Frederick Collett [73Q14] was born in 1863 when his birth was registered at Kirkstall (Ref. 9b 222) to the north of Leeds, during the last quarter of the year. He was the son of William Collett and Lydia Stead who, it seems, were separated within the next few years, with Frederick placed in the care of his paternal grandparents, Frederick and Maria Collett, with whom he was living in 1871 when he was seven years of age. At the age of 17 he was a coal miner when, according to the 1881 Census, he was still living with his grandparents at Wortley, while his mother Lydia was a housekeeper at nearby Hedley Street in Wortley. Seven years later his grandfather passed away so, in 1891, the Wortley census that year recorded him still living with his widowed grandmother Maria at Silver Royd Hill in the town, at the age of 27
Before the end of the century unmarried Frederick Collett was reunited with his father with whom he was living and working as a clay miner in 1901 at the age of 39. Also living at his father’s home on Morris Row in Wortley was Frederick’s older unmarried sister Mary Ann Collett (above), and their half-brother Simeon Collett (below). Frederick became a married man later that same year although, by then, there was no chance of them having any issue, as confirmed by the Holbeck census in 1911 when the childless couple of Frederick and Sarah Elizabeth Collett, from Hull, were both 47. Frederick was continuing to work as a clay miner, when Elizabeth was employed as a clothiers machinist, making trousers. The death of Frederick Collett was recorded at Hunslet register office (Ref. 9b 1076) during the first three months of 1919, when he was 55 years of age
Simeon Collett [73Q15] was born at Holbeck in Leeds around 1871/72 and was the son of William Collett, although possibly not by his wife Lydia, but by unmarried landlady Jane Elwood, with whom William was lodging by 1871. On the day of the census in 1881, Simeon Collett was nine years old when he was living with his father William Collett and Jane Elwood at 12 Canal Road in Armley. Twenty years later, according to the Wortley census of Wortley, unmarried Simeon Collett was 28 and working as a clay miner, like his father and half-brother Frederick (above), with whom he was living at Morris Row in Wortley. Also living there was Simeon’s older unmarried half-sister Mary Ann Collett (above). No further record of Simeon Collett has been found after that day
Alfred Collett [73Q16] was born at Armley in 1871 with his birth registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 351) during the third quarter of the year. He was the first of three children of Edmund Collett and Harriet Holdsworth and was nine years of age in 1881 when living with his family at Albion Street in Wortley. In 1891 he was still living with his family at Fire Brick Yard in Beeston when he was 19, by which time he was working as a clerk. Five years later, the marriage of Alfred Collett and Beatrice Whitaker was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 631) during the last quarter of 1896. Four years after that day, Alfred and Beatrice were residing at Beckett Street in Leeds, from where 29-year-old Alfred Collett was employed as a butcher shopkeeper, when Beatrice Collett was 28. It seems likely that the couple never had any children since, according to the next census in 1911, they were living at Barrowford within the Burnley area of Lancashire where Alfred Collett from Armley was 39 and a butcher and his wife Beatrice Collett from Huddersfield was 38
Amelia Collett [73Q17] was born at Wortley, either at the end of 1872 or very early in 1873, with her birth registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 391) during the first three months of 1873. She was eight years old when she was living at Albion Street in Wortley with her parents in 1881. Ten years later she was still living with her parents at Fire Brick Yard in Beeston when she was eighteen and working as a woollen weaver. It was during the first quarter of 1892 that Amelia Collett married Albert Roberts from Leeds, with their wedding recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 495). By the end of the century their family was complete with two children but, on the day of the census in 1901, the family was staying with Amelia’s younger brother Arthur (below) at his home on Armley Road in Armley. Head of the household was Arthur Collett, brother-in-law Albert Roberts was 30 and a general labourer, sister Amelia Roberts was 28, and the couple’s two children were Harold Roberts who was eight, and Beatrice Roberts who was still under one year old
Sometime after that day, the family acquired a home of their own at Armley-with-Bramley where the four of them were living in 1911. That year, Albert Roberts was 40 and working for a clothing manufacturer as a woollen and worsted weaving over-looker (an inspector), Amelia Roberts was 38, Harold Roberts was 18, and Beatrice Roberts was 10 years of age
Arthur Collett [73Q18] was born at Wortley either at the end of 1874 or early in 1875, with his birth registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 407) during the first three months of 1875. He was six years old in 1881 when he was living with his family at Albion Street in Wortley. In 1891 he was still living with his family but at Fire Brick Yard in Beeston, where he was 16 years of age and a pupil teacher. By March 1901, and at the age of 26, he had followed the same profession as his older brother Alfred (above) and was a shopkeeper with a butcher’s shop on Armley Road in Armley, where he had living with him, his married sister Amelia Roberts (above), her husband and their two children. Towards the end of that same year, the marriage of Arthur Collett and Nellie Hampshire was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 6b 612) during the last three months of 1901
The next census in 1911 revealed that the childless couple was living in Armley-with-Bramley, where Arthur Collett was still working as a butcher at the age of 36, while his wife Nellie Collett was 32, both of them born in Leeds. By the end of the Great War, Arthur would have been thirty-four years of age and therefore, he may have been involved in some way. The death of Arthur Collett was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 564) during the first quarter of 1918, although no age or date of birth is known, so it cannot be positively identified as Arthur Collett the husband of Nellie Hampshire. More certain, though, is the death of Nellie Collett, which was also recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 132) during the third quarter of 1954, when she was 76 years old
Rachel Ann Collett [73R1] was born at Batley on 11th January 1877, the base-born daughter of unmarried Kezia Collett, with her birth was registered at Dewsbury (Ref. 9b 678) during the first three months of 1877. In 1881 unmarried mother and daughter were living at the home of Rachel’s widowed grandfather, where her mother died three years later. Seven years after being orphaned, Rachel A Collett was 14 working as a nursemaid when she was living at the home of Robert and Cordelia Helstrip at Tower Lane in Armley. With her was her potential sister Ada (below), both girls described as the nieces of Robert and Cordelia
After a further seven years, the marriage of Rachel Ann Collett and Henry Armitage was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 657) during the third quarter of 1898. By 1901, the childless couple was residing at Ivy Terrace in Hill End, Armley, where Henry Armitage from Leeds was 28 and a postman, and Rachel A Armitage from Batley was 24. Their only known child, Connie Armitage, was born at Armley in early 1903 and was eight years of age in the Armley census of 1911. By that time Rachel Ann Armitage was 34, and her husband Henry was 38 and a postman employed by the Leeds Government Post Office
Ada Collett [73R2] was born at Armley in 1883, most likely at the home of her grandfather Thomas Collett at Hill End Road, where her mother, unmarried Kezia Collett, was also living, as was her sister Rachel A Collett (above). The birth of Ada Collett was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 371) during the first quarter of 1883 and just over a year after that Ada was orphaned when both her mother and grandfather passed away. It was following that double tragedy that Ada and her sister Rachel were taken into the home of Robert and Cordelia Helstrip of Tower Lane in Armley, where the two girls were described as their nieces. Ada Collett from Armley was eight years old, while Rachel A Collett was 14 and a nursemaid
Ten years later the marriage of Ada Collett and Thomas Collinson Sheffield was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 403) during the first three months of 1901. A few weeks later the pair of them were recorded together in the Pudsey census of 1901 when Thomas Collinson Sheffield from Pudsey was 22 and a plumber and a glazier, and his wife Ada Sheffield from Armley was 18 and a woollen cloth weaver were living at Dover Street. Ada may have already been pregnant by that time, since the first of their three children was born at the end of that year at nearby Farsley. Five months prior to the next census in 1911, the death of Thomas C Sheffield at Farsley was recorded at North Bierley register office (Ref. 9b 47) during the fourth quarter of 1910. It was also at Farsley where widow Ada Sheffield, aged 28, was a charwoman from Armley, who had living there with her three children. They were Phyllis Sheffield who was nine, Harry Sheffield who was six, and Kathleen Sheffield who was four, all three born at Farsley
Arthur Collett [73R3] was born at Leeds on 27th August 1885 and his birth was registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 388) during the third quarter of the year. He was five years old, and 15 years of age, in the two following Armley census returns where, for the latter, he was living with his family at Bosnia Grove in Armley. The marriage of Arthur Collett and Minnie Jowett from Leeds was conducted at St Peter Church in Leeds and was recorded there (Ref. 9b 567) during the second quarter of 1910. Nine months later their only known child was born. The next census in 1911 placed the family still living in Armley when, on that day the family was recorded as Arthur Collett from Leeds who was 25 and a clay worker at a brick works, his wife Minnie, also from Leeds, who was 26, and their son William Arthur Collett who was only one month old. Also living with the family at that time, was Arthur’s younger brother William Lawton Collett (below) aged 21
Sadly their son only survived for seventeen years, with the birth of William Arthur Collett at Armley in March 1911 recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 218) during the second quarter of that same year. Tragically, it was during the first three months of 1929 that his death was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 878). Of his parents, Minnie Collett died in 1950 at the age of 65, while the death of Arthur Collett was also recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 490) during the first quarter of 1959 when he was 73
73S1 – William Arthur Collett was born in 1911 at Armley
Albert Edward Collett [73R4] was born at Leeds in 1887 when his birth was registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 345) during the last four months of the year. He was three years of age in 1891 when living at Bosnia Terrace in Armley, and was 13 years old in 1901 when he was living with his family at Bosnia Grove in Armley. Eight years later, in 1909 and at the age of 22, Albert Edward Collett married Margaret Hunter MacDonald at St Bartholomew’s Church in Armley, the event recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 708). Margaret was the eldest of four daughters of John S MacDonald from Scotland and his wife Mary A MacDonald from Rugby
In the earlier census of 1901, 15-year-old Margaret was employed as a cotton weaver while living at Fulstone in West Yorkshire with her family. Within the first eighteen months of their married life together Margaret gave birth to a daughter. In earlier April 1911, the family of three was living at Armley, where Albert Edward Collett from Leeds was 24 and employed by the Leeds City Tramway Company as a tramways’ conductor. His wife Margaret Collett was 25 and also born in Leeds, while their daughter Elsie Roma Collett was just three months old
A second child was added to their family in 1916, when the birth of John P Collett was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 395) during the second quarter of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as McDonald. It was during the previously year when Albert joined the 2nd Battery of the Army Service Corps at the age of 28, and became Driver Collett T/327134. It is very interesting that he gave his place of residence as Naas (?) in Yorkshire where, it is known, his younger brother Norris Collett was living in 1917 and 1919. Although not confirmed, it would appear that Albert saw active service during the Great War, but later died of the injuries he had sustained. His military records confirmed that he was the son of the late Albert and Ellen Collett of Armley
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission recorded the following information: Albert Edward Collett aged 31, the husband of Margaret Collett of 67 Esplanade, Kaiti, Gisborne in New Zealand and the son of the late Albert and Ellen Collett of Armley in Leeds, died at the Royal Herbert Military Hospital in Greenwich on 9th November 1918 and afterwards, was buried in the Leeds Wortley Cemetery. From this, it is established that Albert’s wife had moved to the safety of New Zealand after the birth of their son in 1916. See the separate entry for her daughter Elsie Roma for more details about their life in New Zealand
Margaret Hunter Collett, nee MacDonald, was residing within the Mount Albert district of Auckland when she passed away on 28th July 1967 at the age of 82
73S2 – Elsie Roma Collett was born in 1910 at Armley
73S3 – John Percival Collett was born in 1916 at Armley
William Lawton Collett [73R5] was born at Leeds in 1889. It was as William Lawton Collett that he appeared in the 1891 Census aged one year, when he and his family were recorded at Bosnia Terrace in Armley. The birth of William Lawton Collett was registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 364) during the third quarter of 1889. In the subsequent census of 1901, he was simply named as William Collett aged 11 and born at Leeds, when he was again living with his parents at Armley. According to the next census in 1911, William Lawton Collett from Leeds was 21 and staying at Armley with his married brother Arthur Collett (above) and his wife and their only child. At that time in his life, William was working at the local brickworks on the production of glazed bricks. It was two years later, that William became a married man
He married Ada Blanche Nicholson at St Peter’s Church in Leeds in 1913 with their wedding recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 574) during the first quarter of that year. Ada was born at Armley and was a similar age to William, being aged 12 years in 1901, when she was still living at Armley with her parents Thomas and Elizabeth Nicholson. Their marriage provided William and Ada with a son and a daughter, although the latter was born around the time her father was killed in the service of the King. Ada was well advanced with her first pregnancy when she married William, with son Norris Collett being born within a couple of months of their wedding day. Four years later, Ada gave birth to a daughter and her birth, like that of her two brothers, was also recorded at Bramley, when once again the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Nicholson
The couple’s last child was William Lawton Collett (junior) who was born at Bramley on 29th June 1922 with his mother’s maiden-name also confirmed as Nicholson, when his birth was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 409) during the second quarter of the year. The later death of Ada B Collett, nee Nicholson, was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 288) during the third quarter of 1960, when she was 71 years old. William Lawton Collett (senior) died at 15 Whincover Bank in Leeds in 1965, but with his death recorded at Wakefield register office (Ref. 2d 566) during the second quarter of 1965, at the age of 75. Just nine years later, and again at Wakefield, the death of William Lawton Collett (junior) recorded at Wakefield register office (Vol. 5 1404) when he died on 7th March 1974 aged 52
73S4 – Norris Collett was born in 1913 at Bramley
73S5 – Violet Collett was born in 1917 at Bramley
73S6 – William Lawton Collett was born in 1922 at Bramley
David Collett [73R6] was born at Leeds on 6th May 1893, with his birth registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 409) during the second quarter of the year. He was seven years of age in 1901 when his family was residing at Bosnia Grove in Armley. After his mother died, his father moved the family to Cedar Mount in Armley-with-Bramley where David Collett of Leeds was 17 in 1911 when he was working with his younger brother Harold (below) as a brickmaker with the Fireclay Company. Seven years after that day, David Collett married Mabel March in Leeds, with their wedding recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 465) during the first three months of 1918. Later that same year, the couple was blessed with the birth of their first child, when the birth of Walter Collett was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 431) during the last three months of 1918
Tragically, the boy was only seven years old when he died, following which his death was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 293) during the fourth quarter of 1925. By that time, Mabel already had a daughter, Emily, whose birth was recorded at Bramley (Ref. 9b 422) during the third quarter of 1921 when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as March. Around the time of the death of her first child, Mabel was already expecting the birth of another child, with the birth of son George W Collett recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 346) during the second quarter of 1926. Once again, the child’s mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as March. The later death of David Collett was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 376) during the last three months of 1965 when he was 72. Two years later, the death of his daughter, Emily E Collett, was also recorded at Leeds (Ref. 2c 303) during the third quarter of 1967 when she was only 45 years old
73S7 – Walter Collett was born in 1918 at Leeds
73S8 – Emily E Collett was born in 1921 at Leeds
73S9 – George Walter Collett was born in 1926 at Leeds
Harold Collett [73R7] was born at Armley on 22nd July 1895 and was five years of age in the census of 1901 when he was living with his family at Bosnia Grove in Armley. It was also at Armley-with-Bramley, at Cedar Mount, that he was still living with his widowed father in 1911, when Harold Collett was 15 and already working as a brickmaker at the Fireclay Company. Nine year later, Harold married widow Elsie, with whom he had a son. The marriage of Harold Collett and Elsie Goodchild was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 1266) during the second quarter of 1920
As Elsie Bladen, she was born in 1893 at Carlton, just south of Leeds, and was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Bladen of Hemsworth, although John Bladen was originally from West Bromwich. It was in 1915 that Elsie had married Joseph Henry Goodchild of Leeds who was tragically killed on 12th April 1918 while serving on the front line with the Machine Gun Corps. From that marriage Elsie had a daughter Edith Goodchild, who later married George Penney. The death of Harold Collett was recorded at Leeds register office (Vol. 5 0039) during the second quarter of 1980 at the age of 85
73S10 – KENNETH COLLETT was born in 1929 at Leeds
Walter Collett [73R8] was born at Leeds in 1897 when his birth was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 389) during the third quarter of the year. In 1901, when Walter Collett from Leeds was three years old, he and his family were residing at Bosnia Grove in Armley. Ten years later, following the death of his mother, Walter’s family was living at Cedar Mount in Armley-with-Bramley, from where he was employed as a worsted cloth finisher at the age of only 13 years. Walter Collett enlisted with the 14th Foot Battalion of Prince of Wales’ Own West Yorkshire Regiment and was Rifleman 30647725. In the days approaching the Third Battle of Ypres, aka The Battle of Passchendaele, which was planned to commence on 31st July 1917, General Sir Hubert Gough led the allied troops to secure the strategic vantage point of Gheluvelt Plateau overlooking Ypres. That involved a four-day bombardment by field guns, to which the Germans retaliated by bringing in more troops to reinforce their defences and to introduce, for the first time in warfare, the use of the deadly mustard gas
It was during that offensive that William was killed on 25th July 1917. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission record of his death refers to his parents as Albert and Ellen Collett of Armley and included the note that he was aged 28 and that he was buried at Coxyde Military Cemetery in Belgium. Back home, the death of Walter Collett, a private with the West Yorkshire Regiment was recorded in the British Nationals Armed Forces Deaths (Ref. 346 148) for 1917
Norris Collett [73R9] was born at Bosnia Grove in Armley on 17th July 1899 and was just one year old at the time of the 1901 Census when he was living there with his family. His birth, like some of his siblings, was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 387) during the third quarter of 1899. He was another child of Albert and Mary Collett and was 11 years of age in the next census of 1911. By that time he and his father were residing at Cedar Mount in Armley-with-Bramley after his mother had already passed away. Many years later, when he was around thirty-four years old, Norris Collett married Amy Russell in 1933 with their wedding recorded at the Leeds South register office (Ref. 9b 1047) during the fourth quarter of that year. So far, no record of any children has been found
Amy Collett nee Russell died at Wortley on 6th October 1980 when she was 79. Eight years after being widowed, Norris Collett died on 15th December 1988 aged 89 when his passing was recorded at Leeds register office (Vol. 5 477), after which he was buried with his late wife in Wortley. The gravestone for Norris and Amy Collett, in the Lower & Upper Wortley Graveyard, is placed in front of the war memorial headstone for Norris’ older brother Albert Edward Collett (above) who died in 1918. It reads: “Beloved Aunt Amy Collett died 6th October 1980 aged 79, and Beloved Uncle Norris Collett died 15th December 1988 aged 89 – R I P”
It is now established that Norris Collett, aged 18 and from Leeds, initially served with the 4th Battalion of the Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment in 1917. It was at Naas (?) in Yorkshire where he was residing in 1917 and again 1919, where his eldest brother Arthur Edward Collett (above) had been residing in 1915. By 1919, Norris Collett was 19 and was serving with the Durham Light Infantry
Lily Collett [73R10] was born at Leeds on 22nd July 1901 with her birth recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 371) during the third quarter of the year. She was only a few years old when her mother died and was nine years old in the census of 1911 when she living with her family at Cedar Mount in Armley-with-Bramley. She married Robert Draper (1897-1983) in 1922, with whom she had two children, Robert William Draper (1922-1999) and Daisy Phyllis Draper (1923-2003). It was on 21st June 1983 that Lily Draper nee Collett passed away just one month short of her eighty-second birthday, with her death recorded at Bradford register office (Vol. 4 0388)
Clarence Collett [73R11] was born at Leeds on 11th March 1907 and was the last child of Arthur Edward Collett and Mary Lawton, whose birth was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 323) during the second quarter of the year. It is possible that his mother died during, or very shortly, after the birth. He was four years of age in the Armley-with-Bramley census of 1911, when he was living with his widowed father at Cedar Mount. It was during the last three months of 1932 that Clarence Collett and Ethel Padgett were married, with their wedding recorded at Leeds South register office (Ref. 9b 932). It was only after the Second World War that their son Gordon was born, when his birth was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 641) during the first three months of 1947. Just over fifty years later, the death of Clarence Collett was recorded at Leeds (Vol. 0921a a21c) early in 1999
73S11 – Gordon Collett was born in 1947 at Leeds
Edith Collett [73R12] was born at Wortley in 1889 and possibly at Copley Street in Wortley, where she was living with her parents in 1891. The birth of Edith Collett, the eldest child of Frederick Collett and Ann Welldon, was registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 379) during the second quarter of 1889. She was two years old in 1891 and was 12 in 1901, when the family was still residing at Copley Street in Wortley. Ten years later, and following the death of her father, Edith Collett aged 22 was suffering with her health, when she was described as a sick inmate at the Bramley Union Workhouse. Also on that day, her mother and two younger brothers were living nearby in Armley-with-Bramley. It was just two years later, when the death of Edith Collett was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 320) during the third quarter of 1913, when she was only 24 years old
Fred Burnett Collett [73R13] was born at Copley Street in Wortley in 1891 when his birth was registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 380) during the third quarter of the year. He was the second of the three children of Frederick Collett and Ann Welldon and, in 1901 he and his two siblings were recorded at Copley Street in Wortley with just their mother, when Fred B Collett was nine years old. Following the later death of his father, it was just Fred and his younger brother Lawrence (below) who were still living with their widowed mother Ann at Armley-with-Bramley. By then Fred Burnett Collett was a stable assistant working on the railway. The death of Fred B Collett was recorded at Leeds North register office (Ref. 9b 469) during the second quarter of 1933, when he was 40 years old. The headstone on his grave at New Wortley Cemetery states his full name as Fred Burnett Collett who died on 20th April 1933. The lack of any marriage record suggests that he remained a single man all his short life
Lawrence Collett [73R14] was born at Copley Street in Wortley in 1894, where his parents were living in 1891 and 1901. His birth was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 383) during the final quarter of 1894. He was six years of age in 1901, although by 1911, when he was 16, he had left school and was working as an errand boy for a local newsagent in Armley-with-Bramley. At that time in his life he was living with his widowed mother and older brother Fred (above), when their absent older sister was very ill and died two years later. It seems that he lived in the Leeds area for the whole of his life as a single man, with the death of Lawrence Collett recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 231) during the fourth quarter of 1966 when he was 73
Walter Burnett Collett [73R15] was born at Wortley on 13th March 1885 and was most likely the base-born son of Annie Collett, the third daughter of Burnett Collett and Elizabeth Wightman. His birth was registered at Bramley (Ref. 9b 363) during the second quarter of 1885 and, in 1891, Walter B Collett was six years of age when he was living at Ashley Road in Upper Wortley with unmarried Annie Collett and her brother Jonas Collett who was 21. Both Jonas and Walter were said to be Annie’s brother. What happened to Walter after Annie was married just a few weeks later, is not known, nor has he been identified within the census of 1901 when he would have been 16 and may have been in military, since that was around the time of the Boer War when many young men were serving with the British Army in South Africa
However, by the time the next census was conducted in 1911, Walter Collett from Leeds was 26, unmarried, and working as a plasterer in the building industry, when he was one of four boarders at the Bingley (Yorkshire) home of widow and boarding housekeeper Mrs J Kinder and her nine-year-old daughter Nellie. Eighteen months later, the marriage of Walter B Collett and Adeline Hewitt was recorded at Halifax register office (Ref. 9a 1051) during the last three months of 1912. Adeline had been born in 1892 and was the daughter of town crier Robert Hewitt, and his wife Mary, of Kirkby Moorside in North Yorkshire, where she was baptised on 18th July 1892. Significantly, the only child of Walter and Adeline was named after Walter’s mother, when the birth of Annie M Collett was recorded at Halifax register office (Ref. 9a 904) during the third quarter of 1913, with the mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Hewitt. The M in her name may have been after Adeline’s mother Mary
Tragically, their daughter was only 18 years old when the family suffered the loss of Adeline Hewitt Collett on 30th August 1931 when she died at Pellon, a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, two miles south-west of Halifax. Shortly thereafter she was laid to rest in the grounds of Christ Church Cemetery in Pellon, West Yorkshire. Eight years later widower Walter B Collett was still living in Halifax when he was recorded in the 1939 Register, which was prepared in advance of the pending Second World War. That day his date of birth was reported to be as recorded above, when he was still working as a plasterer. By then daughter Annie had departed, maybe to be married, while the only other person at the property was Florence Smith. After a further twelve years Walter was again residing within the Halifax area when he passed away just one month prior to his sixty-sixth birthday with his death recorded at Halifax register office (Ref. 2b 930) during the first three months of 1951. The record of his passing, on 13th February 1951, stated he died in the Halifax General Hospital with his home address as 21 Gibson Street in Halifax, which was also where he was living in 1939. The Will of Walter Burnett Collett was proved in London on 14th March 1951, with the sole beneficiary named as Florence Smith, a widow, when his personal estate amounted to £117 14 Shillings and 11 Pence
73S12 – Annie M Collett was born in 1913 at Halifax
Frederick Harold Collett [73R16] was born at Wortley in 1898 with his birth recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 351) during the second quarter of the year. He may have been born at Silver Royd Hill in Wortley, where he was three years of age in 1901, the eldest of the five children of Jonas Collett and Harriet Zillah Peart. It was at Armley-with-Bramley that he was living with his family in 1911, when Frederick H Collett was 13 and already working as an errand boy for a shoe shop (boot dealer). He was 26 when the marriage of Frederick H Collett and Elsie Nason was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 697) during the second quarter of 1924. Nine months later the first of the couple’s two known children was born, while seven years after that, Elsie gave birth to a daughter. Frederick was 63 years old when he died in 1961, with the death of Frederick H Collett, born in 1898, recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 220) during the last three months of 1961. After fifteen years as a widow, the death of Eslie Collett, nee Nason, was also recorded at Yorkshire register office (Vol. 5 0151) in 1976, when her date of birth was confirmed as 26th June 1900
73S13 – Ernest H Collett was born in 1925 at Bramley
73S13 – Margaret J Collett was born in 1932 at Bramley
Clifford Collett [73R17] was born at Silver Royd Hill in Wortley during 1900 with his birth recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 387) during the third quarter of that year, making him around six months old on the day of the census in 1901. At the age of 10 years, Clifford was still attending school, while living with his family at Armley-with-Bramley. It was very late in his life when he married Mary Gale in 1947, when their wedding was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 2c 787) during the first three months of the year. They were only married for five years when Clifford Collett died at the age of 52 with his death recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 223) during the last quarter of that year. Two years after being widowed, the death of Mary Collett was also recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 483) during the first quarter of 1954, when she was 48
Edmund Collett [73R19] was born at Wortley in 1903 when with his birth, as the third child of Jonas and Harriet Collett, recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 364) during the first quarter of the year. During the next three or four years the family moved the short distance to Armley-with-Bramley, where Edmund was seven years of age in the census of 1911 when he was attending school while living with his family. Edmund was 29 years old when he married Florence Sawdon with their wedding recorded at Leeds South register office (Ref. 9b 1184) during the second quarter of 1933. At the end of that same year, their daughter was born at Leeds. Less than seventeen years after that day, the death of Edmund Collett was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 193) during the first three months of 1950, when he was only 46 years old
73S15 – Joan F Collett was born in 1933 at Leeds
Ernest Collett [73R20] was born at Armley-with-Bramley on 29th December 1908 with his birth recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 431) during the first three months of 1909. It was there also where the family was living in 1911 when Ernest was two years old. It was at the Leeds North register office, twenty-three years later, that the marriage of Ernest Collett and Mildred Milner was recorded (Ref. 9b 712) during the third quarter of 1934. They were married for just of fifty years, when the death of Ernest Collett, aged 76, was recorded at Yorkshire register office (Vol. 5 261) during the summer quarter of 1985, when his date of birth was confirmed as given above. Their marriage produced two children. Elaine M Collett, whose birth was recorded at Leeds North register office (Ref. 9b 596) during the second quarter of 1937, who married Clive E Riches in 1961 at Leeds (Ref. 2c 555). She was followed two years later by Malcolm E Collett whose birth was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 605) during the fourth quarter of 1939 when, as with his sister, their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Milner
Their mother, Mildred, was around eighty-six years of age when she passed away in 1997 with the death of Mildred Collett, nee Milner, recorded at Yorkshire register office (Vol. 0921h h13c)
73S16 – Elaine M Collett was born in 1937 at Leeds
73S17 – Malcolm E Collett was born in 1939 at Leeds
Elsie Roma Collett [73S2] was born at Leeds on 27th December 1910 when her birth was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 213) during the first quarter of 1911. In the Armley census of 1911, Elsie was three months old, the only daughter of Albert Edward Collett and Margaret Hunter MacDonald, who eventually gave birth to a son at Leeds just over four years later. Her father passed away at the age of only 31 while being treated for his injuries, sustained during the Great War, at the Royal Herbert Military Hospital in Greenwich, where he died on 9th November 1918. The cause of death was the influenza pandemic of 1918, otherwise known as Spanish Flu
Eighteen months after the loss of her father, Elsie Roma Collett, aged nine years, sailed from Southampton to Auckland in New Zealand with her mother Margaret Hunter Collett who was 35, together with her brother Jack Collett (below) who was only four years of age. The three of them were accompanied by Margaret’s mother, Mary Ann MacDonald, who was 57 years old. They travelled onboard the ship 'Ruahine', which took 48 days to reach its destination, when the family’s first home address in New Zealand was 67 Esplanade, Kaiti, Gisborne, as confirmed in her father’s military records
On 29th July 1935, when she was nearly twenty-five, Elsie Roma married Kenneth Norman McGonagle (1905-1986), New Zealand (Ref. 1935/4377), when she was “given away by her brother Jack”. The Gisborne newspaper, the Poverty Bay Herald, gave a colourful account of their wedding, as follows:
“Holy Trinity Church was the scene of a pretty wedding on Monday morning, when Elsie Roma, daughter of Mrs Collett of Gisborne, and the late Mr A E Collett of Leeds, Yorkshire, England, was married to Kenneth Norman, second son of Mr and Mrs McGonagle, New Plymouth. The church was prettily decorated with a central arch of pink and white camellias and vases of mixed bulbs. The bride, who was given away by her brother, Mr Jack Collett, looked charming in her graceful frock of ivory chiffon velvet worn with silver shoes and hose to tone, and a dainty embroidered silk net veil.
The bridesmaids, Miss E Beets of Otoko, wearing powder blue silk crepe, and Miss C Knopwood of Gisborne, wearing rose pink silk crepe trimmed with pleating, and shoes and silk hose to match their prettily modelled frocks. The little flower girl, Miss Bunty Ogren, cousin of the bridge, was a dainty figure in rose pink embossed velvet trimmed with silver to match her silver shoes. The best man was Mr Apted of Napier, and the groomsman, Mr R Harrison. The subsequent reception was held at the Freesia Lounge, where the guests were received by the bride’s mother, who wore a becoming frock of wine coloured silk and a hat to match”
The year after their wedding Elsie gave birth to a daughter, Vivienne Margaret McGonagle, on 25th May 1936. The couple was eventually divorced at the end of 1944 after nearly nine years of marriage, by which time Elsie was 34. That was the first of two marriages for Elsie Roma Collett who, at the age of 39, married (2) Kenneth John Flint (1918-1987) in 1949 at the Baptist Manse in Gisborne. The couple lived at 17 Hirini Street in Gisborne and an article in the Poverty Bay Herald indicated that Kenneth Flint had been injured during the war. He was also born in Leeds, England, and was the only son of Mr and Mrs T Flint of 20 Greenhead Lane in Dalton, Huddersfield. Elsie was 45 when her brother Jack Collett died in 1955 at the age of 39, the cause of death being tuberculosis. Twelve years after losing her brother, Elsie’s mother Margaret was living at Mount Albert in Auckland when she passed away aged 82. Elsie and Kenneth J Flint had been married for thirty-eight years when he passed away aged 67 in 1987. Four years later, Elsie Roma Flint died at Christs Hospital in Selwyn Village, Auckland, on Friday 26th April 1991, when she was 80 years old. Her ashes were interred at Waikumete Cemetery on Thursday 2nd May 1991, the day after her service of remembrance
A tribute to Elsie Roma Flint was published in the local newspaper as follows: “FLINT, Elsie Roma, at Christ’s Hospital, Selwyn Village, finally at peace after a long illness, much loved mother of Vivienne McGonagle, and wife of the late Kenneth Joh Flint. She gave so much to so many and asked for so little. Elsie’s service will be held at the chapel of Christ the King, Selwyn Village, tomorrow (Wednesday)”
John Percival Collett [73S3], who was known as Jack, was born at Leeds on 8th March 1916, with his birth also recorded at Armley register office. He was two years old when his father Albert Edward Collett, who had been adversely affected by his service for King & Country during the First World War, died while a patient at the Royal Herbert Military Hospital in Greenwich. Not long after that, Jack and his sister Elsie (above), together with their widowed mother and maternal grandmother sailed to a new life in New Zealand, when they initially settled at 67 Esplanade, Kaiti in Gisborne, overlooking Poverty Bay, where they were still living when sister Elsie was married and given away by Jack in 1935
On that day Jack was 19 years old and, eight years later, he had got himself in trouble with the police and was summoned to attend Auckland Magistrates Court on 26th November 1943. The police description of him read as follows: Age 27, a labourer, 5ft 10inches tall, fresh brown complexion, hazel eyes, medium strong build, portion of ring finger and little finger missing. His appearance in court featured in a newspaper report under the headline
“Sale of Whiskey – Offence by Labourer – A Month’s Imprisonment – Two charges of selling liquor without a licence were brought against John Percival Collett, 27, a labourer, who pleaded guilty to both charges when he appeared before Mr J Morling S M, in the Police Court today. Sub-Inspector Harley, said Collett who was in a city hotel yesterday afternoon, approached three service men and offered to sell them a bottle of whiskey. One of the servicemen bought the whiskey, paying Collett £5. Later the purchaser complained about the quality of the whiskey. Collett admitted selling two bottles of whiskey on November 1st for £6 for each bottle, stating that he had sold it on behalf of another man. Collett said he received £2 10 Shillings for his part of the transaction. On one charge, Collett was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment and on the other he was convicted and discharged”
Twelve years later, John Percival ‘Jack’ Collett suffered a premature death at the age of 39, when he died during 1955, with the cause of death was attributed to tuberculosis
Norris Collett [73S4] was born in 1913 with his birth recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 477) during the second quarter of 1913, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Nicholson. It was only eighteen years later that the premature death of Norris Collett was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 9b 547) during the last quarter of 1931
Violet Collett [73S5] was born at Bramley on 12th July 1917, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 9b 304) during the third quarter of the year, when again Nicholson was confirmed as the mother’s maiden-name. Nine years after the death of her older brother Norris (above), the marriage of Violet Collett and (1) Wilfred Jones was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 9b 585) during the third quarter of 1940. Wilfred may have been a casualty of the Second World War, since Violet Jones later married (2) Harry Waterson in Leeds during the summer of 1943, with whom she had a son, Stuart Waterson, who was born in 1944, who went on to married Joyce Harris in 1966. It was at Leeds where Violet was living, when she died on 14th March 1987
William Lawton Collett [73S6] was born at Bramley on 29th June 1922, another son of William Lawton Collett and Ada B Nicholson, whose birth was recorded at Bramley register office (Ref. 9b 409) during the second quarter of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Nicholson. The marriage of William L Collett and (1) Iris Martin was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 694) during the first three months of 1948, with their only known child born in the following year. The birth of Patricia A Collett was recorded at Leeds (Ref. c 477) in the last three months of 1949. William and Iris were only married for thirteen years when Iris died, the death of Iris Collett being recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 503) during the fourth quarter of 1961. Her death certificate stated that she had been born at Rotherham in 1924. Six years later, William and his daughter were still living in Leeds, where Patricia A Collett married Thomas S Francis at the end of 1967 (Ref. 2c 331)
However, although no record of a second marriage for William has been found, either in Leeds or Pontefract, it is understood that he fathered two further daughters. Curiously, at the recording of the birth of the second of the two, Joanne Collett, her mother’s maiden-name was again given as Martin. This raises the question, was the mother a sister of Iris Martin, his late wife or some other family relative. The birth was recorded at Pontefract register office (Ref. 2c 912) during the quarter of 1967
More puzzling is the ‘so say’ birth of the first of those two extra children. The only birth of Tracy A Collett was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 654) but during the third quarter of 1961 just before the death of Iris Collett nee Martin. However, that child’s mother’s maiden-name was Brayshaw. Tracy A Collett married Martin Cliff at Pontefract (Vol. 5 959) during the spring of 1988. Furthermore, in 1957 and 1958, two more Collett children were born in Leeds, to a mother whose maiden-name was Brayshaw, and they were Anthony S Collett (Ref. 2c 623) and Julie M Collett (Ref. 2c 299). Those three Brayshaw births suggest that they belong to a separate Collett family
The death of William Lawton Collett (junior) was recorded at Wakefield (Vol. 5 1404) during the spring of 1974, when he was 52 years old and only nine years after the death of William Lawton Collett (senior) was also recorded at Wakefield
73T1 – Patricia A Collett was born in 1949 at Leeds
73T2 – Tracy A Collett was born in 1961 at Pontefract
73T3 – Joanne Collett was born in 1967 at Pontefract
Kenneth Collett [73S10] was the son of Harold Collett and Elsie Goodchild, nee Bladen, whose birth was recorded at Leeds North register office (Ref. 9b 516) during the first quarter of 1929. The birth record also confirmed that his mother’s previously name was Bladen. In June 1951 Kenneth married (1) Sheila Thompson at Barkston Ash, North Yorkshire, with their daughter born in 1952. He later married (2) Patricia Lockwood who was born in 1930. That relationship produced a son for the couple, who was born at home in Armley. By 1972, Kenneth and Patricia were divorced, after which Kenneth married (3) Joan Conlon (1935-1984) with whom he had another daughter, Victoria Collett. Patricia Collett then married Peter Blackburn, at which point in time, her son adopted the name Mark Patrick Blackburn
73T4 – Christine A Collett was born in 1952 at Leeds
73T5 – MARK PATRICK COLLETT was born in 1964 at Leeds
73T6 – Victoria Collett was born in 1971 at Leeds
Ernest H Collett [73S13] was born at Armley-with-Bramley in 1925, his birth recorded at Bramley register officer (Ref. 9b 370) during the first three months of the year, when his mother’s maiden name was confirmed as Nason. It was around the time of his twenty-fifth birthday that Ernest H Collett married Hilda Rogerson with the event recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 819) during the first quarter of 1950. The birth of their two daughters were also recorded at Leeds register office
73T7 – Jean Collett was born in 1951 at Leeds
73T8 – Linda Collett was born in 1954 at Leeds
Margaret J Collett [73S14] was born in 1932 and her birth was recorded at Leeds South register office (Ref. 9b 535) during the first quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Nason. It was during the last quarter of 1954 that the marriage of Margaret J Collett and James F Greaves was recorded at Leeds (Ref. 2c 323). Their daughter Karen I Greaves was born in 1959 with her birth also recorded coincidentally at Leeds with the same ledger number (Ref. 2c 323) during the last three months of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett
Joan F Collett [73S15] as born in 1933 and was the only known child of Edmund Collett and Florence Sawdon, whose birth was recorded at Leeds South register office (Ref. 9b 509) during the last three months of 1933, the year her parents were married. Her birth record also confirmed that her mother’s maiden-name was Sawdon. She was barely 17 years old when Joan married Ronald H Baldwin with their wedding recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 289) during the second quarter of 1951
Christine A Collett [73T4] was born in 1952, the only child of Kenneth Collett and Sheila Thompson, whose birth was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 361) during the third quarter of 1952. It is possible that she was the Christine Collett who married Malcolm Dawson during the second quarter of 1976 with that wedding recorded at Leeds register office (Vol. 0124 58)
Mark Patrick Collett [73T5] was born at Armley in February 1964, but when his mother separated from his father in the 1970s and married Peter Blackburn, Mark also took the Blackburn surname. It is thanks to Mark that the much revised Collett families of Leeds were dramatically amended in 2019 following by the introduction of this new branch of The Leeds Line. Previously, some of the details were included in error in Part 36 – The Barwick-on-Elmet Leeds Line and in the fifth appendix therein. Mark was living and working in York from 2010 until early in 2018, when he and his partner Olga moved to Tarragona in Spain, Olga being from Barcelona
Victoria Jane Collett [73T6] was born in 1971 when her birth was recorded at Leeds register office (Ref. 2c 1045) during the second quarter of that year when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Conlon. She was the third child of Kenneth Collett, but the only child by his third wife John Conlon
Jean Collett [73T7] was born at Leeds in 1951, and it was there that her birth was recorded (Ref. 2c 616) during the first three months of 1951 when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Rogerson. It was at North Yorkshire register office in Cleveland where the marriage of Jean Collett and Ian C Main was recorded (Vol. 3 2061) during the spring of 1979
Linda Collett [73T8] was born at Leeds in 1954, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 2c 488) during the first quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Rogerson. She was nearly twenty-one years old when her marriage to David F Smith was also recorded at Leeds register office (Vol. 5 0173) during the autumn of 1974