PART FORTY
The Herefordshire Line
This line commences with John Collett (Ref. 5M8)
whose earlier family generations feature in Part 5 – The Tewkesbury Line
Updated June 2026
This is the family line of Joan Cowdell (see Ref. 40O3) and
Beverley Allen, whose grandfather is mentioned under Ref. 40O1
JOHN COLLETT [40M1] (from Part 5 - Ref. 5M8) was born at Tewkesbury on 9th March 1763 where he was baptised six years later, on 10th December 1769, one of the sons of Joseph Collett and Jane Lysom. It seems he had no ties with the town when he left Tewkesbury and settle in Herefordshire, either before or around the turn of the century. On 17th August 1807 he married widow Oriana Evans at Fownhope-with-Fawley in Herefordshire. Fownhope is a village six miles south-east of the City of Hereford
Oriana’s maiden-name prior to her first marriage had been Pritchard and, as Oriana Pritchard, she was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 6th August 1775 when it was only her mother’s name that was recorded for baptism, Elizabeth Pritchard. It is therefore likely that Oriana was base-born and conceived out of wedlock. Being twelve years younger than John Collett it was not surprising their marriage produced three children for John, with all of them born at Fownhope before his untimely death there during 1813 when John Collett was fifty years old. Following the death of her husband, Oriana Collett married James Powell in 1814, with whom she had a further two sons; William Powell in 1815, and Henry Powell in 1817 who was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 4th April 1817, the son of James Powell and Oriana Collett
William Powell was born at Fownhope in 1815 and he married Elizabeth Apperley who was born at Fownhope, where the couple were married in 1840. It was also at Fownhope that all their children were born. By 1861 the marriage had produced five children for William aged 45, and Elizabeth who was 46. Twenty years later most of the children had left the family home at Parkers Pitch in Fownhope, leaving just William, an agricultural labourer aged 66, his wife Elizabeth also 66, and their two unmarried sons William and Charles who were 29 and 27 respectively. They were both working as labourers on that day. William Powell appears to have spent his whole life in Fownhope, where he died not long after that census day in 1881
The children of William and Elizabeth were: Anne W Powell born in 1843; Henry Powell born in 1845; William Powell born in 1851; Charles Powell born in 1853; and Frederick Powell born in 1855
40N1 – John Collett was born at Fownhope in 1807
40N2 – Thomas Collett was born at Fownhope in 1810
40N3 – JOHN COLLETT was born at Fownhope in 1812
John Collett [40N1] was born in 1807 and was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 1st November 1807 when the baptism record confirmed that he was the son of John and Oriana Collett, who were only married there less than three months earlier. Tragically, he was only around two years old when he died at Fownhope in 1809
Thomas Collett [40N2] was born in 1810 and was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 11th June 1810, another son of John and Oriana Collett. However, there no record of him from that time onwards has been found so far, therefore it may be the case that he too was subject to an infant or childhood death like his older brother John (above)
JOHN COLLETT 40N3] was born in 1813 and was baptised at Fownhope-with-Fawley on 30th May 1813, the only known surviving child of John and Oriana Collett. He may not have known his father who died that same year, following which his mother married James Powell in 1914, producing two half-brothers for John. Twenty-one years later, on 17th December 1835, he married Ann Fletcher of nearby Hereford and they had eight children who, it is believed, were all born while the family was living at Fownhope. In the first national census on 6th June 1841 John and Ann Collett were living at Lower Nash in Fownhope with their daughter and their son. John Collett was 29, his wife Ann was 26, and their two children were named as Jessy Collett who was five, and John Collett who was two years of age
Over the next ten years a further four children were added to the family. By 1851 the Fownhope family comprised John Collett aged 38 was a master mason, and Ann Collett aged 35 was a dressmaker, and their six children. They were Jesse Collett aged 14 and a dressmaker’s apprentice, John Collett who was 11, Myra (Mira) Collett who was eight and the only child at school, Emma Collett who was five, Reuben Collett who was two, and baby Charles Collett who was under one year old. Ten years later in 1861, the family had increased in size again by the addition of a further two children, by which time the family had left Fownhope and were then living in the City of Hereford at Aylesbrook Place. John from Fownhope was 47 and a journeyman mason, and his wife Ann was 46 and a dressmaker. Of their eight children, five of them were still living with their parents and they were daughters (Myra) Elizabeth aged 18, and Grace who was six, and their sons Reuben aged 11, Charles who was nine, and Ebenezer who was eight years old. Completing the household that day was 66-year-old Elizabeth Whetstone, the mother-in-law of John Collett. The three missing children had already left home and were living and working elsewhere. Daughter Jesse was 24, Emma was 15, and John was 21
At the start of the next decade the family was still residing in Hereford city, where John Collett aged 56 and from Fownhope was a mason, when Ann Collett was 54 and continuing her work as a dressmaker. Four of their eight children were still living there with them. They were Reuben Collett was 22 and a mason working with his father, Charley Collett was 20 and another mason, Ebenezer Collett was 18 and a carpenter, while Grace Collett was 15 and attending school. Every member of the household had been born at Fownhope
Ten years later, as confirmed in the census of 1881, John’s occupation was still that of a stonemason when he was 68, when his wife Ann was 66, and the only member of their family still living with them was their youngest daughter Grace A Taylor aged 25. With her was her husband, and their six-month-old son Walter. At that time, the Collett family home was at 4 Tanbrook Place, off Widemarsh Street, in the All-Saints’ district of Hereford. Living just a short distance away from John and Ann, at 1 Tanbrook Place, was their son Ebenezer Collett and his young family. Three years later the death of John Collett was recorded at Hereford (Ref. 6a 333) during 1883, when he was incorrectly reported to be 73 rather than 70. No record of his widow has been found after 1881
40O1 – Jesse Collett was born in 1836 at Fownhope
40O2 – John Collett was born in 1839 at Fownhope
40O3 – Myra Elizabeth Collett was born in 1842 at Fownhope
40O4 – Emma Collett was born in 1846 at Fownhope
40O5 – Reuben Thomas Collett was born in 1848 at Fownhope
40O6 – Charles Henry Collett was born in 1851 at Fownhope
40O7 – Ebenezer Collett was born in 1853 at Fownhope
40O8 – Grace Ann Collett was born in 1855 at Fownhope
Jesse Collett [40O1] was born at Fownhope in 1836 and was baptised at St Mary’s Church in Fownhope-with-Fawley on 28th June 1836, the eldest child and daughter of John Collett and Ann Fletcher. For some subsequent records, her name was written as Jessie. Up until 1851 or just after, her family were still living Fownhope, where Jesse (Jessy) was five years of age in 1841, and 14 years old in 1851 when she was an apprentice dressmaker under instruction from her mother. Afterwards her parents moved to Hereford, with Jesse living within the Cripplegate district of East London in 1861, where she was recorded as 24 and from Fownhope, working as a barmaid at the Brown Bear Inn in Aldersgate. It seems very likely that she had moved to London with her brother John (below) who was also living and working there in 1861
It was during the following year that Jesse Collett married Henry Charles Pittock at St Margaret's Church in Stoke Newington on 2nd August 1862. Their marriage produced three children for the couple, and all born while they were living at Bethnal Green. The three children were Grace Pittock who was born in 1864, Ann Myra Pittock who was born on 25th September 1868, and Walter Charles Pittock who was born during 1870. Not long after the birth of her son, Jessie Pittock nee Collett died during the first three months of 1871 at the age of 34, when she and her family were living at 14 Stamford Road in the Tottenham area of London. On recording her death at Edmonton (Ref. 3a 138) her age was said to be 31 rather than 35
The Tottenham census which followed shortly after her passing simply listed the family as Henry Charles Pittock a widower who was 30 and a silversmith’s assistant, Grace Pittock who was six, Annie Mira Pittock who was four, and Walter Charles Pittock who was one year old. It was around five years after the death of his wife that Henry Charles Pittock was married for a second time although, by the time of the next census in 1881, no trace of him has been found anywhere in Great Britain or in any census thereafter
As regards their three children, it is known that Grace Pittock married but never had any children, while Walter Pittock later became a married man producing two sons, one of which died in infancy. The surviving son never married. Jesse and Henry’s other daughter, Ann Myra Pittock, who was always known as Annie, was 19 when she married 26-year-old Alfred Harris on 13th September 1886 in Croydon. She was confirmed as the daughter of Henry Charles Pittock, with Alfred described as the son of William Harris. The couple’s tenth of eleven Harris children was the grandfather of Beverley Allen, who kindly provided the details of the short life of Jessie Collett. Annie Myra Harris nee Pittock died on 12th March 1944 at the age of 76 when her death was recorded at Surrey register office (Ref. 2a 898)
John Collett [40O2] was born at Fownhope in 1839 where he was baptised on 26th July 1839 at St Mary’s Church, the eldest son of John and Ann Collett. According to the census records for Fownhope, he was two years of age at the time of the census in 1841 and was 11 years old in 1851. Sometime before 1861 his family left Fownhope and moved the short distance into the City of Hereford. John was not living with the family at the time of the census that year, but had travelled to London to seek work, probably with his sister Jessie (above). The census return that year recorded John Collett from Fownhope as 21 and living in the Westminster area of London where he was employed as biscuit maker. Apart from being a witness at the Holmer wedding of his sister Mira (below) in 1865, no other record of John has been found in England after that time
Elizabeth Mira Collett [40O3] was born at Fownhope, perhaps at the end of 1843 or early in 1844, with her birth registered at Hereford (Ref. xxvi 153) during the first quarter of 1844. However, it was as Mira Elizabeth that she was baptised at St Mary’s Church in Fownhope on 7th July 1844, another daughter of John and Ann Collett (Bishop’s Transcript). Her parents appear to have used her second named on some occasions, while it was as Mira Collett that she was living with her parents at Fownhope in the census of 1851. During the next ten years the family moved to Hereford where she was recorded as Elizabeth Collett aged 18 years in 1861. As Mira Collett, she married Albert William Hart at Holmer in Hereford on 15th October 1865, when she was confirmed as the daughter of John Collett, a stonemason. The marriage was register at Hereford (Ref. 6a 1019) and confirmed that Albert was the son of Samuel Hart, both masons, while the witnesses at the wedding were Mira’s sister Emma Collett (below) and her brother John Collett (above). Albert had been born at Sevenhampton in Gloucestershire around 1844, the son of Samuel and Sarah Hart, where his family was still living in 1851 when Albert W Hart was seven years old
The first sixteen years of their married life together produced nine children for Mira and Albert. The first child was born during the year following their marriage, when the couple was living in the City of Worcester. Shortly thereafter. the family settled back at Holmer in Hereford, where they were living in 1871. The census that year recorded the family as Albert Hart who was 27 and a mason, his wife Mira Hart also 27, Ebenezer Hart who was five, Charles Hart who was three, Arthur Hart who was one, and Ada Hart who was only a few months old. Sometime around 1875 the family made another move, most likely because of Albert’s occupation as a mason, when they settled in the village of Abberley. And it was while they were living at Abberley that their next three children were born. Abberley is approximately five miles south-west of Stourport-on-Severn
By the time the 1881 Census was conducted, Albert Hart was 36 and still working as a mason. He and his family were living at Home Lodge in Abberley at that time when the rest of his family comprised his wife Mira Hart who was 37 and from Hereford, their sons Albert Hart who was 14 - missing in 1871, Charles Hart who was 13, Arthur Hart who was 11, Frederick Hart who was eight, Thomas Hart who was two, Henry Hart who was one year old, and their daughters Ada Hart who was 10, Alice Hart who was six, and Leah Hart who was four. Two further children were added to the family during the next five years, and they were Jessie Margaret Hart who was born in 1883, and Annie Amelia Hart (1886-1966). That situation was confirmed in the next census of 1891, by which time the Hart family was residing at Coles Place in the village of Pensax, just north-west of Abberley
According to the 1891 census return only seven children were still living with Albert and Mira, both 46, with Albert having a dual role by then of publican and stonemason. Their children that day were Arthur 21, Ada 19, Leah 14, Thomas 12, Henry 11, Maggie who was eight, and Annie who was five. Sometime during the next decade Albert retired from being a stonemason to focus on becoming a full-time landlord, which he did when he took over the Nag’s Head Inn at Lindridge, north-west of Worcester. According to the census in March 1901 Albert Hart aged 56 was a publican in Lindridge where living with him was his wife Myra, also 56, and their three unmarried children. They were Arthur who was 31, Leah who was 24, and Annie who was 15. By that time their daughter Ada Hart had married and was Ada Allcott – see below. Seven years later Annie Amelia Hart married George Albert Francis, the event recorded at Tenbury register office (Ref. 6c 405) during the final three months of 1908, and they were the great grandparents of Sam Francis in Bristol who made contact in 2016
Mira Elizabeth Collett and Albert William Hart were the great grandparents of Joan Cowdell, whose first husband’s mother (Mildred Alice Jones nee Allcott) used to refer to her grandmother Mira as ‘a nice old lady’ It was Mira’s eldest daughter Ada Hart, who was born at Holmer in early 1871, who married local school teacher Charles Allcott at Marley in Worcestershire during the last three months of 1893. The census of 1901 confirmed that Charles Allcott, aged 34 and from Abberley, was a ‘certified head schoolmaster’ living at Brimfield with his wife Ada from Hereford. At that time the marriage had produced the first three of their six children, and they were Ada Margaret Allcott who was six, Constance Annie Allcott aged four, and Dorothy Leah Allcott who was one year old. All the couple’s six children were born at Brimfield, where they were still residing in 1911. The additional three children that year were named as Charles Henry Allcott aged eight, Mildred Alice Allcott aged five, and Frederick Albert Allcott who was three
Of the children of Ada Hart and Charles Allcott: their eldest daughter Ada Margaret was married to become Ada Margaret Probert; Constance Annie Allcott never married and was a school teacher like her father; Dorothy Leah Allcott died while still very young; while it was Mildred Alice Allcott who married Albert Jones, and their eldest child was Roger Jones the first husband of Joan Cowdell
Emma Collett [40O4] was born at Fownhope in 1846 and it was there that she was baptised on 15th March 1846 at St Mary’s Church, another child of John and Ann Collett. In the 1851 Census she was five years of age when she was living with her family in Fownhope. Sometime after that the family left Fownhope and settled in the City of Hereford where they were recorded as living in the census of 1861. By that time Emma had left the family home and was employed in domestic service in Hereford where, at the age of 15, she was working as a servant, her place of birth confirmed as Fownhope. In October 1865 Emma and her brother John (above) were the witnesses at the marriage of their sister Mira (above) at Holmer in Herefordshire. Less than six years later, on the day of the census in 1871, Emma Collett was still a spinster and, at the age of 24, she was a visitor at the Fownhope home of her aunt Emma Daw. It was during the following year that she married James Snead at Holmer, just north of Hereford, on 15th April 1872, James being the son of Thomas Snead, with Emma confirmed as the daughter of John Collett. Their wedding day was recorded at Hereford (Ref. 6a 902). The reason no record of the couple has been after that date may be because Emma died during the birth of possibly her first child, with the death of 27-year-old Emma Snead recorded at Hereford (Ref. 6a 342) in 1874
Reuben Thomas Collett [40O5] was born at Fownhope in 1848, and was baptised at St Mary’s Church on 1st October 1848 (Bishop’s Transcript), another son of John and Ann Collett. He was two years old in the March census of 1851 and by 1861 he was 11 years of age when he was living with his family who, by then, had moved from Fownhope to Hereford. On leaving school Reuben joined his father and became a stonemason as confirmed in the Hereford census of 1871 when he was 22 and still living there in the family home
It was during the last three months of 1871 that the marriage of Reuben Collett and Jane Nicoll was recorded at Hereford (Ref. 6a 1065), where the birth of the couple’s first child was also registered. Jane was the youngest child of William Nicoll from Scotland who was an inn keeper at Withington in Herefordshire in 1871, whose wife was Elizabeth from Shropshire. On that census day Jane Nicoll from Tettenhall in Staffordshire was 19 who had no stated occupation, so was very likely helping her parents at the inn. The birth of Jane Nicoll was registered at Wolverhampton (Ref. xvii 370) during the last quarter of 1851
Sometime before 1875, Reuben and Jane, together daughter Minnie, left Hereford to move the four miles north to live in the village of Marden, where their next two children were born. The marriage may have produced further children for the Reuben and Jane, but that has not been confirmed at this time. Ten years after they were married, the couple was still living in the village of Marden, at somewhere referred to as ‘Wyatt’ for example, that may have been Wyatt House, Wyatt Lane, etc. That year’s census revealed that stonemason Reuben Collett was 32 and a stoneman, his wife Jane Collett from Tettenhall was 29, and their three children were Minnie Collett who was eight and born in Hereford, Ernest Collett who was six, and Frank Collett who was three years old, both born at Sutton-St-Nicholas before settling in Marden
By the time of the next census in 1891, Reuben Collett was a stonemason aged 40 (sic), when Jane Collett from Staffordshire was 39, by which time they were residing at Burghill, within the parish of Sutton St Michael, just to the north-west of Hereford. There were also two additions to the family in the form of son Abel (?) Collett who was eight and born at Tettenhall perhaps even at the home of his maternal grandparents, and William Collett who was four years of age and born at Withington. The couple’s two older sons were Ernest Collett who was 16 and working as a groom in domestic service, and Frank Collett who was 13 and still at school, listed as having been born at Sutton
Just after the start of the new century Jane Collett, aged 49, was a widow living at Withington, just north-west of Hereford. The 1901 Census stated she was born in Staffordshire, but at Stourbridge, rather than Tettenhall as previously confirmed. To support herself and her family, Jane was then working as a grocer and shopkeeper in Withington. Living there with her were her two sons, Frank Collett who was 24 and a carpenter born at Sutton (St Nicholas near Hereford), and William Collett who was born at Withington and another carpenter who was 15 years of age. Visiting the family that day was Mabel Parry who was 29 and from Sutton. What happened to Abel, if indeed that was his name, remains a mystery
Ten years later in April 1911, Jane Collett was again living at Withington, when she was 59 years of age and still working as a shopkeeper. The only member of her family still living with her was her son Frank Collett from Sutton, a carpenter working in the building trade, who was unmarried at 33 years of age. Completing the family group that day was 17-year-old Nellie Pritchard, an elementary schoolteacher, and the grand-daughter of Jane Collett, being the daughter of her married daughter Minnie Pritchard
40P1 – Minnie Collett was born in 1872 at Hereford
40P2 – Ernest William Collett was born in 1874 at Sutton-St-Nicholas
40P3 – Frank Collett was born in 1877 at Sutton-St-Nicholas
40P4 – Abel (?) Collett was born in 1882 at Tettenhall, Staffordshire
40P5 – William Collett was born in 1886 at Withington
Charles Henry Collett [40O6] was born at Fownhope in 1851, with his birth registered at Hereford (Ref. xxxi 197) during the second quarter of that year. She was later baptised at St Mary’s Church on 24th August 1851 (Bishop’s Transcript), the son of John and Ann Collett. As Charles Collett he was only a few days old in the Fownhope census for 1851, and as Chas Collett was nine years old at the time of the census in 1861 when he was living with his family at Aylesbrook Place within the All-Saints’ district of Hereford City. After a further ten years, Charley Collett was 20 and a stonemason, like his father, when he was still living in the family home in Hereford All-Saints’
No further record of him has been found in Great Britain, and he may have emigrate to Canada, because at Alberta in 1921 a Charles H Collett from England was 70 years old. However, this person has not yet been confirmed at Charles Henry Collett from Herefordshire
Ebenezer Collett [40O7] was born at Fownhope in 1853, with his birth registered at Hereford (Ref. 6a 387) during the third quarter of that year. He was baptised shortly thereafter at St Mary’s Church on 10th July 1853 (Bishop’s Transcript), the baptism register confirming that he was the son of John and Ann Collett. Ebenezer from Fownhope was eight years of age in 1861, when he and his family had settled in the City of Hereford at Aylesbrook Place, where they were again living in 1871, by which time Ebenezer Collett was 18 and a carpenter
Six years later, the marriage of Ebenezer Collett, a joiner, and Agnes Stones took place at Hereford on 13th October 1877, where Agnes had been born, when their wedding day was recorded at Hereford (Ref. 6a 1050). The marriage register confirmed that the bride’s father was William Stone and the groom’s father was John Collett. Shortly after they were married the couple moved to Newport in Glamorganshire, South Wales, where their first child was born. However, Ebenezer and Agnes then moved back to live in Hereford just after birth of that child, and in time for the birth of their second child. That child was born while they were living at 1 Tanbrook Place, off Widemarsh Street, in the All-Saints’ district of Hereford, which was only three doors from where Ebenezer’s family was living at that time
The census return for 1881 listed the family as Ebenezer Collett aged 27 from Fownhope who was a joiner, his wife Agnes from Hereford who was 26, and their two children Gertrude Collett who was two years old and born at Newport, and Frederick W Collett who was just three months old and born at Hereford. The family did not stay very long in Hereford because, by the time of the birth of Ebenezer’s and Agnes’ third child, they had moved once again. On that occasion they were living at Colwich midway between Stafford and Rugeley in Staffordshire, where all their remaining children were born. According to the Colwich census of 1891, the family comprised Ebenezer Collett who was 38 and a joiner/carpenter, his wife Agnes who was 37, and their children Gertrude who was 12, Frederick who was 10, Charles who was eight, Grace who was seven, Alec who was four, and Cecilia who was under one year old
Just after the turn of the century in March 1901, Ebenezer was 46 and was still working as a joiner and corn merchant, while Agnes from Hereford was 46 and running a boarding house. Living with them at Colwich were just four of their six children. They were their sons Frederick Collett from Hereford who was 20 and a joiner working with his father, Charles Collett from Staffordshire who was 17 and another joiner, and Alexander Collett who was 13 who had left school but was not yet working, and their daughter Cecilia Collett who was referred to as Cissie who was 10. Boarding with the family that day was brick-works manager William H Humpheries from Sedgeley who was 31. The couple’s eldest daughter Gertrude Collett had already left the family home and was living and working at Allerton in Lancashire. Missing daughter Grace Collett had already entered domestic service and was living and working at a house in Weddington, near Nuneaton
Seven years after that census day, Agnes Collett, nee Stones died at Colwich on 28th December 1908, with her death at the age of 54 recorded at Staffordshire register office (Ref. 6b 14). Agnes was then laid to rest in the churchyard of St Michael’s & All Angels Church in Colwich. Just over two years later, Ebenezer was a widower in the census of 1911, when he was still living at Colwich at the age of 57. Ebenezer Collett from Fownhope, Hereford, was a builder and a farmer, when just three of his six children were still living with him. They were Frederick Collett who was 29, single, and had taken over his father’s work as a joiner, while Alexander Collett aged 23 was helping his father on the farm, and Cecilia Collett who was 20 and working as a dairy-maid on the family’s farm
Ebenezer Collett of Colwich died on 8th April 1923, when his passing at the age of 69 was recorded at Staffordshire register office (Ref. 6b 2) during the second quarter of the year. His Will was proved shortly after at Lichfield on 30th April when his estate of £2,008 1 Shilling was passed to his three unmarried daughters Gertrude Collett, Grace Annie Collett and Cecilia Agnes Collett
It has been noted that, from 1881 onwards, there were two Collett sisters living at Colwich. They were spinster Mary Ann Collett who was born at Bloxwich near Walsall in 1829, and her married and widowed sister Elizabeth Hopkins who had been born at Great Haywood near Colwich in 1838. Both ladies died while they were living at Colwich; Elizabeth first in 1899, and Mary twelve years later in 1911. Further details of that branch of the Collett family can be found in Part 43 – The Staffordshire Line in which Mary Ann Collett (Ref. 43O9) and Elizabeth Collett (Ref. 43O13) are two of the children of John Collett and Mary Elizabeth Barrow. It is possible that there is some connection between the two families, but so far, no direct link has been found
40P6 – Gertrude Collett was born in 1878 at Newport, South Wales
40P7 – Frederick William Collett was born in 1881 at Hereford
40P8 – Charles Percy Gordon Collett was born in 1882 at Colwich, Staffordshire
40P9 – Grace Annie Collett was born in 1884 at Colwich
40P10 – Robert James Alexander Collett was born in 1886 at Colwich
40P11 – Cecilia Agnes Collett was born in 1890 at Colwich
Grace Ann Collett [40O8] was born at Fownhope in 1855 and her birth was registered at Hereford (Ref. 6a 381) during the last three months of the year, the eighth and youngest child of John Collett and Ann Fletcher. It was at St Mary’s Church in Fownhope that Grace Annie Collett was baptised on 30th December 1855 (Bishop’s Transcript), the daughter of John and Ann Collett. It was to the City of Hereford that her family moved during that decade and where they were living in 1871 when Grace Collett from Fownhope was 15 and attending school
Just over seven years after that census day Grace Ann Collett married William Taylor from Whitechapel, London, where he was born in 1856, with their wedding ceremony conducted at Hereford on 24th August 1878. On registering their wedding at Hereford (Ref. 6a 796) during the third quarter of the year, the bride was named as Grace Annie Collett, daughter of John Collett, while the groom was the son of John Taylor. Two years later Grace gave birth to the first of the couple’s three children, all three born in the City of Hereford. William was a telegraph electrician and in April 1881 he was 24, when his wife Grace A Taylor was 25, and their son Walter F E Taylor was under one year old and had been born in Hereford. On that census day the three of them were staying with Grace’s parents at 4 Tanbrook Place in Hereford, where their son had been born
The birth of Walter Frederick E Taylor was registered at Hereford (Ref. 6a 472) during the last three months of 1880, meaning he was five or six months old in the census the following year. Tragically, the death of Walter Frederick E Taylor was recorded at Hereford register office (Ref. 6a 285) in 1897 when he was 16 years old
Four years after losing their eldest child, the enlarged family was residing in the St Owen parish of Hereford. William Taylor from London was 43 and an electric telegraph lineman, Grace A Taylor from Fownhope was 43, Percy G Taylor was 18 and a clerk for a manufacturer, and Archie G Taylor who was 17 and a clerk at the railway station. Ten years later the family was living at 2 Peveril Villas in Portfield Street in Hereford. That census day William Taylor was 53 and employed by the Great Western Railway as a railway telegraph lineman. His wife Grace Annie Taylor was 53, and son Percy Graham Taylor was 28 and a clerk with a cider manufacturer. The census return confirmed that the couple had been married for thirty-two years, during which time Grace had given birth to three children, two of whom were still living
The later death of Percy G Taylor, who was 57, was recorded in London (Ref. 1d 1226) in 1940
Minnie Collett [40P1] was born at Hereford in 1872 and, on registering her birth there, she was simply named as Minnie Collett (Ref. 6a 487) during the last quarter of 1872. She was the eldest child of Reuben Collett and Jane Nicoll who again, as Minnie Collett she was eight years old in the census of 1881 when she was living with her family at Marden, just north of Hereford. Where Minnie was in 1891 has still to be discovered, while two years later, the marriage of Minnie Collett and Allen Pritchard at Withington was recorded at Hereford register office (Ref. 6a 978) during the third quarter of 1893. Allen’s birth at Withington, where he was baptised on 15th November 1868, was registered at Hereford (Ref. 6a 538) at the start of 1869, when his parents were confirmed as Jonathan and Emma Pritchard
Less than seven years after the couple’s wedding day, the four members of their family were living at the Withington home of Allen’s widowed father, 60-year-old Jonathan Pritchard, an agricultural labourer. Their completed family on the census day in 1901 was made up of Allen Pritchard from Withington aged 32 who was a rural postman, his wife Minnie Pritchard from Hereford who was 29, and their two children, Nellie Pritchard who was seven and born at Lugwardine, just east of Hereford, and Florence Pritchard who was four years old who had been born after the couple settled in Withington. Both girls were recorded as attending school that day
What happened to Allen, Minnie, and Florence, remains a mystery when, in 1911, Nellie Pritchard from Lugwardine, Hereford, aged 17 was a teacher at an elementary school in Withington, when she was the grand-daughter of shopkeeper Jane Collett aged 59, her widowed grandmother from Staffordshire, with whom she was living that year, where Nellie’s unmarried uncle Frank Collett, a carpenter, was still living with his mother. Even more curious are the facts that [i] Minnie Pritchard was 58 when her death was recorded at Herefordshire register office (Ref. 6a 483) in 1931, and [ii] Allen Pritchard was 78 when he died, with his death recorded at Hereford register office (Ref. 9a 57) in 1947
Ernest William Collett [40P2] was born at Sutton-St-Nicholas on 28th February 1874 with his birth registered at Hereford (Ref. 6a 521) during the first quarter of that year. He was two and a half years old when he was baptised on 10th September 1876, another son of Reuben and Jane Collett. He was listed as living with his family at Marden in 1881 at the age of six years, and at Burghill within the parish of Sutton-St-Michael in 1891 aged 16, when his place of birth was recorded simply as Sutton, by which time he had entered domestic service as a groom. Three years later, at the age of 19, Ernest William Collett from Herefordshire was a serving member of the Royal Artillery and was posted to Ireland, where he met his future wife. And it was in Ireland where he married Johanna around 1897, with Johanna born on 9th November 1873. Then in 1899, and after the birth of their first child, the family was residing at 73 Upper Irishtown in Clonmel, County Tipperary, when he appeared at Clonmel Borough Court for contravening dog licencing laws. The family was still living in Clonmel for the birth of their third daughter in 1902
Sometime after 1902, the five members of the family travelled to England, with Ernest returning to the place of his birth. In 1911, Ernest Collett was 36 and a domestic groom and a chauffeur with a wife and three children living at Slade Villa in Sutton-St-Nicholas, where he also said he had been born, although shortly after was living in Marden, two kilometres north-west of Sutton. His wife of 13 years was recorded as Johanna Collett from Ireland, and their three daughters were Ellen Collett aged 12, Mary Collett who was 10, and Jane Collett who was eight years of age. Their place of birth was the same as their mothers, Clonmel in County Tipperary
During the following year Ernest William Collett re-enlisted with the army when his entry papers stated he was 38 and born at Sutton-St-Michael in Herefordshire. His regimental service number was 973 as a special reservist with the Army Service Corps. In 1912 his family was recorded as Johanna Collett, wife, and their three children, Ellen, Mary, and Jane, and it was in 1913 that he received an army pension. Curiously, the military record dated 1912 included his name as Ernest Charles William Collett
It was many years after that when the death of Ernest W Collett was recorded at Hereford register office (Ref. 9a 15) during the first quarter of 1959 when he was 85. His widow Johanna Collett passed away at the end of that same year, with her death recorded at Hereford on 9th December 1959. Her Will was proved in Gloucester three weeks later, on 31st December 1959 during which it stated that Johanna Collett of 41 Baysham Street in Hereford, widow, left personal effects valued at £297 14 Shillings 6 Pence to Helena Davies, wife of Percy Bernard Davies. This was a reference to her eldest daughter Ellen
40Q1 – Ellen Collett was born in 1898 at Clonmel, County Tipperary
40Q2 – Mary Collett was born in 1900 at Clonmel, County Tipperary
40Q3 – Jane Collett was born in 1902 at Clonmel, County Tipperary
Frank Collett [40P3] was born at Sutton-St-Nicholas in 1877 with his birth registered at Hereford (Ref. 6a 494) during the third quarter of that year. He was baptised on 29th July 1877 (Bishops Transcript), another son of Reuben and Jane Collett, who was three years old in the 1881 Census for Marden, and was 13 years of age and at school when he was living with his parents at Burghill in Sutton-St-Michael by 1891. Following the death of his father before the end of the century, Frank Collett who was 23, and his younger brother William (below), were living with their widowed mother at her home in Withington in March 1901, from where Frank was employed as a carpenter
Ten years later carpenter Frank Collett from Sutton (St Nicholas) was still a bachelor living with his mother Jane at Withington near Hereford when he was 33 and a carpenter in the building trade. No further record of him has been found after 1911
Abel ? Collett [40P4] – if that was his name, was another son of Reuben and Jane Collett who were recorded in the 1881 census at Marden. It was during the following year, that their son was born at Tettenhall (Wolverhampton) Staffordshire in 1882, where his mother had been born. By 1891, he was living with his family at Burghill in Sutton St Michael at the age of eight years. Unfortunately, his forename was unreadable, when his place of birth was confirmed as Tettenhall (Wolverhampton) Staffordshire. That may be pertinent, since no birth or baptism of an Abel Collett has been found anywhere in the West Midland for that year. Furthermore, no other record has been located for that ‘missing son’ of Reuben and Jane Collett, who may have died prior to the next census in 1901
William Collett [40P5] was born at Withington in 1886, the youngest child of Reuben Thomas Collett and Jane Nicholl. He was 14 years old and was working as a carpenter in 1901 when he was living with his widowed mother Jane and his older brother Frank who was also a carpenter. As with his brothers Ernest and Abel (above), no record of William has so far been found in 1901. However, by 1911 William Collett, aged 29 and from Withington in Herefordshire, was a widower and a boarder living at Central Lydbrook within the parish of West Dean in Monmouthshire where his occupation was that of a carpenter in the building trade. Living with him, at the home of Godfrey and Clara Mongan and their three children, was his sole surviving child, son Christopher Collett who was five years old and born at Lydbrook
It is likely that William’s wife was Sarah Louise Collett who was 29 when she died at Lydbrook, either at the end of 1910 or early in 1911, not long after she had given birth to her fourth child, with her premature death recorded at Monmouth register office (Ref. 11a 14). Her tragic death was recorded with the same reference number as her very recently deceased second daughter Ethel May, whose infant death was recorded at Monmouth register (Ref. 11a 14) during the last quarter of 1910. That was the same three months during which the birth of Ethel May had been registered there – see below
The birth of Ernest Reuben John Collett, named in honour of William’s father, was recorded at Monmouth register office (Ref. 11a 30a) during the first three months of 1904. Nearly two years later, William’s only surviving child Christopher was born towards the end 1905, when his birth was recorded at Monmouth register office (Ref. 11a 24) during the final quarter of the year. His two sons were followed two daughters, whose births were also recorded at Monmouth register office, and were Sarah who was born at the start of 1908 (Ref. 11a 23), and Ethel May who was born towards the end of 1910 (Ref. 11a 311)
In addition to the loss of his youngest and last child – as detailed above, by then William and Sarah had suffered the deaths of Ernest and Sarah. Sarah’s infant death was recorded at Monmouth register office (Ref. 11a 15) in 1908 before reaching her first birthday, while Ernest was six years of age when his young death was recorded at Westbury-on-Severn register office, to the east of Lydbrook, (Ref. 6a 173) when he was confirmed as Ernest Reuben John Collett, who was buried with his sister Ethel May Collett at Lydbrook in 1910, with their mother Sarah Louise buried with them in 1911
40Q4 – Ernest Reuben John Collett was born in 1904 at Lydbrook, Forest of Dean
40Q5 – Christopher Collett was born in 1905 at Lydbrook, Forest of Dean
40Q6 – Sarah Collett was born in 1908 at Lydbrook, Forest of Dean
40Q7 – Ethel May Collett was born in 1910 at Lydbrook, Forest of Dean
Gertrude Collett [40P6] was born at Newport in South Wales in 1878, where her birth was registered (Ref. 11a 166) during the fourth quarter of that year. She was the first-born child of Ebenezer Collett and Agnes Stones who, shortly after she was born, to Hereford where they were living at 1 Tanbrook Place off Widemarsh Street in 1881. The All-Saints’ Hereford census that year confirmed Gertrude’s place of birth was Newport, Monmouthshire, and that she was two years old. Within the next ten years the family moved again, that time to Colwich in Staffordshire, as confirmed by the 1891 Census in which she was 12 years of age and still attending school. By March 1901 Gertrude had left the family home in Colwich and was living and working at Allerton in Lancashire
In the census that year she gave her place of birth as Colwich, rather than Newport, probably out of ignorance of her actual place of birth, given that she was only there for a few short months after she was born, with most of her past twenty-odd years having been spent at Colwich. The census return described Gertrude Collett as 25 years old and employed as a domestic housemaid at an address on Yewtree Road within the Allerton registration district, the home of German-born Theodore von Heyder aged 56 and a commission merchant, his wife Sophia and their four children
It seems Gertrude never married and in 1923 she was referred to a spinster, along with her two sisters Grace and Cecilia (below), during the probate of her father’s personal estate following his death at Colwick on 8th April that year. Gertrude Collett, born in 1878, was 83 years old when she died in 1961, with his death recorded at Staffordshire register office (Ref. 9b 1125)
Frederick William Collett [40P7] was born in late December 1880 or early January 1881 at 1 Tanbrook Place off Widemarsh Street in the All-Saints’ district of Hereford. His birth was registered at Hereford (Ref. 6a 526) during the first three months of 1881. He was three months old in the April census of 1881, when he was listed as Frederick W Collett. Later that same year, or very early in the following year, he and his family move to Colwich in Staffordshire. By 1891 Frederick was 10 years old when he and his family were living at Colwich, midway between Stafford and Rugeley. Ten years later he was still living with his parents at Colwich aged 20 when his occupation was that of a joiner like his father and brother Charles (below)
Sometime during the following decade his mother passed away. By April 1911, Frederick was still a bachelor at the age of 29 when he was still living at Colwich, where he was still working with his widowed father Ebenezer Collett and his younger brother Alexander (below). Frederick was still alive in 1957 when he was granted administration of his younger sister Cecilia’s estate amounting to £1,261 13 Shillings 9 Pence, by which time he was a retired coal merchant. Not long after, Frederick William Collett died on 17th February 1958, at the age of 78 and was buried in St Stephen’s Churchyard in Great Haywood
Charles Percy Gordon Collett [40P8] was born at Colwich in Staffordshire perhaps at the end of 1882, with his birth registered at Stafford (Ref. 6a 29) during the first three months of 1883. He was baptised with his full name at St Michael & All Angel’s Church in Colwich during 1883, the son of Ebenezer and Agnes Collett. where he was living with his family in 1891 aged eight years. Like his father, and his brother Frederick (above), he worked as a joiner from the time he left school and in 1901 he was still living at Colwich with his family at the age of 17 when he was a joiner. The information in the previous version of this family line indicated that Charles married Alice Betts. This now appears to be incorrect, since the marriage of Charles P G Collett and Alice Gee was recorded at Stafford register office (Ref. 6b 7) during the first quarter of 1910, with the wedding ceremony conducted at Colwich before the end of 1909, considering the birth of their son was recorded during the second quarter of 1910 – see below
Shortly after they were married, Alice presented Charles with their first child. According to the next census in 1911, the family of three was living at Little Haywood, within the parish of Colwich, when they were recorded as Charles Collett who was 27 and a joiner from nearby Colwich, his wife Alice Collett who was 25 and born at Colwich, together with their son Lawrence Collett who was ten months old and, mistakenly recorded as Oxfordshire. However, his birth was recorded at Stafford register office (Ref. 6b 15) during the second quarter of 1910. Two more children were added to their family over the following years whose births were recorded at Stafford register office when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Gee. They were Selby K Collett (Ref. 6b 22) during the first three months of 1912, and Ronald S R Collett (Ref. 6b 13) during the third quarter of 1918, which might indicate Charles was absent from the family home during the war years
Charles was still residing in Staffordshire when he died during the second quarter of 1957, when his death was recorded at Stafford register office (Ref. 9b 409) when he was 74. For the last five years of his life, Charles was a widower, following the death of Alice Collett, nee Gee, which was recorded at Staffordshire register office (Ref. 9b 305) during 1952 at the age of 67. Alice Gee was born in 1886, the daughter of Ralph and Sarah Gee of Longdon in Staffordshire where Alice had been baptised on 25th April 1886
40Q8 – Lawrence Charles Collett was born in 1910 at Staffordshire
40Q9 – Selby Kenneth Collett was born in 1912 at Staffordshire
40Q10 – Ronald S R Collett was born in 1918 at Staffordshire
Grace Annie Collett [40P9] was born at Colwich in 1884 with her birth registered at Stafford (Ref. 6b 25) during the second quarter 1884 but as Grace Annie C Collett. She was baptised as Grace Annie at St Michael & All Angels Church in Colwich during 1884, another child Ebenezer and Agnes Collett who was seven years old on the day of the census in 1891. On completing her schooling Grace left the family home in Colwich and entered domestic service and secured a position at The Grove in Weddington, near Nuneaton, the home of retired Captain of the 43rd Light Infantry Alfred C French from Ireland, and his wife Alice C French, where she was the youngest of ten live-in servants employed by the couple. All those details were provided in the census of 1901 when Grace Collett from Colwich was 17 years of age and working as an under-house maid
By April 1911, Grace Collett from Colwich was a lady’s companion to 57-year-old Mary Ann Brawn at her home at The Cottage in Sandhills, Shire Oak, Walsall. Curiously though, her age was only 23, perhaps an error for 28. It was as Grace Annie Collett, spinster, that she was named as one of the daughters of Ebenezer Collett at the time of his death in 1923. However, shortly after the death of her father Grace A Collett married Allan B Lane, the marriage recorded at Warwick register office (Ref. 6d 1548) during the second quarter of 1923
Robert James Alexander Collett [40P10] was born at Colwich in 1886 during the summer that year when his birth was registered at Stafford (Ref. 6b 21). He was baptised at St Michael & All Angels Church in Colwich during 1887, the fifth of the six children of Ebenezer Collett a joiner, and his wife Agnes Stones. Those two records appear to be the only occasions when his full name was used. He was described as Alec Collett aged four years in the Colwich census of 1891, and was listed as Alexander Collett in 1901 when he was 14 and still living with his family at Colwich, which was also recorded as the place he was born. After his mother died in 1908, Alexander Collett aged 23 was still living at Colwich with his widowed father and two of his siblings, Frederick (above) and Cecilia (below). On that day his father had passed the joinery business to son Frederick, when Alexander was helping his father on the family farm, where Celicia was a dairy-maid
He was 48 years old when he died, when his death was recorded at Staffordshire register office (Ref. 6b 1) during 1935 as Alexander Robert James Collett. It was also as Alexander Robert James Collett that his Will was proved at Birmingham on 6th November 1935, when the sole beneficiary was his sister Cecilia Agnes Collett, both being unmarried at that time. The probate documentation also confirmed that Alexander died in Staffordshire on 2nd October 1935
Cecilia Agnes Collett [40P11] was born at Colwich between mid-1890 and March 1891 and was listed as being under one year old in the Colwich census of 1891. At the time of the next census for Colwich in 1901 she was 10 years old when her name was recorded as Cissie Collett. She was therefore the only daughter still living with her parents during the first decade of the new century, and was present at the later death of her mother Agnes. The next Colwich census in April 1911 recorded that Cecilia Collett was 19 and that she was still living with her widowed father and two of her brothers, Frederick and Alexander. Her father Ebenezer Collett of Colwich died on 8th April 1923 and it was during the probate process that Cecilia was listed as Cecilia Agnes Collett, spinster, as were her two older sisters Gertrude and Grace (above). Cecilia never married and died on 10th June 1957 while residing at Jasmine Cottage on Main Road in Colwich. Administration of her personal effects valued at £1,261 13 Shillings 9d was granted at Birmingham on 10th July 1957 to her older brother Frederick William Collett, a retired coal merchant
Ellen Collett [40Q1] was born during 1898, the eldest daughter of Ernest William Collett and his Irish wife Johanna. Curiously no recorded of Ellen and her family has been identified within the census of 1901, but by 1911 they were living at Slade Villa in Sutton St Nicholas, Herefordshire, where Ellen Collett was 12 years old. It was in 1923 that she married Percy Bernard Davies, with their marriage recorded at Hereford register office (Ref. 6a 1047) during the last three months of that year. Upon the death of her widowed mother in December 1959, it was as Helena Davies, the wife of Percy Bernard Davies that she was named as the sole executive of her mother’s estate of £297 14 Shillings 6d
Lawrence Charles Collett [40Q8] was born at Colwich on 9th May 1910 and was the eldest of the three children of Charles Collett and Alice Gee, with his birth recorded at Stafford register office (Ref. 6b 15) during the second quarter of the year. As Lawrence Collett, he was eleven months old in the Colwich census in 1911. The later marriage of Laurence Charles Collett and Florence A Finlow was recorded at Staffordshire register office (Ref. 6b 926) during the second quarter of 1944 but appears not to have produced any children for the couple. Florence Annie Collett was born in Staffordshire on 21st November 1912, the daughter of Ernest and Lucy Finlow. It was also at Stafford that he was still living when he died in February 1979 at the age of 68, with his death recorded at Staffordshire register office (Vol. 30 1314) under the name of Laurence Charles Collett. Florence survived for another nine years, when the death of Florence Annie Collett, nee Finlow, was recorded at Stafford register office (Vol. 7351b b33e) during the summer of 1998
Selby Kenneth Collett [40Q9] was born at Colwich on 12th December 1911, the second son of Charles and Alice Collett. His birth was recorded at Stafford register office (Ref. 6b 22) during the first quarter of 1912. Selby was 23 when he married Doris Cope towards the end of 1935, when their wedding day was recorded at Stafford register office (Ref. 6b 7) during the last three months of that year. It is possible their marriage produced three children; the births of the first two were recorded at Lichfield register office with the first of them born within weeks of their wedding day (Ref. 6b 535), the second (Ref. 6b 636) during the second quarter of 1943. Three years later the birth of the couple’s last child was recorded at Staffordshire register office (Ref. ) in 1946 and, in all three cases, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Cope
Daughter Pamela A Collett married Neville G Hulse in 1972 when her wedding was recorded at Lichfield register office (Ref. 9b 1162) during the summer that year.
40R1 – Pamela A Collett was born in 1935 at Lichfield
40R2 – Jill Collett was born in 1943 at Lichfield
40T3 – Roger Collett was born in 1946 at Staffordshire