Going back though to the 1871 Census we find Robert, now given as 52, as head of the family with his wife, son William (21) and son Frederick aged 3. His job is described as Ag Lab and Looker.
A few properties down we still find Robert’s mother Eliza (for Elizabeth), at 86, as Shepherd’s Widow for employment, along with a 16-year-old grandson Henry, Ag Lab, who would actually be his son John going by middle name.
We know Elizabeth died a couple of years after this having been a widow for almost two decades. Also during this decade find William getting married on Christmas Eve 1876.
Robert’s family has grown quite a bit with more offspring coming along for both the eldest two children as well.
Jumping along to the 1881 Census Return and under what appears to be Enstone, Bride Farm we have Robert as a Looker and Farmer of 36 Acres employing one man and one boy. Plausibly this is his own chilren.
Also, under the roof are his wife and three children. Having lost his roof when his grandmother died it would appear that John has come to join his father again. He is described as Looker and Ag Lab.
The other two boys, Frederick and Frank, now aged 13 and 8 are described as scholars. There is another person there visiting who can work out to be Charlotte’s mother Charlotte WHEELER (1808 -1889).
Next on the list under Richborough Marshes is William, employed as a Shepherd, with his wife and two children.
The elder Robert died on 15-Feb-1885 at Bride Farm, Kent, England. So really had not moved far during most of his lifetime it seems.
He was buried on 21-Feb-1885 in St Nicholas Churchyard with the Reverend Edward WOODS officiating. There is a headstone laid flat on the ground commemorating members of the family. The inscription for him is as follows:
In affectionate remembrance of
ROBERT COLLINS
Of Bride Farm. Ash
Born September 17th 1815
Died February 15th 1885
Aged 71 years.
There are some variances over the age as the stone says he was 71, the burial register has him aged 68 but would appear he was actually 69 when he died.
On 20-Apr-1885 probate for Robert was granted with the estate left in his will going to his widow Charlotte. His effects were £260 6s. 3d. which today would be worth just under £38,000 using a simple Purchasing Power Calculator 6.
Whilst the children of Robert with Sarah seem to stay and work locally it seems that his offspring with Charlotte decided to spread their wings further.
Have not found any of them in 1891 Census but by 1901 they are living in Slough, Buckinghamshire. Both Frederick and Frank became bakers and confectioner. They also have a servant living with them who appears to be working for the two sons.
When Frederick married in 1903 it is implied that his father is still alive as name given and that profession is that of a Farmer so presumably this was a miscommunication error. His brother Frank was one of the witnesses.
The last evidence found for Frederick is in the 1939 Register. Frank went to Canada around 1905 for the first time.
He must have travelled back and forth as also have his arrival there in 1908, married in UK during 1910 and they are settled in Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada by 1911.
Robert Martin COLLINS had two wives, six children and 40 grandchildren. I am aware that as well as Canada there are descendants of him in Australia albeit the majority are still in the UK and many still within about 20 miles of where he lived.
Footnotes:
- Find A Grave, Robert Collins Memorial- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/256375047/robert-collins ↩︎
- Ancestry, multiple record searches for the family – https://www.ancestry.com ↩︎
- St Nicholas Parish Church – https://thecanonrybenefice.org.uk/about-the-canonry-benefice/our-churches/saint-nicholas-church-ash-village-in-kent ↩︎
- Guston, Kent – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guston,_Kent ↩︎
- Ordnance Survey map via National Library of Scotland [NLS] – https://maps.nls.uk/view/102343543 ↩︎
- Measuring Worth – https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompare/relativevalue.php ↩︎
