J D Collett makes it clear that John married a Goldsmith but he did not give her name. Barnes says she was Ann Goldsmith. From the Robert Flake land grant, we know her name was Ann. The Goldsmith name also appears prominently in early Baltimore records.

J D Collett, a genealogist who documented his family, gave the names and relevant dates for several of John’s English ancestors. I have not bothered to try to verify any of what he said -- and since most of what he said about the family once in America was just wrong, I am even a little skeptical -- so I will give that ancestry here just briefly. I have not actually included these persons in my family tree, they did not emigrate.

John’s father was also named John and he was born in 1578, a French Huguenot of Bourne, Cambridge, London and Huntingdonshire. He died 29 Mar 1659 at age 79 and was buried at Little Gidding, Huntingdonshire, England. John (the father) married Susanna Ferrar in 1600, she was the daughter of Nicholas (founder of Little Gidding) and wife Mary (Woodnuth) Ferrar. Susanna was born in 1580 at Bourne and died 9 Oct 1657 at age 76 and was buried at Little Gidding.

J D Collett said John and his brother Richard left England for Maryland in 1650. Robert Barnes says Richard came in about 1650 but John in 1659. I believe the truth of the matter, as it relates to John, can be found in a book titled “Cavaliers and Pioneers of Virginia” which compiled the records of the earliest land grants to individuals, generally for “transporting” other people to Virginia -- i.e. paying for their transport.

On 10 Mar 1653, Robert Flake was granted 600 acres of land in Isle of Wight County for the transport of 12 persons including John Collett, wife Ann, John Jr., Jer and Sam. So, their arrival in America was probably not too many months previous to March 1653. This is just too large a coincidence of names for it to be any but our John Collett who had a wife named Ann and sons Samuel and John. He also had a son George who I think was the Jer mentioned.

John and his family then, of course, found their way further up the Chesapeake Bay to what is now Baltimore and the earliest record I have found for him there was that a land survey was made for John Collett for a tract called Collingham 4 Nov 1658.

I can absolutely trace our Collett ancestry to Rachel who married Josiah Sparks Jr. and her father Moses. There are basically two opposing theories that I have seen and studied closely that purport to document who Moses was. Each says enough about Moses that it is clear they are talking about our ancestor of that name, though each has errors of fact even regarding this Moses and errors about his daughter Rachel too for that matter.

The first theory I found and considered was the work of Howard Collett, obviously some kind of descendant. Here is his version of things: “Three Collett brothers who were Huguenots were driven from France -- one fled to the mountains of France, one went to England, one with his wife embarked on a ship for America. During the voyage a son was born. The mother died. The child lived. His name was Stephen Collett. He married Elizabeth Wiley, settled in MD about where Baltimore now stands. Their child Moses, born 10 Nov 1718, died June 1783 married Elizabeth Armstrong born 18 Aug 1725. They resided in Jefferson County, VA. Their children were: Stephen, Rachel, Daniel and Elizabeth. Rachel was born 15 Dec 1748 and died 1813 married Mr. Sparks, and they lived in MD.”

We know from her tombstone that our Rachel, daughter of Moses, was born in December 1748 and died in 1818 (but let’s consider Howard’s statement of 1813 simply a typo). We know that Moses died in 1783 in (what became) Jefferson County, Virginia. Stephen is talking about our people. He actually I believe had a pretty solid factual understanding of the family once in Virginia and simply tried to paint a picture of their origins, which is where I take issue with his work.

I have two problems with his version of events:

1. I can find no evidence that a man named Stephen Collett even existed -- in the right time and place. Moses had a son Stephen and there was another born in the mid-to-late 1700’s -- but no Stephen old enough to have had Moses in 1718.

2. It was Moses who married Elizabeth Wiley, though some people say she was Elizabeth (Wiley) Armstrong, i.e. had been married previous to her marriage to Moses. I am certain she was born in 1725 and married Moses in 1743 -- so I can’t see how the timing permits a previous marriage and there is no real evidence of it in any case. I think the idea that she married Armstrong first is an invented idea by people trying to reconcile the known marriage of Moses to Elizabeth Wiley to Howard Collett’s statement that she was Elizabeth Armstrong.

I also at some point found a slight variation to the Howard Collett version of things in the “Compendium of American Genealogy” which purports to state the genealogy of many hundreds of distinguished Americans who lived around 1900. This book gives the early lineage of someone named Samuel Ashby. “Stephen Collett m. Elizabeth ______ (father came from France). Their son Moses (1718-1783) of Baltimore, MD removed to Jefferson County VA (now WV); he married in 1745 Elizabeth (Wyle) Armstrong, born 1725. Their daughter Sarah married in 1789 Capt. Silas Ashby.” This is the Howard Collett version of things with some attempt to solve the Elizabeth Wiley confusion.

Then, since I wasn’t satisfied with Howard’s version of things, I kept looking and found a book on the early family entitled: "Genealogy of the Descendants of John Collett (1578-29 Mar 1659) of Little Gidding and London, England, and USA.". This book was written (compiled) by J D Collett and I will refer to this source throughout by his name.

The Foreword of this book cites a book "French Protestant Exiles" to introduce the family. "The Huguenot family of Colletts took refuge in England after the Edict of Nantes. They had been for a long time naturalized British subjects, when they emigrated to the American Colonies. There by industry, they made a fortune and became extensive proprietors of land.”

J D Collett was a serious researcher, I think. He actually submitted his report on his family to the British “Society of Genealogists” “for checking and confirmation” and they did “certify” it. “The following work stands approved and attested in accord with the Genealogist National Society records of London, England.” [The lesson here, it turns out, is not to believe something just because of some apparent “certification.]

This book includes an interesting hand drawn map said to be a copy of a map made in 1673. It shows Baltimore and Chesapeake Bay and an area of land a little west of Baltimore named "Collett's Neck". When I first saw that map, I thought it was wonderful as a way of establishing -- and locating -- the early presence of the Collett’s in Maryland.

But the geography never quite made sense. So I subsequently went and found the actual 1673 map -- and it is truly a wonderful map. Collett’s Neck was on the Bush River, east of where Baltimore is today. Up until 1773, this area was Baltimore County but it was in what became Harford County -- which is where we later find our Colletts.

JD Collett cites land records to document that John Collett and his brother Richard were present in Baltimore County by the 1660’s where they held positions of some prominence. And he traces the family down from John to his son Samuel and his son David. He cites a land-lease agreement executed by David dated 1723 wherein, he says, the names of David’s children were set forth: Daniel, Ruth and Moses. And he goes on to say that Daniel had a son Moses born 1725, that Moses married Elizabeth Wiley and they had a daughter Rachel born 1748. So again, it sure seems as if he is talking about our ancestors.

But I have several problems with J D’s work:

1. He says Rachel married John Kilpatrick -- but he was wrong, a different Rachel Collett married John and that Rachel was born much later than 1748.

2. I’m certain that 1718 is the correct date of Moses’ birth, but again I can chalk that up as just a typo I suppose.

3. Most importantly, I have a copy of the 1723 land-lease agreement he refers to and there is no mention of David at all, it was executed by Daniel who leased the land for the lives also of Ruth and Moses -- who I believe were his wife and son. Daniel’s name, though, was written in one place on the deed “Danl”, and I can see how J D Collett may have mis-read it as saying “Davd”. But didn’t he wonder why there was never any other mention of David in the early records?

4. Like the search for the fictitious Stephen, I can find absolutely no evidence that a man named David Collett lived in that time and place.

I have developed an alternate theory of my own. I believe the 1723 land-lease is solid evidence that Moses was the son of Daniel. But the paper trail dead-ends at Daniel who lived in Baltimore County and died there in 1726. Daniel was born most likely in the late-1690’s or so.

The truth is that Daniel just appeared on the scene as an adult in 1723 when he executed that land-lease and then in 1724 when he and wife Ruth had a son Daniel. So the questions for me are: Where did Daniel come from? Was he the immigrant -- and if not him, then who was the immigrant of this line? Was he, in fact, a descendant of John?

There is nothing that rules out a connection to the earlier Colletts of Baltimore County and my best guess is that he did in fact descend from them, just the issue is to determine exactly how.

Daniel is mentioned several times in the records of St. George’s Parish (later Harford County) and interestingly also mentioned in those same records were Samuel Colit and wife Catherine who baptized several children there in 1704-1713. Could Daniel have been their son, too, born just before records of that parish were kept?

My theory is that John Collett was the immigrant of the line and the line continued to his son Samuel. I think there is too large a gap between that Samuel and Daniel to suggest that Daniel was his son (though it is not totally out of the question) -- and so I have to place one more generation between Samuel and Daniel. And so conveniently I can fill that gap by the Samuel whose wife was Catherine and who had children in the early 1700’s.

But understand, there are two weak links here. I have no proof that John’s son Samuel had a son, let alone what his name might have been. And I have no proof that Samuel whose wife was Catherine had a son Daniel (though the geography and timing line up OK.) But the nice thing about these early Colletts is there weren’t many of them and they all lived in about the same place. John died in 1670 with several sons, but only Samuel’s name appears after that in the records -- until finally Daniel.

So, if my theory is correct, John Collett was our ancestor. Let’s meet John Collett.

J D Collett gives the relevant dates for John (1604-1669) and for his brother Richard (1602-1668) and he says that both immigrated in 1650. John held the posts of High Sheriff of Baltimore County and County Clerk. Richard was a prominent lawyer there.

Robert Barnes in “British Roots of Maryland Families” is pretty much in agreement with J D Collett on the English ancestry of John Collett. He notes that John married Ann Goldsmith and the couple “may have left issue in MD.”

In “Baltimore County Families”, Barnes covers many related members of the Collett family. In some places, he says “according to the Collett genealogy”. I think he was referring to the J D Collett work which I am citing extensively here. And Barnes was totally consistent with the J D Collett work from John and Susanna Ferrar down five generations. So Barnes covered them but I don’t think adds much to our knowledge of them. And, in fact, Barnes, a highly regarded genealogist, by buying into the J D Collett work is guilty of propagating the errors that J D made. Fictional people that J D made up to fit his mis-interpretation of that 1723 land-lease seem real when listed by Robert Barnes.

The will of John Collett of Baltimore County was dated 31 Oct 1669 and proved 29 Oct 1670. He bequeathed 300 acres on Crane Creek and 500 acres on Elk River to eldest son Samuel ("taken up by testator and his brother-in-law John Goldsmith"). To son John, he left 200 acres on Sassafras River and 600 acres on Gunpowder River. To youngest son, George, at majority, the home plantation and George's Hill.

Of the three sons named in John’s will, John Jr. died in 1673 apparently without issue, leaving only sons Samuel and George to carry on the family name. George seems to have disappeared from the record. Samuel was the “last man standing.”