Francis Edward COLLINS (1846–1850)
His brother Frederick Augustus COLLINS (1848–1851)
St Giles section: Row 18, Grave 26½
Sacred
To the
MEMORY OF
FRANCIS EDWARD, Son of
JAMES & SUSAN
COLLINS
Who died July 23, 1850
Aged 3 Years
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS [?]their son
Died May 2, 1851
Aged 2 Years
Francis Edward Collins was born in Oxford in 1846, and his younger brother Frederick Augustus Collins in 1848. They were the second and third sons of James Collins (born in Birmingham in 1812/13) and his wife Susannah (born in Sutton, Berkshire in 1816/17).
Their parents were married in Oxford in the fourth quarter of 1841, and they had the following children:
- Susannah Elizabeth Collins (born in Penson’s Gardens, St Ebbe’s, Oxford in 1842 and baptised at St Ebbe’s Church on 1 January 1843)
- James Collins (born in Oxford in 1844, reg. Headington district fourth quarter)
- Francis Edward Collins (born in Oxford in 1846 and baptised at St Paul’s Church on 14 December)
- Frederick Augustus Collins (born in St Giles’s parish, Oxford near the end of 1848)
- Sara Ann Collins (born in St Giles’s parish, Oxford in March 1851)
- (Frances) Emma Collins (born in St Giles’s parish, Oxford in 1853, reg. second quarter)
- William Henry Collins (born in St Giles’s parish, Oxford in 1855, reg. second quarter)
- Charles Emanuel Collins (born in St Giles’s parish, Oxford in 1857, reg. fourth quarter)
- Eliza Mary Collins (born in St Giles’s parish, Oxford near the end of 1860).
The family were living at Penson’s Gardens, St Ebbe’s near the start of their marriage, and in 1842 James Collins was described as a dealer. By the time of Francis’s baptism in 1846, they were living in St Paul’s Terrace (which was in Walton Street opposite Jericho House and next to the Observatory grounds), and James was a paper maker. By 1848 they were in St Giles’s parish (probably at Hayfield’s Hut).
Their young son Francis died in 1850:
† Francis Edward Collins died at Hayfield’s Hut at the age of 3 years 9 months on 23 July 1850 and was buried at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 27 July (burial recorded in the parish register of St Giles’s Church).
At the time of the 1851 census James Collins, now 38 and described as a rag merchant, was living at Hayfield’s Hut with his wife Susannah (34) and their four surviving children: Susannah (8), James (6), Frederick (2), and Sarah (just ten days). The family had a 14-year-old servant girl, and a 70-year-old nurse was still in attendance following the birth of the new baby.
A month later their young son Frederick died:
† Frederick Augustus Collins died at Hayfield’s Hut at the age of 2 years 6 months on 2 May 1851 and was buried at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 5 May (burial recorded in the parish register of St Giles’s Church).
The boys’ parents remained in Oxford until 1860, and had four more children there; but by the time of the 1861 census they were living in Worcester, at 3 Field Terrace. James (48) was still a rag merchant and paper dealer, and their seven surviving children were all at home. They had one servant.
In 1871 the family was living at 15 Godwin Street, Birmingham. The parents were away on census night, but three of their children were at home: Emma (17), who was a showroom assistant; William (15), who was a printer; and Charles (13), who was an errand boy.
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