Francis Collins (abt. 1635 - abt. 1720)

Born about 6 Jan 1635 in Oxfordshire, England

Husband of Sarah (Mayham) Collins — married 2 Mar 1663 in Bull and Mouth Meeting, Aldersgate, London, England

Husband of Mary (Savery) Collins — married 1686 (to 1720) in West Jersey, Province of New Jersey

Descendants

Died about 1720 at about age 84 in Northampton, Burlington, Province of New Jersey

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Biography

"FRANCIS COLLINS was a son of Edward and Mary Collins of Oxfordshire, England; he was born January 6, 1635. His father was the owner of considerable landed and personal property in that country, which, after his decease, passed to the control of his widow. Francis was apprenticed to a bricklayer, and subsequently removed to London, where he was convinced of the correctness of the religious principles of George Fox, and at once became one of his followers. In 1663, he was married to Sarah Mayham, at the Bull and Mouth Meeting of Friends, and settled at Ratliff, in the parish of Stepney, county of Middlesex, which parish was, at that time, within the built up portion of the city of London...

The marriage settlement in 21 December 1686 between Francis Collins and his second wife Mary, the marriage took place in Burlington, New Jersey. She was the widow of John Goslin, a physician and merchant in Burlington, and daughter of Thomas Budd, one of the largest proprietors and earliest settlers in the colony. An extract from "Sketches of the First Emigrant Settlers in Newton Township, Old Gloucester County, West New Jersey" pp 71-84 Author: John Clement

Marriage 1: 2 March 1663 Francis Collins of Ratcliffe, Stepney, bricklayer, before the assembly of people at the Bull, Aldersgate...Sarah Mayham. ^[1]

Will - 20 April 1720 Francis Collins, Northampton, Burlington, New Jersey, bricklayer. Will of. Wife Mary. Children: Joseph, Sarah Dimsdal, Mary Kimball, Margaret Hogg, Elizabeth Southwick, Rebecca Briant, John, Francis and Samuel. Personal and real estate. Exe. the wife Mary with son-in-law Thomas Briant and Nathaniel Cripps as trustees. Proved 6 Feb 1720/1. Inventory of personal estate 87 pounds 1-7 on 24 Jan 1720/1 sworn by Mary Collins. ^[2]

Francis Collins was born in Oxfordshire, England, in 1633, his parents being Edward and Mary Clement Collins.In 1663 he lived at Ratcliff Cross, parish of Stepney, county of Middlesex. He was a bricklayer. He married Sarah Mayham, of Stepney, at Bull and Mouth meeting, in 1663. In 1667 he received from William Penn a deed for 4-7 of I -20th part of the Province of West Jersey. He had children in 1675 named Priscilla, Elizabeth and Joseph. He came to America in 1678 and settled in Newton township, Gloucester county, West Jersey, but later removed to Northampton township, Burlington county, where he died in 1720. In 1683 he was a member of the governor's council and of the West Jersey assembly. From 1684 to 1686 he was judge of the supreme court of West Jersey, and in 1700 was a member of the council of proprietors.

The life of Francis Collins and his genealogy is featured in Clement's Sketches of the first emigrant settlers in Newton Township. He includes an extended account of Collins' children and their families. Note that while Clement did rely on available wills, deeds, and other sources, a great part of his work was dictated to him by family members or based on his own conclusions so should always be verified with primary sources.

Timeline

• Imprisoned in London in 1660.
• Gained interest in West Jersey in settlement of a debt.
• 10th signer of Concessions and Agreement of West Jersey.
• Probably emigrated on second trip of Shield in 1680.
• In 1682 he surveyed 500 acres of what is now Haddonfield, NJ and build a house.
• Built Burlington Meeting in 1683 and several other public buildings in Burlington.
• On governors council 1683, Judge starting 1684.
• In September 1686, the first court was held in Gloucester County, with Francis acting as one of the judges.^[3]
• Some mystery surrounds his move to Northampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey following soon after his second marriage. Francis spent the remaider of his life here.^[3][4]
• Francis, aged 74, appeared on a census of Northampton in 1709. Listed with him are Mary Collins, aged 44, John Collins, aged 17; Francis Collins, aged 15; Mary Collins, aged 11 and Samuel Collins, age 9.^[4]

Life in England

"Francis Collins was a son of Edward and Mary Collins of Oxfordshire, England; he was born January 6, 1635... Francis was apprenticed to a bricklayer, and subsequently removed to London, where he was convinced of the correctness of the religious principles of George Fox, and at once became one of his followers. In 1663, he was married to Sarah Mayham, at the Bull and Mouth Meeting of Friends, and settled at Ratliff, in the parish of Stepney, county of Middlesex... His adherence to the Quakers was obnoxious to his family, as is hown by the will of his mother and also by that of his sister Elizabeth."^[5]

Clement refers to "an account book of his still in existence" which includes the statement "Francis Collins, his book, this 25th day of the first month, 1675, now living at Ratliff Cross, next door to the Ship Tavern... In the book... are the names and dates of the births of his children by the first marriage; the names of many persons with whom he had business relations; also the account of moneys paid to him for rebuilding the Friends' meeting house at Stepney that had been destroyed by a mob a few years previous." Where is this document at the present time? Hope it still exists!!!

Children with Sarah Mayham, all born in England

1. Joseph Collins m Catharine Huddleston of Mansfield, NJ
2. Sarah Collins m. Robert Dimsdale, MD, of Chatteris, Cambridgeshire in 1713, no kids, went with him back to England. After his death, returned and was member of Haddonfield MM, d. 1739 (left will leaving property to siblings) The daughter Sarah 16 DEC 1665 Stepney, Middlesex, , England. ^[6]
3. Rebecca Collins m. 1698 Thomas Briant
4. Priscilla Collins m. John Hugg
5. Margaret Collins m. Elias Hugg
6. Elizabeth Collins m. Josiah Southwick^[7]

Francis's wife died shortly after settlement in New Jersey.^[7]

Life in West Jersey

In 1667 he received from William Penn a deed for 4-7 of 1/20th part of the province of West Jersey. He had children in 1675 named Priscilla, Elizabeth and Joseph. He came to America in 1678 and settled in Newtown Twp, Gloucester Co, West Jersey, but later moved to Northampton Twp, Burlington Co, were he died in 1720.

In 1683 he was a member of the Governor's Council and the West Jersey Assembly. From 1684 to 1686 he was judge of the Supreme Court of West Jersey, and in 106[?] was a member of the council of Proprietors. Fined for refusing to swear in a court of Justice in 1670, cited in Besse's Sufferings of Friends vol 1 p 431.

Remarriage and Four More Children

In 1686 the widower Francis Collins and Mary Gosling, widow of John Gosling, received permission from the Burlington Monthly Meeting to marry. Mary had a son from her first marriage, Francis had six children.

Based on unsourced works like Clement's Sketches of the First Emigrant Settlers in Newton Township, Old Gloucester County, West New Jersey, and subsequent genealogies, it has long been thought the wife of Francis Collins (widow of John Goslin) was named Mary Budd. There was never a source to back up this assertion, which could have arose from confusion. Clement wrote that she was Mary the daughter of Thomas Budd, but his daughter Mary was born in 1677, too young to be the widow of John Gosling (d. 1686) and wife of Francis Collins. The 1709 census of Northampton Township, Burlington County, lists Mary Collins, aged 44 (i.e. born about 1665). Confronted by this math problem, various other Mary Budds have been shoehorned in as Francis Collins' wife.

In their 1994 article, Eavenson and Nicholson present convincing evidence Mary widow of John Gosling and wife of Francis Collins was in fact Mary Savery, daughter of Barbados Quakers Elizabeth and John Savery. Mary Collins and her son John Gosling are named in her mother's August 1693 will.^[8] The Barbados connection was apparently discovered by the authors because John Gosling's will mentions he's "intending to go to Barbados." The long list of creditors attached to his will includes Elizabeth Savery's name. Elizabeth Savery's will names her daughter Mary, wife of Francis Collins "of Pennsylvania," as well as her grandson John Gosling.

Children of Francis Collins and Mary (Savery) Gosling Collins

1. John Collins b 1692
2. Francis Collins b 1694
3. Mary Collins b 1698; m. Thomas Kendall/Kemble/Kimball
4. Samuel Collins b 1700; m. 1721 Abigail Ward^[4]

Death and Legacy

Francis Collins died 3 Aug 1720.^{[citation needed]}

Abstract of will^[9]

"1720 April 20. Collins, Francis, of Northamton, Burlington Co., bricklayer; will of. Wife Mary. Children--Joseph, Sarah Dimsdal, Mary Kimbal, Margaret Hogg, Elizabeth Southwick, Rebeckah Briant, John, Francis, Samuel. Real and personal estate. The wife executrix with son-in-law Thomas Briant and Nathaniel Cripps as trustees and assistants. Witneses--Thos. Scattergood, Thomas Brian (?), Benjamin Brian. Proved February 6, 1720-1

1720-1 Jan. 24. Inventory of the personal estate, £82.1.7; made by Henry Burr and Nathaniel Cripps; sworn to by Mary Collins. Lib. B, p. 138"

Sources

1. ↑ The National Archives; Kew, England; General Register Office: Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials; Class: RG 6; Piece: 1437 Description: Piece 1437: Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex: Marriages (1658-1690) Image 32 by subscription at: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7097/images/41815_b0153760-00031?pId=376060
2. ↑ New Jersey, Published Archives Series, First Series; John L. Murphy Publishing Company; New Jersey State Archives Description Collection Title: Volume XXIII, Abstracts of Wills, 1670-1730. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2793/images/32669_236608-00206?pId=23520
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} John Clement of Haddonfield, NJ, Sketches of the First Settlers in Newton Township, Old Gloucester County, West New Jersey. (Camden, New Jersey, Printed by Sinnickson Chew, NE corner of Front and Market Streets, 1877) p 75
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} John Clement of Haddonfield, NJ, Sketches of the First Settlers in Newton Township, Old Gloucester County, West New Jersey. (Camden, New Jersey, Printed by Sinnickson Chew, NE corner of Front and Market Streets, 1877) p 81
5. ↑ Clement, John. Sketches of the First Emigrant Settlers in Newton Township, Old Gloucester County, West New Jersey. (Camden, N.J, Sinnickson Chew, 1877), 71
6. ↑ The National Archives; Kew, England; General Register Office: Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials; Class: RG 6; Piece: 675 Monthly Meeting of Ratcliff and Barking: Births By subscription image 46 https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7097/images/41815_b0152993-00045?pId=285683
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Source of the birth years of this children with Mary. John Clement of Haddonfield, NJ, Sketches of the First Settlers in Newton Township, Old Gloucester County, West New Jersey. (Camden, New Jersey, Printed by Sinnickson Chew, NE corner of Front and Market Streets, 1877) p 76
8. ↑ Eavenson, Mary H. and Mary Ann Nicholson. “Mary Savery, Wife of John Gosling and Francis Collins of Burlington, New Jersey.” The American Genealogist 69 (1994): 142-144, (retrieved 18 Feb 2018 from https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/american-genealogist-the/image/?volumeId=13129&pageName=144&rId=234363963)
9. ↑ Francis Collins. Calendar of Wills, 1670-1730. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, XXX, 103

Research Note

From "First Emigrant Settlers as cited above:" 1695 Francis Collins conveyed to John Hugg and his wife Priscilla land in Haddonfield which they later sold to John Hinchman. Hugg married a second wife by whom he had children.

Josiah Southwick who married the youngest daughter Elizabeth by the first marriage, lived Mount Holly.

Print works (ebooks)

• Haines, Richard. Genealogy of the Stokes Family (Sinnickson Chew & Sons Co., Camden, N.J., 1903)
• Lee, Francis Bazley. Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1910), Vol 4, pages 1410-1411
• Text: Dorlett, Francis J, Jr, FRANCIS COLLINS, FRIEND, in Proceedings of NJ Historical Society, Jan 1949 p 63
• Text: Clement, John; Report in relation to the claims of the heirs at law of Samuel Collins. 1871
• Haines, George and Richard Haines (comp.). Ancestry of the Haines, Sharp, Collins, Wills, Gardiner, Prickitt, Eves, Evans, Moore, Troth, Borton and Engle families. (Camden, New Jersey: Sinnickson, Chew & Sons, Printers, 1902), 337-338: "Priscilla Collins, the wife of Joshua Evans, was the daughter of John Collins and Elizabeth Moore. John was the son of Francis Collins, the progenitor, and Mary Budd, his second wife, the daughter of Thomas Budd, and widow of Dr. John Goslin, of Burlington, New Jersey. Elizabeth Moore was the daughter of Benjamin Moore, the progenitor, and Sarah Stokes, the daughter of Thomas Stokes and Mary Bernard, the progenitors of the Stokes family, who came from Stepney, Middlesex, England."

Ancestry databases

• London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
• New Jersey, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1643-1890
• U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
• https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/45143398/family

See also:

• this discusssion on Ancestry message board (detailed list of children)

Acknowledgements

• Haines, Wilbur H., Haines GenServ database, PO Box 165, The Sea Ranch, CA 95497