Margaret B (Clifton) Collett (abt. 1760 - 1817)

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1 Jun 1817 at about age 57 in Randolph County, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Margaret Bartlett was an illegitimate daughter of Mary Conrad and was an eventual heir to her grandfather Jacob Conrad, a blacksmith at Ruddle. ^[1] According to the footnotes of the Occasional Papers referenced below, various dates of Margaret's life lead to the conclusion that Mary's "indiscretion" with the man by the name of Bartlett (Margaret's father) would have occurred while the Conrads lived in the Berks-Lancaster Counties area of Pennsylvania, which they did until 1763. On this basis, we have an approximate birth year of 1760 for Margaret.

Note regarding Margaret's last name: There is no evidence to suggest that Thomas Collett's wife was Margaret CLIFTON. Margaret's grandfather, Jacob Conrad Sr. named his daughter Mary's two children as Margaret BARTLETT and John Clifton. There is no doubt that these were illegitimate children of Mary Conrad, and they kept the surnames of their reputed fathers. In his will, William Clifton claims his son John Clifton, but makes no mention of Margaret Bartlett or Collett. Via the deed(s) in which John and Edie Clifton and Thomas and Margaret Collett jointly sold the land left to them by their grandfather, one can show that Margaret Collett was the Margaret Bartlett named in Jacob Conrad Sr's will. In addition, Margaretha Bartlett participated in a church/communion service on the South Branch around 1767. The traveling minister, based out of a church in Frederick, MD, recorded the participants in the church record there. Given the age necessary to participate in communion, and the time-frame of her children's births, I am certain that Margaret (Bartlett) Collett was born BEFORE the Conrads came to the South Branch in 1763. This means that her probable illegitimate father, ---- Bartlett was in PA, not in VA. In fact, I have looked for Bartlett man in the South Branch area that early and have found none. I do not think anyone has ever looked for a Bartlett father for her in the Berks-Lancaster area of PA, so the research field is wide open there. However, it will be difficult to ever prove an illegitimate relationship that early.

Sources

1. ↑ Occasional Papers no. 34, p. 12. Skidmore and Scudamore Family History Website. Accessed 4/18/2018. http://www.skidmorefamilyhistory.com/OP34%20John%20and%20his%20companies.pdf

• WikiTree profile Clifton-297 created through the import of Keller-Freeland-Ferris Family .ged on Feb 27, 2012 by Elizabeth Tapia. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Elizabeth and others.