robertmackayclan

The 140th annual Collett-McKay Picnic is Saturday, August 12 at 5353 Gurneyville Road, NW of Wilmington, at the four-acre family site. Again this 10th year, we'll take a family picture after our carry-in lunch. Bring your family and meet your cousins.

Also, bring your stories. We need some new ones. Our most illustrious storyteller, Howard Shambaugh, died last winter, as did Wallace Collett. Howard called this the "Big-Nose" picnic in his weekly journal we now miss. I enjoyed hearing him tell how Dad and his 1916 Kingman team mates played three basketball games at the college in one day to win the first Clinton County tourney. Mom told me she and Howard were undefeated Kingman debaters in 1920-21. Last year, Howard recited Mom's negative "League of Nations" speech. We missed him at Mom's 103rd birthday in March.

Wallace was an active Wilmington College Trustee. As Chairman of the American Friends Service Committee, Wallace went into China the year before President Nixon. Wallace's father, Howard, and perhaps others, had this story about how three Huguenot Collett brothers came from France; one went to South Africa; one, to England; and one, to America. The story is now written on the picnic gatepost, and some family members added an "e" to their last name to make it sound more French, perhaps.

In an Ashby Genealogy I got from Helen Feike, I learned a different Collett origin. This one states that a John Collett, an educated London merchant and a Fellow at Claire College, Cambridge, England, came to near Baltimore in 1650. His ancestors lived in Little Giddings, and later, in London, England. One, a Henry, was Lord Mayor of London in 1486 and again in 1495. His eldest son, a John Colet, 1467-1519, was a noted Oxford Reformer who was a pioneer for the Renaissance in England. This John studied Plato, lectured on St Paul at Oxford, became Dean of St Paul's in London and, after inheriting his father's wealth, founded St Paul's School for Boys.

A great hero of the Reformation, John boldly preached the scripture publicly in English, despite the Church's "Latin Only" policies. Within six months, 20,000 persons packed into St Paul's Cathedral and at least that many more were reported to be outside trying to get in. He served as Chaplin to King Henry VIII, and preached at Wolsey's installation as Cardinal. Like most Reformers, Colet did not want a formal breach with the Roman Catholic Church, but he disapproved of the priestly confession and of the celibacy of the clergy. According to an Internet site, he was a powerful force in England, helped materially to overcome medieval conditions, and to introduce the humanist movement. Amazingly, he managed to avoid being beheaded, as were some of his peers.

Was our ancestor one of this John's many younger brothers? When I asked Wallace about these English Colletts, he said, "I have been to Little Giddings twice. I think they are our ancestors. My father, Howard, liked to'". Wallace didn't finish the sentence then and I never got him to finish it though I tried multiple times over the last five years.

Maybe some of you will pick up the trail, and add to the story about Collett origins. Oh, although the 1734 Robert McCoy (McKay) home, the oldest house in the Shenandoah Valley, near Cedarville, VA, was open for visitors on June 25, we really don't know much about the McCoy line before then. See you at the Picnic?!

Particularly if you've not seen the original Ohio Collett-McKay houses, we'll help you find them. At 9363 New Burlington Road, Waynesville, we now live in the 1818 Moses McKay home where his four kids lived in the 1820's when they married two of Moses Collett's children from just up the road, and two of Moses Collett's siblings from the Daniel and Mary Haines Collett's home, now owned by Wallace's heirs, southeast seven miles, near Jonah's Run Church on SR 73, near the Warren-Clinton County line. The Daniel Collett house is up the lane from the "Hole-in-the-Woods" Jonathan and Sarah McKay Collett home, now owned by McKay and Dianne Collett. The original Moses McKay log cabin site, which is also where my Dad was born, is now under Lake Caesar, but the original Collett log cabin is now nearby at Caesar Creek Pioneer Village, as is the Caesar Creek Quaker Meeting House, where both Collett and McKay women joined when they moved their membership from Hopewell Meeting in northern Virginia.
For more directions, or to share stories, call me at 765 412 1495, or email at [url=mailto:bhdoster@earthlink.net]bhdoster@earthlink.net[/url]

The statement is "Stephen Collett came from France"

Has it been stated where in France he came from and where & when he arrived to present US?

What is the name of the ship ?

All the records for early Collett that I have seen, the people of this surname are coming from England.

I believe it's one of a few stories on Collett origins. The one I've heard the most is how the Collett progenitor was born aboard ship and his mother died and he was separated from his father (I think he died after ship landed) and the boy was raised as an orphan being an ancestor of the Colletts who intermarried with Haines and later our McKay relatives.

According to that story his father kept him alive by feeding him his bread rashions.

I do not know the actual origins of the Collett family itself but it would be interesting to see which story is closer to the truth. I am sure the Collett-Haines & Hackney connections are easily found in Hopewell Friends records but that probably won't show where or when the Collett forebears actually set foot on North American soil.

I'll have to check that one out.

I have viewed on micofilm through L.D.S. library #1871571, the story of the father's care of his children. But you can find that particular story with most familes. Also the tale of "three brothers" traveling together, never two brothers or five brothers, seem always to be "Three Brothers". When I hear these kind of stories, I start to think they have no real documentation.

No where in her (Helen Becker's history) hand written account of the Collett of OH does she give specific details about "Stephen Collett came from France".

She also had a bit of information about Hugh Mackay of Scotland. She stated she had no connection with him and our group of Mackay. My guess her statement was then twisted & taken by others as there was a connection.

I doubt they can document the arrival of Stephen Collett to US, for they are wrong about Robert MacKay.

I believe it's one of a few stories on Collett origins. The one I've heard the most is how the Collett progenitor was born aboard ship and his mother died and he was separated from his father (I think he died after ship landed) and the boy was raised as an orphan being an ancestor of the Colletts who intermarried with Haines and later our McKay relatives.

According to that story his father kept him alive by feeding him his bread rashions.

I do not know the actual origins of the Collett family itself but it would be interesting to see which story is closer to the truth. I am sure the Collett-Haines & Hackney connections are easily found in Hopewell Friends records but that probably won't show where or when the Collett forebears actually set foot on North American soil.

I'll have to check that one out.

I am afraid I do not understand that thinking. They took the time & expenses to put those two statements in bronze and they can't prove either ??

I have viewed on micofilm through L.D.S. library #1871571, the story of the father's care of his children. But you can find that particular story with most familes. Also the tale of "three brothers" traveling together, never two brothers or five brothers, seem always to be "Three Brothers". When I hear these kind of stories, I start to think they have no real documentation.

No where in her (Helen Becker's history) hand written account of the Collett of OH does she give specific details about "Stephen Collett came from France".

She also had a bit of information about Hugh Mackay of Scotland. She stated she had no connection with him and our group of Mackay. My guess her statement was then twisted & taken by others as there was a connection.

I doubt they can document the arrival of Stephen Collett to US, for they are wrong about Robert MacKay.

I'm not familiar with Helen Becker. I know from reading the newspaper articles about the Collett-McKay picnic that this particular story has been one that's been around for quite some time. Some of our cousins in Ohio are trying to find documentation on the Collett history. Not sure what they have so far. One in particular is Cousin Howard Doster who descends from Ann Collett & William McCune, both of whom I'm related to. Ann Collett, of course is a granddaughter of Moses McKay and William McCune is descended from my Steer family.

The Colletts we're most familiar with are the ones who intermarried with the Quaker families we're both related to. They being Haines & Antrim as well as others. These were the people who also settled in southwestern Ohio.

It could prove that the Collett origin story has as much truth in it as Robert Mackay Sr. being familiar with the Funsten family in Ireland prior to being in North America.

I am afraid I do not understand that thinking. They took the time & expenses to put those two statements in bronze and they can't prove either ??

The bronze tablets were posted in the 1930s. I believe the Funsten-Meade genealogy was published around that time as well. Poor access to certain records and the tendancy to record family legends as fact are what's usually to blame for incorrect statements like these.

Such is true about the McKay Home sign that Cousin John W. Rust put up marking the way to Robert Mackay Jr.'s home.

However, for posterity purposes we don't usually go back and change them, but I do mention the errors on this website so that people reading them will know the facts.

I have viewed on micofilm through L.D.S. library #1871571, the story of the father's care of his children. But you can find that particular story with most familes. Also the tale of "three brothers" traveling together, never two brothers or five brothers, seem always to be "Three Brothers". When I hear these kind of stories, I start to think they have no real documentation.

No where in her (Helen Becker's history) hand written account of the Collett of OH does she give specific details about "Stephen Collett came from France".

She also had a bit of information about Hugh Mackay of Scotland. She stated she had no connection with him and our group of Mackay. My guess her statement was then twisted & taken by others as there was a connection.

I doubt they can document the arrival of Stephen Collett to US, for they are wrong about Robert MacKay.

Look at the different accounts of the Collett family I have on the website. They can all be accessed on the Collett-McKay picnic page.

You'll notice that none of them completely agree with each other. What is in agreement is where Moses Collett is the father of Daniel Collett but his wife is listed as a different individual in two of the accounts.

Basically, the Collett family is a collateral line and I put the information on-line as a favour to Cousin Howard Doster who gave it to me. The information came from printed genealogies of the Ashby family and also some sketches someone else did on the Colletts.

Eventually I'll have data on the Haines, Garwood, Antrim & other families up so the Collett connection will definitely be included there. Not sure when that will happen. I'm currently working on adding some pictures of the Robert Mackay Jr. home and Fairview up as well as some pictures of Cousin Hubert McKay & family and their home 'Wren's Nest'.

The bronze tablets were posted in the 1930s. I believe the Funsten-Meade genealogy was published around that time as well. Poor access to certain records and the tendancy to record family legends as fact are what's usually to blame for incorrect statements like these.

Such is true about the McKay Home sign that Cousin John W. Rust put up marking the way to Robert Mackay Jr.'s home.

However, for posterity purposes we don't usually go back and change them, but I do mention the errors on this website so that people reading them will know the facts.

I am guess about the birth year of Stephen Collett born c1693. If that is his birth year, then he would be to young to be a Huguenots Emigrate.

I have three of those ancestors.

1. Louis DuBois born 1627 (double line)
2. Jacques Cossart born 1639 (double line)
2. Nicholas Lehew born c1660

All born in Europe, removed first to various parts of Europe or England, done removed from France directly to US.

There were four major time periods of French Huguenots leaving France, the first group under Catherine de Medici--second half of 16th century, the second group under Richeliue regime, the third the largest amount due to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the fourth aftermath of War of Austrian War 1748.

These facts can be found in any basic history book. I think they are missing a generation. It could be a distance Collett ancestor was a Huguenot leaving Frances for various part of Germany, Holland or England and then removing to present day US.

Look at the different accounts of the Collett family I have on the website. They can all be accessed on the Collett-McKay picnic page.

You'll notice that none of them completely agree with each other. What is in agreement is where Moses Collett is the father of Daniel Collett but his wife is listed as a different individual in two of the accounts.

Basically, the Collett family is a collateral line and I put the information on-line as a favour to Cousin Howard Doster who gave it to me. The information came from printed genealogies of the Ashby family and also some sketches someone else did on the Colletts.

Eventually I'll have data on the Haines, Garwood, Antrim & other families up so the Collett connection will definitely be included there. Not sure when that will happen. I'm currently working on adding some pictures of the Robert Mackay Jr. home and Fairview up as well as some pictures of Cousin Hubert McKay & family and their home 'Wren's Nest'.

I did look at your posting concerning the Collett family history, which is why I posted my question about the evidence about Stephen Collett.

I have seen this surname in NJ to PA/MD. So as I am going through the records looking for "our" Robert Mackay if I see Collett I will gather that information and post it on your web page. I had not gathered what I had seen before, because I thought what they had posted about Stephen Collett was correct.

The books by Robert Barnes (Baltimore City & Co. MD) has Collett recorded. They arrived early 1650's. I do not know if a connection between them and the ones in NJ.