WILLIAM COLLINS was born at Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England, about 1800-1, and died before 1851. He married ESTHER WRIGHT, who was born at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1800-1.^[1]

Ashton-under-Lyne is a community about six miles east of Manchester. Prior to the Industrial Revolution it was a center of a home weaving industry. During the Industrial Revolution the community exploded in population, from 6,500 in 1801 to 29,790 in 1851, and 34,886 in 1861, having 75 cotton textile mills established in the community by 1905.

The cotton industry impacted the Collins family, who were reported on Portand Street, Ashton-under-Lyne in the 1841 Census:^[2]

It would appear that the census taker rounded off the ages of adults to the nearest ten; therefore the ages should not be taken too seriously. I find no further record of William, the father, or Sarah, the daughter. William died before the next census, in 1851. Sarah may have married, or died, or moved away. Sons James and William Wright married before the next census. The 1851 Census reported the following at Ashton-under=Lyne:^[3]

I have no further information on Joseph's marriage. It is remarkable that Esther aged twenty years from 1841 to 1851!

Son James was reported in the 1851 Census at Ashton-under-Lyne, cotton weaver (power), with his wife Elizabeth.^[4] She probably died soon after, as he married Harriet Bradbury in 1852, and James, Harriet, and three children and three boarders were reported at Ashton-under-Lyne in the 1861 Census. James and Elizabeth were both age 30 in 1851; James and Harriet were both age 40 in 1861. Both records state James' birthplace as Denton, Lancashire.^[5] As James and his sister Sarah were twins, born on the same day, and both baptized at Stamford Street Wesleyan Chapel in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1820,^[6] we can assume that Sarah was also born at Denton. Denton is about four miles south of Ashton-under-Lyne.

Sons William and Joseph emigrated to America.

William and Esther (Wright) Collins had the following children:

1. SARAH ANN COLLINS b. at Denton on 3 December 1820.^[7]
2. JAMES COLLINS^[8] b. at Denton on 3 December 1820; d. before 1871; m (1). before 1851 ELIZABETH ________, b. at Runcorn, Cheshire, England, about 1820-1. James m(2). at Ashton-under-Lyne on 23 August 1852 HARRIET BRADBURY, b. at Yaddleworth, Yorkshire, England, about 1820-1. James and Harriet had the following children:
   1. Sarah Collins b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1853-4.
   2. John Collins b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1856-7.
   3. Joseph Collins b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1858-9.
3. WILLIAM WRIGHT¹ COLLINS b. at Ashton-under-Lyne on 19 October 1824.
4. JOSEPH WRIGHT¹ COLLINS b. at Ashton-under-Lyne on 12 July 1828; m. at North Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island on 30 September 1869 ANNE CLAYTON, b. at England about 1837-8.^[9]

CHARLES HIBBERT was born at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1790-1, and died between 1841 and 1851. He married HARRIET LOWE, who was born at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1789-90, and died after 1851.^[10]

The 1841 Census reported this family at Kathrene Street, Ashton-under-Lyne as follows:^[11]

It would appear that the census taker rounded off everyones age to a number divisable by five. Perhaps they were the census taker's rough estimates.

In the birth records for England, as reported at familysearch.org. I find only one birth record for a child of Charles and Harriet Hibbert in Lancashire in this time period. This is for George Hibbert, born 30 July 1822. The above census suggests that George was born about 1825-6. The 1851 Census suggests that George was born about 1817-8. So I will accept this as a birth record for the George in this family. The birth record reports the mother's name as Harriet Lowe, which is my only source for her maiden name. George was baptized at the Stamford Street Methodist New Connexion chapel in Ashton-under-Lyne,^[12] which, if not the same, sounds closely related to the Stamford Street Wesleyan Chapel where the first two children of William and Esther Collins were baptized. This points to a social connection between the two families.

The 1851 Census reported the widow and two daughters at Hadgson Street, Ashton-under-Lyne as follows:^[13]

Concerning the olther children:

• Charles Hibbert, 30, "Hat Body Maker," his wife Alice, 29, and three children, lived with her mother, Sarah Andrew, and her two unmarried brothers, at Ashton-under-Lyne.^[14]
• George Hibbert had moved to Glossop, Derbyshire, England, where he worked as a pork butcher, and lived with his wife, Caroline, a lower loom weaver in a cotton mill.^[15]
• Selina Hibbert Collins, whose occupation was listed as "mechanic's wife," lived with her husband and three children at Ashton-under-Lyne.^[16]
• I have not found Martha Hibbert in this census.

Charles and Harriet Hibbert had the following children:

1. CHARLES HIBBERT^[17] b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1820-1; m. at Manchester, Lancashire, on 12 May 1844 ALICE ANDREW, b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1821-2. Children of Charles and Alice:
   1. Sarah Hibbert b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1844-5.
   2. John Mitchell Hibbert b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1847-8.
   3. Martha Hibbert b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about December 1850.
2. MARTHA HIBBERT b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1820-1.^[18]
3. SELINA HIBBERT b. at Ashton-under-Lyne on 26 November 1824.
4. GEORGE HIBBERT b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1825-6; m. at Manchester on 11 February 1849 CAROLINE BRAMHALL, b. at Manchester about 1828-9.^[19]
5. LOUISA HIBBERT b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1825-6.^[20]
6. HANNAH HIBBERT b. at Ashton-under-Lyne about 1826-7.^[21]

¹Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841, Class: HO107; Piece: 532; Book: 8; District: 11; Folio: 17; Page: 28, William Collins family; digital images, The National Archives of the United Kingdom: Public Record Office, Kew, Surrey, England, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 3 July 2018). Elaine Shisler Smith, History of the Family and Her Story Too: A Portrait of the Bagster-Collins Family Tree (N.p.: self published, [2010]), 5.
²Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841, Class: HO107; Piece: 532; Book: 8; District: 11; Folio: 17; Page: 28, William Collins family.
³Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, Class: HO107; Piece: 2233; Folio: 217; Page: 39, Esther Collins family; digital images, The National Archives of the United Kimgdom: Public Record Office, Kew, Surrey, England, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 July 2018).
⁴Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, Piece: 2233; Folio: 268; Page: 12, James Collins family.
⁵Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861, Ashton under Lyne p. 21, schedule 109, James Collins family; digital images, The National Archives of the United Kimgdom, Public Record Office, Kew, Surrey, England:, Ancestry (ancestryr.com : accessed 1 February 2021).
⁶"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 11 July 2020), Sarah Ann Collins, 1820; James Collins, 1820.
⁷"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," Sarah Ann Collins, 1820.
⁸Information on the family of James Collins is found at: "England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," James Collins, 1820. "England Marriages, 1538–1973," index, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 18 February 2021), Lancashire, Collins-Bradbury, 1852. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, Piece: 2233; Folio: 268; Page: 12, James Collins family. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861, Ashton under Lyne p. 21, schedule 109, James Collins family. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871, Ashton under Lyne p. 12, Harriet Collins family; digital images, The National Archives of the United Kingdom: Public Record Office, Kew, Surrey, England:, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 1 February 2021).
⁹"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," Joseph Wright Collinge, 1828. Rhode Island Town Clerks, "Rhode Island, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1630-1945," Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 21 January 2021), Pawtucket Marriages 1869 , Collins-Clayton.
¹⁰Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841, piece 532. book 9, folio 46, p. 28, Charles Hibbert family. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, piece 2233, folio 320, p. 21, household 74, Harriet Hibbert family.
¹¹Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841, piece 532. book 9, folio 46, p. 28, Charles Hibbert family.
¹²"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," George Hibbert, 1822.
¹³Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, piece 2233, folio 320, p. 21, household 74, Harriet Hibbert family.
¹⁴Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, piece 2233, folio 138, p. 39, household 124, Sarah Andrew family.
¹⁵Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, piece 2152, folio 73, p. 17, household 57, George Hibbert family.
¹⁶Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, Piece: 2233; Folio: 294; Page: 15, William Collins family.
¹⁷Information on the family of Charles Hibbert is from: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841, piece 532. book 9, folio 46, p. 28, Charles Hibbert family. "England Marriages, 1538–1973," Lancashire, Hibbert-Andrew 1844. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, piece 2233, folio 138, p. 39, household 124, Sarah Andrew family.
¹⁸Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, piece 2233, folio 320, p. 21, household 74, Harriet Hibbert family.
¹⁹"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, Family Search, George Hibbert, 1822. "England Marriages, 1538–1973," Lancashire, Hibbert-Bramhall 1849. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, piece 2152, folio 73, p. 17, household 57, George Hibbert family.
²⁰Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841, piece 532. book 9, folio 46, p. 28, Charles Hibbert family.
²¹Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851, piece 2233, folio 320, p. 21, household 74, Harriet Hibbert family.

"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2020.

"England Marriages, 1538–1973." Index. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2021.

Rhode Island Town Clerks. "Rhode Island, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1630-1945." Family Search. familysearch.org : 2021.

Smith, Elaine Shisler. History of the Family and Her Story Too: A Portrait of the Bagster-Collins Family Tree. N.p.: self published, [2010].

United Kingdom, National Archives of the, Public Record Office, Kew, Surrey, England. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2018.

________. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2018.

________. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestryr.com : 2021.

________. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2021.