From: Richard townend <richtownend001@googlemail.com>
Date: 10 January 2013 00:53:34 GMT+02:00
To: David Larsen - Salbu <larsen@salbu.com>
Subject: Re: James Collis of Natal / Richard Wood _121020

Hello David
 
Now, as promised here is a brief background to the Collis Family - to be honest I could write a book so this focus on James and some of his key family members at the time.  Feel free to edit and drop into your website as you wish.....
 
James Collis was the youngest son of Mr George Collis of Stourbridge who was born in the year 1744 and was a son of Mr George Collis and Sophia his wife, of the New Forest, Hampshire, the descendants of a very ancient Worcestershire family of the name of Colles, residing in Leigh Court - a family who can trace their connection with the county back to pre-Norman times.  One of this family was a Knight of the Shire in the eleventh century and another was High Sheriff in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.  Other family members distinguished themselves in the Army and Navy, one, Captain John Collis, falling in the batle of Worcester fighting for the Royalists in the English Civil War.
 
James Collis was a brother of Rev William Blow Collis, Cannock, Staffordshire and also uncle of William Blow Collis, solicitor and Deputy Lieutenant of Worcestershire.  James was also uncle to Mr C W Collis, solicitor and the Registrar of the Stourbridge County Court.
 
James Collis father, George, at the age of 18 ran away and enlisted in the army, fighting at the victorious Battle of Quebec.  It is said he was near Wolfe, Commander of the British forces when he was killed.  When he returned he established a company of volunteers to fight in the Peninsular wars but not being accepted the corps was disbanded.    George set up a wine and spirit company which was later sold by Mr C W Collis.  By tracing acqusitions over the centuries it is now technically part of Marstons Plc, a major Brewery in the UK.  James mother was Ann Robins of Dunsley Hall, Kinver, who's mother was a daughter of John Hales Esq. who was a lineal descendant of Sir Matthew Hale, barrister and Chief Justice of the Kings Bench.
 
 
I have done a stack of research on James Collis - he appears in quite a few book references on the internet which I have now acquired - some of which have been sent from South Africa !
 
I need to still tell the family about James Collis - none of them are really aware of what he did in South Africa.   In one such old history book, it is mentioned that Collis called a meeting with some other pioneers at the port.  This meeting changed the name of Port Natal to D'urban.....after the Governor of the British Colony in SA at the time.   An amazing fact if its true...if not, a nice story anyway !
 
Best Regards

Richard

 

John Collis, brother of James Collis, was an important magistrate
and a Reverend in the Stourbridge area !