COLLINS is a common name of course, but I'm trying to come down the line from a William COLLINS, who died in Thornbury in 1724. I have details of two of his sons: 1) John was born in about 1683. Like his father he is described in his will as a "yeoman of Eastwood". He married Mary (surname unknown), by whom he had five children: William, born before 1731, John, Thomas, Mary and Jane, all born after 1731. All four were alive when John wrote his will in 1752, the younger four being still under twenty-one, but nothing further is known of them yet. John died the following year, aged sixty-nine, and was buried on 4 June. 2) William was born in 1689, and (probably) baptized at Cromhall on 24 September. He married Sarah GAZARD at Thornbury on 24 February 1717, and they had at least three children: John, born in 1717/8, Betty (date unknown) and Mary, probably baptized in 1732. According to his will, William was "of Falfield & Berkeley" and owned lands at Cromhall & Berkeley. His wife had died before he wrote his will in 1741. William's date of death is unknown, however, because his will was not proved until 1787. Always glad of further titbits. John Partington