“We are children of many sires, and every drop of blood in us in its turn betrays its ancestor.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Whilst searching for ancestors it has become clear that there are, even in recent history, many variations of the name Colloff. When I first started searching for Colloff ancestors I was strictly looking for the name spelt exactly as mine. However, it was pointed out to me, by my husband, that even as recently as the early 1900’s, but particularly in earlier times, some people could not write, or spell, their name and so it was left to an official to decide how to record it. This meant that a person’s dialect or accent would have influenced the spelling of the name, particularly if the name was being recorded in a place other than the area of family residence, where one might expect the spelling to be consistent. This has, therefore, widened the search to include all variations of the name in the hope that one day links can be found to the possible original spelling. Some variations already being researched are Coloff, Collof, Collef, Culiffe, Coelhoff and Kohlhoff.

*****************************************************

Colloff – An Unusual Name

This unusual name is of German medieval origin, and derives from “Kohlhoff”, translating as “the black hound”. This type of compound surname has ancient antecedents back to the Saxons of pre 7th Century fame. It may be either habitational for one who lived at the sign of “the Black Hound” (an inn) or is a nickname for a well known warrior. The elements of the name derive from “kohl” (black) and “hund”, a hound, “hoff” being a dialectal variant known as “niederdeutsch”.

The name as “Kolhunt” was recorded as early as 1398 at Allgau (now Kempten), between Ulm and Innsbreuk, although its baptismal variant recordings are later, and include: Margaretha Kohlhoff, who married Werner Nix at St. Lamberts, Dusseldorf, on August 16th 1691, whilst Anna Coelhoff was registered at Herne, Westfalen, on July 28th 1821. In England, on June 6th 1861, William Coliff was recorded at St. John the Evangelist, Limehouse, London, and this may be an associated spelling.

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anna Koehlhoff, which was dated December 17th 1616, christened at Vorweiden Evangelist Church, Rheinland, during the reign of Emperor Mathias of the Holy Roman (German) Empire, 1612 – 1619.

Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as the Poll Tax.

The above text is copied from a coat of arms wall plaque that was given to me some time ago. The copyright remains with the author who is unknown since the name does not appear on the document.

*****************************************************

Talk about keep it in the family!

In our search we have found that Colloff brothers (Joseph & Charles) married Barker sisters (Caroline & Jane).

On 14th April 1877 my Great Grandfather Joseph Benjamin Colloff, (born in 1852), married Jane Barker, (born about 1856).

On 14th November 1881 Joseph’s brother Charles (my Great-Great Uncle born in 1854), married Caroline Barker, (born about 1851).

Both Marriage Certificates note that the bride’s father was James Barker, a Tin Plate worker, so from this, and the following snippets of information we can conclude that Jane and Caroline were sisters.

There is a Caroline Barker of the correct age on the 1881 Census with father James (a Tin Plate worker). James is shown on the 1881 Census as born about 1831 and also notes his wife Caroline, born about 1833, together with Ellen, born about 1867 and Alfred, born about 1871. Note that Jane does not appear in this record since she was already married to Joseph Benjamin and lived elsewhere at the time of the census.

From the census we can also see that Charles Colloff had been boarding with the Kimm family at 71 Anderton Road, Aston, though his marriage certificate indicates Garrison Lane which is where his brother Joseph was living.

Caroline was living with her parents at 14 Sydney Road, Aston just off Garrison Lane, though again her marriage certificate indicates Garrison Lane.

What we found really surprising is that not only did brothers marry sisters, but also that the older brother married the younger sister and the younger brother married the older sister.