Flora and Desmond Collins

[DarkLady]

What, you mean it wasn't Tom Collins???

[Lydia]

At some point in the 1966-67 episodes, there was mention of an Aunt Margaret, I believe, who lived in Boston.

That's Aunt Katherine, I think.  She could be a non-Collins - a sister of the mother of Elizabeth and Roger.

As for Flora, she seems to me to have been born a Collins.  I don't think she was a Magruder, because I figure that the Magruders lived in Rose Cottage after the Collins cousins did, and that they did not carry on the name of Rose Cottage.

Somewhere or other I've said that there could have been Collins cousins like Flora's parents and parents-in-law who were at sea, halfway around the world, at the time of the planned wedding of Barnabas and Josette.  That still seems to me to be the most likely answer to why we didn't see them in 1795.

[Uncle Roger]

It's possible that Flora was married more than once, to a Magruder and a Collins. She could have been widowed, with a young son and then widowed a second time.

[Gerard]

That makes a lot of sense, Uncle Roger.  Of course, now we can debate which Collins she married!  I'm going to say it was one of those New York branches (the one that spawned Millicent and Daniel; they were orphans, so there had to be other Collins' and not necessarily just the deceased parents).  So many Collins; so little time.  The whole east coast from Manhattan to Maine was simply crawling with them!

Gerard

[arashi]

Just remembered this while reading the thread:

Shortly after Barnabas' introduction, Liz is telling Carolyn that there's another Collins in town and she asks which one, which would imply there's other family out there... somewhere.

[Willie Loomis]

I just saw that Flora told Carrie that she was maybe a year older than Carrie when she was married.

[quentincollins]

Interesting to think that Flora's husband was RT Justin.
I have read fan theories ages ago that Naomi was a Collins by birth and that she and Joshua were distant cousins. Isn't there some hints that Naomi was a Collins by birth, such as saying the Old House had always been in her name?
That leads into the theory that Flora was Naomi's blood niece, and thus also a Collins by birth. I've always liked that theory, connecting Naomi and Flora as close relatives, and Flora a blood relation to Daniel and his offspring. Flora and her husband, whoever he was, would then be distant cousins.
I've also heard it suggested that the McG name was Flora's late husband's name, and after his death she and Desmond took on her maiden name.

[David]

My grandparents were cousins on both sides. Both weddings were arranged by their parents. Up to our parents' generation, this was not unusual.