The census of 1827 suggests they were living at home, in that year at least, for it shows four females living with Stephen Collins—none of whom is a servant. As Louisa was m. in 1816; Charlotte, in 1821; and Mary Ann, earlier in 1827 (the census was taken the last day of the year)—and Phebe and her mother had died a few years earlier—that left Betsy, Georgiana, and Joanna. The fourth one may have been Jane, who though married in 1824 had been widowed in 1826—if not she, then there may have been another daughter—perhaps born after Joanna.

What makes one wonder if there was a ninth daughter (or, for that matter, other younger children) is the following passage taken from a report made in 1834 by John Allen and others, regarding the financial condition of the estate of Stephen Collins:

That the deceased died pofsefsed of a farm in the township of Dartmouth, the rents of which since his death have been appropriated by the administrators towards the maintenance of the younger children, And that the same is in its present state capable of producing little or no Rent, and would require a large fum of money to be Expended in Keeping up the fences, and putting it in a condition to yield a Rent—which the administrators are at present unable to do.

—Estate Papers of Stephen Collins, Probate Court, Halifax Co., File No. C-115.

(Emphasis added.) By 1834, Georgiana had married and Jane had married for a second time. So, of the eight known Collins children, the only ones that could still have been at home would have been Joanne, aged 19, and Betsy, aged 39.