Are you a descendant of John LONG/BROWN (1844 Sydney – 1926 Kempsey) and Matilda Goodchild LONG nee BETTS (1842 Little Thurlow, England – 1917 Kempsey, NSW)?
Their children were –
Frederick LONG/BROWN (1864 Macleay River – 1932 Kempsey) m. Hannah FELTON
Elizabeth Ada LONG/BROWN (1865 Macleay River – 1952 Kempsey) m. James “Jack” BROWN
Emily Alice LONG/BROWN (1867 Macleay River – 1941 Kempsey) m. Albert LAWRENCE
Christina LONG (1869 Macleay River – 1928 East Kempsey) m. William FELTON
Arthur Joseph LONG (1872 Macleay River – 1949 Kempsey) m. Louisa WOODERSON
Jane Frances LONG (1879 Kempsey – 1958 Forest Lodge) m. Alfred JW WARR
Albert James LONG (1881 Macleay River – 1939 Newtown) m. Evelyn TUMETH
My family and I are based in Sydney, NSW, but are descendants of John and Matilda LONG of Kempsey, NSW. We have travelled to Kempsey (in 2021 and 2022) to do family history research, and also met distant cousins Carol and Ellen, who still live in the area.
We noted that there's some damage to John and Matilda's grave in the West Kempsey Cemetery. The headstone has fallen to the rear of the grave, and the marble name plaque has detached from the headstone. Someone has propped the marble plaque up on the grave.
Given both the marble name plaque and headstone are still in fair condition, we thought having them repaired would be a good idea, before anything else happens to the detached pieces.
Walker Funerals have given us a quote for repair and clean, which would be around $1000. As West Kempsey is a historical cemetery, they cannot replace the missing letters – however, the holes left behind means the letters are still legible in context.
So far I have interest from myself and four other people to contribute towards costs.
This is a call out to see if any other descendants are interested in contributing. If so, please feel free to discuss here, or contact through rootschat. It would be appreciated if we could have any interest worked out by the end of August.
I have also inquired about a 'Restored by Descendants' plaque that I have seen on other restored graves and monuments. They are allowed on heritage graves, and would be an additional cost of $800. At present, our main concern is repairing the grave, but I am going to ask if a plaque can be added at a later date if there is enough interest.
Cheers,
Louise Mollart
Descendant of Jane Frances WARR nee LONG
