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| 4x Great Grandmother Mercy Catt [Source: Personal Collection] |
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| 4x Great Grandfather Silas Gill [Source: Personal Collection] |
Silas was born in 1806 and Mercy in 1808 - both in Beckley, Sussex, England. They married in 1826. Before arriving in New South Wales in 1837, via the Augusta Jessie, they had 5 children - Harriet, George, Mary Ann, James, and Dinah. However, only four of those children made the trip to Australia as Harriet passed away in 1830 when she was four. Silas and Mercy went on to have 7 more children in New South Wales - Sarah, Naomi, David (my ancestor), John, Miriam, Silas, and Thomas. The family eventually settled in Kempsey, although they did travel around due to Silas being a Methodist Preacher/Minister.
Silas passed away on the 10th of September, 1875, in Kempsey, New South Wales. Mercy lived for another 10 years and passed away in November, 1885 in Kempsey. They are buried in West Kempsey Cemetery.
So, to West Kempsey Cemetery it was!
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| West Kempsey Cemetery, 11 Aug 2015 [Taken by Caitie] |
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| Kempsey Hospital in the background, 11 Aug 2015 [Taken by Caitie] |
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| Visiting the resting place of Silas Gill and Mercy Catt for the first time, West Kempsey Cemetery, 11 Aug 2015 [Taken by Caitie] |
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| Caitie at Mercy Catt Gill's grave |
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| Caitie at Silas Gill's grave |
Mission #2 accomplished! But we were not done yet. Stay tuned for Mission #3...
