Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries

 Today's blog is about a poet and war reporter who married a woman born during a time of extreme anguish in her family. It relates to a previous blog that had a shocking event at its core. KENNETH SLESSOR  Kenneth was born Kenneth Adolphe Schloesser in Orange NSW to Robert and Ella. As a young lad, he lived in England for a while and upon return to Australia visited the mines of NSW with his father who was a Jewish Mining engineer whose own father and grandfather had been distinguished musicians in Germany. Robert changed the family surname to "Slessor" on the 14th of November 1914, just after the outbreak of WW1. Kenneth's father encouraged him to appreciate music, food and books and instilled in him a European sense of sophistication. A voracious reader and writer, his first publication was in 1917, a dramatic monologue spoken by a "digger" remembering Sydney Harbour and Manly Beach, appearing in "The Bulletin." Kenneth joined the Sun new

 Over the years I have had the privilege of being the recipient of family information from people who follow me. Every one of those pieces of information contain pure "gold" and I have shared some of the stories of those people on this page. I'll advise of how to find them towards the end of today's blog. A few months back I heard from a woman who was seeking advice as to where her ancestor was buried in Rookwood and advised me that he died at the ripe old age of 107! Well, I had to go down the rabbit hole on that one. The ancestor was found, and this is his story as passed down and reported upon. RICHARD JAMES SMITH Richard was born on the 10th of December 1796 in Wiltshire England to John Smith and his wife Mary nee Bird. He was the fourth child of a total of nine and by the date of his birth two of his siblings had already died. The family were farmers like many other relatives, however some entered the Army and Richard joined them. He enlisted in the 50th Re

 I walk past many, many monuments in various parts of Rookwood and often take a photo of one that catches my eye with the intention of researching the person/s who lie beneath it. Unfortunately time being what it is, I often run out of it and many of these "finds" remain in my photo album (sometimes forgotten I have to admit). Not today....a random reference was brought to my attention, I found the photo and started "digging" - well so to speak. This is what I found. WILLIAM JOHN STEPHENS William was born in July 1829 in Levens, Westmorland, England to the Reverend William Stephens, the vicar of Levens, and his wife Alicia. He was the eldest child with nine siblings and descended from a long line of vicars. William was a bright student, won many prizes and was school captain. He was a scholar at the Queen's College, Oxford gaining a B.A in 1852 and an M.A. in 1855. William gained first class honours in the classics, became a fellow of his college, a lecturer