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Hi folks, does anyone out there live near the Gloucester Record Office? If so would they be able to visit there and look up the church records for a Church in Kempley, Gloucester, possibly St Mary's? I am told that my grandfather, John Murray, used to "swing incense" at the church in Kempley (Catholic church?) (or maybe even Kempsford?) when he was around 10 or 11 years old I think (born 1885), and if he went to the church then his parents, Mary Ann Murray and John (Patrick) Murray, and brothers and sisters must have gone there as well, and perhaps even John Murray's grandparents (not known to me at this time). I am "clutching at straws", trying to think where I can research in the hope that I could find John Murray Senior's parents so that I know who they were. Any help would be really great for me.

Many thanks
Hilda

Have you already gone down the usual route of asking for help to find John via census reports etc? If not I would do so.
Jan

Kempley or Kempsford are both parishes, how far apart they are, i have no idea

http://www.kempsford.net/history/pdf/history-of-kempsford.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kempley

About 40 miles I think Penny, looking at googlemap.

Kempley is in Newent reg'n district

Kempsford in Cirencester dist.

Opposite sides of the County

Where was John (c1885) born?

Where did you learn the names of his parents?

When and where was each of them born?

Have you found a marriage for them?

I can't see this family in Gloucestershire so I am intrigued now!

Hello to everyone who has replied to me on this post. As you will see it was started on the 21st February 2011, just over 24 hours before the devastating earthquake we had in Christchurch, New Zealand at 12.54 pm on the 22nd February, and as I lived through that earthquake and therefore "fled" to another part of the South Island of New Zealand I have been "out of action" for most of the last year or so, and have only just started getting back into Genes.

I have finally found out that my gt grandgather. John Murray, was actually born in Newport, Shropshire and not in Newport, Mon (as the Enumerator had stated on the 1901 census AND on John Murray's Death Certificate in 1901). I have also found out that my gt grandfather's parents were Thomas Murrey and Katherine Kelly (Murrey spelt with an e this time), and although they came from Ireland they were married in Newport, Shropshire, and as they were listed in the 1851 census for Newport, Shropshire I also have the names of their children as well, including my gt grandfather, John. I only found out all this information last month because, on the death certificate for my grandfather's sister, under the column headed "Occupation" it has "Daughter of John Patrick Murray of Newport, Salop", the most important word being "of", which told me that he came from the Newport in Shropshire, not the one in Monmouthshire. What a great find (or realisation!) after looking for 15 years!

Therefore, I think that perhaps it was only my gt grandparents, John Murray and Mary Ann Murray (nee Hewer) and my grandfather and his siblings who went to church in Kempley; I have just checked an old letter I had from an uncle of mine, and he did say it was Kempley where my grandfather, John Murray Junior, swung incense, so if anyone lives near the Catholic church in Kempley and they have time, it would be great if they could have a look at the records for me for the Murrays in around 1890 to 1901.

Many thanks again to all
Hilda

Related thread -

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.page/board/ancestors/thread/1259187