SIMPSON family - John Pierce and Sarah Ann Simpson

Today I went to the Melbourne General Cemetery and visited my SIMPSON ancestors, John and Sarah Ann. They are my 3x great grandparents. Here I am standing at their grave.

Melbourne General Cemetery - C of E Section

As I only started research about the Simpsons last week, there are huge holes still to fill in my knowledge about who they were and what they did. But I'll tell you what I know so far.

JOHN PIERCE SIMPSON and his wife SARAH ANN WALLWORTH were both born in the late 1830's. They emigrated to Australia from Liverpool on the ship "Southern Ocean" and arrived in Melbourne on 23 August 1863, with two children in tow: Charlotte, aged 4, (my 2x great grandmother) and Mary Alicia, an infant.

In Melbourne, they had more children:

SARAH ANN Simpson born 1865.

JOHN EDMOND Simpson born 1867. Died 6 months old.

THOMAS Simpson born 1869.

VICTORIA Simpson born 1871.

CAROLINE Simpson born 1874.

AMELIASimpson born 1876. Died 9 months old.

ADA MAUD Simpson born 1878. Died 3 months old.

LOUISA Simpson born 1880. 

JOSEPH HENRY PIERCE Simpson born 1883.

Due to the various spellings of Sarah Ann's Maiden name, some of these births are yet to be confirmed as belonging to these Simpsons, so take care if you are adding them to your tree!

However we know for sure that Victoria, Ada Maude and Amelia belong as they are buried in this grave with their parents.

The photo is hard to read, so I will transcribe the words here:

"In loving memory of VICTORIA THOMAS, beloved wife of David J. Thomas, daughter of J.P. & S.A. SIMPSON who died Oct 26th 1906 aged 35 years. 'Gone but not forgotten.' 

Also AMELIA SIMPSON who died March 1st 1877 Aged 9 months.

Also ADA MAUD SIMPSON who died Sept. 5th 1878 Aged 3 months.

Also SARAH ANN, mother of above and loved wife of J.P. SIMPSON, died March 16th, 1915, Aged 76 years.

Also JOHN P. SIMPSON, beloved husband and father of the above, died 3rd May 1916, Aged 79 years.

We may also surmise that LOUISE SIMPSON is correct because there is a shield at the foot of the grave dedicated "to my dear mother and father" from Louie, 1916.

The flower symbolism carved into the headstone touched my heart.

The two Daffodils, which bloom in Spring, represent rebirth and new life, and probably represent the parents John and Sarah Ann as they are full-blown flowers.

The three smaller flowers with five heart shaped petals I believe are primroses which represent youth and so signify the three children of the couple. The two babies are represented standing up while the fuller grown primrose lying to the left represents Victoria, who lived until she was 35.

The Fern means humility and sincerity. I find the whole thing very touching and thoughtful, and I look forward to finding out more about Louisa who arranged the whole thing to be made.

Melbourne General Cemetery gate

One last thing, if you wish to use my photographs or quote me, you need my permission to do so. Contact me at the email address below.