William Howell Gravesite Restoration
23 May 2010
Dear Family,
We have a very special, limited time, family sharing opportunity for any who are interested. We are now accepting donations for the restoration of the William Howell and David Howell gravesite at the Chewton Cemetery, in Victoria, Australia!
If you are a descendant of James and Sarah Howell McKnight (daughter of William Howell and Hannah Rees), you may contribute to this restoration project. We want to encourage as many young children as possible to donate, even if it’s just a few cents. We would love to see small donations also from youth, young adults, and young married families. There is no minimum donation amount, but in order to open this opportunity up to more people, we ask that no donor initially contribute more than $50. Please help us make this a meaningful service opportunity for the children and youth.
When you send in your donations, please also tell us how many people in your family or group are included with this donation. I would like to be able to tell our restoration partners in Australia (the Bendigo Ward, Deer Park Stake, LDS Church) how many of our family chose to join in this special project.
Later in the summer, donations will no longer be accepted. If we are then short of funds, we will turn to a select few to make up the shortfall. If you have a desire to be one of our "select few" who underwrite this project, you may let me know now but please don't send in donations greater than $50 until I contact you at the end of our fund-raising period.
Thank you for your excitement about this project.
Ralph McKnight
Send donations payable to:
Ralph McKnight
P. O. Box 2524
Grass Valley, CA 95945
Additional Information, Questions and Answers
What exactly are the funds paying for?
The funds are paying for the material cost of the restoration. The main cost is that of the new plaque that will be included to mark the grave of William Howell and David Howell (this is a double gravesite). The local LDS Bendigo Ward will provide the labor.
What will the plaque inscription say?
Sacred to the Memory of
William HOWELL.
Born 14 Dec 1803, Wales, Died 26 Oct 1862, Castlemaine.
Member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1845-1862.
President of Newcastle Branch, N.S.W, 1854
Missionary of Gold Diggers Branch, Victoria, 1855
Husband of Hannah Rees Howell,
Father of David, Sarah (McKnight), Susannah (Rees), and Eliza (Thomas).
Also
David HOWELL
Born 1831, Wales, Died 5 Jan 1867, Maldon.
Husband of Mary Matthews Howell,
Father of Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, William and Thomas.
Restored by members of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
Bendigo Ward, Deer Park Stake of Zion
and the McKnight family of America.
How did this project all come about?
A year or two ago, Mrs. Barbara Hewett, an Australian LDS historian, located the grave of this early local LDS leader, William Howell. She looked for living descendants of this man and discovered our family web page at www.harrisonmcknightfamily.org and made contact with us. A grave restoration project was then proposed, a joint venture between the local LDS Ward and our extended McKnight family.
How do we know that money donated will go to this grave restoration?
We are in contact with the local LDS Church leaders in Australia. This project has been approved by both the Bendigo Ward and the Deer Park Stake. All funds will be sent directly to the current bishop’s address on file at LDS Church Headquarters. Any funds in excess of those needed will be used for a family history or temple purpose.