Elaine Kessell
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I am finally in the process of doing my family tree. My great grandfather’s name was Nicholas Kessell and I have always known he was a stonecutter in Fall River Mass in the mid to late 1800′s as he past on in 1904 of “stone consumption”. I came across a book “The Fall River Directory of 1882 and notice an ad in there for Kessell and Lawson, a stonecutting company. I can only guess that my great grandfather was in that partnership. My question is, if there is anyway you could find out if he was all involved in the cutting of the Borden tombstone in 1892? I have been intrigued all my life, but now am very curious.
Thank you,
Elaine Kessell
There is never any information about stonecutters.
Thanks for your email. Sorry to say, the Borden stone was ordered from a Westerly, R.I. carver. Westerly was a hub for this sort of work and still today has a few remaining carving studios. Buzzi’s is still in business (Ruth Buzzi of Laugh-In fame is in that family) The Borden stone was installed in January of 1894 and is made of Westerly blue granite. Fall River also had some great carvers and a rosy-colored granite.
Hi Elaine,
I have Nicholas Kessell your Gt Grand father ,so you are also decended from Isabella Grundy his wife ,Isabella was the Daughter of Abel Grundy and Elizabeth Dunks ,Abel was born around 1841/42 Mottram,Cheshire . Iam decended from Abel s Brother Leonard Grundy birth 1824 Mottram,cheshire .If you want to know more on the English side of the Grundy s feel free to contact me either through GR where I have Isabell a and all her siblings and Grundy Ancestors ,her Grandad was John grundy and Grandmother wa Isabella REedmayne she was born 1802 Death was 1841 ,Mottram,Cheshire