Henry Kemp (abt. 1761 - 1839)

Born about 8 Sep 1761 in Suffolk, England

Husband of Mary (Thursby) Kemp — married 1 Jul 1783 in Leiston, Suffolk, England

Descendants

Died 2 Nov 1839 at about age 78 in Leiston, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom

Biography

Birth

ABT 1753

A family website gives his birth as 1761 at Leiston, to parents William Kemp b.1725 Wickham Market, and Mary Ellsden b. (1783???). There is also a private entry in the IGI of a christening at Campsea Ash to father William on 8.9.1761. He is certainly likely to be at least as old as this, since Mary was his second wife - and burial age suggests an earlier date. (The date of 1761 could refer to a younger brother - see below).

There is also a considerable number of Kemps at Yoxford, including at least one William.

Family website also gives William Kemp's parents as John Kemp, b. 1688 Parham, and Jane Bridges 1697-1783 . Boyd confirms William Kemp married Mary Elsden in 1752 at Wickham Market (though he also has a possible earlier marriage to Mary Gardner in 1746 at Peasenhall - and a further marriage ar Wickham Market a year later to Marth Courtnall - could this be the same William?). He also lists John Kemp marrying Jane Bridges in 1715 at Campsea Ash (this marriage is also in the IGI as 7.11.1715, plus the christening of their first child or two there, and the IGI has an extracted entry of the christening of John Kempe at Parham on 1.5.1688 to parents James and Elizath, and one for Jane Bridges at neighbouring Marlesford on 16.5.1697 to parents John and Anna.

I found the fiche of the Leiston register too faint and indecipherable to confirm his christening details, or to find his first marriage (LDS film of Leiston register transcripts 1700-1753 includes no Kemp marriages).

There are memorials in the churchyard to the Ann and Mary, both wives of a John Kemp, who died respectively in 1799 aged 32 and in 1829 aged 46. Possibly these were both wives of the John Kemp who also has a memorial there (together with three children), having died in 1853 at age 92 - he seems likely to be a younger brother of Henry.

No further records found for this family Sept 2010 in filmed transcript for Leiston (which seems only to include MIs and early marriages), or in either FamilySearch site.

Marriage

Henry Kemp (widower) married Mary Thursbey on 1 July 1783

Leiston, Suffolk^[1]

Marriage was by banns, called on June 15,22 and 29. He is described as a widower and she a spinster, both of this parish. He signed, she made her mark.

Witnesses were Thos Dabney? and Anna? Artis?, who both signed.

FamilySearch pilot site has a possible first marriage at Parham to Phoebe Watts on 26.5.1777 (no children or burial found for her).

Children before Elizabeth are taken from a fiche of the Leiston parish register. There are two or three other Kemp families there at this time.

Note that another Mary Thursby appears to have married Samuel Ward (both single) in 1800.

There is a memorial in the churchyard to their son John Thursby Kemp, a builder, with two children and a grandchild. He is stated to have died on 28.6.1852, aged 63.

Death

Henry's death (age 81) was registered in the Oct-Nov-Dec quarter of 1839 in the Plomesgate Union district.^[2]

Burial

Henry Kemp of Leiston was buried in St Margaret Churchyard Leiston on 29 January 1832.^[3]

Leiston, Suffolk

Age is given as 79.

Research Notes

Access to Archives has documents relating to maintenance of a child of Elizabeth Brown and Henry Kemp, farmer of Parham, in 1792-3. Seems unlikely to be this Henry.

Curiously, there are several other Henry Kemps in the county in the early 1800s with a wife Mary, one of whom was a bricklayer - and this Henry appears to have had possibly a nephew, a grandson and a brother-in-law who were bricklayers!

No record of his first marriage found in Boyd.

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage: "Suffolk Marriage Index"
   FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 13 May 2024)
   Henry Kemp marriage to Mary Thursbey on 1 Jul 1783 in Leiston, Suffolk, England.
2. ↑ Death Registration: "England & Wales General Register Office"
   GRO Online Indexes - Death (accessed 14 May 2024)
   Kemp, Henry (Age at death: 81).
   GRO Reference: 1839 Oct-Nov-Dec in Plomesgate Union Volume 12 Page 260.
3. ↑ Suffolk Family History Society. Suffolk Burial Index Issue 3 (CD ROM). Issue 3. Burials, SFK-BUI-03. Ipswich, UK: Suffolk Family History Society, 2020, burial of Henry Kemp, 29 Jan 1832.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to David Trebilcock for creating WikiTree profile Kemp-1322 through the import of anne hilling gedcom.ged on May 3, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by David and others.