Matthew (Kempe) Kemp (abt. 1650 - bef. 1716)

Born about 1650 in Middlesex County, Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 1716 before about age 66 in Middlesex County, Colony of Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Honi Kleine [send private message]

Research Notes

There is a lot of conflicting information written by credible sources, regarding "The Matthew Kemps" of early Virginia, their parentage, and genealogy. See also Kempe-87 for more information.

This profile represents Matthew Kempe, son of Edmund Kemp, Jr., who died in 1660, and Anne (Unknown) Skipwith aka Kempe; in which Ann widow of Edmund Kempe in 1661, married (2) Sir Gray Skipwith.^[1] Ann was Skipwith's 2nd wife; he had one son prior to 1661 (William Skipwith) by his first wife Elizabeth_____.^[2][3]

Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, under the editorial supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler pgs 138, 270; discusses Matthew Kemp, son of Edmund Kemp, died in 1683, lived in Lancaster then Middlesex and Gloucester, Virginia; sheriff, justice etc with paternity proven by deed of 1100 acres of land in Pianketank Virginia. Note: Matthew, Son of Edmund died in 1716 not 1683

• Tyler appears to have made a couple of errors and conflated this profile, Matthew Kemp son of Edmund Kemp, with Matthew Kemp, son of Robert Kemp. On page 138 he lists Matthew Kemp, son of Edmund Kemp, as living first in Lancaster, then Middlesex, and later moving to Gloucester County , "which he represented in the house of burgesses. ... In the years 1678 and 1679 Kemp was speaker of the house of burgesses, and on Dec. 12, 1681, ...appointed by the governor a member of the council ..." These dates of service apply to Matthew Kemp, son of Robert Kemp, not this profile.
• Again on page 270 he erroneously states Matthew Kemp was "son of Colonel Matthew Kemp, member of the council, was burgess for Middlesex county in 1685, and 1692; ..." The dates of service are correct for this profile, but he was not son of Col. Matthew Kemp, son of Robert Kemp.

There are some sources that try to place this Matthew Kempe, ( -1716), true son of Edmund Kempe Jr., in the family of Col. Matthew Kempe of Gloucester, who died in 1683, stating that Col Matthew Kempe is son of Edmund Kempe Jr, when in fact Col Matthew Kempe was the 3rd son of the 1st Baronet of Gissing, England; Sir Robert Kempe, and brother to Edmund Kempe, father of Edmund Kempe Jr.

In the will of Matthew Kemp, dated May 4, 1715 and probated in January 1716; Matthew refers to his "well beloved brother Sir William Skipwith," (son of Sir Grey Skipwith and Ann, widow of Edmund Kempe). He names his two minor children, Mathew Kemp and Ann Kemp, implying his son was nearing age 21 and desires he be able to act as his "hole & sole" executor with Sir William Skipwith & Major Edmund Berkeley seeing his last will be performed. His son Matthew petitioned the Court to administer his father's estate 5 March 1716. Additionally, Matthew's will gave land he'd leased to Martha Gardner to her for life, along with a cow & calf. He also mentioned "a fault" in a bill of sale for a slave named Billi he'd given to Martha Hilliard for life and that he'd never acknowledged this in Court. He wanted this matter resolved and then Billi to go to her son Thomas at her decease. A deed for this slave to Martha Hylliard from "Colonel Matthew Kemp" deceased was recorded 3 January 1718 in Middlesex County Order Book 5.^[4][5][2]

This Matthew Kemp did not serve as Burgess from Gloucester County. Col. Matthew Kemp was a representative in the House of Burgesses 1685-1692, Speaker in 1678-9, and appointed to the Council in 1681.^[1]

Biography

Matthew (Kempe) Kemp is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society

Matthew (Kempe) Kemp was a Virginia colonist.

This profile is part of the Kemp Name Study.

Matthew Kemp aka Kempe

Origin

Matthew Kempe^[6] was a son of Edmund Kempe and Anne (Unknown) Skipwith aka Kempe, widow in 1660, she married (2) Sir Grey Skipwith in 1661).^[1]

Marriage and Children

Matthew Kemp and his wife, Madam Ann Unknown, had two known children:^[1]

• Matthew Kemp Jr., born in 1695, and died in 1739;
• Ann Kemp b. in 1700^[7]

In 1663, one Matthew Kemp was granted administration of the estate of James Bonner (his sister Elizabeth's husband) as next of kin.^[1] (possibly cousin Matthew Kempe-87)

Pianketank, Lancaster County

Matthew's father patented 1,100 acres in Pianketank in 1656.^[1] Matthew Kempe received a regrant of the land in Pianketank, Lancaster County, (now Middlesex), and it stated that the patent had been formerly granted to his father, Edmund Kempe^[1] (pg 41 of Zimmerman, Waters and Allied Families).

Occupation

Capt. Matthew Kemp of Middlesex County, was elected to the House of Burgesses from Middlesex in 1685-86, 1692, 1693, 1696 ^[8] This Matthew Kemp was recorded as "Colonel Matthew Kemp" deceased in a Middlesex County deed dated 3 January 1718 per a bequest made in his 1715 will.

Death and Legacy

Matthew Kemp of Middlesex wrote his will on May 4, 1715, and it was proved in Middlesex County Court, January 2, 1716.^{[1] [2]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} "Causes of Discontent in Virginia, 1676." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jul., 1895), fn p. 41) JSTOR.org accessed September 27, 2015. Note: this article makes the mistake of stating this profile is son of Col. Matthew Kemp with the result that the data of the two are run together.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Boddie, John Bennett. Historical Southern Families. vol. X. (Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966), online at pages 164-169. Ancestry image, pgs 167-168
3. ↑ Weis, F. Lewis, Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists who Came to New England Between 1623 and 1650 ... 5th ed., with additions and corrections, Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co.
4. ↑ [1]Will of Matt: Kemp dated 4 May 1715, proved 2 January 1716. Middlesex County, Virginia Wills Book B, p. 58 & 59. FHL Film # 007645442, image 41/474.
5. ↑ [2]"Kemps Deed to Hylliard to Be Recorded." Middlesex Co. VA Order Book 5, p. 407.
6. ↑ Kemp, Matthew II - A9553; Middlesex Co.: 1685-86, 1693, 1695-97 (Burgess). accessed 28 September 2021
7. ↑ [3]The Parish Register of Christ Church, Middlesex County, Va., from 1653 to 1812 by Christchurch, Va. Christ Church; National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Virginia. Richmond, W. E. Jones, Printer, 1897. p. 47.
8. ↑ Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard. The Colonial Virginia Register. Albany, N. Y.: Joel Munsell's Sons, Publishers. 1902. Pages 85, 88, 89, 91

See also:

• Smith, Claiborne T. "Kemp of Gissing, Norfolk, England, and Lancaster, Middlesex, and Gloucester Counties Virginia" in John Bennett Boddie, ed., Historical Southern Families Vol 10. 1966. Honolulu Hawaii, begins on page 164 thru 169.
• Hitchin-Kemp History of the Kemp and Kempe Families of Great Britain ... (Chapter XV, Colonial and Other Branches, Page 61) London: The Leadenhall Press ; New York : C. Scribner's Sons, 1902, Archive.org accessed September 27, 2015.