* Name: Abraham Kemp[1-2]
* Alternate Name: Abram Kemp[3–5]
* Sex: Male
* Father: John Kemp (1768-1861)
* Mother: Mary Dafoe (1776-1851)
2) INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
* Birth: 4 November 1795, Fredericksburgh, Lennox and Addington, Ontario, Canada[1]
* Baptism: 27 December 1795 (age 0), Fredericksburgh, Lennox and Addington, Ontario, Canada[1,3]
* Census: 1 April 1851 (age 55), Ameliasburg, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada[4]
* Census: 1 April 1861 (age 65), Huntingdon, Hastings, Ontario, Canada[2]
* Census: 1 April 1881 (age 85), Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada[5]
3) MARRIAGES AND CHILDREN (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
* Spouse 1: Sarah Fletcher (1802-before 1850)
* Marriage 1: 16 April 1818 (age 22) probably Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada[1]
* Child 1: Waity Catherine Kemp (1820-1899)
* Child 2: Mary Ann Kemp (1823-1903)
* Child 3: Stephen J. Kemp (1826-1880)
* Child 4: William H. Kemp (1829-1886)
* Child 5: James Abraham Kemp (1831-1902)
* Child 6: John L. Kemp (1834-1920)
* Child 7: Peter Evans Kemp (1837-1921)
* Child 8: Andrew Hait Kemp (1840-1915)
* Child 9: Sarah Jane Kemp (1843-1891)
* Child 10: Charles W. Kemp (1845- )
* Child 11: Wesley Kemp (1847-1891)
* Spouse 2: Sephrona (Goddard) Chartrand (1808-1896)
4) NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets) - revised September 2025:
Abraham Kemp was born 27 December 1795, the first son and first child of John Kemp (1768-1861) and Mary (Dafoe) Kemp (1776-1832), who were married in 1795 in Fredericksburgh, Lennox and Addington County, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Abraham’s siblings were: Nancy Anna Kemp (1797-1874); John Cook Kemp (1800-1887); Jacob Kemp (1802-1887); George Kemp (1806-NFR); Elizabeth Kemp (1806-1885); James Albert Kemp (1807-1891); Lucy Kemp (1809-1885); and Mary Kemp (1812-1912).
The book by William Briggs, Ontario Historical Society Papers and Records (Toronto, Canada : Ontario Historical Society, 1899)[3] lists the baptism of Abram Kemp, son of John and Mary Kemp, on 27 December 1795 in Fredericksburgh.
During
the War of 1812, Abraham Kemp served from 1812 to 1815 as a Private
in the Lennox Corps (or Division) from Lennox County, Upper Canada,
which entitled him to a $20 pension. He received a number of Crown
land grants as a result of his service in Lennox County and Prince
Edward County.
Abraham
Kemp was married, first, to Sarah Fletcher on 16th April 1818 in
Prince Edward County, Ontario. Sarah Fletcher was born on 7 Jul 1802
in Ontario, Canada to unknown parents. She died before 1850 at the
age of about 48 in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada.
Abraham
Kemp and Sarah Fletcher had the following children:
- Waity Catherine Kemp, born before 23 December 1820, Hillier, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada; married John T. Rose, 8 May 1842, Ameliasburg, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada, seven children; died 7 July 1899, Ameliasburg, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada.
- Mary Ann Kemp, born bef 20 February 1823, Hillier, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada; married William Case Knapp, 20 March 1848, Hillier, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada, six children; died 9 November 1903, Kingston, Frontenac, Ontario, Canada.
- Stephen J. Kemp, born 7 February 1826, Hillier, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada; married (1) Phebe Ann McHenry, 4 April 1859, Madison, Jefferson, Indiana, United States, six children; married (2) Ruana Quesick, 21 March 1888, Jefferson, Indiana, United States.
- William Henry Kemp, born 4 March 1829, Hillier, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada; married Mary Knapp, 1852, Ontario, Canada, fifteen children; died 27 September 1886, Kimball, St. Clair, Michigan, United States.
- James Abraham Kemp, born 22 May 1831, Hillier, Prince Edward, Upper Canada, British Colonial America; married (1) Mary Jane Sovereen, 10 March 1861, Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, five children; married (2) Melissa Wilson, 16 November 1876, Bell Ewart Innisfil, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, one child; died 19 September 1902, Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.
- John L. Kemp was born on 28 April 1834 in Hillier, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada. He died on 10 April 1920 at the age of 85 in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.
- Peter Evans Kemp, born 28 February 1837, probably Hillier, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada; married (1) Isabella Eagles, 22 Feb 1865, Otterville, Oxford, Ontario, Canada, two children; married (2) Catherine Frances Ryder, 6 April 1875, Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, four children; died 10 April 1921, Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.
- Andrew Hait Kemp, born 6 November 1840, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada; married (1) Elizabeth Eagles, 25 December 1867, Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, four children; married (2) Mary Catherine Wade, 15 November 1905, Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, no children; died 6 January 1915, Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.
- Sarah Jane Kemp, born 2 June 1843, Consecon, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada; married Henry Pulver, 18 September 1864, Rednersville, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada, five children; died 22 October 1891, Ameliasburg, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada.
- Charles W. Kemp was born on 14 September 1845 in Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada. He died before 1851 at the age of 6 in Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada.
- Wesley Kemp, born 16 November 1847, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada; married Augusta Ann Robertson, 4 November 1874, Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, four children; died 21 September 1891, St. Thomas, Elgin, Ontario, Canada.
A
Kemp family Bible was in the possession of a descendant of Abram Kemp
(1795- after 1881) of Norfolk County, Ontario. The Bible was printed
by A.J. Holman Company of Philadelphia, 1877. [1] This
Bible was given to Daisy Rader by John Evans Kemp, who died in 1956.
A transcript of the Bible was typed at some unknown time and a
copy of the transcript was donated to the Orange County (CA)
Genealogical Society and placed in the Huntington Beach (CA) Public
Library in Orange County, California, where Randy Seaver found it in
the stacks in the early 1990s.
The
second page includes these notes:
Abraham
Kemp was married, first, to Sarah Fletcher on 16th April 1818.
BIRTHS
- Ab'm
Kemp 4 Nov 1795 (4 Dec 1795)
- Sarah
Kemp 7 July 1802 (about 1807)
- Waty
C. Kemp 23 Sept 1821 (23 Dec 1820)
- Mary
Ann Kemp 20 July 1824 (20 Feb 1823)
- Stephen
G. Kemp 7 Feb 1826
- W.H.
Kemp 4 March 1829
- Ab'm
J. Kemp 22 May 1831
- John
L. Kemp 28 Apr 1834 (about 1835)
- Peter
E. Kemp 28 Feb 1837
- Andrew
Kemp 6 Nov 1840 (6 Nov 1839)
- Sarah
J. Kemp 2 June 1843 (about 1841)
- Chas.
W. Kemp 14 Sept 184-
- Wesley
Kemp 16 Nov 1847 (16 Feb 1849)
Sarah
(Fletcher) Kemp may have died after son Wesley’s 1847 birth and
before 1851 in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
Abraham
Kemp married, secondly, to Sephrona Goddard (1808-1896), the widow of
Jean Chartrand (or Sheltraw), before 1851, probably in Prince Edward
County, Ontario. They had no children together, although
Sephrona had at least five Sheltraw children.
In
the 1851 Canada Census for Canada West (Ontario), the Abram Kemp
family resided in Ameliasburg, Prince Edward County, Ontario.[4] The
household included:
- Abram Kemp - a farmer, born in U.S., W. Methodist, age 55,
male.
- Sephrona Kemp - spinster, born in France, Catholic, age 44,
female
- Abram Kemp Jr. - labourer, born in Canada, W. Methodist, age
21, male.
- John Kemp - labourer, born in Canada, W. Methodist, age
17, male.
- Peter E. Kemp - labourer, born in Canada, W. Methodist,
age 14, male.
- Wesley Kemp - born in Canada, W. Methodist, age 4, male.
The
Abraham Kemp family moved to Hastings County, Ontario between 1851
and 1861.
In
the 1861 Census for Canada West, the Abraham Kemp family resided in
Huntington township, Hastings County, Ontario.[2] The
household included:
- Abraham Kemp - born C.W. (Canada West), Wesleyan religion, age
65, male, married, member of family
- Ann Kemp - born C.W. (Canada West), Wesleyan religion, age 55,
female, married, member of family
- Wesley Kemp - born C.W. (Canada West), Wesleyan religion, age
13, male, not married, member of family.
Abraham Kemp certainly had more than one wife, since the first known wife, Sarah Fletcher was born in 1802 (according to the Kemp Bible). The second wife, Sephrona Goddard, was age 44 in the 1851 census, born in France (French Canada?) and religion Catholic. The marriage records for the children of Abraham and Sarah list Abraham's wife as Sarah, except for one son's record which says Sephrona.
In the 1861 Census, Abraham's wife's name is listed as Ann, age 55, and she is listed as born in Ontario and religion Wesleyan. Ann may or may not be Sephrona – the census taker may have made a mistake.
Before 1870, Abraham and Sephrona moved to Saginaw, Michigan where some of her children were living. In the 1870 United States Census, the Abraham “Camp” family resided in Saginaw Ward 5, Saginaw County, Michigan. The household included:
- Abraham Camp - age 74, male, white, a laborer, $200 in personal property, born Canada, can read and write
- Suffrany Camp - age 62, female, white, keeping house, born France, can read and write
During the 1870s, he left Michigan and Sephrona, and moved to Norfolk County, Ontario to be near several of his children and their families.
In
the 1881 Census of Canada, Abraham Kemp resided with his son Peter
Evans Kemp in Windham township, Norfolk County, Ontario.[5] The
household included:
- Peter E. Kemp - male, age 44, born O[ntario], religion C.
M[ethodist], origin English, occupation [armer], M[arried]
- Catherine Kemp - female, age 36, born O[ntario], religion C.
M[ethodist] , origin German, no occupation, M[arried]
- Jannet Kemp - female, age 14, born O[ntario], religion C.
M[ethodist] , origin German, attends school
- Sarah E. Kemp - female, age 3, born O[ntario], religion C.
M[ethodist] , origin German
- Mary Kemp -female, age 4/12 (born Dec[embe]r, born O[ntario],
religion C. M[ethodist], origin German
- Abram Kemp - male, age 85, religion C. M[ethodist] , origin
English, occupation F[armer], W[idowed]
The
last record on hand for Abraham James Kemp is the 1881 Canada Census
record. He did not appear in the 1891 Canada Census. He
probably died between 1881 and 1891 in Norfolk County, Ontario. No
death record or gravestone has been found to date.
Cheryl
Kemp Taber's family tree on Rootsweb
WorldConnect (http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=cdn-kemp) lists
several more records, including crown land records, a Norfolk County
deed, War of 1812 militia records, etc.
5) SOURCES
1. Unknown, John Evans Kemp Family Bible transcript (Transcript at Huntington Beach CA Public Library).
2. Census of Canada, 1861, Hastings County, Ontario, District 138, Subdistrict 1, Huntingdon township, Page 14, lines 46-48, Abraham Kemp household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 May 2008), citing Library and Archives Canada Microfilm C-1033.
3. William Briggs, Ontario Historical Society Papers and Records (Toronto, Canada : Ontario Historical Society, 1899), page 42, Abram Kemp baptism entry.
4. Census of 1851, Prince Edward County, Ontario, A, District 32, Prince Edward County, Subdistrict 304, Ameliasburgh township, Page 42 (penned), Lines 14 to 19, Abram Kemp household; digital image, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ : accessed 10 March 2013); Library and Archives Canada Microfilm C-11750.
5. Census of Canada, 1881, Norfolk County, Ontario, Windham township, population schedule, District 158 (Norfolk North), subdistrict Windham, Division 1, page 30, Dwelling #157, Family #157, Peter E. Kemp household; digital image, Library and Archives Canada (www.collectionscanada.ca : accessed 5 March 2013); citing Library and Archives of Canada Microfilm C-13263.
