22.2 Speculating on the origins of 5xgreat grandfather Richard Kemp (1741?-1812)

In the absence of baptisms for the Kemp family at Elsted, and given that Richard Kemp (my 5xgreat grandfather) married – I believe - at Trotton, Sussex, I have looked for baptisms and other records for the family there.

There is a baptism at Trotton (FamilySearch) for a Richard Kemp, son of Edmond Kemp, Labourer on 2 August 1741:

A search for other baptisms at Trotton where the father’s name is Edmond Kemp reveals six other children who could be Richard Kemp’s siblings (FamilySearch):

• ·       Thomas son of Edmond Kemp Labourer was baptised 12 June 1726
• ·       Elizabeth daughter of Edmond Kemp Labourer was baptised 31 March 1728
• ·       James son of Edmond Kemp Labourer was baptised 28 October 1732
• ·       John son of Edmond Kemp Labourer was baptised 19 October 1735
• ·       Ann daughter of Edmond Kemp Labourer was baptised 13 November 1737
• ·       William son of Edmd Kemp Labourer was baptised 8 September 1745

This would suggest that Edmond Kemp married before the baptism of his first known son, Thomas, in June 1726. Another search at FamilySearch for marriages between 1720-1726 finds that Edmond Kemp married Martha Bettsworth/Bottsworth at Trotton on 24 April 1726, just a couple of months before their son was baptised.

Edmond Kemp and Martha Bettsworth were married Apr 24 - 1726

If this is the correct family, Richard Kemp would therefore have been their sixth child and fourth son. There is no evidence of burials of any of the children in infancy at FamilySearch. Labourer Edmond Kemp and his wife Martha Betsworth could be my 6xgreat grandparents.

I have not found a likely baptism for Edmond Kemp at Trotton. However, Ancestry has the baptism transcript for a Martha Betsworth, daughter of Peter Betsworth, at Trotton on 3 December 1702, which would give an age at marriage of 24. The Parish Register transcript (BT) at FamilySearch shows that Peter Betsworth was a ‘day labourer’. 

There is a burial record for Edmond Kemp ‘a labourer’ on 8 November 1759 (FamilySearch).

 

Ancestry also has the burial of Martha Kemp widow, at Trotton on 13 Feb 1790 – she would have been 87 years old!

Without a baptism, we can’t go any further with the ancestry of Edmond Kemp, but can we speculate further on my potential 7xgreat grandparents, the parents of Martha Betsworth?

A Peter Bettsworth married Elizabeth Hammond in Trotton on 21 November 1697 – they may be the parents of Martha Betsworth. From FamilySearch and Ancestry, it appears that this couple baptised – and sadly buried - several other children at Trotton: all are shown as the children of Peter Betsworth, a day labourer of Trotton:

• ·       Peter, baptised 7 October 1698 (buried 22 April 1700)
• ·       Elizabeth baptised 22 April 1700 (buried 15 May 1700)
• ·       Mary, baptised 17 April 1701
• ·       John, baptised 3 March 1703 (buried 5 April 1706)
• ·       Elizabeth, baptised 23 Jan 1705 (buried 6 October 1706)

From this it seems that only two of their children – Mary and Martha – survived infancy, their parents losing two children in 1700 and in 1706.

A Peter Betsworth is listed in the UK poll book for Trotton in 1734. There is a burial record for a Peter Betsworth, Labourer, at Trotton on 25 November 1740.

Around 100 years before the marriage of Peter Betsworth and Elizabeth Hammond, Sir Peter Bettesworth of Milland purchased manorial land in Trotton (Vision of Britain). Whether the families are connected is unclear (although there is a Hercules Bettesworth amongst Sir Peter’s descendents … perhaps the name passed down to the Kemp family some 200 years later).

All this is, however, pure speculation. These Kemps and Betsworths may or may not be part of my tree. Researching them has been interesting, though.

For the sources mentioned in bold, see blogpost: MyRoots: Lesly's family history: Sources and resources: A quick view