Ephraim Kempton, II

Alternate Birth Date: 1615

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kempton-21

Ephraim Kempton II

Born 18 Mar 1621 in England

Son of Ephraim Kempton Sr. and Elizabeth (Wilson) Kempton

Brother of John Kempton and Lettice (Kempton) Ring

Husband of Joanna (Rawlins) Kempton — married about 28 Jan 1645 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Father of Joanna Kempton, Joanna (Kempton) Morton, Patience Kempton, Patience Kempton, Ephraim Kempton, Ephraim Kempton III, Manasseh Kempton, Manasseh Kempton and Ruth (Kempton) Marshall

Died 24 Jun 1655 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Profile last modified 29 Jul 2018 | Created 8 Jul 2011

Biography

New Bedford Streets: A Piece of Americana: Kempton Street

Kempton Street is one of the most trafficked streets in the city, and the Kempton family name is one of that goes back to the very origins of New Bedford and the arrival of the first Europeans in the New World.

The first mention of a Kempton in the historical record is from 1623. The names Manasses/Mannasseh and Ephraim Kempton (though other documents suggest he came later) are mentioned as arriving on the ship Anne, or possibly on the Little James. Both were born in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, of parents George Kempton and Mary Jersey.

Mannasses’ soon to be wife, the widow Juliana (nee Carpenter) Morton, was also aboard the vessel, as was Ephraim’s two year old son, Ephraim, Jr. Ephraim Sr.’s wife, Elizabeth nee Wilson, had already passed away. A two year old surviving the journey across the Atlantic is a minor miracle unto itself, perhaps one could say he was destined to a future in the New World.

Mannasses Kempton (1589-1663)

By 1627 Mannasses married Juliana, and while they had no children of their own, Mannasses had five stepchildren to rear. Mannasses shared in the division of cattle, and by 1633 became a Freeman, eventually serving as deputy to the Plymouth General Court.

He was also one of the original proprietors of Old Dartmouth spearheaded by William Bradford. The land, purchased in 1652, was on the west side of the Acushnet River, beginning at Clark’s Point and following the County Road to the head of the River. There was originally 34 shares of land, and Mannasses Kempton owned one full share.

Ephraim Kempton Sr. & Jr. (1591-1645)

Ephraim Kempton, Sr., a tailor, and his son Ephraim Jr., eventually moved onto land owned by Mannasses in Scituate by 1640. Ephraim Sr. had other children: John, who stayed behind in England, Mannaseh and Lettice who did emigrate, and Annis of whom very little is known.

Ephraim Jr. married Joanna Rowlins in 1646, and they had six children, two Joannas (one had passed away within a year), Patience, Ephraim III, Mannasseh, and Ruth. After wife Joanna died, Ephraim re-married Sarah Maddox in 1656, and they had two sons, Nathaniel and Thomas. Ephraim was a prominent figure in the region and became a freeman in 1631.

These Kemptons were the very first Kemptons in the New World that our Kempton Street was named after. By 1790, thirteen Kemptons were named as residents in New Bedford, not including children. Thus are the humble beginnings of the Kempton Family, that would leave a indelible mark on New Bedford’s history.

Kempton Street was originally called Smith Mills Road, a road that led from Westport to New Bedford and passed through a village of the same name, which included Rockdale Avenue and Hathaway Road. One of the region’s earliest settlements, the village was the home of many ship-owners, had a large general store, two blacksmiths, and stone grist and saw mills. This was and still is a primary local road that most people in the region travel often, and is now called the Grand Army Highway or State Road (Route 6).Wilbur-403 19:02, 29 July 2018 (UTC)

Ephraim Kempton was born on 24 June 1623 in St. John the Baptist, London, England[1]. He was the son of Ephraim Sr. Kempton and Elizabeth Wilson.

He was living in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1643. [2]

Ephraim Kempton married Joanna Rawlins on 28 Jan 1645 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts. [3][4] [5] [6]

Their children included[7] [8] [9]: :

Joanna, born November 9, 1645[7] [8], who died young.[9] Joanna, born September 29, 1646[7] [8], who married George Morton in 1664[9] Patience, born November 21, 1647[7] [8], who died on July 1, 1648[10] [9] Patience, born October 2, 1648[7] [8], who also died young[9] Ephraim, born October 1, 1649[7] [8], who married Mary Reeves[6] [9] Manasseh, born November 9, 1650[7] [8], who must have died young[9] Mannasseh, born January 1, 1651[7] [8], who did not marry[9] Ruth, born September 24, 1654[7] [8], who married Samuel Marshall[9] Note: Confusion remains between the baptismal records of the Second Church of Scituate (now the First Unitarian Church of Norwell, MA), the birth dates in the Scituate Vital Records, and the Plymouth Colony Records. Baptisms took place before births and there are variations in birth dates. The listed children covers all possibilities, but it is probably that there were only five children with four surviving their parents.[11]

Ephraim Kempton died on 24 June 1655 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts[12]. His wife Joanna died after him on 31 March 1656 also in Scituate.[13] [14] [10]

After their death, Ephraim's brother Manasseh and Joanna's father Thomas Rawlins jointly took responsibility for raising the four orphaned children. The genealogy noted here[9], and The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton both explain that the trail of documents leads to a reasonable conclusion that Ephraim and Ruth were raised by Thomas Rawlins in Boston, and that Manasseh and joanna were raised by Uncle Manasseh in Plymouth.

Sources

↑ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812. ↑ Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. Massachusetts Census, 1790-1890. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes. ↑ Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. ↑ Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Marriages [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records Project Early Vital Records of Massachusetts; From 1600 to 1850; Scituate - Marriages; Image of page 171 showing Kempton, Ephraim and Joanna Rawlings, married January 28,1645 (Joanna daughter of Thomas) ↑ 6.0 6.1 Torrey's New England Marriages, Vol 2, page 2882 New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. This source lists various references, including: Mayflower Descendant 2:32; 13:86, 14:112, 113, 17:73, 19:23; NEHGS Register 5:335, 338, 8:256, 9:313, 371, 19:219; Rawlins 31-32; Southhampton 430; Randall Anc. 304-305; and Mendell 89 ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Massachusetts Vital Records Scituate V1, page 210] found in Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1621-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). This source is behind a paywall ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Massachusetts Vital Records Project Early Vital Records of Massachusetts; From 1600 to 1850; Scituate - Births; Image of page 210 showing the same image in the NEHGS reference for the children of Ephraim and Joanna ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 The Kempton/Kimpton families in North America : from Plymouth Colony through the tenth generation throughout the United States and Canada by Morton W. Saunders ; co-editors, Eleanor F. Saunders, Kevin W. Saunders. Publication Info.Baltimore, MD : Gateway Press ; Cranston, RI, see page 5 for the children of Ephraim and Joanna ↑ 10.0 10.1 Massachusetts Vital Records Project Early Vital Records of Massachusetts; From 1600 to 1850; Scituate - Deaths; Image of page 408 showing the same information as shown in NEHGS for the deaths of Ephraim, his wife Joanna and their daughter Patience ↑ The Kempton/Kimpton families in North America : from Plymouth Colony through the tenth generation throughout the United States and Canada by Saunders, Morton W., pg 5 ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHPT-8YR : 5 November 2017), Ephraim Kempton, 24 Jun 1655; citing Death, Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 423,512. ↑ New England Historic Genealogical Society. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston: The New England Historic Genealogical Society. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHPT-8YY : 5 November 2017), Ephraim Kempton in entry for Joanna Kempton, 31 Mar 1656; citing Death, Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 423,512. See also:

https://www.newbedfordguide.com/new-bedford-streets-kempton-street/... http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/i/c/Jodi-Richards-CO/W... http://www.famhist.us/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I596187&tree...

Ephraim ll and his father Ephraim l came to America in 1640 (Approx.) after his mother Elizabeth died in England. The lived with his uncle Manasseh in Scituate, Mass. Ephraim ll married Joanna Rawlings in Scituate, Mass. on Jan. 28,1645.