Kemp family manuscript collection

The Kemp family was settled in Talbot County, Maryland in the 1660’s by Robert Kemp. He married Elizabeth Webb in 1678. They had seven children. After the death of her father, Edmond Webb, Elizabeth, Robert, and their children moved to the Webb family farm in Bay Hundred, Bolton, where Kemp family members continued to live until 1915. The Kemps were Quakers who practiced at the Bayside Meeting House, which was built on land donated by Robert in 1667.

Thomas Kemp (1779-1824) was born in St. Michaels, Maryland. In 1803, he and his brother Joseph moved to Baltimore to enter the shipbuilding business. Their shipyard was located in Fells Point, and Thomas became renowned for building clipper ships. He built the Rossie, Chasseur, and Comet for the United States Navy, which had great success against the British during the War of 1812. Thomas returned to Talbot County with his family in 1813. He purchased property known as Wades Point from Colonel Hugh Auld.

Upon Thomas’ death, his oldest son by his second wife, John Washington Kemp (1812-1881), took over the Wades Point property. John expanded converted the farm from producing tobacco to grain, which he managed with the help of slaves. In 1876, he passed the farm to his son Joseph, who in turned the property into a summer resort. The Kemp family remained at Wades Point until 1984.