GALMPTON and the GAMPTONS

A historical survey

		             												GamptonHistory.doc   Compiled by E.G.Richards, 2008

Index

Galmpton village	2
Historical references	2
Origin of the name and cognates	2
Surnames	3
The Clan	4
Early records	4
Parish Registers	5
The Families	5
Gemptons as seamen and fishermen	7
Other Occupations	9
Migration	11
Biographies	14
Thomas Samuel Gempton	14
William Stone Gampton	15
Gamptons Heaths join the Church of Latter Day Saints Morman Church	15
Gamptons  emigrate to Utah	15
Samuel, Mary Ann Davies and their family emigrate to New Zealand	16
Walter murders his captain and is sent to Broadmoor	16
William John is Bankrupt and disappears	16
Gemptons receive medals in WW1	16
Albert George Gempton was a headmaster	16
Melanie is a bridesmaid	16
George Gempton was shipwrecked	16
Albert Stooks Gempton saves seamen from wrecks	17
One Gempton is said to have fought with Nelson	17
Joseph Gempton was master of the Navigation School at Brixham	17
Mr.Campton plays cricket for Sidcup	17
Anomalies	17
Acknowledgements	19

Galmpton village

On the South coat of Devon there is a small settlement called GALMPTON. It lies in the ancient parish of Churston Ferrers, a chapelry of Brixham. It has only recently become a parish with its own church.  Previously its occupants would have to have gone to be married, to have their children baptised or to be buried, to Churston Ferrers, to St. Mary’s Church at Brixham, or one of the four churches in the neighbouring parishes of, Dittisham, Kingswear, Stoke Gabriel and Paignton (or possibly further afield in Dartmouth or Cornworthy) which surround it.  

Galmpton is close to a small harbour and inlet in Galmpton Creek on the south side of Tor Bay.  Today you approach its wooded banks by a small country lane running down to the coast.  Vespasian, the Roman general is said to have landed there on his way to dispose of the Celtic priesthood on the Isle of Anglesey in 43 AD; William of Orange is also said to have landed there to march to London to take the crown of England from James II.

Historical references

Several references to the settlement are of interest:

1, Domesday recorded (1086) GALMETON, which contained two hides of ploughable land, four acres of pasture and one acre of meadow.  The male population was 18 – perhaps two or three families.

2.   John Leland in 1543 noted:

"a mile above this [Nesse Creek] is a great Creke caulled Gaunstoun [Galmpton] Creek and Gounston Village standeth at the Hed of it; this Creeke Hedde is heere about half a Mile from the Maine Se by the Cumpassing  of it in Torrebay"

"from Kings Were to Gauton [is] a 3 miles by Hilly ground and from Gaunton to Pentown about 3 miles...."

2.   Dr Richard Pocock 1750 noted:

"we lay at Paignton, a poor town of farms at the bottom of the bay. King William landed about two miles and a half to the West [? South] of Paignton and about half a mile to the East [? north]...
...He went with his army about half a mile to Gayton [Galmpton] Common"

"It is said that Vespasian landed here when he came against Arviragus"

Origin of the name and cognates

The name GALMPTON derives from the Saxon name GAFOLSMAN that means ‘Rent paying Tenant’ 
OE: "galfolmanna-tun"
Gal = "tax"
Galmpton = "farm of the rent paying tenants"

There are several settlements in England whose names are cognate:
          Galhamton (Somerset),
          Galmington, (Somerset & Devon)
          Galmpton (Devon)
          Gammaton (Devon)

There are in fact two Galmptons in Devon; the one of interest lies in the parish of Churston Ferrers, a fishing port. The other is some 16 miles to the Southwest in the parish of South Huish near Kingsbridge.  

The surname is not found in the early parish registers of South Huish or neighbouring parishes

There is also a settlement, also called Ganton, near Scarborough in Yorkshire and two called Gamston in Nottinghamshire. These are not related to the GALMPTON surname.

Since all the early parish registers mentioning the name GALMPTON and since its sound-alikes occur in Brixham and its surrounding parishes, it seems most likely that the surname is derived from the name of this settlement.

The spelling of the place name has varied and the following have been noted in historical records:

Galmeton	1086	Domesday book
Galmetlin	1198   Feet of fines
Gaumethon	1242	Book of fees
Gaumenton	1249	Assize  rolls
Gamelton	1279	Inquisitions Post Mortem
Galmeton	1285	Feudal aids
Galmeton	1299	Assize rolls
Galmeton	1309   Originalis rolls
Gaunton 	1453	John Leyland
Gaunstoun 	1453	John Leyland
Gauton 	1453	John Leyland
Gayton          	1750   Richard Pocock
Gampton	1765   Donne’s map of Devon
Galmpton	1809   First ordnance survey
Galmpton       1999   AA Road Atlas

Today it is spelt GALMPTON and pronounced locally as GAMPTON but no doubt, this too has changed over the centuries. The variations in the spelling reflect both changes in the pronunciation and changes in the perception the phonetic value of the letters of the alphabet. 		

Surnames

The Normans introduced the use of surnames to England, it is said, to keep track of who had paid their taxes. Their use, in the modern sense, began in about the 12th century and was complete by about 1450. 

Almost all English surnames are derived in one of five ways:

1.	From the place of origin of the family (e.g. Galmpton)
2.	From a topological landmark (e.g. Ford)
3.	From the occupation of the family (e.g. Greensmith)
4.	As a nickname (Redhead)
5.	As a patronymic (e.g. Richards = son of Richard)

By about 1400, surnames were becoming hereditary, being passed from father to son (like the Y chromosome);  some  were adopted arbitrarily and sometimes people changed them; they may even have used different surnames at different times.  

Galmpton gave rise to the surname GALMPTON but there were and are many ways of spelling and pronouncing it. The following appear in the records in the vicinity of Brixham:

         Galmpton, Galmton, Galympton, Gamepton, Gameton, Gamption, Gampton,  Gamton, 
         Gamtton, Gemepton, Gemeton, Gempton, Gimptom, Gompton, Gumpton, Gumption, Gympton.   

All known or surmised variants are included in the generalised name using wildcards (*!) of G*M*T!ON where * stands for one or more arbitrary letters and ! stands for zero or one arbitrary letter

Two references predating the general use of surnames (Dartmouth Parochial History by W.R.Watkin, 1935 are of interest:

Manorial record 1293
.... Witnessed by John de GALMETONE, Clerk

Manorial record 1316
.... Witness: Henry de GALYMPTON

We may suppose that John and Henry lived at Galmpton but these records were generated before the general adoption of surnames.  It is not unlikely that some  descendants  Henry  used GALMPTON as a surname.  A clerk meant: a priest and a Catholic priest should have had no children or descendants!.

The Clan

It is very likely that early people who bore the name were related.  Perhaps in the first instance  just one family  adopted or acquired the name.  It is convenient to refer to related namebearers as being members of the clan: the Gampton clan. Here we use the word in not quite its usual sense

It is likely however that that there are other families originating from other parts of England who also bear the name GAMPTON or its variants.  It is very likely that at least some of these are not members of the clan.  One particular variant is GAMTON.  

Early records

Several types of records originating from the early years survive. Some of these mention members of the clan:

1.	Early Stuart Mariners and Shipping (Published by the Devon and Cornwall Record Society, Ed. Todd Gray 1990):

Brixham sailors (as opposed to mariners) 1616:

Richard	GALMPTON  aged 40       thus born	c.1576
Thomas	GALMPTON           40                        	c.1576
Richard	GALMPTON           36                        	c.1580
James		GALMPTON           30                        	c.1586

There is no GALMPTON (etc) mariner in Kingswear, Churston Ferrers, Paignton or Marlden.

It seems likely on this evidence that there were at least two clan families in Brixham in about 1575. (unless Richard and Thomas were twins).
2.	Muster Roll 1569Brixham Parish:  Billman    John GAMETON

Presumably John was born 1530-1550; he might have been the father of one
of the mariners.

3	Devon Subsidy Rolls:

1524-7    Bryxham:          Richard GALMETON  £2
1543-5    Brixham:           Richard GAMPTON     £6
1543-5    Churston Ferrers: nil

These could (just) be father and son and the later one could be the father
of one of the mariners.
       
4	Devon Taxes 1581-1660

	nil

5	Devon Hearth tax

	nil

Presumably, no member of the clan was wealthy enough to be taxed

6	Protestation Returns 1641James Gampton	Brixham

Parish Registers

The parish of Brixham is surrounded by the sea on the east and on the landward side by the two ancient parishes of Kingswear and Churston Ferrers.

	Parish				       Earliest surviving registers         Indexed in IGI

                                                         Baptism	Marriages	Burials                                             _____________________________________________________________________

	Brixham, 			1587		1556		1560		Yes

	Churston Ferrers		1590		1590		1590		Yes
	Kingswear			1601		1601		1601		No

Adjacent to these two parishes are (from South to north):

	Dartmouth St.Clement	1597		1597		1597		Yes
	Dartmouth St.Petrox		1610		1610		1610		Yes
	Dartmouth St.Saviour	1586		1586		1586 		Yes
	Dittisham			1603		1603		1603		Yes
	Stoke Gabriel			1539		1539		1539		Yes
	Paignton			1559		1559		1559		Yes	

These parish churches are all within 10 miles of Galmpton

All nine parishes  are, today,  contained within the Registration District of Totnes

The Families

The question arises as to whether people bearing the name GALMTON, GAMPTON, GEMPTON or one of the less common variants are related. It seems likely that they are. The baptismal records of several families, (i.e. children born to parents of the same baptismal name, in the same parish within a period of 20 years or so following a marriage) show a range of spellings of the surname. Here are three instances, but there are more:

Father=Mother	Thomas=Sarah				Thomas=Elizabeth
Parish                        Brixham					Churston Ferrers

		William 	GALMTON	1681		Mary		GAMETON	1716
		Ann     	GALMTON	1684		George	GAMEPTON	1718
		Mary		GAMTON	1687		Samuel	GEMPTON	1721
		Sarah		GAMPTON	1689		Edeth	 	GAMEPTON	1726
		Thomas	GAMTON	1692		Samuel	GAMETON	1730
		William	GAMEPTON	1695		John	  	GAMPTON	1732
		Ann		GAMPTON	1703		Elizabeth 	GAMPTON	1736

Father=Mother	Richard=Elizabeth
Parish		           Dittisham				

		Agnes Ash	   GIMPTON		1822
		Sarah		   GAMPTON	1826
		Mary Jane	   GAMPTON	1829
		Mary Sandford GAMPTON		1831
		Elizabeth	   GAMPTON	1834
		Ann		   GALMPTON	1837
		John Henry	   GALMPTON	1840
		Elizabeth	   GALMPTON	1843
		William Henry  GALMPTON	1844

How is it that the surnames of children born of the same parents can vary so much?  First, note that only some 30% of the population could read before the 19th century; the proportion with the ability to write (and spell) was even lower.  Even the parish priest might be barely literate

 	The 16th century tax returns suggest that the GALMPTONs (etc.) were not wealthy and were probably, therefore, illiterate; ordinary people had little occasion to either read or write their name. Thus if a member of the clan goes to arrange a baptism, a marriage or a funeral, they would be asked their name.  They would reply by saying their family name as they usually pronounced it, and the priest (or whoever) would take it down, spelling what he heard according to his own spelling rules.  He may not have been a native of Devon. Later when literacy became more widespread, people would learn how to spell their name and standard spellings appear. 

Consider, for instance, the family of Richard and Elizabeth from Dittisham.  Up to 1834, there is some variation in the baptismal surnames of the children.  But after 1837, when they registered the births of their last four children with the Registrar rather than  the Vicar, the entry is uniformly spelt GALMPTON instead. The registrar of births perhaps heard something different: the ‘L’ in their name.

There is a tendency for the ‘L’ in GALMPTON to disappear and for vowels to mutate (A,E,I,O,U are all found as the first vowel).  These are effects well known to experts in linguistics.

My favourite is the  baptism in 1688 of Gorge Gumption. Then there is an in entry in the 1871 census no doubt reported by the Master of the Ship (the Seaflower), for Thomas aged 16; it reads: ”Thomas Gimpton born at Bricksum”.   We note in passing that there is considerable variation in the spelling of given names as well (Gorge=George, Alse=Elsie etc) 

One may conclude (with less than complete certainty) that all the various spellings are variations of the same name and that all the people are probably related. 

It has been suggested that people bearing several other surnames are members of the clan.  One such is Kampton.  The ‘K’ and 'G' sounds are very distinct in English but I know of no baptismal record of a Kampton in Brixham.  A Rachel GAMPTON was baptised in 1723 in Churston Ferrers and a few years later a Racheal KAMPTON was buried at Brixham.  It seems likely that Rachel and Racheal were the same person.  It has also been suggested that a family GAMTON living in Hackney, London is related.  If so their origin is obscure and its is perhaps noteworthy that the baptismal names they gave their children are unknown among bona fide members of the clan.	

There are records in various transcriptions which mention GAMPTON but which closer inspection reveals to be CRAMPTON (e.g. Lord Crampton at Oxford - the chap was not an aristocrat but had been named  'Lord')).  These have been ignored.

GALMPTON is perhaps the earliest recorded spelling but GAMPTON and GEMPTON predominate today.  GAMPTON may be extinct in England but survives in America.  GEMPTON is the commonest form and it thrives in the North of England and in Australia and New Zealand. 

Gemptons as seamen and fishermen

We have noted from Gary's “Early Stuart Mariners and Shipping” that several GALMPTONs were sailors in the late 16th century.  This association with the sea persists to this day. 

The Brixham Heritage database (BHD) records owners of ships and their skippers in the 19th and early 20th centuries (www.brixhamsailingtrawlers.co.uk). GEMPTONs figure prominently in these records. I am also grateful to Arthur Gempton for showing me a copy of a letter from an archivist at Brixham which lists much information about clan members and shipping.  Other information may be gleaned from the census returns. (C)  and memorial inscriptions in Brixham churchyard (MI) and trade directories (E) or the Times (F)

Gamptons may have owned ships, been officers on them (master, mate), hands or been content to describe themselves as fishermen.  It is sometimes possible to chart their progress from hand to master to owner

Person				Rank		Vessel	Name		Year	registered/fate			Reference
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Albert Stooks	 (1859-1945)       mate	    		Telegraph	1881  	Dartmouth	 	                       	C
				owner	    	ketch	Gratitude	1888	sunk 1918 by a submarine                    BHD,F
				fisherman				1891  	Brixham			 		C
               			master					1901						C
A.S. and Polly			owners	    	ketch	Florrie		1898	last ship moored at Brixham                    BHD
       Polly was Albert Stook’s second wife

Ernest A  (1870-1957)		fisherman				1891     Brixham					C
           							Provident						         BDH
     				second hand		Amity		1913					         BDH

George (1765-1849)		master	    	brig 	Indian Lass 		He died at Cadiz in 1849  		         MI,F

George (1869-1888)		fourth hand		Harrier		1884					        BDH
				third hand		Annie			Drowned 1888			        BHD

Marquies   (1859-1936)  		fisherman				1881  	Brixham					C
Marquis                                           third hand		Gratitude	1891      Brixham					C
Marcus				fisherman				1901  	Brixham					C
M				second hand		Acalia							        BHD
				Hand		trawler	Little Lizzie						        BHD

James Henry (1892-1932)		skipper		ketch	Forsetti		1926					        BHD
				skipper		ketch	Compeer		sunk 1935

John (1856-?)			second hand		Harrier		1884					        BDH
				fisherman				1891  	Brixham					C
				owner, skipper	ketch	Excel		1895	sold 1902
                         			mastrer					1901						C
John ?				owner		cutter	Thistle		1911		                      		         BHD
John and Mary  (1856-?)		skipper, 	owner	ketch	Ethel    		1917				  	         BHD
    Mary was probably John’s wife
John ? 	 		 	owner		cutter  	Zephyr  		1904	broken up 1911	        		         BHD
John ? 				owner		cutter	Bittern		1919 	no longer fishing ‘39  		         BHD

Joseph	1823-1903)		fisherman										C
				Fish salesman				1901						C
				
Samuel  (1820-1875)		fisherman				1851 	Brixham					C

Samuel	(1846-1906)		master			Australia 	1881  	Grimsby			  		C

Samuel  (1858-?)			fisherman				1891  	Brixham					C
				mate			Competitor	1881					 	C
				skipper			Harrier		1884
	`			owner		ketch	Annie 		1886	sold 1907  			        BHD
				master			Annie		1901						C

Samuel	(1861-?)			fisherman		Sea Flower	1901 						C

Samuel  (1876-1943)		fisherman				1901  	Grimsby				             C	 
Samuel ?			owner		ketch	Nora Niven         		sunk 1947			        BHD	
Walter T (1870-1893)               	fisherman cook				1891						C

William	 (1852-?)		master			White Star	1881  	Grimsby			  		C
William  J  (1852-1910)		fisherman				1891  	Brixham					C
				skipper		ketch	Radiance						        BHD

The identities of some of these are provisional

	Trawling for fish is hazardous and many lost their lives at sea.  Doug Perkins tells me that his great aunt, Mary Ann, wife of Samuel (b.1858), refused to allow her children to enter this dangerous way of life and insisted they be trained in other professions.  

	The records of marine deaths (GRO) show that George (1765-1849) was drowned when his ship 'Indian Lass' sunk at Cadiz in 1849.  George (1869-1888) was drowned from the 'Annie' in 1888;  William Gempton Hamlyn, 1872-1890, son of Fitzroy Hamlyn and Rhoda was drown from the 'Morna' in 1890. There are no doubt many more.

It was reported in the Times of Feb 1, 1803, that a small schooner belonging to St.Johns with George Gempton as master went to the bottom on Goodrington sands in a snowstorm, Happily all hands were saved.

 	“Brave Men All” by Vice-Admiral Gordon Campbell (Hodder & Stoughton 1935) commemorates acts at sea of some very courageous men including Albert Stooks GEMPTON. During the great storm of December 1911, the fishing boats from Brixham battened down to face it out. Several were lost with all hands and the ‘Friendship’ got into extreme difficulties.  The skipper and mate were lost overboard leaving two young lads of 19 and 17.  Albert Stooks bravely went to their rescue in his boat ‘Gratitude’ and at 3.00 a.m.  Was able to save them. He later managed to tow the stricken ship to Milford Haven.  On his return to Brixham, the whole population turned out to pay their respects to those who had lost their lives in the storm and to those who had rescued some of them.  Albert Stooks was later awarded a silver medal by Lloyds.   Before this he had rescued nine sailors in 1891 and a French trader, ‘Kelte’ in 1907.  The story of Albert Stooks' exploits are also reported in the Times of December 20, 1910 and May 3, 1911.

One clan member, I am told, was a Captain of guns on one of Nelson's ships but he is not listed in the website: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nelson/ which purports to list every officer, rating etc. who served under Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Joseph Gempton (1822-1905) was master of the Navigation School at Brixham

At least one fisherman decided to immigrate to Australia in the early 20th century.  There they spread through Australia and. New Zealand; the family’s love of boats never deserted them and a recent report tells of GEMPTONs sailing off into the South Seas, though some are engaged in a variety of other occupations.

Others had occupations allied to fishing and seafaring:

Frederick (1872-?)			Dock labourer				1901	Sculcoates		C

George Elliott (1797-?)		Ropemaker					1861	Guernsey		C

John  (1786-1868)         		Ropemaker					1851	Brixham		C

Walter	 (1885-?)			Fish packer					1901	Brixham		C 

William John (1852-?)		Pontoon labourer				1901	Grimsby		C

William Stone  (1809-1853)		Waterman with H.M.Customs		1851	Bermondsey		C

One interesting feature of the 19th century records is the number of marriages between Gampton (etc.) men and girls from distant parts of the country.  These Gamptons may not have had a girl in every port, but there was a tendency to select their wives from distant communities, maybe in ports where their ships sheltered from a storm; most men of the time chose their wives from their own or the next village.

Other Occupations

Despite the predilection for the sea, other Gemptons adopted a variety of other occupations

We have seen above that Mary Ann would not allow her sons to go to sea: Samuel was trained to be a carpenter; George as a Tailor (he had a shortened leg because of a TB infection and required to work in a sitting position); William was apprenticed to a sporting goods repairer; Herbert became a linotype operator

Other professions adopted by male Gamptons include:

Albert (1840-?)			White smith               1861		Guernsey				C

Albert George (1892-1972),		Schoolmaster		1941-1951	Brixham		                   C,F

Alfred W (1866-1952)		Lithographer		1881-1901	Hull					C

Frederick (1871-1942)		Railway porter          1891		Sculcoates				C

George (1834-?)			Carpenter		1901 		Guernsey				C

Harry	(1870-1932?)			Painter			1881-1901	Sculcoates				C

James (1811-1845)			Grocer			1901		Gt.Torringtom		        C,E

Joseph	 (1878-1958)			Cement worker	1881-1901 	Sculcoates				C

Richard (1786-1857)			Chelsea pensioner     1851 		Dittisham				C
                                                            Perhaps previously in armed services

Robert B  (1884-?)			Electric light fitter    1901		London				C

Robert E (1867-1899)		Printer			1891		Sculcoates				C
	
Samuel  (1794-1873)      		Schoolmaster		1841-1871	Brixham				C

Samuel (1844-?)           		Basket maker	      	1881-1901 	Sculcoates			            C

Thomas L  (1821-1906)       		Tailor			1851-1881	Hull					C

Thomas H (1872-?)			Telegraph sorting clerk
								1901		Manchester				C

William (1839-?)			Shoe maker		1861               Guernsey				C

William Henry  (1839-1922)           Lighterman		1840		London
Farmer                      1880		Plain City, Utah			C

Several female members of the clan had a variety of occupations: such as milliner, dressmaker, lady’s maid, shopkeeper, domestic servant etc.

Albert George (1892-1972), son of Albert Stooks, was the much loved headmaster of Dawlish County School from 1941 to 1959. An affectionate appreciation has been written in 1986 by Brian Crisp, a member of his staff, with contributions from ex-pupils and others.  The London Gazette and the Times of January 1, 1955 reported that A.G.Gempton headmaster of Dawlish County Secondary Modern School was to receive an MBE

A newspaper recently reported a Mr. Gampton playing cricket for the President’s XI at Sidcup on July 24, 2000. He made 41 runs and was bowled out. This suggests the name GAMPTON still survives in England but he has not yet been traced.

Migration

Until about 1800, nearly all the members of the clan had spent their lives in the vicinity of Brixham or in neighbouring parishes.  Some, no doubt, actually lived in Galmpton, we cannot say. for certain. Early manorial documents  may shed light on this.   In  the  parish registers of Devon recorded  before 1800 we find in:

		Brixham			66 baptisms
		Churston Ferrers		15
		Dittisham			  7
		Paignton			  3	
		Marldon			  1
					          ___
						92

 Nevertheless there was a small handful of baptisms of people bearing a clan name who had lived further afield:

Robert son of John 			b.1609		St.Olave,  London
Margaret daughter of Walter 	b.1685		Abbots Bromley,  Staffordshire
Ann daughter of Thomas		b.1779		Myddle, Staffordshire
	
None of these families were recorded before or since in these places.  There may be others in other counties. We have not searched all parishes.
	
	Starting in the 19th century members of the clan started to roam further and further from Brixham.  Many other people migrated to London but members of the clan crept round the coast.  This was to be expected since many were fishermen. As their ships grew larger and they themselves more adventurous, they sailed further afield.  Sometimes they married a girl from the ports at which they stopped.

As the century progressed, colonies  were established further and further along to English coast.  Some of these are probably now extinct (no census entries) but the colony on the Humber Estuary at Caistor, Grimsby,  Hull and Sculcoates is thriving to this day.  These are all GEMPTONs.

 	For instance, births are recorded in several places; here we give the dates of the first record of a birth or baptism for various places distant from Brixham:

                             Dartmouth, Devon	1805
Dover, Kent		1817
Hull, Yorkshire		1820
Guernsey			1831
Gravesend, Kent		1837
Ramsgate, Kent		1841
Plymouth, Devon	1857
Sculcoates, Yorkshire	1866
London			1869
Caistor, Lincolnshire	1870
Grimsby, Lincolnshire	1872

That the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire branches are related to the Devon branch is indicated by instances in which a clan member is baptised in Devon but later appears in a census in one of these counties.  

Here are the histories of some people who migrated within the British Isles:

1.  William GEMPTON
	1792	Baptism			Brixham
	1815	Marriage			Dover
	1817	Birth of William Ford	Dover
	1821	Birth of Thomas		Hull
1906	Death				Hull

2.  George Elliott Gempton
    1797	Birth				Brixham (X90)				Ropemaker
    1832	Birth of Sophie		Guernsey (C139, C
    1833	Birth of Mary			Guernsey (14,C129)	
 	1835	Birth of George		Guernsey C16,C129)
	1839	Birth of Edwin ?		Guernsey (C73)
	1839	Birth of William		Guernsey (C16)				Shoe maker
	1841	Birth of Albert		Guernsey (C16)				White smith

George’s wife Sophia Le Tissier was born on Guernsey. Several of his children later emigrated to the mainland

3.   William Stone GAMPTON							Waterman with H.M.Customs

	1809	Baptism			Dartmouth, Devon (X6)
	1835	Marriage			Rochester, Kent   (W58)
	1837	Birth of John W.		Gravesend, Kent (X118)
	1839	Birth  William H.		Milton by Gravesend (X119)
	1845	Birth of Catherine I.		Bermondsey, London (X120)
	1847	Birth of Elizabeth A.		Bermondsey, London (X121)
   	1849	Birth of Mary A.		Bermondsey (C81)
   	1849    Birth of Louisa		Bermondsey (C81)
	1851 	Census			Bermondsey (C81)			Waterman with H.M.Customs
	1853	Death				St.Luke, London (D12)

William Stone, one of the first to leave, was born in Devon, but by the age of 24 he had moved to Kent where he married a local girl in 1835. He was a lighterman on the Thames for H.M.Customs.  His first child was born in at Gravesend in 1837.  Later he lived in Bermondsey, where, tragically, he was murdered in 1853.  His wife Elizabeth and young family were befriended by neighbours who were Mormon missionaries. 

4.   Thomas Samuel GEMPTON							Tailor
 	1821	Baptism			Dover, Kent (X129)
            1842     Marriage			Totnes (M6)
            1842     Birth of Eliza		Totnes (B7)
            1844	Birth of Samuel		Totnes (B12)
	1845	Birth of Richard		Isle of Thanet, Kent (B10) 
	1847	Birth of William		Isle of Thanet, Kent
          	1849	Birth of Alfred		Hull  (B62)
	1851 	Census    			Hull, Yorkshire (C82) 		Tailor
	1881 	Census    			Sculcoates, Yorks (C115). 		Tailor
	1901 	Census    			Hull, Yorkshire (C125)		Pauper
	1906	Death				Hull (KG)

Although born in Dover, he returns to his father’s home where he marries in 1842; his first two children are born in Brixham. Then in about 1844 he moves to Ramsgate, Kent in the Isle of Thanet where his next two children are born. Finally, in about 1848 he moves to Hull. He remains in Hull/Sculcoates till his death in 1906

It is possible that Thomas Samuel was the founder member of the colony of Gemptons who have resided on the Humber estuary since the 1840s, but he was a tailor and several of the Humberside people were fishermen or owned boats.

5.  Samuel GEMPTON
	1845	Birth				Brixham
	1865	Marriage			Hull
	1866	Birth of first child		Hull
	1885	Birth of last child		Hull

	One of the first clan members to move to a foreign country was William Henry and his wife Elizabeth.

6.   William Henry GAMPTON
	1839	Baptism			Milton by Gravesend (X119)
	1853	Death of  father		St.Luke, London (D12)
	1861	Marriage			Waterloo, London (M15)
	1861	Emigration to USA
	1861    Births of Children               	Plain City, Utah, USA
            1880     Census                                     Plain City, Utah USA			Farmer
	1885	Death of 1st wife		Plain City, Utah, USA
	1893	2nd marriage			Plain City, Utah, USA
	1894	Birth Crystobel  		Ogden, Utah, USA
	1904 	Birth of Harold   		Ogden, Utah, USA
	1922	Death 				Ogden, Utah, USA

William Henry was born in Gravesend but by 1845 his father and family had moved to Bermondsey.  He and his  wife, Elizabeth were baptised into the Mormon Church in 1856 and 1857.    After their conversion to Mormonism, they migrated to Plain City near Salt Lake City in Utah, U.S.A. Later William Henry, after the death of his first wife, Elizabeth, married a second wife Le Mira Gray (or Lemira Grey), a school teacher,  who produced another family; their descendants are still thriving in the U.S.A. but none bear a clan surname as far as I know. 

	There exist accounts of their epic journey in 1861 by boat, train, river steamer and covered wagon from Liverpool to Salt Lake City on the eve of the American Revolution

Others migrated further afield, to America, Australia and New Zealand,  and there is now a large and thriving colony of GEMPTONs in both Australia and New Zealand. Although some data has been collected about members of the clan in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.A., it is still very incomplete and is not discussed further here.

In 1907, Samuel Gempton (b.1858) emigrated with his family to New Zealand, making for Wellington, and there were at least two others making for Australia in the same year; whether the decision to emigrate had any relation to his wife’s insistence that their children did not go to sea is uncertain.

7.   Samuel Gempton
	1859	Birth				Brixham (B29)
    	1882 	Marriage			Totnes (M30)
	1885	Birth of  Elizabeth		Totnes (B54)
	1891	Birth of Samuel		Brixham (B34,C140)		d.1966 	Carpenter
	1891	Birth of William John	Totnes (B60)			d.1979		Sport goods repairer	 
	1890	Birth of George Blackmore	Brixham (B56,C140)           d.1957		Tailor
	1893	Birth of Herbert		Brixham (B66,C140)		d.1952	            Linotype operator
1907    Emigrated to New Zealand

 Sometime, after the 2nd World War (probably about 1923), Alfred William (b.1898) and his wife Ethel emigrated to Australia. Several of his children also emigrated there  later, but one went to Canada.

Elizabeth GEMPTON, daughter of John and Mary, born 1818 in Brixham, was living on Guernsey in 1841.  There she had married William Moore in 1843.  They emigrated to New Zealand and arrived on the Sir Jackson Pollack and arrived at Lyttleton in 1851.  She has descendants who still farm in Okaoins Bay.

A slight mystery surrounds Elizabeth.  Her father John was a ropemaker as was George Elliott. Why had she gone to Guernsey?  The obvious answer is that her father and George Elliott were related, but I can find no connection between the two families.  Maybe they were merely friends or colleagues.  Perhaps George and John had been apprentices with the same master.

	After the Second World War the pattern in the British Isles with the major colonies near Brixham or Hull dispersed and births were recorded in parts of the country, though perhaps predominantly in the West Country and in Yorkshire.  A modern telephone directory shows 11 entries in the United Kingdom, 5 in the U.S.A., 9 in Australia and 18 in New Zealand.

Biographies

Thomas Samuel Gempton

	Thomas Samuel Gempton is a fairly distinctive combination of names (there is but one other, and he could not be confused). Thomas Samuel was baptised on 29 May 1821 at  Dover, Kent.  It is likely that he was born a short time before this

	Thomas Samuel Gempton is to be found in the 1851, 61, 71, 81, 91 and 1901 censuses.  In 1851, 1861  and 1871he is married and with a family.  The names and dates of these families are very closely similar leaving little doubt that they are both the families of the same Thomas Samuel.

	It should be noted that transcriptions of the 1851 family list him as Thomas L Gempton.  I managed to download an image of this census page.  I can see why the transcriber put his initial as 'L' but in fact, after comparison with letters on the same page, it is unambiguously   'S'.  Likewise in the 1861 census his second name was transcribed as 'John'.  Again, a careful inspection lends no support to this.  It is malformed but almost certainly 'Saml'

	The six censuses are therefore in agreement over his name  and in fair agreement over his date of birth. All but 1891 agree about his place of birth.

	The censuses record that in 1851 he was married to Betsy. And in 1861 and 1871 to Elizabeth). Both these ladies were born in Scotland in 1821.   Betsy is a diminutive or pet-name name for Elizabeth.

	According to the 1851 census, his eldest child, Eliza, was born in 1843.  The 1861 census puts her as being born in  1851.  Note how the children are listed by age and that in both 1851 and 1861 Eliza is put before Samuel.  Surely 1861 census is in error and she should be aged 18.  Close inspection of the image confirms that her age in the 1861 census was written as 10. It would seem that the enumerator must have put down the wrong age.

	If we accept all this we must look for a marriage between Thomas Samuel and Elizabeth - shortly before 1843.  We find such a marriage in 1842 in Totnes (Brixham probably)  between Elizabeth and Thomas Samuel GALMPTON. .  Kathy Gempton has indicated to me that the banns for this marriage were read at Paignton, but I have not checked this. Purchase of the certificate would probably clinch all this.  Note that Elizabeth's maiden surname is WYLIE. 

	Also note that in the 1861 census, Elizabeth is given a second name.  This does not appear in any of the transcriptions.  It is difficult to decipher.  It looks like 'Cane' but this makes no sense.  Maybe it was Jane.

	Thomas and Betsy had 10 children, 4 boys and 6 girls.  All the girls except the eldest, Eliza, died in early childhood as did Alfred. Richard died at the age of  7 and William aged 25. Only Samuel and Eliza survived to marry.

	In 1851 the family was living in  Hull; they were still there in 1861 and their last child was born there. but in 1871 Thomas and Betsy were living with their son William in Sheffield.   In the 1861 and 1871 censuses, William was described as  a basket maker as was his brother Samuel.. It is not clear why William's parents had gone to live with him. Maybe there was more call for tailors in Sheffield than in Hull.

	In  1873 the death of William aged 25 was registered.  This is almost certainly the son. It seems that Thomas and Betsy continued to live in Sheffield but in 1878, the death of Elizabeth Gempton aged 58 was registered;  she was  no doubt Betsy.  

	After this, It would seem that Thomas decided to return to Hull and live with his son Samuel.

	In 1881 Thomas  is living, (without Betsy) , with his remaining surviving son Samuel and his wife.  Maybe Samuel got tired of the old man for  in  1891 he has moved in with his daughter Eliza (the census has her age correct) and her husband.  The informant in 1891 seems unsure as to how old the old chap was or where he was born. Maybe she too could not cope, for in 1901 we find him in the workhouse, a pauper. 

	In 1906 he died.

	The lives together of Thomas and Betsy together seem to be marked by wandering.  Thomas was born at Dover (1822),  married in Brixham  (1842) and had children in Brixham (1843,1844), Ramsgate (1845,1848)  before they moved on to Hull, then to Sheffield and then finally back to Hull  where he remained for the rest of his life.

	Thomas was a Tailor, but what made him move around the country?  The necessity of earning a living. One supposes his life was  hard;  it was also tragic. Life was hard for most in the 19th century; no wonder his descendant emigrated.  Never look back nostalgically at 'The Good Old Days'

	It is perhaps noteworthy that only the two oldest children survived to marry and that these were born in Brixham.  Did Thomas' fortunes decline about 1844? And did he moved to Ramsgate in the hope of ameliorating them?  Of the two children born in Ramsgate, only William survived to adulthood.  Maybe he had no great success in Ramsgate and moved on to Hull.  All the children born there died young.   By 1864 Eliza and Samuel were married but the other children except William were all dead..  They and their remaining child, William moved to Sheffield maybe hoping for better things among the prospering steel workers. But William died not long after their move.   Thomas and Betsy stayed on in Sheffield till Betsy's death in 1878.  Thomas was now 57 and he decided to move back to Hull to be with his married children. 

	Thomas was one of the first of the Gamptons to move from Devon to the Humber estuary.  One might have expected this pioneer to be a mariner, sailing from port to port round the English coast.  But no, he was a tailor.   It was generally true however that his migrations were preceded by the arrival of other members of his clan

	etsy (in fact her birth was registered as Betty) was born in May 1820 in Stromness, Orkney - about as far from Devon as can be in the British Isles.   There is one final mystery.  How did Thomas come to marry Betsy from Stromness?.  The most likely explanation is that Betty was in Brixham, visiting relatives. There were at least two families of Wylies in Brixham, and at least two members claimed to have been born in Scotland.  But how did this 20 year old lady meet Thomas, who was a year younger than her and who presumably had lived his early life in Kent?

William Stone Gampton

	William Stone Gampton (1810-1853) was fatally injured in a brawl and died soon afterwards. He had been a lighterman on the Thames for H.M.Customs. Patrick Sullivan was tried at the central Criminal Court on September 19, 1853 for feloniously killing and slaying him. Patrick was found guilty and sentenced to be confined for four months hard labour. The trial was reported in the Times of September 23, 1853.  William seems to have lead an adventurous life for, after his death, a bulleted was found lodged in his skull, a souvenir from some previous fracas.

Gamptons & Heaths join the Church of Latter Day Saints Morman Church
Gamptons  emigrate to Utah

	The wife, Elizabeth Russell (1813-1858)) and the children of William Stone Gampton were introduced to the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) after the death of William Stone by the Heath family who were neighbours.   A son, William Henry Gampton (1839-1933), later married Elizabeth Heath in London in 1861. These had been converted and baptised into the Mormon Church in 1856 and 1857 at Bermondsey.  Shortly after their marriage, they emigrated to Salt Lake City.  They sailed in the “Underwriter” on April 25, 1861 (as the American civil war was starting) and travelled in the Company of Duncan Homar by train, river-boat and wagon train (264 souls, 47 wagons, 303 head of cattle) to Salt Lake City; they arrived on September 13 There is a detailed and interesting account of this particular journey available (CD ROM, Mormon Immigration Index, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 2000).
. 
	William and Elizabeth lived in Plain City where William worked as a farmer (1880 census).  Plain City is about 10 miles North East of Ogden, near Salt Lake City. William Lyle Stewart, a prominent early settler has left a diary covering 1884 - 1916. He writes that in 1888 there were discussions about building a boat to transport salt.  The advice of William Gampton was sought on this.   William and Elizabeth had eight children from 1863 to 1873, but several of then died in the smallpox epidemic of 1871 and no male children survived. After Elizabeth’s death in 1890 William married a second wife, Lemira (or Myrna, or Mira) Gray (1871-?) in 1893; they had their first child, Chrystobel in 1894 in Ogden.  William Harold, usually known as Jack was born in 1904, also in Ogden; there may have been further children.  Lemira had been a teacher in the local school at Plain City.  It seems likely that William and Lemira left Plain City for Ogden in about 1893 when they married. William and Lemira sold a plot of land for $600. This might be the plot that he registered in 1883.  Their descendants still thrive in the U.S.A.  In 1892, William made a return trip to England with Lyman Skeen - no doubt to visit his brothers and sisters

Samuel, Mary Ann Davies and their family emigrate to New Zealand

	Samuel Gempton (1858-?), his wife Mary Ann Davies (1859-?) and his children emigrated to New Zealand in 1907. There are numerous descendants of this couple in the Southern Hemisphere.

Walter murders his captain and is sent to Broadmoor

Walter Tennant Gempton (1873-1893) was the eldest son of Samuel and Ellen was born in Caistor in 1873.   He began his life by following in his father’s footsteps as a fisherman. 

The Times of May 15, 1889 reported that Walter Gempton was at sea on the smack Doncaster as cook.  250 miles from the Humber, he approached the captain, William Connelly from behind on deck and plunged a knife into the captain's neck.  The captain died within 10 minutes.

The times of May 16, 1889 reported an inquest.  This was held on May 16 at the Grimsby Hospital.  Arthur Turrell, second hand identified the body of William Connelly aged 42 and described how the cook, Walter TTennant Gempton, aged 18, had stabbed the skipper with a clasp knife, His crew tried to staunch the bleeding with flour but the Captain was dead within ten minutes. Gempton afterwards cried through the sky-light:   "you crafty -------, has that done for you? That was a bit of Jack the Ripper".   The prisoner affirmed that the deceased wanted to make off with the ship and all hands.  Gempton, it was stated, suffered greatly from headaches and that he had had no provocation whatever.  The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Gempton.    On 18 March 1889, he was committed to Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane.  He died there in 1893.   He was marked in the 1891 census as a fisherman and lunatic.

William John is Bankrupt and disappears

William John GAMPTON (b.1837), father of Fanny Budd GAMPTON was declared Bankrupt in 1892.  The address published in the London Gaxette was not, according to the census, occupied by him.  He has not been found in later records; it seems possible that he changed his name to avoid the consequenes of Bankruptcy.  His daughter was found in an orphanage in the 1891 census.  She later went into service but married in due course.

Gemptons receive medals in WW1

Several GEMPTONs were awarded medals for service in the First World War (1914-1920). These were:
	1.	William J.	Private		Lincolnshire Regiment
	2.	Ernest		Gunner	Royal Field Artillery
	3.	Charles	Pioneer	Royal Engineers
	4.	Alfred W.	Private		Rifle Brigade
	5.	Albert G.	Serjeant	Devonshire Regiment
	6	Alfred		Private		York and Leicester Regiment

Awards during the Second World War have not been investigated

Albert George Gempton was a headmaster

Albert George (1892-1972), son of Albert Stooks, was the much loved headmaster of Dawlish County School from 1941 to 1959. An affectionate appreciation has been written in 1986 by Brian Crisp, a member of his staff, with contributions from ex-pupils and others.  The London Gazette and the Times of January 1, 1955 reported that A.G.Gempton headmaster of Dawlish County Secondary Modern School was to receive an MBE

A newspaper recently reported a Mr. Gampton playing cricket for the President’s XI at Sidcup on July 24, 2000. He made 41 runs and was bowled out. This suggests the name GAMPTON still survives in England but he has not yet been traced.

Melanie is a bridesmaid

.	Melanie Gempton (469) was bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousin Valerie (458) on Sept 8, 1974

George Gempton was shipwrecked

It was reported in the Times of Feb 1, 1803, that a small schooner belonging to St.Johns with George Gempton as master went to the bottom on Goodrington sands in a snowstorm, Happily all hands were saved.

Albert Stooks Gempton saves seamen from wrecks

 	“Brave Men All” by Vice-Admiral Gordon Campbell (Hodder & Stoughton 1935) commemorates acts at sea of some very courageous men including Albert Stooks GEMPTON. During the great storm of December 1911, the fishing boats from Brixham battened down to face it out. Several were lost with all hands and the ‘Friendship’ got into extreme difficulties.  The skipper and mate were lost overboard leaving two young lads of 19 and 17.  Albert Stooks bravely went to their rescue in his boat ‘Gratitude’ and at 3.00 a.m.  Was able to save them. He later managed to tow the stricken ship to Milford Haven.  On his return to Brixham, the whole population turned out to pay their respects to those who had lost their lives in the storm and to those who had rescued some of them.  Albert Stooks was later awarded a silver medal by Lloyds.   Before this he had rescued nine sailors in 1891 and a French trader, ‘Kelte’ in 1907.  The story of Albert Stooks' exploits are also reported in the Times of December 20, 1910 and May 3, 1911.

One Gempton is said to have fought with Nelson

One clan member, I am told, was a Captain of guns on one of Nelson's ships but he is not listed in the website: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nelson/ which purports to list every officer, rating etc. who served under Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Joseph Gempton was master of the Navigation School at Brixham

Joseph Gempton (1822-1905) was master of the Navigation School at Brixham
Albert George (1892-1972), son of Albert Stooks, was the much loved headmaster of Dawlish County School from 1941 to 1959. An affectionate appreciation has been written in 1986 by Brian Crisp, a member of his staff, with contributions from ex-pupils and others.  The London Gazette and the Times of January 1, 1955 reported that A.G.Gempton headmaster of Dawlish County Secondary Modern School was to receive an MBE

Mr.Campton plays cricket for Sidcup

A newspaper recently reported a Mr. Gampton playing cricket for the President’s XI at Sidcup on July 24, 2000. He made 41 runs and was bowled out.

Anomalies

So far, I have described an orderly succession of events starting from Galmpton in Devon and stretching to the Humber Estuary, U.S.A, Australia, New Zealand and the South Seas.

There are nevertheless a number of anomalies – recorded events involving GAMTONs etc., which are difficult to place.

First, there is the IGI reference to the baptism of Margeretta Gempton daughter of Gualtieri (presumably a latinised version of Walter) at Abbot's Bromley, Staffordshire in 1685.  Then there is the baptism of Ann Gempton to Thomas and Margretta Gempton at Middle, Shropshire in 1779. How and why did they get there?  Is the recorded name in error?  I can find no other references to them.  As unexplained, is a record of Isabella Gampton, aged 22 in an almshouse in Tewkesbury in 1875.

More odd is an Internet reference to Henry Von Gampton in a mental asylum at Dunwich, Queensland, Australia in 1868; did his madness take the form of pretending to be a German nobleman? His death and an inquest in 1870 are also recorded.  Were there any German immigrants at the time?  Even odder is an internet reference to Viscount Gampton in the U.S.A.  I have no explanation for all this apart from the possibility of a garbled transcription.  

Internet searches for GAMPTON produce a host of records in the U.S.A.   I have not looked at these in detail and know little of them but I suspect other GAMPTONS emigrated there and there may be surviving descendants.

There appears to be a Gampton House near Northampton, and another in Dublin, but I do not know who lived (or lives) in them

The funeral of John GEMPTON (1732-1733) is registered in two registers on the same day, 1 July, 1733, those of Brixham (where it is noted that he is the son of Thomas) and in Churston Ferrers (noted as the son of Thomas and Elie).  I do not know where the poor mite was actually buried.

Gertrude M Gempton apparently succeeded in appearing twice in the 1901 census.  Thus, Gertrude M Gempton is listed as a daughter aged 18, in Hull in 1901 and as a visitor aged 19. in Shelton, Manchester.  No other Gertrude Gempton is known.  Maybe there were two Gertrudes of that age but I can only find evidence of the birth registration of one.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Arthur Gempton, Kathy Gempton, George Gempton, Doug Perkins, , Dianne Zijlstra and Wendy Gempton  and my wife Dallas (a descendant of William Stone GAMPTON) for sharing with me much valuable data about the clan and for details of their own families.