James Kemp (bishop)
James Kemp (May 20, 1764 – October 28, 1827) was the second bishop of the Diocese of Maryland, US, from 1816 to 1827.
The Right Reverend James Kemp D.D., S.T.D. | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Maryland | |
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| Church | Episcopal Church |
| Diocese | Maryland |
| Elected | August 2, 1816 |
| In office | 1816–1827 |
| Predecessor | Thomas John Claggett |
| Successor | William Murray Stone |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 27, 1789 by William White |
| Consecration | September 1, 1814 by William White |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 20, 1764 Keith Hall Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Died | October 28, 1827 (aged 63) New Castle, Delaware, United States |
| Buried | St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Baltimore, Maryland) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Denomination | Anglican prev. Presbyterian |
| Parents | Donald & Isabel Kemp |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Kemp |
| Children | 2 |
| Previous post(s) | Suffragan Bishop of Maryland (1814-1816) |
| Signature | .png.webp){kind=small} |
Early life
James Kemp was born on May 20, 1764, in Keith Hall parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.[1] He graduated from Marischal College in 1786. He emigrated to Maryland in 1787, and lived with a family in Dorchester County.
Ministry
Brought up a Presbyterian, Kemp joined the Episcopal Church and studied theology under the direction of the Rev. Dr. John Bowie, rector of Great Choptank parish, MD. He received deacon's orders in Christ Church, Philadelphia on December 26, 1789, and He was ordained priest the very next day on December 27, 1789. Kemp was ordained to both orders by the Rt. Rev. William White. In August 1790, Kemp succeeded his theological instructor, Dr. Bowie and became rector of Great Choptank Parish, in Cambridge, Maryland, the county seat of Dorchester County. Rev. Kemp also served at Green Hill Church likewise on the Eastern Shore until 1813, when he was elected associate rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baltimore. Columbia College conferred on him a Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1802.[1]
Kemp was elected suffragan bishop and consecrated on September 1, 1814, serving under elderly Bishop Thomas J. Claggett and overseeing the parishes on the Eastern Shore. His consecrators included:
- The Most Reverend William White, fourth presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church
- The Right Reverend John Henry Hobart, third bishop of New York
- The Right Reverend Richard Channing Moore, second bishop of Virginia
James Kemp thus became the fifteenth bishop consecrated in the Episcopal Church. He succeeded bishop Claggett on the latter's death in 1816. As bishop, Kemp invited Deacon William Levington to his diocese in 1824, and helped him establish St. James First African Episcopal Church, the third African American Episcopal church in the new country.
Death and legacy
Kemp died of injuries received in a stage coach accident near New Castle, Delaware, while returning from the consecration of Assistant Bishop Henry Onderdonk in Philadelphia.[2] He was buried in the cemetery of Old St. Paul's Church in Baltimore.[3]
References
- Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard, eds. (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Vol. VI. Boston: The Biographical Society. Retrieved May 1, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
- George Freeman Bragg, The First Negro Priest on Southern Soil (Baltimore: Church Advocate Press, 1909) p. 13, available at google books
- "Fact Sheet", The Old St. Paul's Rectory, Archived July 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine p. 1 of 5
- William Stevens Perry, The Episcopate in America, The Christian Literature Co. November 25, 1895, pp. 34, 35.
- Virtual American Biographies: James Kemp
- The Episcopal Church Annual. Morehouse Publishing: New York, NY (2005).