Hello, fellow researchers, My name is Ron Hamilton and I live in Woodley, Cheshire, England. My research of the above man has led me to a town called Kempton and a cemetery called Clayton which are supposed to be near San Francisco. I have searched many maps on many sites. I have advertised on Calosong and nobody has been able to tell if this town actually exists. I am led to understand that this town was created mainly by immigrants from a place called Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire and Dukinfield, Cheshire, in the 1800s. The town was named after the Kemp family from Ashton and Dukinfield and the cemetery was named after a man called Clayton from Dukinfield. Could anyone please advise me if this town and/or cemetery exists or ever existed please. The man namd above is supposed to be buried there, with his wife Ann M. Radcliffe. He died in 1889. She died sometime before him. Thank you for taking time to read this e mail. Kindest Regards to all, Ron Hamilton.

Hi Ron, I hope I can help you as a pay-back for all the help I've gotten from your country! I checked my book HISTORIC SPOTS IN CALIFORNIA - 4th edition - 1990. The only thing I can find close to the name of Kempton is in PLACER COUNTY (page 259) There is reference to KEMPTON'S CROSSING which they describe as running from Sheridan to Marysville. If you have a current map of this area, Placer County (north east of San Francisco), you will see this is now State HWY 65. I see no mention of a cemetery but hope someone else on the list will be able to help with that. Now to CLAYTON! In the same book in CONTRA COSTA COUNTY (page 63) I found a town names CLAYTON mentioned in a section CONTRA COSTA'S MINING TOWNS. "A unique population found its way into the Mount Diablo coal district from the coal field of WALES and CORNWALL." <snipped> "In 1972 the East Bay Regional Park District acquired 2763 acres of land in the area, including the Black Diamond Mine, and created the Black Diamond Regional Preserve. In the springtime, the mine is opened to the public on a restricted basis. The preserve is a beautiful natural area to wander in. It can be reached from Antioch by way of Somerville Road. A short road connects the parking area with ROSE HILL CEMETERY, recently restored after decades of senseless vandalism. Five stately cypress tree guard the spot . Among the burial markers are those of WELSH miners with inscriptions in their native language. --->>>>>How nice if one of our Volunteers has access to that cemetery and could look for your Joseph and Ann Radcliffe... "CLAYTON, southeast of Concord, was an important center in coal-mining days. It had a more diversified economy than the mining towns and survived to become an incorporated town in 1964. Joel CLAYTON ran a dairy farm when he was not a part-time coal miner. We wanted to name the settlement after the Italian patriot Garibaldi, but the residents preferred the name of their neighbor. Clayton Main Street has some interesting old buildings, including the much remodeled Pioneer Saloon from the 1860's....." If you have a current map you will see this area in Contra Costa County [east of San Francisco] very near to Concord. Hope this helps, If you would like, I can get some maps to you via snail-mail.. RUTH ______________________ Ruth (Grady) Skewis ruth4527@mindspring.com > -----Original Message----- > From: HamRon4@aol.com [mailto:HamRon4@aol.com] > Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2001 3:01 PM > To: CASANFRA-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [CASANFRA] Joseph Radcliffe > > > Hello, fellow researchers, > > My name is Ron Hamilton and I live in Woodley, Cheshire, England. > My research > of the above man has led me to a town called Kempton and a > cemetery called > Clayton which are supposed to be near San Francisco. I have searched many > maps on many sites. I have advertised on Calosong and nobody has > been able to > tell if this town actually exists. > > I am led to understand that this town was created mainly by > immigrants from a > place called Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire and Dukinfield, > Cheshire, in the > 1800s. The town was named after the Kemp family from Ashton and > Dukinfield > and the cemetery was named after a man called Clayton from Dukinfield. > > Could anyone please advise me if this town and/or cemetery exists or ever > existed please. The man namd above is supposed to be buried > there, with his > wife Ann M. Radcliffe. He died in 1889. She died sometime before him. > > Thank you for taking time to read this e mail. > > Kindest Regards to all, > Ron Hamilton. >