Hi everybody. I'm looking for a few good Kemps'... This will be long, but informative, and will help explain my question at the end. After all, some of the fun is in the story, right? Most of my Kemps have settled in Lousia County, Iowa. However, several of us have traced the family back to three brothers, John Nelson B. Kemp, William Kemp & Samuel Kemp. This Kemp family originally came from Maryland. The boys parents were John Kemp & Elizabeth "Besty" Brown, married April 25, 1804 in Somerset, Maryland( recorded in the book; "Somerset County, Maryland Marriage Records 1796-1871 by Roy C. Pollitt, page 82). I know that William was born in Somerset Co, Maryland on May 20, 1807 (recorded in Stepney Parish Records of Somerset County, Maryland, Saint Bartholomews at Green Hill; Saint Marys at Tyaskin by Ruth T Dryden. Page 79) and suspect that John Nelson was born January 01, 1801 (undocumented)- however, that means that John Nelson was born after John & Betsy's marriage - suspect that the B in John Nelson B stands for Brown, maybe adopted by John Sr. We are reasonably sure that Betsy maiden name was Brown, she seems to be from Ross County, Ohio. I have a reference to her brother, a Thomas Brown, who lived in Ross County, Ohio. We've not located a birthdate for Samuel. John Kemp (Sr) died (between 1807 - 1817) when William was small. William then lived with his mother until 10 years of age, when he went to work on a farm. William worked on a farm until his marriage 1827 to Mary Burzetta Wright in Somerset Co., Maryland. Burzetta was a native of Somerset Co., Maryland. Burzetta died in childbirth in 12/15/1833, and the William and family including brothers, moved to Ross County, then to Fayette County, Ohio. William remarried May 19, 1937 in Pickaway County to a Hester Goodwin. William and family, including brother Samuel, moved on to Iowa in 1855. We lost track of John Nelson B Kemp at that time. Last summer we finally located some documents on John Nelson B. Kemp at Washington Courthouse, Ohio. We located a marriage record for him, he married Catherine Longerbone September 10, 1846 in Fayette Co., Ohio. According to his will, they had three children; Benjamin, Ann, Catherine. We are attempting to match another Kemp - a Jessie Kemp, who is listed as living with a John N B Kemp in one of the census (I don't have the exact census year right here in front of me!) We suspect that Jessie might have been John Nelson B Kemp's son from a previous marriage. So - my question(s): Anybody out there connected to the Kemps living in Fayette County Ohio? Another name that pops up is Panscoastburg, Pickaway County. Maybe a few of these relatives we could match up? While I'm not yet to Maryland - if anybody sees a connection I would be glad to hear about it. We have 5 of us researching in different areas on this branch of the family - 4 of us descending from William Kemp, and the 5th - if we can connect her Jessie to John Nelson B Kemp - will be another cousin. Thanks Michele Kemp-Shockley