I am directly descended from this KEMP family and have a considerable amount of information on them, including:
extracted from the publication "Police News" dated 5th December 1868.
"William Kemp, 56, a brickmaker, was charged at Warwick Assizes with the wilful murder of his son, Thomas Kemp.
The facts of the case were of a very painful character. The evidence went to show that in July of the present year the prisoner was residing in a cottage at Princethorpe, near Warwick, with the deceased, a married son, and his wife. Deceased and prisoner occupied one bedroom, and slept in the same bed, and the other bedroom was occupied by the married son and his daughter-in-law. Between three and four o'clock on the morning of the 14th July the prisoner left his bed, came downstairs, procured a razor, and cut his youngest son's throat so severely that he died in about a quarter of an hour after. After committing the deed, he went to the adjoining bedroom, roused his married son, and said, "I have cut little Tom's throat." The son rushed into his father's bedroom, and was horrified to see his brother standing in the room in a pool of blood, with a frightful gash in his throat, from which blood was flowing. He at once got an apron to staunch the wound, but deceased told him not to do so, for he was dying and should go to heaven. When asked what had led him to cut the poor lad's throat, the father answered that he was afraid if he lived he would come to poverty, and so he cut his throat to save him from such suffering. He was shortly afterwards apprehended by the parish constable, to whom he stated that he had got up with the intention of leaving the place, and then just when he was about to do so, the thought occurred to him that if he cut Tom's throat, he would never live to come to poverty, and he then took the razor and went back and did it.
The case for the defence was that he was of unsound mind at the time of the occurrence. It appeared that about eight years back prisoner had a lightning stroke, since which time he had been very low and desponding. The loss of his wife, which took place three years since, aggravated his disease, and increased the depression of his spirit to such an extent as to cause alarm among his neighbours and friends. Recently he had sustained a heavy loss in his trade, and that also preyed upon his mind to a serious degree. His great trouble appeared to be that some day he would come to poverty, and he seemed to be deeply affected with the idea that the deceased would suffer a good deal on that account.
Several witnesses were called, who described fully the fits of melancholy to which he was almost continually liable. To one he said he would take a shirt and wander about until he perished. To another he said that the devil had such a strong hold on him that he could not pray to Almighty God for assistance. His mind was continually brooding upon future poverty, and on one occasion he took two knives upstairs for the purpose of cutting his own throat.
The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, on the grounds of insanity, and he was ordered to be confined during her Majesty's pleasure."
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Topic: Kemp lookup in Warwickshire (Read 12993 times)