Person:Zilpha Kempson (1)

Zilpha Kempson was baptised on 25th May 1817 at Totternhoe in Bedfordshire, daughter of Rebecca Kempson, formerly Turner, and her husband George Kempson, a straw dealer. In 1833, when Zilpha was sixteen years old, her mother died.

In 1835, Zilpha had a son, John, who was followed by a daughter, Elizabeth, the following year. Neither was baptised until after Zilpha's marriage on 14th March 1839 to an agricultural labourer called George Hemmings. When they were baptised, George was named as their father. Zilpha witnessed her brother Richard's marriage in 1836.

Zilpha and George married at Totternhoe but then moved to Tilsworth. They had a daughter called Rebecca later in 1839. The 1841 census finds Zilpha, George and their three children living in Tilsworth. Another daughter, Mary, followed later that year.

In January 1843, George was convicted for being an idle and disorderly person and sent to prison in Bedford for a month. Almost immediately after his release he committed a felony and was sent straight back to Bedford for another four months. In March 1845 George was convicted of stealing a lamb. His sentence was transportation for ten years. He was sent to Van Diemen's Land (as Tasmania was then called). Zilpha was pregnant at the time. She gave birth to a son later in 1845, whom she named George, after the father he would never meet. Zilpha's husband George died in Van Diemen's Land in 1847, less than two years after arriving there, and aged about 30. Whether Zilpha was informed of her husband's death is unknown.

Zilpha herself came to the attention of the magistrates after George's transportation. She also started using alternative forenames, referring to herself as either Sophia or Elizabeth interchangeably rather than the unusual name with which she had been baptised. In October 1845 one of her neighbours prosecuted her for felony. The outcome of that case is unknown, but she was described as "Sophia Hemmings, wife of George Hemmings of Toddington". Four years later she was prosecuted for being an idle and disorderly person under the name "Zilpah Hemming". She was convicted and sent to prison in Bedford for a month. Her prison records describe her as being stout, 5'2" tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a flat face. She could read but not write.

After her release from Bedford Gaol in November 1849, it is unclear what happened to Zilpha for the next six years. She had not been found in the 1851 census. During this period her father died in 1853.

Zilpha's next sighting is in December 1855, by which time she was living in Dunstable. She was married at Luton Register Office on 22nd December 1855 to a marine store (junk shop) dealer called Henry Smith. She married under the name "Sophia Hemmings", but it is clearly her, as she was described as a widow and the daughter of George Kempson, straw dealer.

Zilpha and Henry settled in Dunstable on Ashton Street (also known as Back Street and today known as Middle Row) right in the centre of the town, where they ran a marine store buying and selling second hand goods. Zilpha gave evidence in a case in 1859 relating to a saw she had bought at the shop, which she later discovered had been stolen. On this occasion she was called "Elizabeth Smith". She also appears under that name in the 1861 census living with Henry on Ashton Street.

Zilpha's daughter Mary (who had married a chimney sweep called James Bryant) died in 1864, aged 22. She left a young son, also called James Bryant, who came to live with Zilpha and Henry.

Zilpha died at Ashton Street on 3rd February 1866, aged 48. She had been suffering from pneumonia and heart disease for some time. Her death was registered as Sophia Smith. Henry survived her by 22 years, and both the 1871 and 1881 census find him living at 14 Ashton Street with Zilpha's grandson James Bryant.

1. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Totternhoe Parish Registers, 1559-1966. (Bedford: Bedfordshire Record Office).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Totternhoe in the County of Bedford in the Year 1817
   No. 67
   When Baptized: May 25th
   Child's Christian Name: Zylpha d[aughte]r of
   Parents Name - Christian: George & Rebecca
   Parents Name - Surname: Kempson
   Abode: Totternhoe
   Quality, Trade or Profession: Labourer
   By whom the Ceremony was performed: A[nthon]y W[illia]m Eyre, Vicar

2. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 5; Book 32; Folio 6; Page 6, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Tilsworth, Bedfordshire
   George Emmings, male, 20 [1816-21], Ag Lab, born in county
   Zilpah Emmings, female, 20 [1816-21], born in county
   John Emmings, male, 4 [1836/7], born in county
   Betsey Emmings, female, 3 [1837/8], born in county
   Rebecca Emmings, female, 1 [1839/40], born in county

3.   Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue (Bedford)
   QSR1845/4/4/29/a, 6 Oct 1845.

   Title: James Fossey of Toddington, labourer, £20 to prosecute Sophia Hemmings, wife of George Hemmings of Toddington, for felony.

4.   Bedfordshire Record Office. Bedfordshire Gaol Register. (Bedford)
   BLARS QGV10/3 ID 47.

   Name: Zilpah Hemming
   Age: 28 [1820/1]
   Height: 5'2"
   Hair: Brown
   Eyes: Grey
   Identifying features: Stout, flat face
   Education: Read
   Marital Status: Married
   Birth Town: Totternhoe, Bedfordshire
   Residence: Toddington, Bedfordshire
   Offence: Idle and disorderly person
   Committed: 10 Oct 1849
   Type of Gaol: Bedford, New House of Correction
   Sentence: 1 Calendar Month Hard Labour
   Discharged: 7 Nov 1849

5. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 1011; Folio 66; Page 37, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Ashton Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   Henry Smith, head, married, male, 32 [1828/9], Rag Merchant, b. Chelsea, Middlesex
   Elizabeth Smith, wife, married, female, 38 [1822/3], b. Totternhoe, Bedfordshire

6. ↑ Deaths register, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   1866 Deaths in the District of Dunstable in the Counties of Bedford and Hertford
   No.	When and where died	Name and surname	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   28	Third February 1866 Ashton Street, Dunstable	Sophia Smith	Female	48 years [1817/18]	Wife of Henry Smith, General Dealer	Pneumonia, Cardiac Disease some years, Certified	Ann Young, present at the Death, High Street, Dunstable	Sixth February 1866	George Derbyshire, Registrar

7.   Dunstable Chronicle, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 4, 3 Sep 1859.

   Luton Petty Sessions, Aug. 29
   Article gives a lengthy account of the trial of John Taylor and Harriet Wright for felony. One of the witnesses was Elizabeth Smith, "wife of Henry Smith, marine store dealer, Dunstable". She had bought a saw for eight pence from Taylor when he brought it to her house. The saw was one of several tools Taylor had stolen.