James Kemp

James Kemp (May 20, 1764 – October 28, 1827) was the second bishop of the Diocese of Maryland, US, from 1816 to 1827.

Early life James Kemp was born on May 20, 1764, in Keith Hall parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 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, Maryland. 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. 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 an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1802. He was buried in the cemetery of Old St. Paul's Church in Baltimore.