Thomas Kemp (28 February 1779 – 2 March 1824) was a Baltimore shipbuilder, known for building some of the fastest and best known

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s of the War of 1812, such as , , ''Patapsco'', ''

Chasseur ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army o ...

'', and ''

Lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

''.

Early Career as a Shipbuilder

Thomas Kemp moved to Baltimore in 1803 from near

Saint Michaels, Maryland Saint Michaels, also known as St. Michaels, is a town in Talbot County, Maryland, Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,094 at th2023 World Population Review Growing at a rate of 1.3% annually, its population hit a peak wi ...

on the

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Ma ...

. He is thought to have learned at least some of his shipbuilding skills at the Dawson's wharf shipyard in St. Michaels. In 1804, he built a schooner with his brother Joseph. In the next few years his shipyard was mostly involved in making repairs to Baltimore vessels. He made some repairs for Isaac McKim on the schooner ''Maryland'', the brig ''Samuel'' and the ''Chesapeake,'' for Henry Craig on the ''Vigilante'' and the schooner ''Eclipse'' and for John Conway on the schooner ''Nonsuch''.

Building Baltimore Clippers

On July 6, 1805, Kemp purchased additional property bounded by Fountain, Fleet, and Washington streets at

Fell's Point Fell's Point is a historic waterfront neighborhood in southeastern Baltimore, Maryland, established around 1763 along the north shore of the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, Baltimore Harbor and the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River. ...

, expanding his business and establishing his own shipyard. It is important to noticed that some of the vessels built by Kemp were attributed to different shipbuilders, partially because Kemp did not put his name on those ships, as it was against

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

principles.

Ships Built by Thomas Kemp's Shipyard

*''Thomas and Joseph'' (1804), a schooner Kemp built with his brother, Joseph *''Lynx'' (1806), 99 tons, a Baltimore clipper schooner for Henry Craig *''Maria'' (1806), a schooner for Henry Craig *''Eidue'' (1806), 190 tons, a brig for Captain Christopher Deshon *Unnamed schooner (possibly ''Breezio'') (1806), 114 1/3 tons, for Captain Christopher Deshon *''Hawk'' (or ''Mohawk'') (1807), 124 tons, a schooner for Henry Craig *''Leo'' (1807), 244 1/4 tons, a brig for Henry Wilson. *a pilot boat (1807) for William Harrow *five ships (1807) for Isaac McKim, Henry Wilson, James Barry, John McKee, and Henry Craig *'' Rossie'' (1808), a schooner and a privateer of the War of 1812. *a schooner (1808), 146 1/2 tons, for John McFadon *two gunboats (1808) for John Strieker for the United States *''Experiment'' (1808), 108 tons, a schooner for Captain Christopher Deshon *two schooner brigs (1808) for Henry Wilson and John McKee *''Aut'' (1809), a schooner for Charles Kalkman *a pilot boat schooner (possibly ''Wasp'') (1809) for James Taylor and Curtis *a schooner (possibly ''Hornet'') (1809), 100 tons, for James Taylor and Curtis * (1810), a schooner and a privateer of the War of 1812, commanded by Captain

Thomas Boyle Thomas Boyle (29 June 1775 – 12 October 1825), an Irish American, as a captain of the schooner ''Comet'' and the clipper ''Chasseur'', was one of the most successful Baltimore privateers during the War of 1812. He briefly served in the United ...

. *a schooner (1810), 189 91/95 tons, for Hollins & McBlair *a schooner (possibly ''Leopard'') (1810), 79 50/95 tons, for P. A. Gestier *''Milo'' (1810), 230 34/95 tons, a brig for James Williams *''Wabash'' (1810), 262 1/2 tons, for Samuel Smith & Buchanan *a pilot boat (1810) for William Pitt *''Extreme'' (1811), 122 1/3 tons, length 65' 6", a schooner for Captain Robert Hambleton *''Marmion'' (1811), 244 tons, for Smith & Buchanan *a pilot boat (1811) for William Pitt *a small boat (1811) for Joseph Butler *''Arrow'' (1811), 180 74/95 tons, a schooner for Hollins & McBlair *''Emperor of Russia'' (1810), 430 tons, for Charles F. Kalkman *''Patapsco'' (1810s), 259 tons, a ten-gun schooner commissioned as a privateer on 4 June 1814 under command of Richard Moon. *''Grecian'' (1812), 187 1/4 tons, for Isaac McKim *''

'' (1812), a topsail schooner and a privateer of the War of 1812, commanded by Captain

. *''

'' (1812), a six-gun schooner commissioned as a privateer under command of captain Elisha Taylor. * and (1813), sloops of war, for United States Navy *three barges (1814) for United States Navy *''David Porter'' (1814), 18 1/2 tons, a sloop *''Perry'' (1814), possibly was built by Kemp *a schooner (1814), 122 1/2 tons, for Fulford & Clopper *a schooner (1814), 124 63/95 tons, for Pearl Durkee *''Seagull'' (1815), a sloop for Captain James Martin *a schooner (1818) for George Williams *a schooner (1819) for Henry Payson & Co. *''K&R'' (1822), a schooner built by Kemp and Joseph Robson

After the War of 1812

After the War of 1812 demand on shipbuilding declined and Kemp returned to the Eastern Shore to live at his farm, Wade's Point. He only built a few vessels after the war.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Thomas 1779 births 1824 deaths Boat and ship designers 19th-century American artisans American shipbuilders American shipwrights 19th century in Baltimore History of Baltimore