James Kemmett 1860 - 1928

James Kemmett was born in a house in the quaintly named Hen & Chickens Yard, in the town of Wolverhampton on the 5th of April 1860 and baptized in SS. Mary and John's R.C. Church ten days later.

 James's baptism entry

The son of Irish immigrants James was brought up with his brothers and sisters and a house crowded with lodgers who shared their small home.

James started his working life as a bricklayers labourer and moved to Sunderland in the early 1880s. On the 26th of December 1882, at Sunderland Register Office, he married Isabella Storey and four months later their first son, James, was born. In all James and Isabella had nine children; their first child, James, and their last child, also called James, both only survived a few months.

James as a young man with his mother Catherine (seated) and possibly his sister Jane on the left

James had a variety of occupations. In 1881 he was employed as a bricklayers labourer and on his marriage a year later he was working as a frame turner. The 1891 census describes him as a shipyard labourer and at the time of the following census in1901 he is employed as a labourer in an Engine Shop. His death certificate shows he was a mason. On Elizabeth's marriage certificate (1917) his trade is described as mason although in 1922 on both George and Alice's marriage certificates his occupation is bricklayer. It would appear that the terms bricklayer and mason are interchangeable when used to describe James' occupation. I am going to stick my neck out and say that perhaps Bella preferred to describe James as  mason and that his occupation changed depending on who was proffering the information.

 James with his sister Jane? and wife Bella

James died on the 7th of May in 1928 and was buried in Mere Knolls Cemetery, Sunderland.

The one question I would love answered is why did James move to Sunderland from Wolverhampton all those years ago?