James Lawson Kemper
Born: June 11, 1823
Birthplace: Mountain Prospect, Madison County, Virginia
Father: William Kemper 1776 – 1853
Mother: Maria E. Allison Kemper 1787 – 1873
Wife: Cremora “Belle” Conway Cave Kemper 1837 – 1870
Married: July 4, 1853 in Madison, Virginia
Children:
William Meade Cave Kemper 1857 – 1886
Frances Merriweather Kemper 1859 – 1863
Florence Kemper Thompson 1859 – 1944
James Lawson Kemper Jr. 1864 – 1890
Lucy Virginia Kemper Lynch 1867 – 1915
(Buried: Cedar Grove Cemetery, Norfolk, Virginia)
Jessie McRae Kemper 1868 – 1891
Heber Johns Kemper 1870 – 1950
(Buried: Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, California)
Education:
1842: Graduated from Washington College
Occupation:
Lawyer in the State of Virginia
Served in the Mexican War, rising to Assistant Quartermaster
Brigadier General of Virginia State Militia
Member of Virginia State House of Delegates
Chairman of Military Affairs Committee, Virginia House of Delegates
Speaker of Virginia State House of Delegates
Civil War Career:
1861: Brigadier General of the Provisional Army of Virginia
1861 – 1862: Colonel of 7th Virginia Infantry
1861: Participated in the First Battle of Bull Run
1862: Participated in the Battle of Seven Pines
1862 – 1864: Brigadier General of Confederate Army, Infantry
1862: Participated in the Seven Days Campaign
1862: Participated in the Second Battle of Bull Run
1862: Participated in the Battle of Antietam
1863: Participated in the Suffolk, Virginia Campaign
1863: Wounded in abdomen & thigh during battle of Gettysburg
1863: Prisoner of War held by the Union Army
1863 – 1865: Commander of Reserves in Virginia
1864 – 1865: Major General of Confederate States Army, Infantry
Occupation after War:
Bankruptcy Attorney in Madison, Virginia
1867: Active in helping found Virginia Conservative Party
1868 – 1878: Owner of his family home in Madison, Virginia
1872: Unsuccessful Candidate for U.S. Congressman
1874 – 1878: Governor of Virginia
1877: Supporter of a tax on alcohol
1877: Hosted President Rutherford B. Hayes in Richmond, Virginia
1878: Sold his family home in Madison, Virginia
Attorney in Orange Court House, Virginia
Owner of Walnut Hills Plantation in Orange County, Virginia
Died: April 7, 1895
Place of Death: Walnut Hill Plantation, Orange County, Virginia
Cause of Death: Swelling of abdomen, bronchitis, asthma
Age at time of Death: 71 years old
Burial Place: Kemper Family Cemetery, Orange, Virginia
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