Martin Kemp  was born Abt 1723 in Poole, Dorset, England. Nothing has been found, to date, documenting Martin's parents, due to a fire in the parish church.

G.Ward Kemp states in his book,"Kemps of Ollantigh & Kemps of Poole"  page 17, that he recieved a letter from Lucy Kemp-Welch, a descendant of Martin Kemp; "The fact that the parish church of Poole having been burned and most of the records destroyed, is accountable for the weak place in the pedigree. The papers relating to the birth and marriage of Martin Kemp(1723), were destroyed, or partially destroyed by fire in the church of Poole."

G.Ward Kemp goes on to state his conclusions as to linking Martin Kemp to William Kemp III of the Ollantigh Kemp's..""HK (Hitchin-Kemp - "A General History of the Kemp and Kempe Families of Great Britain", Hitchin-Kemp, Frederick, London, Leadenhall Press, 1902) further shows that Martin Kemp, of Poole, devised: "Leasehold estates in the Isle of Wight," and in his chapter on the Kemps of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, he shows that Thomas Kemp, grandson of Sir William Kemp of Ollantigh, married Mary Oglander, and named Sir john Oglander as a relative in his will; and that John Kemp, the son of Thomas, in his will devised:" Lands in Bewley,Churchchrist. Boldre, Whippingham, and Chalfeete, that last two being in the Isle of Wight-among the legatees are William Oglander,Esq." In the National Geographic Magazine(Washington and London), January, 1935, number, the first 35 pages are devoted to an interesting sketch of the Isle of Wight, past and present. In this article Sir John Oglander, who was named in the will of John Kemp, is frequently mentioned as an important decendant of one of those who came in with William the Conqueror. These close connections between the landed interests of the family of Martin Kemp, and the landed interests of his neighbors from the Ollantigh branch, and devises made in the wills of the parties, may be considered as material circumstances for evidence of relationship between the families, as stated by Hitchin-Kemp."(Page 19)

Martin  belonged to the Congregational Church in Poole. Apparently there were many arguments about the faith. Martin led a group of non-Conformists who found themselves expelled from the old Independent Chapel in Hill Street, when it was taken over from the Unitarians. Martin and his Congregational friends set up a chapel in Lag lane (Lagland Street). A new, imposing chapel was built in 1777 in Skinner Street

Martin suddenly died at in 1772 at 48 leaving his son George aged 16 to take over the firm. According to the book "Kemp Families" by G.Ward Kemp, and addendum to Fred Hitchin-Kemp's book "Kempe and Kemp Families in Great Britain and Her Colonies" , Hitchin-Kemp states that Martin Kemp was an active business man, both he and his oldest son George, and his youngest son Martin, were long known as prominent citizens of Poole."

"Their ancestors, the Welches, had long been settled in Beaulieu, Lymington, and Churchchrist, but it is not known yet how Martin Kemp of Poole was connected to the Kemps of Ollantigh." He suggested that it is probable that the name Martin, as a Christian name, was derived from the surname, "as we know of several instances previous to this date of birth, where Martin's married Kemps...We know that he married in Poole and the 16th day of April, 1775, Mary, the daughter of Robert Welch of Lymington...he was buried at Poole,1772. Eventually George and James were old enough to run the firm. George married Sarah Gosse whose father made cloth and lived in Ringwood Hampshire, and George & Sarah went to live in Ringwood. Several
of Sarah's uncles worked for people and companies connected to the
Newfoundland Trade.

George's first wife, Sarah, died and he re married to Elizabeth or Eleanor Pearce Knight (widow of Robert Knight), and of course the two families did not agree.The KEMP family had a company called G & J Kemp in Brigus, Newfoundland. This company was owned by brothers George and James Kemp. "Mr. George Kemp who became one of the most noteworthy men of his day in the town of Poole. ....He was often attired in a black coat, small clothes, silk stockings, silver buckled shoes, Hessian boots, and his silver locks which were covered by a shovel hat, were tied pigtail fashion, and hung down his back as the fashion was in the last century." Per Kemp Families Book1725 Records show 40 Poole ships owned by Kemp, Fryer, Gosse, & Pack,, located in Carbonear (Conception Bay) to Poole (Per Kemp Families Book, G.Ward Kemp, 1939) Ships owned by George Kemp were the 'General Wolfe", 'Neptune' and 'Macclesfield'. The 'General Wolfe' was captured by privateers, early in the Napoleonic wars.(Captured 13 Oct returned 5 Nov.) Most of the crew were taken prisoner, but the mate, a seaman and a Carbonear boy recaptured the General Wolfe and took it back to Poole with its cargo of fish and seal.

 Edward, son of James, drowned in Newfoundland and the decline in the Newfoundland Trade and the slump of property prices in Poole took a toll of George and James fortunes. They had previously made a fortune during the blockage of Spanish Ports. They managed to sell their fish at exorbitant prices and buy Spanish Wine extremely cheap, to return to London and sell the wine at exorbitant prices
again. George and James Kemp served apprenticeships in the trade and George lived for a period in Newfoundland. George Welch described his nephew in 1795 as the principal merchant in Conception bay. In 1800 George and James Kemp bought for £800, from Thomas and Young Green, their plantations, fishing rooms, stores, flakes and buildings at Carbonear. By 1805 they had fishing rooms in Brigus and Musketto too. George Kemp's subscription of £45 in 1807 towards the building of a courthouse and jail in Harbour Grace was the largest. In 1824 G.&J. Kemp ceased business in Newfoundland by selling out to the Poole-Newfoundland firm of Fryer, Gosse and Pack. George Kemp was reputed to have retired with a fortune of £30,000, or even £250,000. George Kemp's wife was Sarah Gosse, whose uncle John was the agent for G.&J. Kemp in Newfoundland, another uncle worked for Benjamin Lester, and her brother, Thomas, was the father of Philip Henry Gosse, who worked for the Slades. George Kemp died in 1845 at the age of 89, having been one of the most prominent figures and one of the most influential men in Poole.  George resided on Market Street, a red brick mansion, valued at $1,250,000. George lived there until his death. Almost all his children were born there. . 1914-1918 was turned into Cornelia Hospital. 1932 turned into a municipal building, and an art school.