Kemp Plummer (1769 – January 19, 1826) was an American lawyer and politician. He was educated by

George Wythe George Wythe (; December 3, 1726 – June 8, 1806) was an American academic, scholar and judge who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The first of the seven signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence from ...

, once known as "the honest lawyer", and represented

Warren County, North Carolina Warren County is a county located in the northeastern Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, on the northern border with Virginia, made famous for a landfill and birthplace of the environmental justice movement. As of the 2020 cen ...

in the

North Carolina House of Commons The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

and later the

North Carolina State Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

. He was a trustee of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

and grandfather of

Kemp Plummer Battle Kemp Plummer Battle (December 19, 1831 – February 4, 1919) was an American lawyer, railroad president, university president, educator, and historian. He served as North Carolina State Treasurer and as president of the University of North Caroli ...

. Plummer was part of the "Warren

Junto Junto may refer to: * Whig Junto (c. 1700), English political leaders' group, that began to dominate the ministry from 1693 and held onto power intermittently until 1717 when members of the group fell out * Junto (club) The Junto, also known as ...

" which included

Nathaniel Macon Nathaniel Macon (December 17, 1757June 29, 1837) was an American politician who represented North Carolina in both houses of Congress. He was the fifth speaker of the House, serving from 1801 to 1807. He was a member of the United States House of ...

, who married Kemp's sister Hannah, James Turner, Weldon Edwards, William Hawkins, and William Miller, who dominated North Carolina political life at that time. Plummer's sister Hannah married Nathaniel Macon. Kemp Plummer was the second owner of the oldest house in Warrenton. The original owner was Marmaduke Johnson, who married Macon's half-sister Hixie Ransom. Another Plummer brother was William Plummer II, who married Macon's half-sister Betsy Ransom. Plummer's plantation also had several black

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. Plummer died from gout in 1826.

Early life

Kemp Plummer was born in 1769 near

Mobjack Bay Mobjack Bay is a bay on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia in the United States. It lies between the Rappahannock River on the north and the York River on the south. The bay appears in early documents as "Mockjack Bay"; it was said tha ...

Gloucester County, Virginia Gloucester County () is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,711. Its county seat is Gloucester Courthouse. The county was founded in 1651 in the Virginia Colony and is named for Henry Stuart, ...

to William Plummer and Mary Hayes. After the death of his father around 1774, his mother moved the family to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

due to "the cheaper lands and the superior healthiness of the hill country of North Carolina." Plummer attended

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth- ...

and graduated with the first class in 1786. He then attended the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

and studied with

. Rather than stay in Virginia, he moved to North Carolina to practice law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plummer, Kemp American lawyers 1769 births 1826 deaths People from Gloucester County, Virginia People from Warren County, North Carolina Hampden–Sydney College alumni Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina state senators College of William & Mary alumni American slave owners