Thomas KEMPSHALL, Congress, NY (17961865)

KEMPSHALL, Thomas, a Representative from New York; born in England about 1796; attended the common schools; immigrated to the United States with his father, who settled in Pittsford, N.Y., in 1806; moved to Rochester, N.Y., in 1813; employed as a carpenter; engaged in mercantile pursuits and later became engaged in milling; member of the board of aldermen in 1834 and again in 1844; mayor of Rochester, N.Y., in 1837; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1839-March 3, 1841); resumed milling; unsuccessful candidate for mayor in 1852; died in Rochester, N.Y., January 14, 1865; interment in Mount Hope Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present