Mark Mark Lampton

There is a great story in a book about Mark Twain to the effect that one of the three Lampton brothers here at the time of the revolution was the rightful Earl of Durham and would have been the richest man in England if he had not sided with the revolutionaries. Apparently it is a Clemens tall tale.

Lambtons and Lamptons had lived in Durham for hundreds of years and the branch of the family with most of the land did become the richest in England when the industrial revolution made the coal that underlay ther land valuable. (Durham is just south of Newcastle). However unknown to early Lampton researchers (like Sam B.) this line of Lamptons had apparently been in America for 3 generations by the time of the revolution. And the Earldom wasn't created until the 1820s.

Here you can hear it roundly abused by a group that includes Robert Lampton PhD, author of a book on the Lamptons and Lucius Lampton, author of "The Geneology of Mark Twain"

http://genforum.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?forum=lampton&url=...

This summarizes it:

Michael Lampton:

"I am interested in the Lampton-Clemens-England

connection. My research shows that Lampton was the spelling

used in England until the early 1800s. When the Lampton

who owned the farm from which our name came became

the richest man in England due to coal he changed the spelling to Lambton to set himself apart from all the common Lamptons. When his line renounced the title of Earl

of Durham he changed it back to Lampton. See Burke's Peerage. We Lamptons in America can only trace our roots

to Mark I born in County Durham in 1638.

When our relatives wrote The First Book Of Lamptons

they did not know this detail hence the story of brothers,

who were actually third generation. Sadly we cannot find the English connection. I have a 1532 map of Durham

County showing the name Lampton. The farm paid half a knights fee. The Lamptons were strong supporters of the

Prince Bishop of Durham, the Lampton crest is on his tomb.

So the name is of celtic root, the name of the farm, the first recorded spelling is Lam Tun denoting the norman origin. The first Lampton to this country was transported

to a Catholic colony and you and I can trace ourselves to him."

Robert K. Lampton:

"HISTORY says-The first LAMPTON appearing in Colonial America was one MARKE LAMPTON who,on January 10,1664,was "Presented at a Court in Charles Co.,Maryland to "have his age iudged "

2. John George LAMBTON was created "First Earl of Durham" during the reign of Queen Victoria in the 1880's

3 The Red Boy,Charles William LAMBTON,oldest so of John George died of consumption at the age of 13."

Durham and the Lampton family are quite interesting

http://www.ancestryuk.com/LambertonAncestry.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Durham

The Lambton worm (dragon) and the Lambton curse.

http://books.google.com/books?id=7dUX23o1LtAC&pg=PA78&dq=lambton+wo...