I recently found a .pdf copy of the Lemen Family History (1898) which I’ve appended to the Hester Lemen entry on the family tree. (Hester is Robert Ryland Kearfott’s great-grand-mother.)
It traces the Lemen family line back through Ireland to Scotland in the first half of the 17th century where some of the Lemen’s were connected to Oliver Cromwell:
“Robert Lemen of Scotland. He and the other members of his father’s family in that country were ardent followers and adherents of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, and Robert Lemen and his brother, William Lemen, were soldiers under him, and assisted to banish for a time royalty and its attendant tyrannies in England and to place the affairs of that country under the control of their great chieftain; and at the time of Robert Lemen’s marriage in Scotland, Cromwell, who was then in that country and community, attended his wedding and presented Robert’s bride with a beautiful little box richly inlaid with pearls and silver.”
Pretty interesting times, those were. Not everybody was a Cromwell fan…see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell.
Right about the time Cromwell died (1658) the Lemen’s relocated to Ireland. In 1708, three young men, James, Robert and Nicholas Lemen settled in Virginia. The rest of the story starts from there and there are a couple of chapters on Kearfott’s, along with a nice picture of Joseph Baker Kearfott.
Joseph Baker Kearfott is credited with having compiled a great deal of information on the Virginia branch of the Lemen family. I have to wonder whether any of his records survive? If anyone knows, I’d be very interested to learn where they might be!
Meanwhile, any of the family who are interested are welcome to download the .pdf so you can read the stories for yourselves!