Origins
One of the stories is that the family originated in either France or Belgium where they were known as De Clampette.
The story is that they were forced to flee after Louis 14th revoked the Edict of Nantes (Oct 18, 1685) and declared the whole of France Catholic. However, as there is currently no evidence of the family in either France or Belgium this cannot be confirmed.
There is an old Alsace-Lorraine French name best known for Lieut-Colonel Charles Mercier du Paty, Marquis de Clam, military tribunal prosecutor of Capt Alfred Dreyfus. There had always been the feeling that our family originated on the continent, possibly France, but this is the first clue. As the dates do not fit in with our family name which is first recorded in Devon in the early 1300's, this link must probably be discounted. The details are explored further here.
What can be confirmed is that a "Robert De Clampytte", a merchant,
was admitted as a freeman of the city of Exeter
,
Devonshire,
England on 13 Feb 1331.
It is also known that in 1585 a group of what we would call well-to-do
men from Somersetshire
County,
England were granted acreage on condition that they bring over settlers
to work the land. This is recorded in a book "History
of Bandon" by G. E. Bennett 1862. One of the settlers was a
Clampett.
