The Kemptons

In its day, the Kempton Ranch of eastern Montana was one of the largest horse and cattle operations in the West, selling mounts to armies and polo-playing royalty alike. Trudy Kempton Dana mines her family's lore for salt-of-the-earth true stories to reveal a family of rare vision, grit, and integrity as they live our American history and embody the spirit of the West. Meet Joseph Kempton, a whaling ship captain and early Colorado pioneer; JB Kempton, the first to ship cattle on the Northern Pacific rails; and his son Berney, a trick roper with Doc Carver's Wild West Show, a hotelier, and a friend to British earls and U.S. presidents.


About the Author
Dana, Trudy: - Trudy Kempton Dana grew up hearing stories of her father's life on a large horse and cattle ranch in eastern Montana. Although her father, Jerry Kempton, became a civil engineer instead of a rancher and never again lived in Montana, the mystique of the Wild West was a major part of his childhood. After he met and married Phyllis Engdahl, they moved from Montana to Anchorage, Alaska, where Trudy was born and raised. She experienced an exciting and exceptional childhood there, often visiting her father's hometown of Terry, Montana, and her mother's family home in Olympia, Washington. Trudy and her husband raised two daughters in the small town of Edmonds, on Puget Sound, north of Seattle, where they still live. While attending college at the University of Montana in Missoula, Trudy grew to love Montana. In early 2014, Trudy began gathering family photos, interviewing relatives and conducting extensive research in the service of writing the stories her father told about growing up on the Kempton Ranch.