John Crampton, aged 16, gave his occupation as apprentice cabinet maker for the 1841 census. At that time he was living with his father, (a boat maker), in the place of his his birth, St Helier, Jersey.
In 1857 John Crampton married in Southampton. His wife's place of birth was also St Helier. The 1861 census and the Southampton directory listed John Crampton, Photographic Artist at 3 Elm Terrace.
A carte de visite by Crampton from around that time carried a stamp on the back for 'Crampton's Portrait Rooms, opposite Deanery Walls, St Marys, Southampton'. The portrait of a young boy was an example of the carte de visites of interest to collectors of images of nineteenth century fashion. In the fine quality photograph a young boy in elaborate 'Sunday Best' holding a large hat, posed by a chair in front of a painted back drop of an idyllic rural scene viewed from a balcony.
John Crampton died in Southampton in 1865. His widow survived him by twenty four years, and died in Southampton in 1889.