For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 476
JOHN CHRISTOPHER KEMPER....Muscatine county can claim many well-to-do farmers who by industry and thrift have won a competence and also gained an honorable place in the estimation of their felllowmen. Of this number is John Christopher Kemper, the owner of one of the valuable farms of Sweetland township, which he acquired through his energy and perseverance. He is a native of Hamilton county, Ohio, born December 14, 1858 (1850?), his parents being Henry and Charlotte ( Weinberg ) Kemper. The father, who was born in Lupedmond, Germany, November 23, 1822, came to the United States at the age of twenty-six years, in 1848, and spent some time at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he followed his trade as a stone-mason. In 1855, he removed to Muscatine, Iowa, where he lived for a year, and then purchased twenty acres of land in Muscatine county, upon which he took up his home and which became the foundation of a farm of four hundred acres, acquired by him through wisely directed industry. He was a man of strict integrity and met with deserved success in his adopted country. Politically he upheld the republican party. He was a member of the Grange and also of the Methodist church, serving as steward and trustee of the latter. He recognized the importance of education and was for a number of years a member of the school board of his district. He also served as roadmaster and in many ways advanced the best interests of the region with which he had cast his lot.John C. Kemper was the eldest of a family of seven, five of whom are now living. He received a good education in the district schools, and under his father gained a thorough knowledge of agriculture and stock-raising. He remained on the parental homestead for some years after reaching maturity, but in 1879 purchased eighty acres of land on section 24, Sweetland township, and began farming on his own account. He is now the owner of a beautiful farm, upon which he built a comfortable residence in 1901, and made many other improvements. He has devoted his best energies to its cultivation,as is indicated by the abundant crops and the well fed animals which he raises and ships to market every year.
On the 16th of October, 1879, Mr. Kemper was united in marriage to Miss Regina Miller, a daughter of Frederick and Martha Miller, and by this union eleven children have been born : Annie, who married Adolph Ludke, and is the mother of two children ; John F., at home ; Edith, who is now Mrs. John Balser, and is the mother of one child ; Esther, who married Ed Pautel, and is the mother of two children ; Elmer; Arthur ; Lydia ; Frederick ; Freda ; Cora ; and William.
As the head of a large family Mr. Kemper has not had much time to devote to politics, but he gives his allegiance to the republican party, and, being an ardent friend of education, has filled the office of treasurer of the school board for twenty-nine years past, previously having served as school director. He is a firm believer in the Bible and a valued member of the German Methodist Episcopal church, to which he is a liberal contributor. Straightforward, honest and sincere, he has many warm friends, who recognize in him those qualities that contribute most toward forming a manly character.
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