1914 Biography - Walter Y. Kemper

Kemper, Walter Y., civil engineer and resident of Franklin, La., was born on Cote Blanche Island, Saint Mary parish, La., Sept. 13, 1871, the son of William P. and Monica (Rogers) Kemper. His father was southern born, Saint Mary parish being his native place, and his mother was born in Maine. The Kempers came from Virginian to Louisiana. They were of German origin. The great-great-grandfather of Mr. Kemper was the first to come to Louisiana. He settled in Saint Mary parish, and there the family has lived for 5 generations, and its members for the greater part have been sugar planters. Mr. Kemper's father was a veteran of the Civil war, in which he served 4 years as a private in a Louisiana regiment of the Confederate army. He died in 1890 at the age of 65 years, and his wife survived him 19 years and died at the age of 74. They had 7 children, of which Walter Y. is the youngest but one. Only one of the children are deceased. All of them were reared on the plantation. Walter Y. Kemper was prepared for college by his sisters and private governesses, and in 1890 he graduated in mining engineering from the University of Alabama. While in this university, Mr. Kemper took a course in sugar chemistry, and after graduating was for 3 years a sugar chemist, then he became manager of the parental plantation, and later of other plantations, his last experience being in Cuba for one year. He then returned to Louisiana and located at Franklin, where he has since been engaged in civil engineering, but in the meantime he has had time for politics, as a Republican, and in 1910 he was appointed supervisor of United States census for the second Louisiana census district. In Oct., 1911, Mr. Kemper became solicitor of United States internal revenue for the State of Louisiana, a position he now holds. In 1894, Mr. Kemper and Miss Leonora Barton were united in marriage. Mrs. Kemper is a daughter of Mr. E. D. Barton, a prominent sugar planter of Saint James parish, where she was born. Five children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Kemper. They are: Leonora Barton Kemper (Mrs. Robert H. Collins), Walter Y. Kemper, Jr., William P. Kemper, Clarence Barton Kemper, and Donald Barton Kemper.

Extracted 2020 Nov 01 by Norma Hass, from Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form, published in 1914, volume 3, pages 232-233.