Joseph A. Kemp
| Joseph Alexander Kemp | |
|---|---|
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Kemp as appointee to the University of Texas regents (c. 1917)
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| Born |
July 31, 1861 Clifton, Bosque County Texas, USA |
| Died | November 16, 1930 (aged 69) Austin, Texas |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery in Wichita Falls |
| Residence | Wichita Falls, Texas |
| Alma mater | Clifton High School |
| Occupation |
Grocery wholesaler Philanthropist |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Flora Anderson Kemp (married 1882-1930, his death) |
| Children |
Emma Sibyl Kemp Maer |
| Parent(s) | William T. (1840-1885) and Emma Stinnett Kemp (1839-1932) |
| Relatives | Brother-in-law Frank Kell |
Grocery wholesaler
Railroad executive
Emma Sibyl Kemp Maer
Mary Jewell Kemp Langford
Flora Charlotte Kemp
Joseph Anderson Kemp, Sr.
Joseph Alexander Kemp, sometimes known as Jodie Kemp (July 31, 1861 - November 16, 1930), was an entrepreneur and investor who along with his brother-in-law Frank Kell is considered one of the modern founders of Wichita Falls, Texas.
Kemp was born in Clifton in Bosque County in Central Texas. He was the second of eight children of William T. Kemp (1840-1885), originally from Tennessee, and the former Emma Frances Stinnett, a native of Missouri. William Kemp arrived in Clifton in 1856, where he became a prosperous merchant and served as the Bosque County tax assessor.The senior Kemp died in Clifton at the age of forty-four. The third Kemp child, William Clinton Kemp (1865-1871), died in early childhood.
In 1878, Joseph Kemp graduated from Clifton High School and took over operation of his father's general store. Within two years, Kemp sold his interest in the store at a profit to a partner. While Kemp moved to Wichita Falls in 1883, Frank Kell and his wife Lula, Kemp's sister, both of whom were also born in Clifton, did not relocate to Wichita Falls until 1896.
Kemp established a small wholesale and retail business that furnished supplies for area residents and ranchers as well as the Indian reservation at nearby Fort Sill in the then Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. He sold that business in 1887. In 1890, Kemp launched the J. A. Kemp Wholesale Grocery Company, with headquarters in what is now Depot Square in downtown Wichita Falls. He established branch stores throughout West Texas. This enterprise helped to make Wichita Falls into an important regional trade center. In 1903, Kemp sold controlling interest in the grocery company but maintained the title of company vice president.
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