Owen County Photo Album

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The Henrietta Bledsoe Kemper Album

Contributed By g-g-grandson, Jeffery A. Duvall

This album contains 42 photographs (mostly carte-de-visites, and tintypes), and belonged to my great-great-grandmother Henrietta (Bledsoe) Kemper (1846-1918), wife of John James Kemper (1846-1909).  Based on clothing styles, etc., I’d guess that with a few possible exceptions, the photographs all date between 1860 and 1900.  Most of them are unidentified.  Several are members of the Kemper family and others appear to be friends from the Poplar Grove neighborhood of Owen county.  Some of those names are Maddox, Odor/Oder, Beaty, Baldwin, and Rogers. If anyone can either help id the unnamed pictures or confirm (or even challenge) the ones that are identified, I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks, Jeff Duvall  jduvall@iupui.edu (work) or Jeffery@iquest.net (home).

John James & Henrietta Bledsoe Kemper

I believe this a picture of my great-great-grandparents John James Kemper (1846-1909) and his second wife (and second cousin once removed) Henrietta Bledsoe (1846-1918).  I’d date the picture to ca. 1876 and think it was taken around the  time of their marriage.

Carrie Kemper Booth. This photo is not positively identified but we believe it to be Carrie (1881-1913)daughter of John James and Henrietta Bledsoe Kemper, and sister of my great-grandmother Mrs. Leola Kemper Fuller (1877-1963).  She was married to Sam Booth and had one child, Josephine.

Carrie or Leola Kemper. This is either my great-grandmother Leola Kemper Fuller, or her sister Carrie Kemper Booth. 

“Civil War Soldier”  We don’t know who this is, but we think he’s a Civil War soldier (probably CSA rather than USA given the lack of a real uniform).  The age of the photo seems to go back to the 1860s…it’s a classic sort of carte de visite (with the square corners, etc.).

Jennie SnapeSomeone wrote in Jennie Snape followed by another name that begins “S” that I can’t quite make out.

Lawson Kemper. Do not know how he is related.

Bud KemperBud is the man on the left.  There’s no name listed for the man on the right. Bud is probably a nickname.

  “Rena Kemper and brother.”  I believe that this is Rena Kemper and her brother Derwood. They are both grandchildren of Tillman and Sarah E. Haydon Kemper. And son and daughter of Arthur S. Kemper and his first wife Lydia Marston

Sarah Kemper.  At first I thought this might be my g-g-g-grandmother Sarah Haydon Kemper, but I think she’s too young to be her.  She might be my g-g-grandfather John James Kemper’s sister, Sarah, or (perhaps more likely?) she might be the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Adams Kemper, and my g-g-grandmother Henrietta Bledsoe Kemper’s great aunt.

Tillman KemperThis my ggg-grandfather.

Tillman Kemper and Unknown Brother.  We think the man on the right is Tillman Kemper again and that the man on the left is probably one of his brothers, although it could be one of his sons.

Unknown Lady. This was obviously taken in the 1860s, but there’s no name.  My current theory (and it’s just that) is that she may be my g-g-g-grandmother Sarah E. Haydon Kemper.

Unknown Children.

Unknown Lady #2

Unknown Lady #3