Kemmer Family Photograph collection

Collection

Identifier: MS-1197

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The photographic collection of the Kemmer Family of Northwest, Ohio consists of approximately 1 linear foot of family photo albums, loose pictures, and postcards with a few related printed items.

Dates

Creation: 1890-1964

Extent

1.60 Cubic Feet (2 legal size archives boxes and 2 flat boxes)

Creator

Kemmer family (Family)

Scope and Contents

The Kemmer Family Photograph collection consists primarily of photographs, both in albums and loose, as well as some negatives and a few printed items.

Photographs taken during the 1920s and early 1930s by Raymond Kemmer are represented by the smaller loose 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch prints and those in the three albums. The majority of images, both in the albums and loose items are clearly identified, representing many locations around Northwest Ohio, but primarily centered on Toledo, Ohio. Notable among the images in the loose images and three albums are photos taken of the Maumee River in winter with ice floes, a Ku Klux Klan rally in 1927, street scenes around Toledo, Put-in-Bay, and at and around the Pinkerton Tobacco Company, where Raymond worked, including photos taken of baseball at Swayne Field, which was next to Pinkerton. He took other photos around Ontario at historic sites, and a few taken at the Indianapolis Raceway and Chicago during the 1934 World’s Fair.

Warren R. Kemmer’s photos from the 1950s and 1960s are primarily the 3 1/2 x 5 inch prints in the collection. Also meticulously identified on the verso, the subjects range from vacation trips around Ohio, the Great Lakes region, Ontario, and Kentucky. Historic sites and markers are a particularly frequent subject, as are views of the area around Mackinac and the fort there, Kentucky, particularly sites associated with Lincoln, and Ohio prehistoric sites including Serpent Mound . There is also a series of photos showing the progress of construction in 1949-1950 on the school of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, in Grand Rapids where Kemmer lived.

Of note in the older photos in the collection are one of a shoe repair shop exterior in Toledo around 1925 and also an Ayersville, Ohio stave or lumber mill. Neither of these photos can be positively attributed to one of the Kemmer family

Biographical / Historical

The Kemmer family collection centers primarily on photographs taken by Raymond Kemmer, the great uncle of the donor, David A. Kemmer, but also includes material related to his father, Warren Robert Kemmer and uncle Richard Kemmer.

Raymond was born April 15, 1896 in Hamler Ohio, son of Adam F. and Permelia Bordner Kemmer. He went to Defiance College and taught school in Defiance, Ohio in his early years. He then served in World War I in the Chemical Warfare Service, being honorably discharged Dec 20, 1918. For many years during the 1920s Raymond lived in Toledo, Ohio while working as a chemist at Pinkerton Tobacco Company. He was an avid amateur photographer and took advantage of his surroundings to document things around the city. Most of the small size prints and all three albums were his work. He left Toledo sometime in the late 1920s since in both the 1930 and 1940 census he was listed as living in Holgate, with his mother, and his 1942 World War 2 draft card it also indicated he was working for Crimson Coach Tobacco Co. in Holgate. He never married and died June 27, 1969.

Raymond’s brother William Howard Kemmer was born 16 April 1888. Married to Florence Baumberger on March 27, 1916, they had a family including Warren Robert and Richard Kemmer. William died on March 26, 1971 and Florence died March 20, 1981.

Warren Robert Kemmer was born Feb 10, 1927. Working as a commercial photographer most of his life, many of the photographs in the collection taken during the 1950s and 1960s are probably his work. He lived in the Grand Rapids, Ohio area. With an interest in local history, a lot of the vacation photos taken by Warren include sites around the Midwest and Great Lakes with historic markers, reconstructions, and historical societies. Married to Joanne Wittes, they had children David A. (donor of this collection) and Denise. Warren died on June 5, 2013

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions exist on the use of this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.