Theresa Kempker was was born on October 10, 1859 in Lee County, Iowa. She is Walt’s great grandmother.

Theresa was born to John and Catherine Fullenkamp Kempker near West Point, Iowa. She was the 5th of at least 5 children born to the family. The Kempkers were merchants. Their oldest 2 children were born in Ohio. Sometime between 1854 and 1856, they moved to Iowa. I wrote about their store in this post. The 1860 census has her as 8 months old.

By the 1870 census, Theresa was 10. The family had an older couple, William and Anna Holencamp living with them, acting as laborer and housekeeper. By 1880, there are two nieces living with the family, one of whom is listed as Anna Hollecamp. I wonder if there is a relationship between the older couple and this Anna. The other niece is Mary Foster. I will have to do some more searching on them.

Image of Theresa Kempker. Image shows a young woman in a dark colored dress with a ruffled collar. She wears an elaborate pin and earrings.
Theresa Kempker Link, late 1800s

Theresa Kempker married Isadore link on April 17, 1882 at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in West Point. When I looked up their marriage record, it took a bit of searching. The transcription had many of the “r”s as “n”s and there were numerous spelling variations. So Theresa was listed in the transcription as Theresa Kempken and Isadore was spelled Isidor Link.

Theresa and Isadore were farmers in the West Point area. I wrote about them in this post. They had 9 children together. Theresa Kempker Link died on March 21, 1913 in West Point. She and Isadore are buried in Calvary Cemetery there.

I have found Theresa’s name spelled as Teresa, Teresia and Theresia. I would be interested to know which was the spelling she used. Her headstone has Theresia.