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Kempfer, Hannah Jensen "Johannah Josephine"

Sessions Served  red ball graphic  Other Information

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Map of Erhard
Erhard, MN

House 1923-30 (District 50); House 1933-42 (District 50)

Party when first elected:  Nonpartisan Election-Independent

Counties Served:  Otter Tail

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Date of Birth: 12/22/1880 Date of Death: 09/27/1943
Birth Place: North Sea Birth County:  Birth Country: England
Other Names: Johannah Josephine Former Name: Johnson
Gender:  Female Religion:  Not Reported
City of Residence (when first elected):  Erhard

Occupation (when first elected):  Farmer/Former School Teacher, Friberg Township Country School, 10 Years

EDUCATION

Fergus Falls High School; Secondary;
Park Region Luther College, Fergus Falls; Attended College;
Teaching certificate;

OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE

County Board/CommissionerOtter Tail County, Minnesota (County Fair Association, Director) ??/??/19?? to ??/??/19??

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Spouse: Charles "Chas."/"Charlie" Taylor Kempfer (married in 1903)
Children: No children: (served as foster parents to eleven orphaned boys and girls)
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:

GENERAL NOTES

She was one of the first four women to serve in the Minnesota Legislature. The others were: Sue Metzger Dickey Hough, Myrtle Cain, and Mabeth Hurd Paige. All four were elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives.

She was born at sea, to an unmarried stewardess and a sailor, under the English flag. She was left at an orphanage in Stavanger, Norway. She was adopted by Mr. And Mrs. Ole Jensen of Stavanger, Norway in March 1881. She came to Adams, Mower County, Minnesota in 1886 and moved to Otter Tail County, Minnesota in 1889.

She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)

On January 28, 1925 she was appointed honoray speaker for the day, making her the first female to serve in this role in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

She died in the hospital at Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Legislative Session: 52nd (1941-1942)   Session Details term photo
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Body: House Elected: 11/5/1940 Term of Office: 1/7/1941 to 1/4/1943
District: 50 Residence: Erhard
Counties Represented: Otter Tail
Occupation: Farm Owner and Operator
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Independent Party Notes: She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
Committees:
Civil Administration
Game and Fish
Public Domain
State Institutions (Chair)
Towns and Counties
Legislative Session: 51st (1939-1940)   Session Details
Body: House Elected: 11/8/1938 Term of Office: 1/3/1939 to 1/6/1941
District: 50 Residence: Erhard
Counties Represented: Otter Tail
Occupation: Farm Owner and Operator
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Independent Party Notes: She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
Committees:
Board of Control (Chair)
Civil Administration
Game and Fish
Public Highways
Reforestation
Legislative Session: 50th (1937-1938)   Session Details
Body: House Elected: 11/3/1936 Term of Office: 1/5/1937 to 1/2/1939
District: 50 Residence: Erhard
Counties Represented: Otter Tail
Occupation: Farm Owner and Operator
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Independent Party Notes: She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
Committees:
Board of Control and State Institutions
Drainage
Game and Fish
Public Welfare and Social Legislation
Soldiers Home, State Bonus and Ex-Service Men
State Development and Immigration
State Parks
Legislative Session: 49th (1935-1936)   Session Details term photo
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Body: House Elected: 11/6/1934 Term of Office: 1/8/1935 to 1/4/1937
District: 50 Residence: Erhard
Counties Represented: Otter Tail
Occupation: Farm Owner and Operator
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Independent Party Notes: She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
Committees:
Appropriations
Emergency Relief
Game and Fish
Markets and Marketing
Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Tax Laws
Public Health and Hospitals (Chair)
Public Welfare
Legislative Session: 48th (1933-1934)   Session Details
Body: House Elected: 11/8/1932 Term of Office: 1/3/1933 to 1/7/1935
District: 50 Residence: Erhard
Counties Represented: Otter Tail
Occupation: Farm Owner and Operator
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Independent Party Notes: She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
Committees:
Game and Fish
Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Tax Laws
Public Health and Hospitals
Public Welfare and Social Legislation
Towns and Counties
University and State Schools
Legislative Session: 46th (1929-1930)   Session Details
Body: House Elected: 11/6/1928 Term of Office: 1/8/1929 to 1/5/1931
District: 50 Residence: Erhard
Counties Represented: Otter Tail
Occupation: Farmer/Former School Teacher, 10 years
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Independent Party Notes: She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
Committees:
Appropriations
Civil Administration
Game and Fish
Public Health and Hospitals
Public Welfare and Social Legislation
University and State Schools
Legislative Session: 45th (1927-1928)   Session Details
Body: House Elected: 11/2/1926 Term of Office: 1/4/1927 to 1/7/1929
District: 50 Residence: Erhard
Counties Represented: Otter Tail
Occupation: Farmer/Former School Teacher, 10 years
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Independent Party Notes: She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
Committees:
Appropriations
Civil Administration
Game and Fish (Chair)
Public Buildings
Public Health and Hospitals
Public Welfare and Social Legislation
Legislative Session: 44th (1925-1926)   Session Details
Body: House Elected: 11/4/1924 Term of Office: 1/6/1925 to 1/3/1927
District: 50 Residence: Erhard
Counties Represented: Otter Tail
Occupation: Farmer/Former School Teacher, 10 years
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Independent Party Notes: She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
Committees:
Commerce, Manufacture and Retail Trade
Game and Fish
Public Health and Hospitals
Public Welfare and Social Legislation
Reapportionment
State and County Fairs
Legislative Session: 43rd (1923-1924)   Session Details term photo
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Body: House Elected: 11/7/1922 Term of Office: 1/2/1923 to 1/5/1925
District: 50 Residence: Erhard
Counties Represented: Otter Tail
Occupation: Farmer/Former School Teacher, Friberg Township Country School, 10 Years
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Independent Party Notes: She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
Committees:
Education
Game and Fish
Markets and Marketing
Public Health and Hospitals
Public Welfare and Social Legislation
State and County Fairs

OTHER INFORMATION

Articles & Books About
"An Early Model of Independent Politics." Session Weekly, St. Paul: Minnesota House of Representatives Information Office, April 9, 1999, p. 4, 23.

Stuhler, Barbara and Gretchen Kreuter. "Women Legislators: Hannah Kempfer." Women of Minnesota: Selected Biographical Essays, St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1998, p. 257-262.

"The First Woman House Speaker (for a Day)." Session Weekly, St. Paul: Minnesota House of Representatives Information Office, January 10, 1992, p. 10.

Kohlmeyer, Marty. "1st Woman Speaker Came From Erhard." Fergus Falls Daily Journal, January 8, 1992.

Walkup, Pat. "County Had One of First Women Legislators." Fergus Falls Daily Journal, April 22, 1976, p. 5.

"Mrs. Hannah J. Kempfer, Veteran Minnesota Legislator, Dies at 63 (Obituary)." Minneapolis Star Journal, September 27, 1943, p. 1.

"Mrs. Hannah Kempfer Dies After Long Illness (Obituary)." Fergus Falls Daily Journal, September 27, 1943, p. 1, 3.

Paige, Mabeth. "Hannah Kempfer's Legislative Career."


Archive Collections
An Evening with the Lady from Otter Tail, 1978 August - Available in the Minnesota Historical Society's Collections.
Hannah J. Kempfer Papers, 1907-1966 - Available in the Minnesota Historical Society's Collections.


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