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Kempfer, Hannah Jensen "Johannah Josephine"

Sessions Served

Other Information

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

Birth Place: North Sea

Birth County:

Birth Country: England

Date of Death: 9/27/1943

Gender: Female

Religion:

Reported Minority: None Reported

Other Names: Johannah Josephine

Former Name: Johnson

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/Commissioner: Otter 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.

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Total Days Served: 6580

SESSIONS SERVED

52nd Legislative Session (1941-1942)

Session Details Convened Date: 1/7/1941

Body: House

District: 50

Elected: 11/5/1940

Residence: Erhard

Term of Office: 1/6/1941 to 1/3/1943
Oath Date: 1/7/1941

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

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51st Legislative Session (1939-1940)

Session Details Convened Date: 1/3/1939

Body: House

District: 50

Elected: 11/8/1938

Residence: Erhard

Term of Office: 1/2/1939 to 1/5/1941
Oath Date: 1/3/1939

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

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50th Legislative Session (1937-1938)

Session Details Convened Date: 1/5/1937

Body: House

District: 50

Elected: 11/3/1936

Residence: Erhard

Term of Office: 1/4/1937 to 1/1/1939
Oath Date: 1/5/1937

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

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49th Legislative Session (1935-1936)

Session Details Convened Date: 1/8/1935

Body: House

District: 50

Elected: 11/6/1934

Residence: Erhard

Term of Office: 1/7/1935 to 1/3/1937
Oath Date: 1/8/1935

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

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48th Legislative Session (1933-1934)

Session Details Convened Date: 1/3/1933

Body: House

District: 50

Elected: 11/8/1932

Residence: Erhard

Term of Office: 1/2/1933 to 1/6/1935
Oath Date: 1/3/1933

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

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46th Legislative Session (1929-1930)

Session Details Convened Date: 1/8/1929

Body: House

District: 50

Elected: 11/6/1928

Residence: Erhard

Term of Office: 1/7/1929 to 1/4/1931
Oath Date: 1/8/1929

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

Ran in next election? Yes. Defeated in general election

45th Legislative Session (1927-1928)

Session Details Convened Date: 1/4/1927

Body: House

District: 50

Elected: 11/2/1926

Residence: Erhard

Term of Office: 1/3/1927 to 1/6/1929
Oath Date: 1/4/1927

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

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44th Legislative Session (1925-1926)

Session Details Convened Date: 1/6/1925

Body: House

District: 50

Elected: 11/4/1924

Residence: Erhard

Term of Office: 1/5/1925 to 1/2/1927
Oath Date: 1/6/1925

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

43rd Legislative Session (1923-1924)

Session Details Convened Date: 1/2/1923

Body: House

District: 50

Elected: 11/7/1922

Residence: Erhard

Term of Office: 1/1/1923 to 1/4/1925
Oath Date: 1/2/1923

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

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OTHER INFORMATION

Articles & Books About

Hermes, Melissa. "Kempfer, Hannah Jensen (1880-1943)." MNopeida, August 20, 2020.
"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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