William Thornton Kemper Sr.
William Thornton Kemper Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Gallatin, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | January 19, 1938 (aged 70) |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, businessman |
| Known for | Expansion of Commerce Bancshares and United Missouri Bank; leadership in Kansas City financial institutions |
William Thornton Kemper Sr. (November 2, 1867 – January 19, 1938) was a prominent American banker and the leading figure of the Missouri Kemper family, instrumental in expanding Commerce Bancshares and United Missouri Bank into influential financial institutions across the Midwest.
Life and career
Born in Gallatin, Missouri to Sarah Ann Paxton and James Madison Kemper, Kemper experienced the loss of his mother in 1875. At seventeen, he relocated with his family to St. Joseph, Missouri. Although he did not finish high school, he entered the workforce at age fourteen in a shoe store in St. Joseph and later worked as a salesman for Noyes, Norman and Company, a shoe distribution business partly owned by his father.
In 1885, Kemper moved to Valley Falls, Kansas, where he launched a dry goods enterprise named "Evans & Kemper." Over the next eight years, he advanced his career in commercial banking while developing a personal relationship with Charlotte Crosby. Valley Falls was emerging as a commercial center due to the expansion of railroads such as the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe.
Kemper’s connection to the Crosby family intertwined both business and personal dimensions. His sales work involved A.D. Kendall’s dry-goods store, originally established by Charlotte’s father Rufus Henry Crosby—a notable Kansas civic leader and abolitionist who founded various ventures including a newspaper, dry-goods store, and bank.
By 1887, Kemper had joined Rufus Crosby’s Valley Falls Bank of Deposit as cashier while continuing other business activities. He married Charlotte Crosby in 1890 and became a bank partner in 1891. Following Rufus Crosby’s death that year, ownership transferred to A.D. Kendall and the institution was subsequently re-chartered as The Kendall State Bank.
Relocation to Kansas City
In 1893, Kemper and his wife moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Soon after arriving, he embarked on several business initiatives beginning with grain trading at the Kansas City Board of Trade. That same year, he founded the Kemper Grain Company, a merchant trading firm. By 1895, he joined forces with his uncle Thomas Paxton to acquire a department store in Topeka. In 1902, Kemper launched the Kemper Loan and Investment Company with broad authority to finance securities and real estate transactions. Two years later, partnering with his father James—who had also moved to Kansas City—they established the Kemper Mercantile Company, a mail-order catalog modeled after Sears and Montgomery Ward. In 1905, he invested in a grain elevator which became incorporated as the Kemper Mill and Elevator Company by 1908.
Throughout his career, Kemper held leadership positions within numerous civic and commercial organizations. He served as president of the Kansas City Board of Trade in 1900 and was the Democratic nominee for mayor of Kansas City in 1904. Additionally, he contributed as a member of the Police Commission and acted as treasurer for the Kansas City Commercial Club, an association dedicated to promoting economic development in Kansas City.
Banking
In 1906, Kemper assumed the presidency of Commerce Trust Company, newly chartered as an affiliate of the National Bank of Commerce. After National Bank of Commerce merged into Southwest National Bank of Commerce ("Southwest") in 1916, Kemper sold his interest in Commerce Trust for $740,000 and retired early in 1917. However, following W.S. Woods’ death later that year, Kemper returned as chairman of both institutions. In March 1921, National Bank of Commerce fully merged with Commerce Trust under the latter’s name. A year afterward, control was sold by Kemper and associates to Theodore Gary and Associates at $220 per share. By late 1932, Kemper and his son James reacquired control at $86 per share.
The banking tradition continued through Kemper's sons: R. Crosby Kemper became president of City Center Bank (acquired by Kemper in 1918), which later evolved into City National Bank and ultimately UMB Financial; he led until 1966 before passing leadership to his son R. Crosby Kemper Jr. Meanwhile, James M. Kemper joined Commerce Trust as treasurer in 1924 and led it from 1925 until 1964 when his son James Kemper Jr. succeeded him.
Additional Commercial Ventures: the Orient Railroad
In 1917, Kemper was designated as the receiver for the insolvent Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad, a rail line originally promoted by Arthur Stillwell to connect Kansas City with the Pacific port of Topolobampo, Mexico, though it was never fully realized. Kemper's appointment came during the railroad’s second restructuring effort following bankruptcy. The discovery of oil along its West Texas tracks in May 1923 offered new prospects. Nevertheless, by March 1924, the U.S. Government mandated the sale of the Orient at auction to recover unpaid debts. Kemper, alongside Clifford Histed, successfully acquired it for $3 million, matching the government’s outstanding loan balance. The final reorganization in August 1927 involved issuing noteholders 35,000 common shares valued at $71.60 each, totaling approximately $2.5 million. In 1928, Kemper and Histed proposed selling the Orient to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which responded with a bid of $414.50 per share, amounting to $12.4 million.
Political Engagements
Kemper’s professional path intersected with that of Harry S. Truman. Before losing his fortune, Truman’s father engaged in grain futures trading alongside Kemper. Kemper played a role in Truman’s early political experiences by securing him a position as a page at the 1900 Democratic National Convention held in Kansas City. Truman also gained work experience at the National Bank of Commerce between 1903 and 1905, where Kemper held a director role. During Truman’s initial Senate campaign in 1934, Kemper acquired assets from the defunct Continental National Bank—including the mortgage on Truman’s unsuccessful haberdashery—enabling Truman to settle it for $1,000 and also contributing an additional $1,000 toward his campaign efforts.
Personal Background
William Kemper and his wife Charlotte were parents to three sons: Rufus Crosby Kemper Sr. (1892–1972), James Madison Kemper Sr. (1894–1965), and William Thornton Kemper Jr. (1902–1989). From 1912 until his passing in 1938, they resided at 1007 Westover Road in Kansas City. He was laid to rest at Forest Hills Abbey within Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery. Notably, he is the great-great-grandfather of actress Ellie Kemper and writer Carrie Kemper.