Originally from Walnut Hills, Reuben Kemper and his older brother, Stephen, relocated to the village of St. Bernard, where they engaged in farming. According to the 1869 Millcreek Valley map, their parcels of land were adjacent to one another. At one time a log cabin was located on Reuben’s property.
Stephen died of typhoid pneumonia on 31 January 1883, at age 72. He, Reuben, their parents and other Kemper family members are buried at Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati.
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Kay Heller Phillips
Following Reuben’s death in 1868, his property was sold to the cemetery association and became the present St. Mary’s Cemetery. In the 1880’s when land was being developed into residential areas, Stephen’s property was subdivided and platted using names of American patriots: Jefferson, Jackson, Washington, McClelland and Cleveland. Beecher Avenue, later renamed Greenlee, was also included.
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Source: Fifty Years of Progress 1878 St. Bernard, Ohio 1928, p. 52; St. Bernard, Ohio 1878-1978, p. 156; Sons of the American Revolution Membership Appliations, 1889-1970 from http://www.ancestry.com ; Spring Grove Cemetery Death Records; Map of Millcreek Valley, 1869 from http://www.ancestry.com; St. Bernard Map from Facebook posting at Digging Cincinnati History (no date) .