Louis Wiltz Kemp

(September 4, 1881 – November 15, 1956) A native of Cameron, Texas, Lou Kemp had a long career as an asphalt salesman and executive of the Texas Company (Texaco), but his passionate avocation, starting in 1920, was historical research. During the extensive travel required by his work, Kemp investigated and documented the facts of early Texas history in great detail. Upon discovering that the graves of many notable Texans were unmarked or neglected, he arranged for the reinterment of more than 100 Texas heroes and statesmen in the Texas State Cemetery, where the roads were dedicated to Kemp in 1932. Kemp became a Texas history expert, a tireless speaker, and a prolific writer of books, articles and biographies (notably The Heroes of San Jacinto and The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence). He was president of the Texas State Historical Association and an original member of the Texas State Historical Survey Committee (now Texas Historical Commission). He chaired the Advisory Board of Texas Historians for the 1936 Texas Centennial, directing placement of more than 1,100 markers, monuments, and buildings across Texas. An organizing trustee and long-time president of the San Jacinto Museum of History Association, he was instrumental in creating the San Jacinto Museum and Monument, on which is carved Kemp's summary of the Battle of San Jacinto. Kemp married Violet Volz in 1925, and they had three sons. He lived at 214 Westmoreland Avenue in Houston from 1919 until his death, amassing an extensive collection of books and records on Texas History. Kemp is buried in the Texas State Cemetery. Governor Price Daniel wrote, "Louis Wiltz Kemp ranks with the immortals of Texas history. To my knowledge, no other person did more during his lifetime to preserve the great heritage of Texas." (2013)