Harris Kempner left Poland at age 16 and arrived in New York where he worked as a day laborer and studied English at night.

Harris traveled to Cold Springs, Texas, and first peddled goods to outlying farms and then opened a small general store; he continued to perfect his English, develop his business skills, and build a strong reputation for integrity and dependability.

After his service in the Confederate Army, Harris moved to Galveston, the commercial distributing center for all of Texas, and founded a mercantile enterprise.

He married Eliza Seinsheimer of Cincinnati and continued to expand his interests to include banking, farm and timber lands, and cotton.

The first of his eight surviving children was born.

Mr. Kempner’s early death left a widow with eight children, aged 1 to 21. The oldest, Isaac Herbert, took over responsibility for the family and the various commercial endeavors.

In succeeding years, the four sons (Isaac Herbert, Daniel Webster, Robert Lee and Stanley Eugene) joined together to expand the businesses their father began and develop others. Three of the daughters married (Hattie to Henry Oppenheimer of San Antonio; Sara to David Westheimer of Cincinnati; Fannie to Louis Adoue of Galveston). Gladys, the youngest, lived with her mother and joined in her numerous charitable activities.

Eliza died at the age of 97.

Now in its 8th generation, living descendants of Eliza and Harris Kempner number over 100 and range in age. They live in three different continents and all over the United States.