The next year, he moved west to rural San Jacinto County, Texas, where he earned a living as a peddler.
[2] While Kempner did not own enslaved persons, he never expressed any abolitionist sentiments and he even volunteered with the Ellis County Blues, a unit under the command of Parsons's 12th Texas Cavalry.
[3] After the war, Kempner returned to Cold Springs, San Jacinto County, Texas, where he resumed business as a merchant and expanded his market.
He operated that store until 1871, when he sold it to prepare for a move to Galveston, where his prospects were better for business growth, a social life, and a chance to live among other Jews.
Their wholesale trade grew so fast that they were able to build a larger store, pay off the mortgage for it early, and have access to a credit line of $100,000.
Kempner switched to Cincinnati vendors for his next business trip, where he proposed marriage to Seinsheimer, and they married March 6, 1872.