Reverend Joseph Kraemer Papers
Scope and Contents
The collection amounts to 2.0 cubic feet and is composed of handwritten sermons both in pencil and ink on notebook paper, articles and correspondence about Reverend Kraemer’s death, in addition to photographs. The short articles provide some information on Reverend Kraemer. Some of the material in this collection is in Latin and Greek.
His sermons were on a variety of topics related to either the church, history, or other subjects such as qualities of faith, Latin proverbs, the Last Judgment, signs of the end of the world, conversion, sacraments, and hymns. The scrapbook is a compilation of newspaper articles about contemporary topics of the time period that Reverend Kraemer found interesting.
Dates
- Creation: 1900-1912
Creator
- Kraemer, Joseph, 1846-1912 (Person)
Biographical / Historical
Reverend Joseph Kraemer (1846 –1912) was born in Germany and came to Michigan sometime in the 1870s. He graduated from the American College of Louvain in Belgium and became ordained as a priest at the Cathedral of Milan in 1869. During his time in Kalamazoo, Michigan he was an assistant to Monsignor Francis O’Brien at St. Augustine’s Church from 1901 until his death. In 1912 Reverend Kraemer went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and died at sea on May 24, 1912 on his return from the journey. He is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kalamazoo.
Full Extent
2.0 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection is composed of Reverend Joseph Kraemer’s sermons, writings, in addition to a scrapbook collected during his time at St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan beginning in 1900 until 1912.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was a part of the Congregation of St. Joseph Collection (A-4152). In 2025 the decision was made by their archivist, Lisa Gibbon to take it out of the larger Congregation of St. Joseph Collection and transfer ownership to the Regional History Collection.
Physical Description
The collection amounts to 2.0 cubic feet and is in fairly good condition except for the scrapbook. The handwritten and typed material in the first two boxes is yellowing but legible. The scrapbook is separating from its binding, and has water damage, yellowing pages, and tearing.
Subject
- Catholic Church--Clergy (Organization)
- Saint Augustine's Church (Kalamazoo, Mich.) (Organization)
- Title
- Reverend Joseph Kraemer Papers Finding Aid
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Katie Burrell, Lynn Houghton, Mallory Heslinger
- Date
- 2025-09-02
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490
arch-collect@wmich.edu