Transportation and electric company official, Arthur L. Kempster (1872-1924), was born in Canfield, Illinois to Thomas L. and Martha M. (Hopkins) Kempster. In 1887, Kempster moved to King County, Washington. He started a job as an office boy in one of the early streetcar systems (later to become Seattle Consolidated Street Railway Company) in 1891. His position in the company rose as he advanced to the job of cashier and then to bookkeeper. In 1895, he was appointed as both auditor and secretary and remained in those positions until 1900. During that time the Seattle Consolidated Street Railway Company went out of business and was succeeded by the Seattle Traction Company, which then became part of the Seattle Electric Company. Kempster took the job of superintendent of transportation for the Seattle Electric Company in 1900 and remained there until 1911, when he was promoted to the position of general superintendent. In 1912, he became manager and was responsible for supervision of the street railways, the Diamond Ice & Storage Company of Seattle, a coal mine in Renton and the light and power furnished by both the company in Seattle and the water power plants in Electron, White River and Snoqualmie. In 1920, Kempster moved to New Orleans to head the New Orleans Railways and Light Company.
From the description of Arthur L. Kempster scrapbooks, 1897-1931. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 264761528
