Posted by Mary Bolich

This article is fourth in a series on Luxembourg Americans who have gone through the process of reclamation of Luxembourg nationality to become Luxembourg citizens. These dual citizens, who were assisted in their citizenship journey by Luxembourg Legacy, reflect the passion that new Luxembourgers in America have for all things Luxembourg.

Jim Stemper’s business card has a small #8 beneath his name signifying his placement—eighth and last—among his siblings. He is third generation of a family-owned church supply business and the fifth Stemper to oversee the company as president. But he was the first in the Stemper family to become a Luxembourg dual citizen.  

His Luxembourg heritage is rich and deep but Jim’s interest in his ancestry is fairly recent. 

“When my dad, who was an extremely talented artist, was courting my mom, he drew a picture of St. Patrick for her because she is Irish, but he gave it a Luxembourg twist. So, I was aware that he was Luxembourgish, but I didn’t have any interest in exploring either side of my ancestry until Kevin [Wester] asked me when I was going to become a citizen,” said Jim, whose two adult children also received their Luxembourg citizenship. His brother Dan, his four adult children and one grandchild later became dual citizens as well.

According to Jim, Kevin’s enthusiasm and extensive knowledge about the Stemper family inspired him to get in touch with his roots. Kevin took Jim on a little guided tour of Knellsville, just north of Port Washington, Wisconsin, where Jim’s great-grandfather Matthias Stemper owned a blacksmith shop on old Green Bay Road, once the major thoroughfare between Green Bay and Chicago. While most of the Luxembourgers in the area were farmers, Matthias was an entrepreneur. His son Thomas Henry (T.H.), Jim’s grandfather, was, too.

Mathias & Magdalena (Ries) Stemper Family (1908) on their 50th wedding anniversary. Front row, from left: Peter Stemper, Sister Mary Henrica Stemper, Mathias Stemper, Magdalena (Ries) Stemper, Father Henry Stemper. Back row, from left: Thomas H. Stemper, Anna (Stemper) Hosch, John Stemper, Katherine (Stemper) Schwartz

Building a Family Church Supply Legacy
T.H., who lived in Milwaukee, was a music teacher, organist and director of a small choral ensemble, which became the renowned Bel Canto Chorus. On Easter Sunday in 1931, this small ensemble, which included Stemper’s wife, Elsa (Van Asche) Stemper, and his nephew, William Hargarten, appeared at the chapel of St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee and performed Hans Gruber’s “Festival Mass,” the work that inspired the group’s original name, Festival Singers.

In 1911, T.H. purchased the bankrupt European Statuary & Art Company on Milwaukee’s southeast side from Simon Rosenblatt, who founded the company in 1849 as a manufacturer of plaster statuary and altars. T.H. resurrected the failed business thanks to the design skills of the local immigrant population.

“There were quite a few immigrants living here in Bay View, predominantly Italian, German and a smattering of Irish. T.H. walked across the street and said, ‘Who can paint? Who can plaster?’ He hired those skilled immigrant workers, along with non-immigrant employees, and brought European statuary and art back to life,” Jim said.  T.H. also hired sales reps to travel the country selling rosaries and other religious goods.

In 1913, T.H., who by all accounts was a very shrewd businessman, bought another bankrupt company, H.E. Schwartz Co, a religious goods store. He renamed it Milwaukee Church Supply and moved it to the Potter Street location. In 1946, he incorporated the two businesses under the T.H. Stemper Company, Inc. name. The company, which at one time employed more than 100 people, was flourishing, producing altars, stations of the cross, statuary and nativity sets.

Jim’s father Daniel assumed ownership of the company in 1968 and successfully steered it through marketplace changes driven by shifts within Christian denominations. With Vatican II, Catholic churches—T.H. Stemper’s largest customer—removed traditional furnishings (and didn’t purchase new ones) in a liturgical renewal to simplify and emphasize communal worship. Additionally, a fire at the Stemper building in 1970 destroyed the third-floor production plant and all the statuary molds. And in 1980, when Jim was 11, his father died at age 52 of a massive heart attack. 

Joining the Family Business
With no business experience, his mother Jean, now the single parent of eight, took over and kept the unstable business going through some challenging times. Eventually, most of the Stemper boys joined the business. Their father’s friends and associates in the industry helped the business get back on track. During this time, Jim was following his own path.

“I was a bricklayer and didn’t want to join the company. I did construction for 13 years, but I hurt my shoulder and was tired of it, so I came into the company in 2000 and began to work my way up.”

Jim started off working in the basement to become familiar with products and learn the shipping and receiving operations. Then, he hit the road as a candle salesman, a huge segment of the business, eventually breaking his own territory in Chicago. He was a salesman for about 20 years, then gave that up to assist with day-to-day business operations. When his brother Peter retired in 2022, Dan nominated Jim to take over and he was voted in.

“It’s been three and a half years and I’m still learning; I think I will be for quite a while, but I have great employees.” The fourth generation, Jim’s nephew, has joined the business.

Today, the 114-year-old T.H. Stemper Co. is one the largest religious goods store in the Midwest. The store in Bay View is brimming with myriad liturgical vestments and accessories, chalices, candlesticks, tabernacles, greeting cards, rosaries, statuary, art, crosses, books, bibles and gifts. Candles and communion wafers compromise a large portion of sales. In addition, the company has a mail-order catalog and offers restoration and engraving services and as well consignment sales of used church furnishings.  

We will always be a ‘talk-to-a-human being’ type of company. And if I can’t help you, I’ll find someone who can, even if it’s a competitor. My mantra is service, service, service.”

Jim Stemper

“I’m trying to maintain the integrity of the business,” Jim said. “What’s going to help this company survive is the level of service we offer. It’s the personal interaction with every customer—whether they are buying a $1 rosary or a $90,000 chalice, they’re going to get treated the same way. We will always be a ‘talk-to-a-human being’ type of company. And if I can’t help you, I’ll find someone who can, even if it’s a competitor. My mantra is service, service, service.”

Jim’s Luxembourg Ancestors
Matthias Stemper, who was born in 1834 in Wasserbillig, Luxembourg, immigrated to America in 1854 at age 20 and settled in Knellsville, Wisconsin. He married Magdalena Ries (born in Garnich, Luxembourg, in 1838) in Port Washington in 1858. Matthias, who died in Milwaukee in 1909 and Magdalena, who died in Milwaukee in 1927, are buried with other Luxembourgers in Sacred Heart Cemetery in St. Francis, Wisconsin.

Q&A

Did your family celebrate Luxembourgish heritage where you were growing up or was it something you discovered and explored later in life? 

With my dad dying at such a young age, I really only knew that I was Luxembourgish through my mom—who was 100 percent Irish. So, when Kevin approached me about getting my citizenship and was so enthusiastic, that’s when it really kicked in for me. I started researching. 

Why did you apply for dual citizenship and what does it mean to you?

My first thought was for my daughter who lives in New York City. She’s in PR marketing and I thought it might give her another feather in her cap and maybe she would have an easier time attending events at the [Luxembourg] embassy there. I don’t know—that was just my initial thought process, but when I looked at Luxembourg today and saw that the name Stemper is still there and still active, I knew that I wanted to learn more about my family and my ancestors—to have that tie to my family’s heritage. Having my dual citizenship gives me sense of grounding. 

Any plans to visit Luxembourg?

I want to get to Luxembourg and find where Mathias came from. And with their WWII history, me being a big history buff, I want to walk around and just take it all in. I’d like to find out as much as I can about Luxembourg and my heritage.

You obtained your citizenship through Article 7 with an all-male lineage to Luxembourg. Describe your experience working with Kevin and Rebecca in the dual citizenship process.

The excitement Kevin showed, with his prior knowledge of my family and the detail in which he knew about the Stemper family, was infectious. His willingness to invite my wife and me to Port Washington on a whim and show me where my family was from meant a lot. Kevin lit the fire and made the whole thing a lot of fun. 

Learn more about the T.H. Stemper Co.

Casting department (left) and plaster finishing room at T.H. Stemper Co.