The Kremers papers mainly consist of an accumulation of manuscripts from which he planned to write his memoirs. These files primarily cover his career prior to 1890, the year he completed his Ph.D. Files documenting his professional career as a teacher of pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin and as an active member of his profession are quite incomplete. Instead the primary documentation for that portion of his career is scattered within the Kremers Reference Collection held by the University Pharmacy Library.
The papers consist of correspondence, reminiscences, essays, memorabilia, photographs, clippings, and genealogical and biographical data and are divided into five sections: biographical material, Gerhard Kremers' papers, Edward Kremers' autobiographical reminiscences, correspondence, and subject files.
The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL contains articles from newspapers and journals about Kremers, a biographical sketch for Who's Who in American Education, and an obituary. It also contains a rough outline written in his own hand for ordering the papers.
GERHARD KREMERS' PAPERS contain an extensive reminiscence written in German script by Gerhard about the Kremers' settlement in 1848 on a farm near Manitowoc and their move to Milwaukee in 1855. Also included is an abridged English version of the reminiscence translated by Edward. Also present is a manuscript entitled “Die Reise,” which is a recollection through eight characters on religion and social history.
EDWARD KREMERS' AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL REMINISCENCES are by far the most complete section in the collection, retaining for the most part the order established by Kremers. They consist of very detailed reminiscences Kremers wrote during his retirement concerning facets of his life, friends, and associates. Unfortunately, he died before completing the project and many of the personalities listed in his outline in folder one do not appear in the collection. The draft autobiography covers Kremers' family history and his life up to 1890 and consists, in the main, of chronologically-ordered groups of subject files representing phases of Kremers' life as a child, student, and apprentice, as well as a section on the origins of the family name and other families to which he was related. Within each of these units the folders are alphabetically arranged. Some of the files contain original correspondence or related original material dating from the relevant period.
Kremers begins his writings with a discussion of the Kremers family name, a compilation of records concerning his family genealogy. These genealogy records and his “Wanderjahre” reminiscence in the Germany subject file provide essential background information for the Kremers collection. Picking up where his father left off, Edward Kremers begins his own memoirs by discussing his childhood in Milwaukee, his home on 4th Street, the Humboldt School, the Milwaukee River, and various athletic activities. He also continues the
discussion begun in his father's papers of the German Reformed Church with a history of the denominaton in Milwaukee coupled with reminiscences on three ministers. The Mission House files provide further information on the German Reformed Church through Kremers' descriptions of its theology, its educational curriculum, and his classmates. Kremers' first chemistry notes are also included.
In the apprenticeship files Kremers describes the Milwaukee apothecary in which he worked; he describes in detail the shop layout, the equipment used, and the Milwaukee residents who frequented the store. In the files on the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Kremers concentrates on his room and board, his classes, and pharmaceutical procedures at the college. In the assistantship files, during which Kremers worked at the Strohmeyer drugstore in Milwaukee, the significant documentation concerns the Wisconsin State Board of Pharmacy and the state quarterly licensing examination. The UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN files contain notes from Kremers' undergraduate classes, a register of course credits, letters from his classmates, papers concerning university organizations in which he took part (the Chemistry Club, the Natural History Club, and the Bildungs Verein), and a general reminiscence on his undergraduate days. There are also lengthy descriptions of university presidents Bascom, Chamberlain, and Van Hise; several professors; the community and campus buildings (especially North Hall), and the university's patron, Senator William Vilas.
In the files on his “Wanderjahre” in Germany (1889-90) Kremers discusses the people and places that he visited, especially the Cologne Cathedral and the Alps, and his relatives, the Schumachers and the Fuchs. The files also contain his chemistry notes, his dissertation, and correspondence with professors Wallach and Werner concerning family affairs and scientific activities.
The CORRESPONDENCE series is the main body of records in the collection concerning the period in which Kremers was a professor at the University of Wisconsin, spanning the period 1889 to 1941. Prior to 1900, the majority of the correspondence is written in German script and is of a very personal nature. This correspondence primarily concerns family matters, education, German political matters, and German-American social events. A large segment of the pre-1900 correspondence consists of letters exchanged between Edward Kremers and Laura Haase, who later became his wife. These letters concern Laura's teaching of German at the Humboldt School in Milwaukee, Kremers' teaching at the University of Wisconsin, their home life, and their political and social views. An English translation of their correspondence has been provided by their daughter Elsa. The post-1900 correspondence reveals more of Kremers' professional life. It concerns his guest lectures, his involvement with various pharmaceutical societies and journals, and national and local politics.
The final section of the Kremers Papers consists of alphabetically-arranged subject files collected, for the most part, by Kremers during his retirement years. This section consists of further reminiscences not included in his autobiographical plan, essays, and correspondence. Among the wide variety of topics covered are medicinal botany and gardening, community parks and state geography, pharmacy and chemical science, education, social reform, German heritage, post-retirement travel, awards, and the medicinal plants found in Wisconsin. The section also reveals Kremers' great concern for politics and foreign policy and his consistently pro-German biases in his correspondence with various members of the La Follette family and with The Nation magazine.
