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Our
Maternal
KERR
Family Ancestors |
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OUR KERR FAMILYAn Introduction
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The progenitor of our
branch of this Kerr family in America is believed to be our 7th great-grandfather
James Kerr, born around 1685 in either Scotland or Ireland. He probably came to America during the
first two decades of the 18th century. The Kerr family is initially found prior to 1722 in Donegal
Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. John and Malcolm Ker (Kerr) appear for
the first time on the 1724 Donegal assessment list. In 1735 John, James,
and David Kerr and other inhabitants of Chester and Lancaster counties signed
a petition for a road from John Harris' ferry to Edward Kennison plantation
in the Great (Shenandoah) Valley. Following this event the Kerr families
moved west along the “Philadelphia Wagon Road”
from Lancaster County to the area around present day Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. From here they moved
south into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The journey of
James and the Kerr family from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to Augusta County, Virginia
began around 1738 when the families pulled up stakes, loaded their horses
with family goods, and started south over the “Warrior’s Path” toward the
cheaper lands in Virginia. Crossing
the Potomac River by Williams’ or Watkins Ferry, near the later site of
Williamsport, they followed the narrow footpath along the Shenandoah
River. Past occasional clearings in
the forest of the Valley of Virginia, they came after many days’ journey to a
gap in an earlier trail, named Buffalo Gap.
There, seventeen miles southwest of the valley near a way station that
would eventually grow into the town of Staunton; they cleared land and began
to develop a farm. The Kerr’s settled at
a choice spot at the juncture of Christian's Creek, Long Meadow Run, and
Middle River. A log home built by the family was near the beginning point of
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survey made in 1736 for the Beverley Manor lands out of which all
settlers of the area obtained their titles. James Kerr was
among the first settlers of Beverley Manor whose title deeds are recorded in
Orange County. This area of Orange
County would become Augusta County in 1745.
This record states that James Kerr had a grant for 473 acres of land.
Maps of the northeastern section of Beverley's Manor show this tract on a
stream that appears to be called Meadows Run, which empties into Cathey's
River. The land is south of the bend in Cathey's River on which James Kerr's
son John settled. The Kerr surname
appears in records of the Augusta Stone Church, as
well as in the history of the Tinkling Springs Church. James Kerr took a leadership role in the
earliest records of the Tinkling Spring Church as noted by the fact that he
is among the subscribers to the 14 August 1741 petition to build a
Presbyterian meetinghouse at Tinkling Spring. During his years in
Augusta County James became quite active as a community leader. In 1745, he was made an overseer of the
road between the mountains above Thompson's ford and Tinkling Spring. In that
same year his name, along with son Andrew, was placed upon a list as one of
the original panel of magistrates for Augusta County. James died sometime early in 1770. James’ daughter, our 6th
great-grandmother, Letticia was born 1723 in Pennsylvania. In 1748 she married William Robertson, son of James Robertson, both of
Beverly Manor in Augusta County.
Letticia bore at least twelve children one of which was Elizabeth Robertson, our 5th
great-grandmother. Letticia lived the
remainder of her days in Augusta county where she passed away in the middle
of her 49th year. |
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KERR
Origins Of The Surname
Kerr is an English and Scottish topographic
name for someone who lived by a patch of wet ground overgrown with
brushwood. It originates from
northern Middle English kerr (Old Norse kjarr). A legend grew up that the Kerrs were left-handed,
on theory that the name is derived from Gaelic cearr ‘wrong-handed’,
‘left-handed’. Carr is an Irish variant of Kerr. The surname found in Ulster Province (Northern Ireland) is an
Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Carra ‘descendant of Carra’, a byname
meaning ‘spear’. The traditional
Irish surname is an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Giolla Chathair, a Donegal
name meaning ‘son of the servant of Cathair’.(1) First found in
Lancashire where they were seated from very early times and were granted lands
by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished
assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its
variants were: William Ker, who settled in New Hampshire in 1718; David Kerr
arrived in Jamaica in 1775; John Carr settled in Virginia in 1716; Alexander,
Andrew, Edward, Frank, Henry, Horace, Hugh, James, John, Joseph, Mathew,
Robert, Samuel, Thomas and William Kerr, all arrived in Philadelphia between
1800 and 1860.(2) (1)
Dictionary of American
Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 Family Facts (Ancestry.com) |
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KERR
Variations of the Surname
The
complexity of researching records is compounded by the fact that in many
cases an ancestors surname may have been misspelled. This is especially true when searching
census documents. Spelling
variations of this family name include: Kerr, Car, Carr, Ker, Cearr (Gaelic)
and many more.
The
Soundex system was developed in an effort to assist with identifying spelling
variations for a given surname. Soundex is a method of indexing names in the
1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 US Census, and can aid genealogists in their
research. The Soundex Code for Kerr is K600. Other
surnames sharing this code are : KARR | KEAR | KEHR | KERR | KOHR |
Source: Surname Resources at ROOTSWEB |
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KERR
Family Name Index
Additional information
about our DIRECT ANCESTORS and their
families may be reviewed by clicking on the name LINK(s)
below. |
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NAME |
BIRTH / DEATH /
LOCATIONS |
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b: c. 1685 in Scotland or
Ireland d: 1770 in Augusta County,
Virginia |
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b: 7 JAN
1723/24 in Donegal Twp., Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania d: 15 JUL 1773
in Staunton, Augusta Co., Virginia |
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The following LINK will take you to a complete
listing of individuals with this surname. |
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KERR
Family Location
Information
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Researching the
locations where our ancestors lived has provided us with valuable evidence
needed to fill-in the gaps in our family trees. It has also led us to many interesting facts that enhance the
overall picture of each family group.
The names of states and counties on the following list were derived
from the known places where the persons listed in the Name Index where born,
married, and died. |
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COUNTRY
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STATE |
COUNTY
/ SUBDIVISION |
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UNITED KINGDOM |
SCOTLAND or N. IRELAND |
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UNITED STATES |
PENNSYLVANIA |
Lancaster County |
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VIRGINIA |
Augusta County |
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Use this LINK to find out more about the locations listed
above. |
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KERR
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The documents
contained herein have been located during our research of this family, and
used as evidence to prove many of the facts contained within
the database of this family’s record. Most of these documents
can be considered as primary or secondary.
Primary evidence is usually defined as the best
available to prove the fact in question, usually in an original document or
record. Secondary evidence
is in essence all that evidence which is inferior in its origin to primary
evidence. That does not mean secondary evidence is always in error, but there
is a greater chance of error.
Examples of this type of evidence would be a copy of an original
record, or oral testimony of a record’s contents. Published genealogies and family histories are also secondary
evidence. Classifying evidence as either
primary or secondary does not tell anything about its accuracy or ultimate
value. This is especially true of
secondary evidence. Thus it is always
a good idea to ask the following questions: (1) How far removed from the
original is it, (when it is a copy)?;
(2) What was the reason for the creation of the source which contains
this evidence?; and (3) Who was responsible for creating this secondary
evidence and what interest did they have in its accuracy? SOURCE: Greenwood, Val D., The Researcher’s Guide
to American Genealogy, 2nd edition, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD 21202, 1990, pgs. 62-63 You
are welcome to download any of the documents contained within this
archive. Should you encounter a
problem obtaining a copy you may get in touch with us via the contact
information found at the end of this page. |
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Use the following LINK to view the source documents
pertaining to this family. |
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KERR
Family Information
Websites
The following are websites
that may provide you with additional information to assist with your research
about persons with this surname Surname Finder | Free Ancestry Search Resource |
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Getting Started
Kerr genealogy at RootsWeb
Family Surname History
Search all databases at Genealogy
Today for Kerr Research Tools
1790-1930
census search for Kerr ($) RootsWeb
search of US Naturalization Records Genealogy Sites for Kerr Family
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Genindx WWW links to Kerr data
Kerr Mailing List at RootsWeb
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Additional Sites That We Recommend |
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·
Linkpendium Surnames - Web
sites, obituaries, biographies, and other material specific to a surname. ·
Cyndi's List - Surnames, Family
Associations & Family Newsletters Index - Sites or resources dedicated
to specific, individual family surnames. ·
Free Genealogy Search Help for Google
- This free genealogy site will help you use
Google™ for your research. It will create a series of different searches
using tips or "tricks" that will likely improve your results. The
different searches will give you many different ways of using Google to find
ancestry information on the Internet. ·
FamilySearch.org - Family History and
Genealogy Records - The largest collection of free
family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world. ·
Top
Genealogical Websites - These mighty roots resources
compiled by “Family Tree Magazine”, will give you the power to bust through
research brick walls and find answers about your ancestors—all from your home
computer. |
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KERR
Family Images Gallery
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During our
research we have collected and images and photographs that are of general
interest to a particular family. Some
of them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide
the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of
our ancestors past lives. If
you have any photographs or other images relating to this ancestral family we
would greatly appreciate hearing from you. |
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Use
the following LINKS to ascertain whether we have any images that pertain to
this family. |
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Contact Information
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Pony
Express: Tom |
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Snail mail: Fred
USA |
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