Kerfoot, Kearfott and Allied Families in America
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KERFOOT, KEARFOTT AND ALLIED FAMILIES IN AMERICA COMPILED AND EDITED BY ROBERT R. KEARFOTT Illustrated with many Photographs and Genealogical Charts and with Drawings hy the Author PRIVATELY PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY 194'8 "Haec olim meminisse juvabit .. " If dedication be deemed necessary, the~ with affectionate remembrance of our parents, let this little book be dedicated to the genera tions of the future. We of the pre$ent are the living link between what has been and u,hat is to be. In these times of rapid change and social upheaval, it is ivell to cherish this reassuring sense of con tinuity. Let none be heedkss of the story of his f orebears,-for, as in the familiar La.tin verse quoted above, '~Someday he will be gl,a,d to have remembered these things. • " In Acknowledgment Perhaps this little volume would never have reached its present, even if incomplete, form had it not been for the pioneering research in the family history made by the writer's mother, Mrs. C. P. Kearfott, of Martinsville, Va., and by Dr. Eugene B. Jackson, of Harrisonburg, Va. After reading the papers written by his mother and those from the pen of Dr. Jackson the editor of this record found himself consumed by a desire to know more of the story of his ancestors. Evidently others of the family had been moved by a similar curiosity for the editor found to his surprise that several attempts had been made in different parts of the country to compile a family record only to be abandoned after the difficulties of such a project became apparent. Most of the material thus collected was generously placed at the writer's disposal for which he is very grateful. Among those who have made this work possible, par ticular mention should be made of Mr. Alfred Kerfoot, of Berryville, Va., Mrs. Harry B. Stone, of Roanoke, Va., and Dr. Eugene B. Jackson of Harrisonburg, Va., whose sugges tions, financial help and encouragement have been invaluable. Dr. Jackson has been particularly helpful in contributing much genealogical material and many sketches of the lives here set down. Others to w horn the editor's thanks are due in very great measure are: Mr. ..t\rthur Sterling Kerfoot, of Lemon Grove, Calif., Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Guy, of Winnipeg, Can., Mr. William Franklin Kerfoot, of Oklahoma City, Miss E. Adele Affleck, of Winchester, Va., Mrs. Evaline Kittleman, of Den ver, Colo., Mr. Harry E. Kearfott, of Normal, Ill., Mrs. Mar garet Mason, of Highland Park, Ill. To the many others, also, of this wide spread clan who have helped gather and piece ... 111 together the fragments of the history of a very typical Ameri can family, the editor expresses his grateful thanks. More than a perfunctory. salute should also be made to the memory of the late Mr. R. E. Griffith, of Winchester, Va., whose painstaking and exhaustive search of the Frederick County archives and other Virginia records proved of inesti mable value. Docum·entary proof was thus obtained for many family traditions and a reconstru.ction of the early days of the Kerfoots in the Shenandoah Valley was a possibility. · · It has been the constant .concern of the writer .to keep this record as accurate as poss~ble, even at the cost of. many picturesque legends which time and repetition may hav!! glossed with the similitude of fact. Of such was the "baronial f~mily of Kerfutte, of Dense Manor, Scotland" scions of which were reputed to have settled in Norfolk, Va., around 1645. The writer went to the greatest pains to find verification of this legend. The Norfolk records of that and subsequent periods were searche1 in vain for mention of the name. Also, in reply to an inquiry, the Edinburgh Register House informed the writer that the name, in any of its forms, was unknown to them. Since this institution is the official repository of Scottish genea logical information it would appear that this tradition is sum marily disposed of. Actually, nothing has been set down in the pages but what is a matter of public record or gleaned from accepted sources of information such as church minutes, gravestones, family correspondence and family Bibles. Among the latter available to the writer were the family Bible of John Kerfoot, of "Providence" the Bible of William Kearfott, III., and the Alexander family Bible. From such trustworthy sources, then, from legal docu ments and from research in state archives and colonial records has the material for the early part of this family history been gathered. For the rest, the writer has relied upon information . 1V sent him in the course of many years of correspondence with members of the family in all parts of the country. In the early days of the family in Virginia throughout several generations so many marriages occurred between Ker foots and descendants of allied families that it has seemed necessary to append short genealogies of some of the latter. Notably was this true of the Sowers family and of the Alex anders and Carrs of northern Virginia. Without doubt there will be found large and serious voids in this family chronicle. Descendants of many lines of the family thriving in the country but unknown to the editor may be disappointed not to find themselves recorded herein. Also, in cases where contact has been made and the space devoted to certain families seems inadequate, it must be remembered that ardent pleas for more detailed information all too often went unrewarded. Naturally we were able to work only with material available to us. In a work of this nature, errors, both of omission and commission, are to some extent inevitable. Those of us who have labored on its compilation have been as conscientious as it lay within us to be. We feel that we have done our best. We place the result in your hands without further apologies. Yet, with all its shortcomings, if this little_ book enables present and future generations of Kerfoots and Kearfotts to find their ancestral background less of a mystery to them than did the editor only a few years ago, then he will feel that his labors have been justified. MAMARONECK, N. Y. ROBERT R. KEARFOTT JUNF 1948 V TABLE OF CONTENTS By Way of Acknowledgment . w... Concerning the Name and Origin of the Family •.......•............. 1 William Kerfoott of White Post, Va. and Descendants of his son, George Ker£ oot .......................... 15 Descendants of his son, William Kearfott •...•••................ 85 . Descendants of his son, Samuel Kerfoot ..•...•.................. 131 Richard Kerfoot of Lancaster, Pa. and Descendants •..•....•......... 141 George Kerfoot of Canada and Descendants •.•...••......••..•...... 151 William Kerfoott, Chart I ....................•................... 22-23 Joh.n Kerfoot, Ch.art II .......................•.................. fx:>-67 John Kerfoot, Chart III .......................•........•......... 70-71 John Kerfoot, Oiart IV .......................•.................. 74-75 William G. Kerfoot, Chart V ...................•.................. 78-79 William Kearfott, III, Chart VI ................................ 116-117 William Kear£ ott, III, Chart VII ...............•................ 122-123 John Pierceall Kearfott, Chart VIII ............•................ 126-127 Sowers, Chart IX ................................................ 82-83 Samuel Kerfoot, Chart X ....................................... 138-139 Richard Ker£ oot, Chart XI ..................................... 14,8-149 George Kerfoot, Chart XII ..................................... 156-157 Index .............................................................. 159 .. Vll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Facing Page Page Pioneer Home of William Kerfoott ........................ 19 John Brady and Elizabeth Ker£ oot Brady ................... 26 Providence ................................................ .:,v"'" John Ker£ oot of "Providence" ............................ 30 George Louthan Kerfoot, Mrs. George L. Kerfoot .......... 31 Red Gate ................................................. 33 Da.niel Sowers Ker£ oot ........................•............ 36 Mon'tIIlorencie ............................................. 37 Maria Carr Ker£ oot ....................................... 37 Eugene B. Jackson, D.D. .................................. 40 Poplar Hill ............................................... 51 William Duncan Kerfoot and Daniel Henry Kerfoot ....... 52 Llewellyn ................................................. 56 Dr. Franklin James Kerfoot ............................... S6 Dr. Henry Dodge Kerfoot ................................. 56 Alfred Moss Kerfoot ..................................... 56 Llewellyn today ...........................................• 56 Franklin Howard Kerfoot, D.D. .......................... 6o Branch Price Kerfoot ..................................... 6o William Turner Ker£ oot .................................. 6o Woodley ............................................ • • •.. • • 65 Arthur Sterling Kerfoot and Mrs. Kerfoot ................. 72 Thomas W. Kerfoot ...................................... 76 Fancy Hill ................................................ 90 John Pierceall Kear£ ott ................................... 90 Robert William Kear£ ott .................................. 94 Mrs. Frederic B. DuVal ................................... 95 Mrs. Robert D. Guy ................•....................... 100 Paul G. Du Val ........................................... IOI William Dunham Kearf ott ................................. 104 Joseph Baker Kear£ ott .................................... 105 Lover's Retreat