98. Documentation for Samuel Kerr/Carr Senior (06 August 1778 to 23 September 1823) father of Nancy Kerr/Carr (1809 to After 1838 and Before 31 May 1840) [Note: See Appendix A for a discussion of the dual spelling, i.e. Kerr/Carr, of the last name or surname of this family.] [See the article by Curtis Lynn Older entitled, "John Kerr, Founder of Kerrstown and Soldier in the American Revolution", A Journal of Franklin County History, Volume XXVIII, 2016, published by the Franklin County Historical Society - Kittochtinny (Pennsylvania).] Samuel Kerr was born in 1778 in Kerrstown (Chambersburg), Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.(1) He was the son of John Kerr and Mary Dougherty.(2) John and Mary were married 16 September 1765 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.(3) John Kerr was born in 1745 and died 2 October 1807 in Guilford Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.(4) Mary Dougherty was born in 1747 in Peters Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and died in 1815 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.(5) The family name is correctly spelled Kerr but is often found to be written as Carr, perhaps because the family pronounced the name using an “a” instead of an “e”. The will of John Kerr, probated 21 October 1807 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, bequeathed the following:(6) Son Joseph 400 pounds. Daughter Sarah 400 pounds Daughter Jean 400 pounds Son James 1 Spanish minted dollar. Son John 400 pounds Son Samuel Interest only from 400 pounds Daughter Mary 500 pounds for rest of her life Samuel Kerr married Nancy Guin (perhaps Gwyn) in Pennsylvania in 1799 according to Virginia Shannon Fendrick in her book, Revolutionary Soldiers of Franklin County.(7) However, Fendrick refutes herself elsewhere in her book, indicating Samuel married a Nancy Quinn, daughter of a Patrick Quinn.(8) Samuel's oldest brother, Joseph, became Ohio's fifth United States Senator and was a General of Ohio troops during the War of 1812.(SEE APPENDIX G) Two of Joseph's [Sr.] sons, Joseph Kerr [Jr.] and Nathaniel Massie Kerr, left Louisiana to join the Texas Revolution. Their horses became disabled and they were discharged from their Louisiana military unit. The brothers proceeded towards San Antonio de Bexar, but before they reached their destination Nathaniel died from unknown circumstances on 19 February 1836. Joseph continued on to San Antonio de Bexar and died in the Battle of the Alamo, 6 March 1836.(See APPENDIX H) Samuel Kerr appears in the 1800 United States Federal Census, Guilford Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.(9) The 1800 census lists one male age 16-25, one female under 10, and one female age 16-25. John Kerr, Jr. was a son of John Kerr of Kerrtown/Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and a brother of Samuel.(10) John Kerr, Jr. wrote a letter to a grandson, Augustus Pomeroy Kerr, dated 20 January 1851 at Mt. Hope, Gallia Co., Ohio, in which he stated the following: "my second brother and his wife died about 26 years ago on Big Darby 10 miles west of Columbus [Ohio]. He left a large family of which I know nothing."(11) The Samuel Kerr family departed Kerrtown/Chambersburg for the state of Ohio in the years of 1805 to 1807. A son of Samuel and Nancy Kerr, Orson, was born in 1805 in Pennsylvania.(12) By 1807, Samuel and his family had moved to Franklin County, Ohio, about 10 miles west of Columbus on the Big Darby. Samuel Kerr was listed as a Justice of the Peace in Franklin County, Ohio, in that year.(13) The Big Darby Creek is a river located in northwestern central Ohio, and an important tributary to the Lower Scioto River.(14) We learn some very significant information about the family of Samuel Kerr from two books written on the history of Franklin County, Ohio. We learn that the Samuel Kerr family was very close with two other families who lived nearby, the Chenoweths and the Fosters William T. Martin, History of Franklin CO, OH (Columbus: Follett, Foster & Company, 1858): Page 192: Chapter XVI, Pleasant Township. "This township was organized by its present name in 1807, though it then embraced four or five times its present area. It was reduced to its present limits by the formation of Jackson in 1815, and of Prairie in 1819. A settlement was commenced on Darby, near Georgesville, at an early age of the county. Amongst the settlers were, . Samuel Kerr . and others." Page 195: Samuel Kerr served one year as a Justice of the Peace, 1807. History of Franklin & Pickaway Counties, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of the Prominent Men and Pioneers (Cleveland, Ohio: Williams Bros., 1880), beginning on page 433: SETTLEMENT "The first settlers in the south part of Pleasant township were two brothers, Thomas and Elijah Chenoweth, natives of Maryland, who removed, with their families, from Pike county, Ohio, to this township, in the fall of 1799. "Thomas Chenoweth married Cassandra Foster, and lived to enjoy the full fruition of his labors. After his death, his widow and children removed westward. None now live in the township. The children were: John, Benjamin, Thomas, Joseph, Rachel, and Cassandra. Elijah Chenoweth married Rachel Foster. He died, Dec. 5, 1828; his wife died Apr. 17, 1825. The children of this couple were as follows: Joseph, who married Rachel Morgan, and, eventually, moved to Illinois, where he died; Elizabeth who married John Carr, also died in the west; . Joseph, who married Margaret Heath, was also a member of the State legislature; the greater portion of his life was passed in Pleasant township where he died (Mrs. Sarah Hays, who lives in Darby, Pickaway county, is a daughter of above); Cassandra, who married John Morgan, and lived many years in Pickaway county, eventually moved west, where she died; Rachel, who married Jesse Wood, also died in the west; Elijah, who married Nancy Chenoweth, now lives on the old homestead, and is the only one of the children now living in the township. To this gentleman, the writer wishes to express his gratitude for material aid in the collection of data for this history." "Benjamin Foster and Samuel Kerr, with their families, settled in this vicinity soon after the Chenoweths. Of these, the writer could learn nothing."[note by Curtis L. Older: The family of Samuel Kerr could not be easily traced, in part, due to their surname being spelled both as Kerr and Carr, and also due to the fact they soon moved out of Franklin County, Ohio, after the death of Samuel in 1823.] EARLY EVENTS "The first white child born in Pleasant township was, without doubt, a daughter, to Elijah and Rachel Chenoweth. The date of this important addition to the pioneer colony was Dec. 9, 1800. The child was named Cassandra. She became the wife of John Morgan, going to live in Darby township, Pickaway county. Here her husband died. She eventually married Joseph Morgan, and removed to the west, where she died. Among the first marriages in the township was John Chenoweth to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Mary Foster. The date was soon after the present century began. The first burials were on the Chenoweth farm, and not far from the present residence of Elijah Chenoweth. The writer was unable to ascertain who was the first person buried here. The first log houses were constructed by the brothers Chenoweth, in the fall of 1799. The first frame house was doubtless built by Samuel Kerr, early in the settlement. It stood on the farm owned at present by Elijah Chenoweth, jr." SCHOOLS "In the summer of 1811, one Thomas Miller taught a term of school in a little log cabin, standing on the farm owned by Samuel Kerr. This was a small school, and was composed of the children of the Chenoweth, Kerr and Foster families. This is believed to have been the first school in this portion of the township, though of this the writer has not positive knowledge. Schools were taught in this cabin for several years." We learn the following from two other sources. "The first frame house was built by Samuel Kerr."(15) "His brother, Samuel, was a thriving farmer on Big Darby Creek (near Columbus) and he became Joseph's agent sending corn-fed hogs, fine cattle, wheat and corn to Chillicothe."(16) [Substantiation of the preceding information provided in the two history books about the Chenoweth and Foster families is included in APPENDICES C, D, E, and F] No census records have been found for Samuel Kerr for the years 1810 or 1820 in Ohio. Nancy, Samuel's wife, preceded her husband in death. Samuel Kerr died 29 September 1823 at Harrisburg, Franklin County, Ohio, and was buried in the Chenoweth Cemetery.(17) He left eight minor children, all 18 years of age or younger.(18) The 8 October 1823 estate papers of Samuel Kerr in Franklin County, Ohio, disclose the following: Administrators - Reuben Golliday, Lawrence Foster, and William Beatty. Guardianship 1824 – Benjamin Foster, Elijah Chenowith, and Samuel Dyer appointed guardians of 1) Orson Kerr, age 18 years 2) Nancy Kerr, age 14 years 3) Clarissa Kerr, age 11 years 4) Jackson Kerr, age 4 years 5) Robert Kerr, age 8 years 6) Joseph Kerr, age 16 years 7) Samuel Kerr, age 9 years 8) Elijah Kerr, age 6 years minor children of the deceased. The information provided in the estate papers of Samuel Kerr enables us to conclusively identify and trace most of the children of Samuel and Nancy Kerr after Samuel's death in 1823. See information in APPENDICES C, D, E, and F.