Merry Bee Genealogy - Kerr
Merry Bee Genealogy - Kerr
Andrew J Kerr was born January, 1826 according to his statement on the 1900 US census, although according to J Lee Sharp there is a handwritten note on the marriage bond for his second marriage attesting to his birth in 1827. He was the son of Samuel and Esther Kerr. Whitley County, Kentucky was his place of birth and his home all of his life where we can track him through census records from 1830 to 1910.
In 1830, he is one of the two males under five in the household of Samual Car, and in 1840 he would be the male 15-20 with Sanuel Carr.
Andrew’s first marriage was 15 January 1846 in Whitley County, to Elizabeth Hamblin. He and Elizabeth have two sons by the 1850 census, James 5 and John 3. Andrew Kerr is farming land that he apparently owns valued at $300, neighboring his father Samuel and his brother Mathew.
The Andrew Kerr family has expanded by 1860. He and Elizabeth are listed in the Williamsburg District with six children: James M 13, John W 10, Judy 8, Nancy 6, Mary Jane 5, Armelda 2.
In 1870, Andrew Carr is farming land served by the post office in Lot. Another daughter, eight-year-old Elizabeth has joined the family. Other children still at home are John 18/21 who is working on the farm, Nancy 16, Mary J 14, and Rebecca 12. There was confusing in the recording of families in this area, and this family is listed three times: Carr in South America Precinct, Karr in Boston Precinct, and Kerr in South America Precinct. He could have possibly owned multiple tracts of land, but my analysis of family data and meighbors leads me to believe that all three listings refer to the same family and not to multiple Andrews.
Samuel’s death in 1871 gave Andrew his share of the estate with the following transactions noted by J Lee Sharp show. Andrew purchased a barrel and handsaw from Samuel’s estate. On 29 May 1871 Andrew and Elizabeth deed their share of Samuel’s 75 acres on Bunches Creek to Richard Woods (Deed Book 19). On 15 October 1873 Andrew and Elizabeth deed their share of Samuel’s estate to Harvey Carr (Deed Book 9, pages 179-182).
The 1880 census for Whitley County raises some interesting questions about Andrew’s family. Five other individuals are living in the household of Andrew and Elizabeth: George and Elizabeth Bolin (19) are described as servants, but 6-month-old Mary who is evidently their daughter, is a granddaughter. Another Elizabeth Bolin (11) is also listed as a servant. One could assume that the older Elizabeth is Andrew’s daughter and the 11-year-old is a sister of George. "Servant" could come from an insistence that they are working for Andrew and have no rights of ownership. James W Reynolds, age 7, is a grandson. Andrew’s other children seem to still be near, possibly on farms carved from his original holdings, as seen in this listing from enumeration district #113:J Lee Sharp lists several land transfers by Andrew in the 1880s and 1890s.
Andrew’s wife Elizabeth was marked on the 1880 census as "disabled" and died 15 December 1889 (Source: Cemetery Book 2 cited by J Lee Sharp). Andrew then remarried as J Lee Sharp cites a marriage bond at Williamsburg for Andrew Carr, son of Samuel and Easter Carr, and Samantha Siler, witnessed by Isom Lawson and G W Bolin, and dates the marriage as 05 March 1892.
On the 1900 census, the couple is living alone at Pine Mountain and South America on land that Andrew apparently no longer owns, but is renting. Although Samantha is 22 years younger than Andrew, she preceeds him in death before 1910. Son John takes Andrew into his household where he is in the 1910 census, listed as widowed age 82.
