John Kerr Papers

174 WFCHS

Inventory created by Archives Staff 02/1987. Last revised 04/2018.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers.

USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.

EXTENT: 0.42 linear feet

DATE: 1851 - 1912

SCOPE AND CONTENT: This collection contains the business papers of John Kerr (1797-1855), a Frederick County, VA cabinetmaker. His will and estate settlement inventory are included. Other family names surnames mentioned in the collection are Miller, Zirkle, and Henkel.   The time period covered in this collection is approximately 1851 to 1912.

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL: John Kerr was born in England in 1797, emigrated to the United States, and was naturalized in 1855 in Frederick County Court.  By that time he was already established as a cabinet-maker in Winchester, where he resided with his wife Emeline Gainslen (1809-1870).  The couple had no children, but Kerr left his place of business on the northeast corner of Loudoun and Boscawen Streets for the benefit of “the poor white children of Winchester,” which provided the funds for the school built in his name.  The former school, presently known as the John Kerr Building, stands at the corner of Cork and Cameron Streets.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Quarles, Garland R., Some Worthy Lives, Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, Winchester, VA, 1988, pgs. 134-135.

CITE AS: John Kerr Papers, 174 WFCHS, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA, USA.

ACQUISITION INFORMATION: Acquired as a gift. 

ORGANIZATION:

BOX 1

Account books, 1851-1875, 2 items, manuscript 

Bank books, 1867-1878, 2 items, manuscript

Biographies (folder includes the following):
Biography by Quarles, 1988,3 leaves, printed (photocopy)
John Godfrey Miller's account of the life of John Kerr, 1912, 5 pages, 1 envelope, manuscript

Business papers, 1857-1877 (folder includes the following):
Bank stocks, bonds and holdings, 8 leaves, manuscript
Bills and receipts, 3 leaves, manuscript; 1 leaf, manuscript on printed form
Employee attendance and payment roster, 5 pages, manuscript
Legal proceedings, 1 leaf, manuscript; 1 leaf, manuscript on printed form
Payment record of Virginia colleges, 1 page, manuscript

Correspondence of the Miller and Zirkle families, 1853-1909, 8 pages, manuscript

Personal notes and clippings, 10 items, 12 pages, printed; 2 pages, 5 leaves, manuscript

Wills of John Kerr, 1870 and 1875, 6 pages, manuscript

Settlement of the Estate of John Kerr, 1876 (folder includes the following):
Estate account books, 2 items, manuscript
Inventories and supplement of personal estate and furniture, 4 items, manuscript
Miscellaneous notes, 7 leaves, manuscript