John Kerr (August 4, 1782 – September 29, 1842) was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister who also served two term in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

representing

Virginia's 15th congressional district Virginia's 15th congressional district was a congressional district. It was eliminated in 1853 after the 1850 U.S. census. Its last congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has be ...

Early life and education

Kerr was born near

Yanceyville Yanceyville is a town in, and the county seat of, Caswell County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Piedmont Triad region of the state, it had a population of 1,937 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Established in 1791 as ...

, in

Caswell County, North Carolina Caswell County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located in the Piedmont Triad region of the state. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 22,736. Its county seat is Yancey ...

across the

Dan River Dan River may refer to: * Dan River (Virginia) * Dan River (China) * Dan River (Middle East) Other * Little Dan River * Browns Dan River * Dan Hole River See also * Dan (disambiguation) Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), inc ...

from Virginia's southern border. His father, also John Kerr, operated a plantation in Caswell County, North Carolina using enslaved labor. He received a private education suitable for his class, as well as studied theology.

Career

After being licensed as a Baptist minister in 1802, in 1805 Kerr accepted a position in Halifax County, Virginia. This John Kerr was elected a U.S. Representative for Virginia's 15th Congressional district and served from March 4, 1813, to March 3, 1815, and after winning re-election, from October 30, 1815, to March 3, 1817. He then resumed his ministry and became pastor of the Baptist churches of Arbor and Mary Creek, before moving to Richmond, Virginia in March 1825, where be served a pastor of the First Baptist Church until resigning in 1832. In the 1830 U.S. Census, he owned 11 slaves in Richmond.1830 U.S. Federal Census for Monroe Ward Richmond, Virginia p. 39 of 80 He relocated to a farm in Pittsylvania County, Virginia near Danville in 1836.

Personal life

He married Elizabeth Williams, whose grandfather

Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...

had been a prominent patriot in Pittsylvania County during the American Revolutionary War. She bore two sons, Nathaniel Williams Kerr and John Kerr, Jr. who also would become a U.S. Congressman.

Bartlett Yancey Bartlett Yancey (February 19, 1785 - August 30, 1828) was an American politician who was a U.S. congressman from North Carolina, United States, between 1813 and 1817. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican party. Born near Yanceyville, ...

was his cousin and, and John H. Kerr would be his grand-nephew. A native of the area, Kerr was licensed as aminister in 1802 and moved to

Halifax County, Virginia Halifax County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 34,022. Its county seat is Halifax, Virginia, Halifax. ...

in 1805; he later lived in

Pittsylvania County, Virginia Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 60,501. The county seat is Chatham. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical ...

as well.

Death

Kerry died at his home near Danville, but his remains were returned to the family plot in Yanceyville.

References

External links

Settle-Kerr family of North Carolina
* 1782 births 1842 deaths Baptists from Virginia Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia People from Yanceyville, North Carolina People from Caswell County, North Carolina People from Halifax County, Virginia Baptists from North Carolina 19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 19th-century Virginia politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Virginia-Representative-stub