Joseph Kerr (1765August 22, 1837) was a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

politician from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

who served in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

Biography

Kerr (pronounced "car") was born in

Kerrtown, Pennsylvania Kerrtown is a census-designated place located in Vernon Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 6/ 19/322 __NOTOC__ Year 322 ( CCCXXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will displa ...

(now Chambersburg), and moved to Ohio in 1792. He served in a number of positions as clerk, surveyor, judge and justice of the peace in the Northwest Territory. He served as justice of the peace at Manchester, Adams County, Ohio in 1797. and as a judge of the first quarter session court of Adams County, Northwest Territory, in 1797. Kerr's son, Joseph Kerr Jr., died in the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San An ...

Career

After statehood was declared, Kerr was elected to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in C ...

in 1808, 1816, 1818, and 1819. He was elected to the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

in 1804 and 1810. He also served as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

of Ohio Volunteers during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

, in charge of supplying provisions to the Army of the Northwest. Kerr was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1814 to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of

Thomas Worthington Thomas or Tom Worthington may refer to: * Thomas Worthington (Douai) (1549–1627), English Catholic priest and third President of Douai College * Thomas Worthington (Dominican) (1671–1754), English Dominican friar and writer *Thomas Worthington ...

. Kerr served from December 10, 1814, to March 3, 1815, and did not seek re-election.

Death

Kerr's extensive farm went bankrupt in 1826, and he moved to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

and then to rural

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

, where he purchased a homestead near

Lake Providence A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

. He died on August 22, 1837, and was interred in the Kerr Family Burying Ground in Lake Providence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Joseph 1765 births 1837 deaths Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Northwest Territory judges Ohio state senators American militia generals American militiamen in the War of 1812 United States senators from Ohio Ohio Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republican Party United States senators People from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania People from Lake Providence, Louisiana Military personnel from Pennsylvania