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SCOTT D. KERR.
There is a great deal in being born under a good eye -
one that watches and guards off the error and folly that
overtake so many young men. The father and the
mother who are able to infuse into their children the
spirit of the Spartans - the spirit that can meet any
fate and make the most of the world - will see their
children grow to years of maturity with excellent habits
and splendid principles and see them become exemplary
citizens. Scott D. Kerr, one of Jackson
township’s able tillers of the soil, was fortunate in
having an excellent father and mother, honest,
high-minded and solicitous of the welfare of their
family and kind to their neighbors, and the result of
their pains in rearing their children is seen today in
the wholesome lives of their offspring, thus bearing out
the admonition of Holy Writ, "Train up a child in the
way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart
from it."
Mr. Kerr was born about one-half mile from his
present home in Jackson township, Knox county, on May
27, 1860. He is the son of Isaac and Elizabeth
(Holmes) Kerr, and the grandson of Joseph and
Elizabeth Kerr, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to
Knox county very early and settled in Jackson township
where they developed a good farm and spent the balance
of their lives, Mr. Kerr having entered land from
the government when the country was new and neighbors
were the exception rather than the rule. The
subject's maternal grandparents, Charles and Sarah (Swahlen)
Holmes, were also natives of Pennsylvania, and early
settlers of Coshocton county, Ohio, where they spent the
rest of their lives.
The father of the subject was born in Knox county and
the mother first saw the light of day near Spring
Mountain, Coshocton county. They were married here
and spent their active lives on a farm, Mr. Kerr
finally becoming the owner of two hundred and fifty
acres, and one of the progressive agriculturists of his
community. He lived a quiet and retired life,
devoting his attention to his farm and family. He
met with misfortune by losing an eye, which was struck
by a flying chip, and nearly went blind as a result of
it. He was always highly esteemed by those who
knew him well, for he was a man of fine character.
His death occurred on June 16, 1869.
Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Kerr,
four of whom are still living, four having died in
infancy, and a daughter died on Feb. 25, 1909.
Scott D. Kerr was reared on his father's farm
and there assisted with the general work in his boyhood.
He was educated in the Front Royal school house.
He began farming for himself by renting the home place
for five years, then bought thirty-three and one-third
acres, in addition to his own share, later adding
thirty-nine acres, then bought seventy-five acres, is
his mother’s interest (the mother having died on Jan.
10, 1894), and he now the owner of about one hundred and
eighty-three acres of excellent land in Jackson
township, which he has kept well cultivated and well
improved, and where he carries on general farming and
stock raising successfully, making a specialty of short
horn cattle. Merino sheep and Poland China hogs.
He has a splendid set of buildings on his place and, in
fact, everything is in shipshape, showing that a
gentleman of industry and good taste as well has its
management in hand.
Politically, Mr. Kerr is a Democrat, and he
takes much interest in public affairs. He and his
wife are members of the Dennis church.
Mr. Kerr was married in January, 1883, to
Alpha Hall, a native of Knox county and the
daughter of Jehu and Phoebe Hall, both born in
this county, also, and the paternal grandparents,
Elijah and Matilda Hall, were also old settlers
here. The maternal grandparents, Abijah and
Eliza McLean, were natives of Greene county,
Pennsylvania, spending their childhood in the vicinity
of Rice's Landing. Both families moved here
in early days and here the parents of Mrs. Kerr
became very comfortably established. The father
was a tailor, and his death occurred on July 24, 1865;
the mother died on Aug. 16, 1896.
One daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Kerr,
namely: Ada Lee, who married M. N. Ross,
on Dec. 27, 1905; they live in Jackson township, Knox
county, and are the parents of two daughters, Pauline
Elizabeth and Helen Thelma.
Source: Past and Present of Knox
County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company,
Indianapolis, Indiana - 1912
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