The Documented Genealogy of Curtis Lynn Older

196. Documentation for Lt John Kerr / Carr
(1745 to 02 October 1807)
father of Samuel Kerr / Carr Senior
(1788 to before 08 October 1823)


John Kerr / Carr, Fifth Great Grandfather of Curtis Lynn Older:

1) John Kerr / Carr, husband of Mary Dougherty, parents of Samuel Kerr / Carr Senior
2) Samuel Kerr / Carr Senior, husband of Nancy Guin (or Gwyn), parents of Nancy Kerr / Carr
3) Nancy Kerr / Carr, wife of Thomas Gouty, parents of Elias B. Gouty
4) Elias B. Gouty, husband of Elizabeth Shute, parents of Joseph P Gouty
5) Joseph P Gouty, husband of Mary Luella Hartman, parents of Robert William Gouty
6) Robert William Gouty, husband of Ethel Belle Fox, parents of Mavis Lorene Gouty
7) Mavis Lorene Gouty, wife of Truxton James Older, parents of Curtis Lynn Older

Download Adobe Acrobat File - 196. John Kerr - (The file has the following text plus images NOT included on this website.)

Download Adobe Acrobat File - The Lt John Kerr Home along the Conococheague Creek in Chambersburg, PA.

[Note: See Appendix A for a discussion of the dual spelling, i.e. Kerr / Carr, of the last name or surname of this family.]

[See the article by Curtis Lynn Older entitled, "John Kerr, Founder of Kerrstown and Soldier in the American Revolution", A Journal of Franklin County History, Volume XXVIII, 2016, published by the Franklin County Historical Society - Kittochtinny (Pennsylvania).]


John Kerr probably was born about 1745 and is thought to be of Irish or Scotch descent.(1) John married Mary Dougherty on 16 September 1765 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.(2) Mary was a daughter of John and Lilly Dougherty of Peter's Township, now Franklin, County, Pennsylvania.(3) Mary Dougherty was born about 1747 in Peters Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.(4)

John Kerr acquired land in Guilford Township, Cumberland County, adjacent and south of land owned by Benjamin Chambers. Kerr's land included a subdivision laid out by him which he called St. John's Town, part of 300 acres of land he acquired in a warrant dated Aug. 4, 1766.(5) This area was popularly known as Kerrtown or Kerrstown. Kerr's 300 acres bordered the Conococheague Creek on the west side of the property and ran along the Creek from near present-day West Washington Street to just below the sewage disposal plant off Dump Road.(6)

For much of the 1700s, there was a competition for the naming rights to the town that was destined to develop on the lands owned by Chambers and Kerr. Chambers acquired his first tract of land in 1734 which included the area where the Falling Spring meets the Conococheague Creek. Two tracts of Chambers encompassed the area that today constitutes the central business district of Chambersburg, and Kerr's land represented the southern portion of Chambersburg.(7) According to U. L. Dordy's writing in 1934, "It was from this Kerr that the part of Chambersburg south of Catherine Street got its local name--Carrstown (Kerrstown). He was progressive in many ways. It is said a part of that section of town was once incorporated as Johnstown. He probably built a school house--a common custom on large estates--and planned the building after the type in vogue in England and Ireland at that time."(8)

The Kerrtown/Chambersburg house in which the John Kerr family lived stands along the east side of the Conococheague Creek near Hollywell Avenue, just north of Dump Road.(9) Robert Floyd Kerr, a great-grandson of John Kerr, describes the house in 1911: "The spacious stone [house] which he [John Kerr] built on the banks of the Conococheague Creek is still doing service as a residence and the old residents still point out the window from which his wife shot an Indian who was prowling about the premises in early days. His seems to be a militant family. I visited the old homestead in 1898. I also have a photo of the old house."(10)

John Kerr's occupation was that of a farmer.(11) The will and testament of his wife, Mary, refers to her husband as "late of Guilford Township and County of Franklin, farmer, deceased."(12) Those subject to the first state tax in 1778 in Guilford Township, Cumberland County, include John Kerr and he is shown as owning no slaves at that time.(13) The 1779 Supply Rates listing shows him owning 2 slaves.(14) The 1782 Supply Rates listing shows John Kerr with 300 acres, 3 horses, 5 cattle, and 2 slaves.(15) John Kerr owned three slaves in 1800 and was the only slave owner in Guilford Township at that time besides an Edward Crawford.(16) The will of Mary Dougherty Kerr included this provision: "Item. I will and devise that my negro man named Andrew or Andy shall be free in one year after my decease, and during which year he shall remain with my son James Kerr."(17)

“Originally part of Lancaster County (1729), then Cumberland County (1750), Franklin County became an independent jurisdiction on September 9, 1784. It is named in honor of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. Hamilton Township is on the west side of Chambersburg and Guilford Township is on the east side of Chambersburg.”(18)

"’Falling Spring’ was first settled by Benjamin Chambers, a Scots-Irish immigrant, in 1730, who started a grist mill and saw mill by a then-26-foot (7.9 m) high waterfall where Falling Spring Creek joined Conococheague Creek. The creek provided power to the mills, and the settlement was known as ‘Falling Spring’."(19)

“Colonel Benjamin Chambers, as I have already stated, laid out Chambersburg in 1764. The town plot was entirely east of the creek and south of the Falling Spring. Third street, now the bed of the railroad, was its eastern limit, and did not extend further south than where Mr. James Logan resides. The lots south of that point were laid out by John Kerr, taken from his farm of three hundred acres, and for a long time that part of the place was called "Kerr's town."(20)

John Kerr and his wife, Mary, became the parents of a large family of the Presbyterian faith, consisting of seven children who where highly educated for their time.(21)

Children of John Kerr and Mary Dougherty Kerr:

1) Joseph Kerr, was born in 1766 in Chambersburg (Kerrstown), Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died 22 August 1837 in Lake Providence, Louisiana.(22) He married Nancy Daugherty.(23) She died 10 July 1833 in Louisiana.(24) Joseph Kerr was an Ohio General during the War of 1812 and he was a Senator from Ohio in the United States Senate for a shortened term.(25) Joseph and his wife were the parents of nine children.(26)

Two sons of Joseph and Nancy Kerr Sr., Joseph Kerr Jr. and Nathaniel Massie Kerr, joined the Republic of Texas Army in early 1836. Nathaniel died from an unknown cause about February 19th in Texas as he and his brother were en route to the Alamo in San Antonio. Joseph Kerr Jr. died March 6, 1836, in the Battle of the Alamo.(27)

“Joseph Kerr Senior (1765 – August 22, 1837) was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served in the United States Senate. Born in Kerrtown, Pennsylvania (now Chambersburg), Kerr (pronounced "car") moved to Ohio in 1792. He served in a number of positions as clerk, judge and justice of the peace in the Northwest Territory. After statehood was declared, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1808, 1816, 1818, and 1819 and the Ohio State Senate in 1804 and 1810. He also served as a brigadier general of Ohio Volunteers during the War of 1812, 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. Kerr served from December 10, 1814, to March 3, 1815. He did not seek re-election. Kerr's extensive farm went bankrupt in 1826, and he moved to Memphis, Tennessee and then to rural Louisiana, where he purchased a homestead.”(28)

2) Jean Kerr married a William McKinley. They settled near Wheeling, Virginia.(29)

3) John Kerr, Jr. was born 15 October 1772 in Chambersburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.(30) He departed Kerrtown in 1792 for what became the state of Ohio. He married Christiana Nisewanger on Mar. 8, 1804, at Gallia Co., Ohio. John Kerr, Jr. died 02 October 1858 in Green Township, Gallia County, Ohio. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children.

4) Sarah Kerr married a Mr. Decamp. They settled near Wheeling, Virginia. Known children were: Richard, William S., and Maria.(31)

5) James Kerr was born 31 January 1777 in Chambersburg, Cumberland, PA.(32) He was living at Chambersburg in 1858 and 1859 when we was the subject of two depositions given to support an American Revolution pension claim by Mary Richardson and also a deposition for a pension claim by an Elizabeth Gilchrist, a sister of Mary Richardson.(33)

6) Mary Kerr was born 1788 in Chambersburg, Franklin, County, Pennsylvania, and died in 1842 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. She married Andrew Patterson. He died at Cincinnati, Ohio.(34)

7) Samuel Kerr was born in 1778 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.(35) He died in Franklin County, Ohio, before 08 October 1823, the apparent probate date of his estate.(36) John Kerr Jr., brother of Samuel, wrote in a letter dated January 20th, 1851, at Mt. Hope, Gallia Co., Ohio: "my second brother and his wife died about 26 years ago on Big Darby 10 miles west of Columbus. He left a large family of which I know nothing."(37)

Samuel married a Nancy Guin in 1799 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, according to Virginia Shannon Fendrick, author of American Revolutionary Soldiers of Franklin County.(38) However, Fendrick rebutes herself elsewhere in her book when she indicates Samuel married a Nancy Quinn, daughter of a Patrick Quinn whose estate was administered at Chambersburg, 19 October 1801.(39)

Samuel Kerr appears in the 1800 United States Federal Census, Guilford Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.(40) The 1800 census lists one male age 16-25, one female under 10, and one female age 16-25. The will of Samuel's mother indicates there was a daughter of Samuel Kerr named Mary at the time she wrote her will on 30 December 1809. “Item. I will and devise to my granddaughter Mary Kerr, daughter of Samuel Kerr, the sum of twenty pounds.”(41) The estate records for Samuel Kerr in Franklin County, Ohio, do not list a daughter named Mary. Perhaps a daughter named Mary was born by the time of the 1800 census, married before her father died, and was excluded from his estate in 1823.(42)

Sometime after 1805 and before 1808, Samuel and wife Mary moved to Ohio, about 10 miles west of present-day Columbus. A son, Orson Kerr, was born in Pennsylvania in 1805.(43) Samuel Kerr was the Justice of the Peace in Franklin County, Ohio in 1807.(44)

Biographical information about two sons of Samuel Kerr, Orson Kerr and Andrew Jackson Kerr, provides evidence as to their relationship to John Kerr of Kerrtown.

“ORSON KERR, a prosperous and highly respected farmer of Tippecanoe County, is a Pennsylvanian by birth, born April 19, 1805, a son of SAMUEL KERR, deceased. He was reared a farmer, which occupation he has followed principally through life, and his education was obtained in the pioneer schools of Franklin County, Ohio, to which county his parents removed when he was a boy.”(45)

A biographical sketch of a Robert Floyd Kerr indicates that his father was Andrew J. (Jackson) Kerr, his grandfather was Samuel Kerr and his great-grandfather was John Kerr of Chambersburg:

“ROBERT FLOYD KERR, A. M., is one of the most influential citizens of Brooking, who has always shown an unselfish interest in furthering the intellectual and material progress of its people. He was born in Sugar Grove, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, April 12, 1850, and a son of Andrew J. and Nancy (Sayers) Kerr. Andrew J. Kerr was born in Franklin County, Ohio. His father, Samuel Kerr, came from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and was of Scotch-Irish lineage, his ancestors having immigrated prior to 1740 and located at Chambersburg. John Kerr, one of the immigrants, was a sergeant of the Pennsylvania militia during the Revolutionary war. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Long Island, but exchanged after some time."(46)

The above biographical sketch confirms that Andrew Jackson Kerr was: 1) the son of Samuel Kerr of Franklin County, Ohio; and 2) that Samuel Kerr went from Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, to Franklin County, Ohio. It also confirms that John Kerr, the father of Samuel Kerr and the grandfather of Andrew Jackson Kerr, served in the American Revolution as a soldier and was taken prisoner.

The military service of John Kerr during the American Revolution is archived in numerous primary source records.(47) [See article by Curtis L. Older in the 2016 Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Historical Society Journal entitled, John Kerr, Founder of Kerrstown and Soldier in the American Revolution.] John Kerr is listed in Associators and Militia, County of Cumberland, as a Second Lieutenant, Captain William Findley’s Company, Eighth Battalion, Seventh Company, First Call, March 1778.(48) John Kerr received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Pennsylvania Militia on 23 April 1778.(49)

Lt John Kerr was taken prisoner during the Battle of Crooked Billet, 01 May 1778, about 25 miles east of Valley Forge on the outskirts of Philadelphia.(50) He was sent to Long Island, New York, after a brief period in Philadelphia as a POW, where he remained about three years as a prisoner. He was "released on the 23d day of February 1782 as it appears by his journal" according to his son, James Kerr in an 1858 court deposition which he gave to support a pension claim by another soldier's wife.(51) However, in another deposition in 1858 by James Kerr, he gives a date of release of his father as 1781.(52)

John Kerr died 02 October 1807 in Guilford Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.(53) Mary (Dougherty) Kerr, wife of John, died in 1815 in Guilford Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.(54) John Kerr, his wife Mary, and son James are buried at the Falling Springs Presbyterian Churchyard, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.(55) The tombstone of John Kerr is marked as: Lt. John Kerr, PA militia, Rev.War.(56) The tombstone for Mary Kerr was not found in September 2015 when I visited the cemetery. James Kerr is buried near his father.

According to the website of the Presbyterian Church of Falling Springs: “The history of this congregation comes from the foundation established when land was rented by Benjamin Chambers so a Presbyterian Church congregation could be formed to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Nearby the grave of Lt John Kerr in the Falling Springs Churchyard Cemetery is the grave Colonel Benjamin Chambers, born 1708 and died 17 February 1788, the founder of Chambersburg, and the grave of his son, James Chambers, born 1725 and died 1805, who rose to Colonel in the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment, Continental Line, during the American Revolution.(57)

The will of John Kerr, made 25 August 1807 and probated 21 October 1807, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, bequeathed the following:(58)
Son_______Joseph_____400 pounds.
Daughter___Sarah______400 pounds
Daughter___Jean_______400 pounds
Son_______James______1 Spanish minted dollar.
Son_______John_______400 pounds
Son_______Samuel_____Interest only from 400 pounds
Daughter___Mary_______500 pounds for rest of her life.

Children (Kerr/Carr) born in Kerrtown/Chambersburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania:
i. Joseph, born 1766
ii. Jean
iii. John Jr., born October 5, 1772
iv. Sarah
v. Mary
vi. James, born January 31, 1777
vii. Samuel, born 1778

ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL to support the RELATIONSHIP between
JOHN KERR/CARR and his son SAMUEL KERR/CARR

1) will of John Kerr, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Will Book "B", page 331, #918, made 25 August 1807 and Probated 21 October 1807. "Item my will further is that my Son Samuel Kerr is to have four hundred pounds, which is to be put to Interest for him which he is to receive the interest every year, during his natural life, and at his decease, to be equally divided the principal among his children."

2) will of Mary Dougherty Kerr, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Will Book C, page 420, #1583, made 30 December 1809 and probated 04 November 1815. "Item. I will and devise to my granddaughter Mary Kerr, daughter of Samuel Kerr, the sum of twenty pounds."

3) Letter from John Kerr, Jr., January 20, 1851, "my second brother and his wife died about 26 years ago on Big Darby 10 miles west of Columbus. He left a large family of which I know nothing." In Kahn, Edythe T. John and Christiana Nisewanger Kerr, Jr., Their Ancestry and Descendants, 1745-1991 (12710 N. Lakeshore Dr., LaSalle, MI 48145, 1991), page 17.

4) Letter from John Kerr, Jr., January 20, 1851. "my second brother and his wife died about 26 years ago on Big Darby 10 miles west of Columbus. He left a large family of which I know nothing." Marie Dickore, ed., General Joseph Kerr of Chillicothe, Ohio, "Ohio's Lost Senator" (The Oxford Press, Oxford, OH, 1941), page 4.

5) National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Supplemental Ancestor Certificate, Curtis Lynn Older, descendant of John Kerr, approved November 4, 2015, National Number 128556.

6) Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Orson Kerr, pp. 387-388, The Lewis Publishing Company, 113 Adams Street, Chicago, 1888.

7) Robinson, Doane. History of South Dakota. 2 vols. Logansport, IN: B. F. Bowen, 1904, Robert Floyd Kerr, pages 1620-1622; Robert Floyd Kerr biography in "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography, including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of South Dakota . . ." (Published by G. A. Ogle & Co., Chicago, 1898), page 254.

8) Septennial Census Returns, 1800, Guilford Twp., Franklin Co., PA, John Kerr pages 23 and 26, Samuel Kerr page 23.

9) Will of John Dougherty, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Wills, Book C, Page 63, No. 39, Made 13 February 1777, Probated 28 May 1777. "Unto my daughter Mary wife to John Kerr or to her heirs the sum of fifty pounds four years after my decease".

10) Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots; Volume: 2; Serial: 12259; Volume: 4. John Kerr; The DAR Patriot Index - Centennial Edition, part 2, lists John as "2Lt PA"; Falling Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Chambersburg, PA, John Kerr.

11) Rings, Blanche Tipton, Francis Herbert Obetz, Margaret Scott, and Ohio Genealogical Society. Franklin County Chapter. Abstracted Wills, 1805-1831, from Franklin County, Ohio, Court Records, with Genealogical Notes. Columbus, Ohio (P.O. Box 09696, Columbus 43209): Franklin County Genealogical Society, 1982. No. 0422, KERR, Samuel - Dec’d., 8 Oct 1823.

12) Curtis L. Older, "John Kerr, Founder of Kerrtown and Soldier in the American Revolution", A Journal of Franklin County History, Volume XXVIII, 2016, (Franklin County Historical Society - Kittochtinny, Chambersburg, PA, 2016).

13) National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, (S.A.R.) Membership Application by John Niswonger Kerr, descendant of John Kerr, accepted May 21, 1953.
14) S.A.R. Membership Application by George Prescott Carrel, descendant of John Kerr, accepted March 7, 1941.

15) S.A.R. Membership Application by Robert Floyd Kerr, descendant of John Kerr, accepted April 12, 1911.

REFERENCES

(1) Virginia Shannon Fendrick, compiler, American Revolutionary Soldiers of Franklin County (Chambersburg, PA: Historical Works Committee of the Franklin Co. Chapter, D.A.R., 1944), 250.

(2) No marriage record has been found. Edythe T. Kahn, John and Christiana Nisewanger Kerr, Jr., Their Ancestry and Descendants, 1745-1991 (LaSalle, MI: E. T. Kahn, 1991), 3; Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, John Kerr, male, spouse name Mary Doherty; will of Mary Dougherty Kerr, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Will Book C, page 420, #1583, made 30 December 1809 and probated 04 November 1815.

(3) Will of John Dougherty, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Wills, Book C, Page 63, No. 39, made 13 February 1777 and probated 28 May 1777; Fendrick, American Revolutionary Soldiers, page 65, Moses Dougherty, “Letters of Administration on estate of the widow, Lillie, August 1777, were issued to John Kerr and David Maughan. (The above John Kerr laid out Kerrstown, a part of Chambersburg.)”.

(4) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 3.

(5) Neal Otto Hively, Benjamin Chambers' Colonial Land Holdings, overlaid on a contemporary town plan of Chambersburg (Franklin Co., PA, 1995); Hayes R. Eschenmann and Paul Barner, First Families of Old Cumberland County: Vol. X - Chambersburg (Franklin Co., PA), 28; Samuel P. Bates and Richard J. Fraise, History of Franklin Co., PA (Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1887), 461.

(6) Eschenmann and Barner, John Kerr Tract CHM132; Hively, Chambers' Land Holdings.

(7) I. H. M’Cauley, Historical Sketch of Franklin County, Pennsylvania prepared for The Centennial Celebration held at Chambersburg, PA, July 4, 1876 (Harrisburg, PA, Patriot Publishing Company, 1878). “From tax returns made in 1786 and 1788, for the township of Franklin, which was made up of the town of Chambersburg, and some seven tracts of land adjoining . . . John Kerr, 300.”

(8) Papers Read before The Kittochtinny Historical Society, Vol. 11, Chambersburg Public School Buildings by Prof. U. L. Dordy, Feb. 22, 1934, 222.

(9) The house was occupied as a residence in Sept. 2015. Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 5, "they lived in a fine stone mansion, still standing ca 1980."

(10) Sons of the American Revolution membership application, April 12, 1911, Robert Floyd Kerr.

(11) Septennial Census Returns, 1779-1863, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, PA, 1800, Guilford Twp., Franklin Co., PA, John Kerr, 23 and 26.

(12) Will of Mary Dougherty Kerr, Franklin Co., PA, Will Book C, p. 420, #1583.

(13) William Henry Egle, ed., Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 20, (Harrisburg, PA: State Printer, 1897), 20:47.

(14) Ibid., 20:168.

(15) Ibid., 20:576.

(16) Septennial Census Returns, 1800, Guilford Twp., Franklin Co., PA, John Kerr.

(17) will of Mary Dougherty Kerr, Franklin Co., PA, Will Book C, page 420, #1583.

(18) Historical Sketch of Franklin County, Pennsylvania: Prepared for The Centennial Celebration held at Chambersburg, PA., July 4, 1876, by I. H. M’Cauley, Harrisburg, PA, Patriot Publishing Company, 1878), p. 60.

(19) See “History” at www.borough.chambersburg.pa.us. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-21.

(20) I. H. M’Cauley, Historical Sketch of Franklin County, 60.

(21) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 5.

(22) David Stephen Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, Encyclopedia of the War of 1812 (Naval Institute Press, 2004), 277. Kerr, Joseph, 1765-1837, “Joseph Kerr (pronounced Carr) was born in Kerrtown (now Chambersburg), Pennsylvania.”; The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present (Washington, D.C.: United States Congress,, 1998), “Joseph Kerr, a Senator from Ohio; born in Kerrtown (now Chambersburg), Franklin County, Pa., in 1765.”

(23) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 6.

(24) Ibid.

(25) Marie Dickore, ed., General Joseph Kerr of Chillicothe, Ohio, "Ohio's Lost Senator" (The Oxford Press, Oxford, OH, 1941); Fred J. Milligan, Ohio's Founding Fathers (iUniverse: Lincoln, NE, 2003), 198.

(26) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 6.

(27) Texas State Historical Association website, The Handbook of Texas Online, Joseph Kerr (1814-1836); Daughters of the American Revolution, The Alamo Heroes and Their Revolutionary Ancestors (San Antonio, TX, 1976). The author found five original source documents in the Texas Archives that were signed by James Clinton Neill, James Collinsworth, William Hester Patton, and others in 1837 that certified Nathaniel Massie Kerr died in Feb. 1836 and that Joseph Kerr Jr. was massacred at the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

(28) Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Joseph Kerr.

(29) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 6.

(30) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 13-16.

(31) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 6.

(32) Per tombstone picture taken by Curtis L. Older, September 2015. Franklin Repository, Feb., 1864. "Mr. James Kerr died on Jan. 29, 1864, at the residence of his son-in-law, Daniel Minnich, at the age of 87"; Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives, pension number W.25622, veteran James Gilchrist, executed Feb. 1, 1859, deposition of James Kerr, 21 May 1859. James states: "that this deponent recollects of his said father coming home, from the circumstances of this, deponent having always slept with his mother and of his unwillingness to let his father come to bed to them on his return home."

(33) Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives, Pension number W.9258, veteran William Richardson, executed May 14, 1858, depositions of James Kerr; Pension number W.25622, veteran James Gilchrist, executed 01 February 1859, deposition of James Kerr. These pension files were found on the Fold3.com website on 29 July 2015 by Curtis L. Older.

(34) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 36; will of Mary Dougherty Kerr, Franklin Co., PA, Will Book C, page 420, #1583. “Item. I will and devise to my daughter Mary Patterson my tea spoons sugar tongs and china ware. Item. I will and devise to my grandson John Kerr Patterson the sum of fifty pounds and further I will and devise to my said grandson his heirs and assigns a lot of ground in St. John’s Town.”

(35) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 6. Kahn incorrectly states the names of all of Samuel's children on page 6 of her book.

(36) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 6; Rings, Blanche Tipton, Francis Herbert Obetz, Margaret Scott, and Ohio Genealogical Society. Franklin County Chapter. Abstracted Wills, 1805-1831, from Franklin County, Ohio, Court Records, with Genealogical Notes. Columbus, Ohio (P.O. Box 09696, Columbus 43209): Franklin County Genealogical Society, 1982. No. 0422, KERR, Samuel - Dec’d., 8 Oct 1823.

(37) Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 17. Letter from John Kerr, Jr., Jan. 20, 1851, "my second brother and his wife died about 26 years ago on Big Darby 10 miles west of Columbus. He left a large family of which I know nothing." The letter also is recorded in, Marie Dickore, ed., General Joseph Kerr of Chillicothe, Ohio, "Ohio's Lost Senator" (The Oxford Press, Oxford, OH, 1941), 4.

(38) Fendrick, American Revolutionary Soldiers, 250, “who mar. [married] 1799 Nancy Guin”.

(39) Fendrick, American Revolutionary Soldiers, 178, "who mar. [married] Nancy Quinn."

(40) 1800 U. S. Federal Census, Pennsylvania, Guilford Township, Franklin County, Samuel Kerr, 1 male 16-25, 1 female under 10, 1 female 16-25.

(41) will of Mary Dougherty Kerr, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Will Book C, Page 420, #1583.

(42) Rings, Blanche Tipton, Abstracted Wills, 1805-1831, from Franklin County, Ohio, No. 0422, KERR, Samuel - Dec’d., 8 Oct 1823.

(43) According to the Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana (The Lewis Publishing Company, 113 Adams Street, Chicago, 1888), 387-388, Orson Kerr was born in Pennsylvania in 1805; William T. Martin, History of Franklin County (Ohio) (Columbus: Follett, Foster & Company, 1858), 192. "A settlement was commenced on Darby, near Georgesville, at an early age of the county. Amongst the settlers were, . . . Samuel Kerr, . . . and others."

(44) Martin, History of Franklin CO, OH, 195. Samuel Kerr was appointed a Justice of the Peace in Franklin County, Ohio, in 1807.

(45) Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana (The Lewis Publishing Company, 113 Adams Street, Chicago, 1888), 387-388. Orson Kerr,

(46) Doane Robinson, History of South Dakota. 2 vols. (Logansport, IN: B. F. Bowen, 1904), 1620-1622, Robert Floyd Kerr; "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography, including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of South Dakota..." (Published by G. A. Ogle & Co., Chicago, 1898), 254. Robert Floyd Kerr biography.

(47) Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Ser., 6:533; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission website, Cumberland Co. Rev. War Militia; National Archives and Records Administration M881. Compiled service records of soldiers who served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. State: PA, Lt. John Kerr, 6 card records.; Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives, Pension number W.9258, veteran William Richardson, executed May 14, 1858, Depositions of James Kerr; Francis R. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during The War of the Revolution (Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Co., Inc. 1914), 330. For a more detailed account of how the Pennsylvania militia system worked see "The Pennsylvania Militia in 1777" by Hannah Benner Roach in The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 23 (No. 3, 1964): 161-230.

(48) Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Series, Volume 6:529.

(49) Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Series, Volume 6:530-1.

(50) Officers of the Continental Army, Francis B. Heitman, lists on page 330 John Kerr; also National Archives records for Lt John Kerr of Pennsylvania.

(51) Application for Pension by Mary Richardson in 1858, wife of William Richardson, Continental (Pa) service, #W.9258, BLWt. 82554-150-55, found on Fold3.com website on 29 July 2015 by Curtis L. Older.

(52) Application for Pension by Elizabeth Gilchrist in 1859, wife of James Gilchrist, pension claim, W.25622, found on Fold3.com website on 29 July 2015 by Curtis L. Older.

(53) Will of John Kerr, Franklin Co., PA, Will Book "B", page 331, #918, probated 21 October 1807; Kahn, John Kerr, Jr., 3.

(54) Will of Mary Dougherty Kerr, Franklin Co., PA, Will Book C, page 420, #1583, probated 04 November 1815.

(55) Find-A-Grave (www.findagrave.com), Falling Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery, 221 N. Main Street, Chambersburg, PA.

(56) Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, Volume 2, Serial 12259, Volume 4; The DAR Patriot Index - Centennial Edition, part 2, John Kerr listed as "2Lt PA"; Form MAGO 41, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Military Affairs, John Kerr, Revolutionary War, Army, 8 Batt. 7th Co. Cum. Co. Mil. Capt. Wm. Findlay's Co., 2nd Lieut, Cemetery - Falling Spring, Location of grave in cemetery: Section Lot No. B, Range Grave No. 88, Headstone, The Adjutant General's Office, Harrisburg, PA.

(57) Find-A-Grave (www.findagrave.com), Falling Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Chambersburg, PA, Benjamin Chambers, James Chambers.

(58) Will of John Kerr, Franklin Co., PA, Will Book "B", page 331, #918.

APPENDIX A
Dual Spelling of the Family Last Name,
i.e., KERR / CARR

An article entitled John Kerr, Founder of Kerrstown and Soldier in the American Revolution by Curtis Lynn Older published by the Franklin County Historical Society - Kittochtinny in A Journal of Franklin County History, Volume XXVIII, 2016, identifies numerous instances where the last name of Lt. John Kerr/Carr (1745 to 02 October 1807) was alternately spelled either Kerr or Carr. See page 7, where U. L. Gordy, writing in 1934, states, "It was from this Kerr that the part of Chambersburg south of Catherine Street got its local name--Carrstown (Kerrstown)." Page 8, a quotation from Wm. E. Gilmore, "General Joseph Kerr", Ohio History Vol. 12 (Chillicothe, OH: Ohio Archives and Historical Society Publications, 1903), 164-6, states regarding Joseph Kerr Senior (1766 - 1837), son of Lt. John Kerr, "Almost every person who knew him spelled and pronounced it Carr."

Also from the Older article, it was Lt. John Carr who was listed in the Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 6, page 527, but Lt. John Kerr who was listed in Vol. 6, page 533. These were two references to the same man. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission website, Pennsylvania State Archives, Rev. War Military Abstract Card File, has a card which states: "Jno Carr, Cumberland, 2nd Lt. March 25, 1778, Capt. William Finley - Duty: served, Fine Book of John Carothers, the basic record proves active duty." This clearly is a record for Lt. John Kerr of Kerrstown, PA.

There has been nothing found in the information on Samuel Kerr Senior, son of Lt. John Kerr, to demonstrate the dual spelling of the Kerr/Carr name. However, there is abundant material to demonstrate the dual spelling of the family name when examining information on the children of Samuel Kerr/Carr Senior.

The 08 October 1823 estate records for Samuel Kerr of Franklin County, Ohio, are found in Abstracted Base Files 1805 – 1831 from Franklin County, Ohio Court Records with Geneaalogical Notes, compiled by Blanche Tipton Rings and Mrs. Francis Herbert Obetz edited by Margaret Hiles Scott, copyright 1932, published by The Franklin County Genealogical Society, a chapter of The Ohio Genealogical Society.

The Samuel Kerr Senior estate papers list Nancy Kerr as age 14 years in 1823. We find that Nancy Carr married Thomas Gouty in Vermillion Co., Indiana on October 14, 1830. See Indiana State Library, Genealogy Database, Marriages through 1850. There is no example we have found where Nancy's last name was spelled Kerr. However, she and her husband, Thomas Gouty, owned land adjacent to Orson Kerr as shown on a map of First Land Owners of Highland Township, Vermillion Co., Indiana.

The 1823 estate papers of Samuel Kerr Senior include an Orson Kerr, age 18. According to a biographical sketch of Orson Kerr found in “Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe, Indiana,” Orson was born in Pennsylvania, the son of Samuel Kerr. He lived in Franklin County, OH; moved to Fountain County, IN, in 1827. Land records show Orson Kerr owned land adjacent Thomas Gouty. Orson married Cynthia Clawson in 1828. The family moved to Tippecanoe County, IN, in 1835. While this source is not well documented, it is corroborated by official documents and, significantly, was published in 1888, during Orson’s lifetime as indicated on his grave marker.

Fountain Co., IN, marriage records confirm that Orson Carr married Cynthia Clawson on 5 December 1828. The Fountain County 1830 census lists Orson Carr as a resident. The Tippecanoe County 1840 census lists Orson Carr as a resident. The Tippecanoe County 1850 census lists Orson Keer born in Pennsylvania. The Tippecanoe County 1860 census lists Orson Kerr, born in Pennsylvania. Also see, Fountain County deed book transactions: Book 3, p. 86. April 12, 1832. Thomas Clawson and Sophia his wife deed of gift to Orson Kerr for dowry, 80 acres in Section 4, Township 21, Range 7. It is obvious this Orson Kerr/Carr was the son of Samuel Kerr of Franklin Co., Ohio, who died in 1823.

Samuel Kerr Junior, son of Samuel Kerr Senior, died 16 July 1852. Some of his estate papers are included in Illinois Wills and Probate Records, 1772 - 1999, Ancestry.com, Samuel Kerr, Probate Date: 4 Oct 1852; Probate Place: Champaign, Illinois, USA; Inferred Death Year: Abt 1852; Inferred Death Place: Illinois, USA; Case Number: 104; Item Description: Packets, No. 102-149, 1852-1855, 23 images. The title page for his probate papers and most of the pages in the file spell his name Samuel Kerr. However, page 24 of the file refers to "The Estate of Samuel Carr Dec." We note that a John Carr, who must have been the son of Samuel Kerr Junior and Betsy Taylor, was living with the Evertson family in the 1860 Champaign Co., IL census.

We have found nothing in any information related to Joseph Kerr/Carr, son of Samuel Kerr Senior, which indicates a dual spelling of his last name. Joseph was the administrator of the Samuel Kerr Junior estate and lived not far from brother Samuel, but across the county line in Vermilion Co., Illinois, which is adjacent to Champaign Co.

APPENDIX A

Will of John Kerr, Will Book B, page 331, Franklin County, PA
Made 25 August 1807 and Probated 21 October 1807

In the name of God amen I John Kerr of Guilford Township, Franklin County and State of Pennsylvania, being through age and infirmity weak and frail in body, but of sound and perfect mind and memory, through the blessing of almighty God and calling to mind the mortality of my body, do make and ordain and declare this Instrument, which is written, I have subscribed every page of it, with my own hand and name, to be my last will and testament, revoking all others.

Imprimis all my just debts are to be punctually and speedily paid, and the legacies herein after bequeathed are to be discharged as soon as circumstances will permit, and in the manner directed.

Item to my dearly beloved wife Mary Kerr, I give and bequeath all my property both real and personal, my whole estate, during her natural life, my will further is that she make sale of my real and personal property after my decease, as soon as she may think proper, and further my will is that if she thinks proper not to sell my real estate, during her natural life, she is at full liberty to do as she thinks proper to sell it all or a part of it, and to keep any part of my personal property or the whole of it, if she chooses, during her natural life.

Item my will further is that after her decease.

Item my will is that my son Joseph Kerr, shall have four hundred pounds of my estate.

Item my will is that my daughter Jean McKinley, shall have four hundred pounds.

Item my will is that my son John Kerr shall have four hundred pounds.

Item my will further is that my daughter Sarah Decamp shall have four hundred pounds.

Item my will further is that my son James shall have one Spanish milled dollar.

Item my will further is that my daughter Mary Patterson shall have five hundred pounds; my will further is that if there should be any overplus after praying these legacies, then my wife Mary Kerr is to bequeath it to any one of my children or distribute it among my children or grandchildren, as she shall think proper.

Item my will further is that my Son Samuel Kerr is to have four hundred pounds, which is to be put to Interest for him which he is to receive the interest every year, during his natural life, and at his decease, to be equally divided the principal among his children.

Item my will further is that my funeral charges be immediately paid by my executors,

Lastly I constitute and appoint my beloved wife, Mary Kerr and Hugh Brotherton to be the Executrix and Executor of this my last will and testament. In witness of all and each of the things herein contained, I have set my hand and seal this twenty fifth day of August one thousand eight hundred and seven. 1807.

Signed, sealed, and pronounced and declared by the said John Kerr, as his last will and testament, in the presence of us, who in his presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names.

Hugh Brotherton Jas? Young John Kerr (seal)

On the 21st October 1807 Hugh Brotherton and James Young, witnesses to the foregoing instrument of writing appeared before me Register for the probate of wills and granting Letters of Administration, for Franklin County, who upon their solemn oath did depose and say that they were present and saw and heard John Kerr deceased write his name unto and seal and publish the foregoing writing as and for his last will and testament, and that at the time of doing thereof he the said John, was of sound and disposing mind memory and understanding according to the best of their knowledge and belief, and that their names thereto subscribed as witnesses is of their own hand writing, done at the same time.

Sworn and subscribed Ca Hugh Brotherton
Edw Crawford Reg. Jas. Young

Both Executors sworn to to file Inventory on or before one month and settle in a year or when legally required
21st October 1807 Edw. Crawford Reg.
A true copy taken from the original

APPENDIX B

Letter from John Kerr, Jr. (a son of Lt John Kerr and Mary Dougherty)
to his grandson, Augustus Pomeroy Kerr, January 20, 1851

Mount Hope, Gallia Co. Ohio,
Jany. 20th, 1851

Dear Grandson,

Having understood from one of your correspondents, that the lady with witch you boar[d], claims affinity or consanguinity to our family, in order to enable her to establish the same, I will give you a brief history of our family:

John Kerr my father lived and died on his farm adjoining Chambersburg nearly sixty years, he had three daughters and four sons, his oldest daughter married Wm. McKinley near Wheeling, Ohio Co., Virginia, the 2nd is living 16 miles above Wheeling, the 3d married a Mr. Patterson they both died at Cincinnati,

my oldest brother formerly at Chillicothe, Joseph; my 2d brother and his wife died about 36 year[s] ago, on Big Darby 10 miles west of Columbus, his name was Samuel he left a large family of whom I know nothing. My youngest brother James who lived and perhaps still lives at Chambersburg.

I shall be pleased if the above information shall eneable her to establish her affinity to my family, there was another John Kerr who lived 5 or 6 miles west of Chambersburg, I did not know them as relations I left that country in Sep. 1792 when I was 20 year[s] of age. I am now in my 79th year, & in tolerable good hea[l]th, also your Grandmother is as usual & lame from having her leg broke, our friends here are all well but Maria I think she is improving. My hand is get[t]ing palsied I can scarcely write.

I take the liberty to ask you to be diligent at your studies and not led off by any that may retrograde, as it [is] possable some of the great assemblige of Heterogeneous aspirants after science may look back before the[y] reach the summit, but keep [y]our eye on the apex, and persevere as many have done before you which would be great consolation to one who may not live to see it.

Remember me to our County boys & aid them with your Council. I remain your affectionate Grandfather.

John Kerr

[Note: Augustus Pomeroy Kerr, was a son of John Niswonger Kerr and Isabella Morrison, and grandson of John Kerr, Jr. (writer of letter) and Christine Niswonger.]

APPENDIX C

Application for Pension by Mary Richardson in 1858 – In Part

With Notes added from Wikipedia
wife of William Richardson, Continental (Pa) service, #W.9258,
BLWt. 82554-150-55, found on Fold3.com website on 29 July 2015
by Curtis L. Older

(page 14) A letter to Mrs. E. R. Williams dated March 24, 1938, indicates the following about this pension case: William Richardson was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. While a resident of Piqua, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania he enlisted in April 1778 and served until January 1781 as private in Colonel Lewis Nicola’s(see below) Invalid Regiment(see below) and was wound in in battle but the name of the battle was not given.

William Richardson moved to Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania about 1784 or 1792. He married at Chambersburg in the summer or fall of 1793 a Mary Snyder who was born in Chambersburg and was the daughter of Nicholas Snyder. Stated that soldier was gray-headed when he married.

About 1800 William and Mary Richardson moved from Chambersburg to Maryland, near Reisterstown, where they kept a tavern and he died there in February 1818. In April 1858 Mary Richardson was living in Baltimore, MD, with her daughter, name not given. Mary Richardson was allowed pension on her application executed May 14, 1858, at which time she was about 80 years of age.

The eldest child of William and Mary Richardson was born in 1794, name not give. In 1858, Mrs. Elizabeth Gilchrist who was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, state that she was a sister of the widow, Mary Richardson. Signed, A. D. Hiller, Executive Assistant to the Administrator.

[Lewis Nicola(Wikipedia) (1717 – August 9, 1807) was an Irish-American military officer, merchant, and writer who held various military and civilian positions throughout his career. Nicola is most notable for authoring the Newburgh letter, which urged George Washington to assume a royal title. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Nicola had been an officer in the British Army, serving in Europe before immigrating to the Thirteen Colonies. Establishing a residence in Philadelphia with his family, Nicola opened a library in 1767 and was active in colonial philosophical organizations. As a result of his work to establish the American Philosophical Society, he was elected as one of its curators. When the American Revolution broke out, Nicola offered his services to the colonial government, which eventually appointed him to various positions with local forces.

In 1777, Nicola proposed that the Continental Congress establish the Invalid Corps. The Congress accepted his proposal and appointed him as its commander. The Corps was stationed at various Pennsylvania locations before moving to West Point, New York. In 1782, after the end of most hostilities but before the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Nicola wrote the Newburgh letter, which was received coldly by Washington. Returning to civilian life, Nicola nevertheless was still active in military affairs, and was recalled to service during the 1790s, despite his advanced age. During this period, he continued to research for the American Philosophical Society, writing an especially controversial document entitled The Divinity of Jesus Christ Considered, From Scripture Evidences, in which he claimed that the divinity of Jesus Christ is not supported by scripture. He died in 1807, in the possession of only $55.]

[Invalid Corps(Wikipedia)
The Corps of Invalids was a separate branch of the Continental Army. It was composed of Continental Army veterans who had become unfit for field duty but who could still usefully serve as guards for magazines, hospitals, and similar installations. The noncommissioned officers were also supposed to be proficient in mathematics because the corps was intended to serve as a military academy in addition to its other duties. The military academy seems to have been a dead letter, but otherwise the corps carried out its duties, most notably at West Point, New York.[10] Corps of Invalids (Colonel Lewis Nicola: June 20, 1777 to close of war. Some Invalids remained in service until December 1784).]

Mary Richardson appointed as her agent an H. Longwell of Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania.

One deposition in this case was given on 9 June 1858 by Barnard Wolff aged about 70 years, at Franklin County, State of Pennsylvania.

He states in his deposition the following: “that the above named Wm Richardson and Mary his wife were very respectable people and worthy of all credit, and further this deponent says that he was well acquainted with John Kerr father of James Kerr of this place, whose deposition he is informed is before the pension office and the said James Kerr is a man known to this deponent to be a man of truth and veracity and worthy of all credit, as also was his father John Kerr, and further that the said John Kerr father of James Kerr was always reputed to have been an officer in the revolutionary war and was taken prisoner by the British and further this deponent has seen the widow of Wm Richardson within the last five or six years and that she is residing with some of her relatives in the city of Baltimore.”

The deposition of James Kerr, a son of John Kerr of Chambersburg, follows:
State of Pennsylvania
Franklin County
On this 9th day of June 1858 personally appeared before the subscribers a Justice of the Peace within and for the county aforesaid James Kerr who being duly sworn according to law doth depose and say that he is about 82 years of age that he was very well acquainted with William Richardson deceased who was a soldier of the revolution as this deponent has often heard him say he has also often heard him speaking of having served in a regiment he called the Invalid Regiment and also speaking of a wound he had received whilst in the service the said Richardson walked somewhat lame, sometimes more so than others, on this deponent asking him the cause he said it was from a wound received in the war – this deponent was raised in Chambersburg Franklin County PA his father John Kerr was also in the Revolutionary War in the capacity of a Lieutenant he had often heard him and the above named Wm Richardson conversing together about circumstances which took place while they were in the service, this deponent has heard his father stating to the above named Wm Richardson how he was taken prisoner as follows – that the British had come upon them in the camp soon after he had entered the service and after a severe contest they were obliged to retreat, and being surrounded by the enemy, and I the act of crossing a fence the deponent’s father received a stroke from the gun of one of the enemy who cried out now rebel I have you and he was forced to yield himself a prisoner and that he observed to the above Wm Richardson that he was lucky that he escaped being made a prisoner at that time for the privations and sufferings of the prisoners was most intense that the said Richardson replied that those of us that escaped being made prisoners suffered much from the want of suitable clothing such as shoes etc. and that often when upon the march they could not keep there feet from cutting on the frozen ground so that they could have been tracked by the blood from their frozen feet this deponent cannot say certainly(page 31) what time the above Wm Richardson came to this place but believes it was about 1784 from the circumstances of Richardson brining with him a stud horse he called Herod the Coachman which he very well recollects although very young at that time and that from the time said Richardson came to this place deponent’s father and him were very intimate and frequently conversed together about their service in the Revolutionary War and has frequently heard them speak of the officers of the Pennsylvania regiment but cannot now recollect them and that the said Wm Richardson and deponents father from the time he came here till the Whiskey Insurrection were very intimate and very often in each others ?society? that this deponent and Wm Richardson were out in the Whiskey Insurrection together in 1794. Richardson as Wagon Master deponent driving a team for Mr Carothers – James Welsh of Chambersburg had teams out at the same time and Billy Hill ? one of Welsh’s teams during this trip deponent has frequently heard the above Wm Richardson speak of his revolutionary services and of circumstances which transpired during the time he served in the army and after their return from this expedition this deponent and Wm Richardson wagoned together for many years to Baltimore Richardson driving his own team and deponent driving his fathers and during this time he has often heard Wm Richardson speak of his services in the Invalid Regiment and very frequently when they were at home Richardson and deponent’s father would be together being very intimate and living close together and often Col Finley, Capt. Campbell and Esquiers. Holliday, all of who would meet at deponents father’s house with said Richardson and converse together about their services in the revolution, all of them having served during that period and they would seldom meet in this social capacity without their conversation turning upon the scenes through which the had passed whilst serving in the army all the above parties being in good circumstances at that time spent much of their time together and (page 32) the accompanying book which his father told him he bought on the day of his liberation from captivity, and the writing upon the first page, which he knows to be the handwriting of his father, was made upon that day by his father, and that he has heard his father say that Col Finlay & John Holliday Esq. and others were prisoners at the same time who were all his neighbors, in then Cumberland, now Franklin County, that the above named Wm Richardson & Mary Snyder were married sometime in the summer or fall of 1793 by the Rev Mr. Stokes of the German Reformed Church this deponent did not see them married but recollects well of being one of a party wo serenaded them the night they were married that William Richardson was much the senior of his wife and was gray-headed when he was married, the he was called then old soldier at that time that this deponent never heard it doubted in the neighborhood that he had served in the revolutionary war that said Richardson & wife were both very respectable people, as much so as any in the county and worthy of all credit and belief, her maiden named was Mary Snyder that they moved from Chambersburg somewhere about the year 1800 to the neighborhood of Reisterstown MD where they kept tavern that this deponent still continued wagoning after he removed and always stopped at said Richardson’s tavern during which time he has often heard him speak of his services in the Revolutionary war and of his constitution being injured by exposure whilst in the army(?) that said Richardson often asked him while stopping at his tavern how his fathers neck was alluding to where he had got the stoke with the musket when he was taken prisoner as above stated that this deponent cannot recollect the names of the officers under whom his father and Richardson served although he has often heard them speaking of them in connection with the Invalid Regiment this deponent cannot say positively that his father & Richardson served in the same company but he knows they were in the same service together from the conversations he has often heard them (?have?) together upon this subject(page 33) such as the circumstances which took place when his father was taken prisoner and Richardson was wounded that this deponent thinks from what his father has told him he was a prisoner for three years or more his father died in 1807 and Wm Richardson died in 1818 at the old tavern stand near Reisterstown and his widow Mary Richardson continued to keep the same tavern for some time after his death, deponent still stopping there – there were other papers in deponents possession related to the services of his father & Richardson but (?) long since been lost.
James Kerr (page 34)

(page 35) – appointment of agent by Mary Richardson:
Know all men by these presents that I Mary Richardson formerly of Franklin County PA now residing in Baltimore widow of William Richardson dec, who served in the revolutionary war and other wars since that time do by these presents constitute and appoint Col. H. Longwell of Gettysburg PA my agent and attorney in fact for me. And in my place to prosecute my claims against the government at Washington for all and any thing which may be legally due me for the services of my deceased husband and to procure for me all which may be legally due on account of the services of my deceased husband. Witness my hand and seal this 1st day of February 1858
Witness
R. S. Paxton Mary Richardson (seal)

(page 36)
At the request of Col H. Longwell I enclose the within certificate of Pension issued to Mrs. Mary Richardson per Act 20 July 1848 dated 14 Aug 1858
H. Chamberlaine Jr
Pension Agency
Balt 9 Dec 1858

(page 45)
Chambersburg
Franklin County
Pennsylvania
On this 23d day of April 1858 personally appeared before me a Justice of the Peace in and for the county aforesaid James Kerr aged about 82 years a resident of Chambersburg county and state aforesaid who being duly sworn according to law doth depose and say that he was well acquainted with William Richardson dec the husband of Mary Richarsdson formerly Mary Snyder who was also a resident of Chambersburg Franklin Co. that he did not see the above parties married but knew very well that they were married by the Revd Mr. Stokes of the Ger Reformed Church sometime in 1793 or 1794 he cannot to be precisely which and he knew them to live together as man & wife and never heard it called in question that they were so, that they removed from this place to near Reisterstown MD about the year 1800 when he kept tavern until he died sometime about the year 1818 – that he lodged with the widow Mary Richardson in the same tavern after his death and brought up at one time a band box from there to her friends in Chambersburg he being a waggoner on the road from Chambersburg to Baltimore – that this deponent was very intimately acquainted with the above William Richardson and has often heard him speak of his services in the revolutionary war that this deponents father was a Lieutenant in the revolutionary war and was taken prisoner at the battle of Paoli and sent to jail to Philadelphia it being made use of to confine the American prisoners at that time. They were then removed to New York – and released on the 23d day of February 1782 as it appears by his journal now in the deponent’s possession – that this deponents father and the above named Wm Richardson were very intimate friends and very frequently together – that he has often heard them speak of circumstances, which transpired during their revolutionary service, such as wounds and hurts they had received during the war etc. & that he has (page 46) frequently heard them speak of the Invalid Regiment and others, but cannot recollect the names of the officers. That the above Wm Richardson always had the reputation of having served in the revolutionary war, and he never heard it doubted in the neighborhood where he resided. That he the said Richarson had formerly been a resident of Piqua Lancaster Co. PA and entered the service from that place as he has understood from him. That when he came to Chambersburg Franklin Co he brought with him a stud horse he called Herod the Coachman. This was before his marriage to Mary Snyder. That this deponent and the above Wm Richardson had drove teams together a great deal and were very intimate friends and the above Wm Richardson had often spoken to him of his revolutionary services in their travels together. That he was also a man of respectability and worthy of credit. That he knew the widow Richardson both before and after her marriage and knew her to be a most respectable and worthy lady and worthy of all credit. That he believes she is now residing with her daughters in Reistertown MD and is still a widow.
James Kerr

(page 50)
Chambersburg June 9, 1858
When I made my deposition on the application of Mrs Mary Richardson to the U.S. Government for a pension I referred her agent to James (?C or E?) Kerr of this place whom I supposed from his age, residence & occupation would probably know more of the early residents & lives of William Richardson and Mary his wife than any other living person – Yet I had not heard him say a word on the subject - - Mr. John Kerr the father of James was reported to have had some military services for his country during the Revolutionary War – He lived on the farm adjoining Chambersburg & his son James lived (??) in the occupation of farming – Besides property in ?town? William Richardson owned some sixty years since a farm adjoining the town – I do suppose that William Richardson would be intimate with Mr. Kerr and his family. In those days the flour of this country was halled to Philadelphia & Baltimore markets by wagons. The farmers ?revery?) one or more teams of horses. William Richardson owned one or more ?live? horse teams or? ? horses, & was instrumental in improving the breed of horses in the county. ? ? overing horses, which he introduced – This made him intimate with the farmers of the neighborhood (page 51)and I suppose that he would be intimate with Kerr, a near neighbor.
George Chambers

James Kerr referred is to the best of my knowledge a man of veracity.
G. C.

[George Chambers(Wikipedia) (February 24, 1786 – March 25, 1866) was an Anti-Masonic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
George Chambers was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Princeton College in 1804, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1807 and commenced practice in Chambersburg.

Chambers was elected as an Anti-Masonic candidate to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses. After his time in Congress, he resumed the practice of law and was a member of the State constitutional convention in 1837. He was appointed a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on April 12, 1851, which position he held until it was vacated by constitutional provision. He died in Chambersburg in 1866. Interment in Falling Spring Presbyterian Churchyard.]

I concur with Hon George Chambers in what he says above of the veracity and reliability of James Kerr, so far as I know or have ever heard, and I have known Mr. Kerr since I was a boy. I recollect John Kerr named within, and have often heard it said that he rendered Military service to his country as an officer in the revolution.
T. Hartley Crawford
Washington DC
June 16, 1858

[Thomas Hartley Crawford(Wikipedia) (November 14, 1786 – January 27, 1863) was a Jacksonian member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Thomas H. Crawford was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Princeton College in 1804. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1807 and commenced practice in Chambersburg.

Crawford was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Congresses. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1833 and 1834. He was appointed a commissioner to investigate alleged frauds in the sale of the Creek Reservation in 1836. He was appointed by President Martin Van Buren as Commissioner of Indian Affairs and served from October 22, 1838, to October 30, 1845. He was appointed by President James K. Polk as judge of the criminal court of the District of Columbia in 1845 and served until 1861, when the court was reorganized. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1863. He had his interment in the Congressional Cemetery.]

(page 52) W. Hamilton Longwell requested me to state any knowledge of the character of the Hon. George Chambers. He has been one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, for truth and veracity in any statement of fact which he may make he has no superior. I would rely with confidence on any such statement made by him.
James Buchanan
18 June 1858

[James Buchanan, Jr.(Wikipedia) (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) was the 15th President of the United States (1857–1861), serving immediately prior to the American Civil War. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives and later the Senate, then served as Minister to Russia under President Andrew Jackson. He was named Secretary of State under President James K. Polk, and is to date the last former Secretary of State to serve as President of the United States. After Buchanan turned down an offer to sit on the Supreme Court, President Franklin Pierce appointed him minister to the Court of St. James's, in which capacity he helped draft the Ostend Manifesto.]

(page 53)
City of Baltimore
State of Maryland
On this 15th day of June 1858 personally appeared before the subscriber a Justice of the Peace within and for the City of Baltimore Mary Richardson who being duly sworn according to law doth depose and say that she is the identical Mary Richardson who had an application for bounty land now before the Pension Office that she is the widow of William Richardson deceased who was a soldier in the war of the revolution as she has often heard him say in conversation with herself as well as with others that John Kerr the father of James Kerr now living in Chambersburg PA was very intimate with her said husband Wm Richardson and that the above named John Kerr was very frequently at their house before they removed from Chambersburg in company with his son James Kerr, still living in Chambersburg Col Finley and others on such occasion she has frequently heard them speaking of their revolutionary services of John Kerr being taken prisoner and of her husband the said Wm Richardson being wounded – she has also often heard them speak of their officers but cannot now recollect any of their names but that of Col Lewis Nicolia. She has also heard them speak of the Invalid Regiment and from their conversation she believes that her husband and John Kerr served together in the army of the revolution – that her said husband had frequently told her that he had suffered much privation and hardship while in the army while on guard for want of suitable clothing also on their marches their shoes being very bad, leaving their feet exposed to the ground so much so that the nails came off the toes of many of them – she has also heard him speak of night marches either to escape from the enemy or attack them, she does not know which and of their feet being so exposed for want of shoes that they could be tracked by the blood – that her husband and the above named James Kerr had been very intimate both in Chambersburg and after her husband and her had removed to Maryland, and she has often heard her husband telling James Kerr about the difficulties and privations he had passed through in the army of his being wounded the effects of which he still suffered under. She was married to the above named Wm Richardson in the summer or fall of (page 54)1793 and in 1794 her husband was out as wagon master in the Whiskey insurrection and was at Bensons Fort Monongahela, the before named James Kerr being with him as a teamster and that they returned home late that fall together and that as long as they lived in Chambersburg her husband and James Kerr drove teams together her husband driving his own team and James Kerr driving his father’s, John Kerr’s, team – and after they removed to Maryland, James Kerr still drove teams to Baltimore and always stopped at their tavern Reisterstown he and her husband continuing to very intimate till 1818 when her husband died and she has often heard her husband on those occasions telling James Kerr about his sufferings in the army & of his said father John Kerr being taken prisoner and she has also heard him speak of Col Finley being in the service, and being taken prisoner and further deponent saith not.
Mary Richardson

Sworn and subscribed before me a Justice of the Peace within and for the city of Baltimore day and year above written and I do hereby certify that I am well acquainted with the within deponent Mary Richardson and know her to be a person of truth and veracity and that this is the same person who made application for a land warrant sometime since and made her declaration before me.
Joseph Carl J. P.

(page 55) A Return of the officers and men belonging to the Pennsylvania Line in the Invalid Regiment from June 1777 to November 15th 1784.
William Richardson April 78 Jany 81

The men thus marked Enlisted for and at the expense of Invalids being fit for Service were given to the Pennsylvania Line and their enlistments with them.
Lewis Nicola
Br Gl

[Lewis Nicola(Wikipedia) (1717 – August 9, 1807) was an Irish-American military officer, merchant, and writer who held various military and civilian positions throughout his career. Nicola is most notable for authoring the Newburgh letter, which urged George Washington to assume a royal title. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Nicola had been an officer in the British Army, serving in Europe before immigrating to the Thirteen Colonies. Establishing a residence in Philadelphia with his family, Nicola opened a library in 1767 and was active in colonial philosophical organizations. As a result of his work to establish the American Philosophical Society, he was elected as one of its curators. When the American Revolution broke out, Nicola offered his services to the colonial government, which eventually appointed him to various positions with local forces.

In 1777, Nicola proposed that the Continental Congress establish the Invalid Corps. The Congress accepted his proposal and appointed him as its commander. The Corps was stationed at various Pennsylvania locations before moving to West Point, New York. In 1782, after the end of most hostilities but before the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Nicola wrote the Newburgh letter, which was received coldly by Washington. Returning to civilian life, Nicola nevertheless was still active in military affairs, and was recalled to service during the 1790s, despite his advanced age. During this period, he continued to research for the American Philosophical Society, writing an especially controversial document entitled The Divinity of Jesus Christ Considered, From Scripture Evidences, in which he claimed that the divinity of Jesus Christ is not supported by scripture. He died in 1807, in the possession of only $55.]

APPENDIX D

Application for Pension by Elizabeth Gilchrist in 1859 – In Part

With Notes added by Curtis L. Older from Wikipedia

wife of James Gilchrist, pension claim, W.25622,
found on Fold3.com website on 29 July 2015 by Curtis L. Older

(page 13)
Mrs. Howard Bortz
417 N. Walnut Ave.
Greensburg, Pa.

Madam:
I have to advise you that from the papers in the Revolutionary War pension claim, W.25622, it appears that James Gilchrist served as Lieutenant in the 5th Pennsylvania Regiment and retired January 1, 1783. The date of appointment is not stated.

While living three miles from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he married April 5, 1803, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth, daughter of Nicolas Snyder or Snider or said place. He died in June 1817, aged about 60 years.

She was allowed pension on her application executed February 1, 1859, while residing in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, aged 75 years.

They had the following children:
James__________born July 23, 1804
Catharine Maria___born October 9, 1807
Thomas_________born June 17, 1810
John____________born October 15, 1812

Respectfully,
Commissioner


(page 26) A List of the Officers of the Pennsylvania Line who retired from the Service of the United States agreeably to the acts of Congress.
Names Rank Dates of Retiring
James Gilchrist Lieutenant 1 January 1783

(page 27) Payment record dated March 27, 1781 for James Gilchrist Ensign of the fifth Pennsylvania Regiment.

(page 28)
Franklin County
State of Pennsylvania

On this 21st day May AD 1859 personally appeared before the subscribers a Justice of the Peace within and for the said county James Kerr who being duly sworn according to law doth depose and say that he was well acquainted with Lieutenant James Gilchrist who was a brother-in-law of William Richardson they were married to two sisters of the name of Snyder daughters of Nicholas Synders of Chambersburg PA.

The above named James Gilchrist was married about three or four years before this deponent was married, this deponent was married in 1807. James Gilchrist had been a resident of Adams County, PA before he was married, that in the year 1810 or 1812 he removed to Westmoreland County, PA, and that in some five or six years afterwords this deponent heard of him being killed by a wagon running over him near Pittsburg PA, that the above named James Gilchrist continued following waggoning until his death as aforesaid, that tis deponent had often waggoned in company with the above named James Gilchrist and William Richardson, and has often heard them conversing about the Revolutionary War, that this deponent’s father John Kerr was also a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War and was taken prisoner at a place called the “Crooked Billett” near Philadelphia, that he was three years a prisoner, that he was released in 1781, that this deponent recollects of his said father coming home, from the circumstances of this, Deponent having always slept with his mother and of his unwillingness

(page 29) to let his father come to bed to them on his return home, that this deponent’s father and the above named James Gilchrist and William Richardson had often conversed together about the revolutionary war, and of their services in said war, in his presence – that the above named James Gilchrist was an old batchellor when he was married to Elizabeth Snyder she being quite young at the time, that the above named James Gilchrist never was married before and never had a son named Robert.
James Kerr

Sworn and subscribed before me a Justice of the Peace within and for the said county, day and year above written.

And I do hereby certify that I am will acquainted with the above deponent James Kerr and know him to be a man of truth and veracity and worthy of all credit.

Witness my hand & seal this 21st day of May AD 1859
Philip Hamman (seal)