Rev. Sylvester L. Kerr
ID # 8538, (1832-1896)
| Baptism | Rev. Sylvester L. Kerr was baptized in 1832 at Whitby. |
| Marriage | He married Susannah Dawdy, daughter of Jeremiah Dawdy and Sarah Ann Vansickle, on 15 August 1848. Vol. 3 of Rev. Donald a. McKenzie's More Notices from Methodist Newspapers, 1830-1857, page 97, Global Heritage Press, Milton (now Ottawa), 2010, records the marriage of Rev. S. Karr of Thorold to Susannah Dawdy of Ancaster on August 15th, 1848. This does not tell of the location of the marriage. The above marriage notice shows the groom's name as Karr, but Jeremiah Dawdy's obituary from 1887 shows his son-in-law's name as Kerr. See notes for Susannah's father, Jeremiah Dawdy. Mrs. Ferguson, in Ancaster's Heritage, names Susannah as one of Jeremiah's children. She places her as second in order of birth, which may well be correct. What is clear is that by the time of the 1851 census, begun in January of 1852, Susannah was no longer in her parental household. |
| Death | He died on 1 June 1896 at Toronto, York Co., Ontario. |
| Burial | He was buried on 4 June 1896 at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, York Co.. |
| Note | Information for the Rev. Sylvester Kerr is sparse, perhaps because he was a minister in the Episcopal Methodist Church. There were numbers of congregations of this church in early day Ontario, but the Wesleyans were certainly the more numerous. There were also New Connection and Primitive Methodists. The short story here is that it is just possible that Sylvester did not always have a congregation to attend and may account for what would otherwise appear to be inconsistencies in his history that is certainly found in Canadian census information. Sylvester and Susannah, ages for both shown as 31, appear in the 1851 census for Delaware Township, Middlesex County. With them is son Edwin, age 3 (as of his next birthday). Sylvester is shown as Episcopal Methodist and as a minister. Certainly, looking over mostly the preceding pages, there were a goodly number of Episcopal Methodists in the township. The 1861 census shows the Kerr family in the town of Oakville which is in Halton County. (This is tricky to find, for the family name is indexed as 'Kim' in Ancestry). Sylvester is shown as S. L. Kerr, a minister of the Episcopal Methodist church. The 1851 census for some reason showed Susan rather older than she really was. The 1861 census gets closer to her correct age, for she is shown as 28 (as of her next birthday, presumeably). With them are sons Edwin, age 12, and William, age 9. It is with the 1871 census that we run into an inconsistency, for the family is in St. Vincent Township of Grey County and Sylvester is shown as a farmer. The family is still shown as Episcopal Methodist. With them still are sons Edwin, now age 21, and William, age 18. Added to the family is son Frank, age 5. The 1881 census also shows the family in St. Vincent Township, though son Edwin is now away from the household. The preceding family, rather large, is also named Kerr, and they are almost certainly family connections, though just what that might be isn't known. The household head was Hawkins Kerr. The 1891 census has Sylvester and Susan in Toronto's St. Lawrence Ward. Their sons are away and Sylvester is shown as a clergyman. Sylvester died in 1896. Death reg. 024157-96 Toronto, York Co. Sylvester L. Kerr died June 1, 1896. Age 71 years. Clergyman. Born Canada. Methodist. Physician and informant P. J. Brown, M.D. No death notice or obituary has been found in the Toronto papers of the day. A very brief notice of death appears in Vol. 12 of Rev. Donald McKenzie's Obituaries from the Christian Guardian, 1896-1900, Global Heritage Press, Milton (now Ottawa), 2013, page 238. This quotes the briefest of death notices that appeared in the Christian Guardian edition of June 10, 1896, page 377, and, beyond information that is in the death registration, provides nothing else. More informative is the burial page of Mount Pleasant Cemetery which is to be found on Familysearch. This page from 1896 tells us that that Rev. Sylvester L. Kerr, age 70, was born in Whitby, Ontario, (whether town or township, it does not say). It dates his death to June 1 of the year and his burial to June 4. The entry is not entirely clear, but it appears that both Sylvester and Susannah's graves were moved by William L. Kerr. This move appears to have been made within Mount Pleasant Cemetery, but no reason is shown. Some Kerr family notes: First, as mentioned in the notes for the marriage of Sylvester and Susannah, the groom's surname is shown as Karr. It does appear that the family went by this name in earlier years, though we by no means have a full story. As mentioned above, when Sylvester and Susan were in St. Vincent Township and farming, the 1881 census shows the previous household as that of Hawkins Kerr. Hawkins age is shown as 46 compared to Sylvester's age as 54. Were they brothers? Hawkins appears with his parents, John and Betsy Kerr, in Whitby Township in the 1851 census. By 1861, Betsy is evidently deceased, but John Kerr is with son Hawkins Kerr, in Scarborough. The 1851 census shows the family as Episcopal Methodist, but the 1861 census shows them as Wesleyan Methodist. In 1916, Hawkins Kerr died in Owen Sound and he is buried there. His death registration shows him as age 82 and also shows his parents as John Kerr and Elizabeth Woodruff. With minimal looking around, it didn't take long to find that John and Elizabeth are buried in the Wesleyan Methodist Cemetery in Highland Creek (in present day Scarborough, Ontario). Their family name is shown as Karr. According to the gravestone transcription, John died on February 1, 1872, and Elizabeth died on May 3, 1860, which of course explains why she doesn't appear in the 1861 census. (Two separate transcriptions confirm the death date information.) Your researcher attended the cemetery in Highland Creek on April 13, 2021, found the two Karr gravestones, John's and Betsy's, and they are in nearly unreadable condition. Find-a-Grave presents photos from a number of years ago and these are more legible, particularly John's. Betsy's gravestone is flat on the ground and nearly unreadable. We are fortunate to have the transcriptions, the earlier of which dates to the 1930s. The question here: Are John Karr/KIerr and Elizabeth Woodruff the parents of Sylvester Kerr? Proof is wanting, but the circumstantial evidence certainly leans that way. A further note: Sylvester and Susan appear in the 1871 census in St. Vincent Township in Grey County on page 36 of sub district H. Page 37 shows the family of Enoch Kerr. Looking at Enoch's age, it is safe to say that he is the brother of Hawkins Kerr (see the 1851 census in Whitby Township and the 1861 census in Scarborough Township. A place of burial for Enoch has been sought, but not found. |
Children of Rev. Sylvester L. Kerr and Susannah Dawdy |
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| Last Edited | 16 Apr 2021 |