Betty Have you done any research of your KERRs beyond their arrival in Quebec, i.e. their beginnings in Ireland, possibly back to Scotland? Regards Roberta

Gloria, Marcel Thank you for your quick response to my query. We do have our KERR descendants in Canada, thank you. We are interested in KERRs before they got to Canada, i.e. their origins in Scotland, Ireland. Roberta

Hi Roberta, As far as I can tell from the Lists and Boards, I am among ..dozens.. of researchers who cannot find information on our KERR's before they left Ireland. I am limited to on-line research, though. And, I cannot spend money on my research (on any branch of tree). So, I just participate on the Lists (and Boards when I remember to). I have belonged to the IRL-Sligo and the Ireland Lists for a couple of years now, and have received information from the helpful members of those Lists .. that there were both KERR's and HENDERSON's in County Sligo, and in Sligo (Town) going back to the mid-1700's. Those names do appear in the graveyards. But .. without even a hint .. of the names of the parents of "our" KERR's, we can't get very far. However, I have seen mention of the "naming patterns" in Scotland, which probably also holds true in Ireland. And, my "feeling" is that the names of the first two sons of our KERR's and HENDERSON's .. probably are the names of their grandfathers ! (Same with the daughters being named after their grandmothers !) I did find one possible "hint" when I found out there was a Patrick KERR as a teacher in SLIGO in 1820. That was maybe about 6 months ago. But, about a month ago, I heard of a Patrick KERR who was still in SLIGO later in the 1800's. I thought that this Patrick in 1820 might have been "our" Patrick who left in ~1823. But, now he might not have been. I had e-mailed the "Sligo Heritage and Genealogy Centre" a week ago, and they have not yet responded. So, I mailed them a slow-mail letter yesterday. I'm pretty sure that I e-mailed them last winter, and I can't remember the details, but I think they said that they really couldn't help me .. without an official "search" which costs $$$. I did find a KERR who is currently living in County Sligo, but he had just moved there. His wife's family is from there. So, he is not related to the SLIGO KERR's. He was going to try to "poke around" and ask questions, etc., but he has a young family and just hasn't had time. After probably 4 years of on-line "queries," I have come to the conclusion that there are only two ways of finding the information we need: (1) Take a trip to Ireland, and visit only the "records" in County Sligo, and (2) pay for an "official search" at the Sligo Heritage and Genealogy Centre. Both of which will cost a lot of money. Having said that, we still don't know that the KERR's were from County Sligo ! According to John's research, the HENDERSON's were reportedly from County Sligo, as that is where William was reportedly born, and that is where he was reportedly married, and that is where his first few children were born. And, he did marry Mary KERR there, so at the very least Mary was living in County Sligo at the time of her marriage to William. As far as the KERR's go, John only mentions that they were born in Ireland ! However, a few researchers on the Sligo and Ireland Lists have told me that ..many.. times, two "close" families or a group of "close" families .. would migrate together - from one part of Ireland to another, or back and forth from Scotland to Ireland. And, they said that it would be a very good guess that the KERR's and HENDERSON's .. always moved or migrated together. (Especially since so many of them married into each other's families.) As I mentioned previously, it wouldn't surprise me at all to find out that Samuel HENDERSON's wife was formerly .. Catherine KERR. And, there is the couple in Compton County, the other Robert KERR who married Margaret HENDERSON .. in Ireland. They came over a few years later. I don't recall Dawson KERR's wife's name at the moment, but he initially settled in either NB or NS (I think) and came to Argenteuil County and lived there for only a year or two. Then he moved to Perth County, Ontario. He must have been somehow related to "our" KERR's to have come directly to the "Gore Township." And, there is James KERR. I can't recall his details at the moment, but he settled in the same areas later on, and always seemed to live near "our" KERR's later in the 1800's. (It's 5 am here, and I'm not remembering all the details of KERR's people have told me about.) Just a couple of months ago, someone suggested that one of us should go to Argenteuil County and try "extra hard" to find the official "death records" of the original KERR's and HENDERSON's (who arrived 1823-1825). At the very least the names of the parents, or at least the father, should be written on the death record. And, possibly the county in Ireland where they came from? According to my handwritten outline of John's research: Mary (KERR) HENDERSON died in 1881 in Lakefield, William HENDERSON died in 1870 in Island Brook, and Patrick KERR died in 1866 in Lakefield or St. Jerome (?), and his, wife, Elizabeth KERR, died in 1850 (probably in Gore). My notes don't give the death information on John and Ann KERR, or on Levi and Elizabeth MILLER; I'll try to get it from John's web site. Getting the official death records would, hopefully, also clear up the "discussion" on whether Patrick and Mary were siblings, or whether Patrick's wife and Mary were siblings. I know this is a long posting, but I just thought I'd end with mentioning .. DNA projects. Unfortunately, I only have two KERR uncles left. The younger one is in FL and is estranged from the family, and he has no birth-son. The older one is now in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer's. He has one birth-son, but I haven't seen my cousin in about 15 years, as he doesn't attend our "family gatherings." Enjoy your weekend ! Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) P.S. As I've told other people, I seem to have "come from a long line of dysfunctional families" .. on both sides of my "family tree." And, this "situation" doesn't help my genealogy, at all. :o( And, speaking of health problems, because of my ten years of KIDDER research, I found out that three, major, life-threatening health problems .. came down from my 1800's ancestors -- heart disease, lung disease, and stroke ... But, I found out that we do not inherit "diseases" from our ancestors -- instead we inherit their "weak immune systems." And, "Auto-immune disorders" have tripled in number in our lifetimes ! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roberta Kerr" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 2:22 PM Subject: KERRs before Quebec > Betty > > Have you done any research of your KERRs beyond their arrival in Quebec, > i.e. their beginnings in Ireland, possibly back to Scotland? > > Regards > Roberta > > ______________________________

Hi Roberta, Just to finish up my thoughts this morning. I went to John's web site, and .. Levi MILLER died in 1858 in Lakefield, and his wife, Elizabeth (KERR), died in 1866 in Lakefield John KERR died in 1862 in Gore, and his wife, Ann (HENDERSON), died in 1851 in Deux-Montagnes, Quebec. (I also noted that John remarried in 1855 to Mary SILVERSON. So, it seems as if four of the original five couples pretty much remained in Argenteuil County. So, their "death records" should be in that County ! If anyone was in "a traveling mood," and was feeling "very lucky" one morning, perhaps they could drive over to Lakefield and Lachute - and wherever the "Gore Township" records are held ... and do a search for the death records of: Mary (KERR) HENDERSON, Patrick KERR, Elizabeth (KERR) MILLER, Elizabeth (KERR?) KERR, John KERR, and Ann (HENDERSON) KERR ! (William HENDERSON died in Island Brook.) If those "death records" could be found .. a "whole new world" could open up to us ! Then it was their sons and daughters who started moving out of the County - mine and many others to Compton County - where they met up with the families of Robert KERR and James KERR. I do not know where the many HENDERSON's went. Some of both families went to Ontario Province, including Dawson KERR, and possibly Samuel HENDERSON. Thank you for your time. Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roberta Kerr" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 2:22 PM Subject: KERRs before Quebec > Betty > > Have you done any research of your KERRs beyond their arrival in Quebec, > i.e. their beginnings in Ireland, possibly back to Scotland? > > Regards > Roberta > > ______________________________