KERR
56
KERR
other member of the Presbytery. For many years he was stated derk of the Presbytery of West era Tennessee District, and his ac(iuaintancc witli the form of govern- ment and discipline Avas so perfect that his word was taken as the suhition of all doubts and difficulties." — Wil- son, Presh. Historical A Imanac, 1868, p. 338.
Kerr, James, a Presbyterian minister, a native of Scotland, was born in 1805, and was educated in the University of Glasgow, where he took his A.B. in 1832. In his twenty-fifth year he emigrated to the United States, and shortly after entered the Western Theolog- ical Seminar}', was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Baltimore April 27, 183G, and was ordained an evan- gelist by the Presbyter}^ of Winchester at IMartinsburg, Va., April 22, 1837. He labored tirst as a missionary in Hampshire County, Va., for two years, and was success- ful in his ministry, planting the standard of the Cross in many portions of that hitherto forsaken country. He was next invited by the Church of Cadiz, Ohio; began his ministerial work in this congregation Dec. 2, 1838, and was regularly installed June, 1839. He died April l',l, 1855. Kerr was the autlior of Mode of Baptism, and a small work on Psalmodij. '■ He was a good pres- byter, and made an excellent presiding officer of an ec- clesiastical court, to which both the members of the Presbytery and SjTiod can testify. His decisions were uniformly correct, and his thorough acquaintance with the government and politj^ of our Church gave him a superior influence in all her judicial meetings upon which he ivas called to attend. He was remarkably conscientious in every sphere of life, whether as a citi- zen, a Christian, or a minister. So decided was he against reading sermons, or even taking the smallest abstract into the pulpit, that he invariably voted against the licensure and ordination of any young man that did commit this ' great mistake,' as he sometimes termed it. As a preacher he was clear and logical, plain and inter- esting, in his statements of the great truths of the Gos- pel. His pulpit productions thoroughly partook of his own character, and came forth as the result of close ap- plication and much study ; and on no occasion would he agree to preach, if it could at all be avoided, without special preparation." — Wilson, Prcsb. Jlisiorical Alma- «oc, 18G7, p. IGO.
Kerr, John, a Baptist minister of Scottish descent, was born in Caswell Comity, N. C, Aug. 14, 1782, con- verted in 18(10, baptized in 1801, and at once licensed to preach. " Determined to avail himself of every means in his power to render his ministry efficient and useful, the young evangelist travelled to South Carolina to see the excellent Marshall and listen to his preaching, and thence to Georgia to form the acquaintancG of the dis- tinguished and venerable ]\Ierccr. Returning from the South, he visited Virginia, and became jiersonally known to the lamented Semple and other valuable ministers of the state. Wherever he went his preaching pro- duced a thrilling effect. His youthful appearance, the ardor and gracefulness of his manner, and the beauty of his diction, attracted universal attention. There are not a few avIio still remember his visit to Eastern Vir- ginia with lively emotion after the lapse of almost half a century." In 1811 he embarked on the stormy sea of politics, consenting to become a candidate for Congress, and he was twice elected thereto. He was a member of that ijody during the War of 1812, and served his roimtry at that critical period with a fervent and en- lightened patriotism. At the close of his Congressional career he returned to Halifax, and served the churches at Arbor and at ^lary Creek. In Jlarch, 1825, he removed to tlie city of K'ichmonil, and l)ecame the jiastor of the First I5aptist Church. Here his tine pulpit talents were brought into active and succe.ssfuL operation. Crowds hung with dehght on his ministry, in less than a year more than live hundred members were added to the Church, t^vo hundred and seventeen of whom were white. This successful work continued until dissension
was sown among his parishioners by the preaching of Alexander Campbell, -whose efforts finally drew from Kerr's church nearly half of its members (in 1831 ). By the close of 1832 he had grown weary of the contentions to which the division had given rise, and resigned his charge. He died Sept. 29, 18'42. He was naturally of a frank, generous, and disinterested disposition. Inca- pable of artifice himself, he was not always guarded against it in others. His temperament, peculiarly ar- dent, sometimes perverted his judgment. His manners were uniformly bland, gentle, and conciliating. In so- cial intercourse he was highly gifted, never failing to impart an interest and a charm to conversation. He was dignified without ostentation, and cheerful without levity. "As a Christian, he imbibed in a high degree the spirit of his Master. His piety was not the d\varf- ish and stunted growth of sectarianism — morose, censo- rious, and persecuting, but the product of enlarged and liberal views — cheerful, candid, and conciliatory. Though he was firm to his convictions as a Baptist, he was re- markably free from bigotry, and was a lover of good men of every communion. As a preacher he possessed commanding talents. A fine person, a sonorous voice, and a graceful manner at once prepossessed his hearers in his favor. His apprehension was quick, his percep- tion clear, and his imagination remarkably vivid. He is ranked among the most popular preachers of his day in Virginia, and for more than thirty years he rarely if ever failed to be appointed at associations and other im- portant meetings to preach on occasions of the greatest interest." — Sprague, Aimals, vi, 4-10 sq.