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Texas | Columns | Lone Star Diary

James Kerr served his country well …
Life and times of a Texas pioneer

by Murray Montgomery
Murray Montgomery

Stories about pioneers and the things they accomplished during their lives on the Texas frontier are widely available from many sources.

Today's writers and historians can find a wealth of knowledge both online and from microfilm editions of old newspapers. It's those combined sources that provided me with the information I needed to bring you the story of James Kerr.

According to the Handbook of Texas and author Stephen L Harding, we are presented with a colorful rendition of life on the frontier and the many exploits of James Kerr.


Kerr was born in Kentucky in 1790 but eventually wound up in Missouri after his father moved the family there in 1808.

Young James fought in the War of 1812 and would go on to serve as a sheriff in Missouri - he also became a successful politician in the "show me" state.

James Kerr showed up in Texas in 1825 and became surveyor-general for Green DeWitt's colony. He eventually moved his family to Brazoria so he could be closer to his friend Stephen F. Austin.

Later in 1825, tragedy struck the Kerr family - his wife and two children died of cholera. There was one surviving child, a three-year-old girl.-

But once again James Kerr was called to serve Texas. He left his daughter with some friends in San Felipe and set out with a group of men, including Erastus "Deaf" Smith, to build what would become the capital of Green DeWitt's colony - Gonzales, Texas.

The men build some crude cabins on the banks of a creek near the Guadalupe River. However, after Indians burned the settlement, the town was moved a few miles further west and nearer the Guadalupe.

Kerr continued to work as a surveyor and attorney. He was involved in signing a treaty with the Karankawa Indians.

Because he was considered one of Austin's "Old Three Hundred," Kerr was given a league of land in what is now Jackson County. Later he turned up in the Lavaca River valley area where he represented the settlers living there. He was a delegate to the Convention of 1832.

In 1835 hostilities were brewing between colonists and the Mexican government. James Kerr was very involved in watching the activities of General Antonio López de Santa Anna. He sent out a letter warning people of the Mexican army advancing on San Antonio. The city would eventually fall to the Mexicans only to be retaken by the Texans later.

James Kerr fought the Lipan Apaches and as a member of the General Council, he was instrumental in assigning Sam Houston to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokees. While Texas was still a republic, Kerr represented Jackson County in the House of the Third Congress where he introduced legislation to make Austin the capital.

It's probably safe to say that Kerr was heavily involved in the activities of the young republic. He was always available when Stephen F. Austin needed him to spy, fight, or negotiate with the enemy. The people around Jackson, Lavaca, and Gonzales counties seemed to have confidence in his ability to serve them as a soldier and politician.


On a lighter note, author Stephen L. Harding writes, that although highly respected, Kerr wasn't considered a very handsome man.

There was one incident in a saloon where he was approached by a rather ugly and inebriated man who told Kerr, "I am sorry but I'm gonna have to kill you."

Kerr asked the man why he wanted to do that. The man replied, "I have always said that if I ever saw a man uglier than I am, that I was going to shoot him."

Kerr asked the man to stand by a window so he could get a better look at him. After looking the man over, Kerr said, "Shoot away, stranger, if I am uglier than you, I don't care to live."

The drunk failed to follow through with his threat and James Kerr lived to leave his mark on the Lone Star State - Kerr County and Kerrville are named in his honor.

© Murray Montgomery
Lone Star Diary May 17, 2022 Column


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