George S. Kerr
George S. Kerr, a well- known general contractor and reliable business man of Lima, was born in 1855 in Iowa, and is a son of Frank Kerr, who died in Kansas in 1885. In the Civil War the father of our subject served as a member of an Iowa regiment.
George S. Kerr was about nine years old when his parents removed to Knox County, Ohio, from Iowa, and he was reared and educated there. He assisted his father in farming until he was 22 years old and then learned the carpenter's trade which he has continued to follow almost ever since. During two years he operated a wagon and carriage shop at Vandalia, Missouri, but for the past 17 years he has been in a general contracting business and has resided at Lima since 1881. He has built a number of the most substantial buildings in this city; the following is a partial list; Fitzgerald Block; Funk Block; Hotel Harrod; 16 houses for Henry Frueh, Thomas Duffield's residence and many other residences of the city. Mr. Kerr has had other important interests in this section, having been connected with oil production and with the Lima Creamery & Cold Storage Company.
In 1878 Mr. Kerr was married to Jennie Harrod, who is a daughter of Elijah Harrod, formerly one of the leading men of Knox County, of which he was recorder for 15 years. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr have three children, viz: Mabel M., who is the wife of Clarence N. Breese, depuity county clerk of Allen County; Fred, who is a student in the Lima High School; and Robert. Mr. Kerr and family reside at No. 769 West Wayne street, Lima. They are members of the Presbyterian Church.