Frank H. Kerr
Hon. Frank H. Kerr was born on a farm near Richmond, this county, February 5, 1862. He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, his father, William E. Kerr, being a farmer; his mother's maiden name was Mary A. Stoneman. When Mr. Kerr was nine years of age, his parents moved to Richmond, and during the period between childhood and early manhood, young Kerr assisted in the support of the family by doing odd jobs on neighboring farms and clerking in the village store. Being one of a family of eight children, he naturally had to rely largely on his own efforts to make his way in the world, especially as the opportunities in a small country town were not extensive. Fortunately he was able to secure a good education in the village schools, subsequently taking a course in Richmond College.
Before reaching liis majority he began taking an interest in politics, working on behalf of the Republican party, and very soon after reaching the age of twenty-one years was elected central committeeman of his precinct. Salem Township, in which he resided, had always been strongly Democratic, and in order to keep the Republican organization intact, he was twice nominated for township clerk, and came within very few votes of being elected. He was elected and served two teems as clerk of Richmond village in the years 1886 and 1887. In 1888 he removed to Steubenville, having been appointed deputy clerk of the Probate Court of Jefferson County. While here he studied law and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Columbus, on October 8, 1891. After seven years' service as deputy in the Probate Court, Mr. Kerr retired and began the practice of law. In 1899 he was nominated by the Republicans of his county for probate judge, after an active contest, in which he broke all precedents by being chosen over the chairman of the county central committee, who was also an aspirant. At the regular fall election following he ran 300 votes ahead of his ticket. He was re-elected in 1902, and retired at the end of his second tenn in 1906, and resumed the practice of law.
Judge Kerr was appointed by Governor Herrick one of the three delegates to represent Ohio in the Uniform Divorce Law Congress, which met in Washington City in February, 1906, and again in Philadelphia the following November. In 1908 Judge Kerr was strongly urged for the nomination of lieutenant governor of Ohio, and would doubtless have been awarded the same had not geographical considerations influenced a selection from another part of the state.
Mr. Kerr has taken an active part in all matters of public interest to the community. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Order of Elks. He is a leading Mason and Knight Templar, having taken all the degrees to and including the thirty-second, and is a member of the Royal Order of Scotland. He is vice president of the Stanton Monument Association, and was chiefly instrumental in reviving the work of that body, now about to be brought to a satisfactory conclusion. He is also a member of the Wells Historical Society, and is deeply interested in all that pertains to our local history.
On April 27, 1905, Mr. Kerr was married to Miss Bella Cochran, an estimable young lady of Steubenville, and occupies a pleasant home on North Fourth Street.
From 20th Century History of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Ohio, by Joseph B. Doyle. Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910