William G. Kerr grocer, politician; born in 1814 or 1815 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

; married Martha - died between 1858 and 1862. He was mayor of

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

in 1853. By the early 1850s William G. Kerr was a grocer in Hamilton with a store on King Street W., between MacNab and Charles streets. Kerr was elected alderman for St. George's ward in 1853. He became Hamilton's seventh mayor in the same year under unusual circumstances. When the previous mayor, Nehemiah Ford, refused to stand for a second term, Milton Davis moved that the alderman choose Kerr as mayor; Kerr himself seconded the motion. The council vote resulted in a tie, so Andrew Miller, the councillor listed highest on the assessment rates, cast the deciding vote in favour of Kerr. Kerr also served on the board of trustees for Common Schools in 1855 and 1858. He was Methodist. Kerr died on May 20, 1861.

References

*Dictionary of Hamilton Biography (Vol I, 1791–1875); Thomas Melville Bailey; W.L. Griffin Ltd, (1981); p. 116 Mayors of Hamilton, Ontario 1810s births 1861 deaths American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada {{Ontario-mayor-stub