William Kerr (February 27, 1836 – November 22, 1906) was a lawyer and political figurein

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He represented

Northumberland West Northumberland West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1917. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867. The original definition of t ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1874 to 1878 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member and served in the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

from 1899 to 1906. He was born in Ameliasburg,

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

in 1836, the son of Francis William Kerr, an Irish immigrant, and Olive Shelley, and was educated at Victoria University in

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

. Kerr later served as a member of the University's senate and as its bursar. He was called to the bar in 1859 and set up practice in Cobourg. Kerr served on the town council for Cobourg and was mayor from 1867 to 1873. After his re-election in 1874, he was unseated on appeal but won the subsequent by-election. He was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1876. He ran unsuccessfully for the federal seat in 1878 and 1882. Kerr was named to the Senate in 1899 and died in office in 1906 in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He married Myra Jane Field, the sister of MPPs John C. and Corelli C. Field.''The Canadian men and women of the time: a handbook of Canadian biography'', HJ Morgan (1898)
/ref> His daughter, Edith Kerr Macdonald (1870–1957), was the first woman to hold a municipal office in Cobourg.

References

''The Canadian parliamentary companion for 1876'' HJ Morgan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, William 1836 births 1906 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Canadian senators from Ontario Mayors of Cobourg Canadian King's Counsel