Mary F Kerr (abt. 1805 - 1864)

Born about 1805 in Pennsylvania, United States

Died 22 Aug 1864 at about age 59 in Plain Township, Stark, Ohio, United States

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Biography

Of the three wives of Anthony Tynes Housel, Mary F. Kerr is the one of whom we know the least. For example, we do not even know if the surname "Kerr" is her maiden name, or a surname from an earlier marriage.

We know nothing of her life before her marriage to Anthony and only slightly more of her life after that event. Even the date of her birth appears to be in dispute, which we will address below. However, it is quite certain that their marriage occurred sometime after the death of Anthony’s first wife, Maria (nee Hoover) in 1854 and before the census of 1860.

Therefore, we can derive an estimate of the birth date of Mary (nee Kerr) from that 1860 census. Our transcription of the relevant enumeration follows: ^[1]

1860 Census of Plain Twp., Stark Co., OH; Page 419; Enum Date 23 July 1860
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Housle, Anthony; Age 77; Property Value = $19,100; No Occupation; PA
Housle, Mary; Age 54; PA
Housle, Sarah; Age 29; Domestic; OH
Housle, Hiram; Age 20; Farm Laborer; OH
Housle, Amanda; Age 16; Domestic; OH; Attended School
Housle, Lucetta; Age 14; Domestic; OH; Attended School
Housle, Margaret; Age 62; Lady; PA;

From the above, we can estimate that Mary (nee Kerr) Housel was born about 1805 -1806 in Pennsylvania. As we will see below, Mary’s obit ^[2] also supports this as the date of her birth.

Establishing the specific date of marriage between Anthony and Mary (nee Kerr) appears to be even more difficult. Some researchers have published that they were married on 6 Dec 1858 in Stephenson Co, IL, but they do so without providing any source or evidence to support this presentation.

This assertion is rejected by the author for three reasons:
• No evidence or support for this assertion can be found as of this date;
• In 1858, Anthony would have been 76 years old – an age at which it would seem unlikely that Anthony would travel from Stark County, OH to Stephenson Co., IL to be married.
• There were Housel’s in Stephenson Co., IL during this period. They were, while of the same clan, not closely related. There is no evidence that they were in communication. Therefore, it would appear that match-making did not occur.

An alternative date for the marriage of this couple is frequently presented as “about 1856”. While not documented, this date would, at least be consistent with the known death of Anthony’s previous wife, Maria (nee Hoover) Housel, on 2 Jan 1854.

We have therefore adopted this second alternative date of “about 1856” for the marriage of Anthony and Mary (nee Kerr) Housel. It must be noted however, that we have NO DIRECT EVIDENCE that supports this assertion.

Various researchers have reported that Anthony and Mary (nee Kerr) had children. At least one researcher reported that they had two children, William and Margaret (no birth dates presented), while at least one other reported a son, John, born in 1864.

Both of these presentations are also rejected by the author. At the date of marriage, Mary would have been 50 years old and Anthony would have been 74. The author holds that children born after those ages would have been highly unlikely during the period in question and that he cannot assert such children existed unless he is provided valid evidence to support that contention.

It must also be noted that the obituaries of both Mary ^[3]and Anthony ^[4] do NOT mention children from this union, nor does the profile of Anthony in Danner’s volume. ^[5]

Fortunately, the demise of Mary is well documented. Our transcription of her obit follows:

Source: Canton Repository, The; Canton, Ohio; 24 Aug 1864; Page 3
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In Plain tp., on the 22 inst. Mrs. Mary F. Housel, wife of Anthony Housel, Esq., in the 59th year of her age. She was a pious and devoted member of the Presbyterian Church of this city.

Mary F. (nee Kerr), the third wife of Anthony Tynes Housel, was buried near both Anthony and his second wife Mary W. (nee Hoover ) Housel in Row 11 of the Henry Warstler Cemetery , Plain Twp., Stark Co., OH as shown in the following transcription: ^[6]

Source: Cemetery Inscriptions, Stark County, Ohio, Vol. 5; 1984; Ohio Genealogical Society. Stark County Chapter
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Page 18 - Henry Warstler Cemetery, Plain Twsp., Stark Co., Ohio…. Row 11

HOUSEL, Anthony d. Feb. 2, 1870; 87y 2m 26d
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HOUSEL, Mary F. d. Aug 22, 1864; 37y 6m 2d w/o Anthony
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HOUSEL, Mary W. d. Jan 2, 1854; 48y 6m 2d
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Transcription errors on entry for Mary W. HOUSEL Original entry was: d. Jan 2, 1851 18y 6m 2d

Her burial is also captured by "Dirt Dog Paula" in Find-A-Grave Memorial # 88353483. ^[7] Paula adds the following notes: "Inscription book states that Mary's age at death was 37 years 10 months and 3 days. Her published obituary states that she was 59 years old. Her 1860 census information states that she was 54 years of age."

The author has chosen to accept the age at death presented in both the published obit and the 1860 census enumeration and therefore presents her birth date in this profile as Abt 1805.

Sources

1. ↑ 1860 Census of Plain Twp., Stark Co., OH; Page 419; Enum Date 23 July 1860
2. ↑ Canton Repository; Canton, Ohio; 24 Aug 1864; Page 3
3. ↑ ibid.
4. ↑ Canton Repository, The; Canton, OH; 10 February 1870; Page 3
5. ↑ Old landmarks of Canton and Stark County, Ohio by Danner, John, 1823 - ; 1904; Logansport, Ind., B. F. Bowen; Pg. 536.
6. ↑ Cemetery Inscriptions, Stark County, Ohio, Vol. 5; 1984; Ohio Genealogical Society. Stark County Chapter; Page 18 - Henry Warstler Cemetery, Plain Twp., Stark Co., Ohio…. Row 11
7. ↑ Find-A-Grave Memorial # 88353483

• Housel Genealogy, provided by Laura Schmidt, Email: DigMyPast at msn.com, May 2001.