Collection processed by Don Walker and Leigh Johnsen
1998 and 2012
San Joaquin County Historical Society
11793 North Micke Grove Road
Lodi, CA 95241
Phone: (209) 331-2055
Fax: (209) 331-2057
URL: http://www.sanjoaquinhistory.org/
Kerr-Hurd Family Collection, 1824-1962
Collection number: Ms42
San Joaquin County Historical Society
- Processed by:
- Don Walker and Leigh Johnsen
- Date Completed:
- 2012
- Encoded by:
- Leigh Johnsen
2012
San Joaquin County Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Kerr-Hurd Family Collection
Date: 1824-1962
Date (bulk): 1849-1899
Collection Number: Ms42
Location:
Erickson Vault
Extent:
2.8 linear feet
Contributing Institution:
San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum
11793 North Micke Grove Road
Lodi, CA 95240
Language of Material: Records written in English
Abstract: The Kerr-Hurd Family Collection affords insights into medicine, society, politics, education, and family life in San Joaquin
County, California, during the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It includes correspondence, diaries, account
books, published material, memorabilia, medical books, and other material collected by San Joaquin County physician William
Reed Kerr (1813-1861); his wife, Frances Brown Kerr (1849-1866); and other family members.
Access Information
Collection is open for research by appointment.
Conditions of Use
The library can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claimants of literary
property.
Preferred citation: [Item name], Kerr-Hurd Family Collection, Ms42, San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, Lodi,
California.
Biography
William Reed Kerr (1813-1861) studied medicine at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. During this period, he married
Frances Brown of Maytown, Pennsylvania. After receiving his license to practice (1843), Kerr moved with his wife to Miami,
Ohio, where they produced a son, John Brown (1847-1922), and a daughter, Emma (1848-1941). After living in Ohio about five
years, Kerr heard about the discovery of gold in California and resolved to go West with his family to offer his medical services
to the miners of California. The Kerrs traveled to the Golden State via New Mexico and Arizona (1849), and, after many difficulties,
including trouble with Indians and with quicksand along the Gila River, they arrived in San Joaquin County. There they established
themselves on a ranch east of Stockton called "Sheltered Oaks." From this base, Kerr became a "circuit-riding doctor," traveling
from mine to mine, ministering to the needs of the sick. Kerr also opened a pharmacy in Stockton. During their years in California,
the Kerrs had other children, including William Jr. (1851-1872), Benjamin E. (1855-1897), Sarah (Fish) (b. 1857), and Louis
C. Kerr. Kerr and hs wife were good friends of another prominent early physician in San Joaquin County, Dean Jewett Locke,
who lived in the nearby hamlet of Lockeford. Both families participated in temperance society activities and in the establishment
of the Republican Party in San Joaquin County (1856). Although William Kerr contracted typhoid and died suddenly at the age
of forty-eight, his widow survived well into the twentieth century (1918). She later married a Mr. Russem. Kerr's eldest daughter,
Emma California, attended the University of the Pacific and San Francisco Normal School, subsequently teaching school briefly
in Merced County before marrying Charles E. Hurd of Stockton (1870). Hurd owned a dairy on the site of the present University
of the Pacific campus near the Calaveras River until 1900. The family then moved to Lodi, where Hurd operated a ten-acre farm
until his death (1935). The Hurds had eight children: Lila, Nell (Bessac), Clarence W., Frances (Manning), Ethel (Comfort),
Lester K., Algae (Trewhitt), and Charles Jr. The Hurds' second daughter, Nell, married a Mr. Harry.
Scope and Content
The Kerr-Hurd Family Collection spans the years 1824 to 1962, with the bulk falling between 1849 and 1899. It consists of
three series: 1. Family Papers, 2. Notebooks and Assorted Publications, and 3. Medical Books, each arranged in alphabetical
order. The collection includes books, diaries, and account books of William Reed Kerr and his wife, Frances Brown Kerr (1849-1866),
as well as mid-nineteenth century correspondence, diaries, and memorabilia produced or collected by their daughter, Emma California
Kerr Hurd, and other family members. The collection also contains genealogical resources on the Kerr family, biographical
material, a variety of guides and publications, and twentieth-century memorabilia relating to Emma Hurd, her siblings, and
descendants. Of special interest are medical reference works that Reed collected during his career as a physician.
Access Points
Personal Names
Bessac, Henry William
Bessac, Nell Hurd (1888-1989)
Fish, Sarah Kerr (b. 1857)
Hurd, Charles E. (d. 1935)
Hurd, Emma California Kerr (1848-1941)
Kerr, Benjamin E. (1855-1897)
Kerr, Frances Brown (d. 1918)
Kerr, William Reed (1813-1861)
Kerr, William Reed, Jr.
Subjects
Physicians--California
California--Politics and government--1850-1950
Educators--California--Biography
Women--California--Biography
San Joaquin County (Calif.)--History
Overland journeys to the Pacific
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )--History
Temperance societies
Series 1
Family Papers
1824-1962
Scope and Content Note
Includes correspondence, journals, diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, petitions, legal documents, newspaper clippings, memorabilia,
advertisements, business cards, invitations, receipts, recipe books, and certificates. Arranged alphabetically.
Box 1, Folder 1
Bessac, Harry W. Letterhead as San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools,
Undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Brown, G. W. Correspondence to Emma Kerr Hurd,
1863
Box 1, Folder 3
"Dawn at Rosewild," Unsigned Tribute to Grandmother,
1931
Box 1, Folder 4
Eureka Drug Store Advertising,
Undated
Box 1, Folder 5
Hurd, Algae. Correspondence to Sister,
1899
Box 1, Folder 6
Hurd, Emma Kerr. Correspondence to Family Members,
1860-1875
Box 1, Folder 7
Hurd, Emma Kerr. Journal,
1860
Box 1, Folder 8
Hurd, Emma Kerr. Notebook on Kerr Family Life in San Joaquin County,
1849-1862
Box 1, Folder 9
Hurd, Emma Kerr. Notes on Family Genealogy,
Undated
Box 1, Folder 10
Hurd, Emma Kerr. Notes on How William R. Kerr Was Cheated,
Undated
Box 1, Folder 11
Jones, A. D. Account of Death and Funeral of William R. Kerr,
1861
Box 1, Folder 12
Kerr, Benjamin E. Documents and Awards Related to Penmanship,
ca. 1877-1892
Box 1, Folder 13
Kerr, Benjamin E. Notebook of Students,
1875-1883
Box 1, Folder 14
Kerr, Benjamin E. Scrapbook,
1877-1878
Box 1, Folder 15
Kerr, Francis Brown. Ranch Account Book,
1852-1866
Box 1, Folder 16
Kerr, Sarah Jan Francis. Autograph Book,
1881-1893
Box 1, Folder 17
Kerr, William Reed. Diary of Trip from Colorado River to San Francisco,
1849
Box 1, Folder 18
Kerr, William Reed. Letter Regarding Stockton Beaver Supply and Farming Matters,
1855
Box 1, Folder 19
Kerr, William Reed. Notes on Organization of Republican Party in San Joaquin County,
1856
Box 1, Folder 20
Kerr, William Reed. Petition for Road Intersecting Upper Sacramento Road and Calaveras River, San Joaquin County,
1861
Box 1, Folder 21
Kerr, William Reed. Ranch Diary,
1853-1859
Box 1, Folder 22
Kerr, William Reed, and Benjamin E. Bessac, Account and Memoranda Book,
1885-1943
Box 1, Folder 23
Kerr, William Reed, Jr. Life Insurance Policy,
1871
Box 1, Folder 24
Kerr-Hurd Family Biographies and Newspaper Clippings,
1824-1962
Box 1, Folder 25
Kerr-Hurd Family Correspondence,
1904-1945
Box 1, Folder 26
Kerr-Hurd Family Memorabilia,
1840-1939
Box 1, Folder 27
Lodi Eastern Star Rosters,
1931, 1946
Box 1, Folder 28
Smith, Barbara Day. Correspondence to Emma Kerr Hurd,
1866
Box 1, Folder 29
Unattributed Manuscript Fragment of Two Boys Names Donald and George,
ca. 1880
Box 1, Folder 30
Unattributed Recipe Book,
ca. 1900
Box 1, Folder 31
Unsorted Invitations, Announcements, and Programs,
1873-1941
Box 1, Folder 32
Unsorted Business Cards and Advertisements,
Undated
Box 1, Folder 33
Unsorted Receipts, Notes, and Certificates,
1864-1913
Series 2
Notebooks and Assorted Publications
1837-1937
Scope and Content Note
Includes books, pamphlets, notebooks, sheet music, catalogs, and periodicals. Arranged in alphabetical order.
Box 1, Folder 34
Blue Book for the Use of Subordinate Divisions of the Order of the Sons of Temperance. Cincinnati: C. Clark,
1853.
Box 1, Folder 35
California Nursery Company Price Lists,
1935-1937.
Box 1, Folder 36
College of the Pacific, Stockton, California, 1942, Football Facts. Stockton: College of the Pacific,
1942.
Box 1, Folder 37
The Debater: Official Journal of the Debating League of California,
November 1913.
Box 1, Folder 38
Improved Class-Book for Sunday-School Teacher's Minutes. Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union,
Undated.
Box 1, Folder 39
Kerr, William Reed. Notes on Medical Lectures,
1837-1842.
Box 2, Folder 1
Kerr, William Reed. Notebook of Prices for Medicines and Herbs,
Undated.
Box 2, Folder 2
The Nation in Tears! Dirge, in Memory of the Nation's Chief, Abraham Lincoln,
1865.
Box 2, Folder 3
Overland Monthly,
June 1926.
Box 2, Folder 4
Services for the Use of the Grand Army of the Republic. Philadelphia: Town,
1917.
Box 2, Folder 5
Stockton, California, Daily Argus,
August 15, 1856.
Box 2, Folder 6
Stockton, California, Free State Fair, June 26th-July 4th, 1900,
1900
Box 2, Folder 7
Stockton, California, Newsletter,
1904
Box 2, Folder 8
Stockton, California, Temperance Champion,
February 1872.
Box 2, Folder 9
Ure, Andrew.
Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines. New York: D. Appleton,
1847.
Series 3
Medical Books
1836-1852
Scope and Content Note
Includes medical reference works. Arranged in alphabetical order by author or title.
Box 3, Folder 1
Beach, W.
The American Practice of Medicine. 2d ed., vol. 2. New York: Kelly and La Tourrette,
1836.
Box 3, Folder 2
Carpenter, William B.
Principles of Human Physiology. 2d American ed. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard,
1845.
Box 3, Folder 3
Combe, George .
Elements of Phrenology. New York: William H. Colyer,
1843.
Box 3, Folder 4
Curling, T. B.
Practical Treatis on the Diseas of the Tesis. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart,
1843.
Box 3, Folder 5
Hastings, John.
The Practice of Surgery. Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston,
1850.
Box 3, Folder 6
Horton, Howard.
An Improved System of Botanic Medicine. Columbus, Ohio: Horton J. Howard,
1836.
Box 3, Folder 7
McClellan, George.
Principles and Practice of Surgery. Philadelphia: Grigg, Elliott,
1848.
Box 3, Folder 8
Ralph, Joseph.
A Practical Private Treatis on the Diseases of the Genital Organs. New York: H. Long and Brother,
1852.
Box 3, Folder 9
Ricord, Ph.
Practical Treatise of Venereal Diseases. Philadelphia; Lea and Blanchard,
1843.
Box 3, Folder 10
Wilson, Erasmus.
A System of Human Anatomy, General and Special. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard,
1843.
