Soon thereafter his plans to marry a Spanish girl were thwarted when he was robbed on a trading expedition among the Indians further down the Texas coast.
Kerr received insurance money for his ship and bought a hack and a pair of horses, which were in turn wrecked the first time he put them into use.
The William Robbins (later the Liberty), a Texas privateer, recaptured the Hannah Elizabeth and Kerr was able to redeem his property by paying half its worth.
[1] On March 24, 1836, General Sam Houston ordered Kerr's arrest on charges of spreading false news and of having befriended the Mexicans.
The Fourth Congress of the new Republic of Texas granted Kerr 320 acres (129 ha) of land and twenty-four dollars for his services as interpreter.
In 1849 he leased part of the Hamilton league in Burnet County and obtained a contract with the government to furnish beef to Fort Croghan.
Kerr then leased to the government all of the league west of Hamilton Creek, including the land where Fort Croghan was located.