[1] His father was an Irish immigrant and a Presbyterian minister in Allegheny County.
He defeated incumbent mayor William J. Howard in a close election in 1845.
[citation needed] Kerr married Mary Warden on March 26, 1840.
[2] In 1848, Kerr moved to Chartiers Township, which is now the West End of Pittsburgh.
[2] There exists today a Kerr Street in the city neighborhood of Elliott.