Charles William Kerr

Charles William Kerr (2 April 1875 – 18 July 1951) was a Moderator of the General Assembly for the Presbyterian Church in the United States, as well as the longtime pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the second largest Presbyterian church in the United States. Kerr was the first permanent Protestant Christian pastor in Tulsa, arriving in 1900.

Charles William Kerr
Born	2 April 1875 Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Died	18 July 1951 Tulsa, Oklahoma
Education	McCormick Theological Seminary
Spouse	Anna Coe
Church	First Presbyterian Church Tulsa, Oklahoma
Ordained	1898
Offices held	Moderator, Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (1932)
Website
The Grandfather Kerr Clan Webpage

Life and work

Kerr was born April 2, 1875 to Mr. and Mrs. T. A. Kerr in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.^[1] The Kerrs were an old Scots Presbyterian Lowland family who had immigrated to western Pennsylvania in the 19th century.

Kerr graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Slippery Rock Normal Teachers College (now Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania) in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. He studied for the Presbyterian ministry at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (a forerunner of the present Pittsburgh Theological Seminary), then transferred to McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, graduated in 1898 and was ordained.^[1]

On 6 September 1898, Kerr married Anna Elizabeth Coe, born on 6 April 1876. The Coes were Pennsylvania abolitionists who participated in the pre-Civil War underground railway to assist escaping slaves. On their wedding day Charles and Mrs. Kerr left Pennsylvania for Edmond, Oklahoma Territory as Presbyterian missionaries to the Indians and freedmen (Blacks freed from slavery) living in what is now Oklahoma. They had two children, Hawley and Margaret.

Move to Tulsa

On Saturday, 10 February 1900, Kerr said that he was "called" to be pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Tulsa, then a sleepy Creek Indian village in Indian Territory at the crossing of the Frisco and Midland Valley Railroad tracks. His first church was a gothic-styled clapboard wooden church. Kerr was the first permanent Protestant Christian pastor in Tulsa, and the only one until the Baptists obtained a resident minister in 1906. As an early day missionary, Kerr frequently went to Tulsa's "skid row" on First Street to pray, kneeling in the gutter with drunk cowboys on Friday and Saturday nights to lead them to Christ.^{[citation needed]}

The 1901 discovery of crude oil transformed Tulsa into a boomtown — the "Oil Capital of the World" — as well as transforming the Kerr's original missionary vocation to Indians and Freedmen into the pastorate of an all-white church. Tulsa rapidly grew from a population of 600 to 72,000 by 1921: 60,000 whites and 12,000 Blacks. Tulsa's Black district was named "Greenwood". Early on, Kerr made friends with the Black pastors in Greenwood, who were publicly disdained by Tulsa's other prominent white clergy.

Reverend Kerr and the Tulsa Race Riot

(Main article) Tulsa Race Riot

On the afternoon and evening of May 30, 1921, a large crowd of white people began assembling outside of the Tulsa County Courthouse at 6th Street and Boulder Avenue. The size of the crowd was estimated at two thousand people.^[2] Many of these demanded that the sheriff turn over Dick Rowland to them, clearly indicating that they intended to lynch the young man. The sheriff was determined to prevent a lynching and refused their demands. Instead, he and several armed deputies barricaded the building. In the early evening, the sheriff addressed the crowd and told them to go home.

Meanwhile, some of the black clergymen called Reverend Kerr on the telephone and asked for his assistance. After discussing the situation with his family, Kerr responded by going to the courthouse and pleading with the would-be lynch mob to go home.^[2] He was one of the very few civic leaders to do so. The mob ignored his plea and continued threatening to storm the building.

The next day, after armed whites invaded the Greenwood district, black clergymen again called Kerr for assistance. On his own, not waiting to meet with the church session (the governing body of any Presbyterian church), Kerr opened the church basement to temporarily house refugees from the violence.

Anecdotal information

His favourite story as a guest preacher in Greenwood churches was that of the African, Simon of Cyrene, a Black man who was a gardener with two sons named Alexander and Rufus (common names in Greenwood):

Jesus was condemned by his own people. The sentenced was carried out by the Romans who represented white people. Representing all persons of African descent — past, present, and future, Simon of Cyrene was the only person in Jerusalem willing to help Jesus carry his Cross. As a result of the help given to Him by Simon of Cyrene, all people of African descent have a very special place in Jesus' heart: Now in Glory Jesus stands ready to reciprocate the help given to Him by Simon of Cyrene by answering their prayers. The ministry of service begun by Simon of Cyrene in helping Jesus carry his Cross to Calvary is continued by helping someone with a burden.

Kerr often brought food and clothes to, prayed with, and found jobs for the many homeless people (Black, white, and Indian), living under Tulsa's 11th Street Bridge, forgotten by oil-rich Tulsans.

After the Dawes Act of 1877 led to the Land Run of 1889, Indians lost most of their territory to usurping Southern poor whites and the petroleum industry. Having personally witnessed Indians being swindled out of their lands and rights with whiskey, Kerr became the foremost temperance crusader in Oklahoma.

Kerr's sense of social justice motivated him to sponsor an annual Labour Day service for all trade union members at Tulsa's First Presbyterian Church to encourage democratic unionism as a vehicle for needed social, economic, and political change. He opposed from his pulpit attempts by the local oilmen to bust unions.

Very evangelical, Kerr held annual summer tent revivals in the vacant lot next to the Tulsa County Courthouse. He brought guests speakers such as Billy Sunday, William Jennings Bryan, and Carrie Nation to Tulsa. As a fellow temperance crusader, Nation frequently stayed with the Kerrs in their home, where she organised raids against the illegal sale of liquor in Tulsa.

Honors

In 1932, Kerr was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.^[3]

Retirement and death

Kerr retired as Senior Minister at First Presbyterian in April, 1941 and became Pastor Emeritus. He then became Chaplain of Hillcrest Memorial Hospital in Tulsa. He died on July 18, 1951.^[1] He was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery on July 20, 1951. His wife was buried beside him on March 24, 1969.^[4]

External links

• The Grandfather Kerr Clan Webpage

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Chronicles of Oklahoma, "Necrologies: Charles William Kerr", p. 510.[digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v029/v029p510.pdf]
2. ^ ^{a b} Ellsworth, Scott. "The Tulsa Race Riot."[1]
3. ^ Time "Religion:Churches v. Council."June 6, 1932. Available on line. [2] Accessed October 6, 2010.
4. ^ "Index to Burials Rose Hill Cemetery Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma."[3] Accessed October 7, 2010

Religious titles
Preceded by The Rev. Lewis Seymour Mudge	Moderator of the 144th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America 1933–1934	Succeeded by The Rev. John McDowell

Persondata
Name	Kerr, Charles William
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 April 1875
Place of birth	Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Date of death	18 July 1951
Place of death	Tulsa, Oklahoma