View XML QR Code

Kerr family collection, 1816-1968

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Kerr family.
Title
Kerr family collection
Dates
1816-1968 (inclusive)
Quantity
7.92 cubic feet  :  3,669 photographs in 9 boxes and 1 oversize box, 2,405 photographic negatives in 11 boxes, and papers and diaries in 2 boxes
Collection Number
Coll 74
Summary
This collection contains photographs, papers, and diaries pertaining to the Peter and Laurie King Kerr family and the Thomas and Mabel Macleay Kerr family of Portland, Oregon. The bulk of the photographs were taken at Peter Kerr's Elk Rock estate in Portland and on various family trips. The diaries and papers include Peter Kerr's diaries, a scrapbook, a letterpress copybook and a diary and letters by Mrs. Lucretia Colton.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public. However, the negatives in this collection are stored offsite and are not available for research use. Researchers must instead use the photographic prints that the Oregon Historical Society has made from these negatives. Consult a Reference Librarian for more information,

Languages
English
Return to Top

Historical Note

Peter Kerr, prominent Oregon grain exporter, businessman, and civic leader, was born in Newton Stewart, Scotland in 1861, the son of Thomas and Anne Dewar Kerr. After working as a young man in London for the grain exporting firm of Dewar and Webb, owned in part by his uncle, James C. Dewar, he traveled throughout the world as an agent of the company. He finally settled in Portland in 1889, working as a commission agent until 1894, when he partnered with William S. Sibson to form Sibson & Kerr shipping agents. In 1899, he established his own grain exporting business with his brother Thomas Kerr (1865-1926) and Patrick B. Gifford, called Kerr Gifford & Co. The three partners lived in "Cliff Cottage," on the Elk Rock estate on Military Lane in the Dunthorpe area south of Portland (also known as Rivera and Abernethy Heights), where they entertained with golf and tennis parties and chronicled their activities in scrapbooks and photographs.

In 1905, Peter purchased the estate, and in 1916 he built a large house to replace Cliff Cottage. He planted an extensive garden, the design for which he had begun in 1897, and these gardens are now open to the public. The house itself, designed by Ellis Lawrence, became the seat of the Episcopal Diocese in 1958 and is now known as the Bishop's Close. The Kerrs also had a beach house on the Oregon coast at Gearhart, designed by architect Pietro Belluschi in the mid-1940s.

Peter Kerr was married to Laurie King (1877-1959) in 1905, and the couple had two daughters: Anne (1906-2001), married in 1933 to Sir James McDonald, British consul in Oregon; and Jane, who married John W. S. Platt in 1939. Peter Kerr died in 1957 at the age of 95.

Thomas Kerr was married to Mabel Macleay (1876-1973), daughter of prominent Portland businessman Donald Macleay (1834-1897), in 1900. The couple lived at High Hatch on Military Lane in the Dunthorpe area south of Portland. They had three sons: Donald Macleay (1907-1945), Thomas, Jr. (Tommy) (1910-1982), and George A. D. (1914-2004). Mabel Macleay and Laurie King were lifelong friends, and their families, including Mabel's brother Roderick Lachlan Macleay (b. 1874) and Laurie's mother, Laura Dodge King, traveled and spent much of their leisure time together.

Return to Top

Content Description

The collection consists primarily of photographs and diaries pertaining to the families of Peter and Laurie King Kerr and Thomas and Mabel Macleay Kerr, both of Portland, Oregon. The bulk of the photographs were taken at Peter Kerr's Elk Rock estate in Portland and on various family trips. Subjects include Peter and Laurie's two daughters, Anne Kerr McDonald and Jane Kerr Platt, as well as Thomas and Mabel's three sons, Donald, Thomas, and George. Included are photographs from Peter and Laurie King Kerr's honeymoon in Arizona, California, and Mexico; family trips to England and Scotland to visit Peter and Thomas Kerr's father and siblings, as well as to Gearhart and Ecola on the Oregon coast; social events, including golf and tennis, at Peter Kerr's Elk Rock estate; and photographs of the grounds and gardens at Elk Rock. Four photograph albums belonging to Anne Kerr McDonald are included. Many of the photographs were probably taken by Peter Kerr; photographs in some of the albums were taken or collected by Anne Kerr McDonald. Other types of photographs included in the collection are ambrotypes, autochromes, cabinet cards, cartes de visite, and tintypes.

Also included are the negatives for most of the prints. File copies of the original photographic negatives were made by Oregon Historical Society staff in 2007 and added to this collection. Not all of the photographs in this collection have original negatives.

Many of Peter Kerr's family and friends are identified on the photographs by their nicknames: "Tom" refers to Peter's brother Thomas (1865-1926), while "Tommy" refers to Tom's son (1910-1982). Peter's brother David (1874-1945) is referred to as "Davie," while Davie's son is called "Dukin" (1918-1941). "George" is Peter's brother George (1867-1918), while "Geordie" is Tom's son George (1814-2004). Peter refers to his brother James as "Jamie" in his diaries.

The diaries and papers include Peter Kerr's diaries from 1876-1894; "The Veracious Chronicles of the Cliff Cottage Club," a scrapbook kept by Peter Kerr with drawings, photographs, clippings, and daily entries from 1897-1905; Peter Kerr's birth certificate; and Peter Kerr's letterpress copybook for 1898-1906. Additional materials include a diary and letters by Mrs. Lucretia Colton, the great-grandmother of Lady Anne Kerr McDonald.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Kerr family collection, Coll 74, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series:

  • Series A: Photographs, circa 1840-1954
    • Subseries 1: Portraits, circa 1840-1954
    • Subseries 2: Elk Rock, circa 1897-1950
    • Subseries 3: Gearhart and northern Oregon coast, circa 1897-1949
    • Subseries 4: Family travels, circa 1895-1940
    • Subseries 5: Other photographs, circa 1894-1930
    • Subseries 6: Negatives
  • Series B: General papers, 1816-1968
  • Series C: Diaries and notebooks of Peter Kerr, 1876-1894

Acquisition Information

Library accession no. 26084

Processing Note

File copies of the original photographic negatives in this collection were made by Oregon Historical Society staff in 2007 and added to the collection.

Related Materials

The Oregon Historical Society Research Library also contains the following materials related to this collection:

Peter Kerr correspondence and records, Microfilm 68

Peter and Thomas Kerr family photograph collection, Org. Lot 443

Oral history interviews with Lady Anne Kerr McDonald, SR 1070

Biographical and genealogical information about the Kerr and Macleay families in "Vertical File : Biography - Kerr, Peter" and "Vertical File : Biography - Macleay, Donald."

In addition, artifacts from the Kerr family were donated to the the Artifact Collections of the Oregon Historical Society in 1968.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Voyages and travels--Europe--Photographs.
  • Voyages and travels--United States--Photographs.

Personal Names

  • Colton, Lucretia.
  • Kerr, Donald Macleay, 1907-1945--Photographs.
  • Kerr, Laurie King, 1877-1959--Photographs.
  • Kerr, Laurie King, 1877-1959.
  • Kerr, Peter--Homes and haunts--Oregon--Portland--Photographs.
  • Kerr, Peter--Photographs.
  • Kerr, Peter.
  • Kerr, Mabel Macleay--Photographs.
  • Kerr, Thomas, 1865-1926--Homes and haunts--Oregon--Portland--Photographs.
  • Kerr, Thomas, 1865-1926--Photographs.
  • Kerr, Thomas, 1910-1982--Photographs.
  • McDonald, Anne Kerr, 1906-2001--Photographs.
  • McDonald, James, 1899-1989--Photographs.
  • Platt, Jane Kerr, 1908-1989--Photographs.
  • Platt, John W. S.--Photographs.

Corporate Names

  • Kerr, Gifford & Co., Inc.
  • Arlington Club of Portland, Oregon.
  • Sibson & Kerr
  • Waverley Country Club (Portland, Or.).

Family Names

  • Kerr family--Photographs.
  • McDonald family--Photographs.
  • McDonald family.

Geographical Names

  • Dunthorpe (Portland, Or.)--Photographs.
  • Gearhart (Or.)--Photographs.
  • Pacific Coast (Or.)--Photographs.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Ambrotypes.
  • Autochromes.
  • Cabinet photographs.
  • Cartes de visite.
  • Diaries.
  • Film negatives.
  • Letterpress copybooks.
  • Letters (correspondence).
  • Photographic prints.
  • Scrapbooks.
  • Tintypes.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Colton, Lucretia. (creator)
    • Kerr, Peter, photographer. (creator)
    • Kerr, Peter. (creator)
    • McDonald, Anne Kerr, photographer. (creator)

Collection processed by Diane Couture, Megan K. Friedel, Jennifer Sokol Blosser, and Geoffrey B. Wexler. Finding aid prepared by Geoffrey B. Wexler, Megan K. Friedel, and Diane Couture.
2008

CC0

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

Loading...
Loading...