Agnes Kerr


Liverpool to Boston ship passage receipt, 1847

Liverpool to Boston ship passage receipt, 1847
Item 28424   info
Maine Historical Society

Lieutenant Thaddeus Clark was the first known Irishman to settle in Maine in 1662, in what is now Portland. Irish immigrants trickled into Maine until the mid-nineteenth century, when economic depression and famine made Ireland a difficult place to live.

Maine experienced a vastly greater number of Irish immigrating to the state, but they managed to slowly eke out a living in their new home. Irish immigrants worked on ambitious engineering projects like the Grand Trunk Railroad and the Cumberland and Oxford Canal. John Bundy Brown's sugar factory employed Irish immigrants, as did the Portland Company, which produced locomotives, railroad cars, and ship engines.

Prejudice against the Irish grew strong starting in the 1830s in Maine and elsewhere, in conjunction with the start of a large flood of Irish immigration. In the face of discrimination and difficult working conditions, people of Irish descent grouped together to pull themselves out of poverty. They played active roles in organizations like trade unions, and as the Irish began to move into the middle classes in larger numbers, Irish-owned businesses became more common.

Agnes Kerr, Portland, 1924

Agnes Kerr, Portland, 1924
Item 102688   info
Maine Historical Society

Agnes Kerr (1906-2001) grew up on Munjoy Hill, graduated from Gorham Normal School in 1926, and became a teacher in Rhode Island and later, Portland. Her family history typifies that of many Irish immigrants to Maine.

Agnes’s maternal grandfather, Michael Dailey, emigrated from Ireland to Portland in 1848 when he was a child, and became a U.S. citizen on Sept. 8, 1868. Dailey worked as a teamster, and he and his wife, Annie Meehan Dailey, lived on Munjoy Hill in Portland.

Agnes’s paternal grandfather, Patrick Kerr, emigrated from County Donegal, Ireland to Maine, and became a U.S. citizen in 1856.

Annie Meehan Dailey and Michael Dailey, Portland, ca. 1870

Annie Meehan Dailey and Michael Dailey, Portland, ca. 1870
Item 102734   info
Maine Historical Society

Michael and Annie Dailey were Agnes Kerr’s maternal grandparents. This tintype might have documented their wedding day.

Michael Dailey, Portland, ca. 1895

Michael Dailey, Portland, ca. 1895
Item 28436   info
Maine Historical Society

Michael Dailey was a teamster in Portland. Dailey immigrated from Ireland in 1848 and was naturalized in 1868.

Michael Dailey naturalization certificate, Portland, 1868

Michael Dailey naturalization certificate, Portland, 1868
Item 28439   info
Maine Historical Society

Michael Dailey became an American citizen on Sept. 8, 1868.

Patrick Kerr naturalization certificate, Portland, 1856

Patrick Kerr naturalization certificate, Portland, 1856
Item 28426   info
Maine Historical Society

Patrick Kerr, a native of County Donegal, Ireland, became a citizen of the United States in Portland on Aug. 19, 1856.

Sign painting shop, Portland, ca. 1910

Sign painting shop, Portland, ca. 1910
Item 28835   info
Maine Historical Society

Daniel Kerr was a sign painter, and operated his business out of this building at 225 Federal Street in Portland.

Kerr family, Portland, ca. 1910

Kerr family, Portland, ca. 1910
Item 28438   info
Maine Historical Society

Mary E. Dailey Kerr, her sister Agnes Dailey, her son Raymond Kerr in the carriage, and her husband, Daniel E. Kerr, holding their child, Agnes Kerr.

Mary E. Dailey Kerr (1870-1953) and her husband, Daniel Kerr (1870-1935) were Agnes’s parents, and first generation children of immigrants. They lived at 38 Turner Street in the Munjoy Hill neighborhood of Portland and raised four children. Daniel worked as a sign painter for 40 years. Their children went into professional careers in the military, as a teacher, and a secretary.

Raymond Kerr, Portland, ca. 1914

Raymond Kerr, Portland, ca. 1914
Item 28431   info
Maine Historical Society

The Kerr children, second-generation Irish, were doted upon, and photographs indicate they lived a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle.

Agnes G. Kerr, Portland, ca. 1911

Agnes G. Kerr, Portland, ca. 1911
Item 28430   info
Maine Historical Society

The Kerr children, second-generation Irish, were doted upon, and photographs indicate they lived a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle.

Child's chair with portrait, Portland, 1908

Child's chair with portrait, Portland, 1908
Item 26542   info
Maine Historical Society

Daniel Kerr made this chair for his daughter, Agnes Gertrude Kerr, who was born in 1906. It features her photograph inset into the back of the chair.

Agnes Kerr, Portland, ca. 1908

Agnes Kerr, Portland, ca. 1908
Item 28428   info
Maine Historical Society

Agnes Kerr, the daughter of Daniel E. and Mary E. Kerr of Portland, posing in her winter outfit. She was born in 1906.

Kerr family, East End Beach, Portland, ca. 1913

Kerr family, East End Beach, Portland, ca. 1913
Item 28433   info
Maine Historical Society

The four Kerr children, from left, Dick, Agnes, Helen, and Ray, with "Ma." They were the children of Daniel E. Kerr and Mary E. Dailey Kerr, both of whom were children of Irish immigrants.

The family lived on Munjoy Hill in Portland. Daniel Kerr was a sign painter.

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