M. Henry Kerr Papers

M. Henry Kerr (1869-1935), a Presbyterian missionary, worked in small, German-controlled villages in Cameroon, Africa from 1892-1899, particularly Batanga, Elat, and Efulen. The United Presbyterian Church began propagating the gospel in Cameroon in 1879. The church's mission league tasked Kerr with "building the mission stations, locating sites, teaching the natives handcrafts and initiating the industrial training schools" (Kerr, S. Logan, 1958). Kerr took a strong interest in the native language, Bulu, and worked with pioneering missionary Rev. Adolphus C. Good (1856-1894) to translate the four Gospels, as well as several hymns. After Good's death, he assumed preaching duties. Kerr also worked alongside missionary Charles Warner McCleary (?-1903). In 1898, Kerr briefly returned home to marry Margaret McClean Logan; the couple returned to Cameroon that year and worked together as missionaries. In 1899, Margaret Kerr became ill and the couple returned to the United States. They resided in Flourtown, Pennsylvania and did not return to the mission field (The Presbyterian Historical Society, http://www.history.pcusa.org/).

The M. Henry Kerr papers were donated to the University of Pennsylvania Museum in 1968 by Janet S. Kerr, Henry Kerr's daughter-in-law. The original arrangement of the material, specifically the scrapbook, which is no longer bound, is not known. The collection was partially processed in 1983, shortly after the Museum Archives were established in 1978. Loose papers were organized approximately by date and subject and placed into folders; the scrapbook is no longer bound but appears to have been left in the order it was originally created. The collection was additionally processed in 2017 and completed in 2026 when having to digitize the material. The records consist of seven series: Scrapbook, Correspondence, Diaries, Miscellaneous Notes, Publications, Photographs and Postcards, and Oversize Material.

The collection measures 1.25 linear feet, housed in one manuscript box and one flat file box. The bulk of the material was written or created by Kerr while in Cameroon in the village of Batanga between 1893 and 1899. Kerr retained copies of some letters he sent and received from the United States, as well as publications and newspaper clippings regarding Presbyterian missionary efforts.

The scrapbook, which is no longer bound, includes photographs, official documents, correspondence and ephemera, put together by Kerr or a family member. Some pages of the scrapbook were clearly not in order and have been rearranged, but mostly it has been left as found. The dated material in the scrapbook is not in chronological order. Many pages contain photographs, mostly taken by Kerr in Africa. Some unaffixed letters and photographs found in the scrapbook were placed with other similar materials that were already not in the scrapbook.

The correspondence between Kerr and his friends, family, and church in the United States, depicts day-to-day life as a missionary in Cameroon, Kerr's observations and impressions of the Bule people and culture, and the political and business affairs of the mission. The last letter in the folder from a church administrator mourns the death of A.C. Good and implores Kerr to assume his evangelical duties. Additional correspondence relates to the donation of Kerr's object collection and records to the Penn Museum by his descendants (included with these letters is a biographical sketch of M. Henry Kerr by S. Logan Kerr).

The collection also includes some pages from a diary and a few pages of miscellaneous notes, translations, and ephemera. The latter were found loose at the end of the scrapbook.

The publications include items Kerr used or contributed towards during his work in Cameroon: a canvas map of West Africa; Mbamba foé Mateus, Markus, Lukas ba Yòhanes be ñga tili, a Bulu translation of the four Gospels by A.C. Good to which Kerr contributed; and a book of hymns translated into Bulu by Kerr et. al. Also contained is a bound photostat of the book The Beloved: an Iowa Boy in the Jungles of Africa, a documentary history of Charles Warner McCleary and his missionary career. The book was originally published in 1909. Unique to this 1959 edition is a foreword by S. Logan Kerr, Henry Kerr's son. The younger Kerr writes, "Some 40 pages of 'The Beloved' refer to [M. Henry Kerr] and his work [in Cameroon]." Some of the publications were published after Kerr left the field. The publications are arranged chronologically.

The photographs and postcards series includes photographs taken by Kerr (some on postcard stock) that were not affixed to the scrapbook, as well as purchased postcards of Cameroon and Spanish Guinea. The images depict various scenes of people, landscapes, architecture, and village life. Some of the images can also be found in Kerr's scrapbook. Kerr's photographs are not identified or dated.

The Oversize Materials series consists of one item, a hand-drawn map, probably of a portion of Cameroon, showing locations of rivers and names of local peoples.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives,

Finding Aid Author:

Use Restrictions: Although many items from the archives are in the public domain, copyright may be retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. The user is fully responsible for compliance with relevant copyright law.

Preferred Citation: [Item name]. M. Henry Kerr Papers. Penn Museum Archives. Accessed [Date accessed].

Form(s)/Genre(s)

• Scrapbooks

Geographic Name(s)

• Cameroon

Personal Name(s)

• Kerr, M. Henry
• McCleary, Charles Warner
• Good, Adolphus Clemens, 1856-1894
• Kerr, Janet K.

Subject(s)

• Presbyterian Church in the U.S. -- Missions
• Missions -- Africa
• Bulu (African People)
• Bulu language
• First Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)

. Edited by Gerald H. Anderson. New York: Macmillan Reference, 1998.

American Evangelical Enterprise in Africa. Henry Efesoa Mokosso. Peter Lang Publishing, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central.

The Presbyterian Historical Society. http://www.history.pcusa.org/