John J. Kerr (1853 - 1878)

Born 24 May 1853 in Indiana County Pennsylvania, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Anna Elizabeth (Johnston) Bracken — married 28 May 1874 in Indiana, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA

Died 1 Sep 1878 at age 25 in Belem, Para, Brazil

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Biography

The Collins brothers, Thomas, Philip and Peter, of Cambria County, PA, near Cresson, were instrumental in the railroad projects of the late 1800s. Their Philadelphia based firm was awarded a project in 1876 that would take the first American iron rails to the Amazon Jungle. Financial backers in England invested in the Madeira Mamore River railroad project that would provide transportation around the San Antonio Falls and 18 other falls and rapids of the Madeira River. The railroad would unlock Bolivia to the outside world. The brothers had invested $800,000 of their own funds in the venture. This historical expedition attracted many applicants that would be needed as laborers and tradesmen. John Kerr of Indiana County, PA was one of the successful ones selected from over 80,000 hopefuls. It was said that it was easier to have an audience with the President than an interview with the Collins brothers.

The project was mounted in 1878 and the first ship sailed from Philadelphia to Brazil. The Mercedita left America on January 2, 1878 and arrived around January 30, 1878. The Metroplis, the second ship, left January 31, 1878 but shipwrecked off Currituck Beach, NC, with loss of lives. John Kerr was aboard the final vessel, the City of Richmond, which left February 14, 1878 (The Indiana Democrat February 21, 1878) and reached the South American destination on March 23 of that year. The adventure was short-lived. By the summer of 1878 the English support was embroiled in litigation and the Collins brothers admitted defeat and abandoned the project August 19, 1879. Three hundred and twenty miles of the rain forest had been surveyed and cleared by that time. The scope of the project was compared to that of the Panama Canal. The expedition had encountered illness and hardships with further loss of lives.

After surviving these dangers, it was unfortunate to read of John's death which occurred on September 1, 1879 and was reported in the Indiana Progress dated October 2, 1879. Details weren't printed until January 31, 1900 in the Indiana Weekly Messenger when it recounted the failed expedition and listed his death resulting from a fever. The following month, the newspaper printed a correction from a witness and stated that his death occurred when he jumped from the mast of a ship in the harbor. The boats and survivors of the expedition would have been preparing to return to America (Indiana Weekly Messenger February 14, 1900).

The project was eventually completed between 1907-1912 and remained in place for over 60 years. Information from the US GenWeb Archives, History of Cambria County by Henry Wilson, and the newspapers cited.

Sources

• https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/107029251/person/150149507620/facts