The second document deals with Walter Ker of Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey and traces his emigration from Scotland. This document was prepared by William C. Armstrong and published by the Shawyer Publishing Company, Morrison, Illinois, 1931.
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"The Kerrs constituted a clan in Scotland. They were Highlanders; their domain was in the west and bordered on the Atlantic. When the clan system of local government was broken up by the king, some of the clansmen, assuming kerr as a surname became scattered throughout the British Isles. Some say
that the word Kerr is an older form of the Crag; if so it means a high jutting rock; another family name probably derived from the same root is Craig; thus Kerr and Craig are variants.
When James II came to the throne of Scotland, intolerance broke out afresh; sever laws were enacted and sternly enforced against nonconformists, such as confinement in loathsome dungeons and clipping off the left ear.
George Scot, the Laird of Pitlochie, a leader among the Presbyterians, suffered great hardships for conscience's sake. His persecutors, finding that they could not break his spirit, offered to release him from prison if he would go into exile. He accepted the offer, saying: "I will go to the American
plantations provided I may take a colony of my countrymen with me." To this they agreed.
Ninety of his coreligionists volunteered to go with him. Scot at once chartered the Henry and Francis, a ship of 350 tons and 20 great guns, Richard Hutton, master. The vessel prepared for sea and Leith near
Edinbourgh, on the easter coast of Scotland. Here he obtained permission to take with him some
non-conformists who were lying there in prison. These numbered 105; this gave him a company of nearly 200 emigrants.
On September 5, 1685, they set sail, passing southward through the North Sea and then westward through the English Channel.
Scarcely were they out of sight of land when fever of a very malignant type broke out among the passengers. Scot himself died; and his son-in-law, John Johnstone, became the leader of the exiles. For twelve weeks the ship's company battled against deadly disease within and raging storms without.
In December the vessel dropped anchor in the harbor of Perth Amboy. Seventy of those who had started for the new world with high hopes, had died and been buried at sea.
Among the passengers who disembarked from the death plagued ship was a young man named Walter Ker."
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First Generation in America
It is believed Walter and Margaret were married about 1686 after arriving in America. To this union were born five sons. We have no record of any daughters. The relative ages and order of the sons is not known except as shown below.
a. William Ker, b. about 1700
b. Samuel Ker
c. Joseph Ker
d. John Ker
The other son was James Ker. Of all the sons we have the only other record we have deals with James who benefited by the following action:
"In 1691 James Johnstone deeded land to Walter Ker in right of his second son, James Ker."
Evidence of the cruelty suffered in Scotland is the fact that on landing in America he had only one eye and one ear.
He was an active member of the old Tennant Church. One of his descendants, Charles Ker, is presently the grounds keeper at this famous landmark.
(This book written February 1979) In the foundation of the church on a corner that would serve as a corner stone in this day and age Walter Ker signed his initials. He died in Freehold on June 10, 1748 in his 92nd year and is buried in the Kerr burying ground located one-half mile east of the Tennant Church
building. His wife, Margaret, died October 1, 1734 and is buried in the same location. The Old Tennant Church is a landmark of the Presbyterian faith in America. His name is listed among the elders of this church in 1746.
There is more for subsequent generations and if it connects with any you are researching I will type off more.

Love and Happy Searching.
Mary M. in Arizona, USA
researching Burris, Robinson, Crosswait/Crosthwaite, Goodall,
Waddington, John
Shadrach BROWN and Jane MANSFIELD
at bigj@primenet.com
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Scottish Covenanters Index

Name: KER, Walter
Birth Date: Abt 1655
Birthplace: Scotland
Notes: bk 23 vol 11 pg. 173 - banished
Source: Ancestry.com
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. . . Besides those banished persons who were given in charge of Scot , a number were directed under date of August 7, 1685 , to be delivered to Robert Barclay (of Urie ), governor of the Province, on condition that they should be transported to East New Jersey . A few of these after emigrating, settled in the vicinity of Perth Amboy , but the greater number removed to New England . Rev. David Simpson , a Scottish minister, was banished from Killean in 1685 , and emigrated to New Jersey . Walter Ker , of Dalserf, Lanarkshire , was banished at the same time. He settled at Freehold , and was largely instrumental in organizing the Presbyterian church at that place, one of the earliest in New Jersey . . . .
Source: Ancestry.com. Scotch-Irish: The Scot in North Britain, North Ireland and North America [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2002. Original data: Hanna, Charles A. The Scotch-Irish or the Scot in North Britain, North Ireland and North America, Vol. 2. New York, NY: Putnam, 1902.
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U.K. and U.S. Directories, 1680-1830

Ker, Walter
Subscribed to A new general atlas ... of all the world, 1721, SENEX, John. London
Subject: geography
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Ker, Walter
Subscribed to A practical exposition of the Acts of the Apostles (Vol. 2), 1747, GUYSE, John. London
Subject: religion

Source: Ancestry.com
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Walter Ker was aboard the Henry & James, which left Leith, Scotland on 5 Sep 1685 and landed at Perth Amboy, NJ in Dec 1685. (pg 338)
Walter Kerr was an Olde East NJ Patentee, granted 60 acres at Freehold, NJ (pg 61)
Source: First Settlers of Ye Plantations of Piscataway and Woodbridge, Olde East NJ (1664-1714)
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Walter Ker, b. in Scotland, 1656; banished from there as a Noncomformist, 3rd September, 1685; came with his wife Margaret name unknown and children to America, December, 1685, and settled at
Freehold, New Jersey, where he d. 10th June, 1748; his wife was b. in Scotland in 1661, d. in Freehold in 1734. He was from the Parish of Dalsert, Lanarkshire.
Source: Colonial Families of the United States of America; Volume 7

On the summit of a hill, about three large fields distant from Tennent Church, in a dence woods, is a small graveyard containing three stones.
Margaret, wife of Jo___Ker, died, Dec. 20, 1745, aged 33, 6, 22
Margaret, wife of W_____Ker, Oct., 1, 1734, in 73rd year.
Walter Ker died, June 10, 1748, in 92nd year.
Source: "Historical and Genealogical Miscellany" by John Stillwell, M.D., Vol. II, Pg. 318

Walter Ker was banished for life to the colony of New Jersey in September, 1665, for refusing to sign the Oath of Allegiance to King James II, Walter Ker became one of the original settlers of the town of Freehold in Montour County in central New Jersey. Walter Ker was one of 200 passengers who sailed from the port of Leith, near Edinburgh, aboard the "Henry and Francis" , September 1665. Walter Ker requested recording of Scots' Meetinghouse, 1705, elder, Freehold Scotch Meetinghouse, 1705, testified concerning effect of Christian teaching on Indians, 1746. Walter Kerr had 30 acres of land deeded to him 1688 by Thomas Parr, brickmaker, servitor to Gawen Laurie, late governor.In 1689 James Johnston deeded 50 acres to Walter Kerr. In 1691 James Johnston deeded land to Walter Kerr in right of his second son, James Kerr. Walter Kerr, the first of his name in Monmouth, was banished from Scotland Sept. 3, 1685, and it is supposed that he and w. Margaret and children came in the ship Henry and Francis, which arrived in this country December, 1685. Shortly after his arrival he settled in Freehold. He was one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church 1705. In 1746 William and Samuel Ker were deacons in the Presbyterian Church and
Joseph and Walter Ker were elders same year. Many members of old Monmouth families went to Chester, Lancaster and other counties in Eastern Pennsylvania, from 1715 to 1730 and in the next generation
there was quite an exodus from these families to the valley of Virginia and Western North Carolina, and it is possible that among the number, were descendants of Water Kerr, of Freehold. The epitaph on the tombstone of his w. is as follows:
"Here lies what's mortal of Margaret, wife of Walter Ker, who departed this life October ye first Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and thirty-four, in the seventy-third year of her age."
The insciption on the third headstone shows that Margaret, wife of Joseph Kerr, d. in the year 1745, aged 33 years. About half a mile to the east of the Tennent Church, on the summit of a wooded hill belonging to the estate of the late Sheriff Perrine, is an old family burying ground which was originally owned and used for burial purposes by the Ker or Carr family. There are only three persons interred there, namely: Walter Kerr, Margaret, his wife, and Margaret, wife of Joseph Ker.
Source: Salter's History of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, New Jersey

Walter Ker's tombstone is a firm-grained sandstone, with clear-cut inscription that reads as follows:

Here lies what's Mortal of Walter Ker
Deceased June 10th 1748 in ye 92 years of his age
Who long with Patience Bore life's heavy load
Willing to spend and be spent for God
the noble Portrait in a line to paint
he Breath'd, a Father liv'd, & Dy'd a saint
Here sleeps in peace the aged sire's dust
Till the glad Trump arouse the sleeping just.

Source: Rootsweb WorldConnect
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:3207641&id =I03124
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WALTER KER OF FREEHOLD Monmouth County, New Jersey When James II came to the throne, intolerence broke out afresh; severe laws were enacted and sternly enforced against nonconformists, such as confinement in loathsome dungeons and clipping off the left ear. George Scot, the Laird of Pitlochie, a leader among the Presbyterians, suffered great hardships for conscience's sake. His persecutors, finding that they could not break his spirit, offered to release him from prison if he would go into exile. He accepted the offer, saying:"I will go to the American plantations provided I may take a colony of my countrymen with me." To this they agreed. Ninety of his coreligionists volunteered to go with him. Scot at once chartered the Henry and Francis, a ship of 350 tons and 20 great guns, Richard Hutton, Master. The vessel prepared for sea at Leith near Edinborough, on the eastern coast of Scotland. Here he obtained permission to take with him some nonconformists who were lying there in prison. These numbered 105; this gave him a company of nearly 200 emigrants. On September 5, 1685, they set sail, passing southward through the North Sea, and then westward through the English Channel. Scarcely were they out of sight of land when fever of a very malignant type broke out among the passengers. Scot himself died; and his son-in-law, John Johnstone, became the leader of the exiles. For twelve weeks the ship's company battled against deadly disease within and raging storms without. In December the vessel dropped anchor in the harbor of Perth Amboy. Seventy of those who had started for the new world with high hopes, had died and been buried at sea. Among the passengers who disembarked from the death-plagued ship was a young man named Walter Ker. Walter was born in Scotland in 1656; he was from the Parish of Dalsert;ob Dalserf;cb, Lanarkshire, He died at Freehold, Monmouth County, N.J., June 10, 1748, in his 92nd year. His wife's given name was Mararet; she may have been the daughter of James Johnstone. Walter Ker, along with John Craig, and John Henderson in 1692 along with other Covenentors built the The Old Scotch Church of Freeehold, NJ. and worshipped according to the tennents of Calvin without a minister until The ordination of John Boyd and installation on the last Sunday of 1706. The history of the Presbyterian Church in the new world begins at the Old Scotch Church of Freehold NJ and John Boyd. Made possible by the labors of a stuborn Godly old covenentor named Walter Ker. Walter and Margaret are buried on a hilly point one-half mile east of the present Tennent church building; thus early did the colonists begin to deposit their dead in private yards in ground not suitable for cultivation. These death dates and ages are taken from their tombstones. inscription on Walters Stone, reads as follows "Here lies what's mortal of Walter Ker Deceased June 10th 1748 in ye 92 year of his age Who long with Patience Bore life's heavy load Willing to spend and be spent for God the noble Portrait in a line to paint he breath'd, a Father liv'd & Dy'd a saint Here sleeps in peace the aged sires' dust Til the glad Trump arouse the sleeping just. Walter Ker had at least five sons; no mention of any daughters has been discovered; the relative ages of his children are somewhat uncertain. They are here arranged thus; A. William Ker C. Joseph Ker B. Samuel Ker D. John Ker The other son was James Ker; of this James there is no record exce
Source: Rootsweb WorldConnect
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:3180928&id =I623348115

Also, someone else has commented this:

Walter Ker was born 1656, Torphichen Scotland, unkn parents.
He was the Walter Ker of the 'Sweet Singers of Isreal' a follower of John Gib of Barrowstoness (sp?)source "Men of the Moss Hags"The papers of William Gordon retold by S.R. Crockett.Gordons papers were dated 1702, Crockett republished in 1895.He was imprisoned at Cannongate Tolbooth along with the Gibbites, and was released after the writing of the 'Manifesto' that denounced all churches, pastors, and bibles, etc.Quite the rambling document.After the burning of the bibles, Walter went 'mad' for a period of time which he spent at home in Torphichen.He then went to Dalserf where he lived for a year or two in the home of Robert Bruce and his wife.He placed himself there in a position of pupil to relearn his relationship with God.During that time he became convinced that he needed to turn himself in to the authorities as a way of doing pennance for his part in burning the bibles, knowing that he would be exiled.He was sent from Dalserf back to Cannongate, some say on to Dunottar Castle where he was tortured, then back to Edinburgh where he was exiled on Sept 3rd 1685, rowed to a ship leaving the next day (The Henry and Francis sailed from Leith on Sept 4th 1685).The Henry and Francis was chartered by George Scot who had purchased the freedom of some 120+ survivors of Dunottar, where he himself had also been imprisoned, and also another 80 or so that had been in the Gaols of Edinburgh and Leith.George Scot and his wife die on the passage to America, along with a large number of other passengers and crew.His son-in-law James? Johnstone becomes the person in charge, and is convinced by the Captain that they should take the indentured to Bermuda and sell them as slaves.The weather however blew them into Perth Amboy in December of 1685.Records show that most of the indentured were absolved of their debt, since Scot had died and Johnstone had no part of the deal making with those indentured.Part of the deal of being indentured was 4 years of service at the end of which they would receive a new set of clothes and 50 Acres of land.Walter Ker is shown as receiving a patent on 50 Acres of land from the blacksmith of the New Jersey Governor's household in 1689, his first child is born in 1690, and his wife is Margaret Johnstone.Walter Ker is referenced in two other books, the first is 'The History of Perth Amboy and surrounds" which states that Walter Ker of Freehold is not the same Walter Ker of the Sweet Singers.That could be taken literally, however if you look at the character changes that Walter Ker went through between when he was the idiot, and the founder of Presbyterianism in New Jersey, you coud figuratively say that indeed he was not the same man as before.In the book "6 saints of the covenant" by Patrick Walker, in the words of Donald Cargill, "He (Walter Ker) told his master and mistress (Robert and Elisabeth Bruce) that he would be taken and banished, which accordingly came to pass in the year 1685.And some of our banished worthies who were with him in America, and came home said to me that he exceeded all our banished, that they knew, in prevailing with some to set up the worship of God in their families and young ones to pray, and join in societies for prayer and conference. "
This is exactly what Walter Ker did, by starting the Old Scots Cabin Church in the early 1690's, and then buying and donating the land for the (still standing) Old Tennant Church a short distance away from the original Cabin Church.The initials WK are carved in the corner stone of the Old Tennant Church, but Walter and Margaret are buried at the Old Scot's Graveyard near the Old Scot Cabin Church site.

As to the cursed ship Caledonia.It may have also sailed to America at or near the same time as the Henry and Francis, having been chartered by Laird Neill Campbell in much the same fashion as Scot chartered the Henry and Francis.The Caledonia is mentioned in several accounts as being a floating wreck in 1699 when it was part of the ill fated Darien Expedition.In many genealogical accounts, families recount where it near came apart in a storm while in passage from Scotland to America, I don't remember the years mentioned.It's last voyage was in 1715, when carrying Scots from Inverness to America it anchored in Perth Amboy, all got safely ashore, and it sank in a gale shortly after all had left it's decks.It's logs and manifests/papers are in some archive according to some, others say they are lost.At any rate it is said in our written family history that the Taylor side of the family came to America in the early 1700's, and the description of the sinking of our ancestors vessel matches closely the last voyage of the Caledonia.

On a side note, of the four men who were of the Gibbite cult, John Gib, Davie Jamison, John Young and Walter Ker, Gibb, Ker, and Jamieson all were banished to America.Gibb went insane, Jamieson became Chief Justice of New Jersey, and Ker became a founder of the Prebytery in America.John Young stayed in Lothian where he was a school teacher till he retired.

By Tim Taylor - From: http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/ker/89/