In the history of the pioneers of every county some name stands out more prominent than others, either for the influence the individual has exerted for the benefit of the community in which he lived, or because of some hardship more than ordinary in the settlement of a new country. In Miami county among the few who remain that were reared amid the privations of pioneer life no one is more frequently mentioned in tradition or story than "Aunt Sally Kerr." Her posterity is numerous and many of them are at the present date wealthy and influential in this county.

Mrs. Sally Kerr was born on the banks of the Susquehanna river, in Pennsylvania, on the 3rd day of May, 1800. She was the daughter of Jonathan and Olive Thompson. Mr. Thompson had a good home but a large family of ten children and he desired to acquire more land. He and his eldest son, therefore, went to Canada and purchased one thousand acres of land, and in 1810 he removed his family to their new home, where for two years they were prosperous. They were becoming accustomed to the country and satisfied with their new home, when unfortunately the war of 1812 came on and Great Britain demanded of her Canadian subjects the oath of allegiance. Mr. Thompson refused to take the oath of allegiance to the British government, and was in consequence proscribed as a traitor and compelled to flee for liberty and life, leaving his wife and children behind. He reached Cleveland, Ohio, and from there sent a letter to his wife directing her to leave Canada and come to Cleveland, bringing with her as much of their goods as could be hauled with the teams she had. The Indians were by that time killing and capturing every one that they found unprotected. Yet the brave wife and mother decided to make the journey, although it was midwinter. She loaded as much of their goods as could be hauled on two sleds, one drawn by horses and the other by oxen. The road lay through an almost trackless wilderness, and Sally was then but eleven years of age, but she, being the eldest of the children at home, went before, driving the team of horses, and her mother followed driving the oxen. It was a fearful undertaking for the mother with her family of small children. Mrs. Kerr, in relating the incidents of that fearful journey, said: "Our road was a very rough one and being poorly cleared there were many stumps, brush and great snow drifts, but our teams were gentle and we were making good headway under the circumstances, when the night overtook us before we found shelter and the oxen in some way caught their sled on a stump and broke the tongue out. Unwilling to leave the oxen and goods behind we decided to stay where we were until morning. We had no way to make a fire or light, and would not have dared to build a fire if we had for fear Indians. So securing our teams and covering the children with blankets, mother and I began walking around the little encampment to drive back the wolves, which had been howling since nightfall and now were getting close. Why they did not rush in and kill us I never could understand, unless God preserved us. Oh, but the night was long! but at length the blessed sun arose. We soon ascertained that he could, not fix the sled; so we left it and the oxen and started on with our horse team. After going four or five miles we came to a cabin and hired a man to go back, repair the sled and bring the oxen to his house. That was the most miserable night I ever spent. My mother's feet were so badly frozen that she could scarcely walk for three weeks.

The next day they continued on their journey and arrived at the home of her father's brother. Here Mrs. Thompson was compelled to remain for several weeks on account of her frozen feet. Three gentlemen, who were acquainted with Mr. Thompson, stopped at the house and told Sally's mother that if she and her family would trust to their protection they would take them to Cleveland. Sally's uncle prevailed upon her mother to leave Sally with him as he intended leaving the country. Sally bade her mother and the children a loving farewell, expecting soon to rejoin them in Cleveland, but she never again saw her mother, father, brothers or sisters, and never received any word or tidings from them. Before Sally's uncle had time to arrange his affairs for leaving Canada he was drafted into the British army, and she was left with her aunt. Shortly afterwards she was placed in the care of some people who promised to take her to Cleveland, but unfortunately the parties to whom she was entrusted were dishonest, and after traveling around the country came to Fort Meigs, and left her among a lot of French and Indians, she being the only American in the place. This rough set of people were not kind to the little waif and when an old lady she often said that at times she often prayed that death might come as a relief to her hardships and sufferings. However a Colonel Cromer, with a band of Indians, friendly to the American cause, stopped at the fort. The Colonel observed Sally, and asked why she was there. After hearing her pitiful story he told her if she could ride a horse he would take her to Piqua. She gladly consented, hoping that in some way she could find her parents. The journey was two hundred miles, and the road was a bridle path through an unbroken forest. They rode in single file, her place being next to the Colonel. She was riding a man's saddle, but Colonel Cromer was kind to her and had a tent for her accommodation, and trusty guards to see that she was not molested. Upon arriving at Wapakoneta the Indians were given a ration of rum. Sally was placed in the care of a squaw who could talk some English. She, fearing trouble because the Indians were drunk and could not be controlled, took Sally as soon as it was dark upon her pony to Fort Loramie, twenty miles distant. Upon Colonel Cromer's arrival at Loramie he again took charge of Sally, and upon reaching Piqua delivered her to Colonel John Johnson, the Indian agent. She lived with Colonel Johnson's family for one year, and afterwards lived with a Mrs. Ewing and finally made her home with the family of Jesse Miller, with whom she lived until her marriage to James Kerr, in 1818. She came to Piqua in August, 1812, and was married in her eighteenth year. During their married life she was the mother of eleven children. Her husband was a prosperous farmer and owned a good farm in Monroe township, this county. He died in 1863 and his wife lived on the old homestead with her son Perry. While she had no opportunity for an education, she learned to read and was fond of good books. She was a thrifty housekeeper, was a devout member of the Baptist church and was loved and respected by the whole community, and as she was a good conversationalist, her neighbors and friends often gathered around her to hear her relate the thrilling events of her early life. She lived until eighty- three years of age, and died August 28, 1883.