Kerr, Alvah Milton, 1858-1924

Alvah Milton Kerr was an author of adventure stories in the 1890s and early 1900s. His works were published in magazines throughout the early 1900s and were quite popular. A few of Alvah Milton Kerr’s most famous stories were, A Mormon Wife, Ban Ootah’s Way, and Disarming at Broad Gap. His novel An Honest Lawyer also brought him fame in the 1890s. Shortly before his death in 1924 he wrote the Truth is Greater than Fiction series, a group of stories based on fact that was published in various newspapers throughout the United States. Additionally, Kerr and his family were very involved in the theosophy movement in the United States. Their influence continued into the 1960s.

Alvah Milton Kerr was best known by Milton. He was married twice, and had a daughter named Enid Kerr with his first wife, Florence. Enid married Ernest Ohrenstein and shortened the name to Orren for herself. She and Ernest had a child named Ernest Milton Ohrenstein, who they called Milton after his grandfather Kerr. Enid divorced Ohrenstein and later married Walter Sinclair, with whom she had two children, Elaine and Lois Sinclair. In the meantime, Alvah Milton married Harriet Sinclair, nicknamed Hallie, who was Walter’s older sister. Alvah Milton Kerr died in 1924. Elaine Sinclair married Myron Firth and eventually adopted Donald and Lois Ann, named for her sister. Lois Sinclair married Clayton Schedler and had a son named Clayton, or Clay, who died before he reached adulthood.

Hallie Sinclair Kerr and Enid Orren Sinclair helped to found theosophy lodges throughout California, the Midwest, and the Northeast. The family maintained correspondence with missionaries of theosophy who went to India, France, and England to spread their faith. Many of the family’s letters and notes show how they applied their faith as theosophists to their everyday life. The application of faith is especially evident in Lois’s letters, as she uses theosophy to console herself after the death of her young son Clay.

From the guide to the Alvah Milton Kerr family papers A2004. 0003., 1864-1964, (DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University)