Throwback Thursday: Thomas and Ella Moats Kerr

The morning of December 10, 1879, was clear and cold in Clayton County. The light snow from earlier in the week had been washed away by drizzling rain. Falling temperatures had left roads frozen and rough, but Miss Ella Moats, 22, couldn’t be delayed. It was her wedding day.

Ella traveled from her home in Highland Township to 103 Mulberry Street, location of one of Elkader’s newest hotels, the Schroeder House. There she joined Thomas J. Kerr, 28, in the hotel parlors and, in front of Rev. T.E. Fleming, they exchanged marriage vows.

After the ceremony, Tom and Ella boarded the afternoon train to Chicago, where the newlyweds would spend two weeks on a “bridal tour.” After the honeymoon, they returned to Highland, where they would farm the land and raise five children. In October 1901 Tom sold the farm to James Robbins, moving his family across the county line to Illyria Township, Fayette County, on March 1, 1902.

They retired in 1916, selling the Illyria farm to their son, Will, and moving to Waterloo. Tom died January 5, 1925. Ella remained in the house at 116 Home Park Boulevard until December 6, 1938, when she broke her hip and was admitted to St. Francis Hospital. She died there March 20, 1939, at the age of 82.