Author talk:Leander Ker
Birth date is presumed from Census record: he was 55 years of age as of the 1860 Census. He is recorded with his wife’s family in Pennsylvania; he died (with her) in 1873 in South Carolina. His last name is sometimes spelled “Kerr”, but it seems that “Ker” is definitely the correct spelling. He is “of Scotch descent”. Markens claims that he wrote Slavery Sanctioned by the Bible in 1853; but this confuses the third edition of Ker’s Slavery Consistent with Christianity and Jones’ work of that title, which first appeared in 1861. Ker was a Mason, and led Kansas’s Grand Lodge while preacher in Fort Leavenworth, Missouri ([1]); he was Grand Chaplain of the Lodge in 1834 and 1835 ([2]). He was appointed chaplain of Fort Leavenworth in 1842 ([3]), and served until March 31, 1859 ([4]). He was an Episcopalian preacher ([5]), or perhaps Presbyterian ([6]). His appointment was on September 23 (of 1842), and he was terminated after an investigation (“Kansas Affairs” below) determined that he incited (see The Anti-Slavery Reporter below) Missourians and Carolinians to storm Kansas; the post was then vacant ([7]). While chaplain, he attended with military expositions, especially against the Indians, because of his understanding of their custom and language and ability to communicate ([8]). He was preaching in Apalachicola, Florida, in 1835 ([9]).
For editions of Slavery Consistent with Christianity, see the following entry:
Ker (L.) Slavery Consistent with Christianity. By the Rev. Leander Ker. Jefferson City: Printed by W. Lusk and Son. 1842 8vo, pp. 32. BA. + Second Edition … Baltimore. 1845 8vo, pp. 31. + Weston, Md. 1853. 12mo, pp. 36.37603
The above is from Joseph Sabin’s Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books relating to America (1877), vol. IX, p. 458.
Some other writings and works of Ker:
- A letter to John Calhoun
- Testimony on “Kansas Affairs”
- Quoted in “Ruffianism in Power”, possibly from a printed speech
He may have published some other works, but it’s not clear. From the incomplete record, I can read “The history of liberty, its origin, character and progress. An address delivered before the Athenaean Society, of the University of Missouri, at …” and “Masonic address delivered at Liberty, Missouri, on the festival of St. John the Baptist, June 24th, 1850, by Rev. Leander Ker. Liberty, Mo.: …”. Also, from here, “A Short and Plain Catechism For Abolition Neglo-Stealers, &c.”, published in February, 1855, but is now lost. This is cited from the same to the February 28, 1855, edition of the K. T. Pioneer of Kickapoo City.
- A poem, “Jackson’s Address,” in a collection of military poetry
- An article, “Masonry among the Indians”
The Anti-Slavery Reporter gives an account of a speech given in 1855, quoting similar materials to the above “Ruffianism in Power” while mentioning a “doggerel poem,” which sounds of “Our Happy Land of Canaan” ([10]). I am unsure of the relation of that poem to “The Happy Land of Canaan,” which is signed by “Yendis Nilknarf” (“Sidney” “Franklin” backwards), which has similar lines (Ker: “But oh! ho! ho!—ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!”; Franklin: “Oh! ho, ho, ho, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha” and ending of verse stanzas with “Happy Land of Canaan”), indicating a common point of origin.