Mary Kerr

Mary King n. Kerr (12 December 1905 to 25 May 1998) was a bondager and domestic servant who was born in Bellshill and died in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was one of the very few Scottish bondagers whose life has been recorded in depth. Biography Mary Kerr was born out of wedlock to Isabella Paxton, a domestic servant, and Andrew Kerr, a ploughman. Her parents got married soon afterwards. Being the eldest of eight children, she left school at 13 years old and started to work as a domestic helper while her father moved the family from farm to farm working in the Scottish Borders. Then at Temple Hall Farm, in Reston, King became a bondager to her father as he was first ploughman. The very physical work involved planting and digging potatoes and turnips, mucking out the cow barn, repairing sacks, loading, driving a cart and more.