Colonel John Kean (March 27, 1814 – January 17, 1895) was an American businessman and public official.
Early life
edit
Kean was born on March 27, 1814. He was the eldest son of Peter Philip James Kean and Sarah Sabina (née Morris) Kean (1788–1878).[2] His sister, Julia Ursin Niemcewiez Kean, married Governor of New York, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish (a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant).[3]
His father was the only child of Continental Congressmen John Kean, who also served as cashier of the Bank of the United States,[4][5] and Susan (née Livingston) Kean.[6] After his grandfather's early death in 1795, his grandmother married Count Julian Niemcewicz in 1800.[7][8] His maternal grandparents were General Jacob Morris (Lewis Morris, a signor of the Declaration of Independence)[9] and Mary (née Cox) Morris.[7][10]
Kean graduated from Princeton University in 1834.[11]
Career
editFollowing his father's death in 1828, Kean inherited Liberty Hall, the family mansion in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, that his father had purchased in 1811 for his grandmother. The home had been built by his father's great-uncle William Livingston in 1772.[1] Kean owned the estate for over sixty-five years, transforming the house from a 14-room country house into the 50-room mansion that remains.[11]
Kean invested in banks, railroads, and public utilities including the Elizabethtown Gas Light Company (which he founded),[12] and the Elizabethtown Water Company (controlled by his son, John, and today a part of American Water).[12] He helped to found the Central Railroad of New Jersey and served as its first president.[12] While on the staff of Governor William Pennington (under whom he studied law), Kean acquired the rank of Colonel, a title he used the rest of his life.[11]
Personal life
editKean was married to Lucinetta "Lucy" Halsted (1825–1912),[13] a daughter of Caroline Louisa (née Pitney) Halsted (1796–1879)[14] and merchant Caleb O. Halsted, who served as president of the Bank of the Manhattan Company. Through her father, she was a direct descendant of colonist John Ogden, an original patentee of the Elizabethtown Purchase, "the first English settlement in the Colony of New Jersey."[15] Together, they were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom survived to adulthood, including:[11]
- Caroline Morris Kean (1849–1887), who married George Lockhart Rives, a descendant of the Schuyler, the Van Cortlandt and the Delancey families, in 1873.[16]
- John Kean (1852–1914), a U.S. Representative from 1883 to 1885 and from 1887 to 1889, and U.S. Senator from 1899 to 1911.[17]
- Susan Livingston Kean (1852–1925), who never married and lived at 844 Fifth Avenue.[18]
- Julian Halsted Kean (1854–1932),[19] who never married and who served as president of the National State Bank of Elizabeth.[20][21]
- Christine Griffin Kean (1858–1936),[22] who married banker Emlen Roosevelt, a son of James A. Roosevelt and cousin to President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1883.[23]
- Lucy Halsted Kean (1859–1929), who never married and lived at 844 Fifth Avenue.[24][25]
- Hamilton Fish Kean (1862–1941),[26] who married Katharine Taylor Winthrop,[26] a daughter of banker Robert Winthrop and Katherine (née Taylor) Winthrop, in 1888.
- Elizabeth d'Hauteville Kean (1864–1922), who never married and lived at 844 Fifth Avenue.[27]
- Alexander Livingston Kean (1866–1922), who never married and worked in the Intelligence Department.[28]
Kean died on January 17, 1895, at the family homestead at Ursino.[12] After his death, the Kean mansion passed to his eldest son, Senator John Kean. As he never married, the house passed to Hamilton's son, Capt. John Kean upon his death.[11][29]
Descendants
editThrough his son Hamilton, he was a grandfather of banker John Kean (1888–1949)[30] and U.S. Representative Robert Winthrop Kean (1893–1980).[31]
References
edit- ^ a b Alghandoor, Erin; Esposito, Frank J.; Hyde, Elizabeth; Mercantini, Jonathan (2017). Kean University. Arcadia Publishing. p. 203. ISBN 9781439660584. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ Whittelsey, Charles Barney (1902). The Roosevelt Genealogy, 1649-1902. Press of J.B. Burr & Company. p. 90. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ Corning (1918), pp. 20–22.
- ^ "KEAN, John - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ United States Continental Congress (1823). Apr. 1, 1782, to Nov. 1, 1788, inclusive; also, the Journal of the Committee of the States, from the 1st Friday in June, to the 1st Friday in August, 1784, with an Appendix. Way and Gideon. p. 772. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ Stahr, Walter (2012). John Jay: Founding Father. Diversion Books. p. 268. ISBN 9781938120510. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ a b Cutter, William Richard (1919). American Biography: A New Cyclopedia. Pub. under the direction of the American Historical Society. pp. 56–57. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Pitman, Harold Minot; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Maynard, Arthur S.; Mann, Conklin (1880). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 75. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ Ferry, Esq., Frank J. (2012). Nucky: The Real Story of the Atlantic City Boardwalk Boss. BookBaby. p. 95. ISBN 9781483548814. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ Cox, Henry Miller (1912). The Cox Family in America: A History and Genealogy of the Older Branches of the Family from the Appearance of Its First Representative in this Country in 1610. p. 140. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "About: History". libertyhall.kean.edu. Liberty Hall Museum. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d "THE OBITUARY RECORD. | Col. John Kean". The New York Times. 18 January 1895. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ "Mrs. Lucy Kean". The New York Times. 10 March 1912. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ Family History of George Comyns Thomas, Jr., of Elizabeth, New Jersey, from 1664-1978. Stryker-Rodda. 1978. pp. 111, 147. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ Wheeler, William Ogden; Halsey, Edmund Drake (1896). Descendants of Rebecca Ogden, 1729-1806, and Caleb Halsted, 1721-1784. Walsh & Griffen, printers. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ Moffat, R. Burnham (1904). The Barclays of New York: Who They Are And Who They Are Not,--And Some Other Barclays. R. G. Cooke. p. 116. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- ^ "EX-SENATOR KEAN OF NEW JERSEY DEAD; Passed Away Last Night at Liberty Hall, Ursino, the House in Which He Was Born. PROMINENT AS A BANKER Defeated for Governor on Republican Ticket He Was Later Elected to United States Senate". The New York Times. 5 November 1914. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ "MISS SUSAN L. KEAN DIES; Was Descendant of Families Prominent in Country's History". The New York Times. 4 July 1925. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ "JULIAN H. KEAN DIES; NEW JERSEY BANKER; Brother of Two United States Senators, Hamilton F. and the Late John Kean. MEMBER OF OLD FAMILY Succumbs at Kean Homestead, a Revolutionary Landmark Where He Was Born 78 Years Ago". The New York Times. August 27, 1932. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ "JULIAN H. KEAN BURIED.; Bishop Matthews Takes Part in Service for Jersey Banker". The New York Times. 30 August 1932. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (8 September 1932). "J. H. Kean left $25,000 to Church". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ "MRS. W. ROOSEVELT DEAD IN HOSPITAL; Widow of Financier a Sister of Former Senator Kean of New Jersey. ACTIVE IN AIDING CHARITY Had Cooperated With Husband in Philanthropic Work -- Headed Institution". The New York Times. 1 March 1936. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ Studio, Park Lane (May 16, 1930). "W.E. Roosevelt, Capitalist, Dies; Cousin and Intimate Friend of Former President, Aided Many Philanthropies. Headed Old Wall St. Firm Was Active in Development of Railroads, Telegraph and Cable--Led in Park Av. Rise. Native of New York City. Active in Cable Mergers. Gave Time and Funds to Charity. Many Benefactions Unknown". The New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
- ^ "MISS LUCY KEAN DIES; SIGNER'S DESCENDANT; Sister of Two United States Senators--Interested in Philanthropies". The New York Times. 20 March 1929. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ Times, Special to The New York (3 April 1929). "SENATOR KEAN SHARES HIS SISTER'S ESTATE; Will of Miss Lacy H. Kean Divides Residue Equally AmongThree of Family". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ a b "EX-SENATOR KEAN OF NEW JERSEY DIES; Banker and Republican Leader of Century Served Term in Washington, 1928-34 DEFEATED BY A.H. MOORE Member National Committee, 1916-28, Aided Nomination of Charles Evans Hughes". The New York Times. 28 December 1941. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "Miss Elizabeth d'Hauteville Kean". The New York Times. 12 December 1922. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ "Alexander Livingston Kean". The New York Times. 29 November 1922. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ Times, N. M. Gerstenzang Special to The New York (9 June 1974). "The Kean Estate Mirrors Family's". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ "JOHN KEAN, BANKER IN NEW JERSEY, 60; President of National State in Elizabeth, a Leader in Utilities Field, Dies". The New York Times. 25 October 1949. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ Cook, Joan (24 September 1980). "Robert W. Kean, 86; Formerly in House; Jersey Republican Won Reputation as Expert on Social Security". New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
Robert Winthrop Kean, a former United States Representative and for years a leading figure in Republican politics in New Jersey, died Sunday in St. Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, N.J., from a heart attack. He was 86 years old and lived in Livingston.