Sgt. John Kean
5th Regiment U.S. Colored Cavalry
Born 1842, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Died April 1921, Louisville, Kentucky
On September 5, 1864, John Kean enlisted in the Union Army in Louisville, KY.1 He was 22 years old, born in 1842 in Jefferson County.2 His enslaver, Louisa R. Glass, gave him permission to join the Union.3 He was a soldier in Company A of the 5th U.S. Colored Calvary Regiment and quickly rose to the rank of sergeant.4
While Kean was enslaved when he enlisted, his mother, Mahala Simmons, and sister, Matilda Dell, were both free by that time.5 One of the paths to freedom that enslaved people could take was to engage in work “on the side,” which gave them the ability to earn enough money to buy their freedom. In Mahala’s case, she was a washwoman, but we don’t know for sure if doing this work on the side is how she became free.6 All that can be determined from records was that she married a barber named Henry Simmons By 1860.7 Mahala also lived in the same dwelling as her daughter, Matilda Dell, along with Matilda’s family unit that included husband, Lewis Dell, and two children. 8
In 1865, John Kean’s regiment was involved in many campaigns, including the Battle of Fair Oaks from October 27-28, the Occupation of Raleigh from April 9-14, and the “Surrender of Johnston and his army.”9 Although Kean was present for most of his tour, his soldier records show that he was absent from January to March of 1865 because of illness and spent that time convalescing at Camp Nelson.10 Kean remained a sergeant until he mustered out in Helena, Arkansas in March of 1866.11
By 1870, Kean was married to his wife Fannie and working as a porter in a store in Louisville.12 He was still a porter in 1873, living with Fannie and their firstborn son George.13 According to the 1880 records, Kean was working as a railroad porter.14 During this time, Kean’s profession allowed him to afford the expansion of his family to include four children—George, Alberta, Willis, and John.15 He was also able to reconnect and share a dwelling on Oldham street with his mother and her husband and his sister Matilda and her family.16
No census data is available for 1890, but John Kean is listed in the Louisville city directory as still being a porter but now working at the L&N building.17 Records indicate Kean was still living at the home he shared with his family on Oldham Street 18 when Mahala passed in 1891.19
By 1900, John Kean was working as a sexton for an unknown church.20 A sexton is “a church officer or employee who cares for the church property and performs related minor duties (such as ringing the bell for services and digging graves).”21 He still resided in the home he had occupied for the past 20 years.22 He lived with his wife and their children Willis, Ione, and Lenora, along with a grandchild. 23
It was not too long after that, in 1904 when John Kean began receiving Invalid pension payments.24 It is not clear what debilitation occurred that initiated those pension payments, but by 1920 Kean was listed as an unemployed boarder in Louisville.25 When John Kean died in April 1921 his profession was listed as a laborer.26 His state death records indicated he died at “age 78”, which was an unusually long life for a Civil War veteran.27
1 Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served the United States, Colored Troops: 56th‐138th USCT Infantry, 1864‐1866, John H. Keen, Company A, 5th USC Cavalry, digital images,
https://www.fold3.com/image/265220845?terms=keen,war,civil,h,john,union
2 “U.S., Descriptive Lists of Colored Volunteer Army Soldiers, 1864” database, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/10977:2132?ssrc=pt&tid=181653051&pid=372363455968
3 ibid
4 Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served the United States, Colored Troops: 56th‐138th USCT Infantry, 1864‐1866, John H. Keen, Company A, 5th USC Cavalry, digital images,
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11n0HhbY1P_lWYPq5dI7RJeO2gAwk9kGc/view
5 U.S. Census Bureau, “1860 Federal Census” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/39856954:7667?ssrc=pt&tid=181653051&pid=372363455975
6 ibid
7 ibid
8 ibid
9 National Park Service, “United States Colored Troops 5th Regiment Infantry” https://www.nps.gov/rich/learn/historyculture/5thusct.htm
10 Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served the United States, Colored Troops: 56th‐138th USCT Infantry, 1864‐1866, John H. Keen, Company A, 5th USC Cavalry, digital images,
https://www.fold3.com/image/265220845?terms=keen,war,civil,h,john,union
11 ibid
12 U.S. Census Bureau, “1870 Federal Census” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4269326_00650?pId=22120503
13 U.S. Freedman’s Bank Records, 1865‐1874, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8755/images/KYM816_11-0475?pId=216835
14 U.S. Census Bureau, “1880 Federal Census” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4241175-00199?pId=42134142
15 ibid
16 ibid
17 U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry.com https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/14094728?pId=869708247
18 ibid
19 Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1222/images/kyvr_7007128-0346?pId=10511
20 U.S. Census Bureau, “1900 Federal Census” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4118919_00811?pId=5293727
21 Sexton, Merriam-Webster.com,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sexton
22 U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/12942094?pId=764578778
23 U.S. Census Bureau, “1900 Federal Census” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4118919_00811?pId=5293727
24 U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, Ancerstry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4654/images/32959_032918-01639
25 U.S. Census Bureau, “1920 Federal Census” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4300926_00054
26 Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852-1965, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1222/images/KYVR_7017462-1596?pId=677611
27 ibid
Bernard Clay
Kentucky native Bernard Clay grew up in the now demolished Southwick housing projects in Louisville’s “West End.” He has spent years developing a deep appreciation of the state’s unique natural and urban areas. Bernard earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Kentucky Creative Writing Program and is a member of the Affrilachian Poets collective. His work can be found in various journals and anthologies. He currently lives on Scorpion Hollow Farm in eastern Kentucky with his herbalist partner Lauren, founder of Resilient Roots, where he homesteads and continues writing. English Lit is his first book.
This website is a service of Reckoning, Inc., a small non-profit organization that depends on grants and donations to continue our work. Up to this point, we have avoided putting any paid advertising on our website. If you would like to help us keep it that way, please consider making a donation to our organization.