Madison Keene
BIRTH: 28 May 1833 in Clinton, Kennebec County, Maine, USA
DEATH: 30 Oct 1911 (aged 78) in Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA
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Madison Keene was among the early settlers who helped shape southern Minnesota, combining the courage of a Union soldier with the perseverance of a frontier farmer.
Born May 28, 1833, in Clinton, Maine, he was the son of Jeremiah and Rebecca (Kendall) Keene. Patriotism ran deep in his family. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Keene, served under General George Washington during the Revolutionary War, and his maternal grandfather, David Kendall, was a member of the American Army in the War of 1812. Of Scotch-Irish descent on his father’s side and English ancestry on his mother’s, Keene inherited a strong tradition of service.
He married Phoebe A. Eldridge on January 3, 1854. The following year, in June 1855, he came west to Mankato, where several of his siblings had already settled. He soon pre-empted a claim in Nicollet County, and in the spring of 1856 his wife joined him as they began life as pioneer farmers. For more than half a century he remained connected to the land and to the growth of this region.
When the Civil War broke out, Keene answered the call despite having a wife and two young children. On July 15, 1861, at age twenty-eight, he enlisted as a private in Company H, 2nd Minnesota Infantry, the same day he was mustered into service at Mankato. He served faithfully and bravely through many of the war’s principal engagements. His obituary notes that he proved himself “one of the bravest and best in the army,” always steady at his post regardless of conditions.
During the Battle of Chickamauga, his brother Josiah was wounded. Madison is said to have carried him from the field to safety before returning immediately to combat. He later served as one of General “Pap” Thomas’s bodyguards—an honor reserved for only the most trusted soldiers of the regiment. He was mustered out on July 14, 1864, completing three years of service.
After the war, Keene returned home and resumed agricultural pursuits in Nicollet County. Around 1888 he retired from farming and moved into Mankato, building a pleasant home where he lived the remainder of his life. He was widely respected as one of the oldest residents of the region and remained active in veterans’ circles, including the Grand Army of the Republic. His funeral was conducted under G.A.R. auspices, and fellow soldiers served as pallbearers.
Madison Keene died on October 30, 1911, at the Soldiers’ Home in Minnehaha following a paralytic stroke. He had been a resident of this section of Minnesota for more than fifty-five years.
He was survived by three children: V. M. Keene of Winnebago; George E. Keene, the well-known Mankato photographer; and Mrs. Ellen May (Sherman) Rouse of Mankato.
Remembered as a devoted pioneer, honorable soldier, and respected citizen, Madison Keene represents the generation that fought to preserve the Union and then returned to build communities across Minnesota. He rests in Glenwood Cemetery among fellow veterans and early settlers of the region.
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