Toensing and the Minnesota Legislative Manuals list his last name as Keenan. The St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877 lists his last name as Kernan.
He moved to the United States in 1852, settled in New York. He moved to Janesville, Wisconsin around 1857. He came to Waseca County, Minnesota in 1860.
"Mr. Keenan is a Democrat." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 43)
He was listed as a Democrat on the list of members posted after the 1877 election. ("The Next Legislature." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877)
Religion provided by Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877.