These two men are responsible for the Suspension Bridge.
That's John Roebling on the left, and Amos Shinkle on the right.
Roebling had the vision of how to design and build it, but it was Covington's
Amos Shinkle who had the vision to bet his personal fortune to make it happen.

 

             

These  two major leaguers were born in Covington
left,  Howie Camnitz, bio here, MLB stats here.
right, Bill Sweeney, bio here, MLB stats here.
There's also Henry Gastright, bio here, MLB stats here.
And don't forget Leo Foster, whose record is here.

Covington's William Goebel, and his statute in Frankfort.  A controversial political figure elected Governor of Kentucky;  assassinated January 30, 1900.  More on Goebel is here, and or you can buy a Goebel biography from Amazon, at left.


The story of Goebel's assassination, from an account written in 1905 is here.  (pdf)
 
In 1895, Goebel was involved in a gun fight on Madison Avenue.  You can read abut it here.

 

 

Four Goebel Funeral Scenes

 

The other Governor from Covington, John Stevenson.
You can read more about his life, here, and here. (pdf)

How Did the First Covington Streets Get Their Names? 

For the first five men to serve as Governors of the State of Kentucky
 

    

 

Isaac Shelby James Garrard Christopher Greenup Charles Scott George Madison

 

Dicky Beal Drive is named after the former Holmes & UK basketball player.
See his UK career record here.

The 1992 Northern Kentucky Bicentennial Commission published the biographies of
a number of prominent Northern Kentuckians, including these Kenton Countians:

Daniel Carter Beard John G. Carlisle Frank Duveneck Jacob Price Amos Shinkle

Donald Johnson, born in Covington, was a star in Negro League Baseball.  More on him at this site.

  
Daniel Carter Beard (June 21, 1850 – June 11, 1941)
The man who "invented" the Boy Scouts grew up in Covington.
His autobiography, long out of print, is good reading about the area, if you can find it.
His Wikipedia page is here.

  

Local Heroes, of Covington
A 1995 mural on permanent display at the Covington Library
and the key to who's in the pic.

 


Mr. T. C. Tichenor
Mr. J. A. Caywood
Mr. R. C. Hinsdale

Tichenor Middle School's
site is here.
Caywood Elementary's
site is here.
Hinsdale Elementary's
site is here.

One of Kenton's more famous citizens is John G. Carlisle,
who you can read all about on his Wikipedia site, here.

In 1893, Mrs. Carlisle published a cook book. 
Her recipe for Kentucky Black Cake is here.

Information about Carlisle and his home is here. (pdf)

"Covington, Ky., - Dec. 5.- The home of John G. Carlisle, this metropolis, is still celebrating his election.  Nineteen tar barrels blazed last evening and threw a lurid glow of Southron victory o'er the cloud curtained sky, visible at a distance of several blocks.  The excitement is intense, and strong men are weeping." 
New York Times, December 6, 1883

There are two soldiers who are recipients of the US Medal of Honor from Covington, and both achieved the honor in battles against Indians in the American West: 

On August 12, 1881, Thomas Shaw "forced the enemy back after stubbornly holding his ground in an extremely exposed position and prevented the enemy's superior numbers from surrounding his command," in a battle at Carrizo Canyon, New Mexico. 

Thomas Sullivan was awarded his based on his actions on October 20, 1869 in the Chiricahua Mountains in the Arizona Territory for "gallantry in action against Indians concealed in a ravine."

"Say have you ever seen Miss Dora Dean
She is the finest girl you have ever seen."

Ron Ziegler, press secretary to Richard Nixon, and
 the man who declared Watergate, "a third-rate burglary."		 Ben Lucien Burman
an author
 of 22 novels

Robert Surtees, born August 9, 1906 in Covington, was a three-time academy award winning cinematographer.  The impressive list of the films
on which he was the cinematographer is here.

 

The Davis Sisters lived in Latonia, and were an early county music trio.  A little more on them here.

Remember Durword Kirby?  He was from Covington.  There's a bio here.  (He was the inspiration for Rocky and Bullwinkle's "Kirwood Derby.")

 

My Father's House in Washington, Kentucky (1886)
a painting by Covington artist Mary Bruce Sharon

Know who Haven Gillespie was?  The man who wrote Santa Claus is Coming
to Town, and many other songs, is from Covington.  More here, and here.  A little more bio information and a picture of his home in Covington are here. (pdf)

 Another famous Covington person was Una Merkel,  a film actress who starred  in many movies from 1930 through 1966.  There's a list of her credits and a bio here, and a whole bunch of her movie star pictures, here.

 

Benj. Sebastian Jacob May J. H. Mersman,
 President		 Jas. M. Rude,
Vice-President
Management of Covington's Sebastian Lathe Co.
 		 J. M. Rude Manufacturing Co, Covington
 

Membership rosters from the 1911
Masonic Lodges of Kenton County:  (pdf's)
Covington #109 Covington #159 Covington #345
Erlanger Independence Fiskburg
  Wilmington  
Ludlow #759 Latonia Ludlow #478

The 1878 Biographical Encyclopedia of Kentucky had these Kenton County-related biographies.  All are pdf's.
William J. Perrin Rev. Thomas N. Arnold Alexander Campbell Ellis
Henry Clay White Edward Reiley  
Charles Asmann Robert Howe Robert A. Athey
Charles F. Thomas, MD Napoleon B. Stephens John Talbot Levis

From The History of Kentucky, 1929, published by S. J. Clarke.  This book, like the one immediately above, should not be considered to have a definitive list of important people in the county.  More likely, the book was financed by people who paid to have their name included, and wrote their own bio. Caveat Emptor.
  (All are pdf's)
Charles W. Justice, M.D. Captain William H. Strahan, M.D. Charles Purdy Charles S. Durrett
Hon.  Orrie S. Ware John L. Cushing Joseph Noterman  

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