Background
Kerens was born in Killberry, County Meath, Ireland, and was brought to the United States in infancy.
Kerens was born in Killberry, County Meath, Ireland, and was brought to the United States in infancy.
He was educated in the public schools of Jackson Company, Iowa.
Throughout the Civil War he served in the Union army. After the war he lived in Arkansas and at San Diego, California, and was contractor for the Overland Mail. In 1876 he moved to Saint Louis, Missouri, and thereafter was interested in the construction of railroads and was active in the Republican politics of Missouri.
From 1909 to 1913 he was Ambassador to Austria-Hungary.
His summer home at Elkins, West Virginia, known as "Pinecrest", was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
In 1892 he became a member of the Republican National Committee.
