Ulysses S. Grant's Ky Homes | Kentucky Life | KET

Two historic homes in Covington have ties to President Ulysses S. Grant. Kentucky Life brings you the stories behind the Bluegrass State's Historical Markers.

Jesse Root and Hanna Simpson Grant, the parents of Ulysses S. Grant, bought a large brick home at 518 Greenup Street, Covington, in 1859, and lived there until 1873. Jesse Grant, said to be the richest man in Kentucky, prospered in the leather goods and dry goods business. He gave his son work in the family's Illinois dry-goods store.

However, when Ulysses left civilian life in 1861 to fight in the Civil War, his wife and four children stayed in Covington with Ulysses' parents for most of 1862, and their children attended school here. Ulysses' son Frederick attended a private school run by Mary Bullock at 527 Greenup Street. The two-story frame home, now known as the Clay-Bullock House, was built in 1839 by John W. Clayton.