Edward King (Ohio politician)

Edward King (March 13, 1795 – February 6, 1836) was an Ohio legislator and lawyer who was twice Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, and was on the first faculty of the Cincinnati Law School.

Edward King
Member of the Ohio State Senate
In office 1830–1831
Preceded by	Duncan McArthur
Succeeded by	Anthony Walke
Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives
In office December 3, 1827 – December 6, 1829
Preceded by	David Higgins
Succeeded by	Thomas L. Hamer
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
In office 1825–1829
In office 1823–1824
Personal details
Born	March 13, 1795 Albany, New York, US
Died	February 6, 1836 (aged 40) Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Resting place	Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe, Ohio
Political party	National Republican
Spouse(s)	Sarah Ann Worthington ​ ​ (m. 1816; his death 1836)​
Relations	John Alsop (grandfather) John Alsop King (brother) Charles King (brother) James Gore King (brother)
Children	Rufus King
Parents	Rufus King Mary Alsop King
Alma mater	Columbia University Litchfield Law School

Early life

Edward King was born at Albany, New York on March 13, 1795. He was the fourth son of the Honorable Rufus King (1755–1827), who was then a Senator,[1] and Mary (née Alsop) King. His maternal grandparents were John Alsop, a prominent merchant and Mary (née Frogat) Alsop.[2] He had four brothers, including John Alsop King, the Governor of New York, Charles King, who was President of Columbia University, James Gore King, a U.S. Congressman, and Frederic Gore King.[3][4][5]

His father became the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain in 1796, and Edward spent his early youth in London.[6] He returned to the United States and graduated from Columbia University and from law school in Litchfield, Connecticut.[6]

Career

In 1815, he moved to Chillicothe, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1816.[6][7]

He acquired a good practice, and personal popularity. He also held several elected offices while living in Chillicothe. He was Prosecuting Attorney of Ross County in 1819.[6] In 1823–1824, he represented his county in the Ohio House of Representatives in the 22nd General Assembly.[8] In 1825, he was again Prosecuting Attorney,[6] and was again in the Ohio House December 1825 - 1829 for the 24th through 27th General Assemblies,[9] serving as Speaker of the House in the 26th and 27th General Assemblies.[10]

In 1830, for the 29th General Assembly, he represented his county in the Ohio Senate.[10] During the 1830-1831 Assembly, he lost election for United States Senator to Thomas Ewing.[11] He was affiliated with the National Republican Party.[12]

In 1831, Edward King moved to Cincinnati, where he was instrumental in establishing Cincinnati Law School, the first law school in the West, in 1833.[6][7] The first professors were King, Judge John C. Wright, and Judge Timothy Walker, who served as Dean.[13]

Personal life

In 1816, King married Sarah Ann Worthington (1800–1877), second daughter of Governor and U.S. Senator Thomas Worthington. Edward and Sarah King were parents of:[14]

• Rufus King (1817–1891), a prominent Cincinnati lawyer who became Dean of the Cincinnati Law School and was the 5th President of the University of Cincinnati.
• Thomas King, who lived in Columbus, Ohio.[14]

In 1834, King fell ill, moved to the South, in search of a gentler climate, and returned to Cincinnati where he died on February 6, 1836.[6] He was buried at Grandview Cemetery (Chillicothe, Ohio).

After his death, King's widow, Sarah Ann, married William Peter, an English born diplomat who served as the Britannic Majesty's Consul at Philadelphia. Peter died in 1853 and Sarah Ann, widowed again, became a devout convert to the Roman Catholic faith. She traveled frequently to Europe, and became a friend of Pope Pius IX, attending the First Vatican Council. Sarah died in 1877 in Cincinnati.[14]

Notes

1. Passos, John Dos (2011). The Men Who Made the Nation: Architects of the Young Republic 1782–1802. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing. p. 480.
2. McKenney, Janice E. (2012). Women of the Constitution: Wives of the Signers. Lanham: Rrowman & Littlefield. p. 98.
3. York, Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New (1905). The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York: History, Customs, Record of Events, Constitution, Certain Genealogies, and Other Matters of Interest. V. 1-. The Saint Nicholas Society.
4. McKenney, Janice E.; The District of Columbia Daughters of the American Revolution (2013). Women of the Constitution: Wives of the Signers. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 97–103. ISBN 9780810884984.
5. "The Founding Fathers: Massachusetts". The Charters of Freedom. Archives.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
6. Evans 1917 : 172-173
7. Appleton's 1887 : 544
8. Ohio 1917 : 263
9. Ohio 1917 : 263, 266
10. Ohio 1917 : 227
11. Taylor 1899 : 151
12. Bell, William Jr. (1876). Annual report of the Secretary of State to the Governor and General Assembly for the year 1875... Ohio Secretary of State. p. 55.
13. Goss 1912 : 165
14. Renick, L W; Fullerton, M D; Nipgen, M P (1896). Che-le-co-the, glimpses of yesterday: a souvenir of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of Chillicothe, Ohio April 1896. Chillicothe: Knickerbocker Press, New York. pp. 61–62. Sarah.

References

• Evans, Lyle S, ed. (1917). A standard history of Ross County, Ohio: an authentic narrative of the Past... 1. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company.
• Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John (1887). "Rufus King". Appleton's cyclopædia of American biography. 3. p. 544. Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
• Ohio General Assembly (1917). Manual of legislative practice in the General Assembly. State of Ohio.
• Goss, Charles Frederic (1912). Cincinnati, the Queen City, 1788-1912. 2. Cincinnati: S J Clarke Publishing Company.
• Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 ... State of Ohio. p. 151.

External links

• Edward King at Find a Grave