Austin Augustus King (September 21, 1802 – April 22, 1870), also known as Austin A. King and Austin King, was an American lawyer, politician, and military officer. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, he was the
tenth Governor of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and a one-term United States
Congressman
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
.
Early life
King was born in
Sullivan County, Tennessee
Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee on its northeast border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,163. Its county seat is Blountville.
Sullivan County is part of the Kingsport– Johnson City&ndash ...
, to Walter and Nancy (Sevier) King, one of eleven children. Nancy was the daughter of famed military leader and
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
politician
John Sevier
John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...
. King's father was a farmer and often helped him on the farm.
Austin King received his education in the frontier schools of his native state and then studied law under an attorney, as was often the case in those times.
he also took private lessons in Latin and Greek.
King was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1822 and practiced in the
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...
, area until 1830 when he moved to
Columbia,
Boone County, Missouri
Boone County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Centrally located in Mid-Missouri, its county seat is Columbia, Missouri's fourth-largest city and location of the University of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 183,61 ...
.
In Columbia, King formed a successful law partnership with John B. Gordon, "riding the circuit"—by horse and sometimes by riverboat on the
Missouri River—providing legal services to the communities of central and eastern Missouri.
He also became involved with Missouri Democratic politics shortly after arriving. Another early affiliation and a family tradition along with politics, was military service. With the outbreak of the
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...
in 1832, King was appointed a
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
and served with the First Regiment, Third Division, Missouri State Militia.
Political career
In 1834, King was elected to the first of two terms in the
Missouri House of Representatives
The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...
.
Re-elected in 1836, King was known as a strong advocate for improving education in the state. To that end, in November 1836 he introduced legislation for the creation of a college dedicated to educating the teachers who served in the "common" schools of the state.
This was the seed of the
Normal school
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...
concept in Missouri. Throughout his political career, King also supported the establishment of a college in
Richmond, Missouri
Richmond is a city in Ray County, Missouri, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 6,013 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ray County.
History
Richmond was platted in 1828. The comm ...
, as well as
Columbia College and the 1833 founding of "Columbia Female Academy", later known as
Stephens College
Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acade ...
.
As judge
King and his family moved to
Ray County, Missouri
Ray County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,158. Its county seat is Richmond. The county was organized N ...
, in 1837 after he was appointed judge of the Missouri Fifth Circuit Court, a position he held until 1848.
During his time on the bench he presided over the trial of
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
, founder of the
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
, during the
1838 Mormon War
The 1838 Mormon War, also known as the Missouri Mormon War, was a conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons in Missouri from August to November 1838, the first of the three " Mormon Wars".
Members of the Latter Day Saint movement, founded by Jo ...
. Smith and sixty of his followers were brought before King in a
Richmond, Missouri
Richmond is a city in Ray County, Missouri, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 6,013 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ray County.
History
Richmond was platted in 1828. The comm ...
, courtroom following their surrender after the
Battle of Far West in
Caldwell County.
Charged with long list of crimes including treason, murder, arson, burglary, robbery, larceny and perjury, all but about ten of the Mormons were released by King following an inquiry.
However, Smith and the rest were ordered held in the
Liberty Jail in
Clay County, Missouri
Clay County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 253,335, making it the fifth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county seat is Liber ...
. Smith was later allowed to escape custody by his captors and fled Missouri for Illinois.
King remained active in Democratic politics during his time as a judge, being a strong supporter of
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...
in the 1840 presidential campaign. King was a contender for the Democratic Party's nomination for Missouri Governor in 1844, but lost out narrowly to
John Cummins Edwards
John Cummins Edwards (June 24, 1804 – October 14, 1888) was a Democratic politician from the state of Missouri. He served as a member of the 27th United States Congress as well as the 9th Governor of Missouri.
Early life
John Cummins Edward ...
.
As governor
1848 was finally King's year to assume the state's top job. Respected by fellow Democrats for his gracious behavior at the divisive 1844 state Democratic convention, he handily won the nomination in 1848 and then beat Whig
James S. Rollins
James Sidney Rollins (April 19, 1812 – January 9, 1888) was a nineteenth-century Missouri politician and lawyer. He helped establish the University of Missouri, led the successful effort to get it located in Boone County, and gained funding ...
in the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
by a margin of nearly fifteen thousand votes.
King presided over a time of great growth in Missouri. In his first year in office alone 142 new companies were granted state charters. Although fiscally conservative, King saw the benefits of expanded rail service and thus in 1850 recommended that $3.5 million in state bonds be issued to fund two rail projects.
Public projects to drain swamplands, build roads, establish a state hospital for the mentally ill, a school for the deaf, and home for the blind were also advancements during his governorship. One area of disappointment for King was the failure of his legislation to establish a state Department of Education and secure more funding for the state university.
By the time he left office eight new counties had been established in Missouri.
Despite his gubernatorial record of success, King failed in his next bid for higher office, the 1852 election for Missouri 4th District Representative to the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
. Factional discord between Benton Democrats and anti-Benton Democrats split the vote, allowing
Whig candidate
Mordecai Oliver
Mordecai Baldwin Oliver (October 22, 1819 – April 25, 1898) was an attorney and two-term U.S. Representative from Missouri from 1853 to 1857.
Biography
Born in Anderson County, Kentucky, Oliver attended the common schools and then studie ...
to win. King returned full-time to his law practice as well as keeping a hand in politics. In July 1855, King was a delegate to the Missouri Slave Owners Convention. Over 200 delegates gathered in
Lexington, Missouri
Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropol ...
, to create a series of resolutions that advocated the position of states' rights held by so many other slave-holding southern states and to also endorse a pro-slavery position for the
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
. However, King later expressed his opposition to the Kansas
Lecompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution (1859) was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas. Named for the city of Lecompton where it was drafted, it was strongly pro-slavery. It never went into effect.
History Purpose
The Lecompton Co ...
and Missourians crossing the border to vote on it.
King was a delegate to the
1860 Democratic National Convention
The 1860 Democratic National Conventions were a series of presidential nominating conventions held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election. The first convention, held from April 23 t ...
where he campaigned for
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
, believing a Douglas presidency offered the best hope for preserving the Union. The next year, with Missouri mired in the secession crisis, King spoke out in favor of remaining in the Union and supported the provisional government of
Hamilton Gamble.
He returned to the bench in 1862, serving as a Missouri circuit judge for about a year before running for U.S. Congress again.
In Congress
King was successful in his second attempt to serve in Congress, like his grandfather Sevier before him. On November 4, 1862, running as a
Unionist, he defeated three other candidates—Peace Democrat James H. Birch, independent Democrat Edward D. Sanuel, and Unionist Henry B. Bouton—with 45 percent of the vote. King served as the
Missouri 6th Congressional District Representative from March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1865. Among the important legislation during his term was the
Coinage Act of 1864
The Coinage Act of 1864 was a United States federal law passed on April 22, 1864, which changed the composition of the one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin. The Director of the U.S. Mint developed the designs for thes ...
, establishment of the
Freedmen's Bureau
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...
, and passage of the
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representative ...
. King very much wanted to be reelected for a second term in 1864; however, he was soundly defeated, coming in a distant third to Republican
Robert T. Van Horn
Robert Thompson Van Horn (May 19, 1824 – January 3, 1916) was an American lawyer, the owner and publisher of '' The Kansas City Enterprise'', the 6th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri during parts of the Civil War, a member of the Missouri General ...
and fellow Democrat
Elijah Hise Norton
Elijah Hise Norton (November 21, 1821 – August 6, 1914) was a U.S. congressman from Missouri during the United States Civil War.
Biography
He was born in Russellville, Logan County, Kentucky, November 21, 1821 and attended the public schools ...
.
After his election loss, King returned to Missouri and continued his law practice for the few remaining years of his life.
King died on April 22, 1870, in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. He was buried in the city cemetery in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
Ray County, Missouri
Ray County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,158. Its county seat is Richmond. The county was organized N ...
.
Family
King was twice-married. He wed Nancy Harris Roberts in Jackson, Tennessee, on May 13, 1828. She preceded him in death in 1857. The following year, August 10, 1858, in
Kingston, Missouri, he married Martha Anthony Woodson. King fathered a total of nine children by his two wives. Sons Walter, William Augustus, Edward Livingston, Henry, Thomas Benton, and Austin Augustus Jr. with his first wife as well as daughter Melvina Elizabeth. Daughters Mary Bell and Nannie were born to King and his second wife. His son Henry died young, at approximately age six, in 1840.
His son Austin A. King, Jr. was a pro-Union officer in the
Missouri State Militia and later the Missouri Volunteer Cavalry where he attained the rank of colonel.
Legacy
King is the namesake of
Kingston, Missouri.
External links
Missouri State Archives - Austin Augustus King, 1848-1853
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Austin Augustus
1802 births
1870 deaths
19th-century American politicians
Democratic Party governors of Missouri
History of the Latter Day Saint movement
Missouri Unionists
People from Lafayette County, Missouri
People from Madison County, Tennessee
People from Sullivan County, Tennessee
Politicians from Columbia, Missouri
Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri