John Alsop King Jr. (July 14, 1817 – November 21, 1900) was an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Early life

King was born on July 14, 1817, in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, Queens County, New York. He was the second son of children born to New York Governor

John Alsop King John Alsop King (January 3, 1788July 7, 1867) was an American politician who was the twentieth governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. He was the 1st Republican governor of New York. Life King was born in the area now encompassed by New York C ...

(1788–1867) and Mary (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Ray) King (1790–1873). His brother was Charles Ray King and his sister, Elizabeth Ray King, was married to U.S. Congressman

Henry Bell Van Rensselaer Henry Bell Van Rensselaer (May 14, 1810 – March 23, 1864) was an American military officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a politician who served in the United States Congress as a Representative from the state of ...

. His grandfather was U.S. Senator and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom,

Rufus King Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convent ...

, and great-grandfather was

John Alsop John Alsop Jr. (1724 – November 22, 1794) was an American merchant and politician from New York City. As a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, he signed the 1774 Continental Association. Early life Alsop wa ...

(1724–1794), a prominent merchant. His uncles included Charles King, who was President of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, James Gore King, a U.S. Congressman, Edward King, the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives . King attended Union Hall Academy in Jamaica; and graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1835.

Career

Then he engaged briefly in mercantile pursuits, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced for some time. However, he spent most of his life as a gentleman farmer, looking after the family estate. He was a delegate to the

1872 Republican National Convention The 1872 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 5–6, 1872. President Ulysses S. Grant was unanimously nominated for reelection by the convention's 752 delegates. Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson replace ...

; a

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...

, voting for

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

and

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was the 18th vice president of the United States, serving from 1873 until his death in 1875, and a United States Senate, senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to ...

; and a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

(1st D.) in

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

and

1875 Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third C ...

. In 1876 and 1880, he ran unsuccessfully for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. He was President of the

New-York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

for eighteen years from 1887 until his death. The Society commissioned a portrait of King in 1892 by Robert Hinckley.

Personal life

On February 21, 1839, he married Mary Colden Rhinelander (1818–1894), the only daughter of Philip Rhinelander and Mary Colden (née Hoffman) Rhinelander. Mary was a granddaughter of

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

Josiah Ogden Hoffman Josiah Ogden Hoffman (April 14, 1766 – January 24, 1837) was an American lawyer and politician. He was an esteemed friend of Alexander Hamilton and Washington Irving. Early life Josiah Ogden Hoffman was born on April 14, 1766, in Newark, New J ...

(1766–1837), and they had five daughters, several who died young including Cornelia Ray, Ellen and Frederica, including: * Mary Rhinelander King (1842–1909), a philanthropist who did not marry. * Alice King (1860–1920), who married

Gherardi Davis Gherardi Davis (October 15, 1858 – March 9, 1941) was an American lawyer, writer and politician from New York. Life He was born on October 15, 1858 in San Francisco, California, the son of George Henry Davis (1824–1897) and Clara Jane (Ghera ...

(1858–1941), son of George Henry Davis, on April 7, 1894. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...

in Manhattan which had been his winter residence for a number of years, and was buried at the Grace Episcopal Churchyard in Jamaica, Queens.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:King, John A 1817 births 1900 deaths Republican Party New York (state) state senators Politicians from Queens, New York Harvard College alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New York City 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature