Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/580

544 bly, and in 1849 he took his seat as a representative in congress, having been elected as a Whig. He strenuously resisted the compromise measures, espe- cially the fugitive-slave law, and advocated the ad- mission of California as a free state. He was an active member of several Whig nomi- nating conventions, presided over that at Syracuse, N.Y., in 1855, where the Republican party was formed, and in 1856, in the conven- tion at Philadelphia, warmly advocated the nomination of Gen. Fremont. He was elected governor of New York in 1856, en- tered on the duties of the office, 1 Jan., 1857, and specially interested himself in internal improvements and popular education. On the expiration of his term he de- clined a renomination on account of increasing age, and retired to private life, from which he only emerged, at the call of Gov. Morgan, to be- come a member of the Peace convention of 1861. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and was active in its diocesan conventions. — Rufus's second son, Charles, educator, b. in New York city, 16 March, 1789; d. in Frascati, Italy, in October, 1867, was educated at Harrow, England, and in Paris. The war of 1812 with England found him actively engaged in business, and, although he held the opinion that it was in- judicious, he gave the government his support, both in the legislature of New York, to which he was elected in 1813. and as a volunteer in 1814. In consequence of the failure of the house with which he was connected, he engaged with Johnston Ver- plank in the publication of the " New York Ameri- can," a conservative newspaper. Mr. King was its sole editor from 1827 till 1845, when he became one of the editors of the " Courier and Enquirer," holding that post until 1849. In that year he was chosen president of Columbia college, and gave himself heartily to the duties of his new office, ad- vancing the interests of the college in every way bv his scholarship, energy, and wise management. He was an active supporter of the National gov- ernment during the civil war. In 1863 Mr. King resigned the presidency of the college, and in the next year began a tour in Europe, where he re- mained till his death. — Rufus's third son, James Gore, banker, b. in New York city, 8 May, 1791 ; d. in Weehawken, N. J., 3 Oct., 1853, was placed at school near London at the age of seven years, and afterward was sent to Paris to learn the French language. He was graduated at Harvard in 1810, and began the study of law, but was never admit- ted to the bar. He served during the war of 1812 as an assistant adjutant-general, and in 1815 es- tablished the house of James G. King and Co. In 1818 he removed to Liverpool, England, and en- tered into business there with his brother-in-law, William Gracie. In 1824 he declined John Jacob Astor's offer to make him the head of the Ameri- can fur company, and became a member of the firm of Prime, Ward, Sands, King and Co., in New York city, afterward James G. King and Sons. In the early history of the New York and Erie rail- road company, Mr. King took the office of presi- dent without compensation. He was largely in- strumental in gaining for the road the confidence of the community, and in giving it an impulse toward its completion. Resigning this post during 1 lie crisis of 1837, he went abroad, proved to the gov- ernors of the Bank of England the wisdom of help- ing American merchants, and induced them to send to this country, to assist the banks, £1,000,000 in gold — a large sum in those days — which they did through his house. The result was that con- fidence was restored, the banks resumed specie payments, and the crisis was passed. Mr. King had been a member of the Chamber of commerce in New York in 1817, and from 1841 till 1848 served as first vice-president and president. In 1848 he was elected a member of congress from Weehawken, N. J., where he had lived for many years, and served from 1849 till 1851. Among other measures, he brought in a bill for the collec- tion of the revenue, and appropriating the sums needed for the costs of collection, which was main- ly carried by his clear and forcible presentation of the matter, and which still remains the law. At the end of the session Mr. King retired to private life, having gradually withdrawn from the active business of his house, and passed his time at his country home. — Rufus's fourth son, Edward, lawyer, b. in New York city, 13 March, 1795 ; d. in Cincinnati, Ohio, 6 Feb., 1836, studied at Columbia and at the Litchfield, Conn., law- school, but emigrated to Ohio in 1815, where he was admitted to the bar in the next year. He set- tled in Chillicothe, then the capital of the state, but in 1831 removed to Cincinnati. He was sev- eral times elected to each branch of the Ohio legisla- ture, and for two sessions was speaker of the house. He attained success at the bar, and was instrumen- tal in forming the Cincinnati law-school in 1833. — Rufus's youngest son, Frederic Gore, physician, b. in England in 1801 ; d. in New York city, 24 April, 1829, was graduated at Harvard in 1821. Going to New York, he studied medicine under Dr. Wright Post, and received the degree of M. D. from Columbia in 1824. Having been called pro- fessionally to Italy, he afterward visited France, where he enjoyed many opportunities of perfect- ing himself in his favorite study, anatomy. He also added to his medical library a valuable collec- tion of French authors. Returning to New York in the autumn of 1825, he resumed the practice of his profession. During a severe epidemic of fever in that season, he attended his brother's family at Jamaica, L. I., and contracted the disease that terminated his career. Dr. King was one of the first to give popular lectures on professional sub- jects, having delivered courses on phrenology and the structure of the vocal organs. He also lectured on anatomy before the artists of the National academy of design. After spending a year in the New York hospital, he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy to the College of physicians and sur- geons in the same city. His early death cut short what would doubtless have proved a brilliant career. — Charles's son, If n his, journalist, b. in New York city, 26 Jan., 1814 ; d. there, 13 Oct., 1876, was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1833, and appointed to the engineer corps. He resigned from the army, 30 Sept., 1836, and became assistant engineer of the New York and Erie railroad. From 1839 till 1843 he was adjutant-general of the state of New York. He was then associate editor of the "Albany Evening Journal," and of the Albany "Advertiser" from 1841 till 1845, when he re- moved to Wisconsin, and was editor of the Mil- waukee " Sentinel " until 1861. He also served as a member of the convention that formed the con-