Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 06.djvu/274

 KING

KING

KING, John AIsop, governor of New York, was born in New York city, Jan. 3, 1788 ; son of Rufus and Mary (Alsop) King. He was edu- cated at Harrow, England, and in Paris ; studied law in New York city, and was admitted to the bar. He served in the U.S. army during the war of 1812, and was promoted lieutenant 11 of cavalry. At the close of 5/the war he engaged in farm- ing near his father's home in Jamaica, N.Y., and in 1819 was elected to the New York assembly, where he served several terms, and was subsequently elected to the state senate. In the state legislature he opposed the political methods of De Witt Clinton. He resigned from the senate in 1825 to go to London with his father, who had been appointed U.S. minister at the court of St. James. The failure of his father's health obliged him to return to the United States in a few months, and the son remained as charge d'affaires until the arrival of Albert Gallatin, the newly- appointed minister, in 1826. He was again elected to the New York assembly in 1838, and was a representative in the 31st congress, 1849- 51. He opposed the fugitive slave law and advo- cated the admission of California as a free state. He presided at the Whig state convention held at Syracuse, N.Y., 1855, when the Republican party was formed, and in 1856 was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Philadel- phia, where he supported the nomination of John C. Fremont for President. He was governor of New York, 1857-58, declined renomination, was a member of the National peace conference at Washington, D.C., in February, 1861, and then retired to private life. He was a lay delegate to the annual conventions of the Protestant Episco- pal church in the diocese of Long Island. He was president of the New York Historical society and a member of tlie American Historical asso- ciation. He died at Jamaica, N.Y., Jul}' 7, 1867. KING, John Crookshanks, sculptor, was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, Oct. 11, 1806. He was a machinist, and immigrated to the United States in 1829 finding employment in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later in Louisville, Ky. He made the acquaintance of Hiram Powers, the sculptor, in Cincinnati, and at his suggestion made a study of the art of sculpture. He removed to New Or- leans, La., in 1837, and there devoted himself to modelling heads and cutting cameo likenesses. In 1840 he removed to Boston, Mass., where he opened a studio, and among the famous busts ex- ecuted by him that of John Quincy Adams stands in the room of the speaker in the U.S. house of representatives on the very spot where Adams breathed his last. He also sculptured a

bust of Daniel Webster in marble in 1850, visit- ing Washington for the purpose. This was said to be the most lifelike representation of Webster ever made, many pronouncing it superior to the busts by Clevenger and Powers. The original model was exhibited in the library of congress, Washington, D.C., in April, 1850, and in March, 1852, the marble bust which was to have been presented to the city of Boston and placed in Faneuil Hall was destroyed by the fire in his studio in Tremont Temple, Boston. In 1852 he executed from the original model a second bust, which was presented to the city, and he received an order for a duplicate from Lord Ashburton. He also executed busts of Louis Agassiz and Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was a member of the Scots Charitable society. He died in Boston, Mass., April 23, 1882.

KING, John Haskell, soldier, was born in New York. He entered the U.S. army from Michigan as 2d lieutenant, 1st U.S. infantry, Dec. 2, 1837 i was promoted 1st lieutenant, March 2, 1839 ; cap- tain, Oct. 31, 1846 ; and major, May 14, 1861, when he was assigned to the 15th infantry. He served on recruiting duty with his regiment in Florida, and on the frontier, 1837-46 ; in Texas and Mex- ico, and on recruiting duty, 1846-48, and in Texas vip to the time of the civil war, when with Maj. Larkin Smith, he prevented the state forces dis- arming the U.S. troops, and he took six compa- nies of the 2d U.S. cavalry and three of 1st U.S. infantry from Texas to New York. He com- manded Newport barracks, Ky., 1861 ; battalions of the 15th, 16th and 19th U.S. infantry at Shiloh and the advance on Corinth, 1862, and was com- missioned brigadier-general of volunteers in No- vember, 1862. He commanded the 1st battalion, 15th U.S. regiment in the 4th brigade, 1st division, Thomas's centre wing. Army of the Cumberland, at Stone's River, Dec. 30, 1862-Jan. 3, 1863, where he was wounded. He commanded the 3d brigade, 1st division, 14th corps, at Chickamauga, Sept. 19- 20, 1863, where his brigade with that of Col. B. F. Scribner were overpowered by the division of Gen. St. J. R. Liddell, two thousand strong. He commanded the 2d brigade in the battles of Resaca, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, Ruff's Station, Peach Tree Creek, and was in command of the 1st division in the Atlanta cam- paign after Gen. R. W, Johnson assumed com- mand of the 14th corps, and afterward conmianded. a military district in Georgia until January. 1806. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel in June, 1863 ; colonel of the 9th U.S. infantry, July, 1865, and wasbrevetted major-general, U.S. volunteers, March 13, 1865 ; colonel, U.S.A., for Chickamauga, Ga. ; brigadier-general, U.S.A., for Ruff's Station, Ga. ; major-general, U.S.A., for gallantand meri- torious services in the field during the war. He