James G. King

James Gore King
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 5th district
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851
Preceded by Dudley S. Gregory
Succeeded by Rodman M. Price
Personal details
Born May 8, 1791
New York City, USA
Died October 3, 1853 (aged 62)
Weehawken, New Jersey, USA
Political party Whig
Spouse(s) Sarah Rogers Gracie
Parents Rufus King
Mary Alsop
Alma mater Harvard College
Profession Politician

James Gore King (May 8, 1791, New York City – October 3, 1853, Weehawken, New Jersey) was an American businessman and Whig Party politician who represented New Jersey's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1849 to 1851. King was the third son of Rufus King, and brother of John Alsop King, who served as Governor of New York.[1]

Early life

James Gore King was born in New York City on May 8, 1791 to Rufus King and Mary Alsop. He pursued classical studies in England and France, returned to United States and graduated from Harvard University in 1810. He studied law at the Litchfield Law School.[2]

Career

During the War of 1812, he served as assistant adjutant general of the New York Militia.[1]

After the war, he engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York City in 1815. In 1818, he established a banking establishment, King & Gracie, in Liverpool, England with his brother-in-law, Archibald Gracie, Jr.

In 1824, he returned to New York City and engaged in banking as a partner in the firm of Prime & Ward (thereafter Prime, Ward & King), with residence in Weehawken, New Jersey. In 1835, he became president of the Erie Railroad until 1837, when by his visit to London he secured the loan to American bankers of $1,000,000 from the governors of the Bank of England.

United States Congress

King was elected as a Whig to Congress, serving in office from March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1851, but declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1850.

Later career

After leaving Congress, he resumed the banking business. By this time the firm he had worked for had undergone dissolution, and so was succeeded by the House of James G. King & Son. He died at his country place, "Highwood," near Weehawken on October 3, 1853, of a "congestion of the lungs" and was interred in the churchyard of Grace Church, Jamaica, N.Y.

Personal life

Portrait of his wife, Sarah Robers Gracie King, by Thomas Sully

King married Sarah Rogers Gracie (1791–1878), the daughter of Archibald Gracie (1755–1829), a Scottish-born shipping magnate and early American businessman and merchant in New York City and Virginia. Together they were the parents of:[3][4]

  • Caroline King (1813–1863), who married Denning Duer (1812–1891), son of William Alexander Duer
  • Sarah Gracie King (1815–1815)
  • Harriet King (1817–1838)
  • James Gore King, Jr. (1819–1867)
  • Archibald Gracie King (1821–1897), who married Elizabeth Denning Duer (1821–1900), daughter of William Alexander Duer
  • Henry Myers King (1824–1825)
  • Mary King (1826–1890)
  • Frederika Gore King (1829–1916), who married Bancroft Davis (1822–1907), an American lawyer, judge, diplomat, and president of Newburgh and New York Railway Company.
  • Edward King (1833–1908)
  • Alsop King (1835–1836)
  • Fanny King (1836–1905)

Descendants

His granddaughter, May Denning King (1848–1925) married John King Van Rensselaer (1847–1909), son of Henry Bell Van Rensselaer and grandson of Stephen Van Rensselaer III, the patroon of Rensselaerwyck.[5] His great-great-granddaughter Ellin Travers Mackay married Irving Berlin. Another great-great-grandchild was Wolcott Gibbs, who was also a direct descendant of Martin Van Buren (James Gore King's grandson married Martin Van Buren's granddaughter, and Wolcott Gibbs was their grandson).

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 "James Gore King | American banker". britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Litchfield Ledger - Student". www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "James Gore King (1791 - 1853) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Sackett Family Association - Hon James Gore King". www.sackettfamily.info. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  5. ↑ Sullivan, Robert G. (1911). "Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: Van Rensselaer Vol. IV". www.schenectadyhistory.org. Schenectady County Public Library. pp. 1814–1821. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
Sources
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "King, Rufus". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  • Obituaries, The New York Times, October 5, 1853. Retrieved September 23, 2007
  • United States Congress. "James G. King (id: K000203)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  • James Gore King at The Political Graveyard
  • James Gore King at Find a Grave
  • James Gore King V New-York Historical Society
Business positions
Preceded by
Eleazar Lord		 President of New York and Erie Railroad
1835 – 1839		 Succeeded by
Eleazar Lord
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Dudley S. Gregory		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 5th congressional district
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851		 Succeeded by
Rodman M. Price
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