John Pendleton King

John Pendleton King
United States Senator from Georgia
In office November 21, 1833 – November 1, 1837
Preceded by	George Troup
Succeeded by	Wilson Lumpkin
Personal details
Born	April 3, 1799 Glasgow, Kentucky
Died	March 19, 1888 (aged 88) Summerville, Georgia
Political party	Jacksonian

John Pendleton King (April 3, 1799 – March 19, 1888) was a United States Senator from Georgia.

Born in Glasgow, Kentucky, King moved in infancy with his parents to Bedford County, Tennessee, and then to Augusta, Georgia, in 1815. He graduated from the Academy of Richmond County in Augusta, and studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1819 and practiced in Augusta. He married Mary Louise Woodward, daughter of John Woodward and wife Harriet Bixby, and had at least two daughters: Grace Sterling King, married to John McPherson Berrien Connelly and had issue, and Mary Livingstone King, married to Henry Paget, 4th Marquess of Anglesey (1835–1898).

King pursued studies in Europe from 1822 to 1824. He returned and continued the practice of law in Augusta until 1829. He was a member of the State constitutional conventions in 1830 and 1833. He was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1831. He was elected in 1833 as a Jacksonian (later Democrat) to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of George M. Troup. He was reelected in 1834 and served from November 21, 1833, until November 1, 1837, when he resigned.

After his time in politics, King became president of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company from 1841 to 1878. He was then a railroad promoter and cotton manufacturer, and was a member of the State constitutional convention in 1865. King died in Summerville, Georgia and was interred in St. Paul's Churchyard, Augusta.

He is the namesake of the city of Kingston, Georgia.^[1]

He was also a slave owner. In 1830, he owned 22 slaves in Augusta, Georgia.^[2] In 1840, he owned 55 slaves.^[3] In 1850, he owned 57 slaves. ^[4] In 1860, he owned 68 slaves.^[5]

References

1. "Kingston". Calhoun Times. September 1, 2004. p. 20. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
2. 1830 United States Census, 1830; Augusta, Georgia; page 274, 275,. Retrieved on 6 March 2016.
3. 1840 United States Census, 1840; Augusta Ward 5, Richmond, Georgia;. Retrieved on 6 March 2016.
4. "1850 United States Census, Slave Schedules", 1850; Division 73, Richmond, Georgia; page 931, 983,. Retrieved on 6 March 2016.
5. "1860 United States Census, Slave Schedules", 1860; Augusta City Ward 2, Richmond, Georgia; page 306, 310,. Retrieved on 6 March 2016.

• John Pendleton King at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Dictionary of American Biography
• Mellichamp, Josephine. "John King." In Senators From Georgia. pp. 107–10. Huntsville, Ala.: Strode Publishers, 1976.