Thomas Butler King
Thomas Butler King | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's At-large & 1st district | |
In office March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843 March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1850 | |
Preceded by | George W. Towns Alexander Stephens |
Succeeded by | John B. Lamar Joseph W. Jackson |
Member of the Georgia Senate | |
In office 1832 1834–1835 1837 | |
Personal details | |
Born | August 27, 1800 Palmer, Massachusetts |
Died | May 10, 1864 (aged 63) Waresboro, Georgia |
Resting place | Churchyard of Christ Church, Frederica, St. Simons, Georgia |
Political party | Whig |
Spouse(s) | Anna Matilda Page (c. 1800 – 1859) |
Children | John Floyd King |
Signature |
Thomas Butler King I (August 27, 1800 – May 10, 1864) was an American politician from the state of Georgia.[1] Late in life, King spent ten years in the newly-admitted state of California and twice attempted to become a senator from that state.
Early life[]
He was born on August 27, 1800 in Palmer, Massachusetts, to Daniel King and Hannah Lord. He was of English descent, and among his first ancestors coming to America was John King, of Edwardstone, Suffolk, England, who, in 1715, was the first settler on a tract of land in what was then the Colony of Massachusetts. For a generation or more, that tract of land was known as Kingstown. Afterwards, it was called Palmer.[2]
He attended Westfield State University and then studied law under his brother, Henry King in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania State Bar in 1822.
Georgia[]
In 1823 he traveled with his brother, Stephen Clay King, to practice law in Waynesville, Georgia.[1][3]
In 1824, he married Anna Matilda Page (c. 1800 – 1859). They had ten children who survived to adulthood, including a son, John Floyd King. Thomas was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1832 to represent Glynn County, Georgia, and served in that position in 1834, 1835, and again in 1837. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1838 to the 26th Congress.
California[]
King accepted an appointment in California as tax collector for the Port of San Francisco under President Millard Fillmore. King then went to work as a lobbyist for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company.[1][3] He also attempted to become senator from California.[3]
San Francisco's King Street, near the port and major rail yards, is named after him.[4]
Death[]
King died in Waresboro, Georgia on May 10, 1864. He was buried in the churchyard of Christ Church on St. Simons Island.[3]
See also[]
- United States House election, 1838
- Brunswick–Altamaha Canal
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Thomas Butler King". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
Representative from Georgia; born in Palmer, Hampden County, Mass., August 27, 1800; received private instructions and also attended Westfield Academy; read law with his brother at Allentown, Pa....
- ^ Northen, W.J.; Graves, J.T. (1911). Men of Mark in Georgia: A Complete and Elaborate History of the State from Its Settlement to the Present Time, Chiefly Told in Biographies and Autobiographies of the Most Eminent Men of Each Period of Georgia's Progress and Development. 3. A. B. Caldwell. pp. 17–312. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Thomas Butler King (1800-1864)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. University of Georgia Press. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
King was born in Palmer, Massachusetts, the son of Daniel and Hannah Lord King. He attended Westfield Academy in Massachusetts and studied law under his brother Henry in Allentown, Pennsylvania....
- ^ "King Street Historical Marker". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
Sources[]
- Edward M. Steel, Jr. T. Butler King of Georgia (University of Georgia Press: 1964)
External links[]
- 1800 births
- 1864 deaths
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)
- Georgia (U.S. state) state senators
- Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers
- People from Palmer, Massachusetts
- Georgia (U.S. state) Whigs
- California Whigs
- People from Glynn County, Georgia
- Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- People from Brantley County, Georgia
- American slave owners
- 19th-century American politicians
- 19th-century American lawyers