Preston King (October 14, 1806November 12, 1865) was an American politician who served three terms as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from New York from 1857 to 1863.

Early life

King was born in

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and d ...

on October 14, 1806. He was the illegitimate son of John King and Margaret Galloway. At an early age, he was committed to the guardianship of Louis Hasbrouck, an Ogdensburg lawyer. He pursued

classical studies Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and graduated from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1827, where he was an early member of

The Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would ...

. He studied law and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

Career

In 1830, he established the ''St. Lawrence Republican'' and was Postmaster of Ogdensburg from 1831 to 1834 during the administration of President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

. He was a Democratic member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

(St. Lawrence Co.) from 1835 to 1838, sitting in the 58th, 59th, 60th and

61st New York State Legislature The 61st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 18, 1838, during the sixth year of William L. Marcy's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the prov ...

s. King was elected as a Democrat to the 28th and

29th United States Congress The 29th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1845 ...

es, holding office from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1847. He was Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Invalid Pensions (29th Congress). In 1847, when there was an open rupture between the

Barnburners and Hunkers The Barnburners and Hunkers were the names of two opposing factions of the New York Democratic Party in the mid-19th century. The main issue dividing the two factions was that of slavery, with the Barnburners being the anti-slavery faction. Whi ...

at the Democratic State Convention, King was made chairman of the former and Robert H. Morris of the latter. He was elected as a Free Soiler to the 31st and

32nd United States Congress The 32nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1851 ...

es, holding office from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1853. He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in February 1857, and served from March 4, 1857, to March 4, 1863. He was Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Revolutionary Claims (37th Congress).

Later career

Afterwards he resumed the practice of law, was considered for the Republican vice-presidential nomination in 1860 and was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

on the

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

ticket in 1864, where he was "largely instrumental in procuring the nomination of

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...

for the Vice-Presidency. After the death of President Lincoln, he served as effective White House Chief of Staff during the early days of the Johnson Administration. On August 14, 1865, King was appointed by President

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...

, in an effort to eliminate corruption in the Port of New York and to heal divisions within the Republican Party. After his death, he was succeeded by acting Collector Charles P. Clinch (brother-in-law of

Alexander Turney Stewart Alexander Turney Stewart (October 12, 1803 – April 10, 1876) was an American entrepreneur who moved to New York and made his multimillion-dollar fortune in the most extensive and lucrative dry goods store in the world. Stewart was born in ...

Personal life

According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', he was "remarkable for obesity. Though short of stature--only five feet six inches--he weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds. He tried hard to reduce his flesh by a course of dieting, but failed. Latterly, he took little exercise, but did a great deal of toilsome mind work." Despairing of success, King committed suicide by tying a bag of bullets around his neck and leaping from a ferryboat in

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in ...

on November 13, 1865. After a funeral at the Ogdensburg Episcopal Church, his remains were buried alongside his father and mother at the City Cemetery in Ogdensburg.

References

External links

* *
Mr. Lincoln and New York: Preston King
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Preston 1806 births 1865 deaths People from Ogdensburg, New York Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Free Soil Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Republican Party United States senators from New York (state) New York (state) Free Soilers New York (state) Republicans 1864 United States presidential electors New York (state) postmasters Members of the New York State Assembly Collectors of the Port of New York Union College (New York) alumni People of New York (state) in the American Civil War American politicians who committed suicide Suicides in New York City Suicides by drowning in the United States 1860s suicides