John Pendleton King was an attorney, planter and politician, serving as United States Senator from Georgia. He resigned in 1837 before the end of his term to devote himself to his plantation and business, serving for nearly 40 years as president of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company and becoming a cotton manufacturer. He acquired large plantation holdings and by 1860 owned 69 slaves to work the cotton fields and related trades.
After beginning his practice, King married Mary Louise Woodward, daughter of John Woodward and wife Harriet Bixby. They had at least two daughters and a son together. Grace Sterling King married John McPherson Berrien Connelly and they had children. Mary Livingstone King married Henry Paget, 4th Marquess of Anglesey.
Studies and politics
King studied 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 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.
Business and plantation
After his time in politics, King became president of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, serving from 1841 to 1878. He worked as a railroad promoter and cotton manufacturer. In 1865 he was a member of the State constitutional convention in 1865. During this period he also continued as a planter and expanded his landholdings considerably, amassing a large estate. From 1830, he more than tripled the number of slaves he owned, in order to work those properties. In 1830, he owned 22 slaves in Augusta, Georgia. In 1840, he owned 55 slaves. In 1850, he owned 57 slaves. In 1860, he owned 68 slaves. King died in Summerville, Georgia and was interred in St. Paul's Churchyard, Augusta.
Honors and legacy
King is the namesake of the city of Kingston, Georgia. Pendleton King Park in Augusta, Georgia is named for his grandson, John Pendleton King II, who died at age 29 of a brain aneurysm.
