John Andrew King

John Andrew King, the son of John M. and Rachel (Nelson) King was born on September 3, 1826 in a new log cabin in the woods of southwestern Stark County, Ohio. His early education was completed in the common schools which he attended for two or three months each year. In 1840 he drove a team of horses which pulled boats on the Ohio Canal and at about age eighteen he began teaching in the country schools. During the spring of 1845, John A. King went to work for the third window-sash factory in the state of Ohio which was located at Massillon, and three years later he took charge of the fourth factory of that kind which was located at Toledo. This was the first year of the cholera epidemic and upon landing from the steamboat and inquiring for his employers he was informed that both had recently died of cholera but this proved to be incorrect.

On November 19, 1848 at Stark County, Ohio, Mr. King married Rosannan Beatty, the daughter of John and Christina (Powell) Beatty. Rosannah was born on November 18, 1824 at Stark County, Ohio. Her father had served in the War of 1812 from Pennsylvania and he had been born in Ireland. Rosannah King's brother, Major- General Samuel Beatty, served in the Mexican War and then commanded the 19th Ohio Regiment in the Civil War and he was called "one of the outstanding Generals in the West."

By the early 1850's the King family had moved to New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. About this time John King read law with Hon. Edwin M. Stanton and he was admitted to the bar. After this John King and two other men were the only railway clerks between Crestline and Pittsburg, each working four days and laying off two days.

John King's father died in Henry County, Ohio in 1858 and after this time he moved the family to a section of his father's farm in Washington township near Colton. Here his wife Rosannah looked after the family farm while her husband practiced law at Napoleon. In the issues of the Northwest of the 1870s can be found the professional card of John A. King "attorney and counselor at law, Colton (Washington Station) Henry County, Ohio, will practice in the courts of Henry and adjacent counties." While residing at Colton he became very active in the Democratic Party and at one time he was a candidate for prosecuting attorney of Henry County. While at Massillon John King had united with the Episcopal Church, in which he held several important lay offices.

The King family remained at Colton until 1894 when they sold their farm and retired to Toledo. John A. King died there on May 4, 1909 and he was said to be one of the oldest practicing attorneys in northwest Ohio. Before his death John and Rosannah not only celebrated their golden wedding anniversary but also their 60th wedding anniversary in 1908. Rosannah King died at Toledo on June 6, 1912. They are buried at Massillon, Ohio.

The Kings were the parents of seven children. John Alonzo King, born September 21, 1849 in Stark County, Ohio, married Mary Etta Hoyt. He was vice president of the Miami Milling Company of East Toledo and when he retired they lived at Weston, Ohio. They are buried in the Heath-Colton Cemetery which was once part of their grandfather King's farm.

Emily Maria King, born June 21, 1851 at New Brighton, Pa., married Philip Troutman Groff, who was the son of Augustus Groff a pioneer of Washington Township. Philip Groff at one time was a miller at Grand Rapids, Ohio and for a while they lived in eastern Indiana. Later they moved to Akron, Ohio where Emily Groff died on Nov. 19, 1927. Her husband served in Co. I, 38th Regt., Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.

Mary Ellen King, born May 13, 1853 at Beaver county, Pa., was one of the members of the first graduating class of the Napoleon High School in 1875. She was a teacher of the intermediate department at Napoleon and she married Dr. A.E.H. Maerker of Napoleon.

Samuel Leighter King, born July 18, 1855, died Oct. 30, 1858.

Harriet Jane King, born Nov. 24, 1857 at Stark County, Ohio, was also a graduate of the first class of the Napoleon HIgh School in 1875 and she was a school teacher until her marriage to Isa Leist, a prominent druggist of Napoleon.

Albert Horatio King, born January 15, 1860 at Colton, was married in 1884 to Sarah Maxin Brailey. Her father was Col. Moses Brailey, a prominent attorney at Wauseon. Albert

King was a decorator at Toledo where he died on Dec. 13, 1936.

Rosabel King, born November 26, 1867 at Colton, was a member of the Class of 1886 of the Napoleon High School. For many years she was a teacher of the first primary for the Napoleon Union School. She attended Ohio Northern University and she left Napoleon in 1894 when the King family moved to Toledo. Rosabel married, Avery B. Manson, who was a sergeant in the police force at Toledo.

Submitted by: Robert Barnes