JOSIAH KING

from the Digital Pittsburgh collection at:

     http://digital.library.pit.edu/pittsburgh

John E. Parke (1886).  Recollections of seventy years and historical gleenings
of Allegheny, Pennsylvania.  Boston: Rand, Avery Co.  Pages 331-334.

   Josiah King was born Oct. 3, 1807, in Waterford, Erie Co., Penn., on the
site of Fort Le Boeuf, one of the chain of forts established by the French,
from the lakes to the head waters of the Ohio, and died in Allegheny, Dec. 18,
1882.  He descended from an Anglo-Irish stock on the paternal side, and
Scotch-Irish on the material.

   His grandfather was a soldier of the Revolution, served with distinction,
and was promoted to a captaincy for his gallantry at the storming of Yorktown.

   On the occasion of the visit of Ge. Lafayette to this country in 1825, the
general called upon Capt. King, whose acquaintance he had made during the war.

   The captain, being a surveyor, spent a large portion of his time, after the
close of the war, in regulating property lines in the then wild lands of that
section.  He also carried on an extensive trade with the Indian tribes on the
borders of Lake Superior.

   He [now referring to Josiah] was educated at the academy of his native
place, and improved his time and opportunities as fully as circumstances would
permit.

   At the age of twelve years he was apprenticed for seven years to the
mercantile business.

   Having reached his majority, he determined to seek his fortune in a more
extensive field of operation than his native place afforded; in view of which,
he selected the city of Pittsburg [sic] as his future home.  He commenced his
journey in 1827, by the then usual mode of conveyance between the lakes and
the Ohio,--in a flat-boat, by French Creek to the Allegheny River, and thence
to the point of destination.

   Immediately on his arrival in the city, a stranger in a strange land, he
sought and obtained a situation in the commericial establishment of the late
Isaac Harris, one of the most prominent and widely known business men of the
West; and was subsequently appointed the first agent of the line of freight
and passenger boats on the Pennsylvania Canal.

   In 1831 he became associated with the late John Dalzell in the wholesale
grocery and produce business; in 1836 the partnership was dissolved by the
death of Mr. Dalzell, and was immediately reorganized under the title of King
and Holmes.  The firm carried on an extensive trade, East and West, for over
nine years.

   Mr. King had now become generally and favorably known as a thorough
business man, and his services were sought for in municipal matters.

   He was for several years elected a member of the city councils, during
which time he took and active and intelligent part in all questions bearing
upon the improvement of his adopted city.  Among the important measures
advocated by him was the paving of the Monongahela Wharf.

   In 1846 he turned his attention to the manufacture of cotton goods, and
formed a partnership with Isaac Pennock, under the name and style of King,
Pennock, & Co.  Under their auspices the Eagle Cotton Mill was erected in the
Fourth Ward of the City of Allegheny.

   The firm was eminently successful; during the civil war the profits were
very large, the raw material having advanced from ten cents to one dollar per
pound.

   Mr. King spent the greater part of two years at Cairo, Memphis, and other
Southern points, purchasing cotton, and caring for the interests of the firm
generally.  From this fact, it became, in a financial point of view, one of
the strongest in the two cities; but alas! a change soon came over the spirit
of their pleasant dreams.

   During the great petroleum excitement which swept over the Western
counties, and proved so disastrous in its effects, the firm, like many others,
were involved in the enticing temptation to invest largely in the product, the
consequence of which was a most disastrous failure; Mr. King retiring without
a dollar, when he supposed he was worth half a million.

   Notwithstanding this sudden and unexpected reverse of fortune, he still
maintained his courage, his tact, and his integrity unimpaired, important
factors in the struggle for a new business life.

   In May, 1866, he, in connection with F. B. Penniman, A. P. Reed, and Thomas
P. Houston, purchased "The Pittsburg Gazette," established in 1786 by John
Scull, the oldest journal published west of the Alleghenies.

   The new firm operated under the name of Penniman, Reed, & Co.  In 1870 the
senior partner retired, when George W. Reed and David L. Fleming were
associated, and the name changed to King, Reed, & Co.: of this firm he was an
active member up to the time of his death.

   In addition to his having served in the city councils, he was called upon
to fill other places of trust, and was noted for the interest he took in the
cause of education and scientific investigations.  He was for several years
elected a school director in the Third Ward, Allegheny; was chosen a member of
the board of trustees of the Western University of Pennsylvania; and was for
many years an active member of the board of managers for the House of Refuge
(now Pennsylvania Reform School); member of the Board of Trade, and also of
the Commercial National Bank; and was one of the projectors of the Allegheny
Observatory, which has become a scientific school of wide reputation; was
president of the old reliable Pittsburg Insurance Company, the only office
that withstood the shock, and weathered the storm, of the disastrous fire of
the 10th of April, 1845.

   He was also a prominent member of the Philological Institute, established
in 1828, and took a prominent part in all its deliberations.  Politically he
was an ardent Whig, and subsequently a Republican; was chosen chairman of the
Allegheny Clay Club in 1844, and presided at several of the annual nominating
conventions of the party.  As a trustee of the "Avery" estate, Mr. King
brought into requisition that rare tact and foresight which so eminently
characterized his course in all his fiduciary relations.

   This estate was devised for the benefit and advancement of the interests of
the negro race.  A large number of institutions were assisted, and some
established.  Conspicuous among the latter was the Hampton Normal and
Industrial School in the vicinity of Fortress Monroe, which owes its existence
to the forethought of Mr. King, and generosity of Mr. Avery.

   Quite a number of ministers and teachers have been educated at this
institution, and are now spread over the South and elsewhere, engaged in the
work of elevating the freedmen, physically, intellectually, and morally.

   Mr. King was esteemed a sincere and devoted Christian, a strict observer of
all the sacred ordinances of the Protestant-Episcopal Church, and served for
over twenty-five years as one of the vestry-men of Trinity Church, and was
noted for his zeal and intelligence in all matters bearing upon the welfare of
the church and the cause of Christianity generally.

   He was married in Pittsburg to Miss Mary Earle Holdship, daughter of the
late Henry Holdship.  They had six children: his widow and three children
survived him.

   Henry, the eldest, resides at Plainfield, N.J.  Wilson, the second son, has
been in the consular service of the United States for over twelve years, and
is now stationed at Birmingham, England.

   His eldest daughter, Francis K., is the wife of Joseph Brown of the Wayne
Iron Works.  His second daughter, Estella, who died some years ago, was the
wife of Joseph G. Seibenick of "The Chronicle."  Two of his children died in
infancy.  He died in Allegheny, Penn., Dec. 18, 1882, aged seventy-six.