Andrew Jackson King
Encyclopedia
Andrew Jackson King or A. J. King, an early settler who played a part in the early history of the city of Los Angeles
and held both State and city offices as a lawman, lawyer, legislator and judge.
Andrew Jackson King was born in Cherokee Purchase Land in Union County, Georgia
. Later his father, Samuel King, who was a tanner and a saddle
r, took the family to Helena, Arkansas
. In 1849 the family moved to Santa Fe
, New Mexico Territory
. In 1852, Samuel King brought his family and forty or fifty other families of pioneers overland to El Monte the oldest American settlement in Los Angeles County, located along the San Gabriel River
, was inhabited by a mixture of emigrants, largely Texans. The King family laid out a town there which was called Lexington.
King studied law in Los Angeles with Judge Hayes
, the first district Judge of the County. Then these two young lawyers and Judge Scott opened a law office on Main Street a short distance south of the Plaza. King became the first County Clerk of San Bernardino County in 1853.
In March, 1854, A. J. King was one of the members of the California Militia Company called the Monte Rangers, organized by John G. Downey
and others. The unit was active operating against Indian raiders and bandits that plagued Southern California after they were driven out of San Francisco and the northern gold fields by vigilantes.
In 1859 King was elected a member of the California State Assembly
and was on the committee which located the site for the State Capitol. From 1861 to 1865 A. J. King served as an Undersheriff of Los Angeles County and made many arrests. During the secession crisis of 1861, he tried to form another militia Company like the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles
, the Monte Mounted Rifles, both units with secessionist sympathies. On April 26, 1861, the Monte Mounted Rifles asked Governor Downey for arms. However A. J. King ran afoul of Federal authorities. According to the Sacramento Union of April 30, 1861 King was brought before Colonel
Carleton
, and was made to take an oath of allegiance to the Union and was then released. The governor sent the arms, but army officers at San Pedro
held them up preventing the activation of the Monte Mounted Rifles.
King did not flee eastward to the Confederacy with the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles and continued his secessionist activities. On April 10, 1862, as the United States Marshall for Southern California, Henry D. Barrows
, wrote to the commander of the Department of Pacific of the Union Army in San Francisco, complaining of anti-Union sentiment in Southern California. The letter says such sentiment "permeates society here among both the high and the low," and reports:
He was released and that same year he was married to Laura Evertson, and remained in office as Undersheriff to 1865. While Undersheriff, King's investigation of the murder of the wealthy ranchero John Rains resulted in a bitter feud with Rain's friend and brother-in-law Robert Carlisle when he failed to get a conviction of the suspected murderer Jose Ramon Carrillo. The dispute festered between the friends and families of both men for some time and became known as the King-Carlisle Feud. At a ball held in Los Angeles on July 5, 1865, Carlisle attacked King but friends separated the men. The next day, King's brothers, Frank and Houston, had a shoot out with Tom Carlisle inside the saloon of the Bella Union Hotel (owned by another brother, John King) the Bella Union in downtown Los Angeles, resulting in the death of Frank King and Robert Carlisle.
In 1865, King became a law partner of Judge Murray Morrison. From 1865 to 1870 he was also one of the proprietors and editors of the Los Angeles News. In 1866 and 1867 he was City Attorney and in 1869, County Judge. In 1873 he printed and published the first city directory. He was one of the founders of the County Agricultural Society in 1871. He was active in aiding and inaugurating many of the early municipal projects of the city of Los Angeles.
On October 14, 1923, Judge Andrew J. King died at his home in Boyle Heights, 90 years old and the oldest member of the bar in Los Angeles.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and held both State and city offices as a lawman, lawyer, legislator and judge.
Andrew Jackson King was born in Cherokee Purchase Land in Union County, Georgia
Union County, Georgia
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 17,289. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 20,968. The county seat is Blairsville.Its Sole commissioner is Lamar Paris, who has served since 2001....
. Later his father, Samuel King, who was a tanner and a saddle
Saddle
A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...
r, took the family to Helena, Arkansas
Helena, Arkansas
Helena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with...
. In 1849 the family moved to Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
. In 1852, Samuel King brought his family and forty or fifty other families of pioneers overland to El Monte the oldest American settlement in Los Angeles County, located along the San Gabriel River
San Gabriel River (California)
The San Gabriel River flows through southern Los Angeles County, California in the United States. Its main stem is about long, while its farthest tributaries extend almost altogether...
, was inhabited by a mixture of emigrants, largely Texans. The King family laid out a town there which was called Lexington.
King studied law in Los Angeles with Judge Hayes
Benjamin Ignatius Hayes
Benjamin Ignatius Hayes , lawyer, first Judge of the Southern District of California from 1852-1864. Writer and collector of historical information about early California....
, the first district Judge of the County. Then these two young lawyers and Judge Scott opened a law office on Main Street a short distance south of the Plaza. King became the first County Clerk of San Bernardino County in 1853.
In March, 1854, A. J. King was one of the members of the California Militia Company called the Monte Rangers, organized by John G. Downey
John G. Downey
John Gately Downey was an Irish-American politician and the seventh Governor of California from January 14, 1860 to January 10, 1862. Until the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003, Downey was California's only foreign-born governor...
and others. The unit was active operating against Indian raiders and bandits that plagued Southern California after they were driven out of San Francisco and the northern gold fields by vigilantes.
In 1859 King was elected a member of the California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
and was on the committee which located the site for the State Capitol. From 1861 to 1865 A. J. King served as an Undersheriff of Los Angeles County and made many arrests. During the secession crisis of 1861, he tried to form another militia Company like the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles
Los Angeles Mounted Rifles
The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles was a company of the California State Militia formed in 1861. It was the only California state unit to serve the Confederacy.- Formation :...
, the Monte Mounted Rifles, both units with secessionist sympathies. On April 26, 1861, the Monte Mounted Rifles asked Governor Downey for arms. However A. J. King ran afoul of Federal authorities. According to the Sacramento Union of April 30, 1861 King was brought before Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Carleton
James Henry Carleton
James Henry Carleton was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. Carleton is most well known as an Indian fighter in the southwestern United States.-Biography:...
, and was made to take an oath of allegiance to the Union and was then released. The governor sent the arms, but army officers at San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
held them up preventing the activation of the Monte Mounted Rifles.
King did not flee eastward to the Confederacy with the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles and continued his secessionist activities. On April 10, 1862, as the United States Marshall for Southern California, Henry D. Barrows
Henry Dwight Barrows
Henry Dwight Barrows was an American teacher, businessman, farmer, goldminer, reporter, United States Marshall, Los Angeles County School Superintendent, manufacturer, writer, and a founder and president of the Historical Society of Southern California.- Early life :Henry D...
, wrote to the commander of the Department of Pacific of the Union Army in San Francisco, complaining of anti-Union sentiment in Southern California. The letter says such sentiment "permeates society here among both the high and the low," and reports:
- "A. J. King, under-sheriff of this county, who has been a bitter secessionist, who said to me that he owed no allegiance to the United States Government; that Jeff Davis’was the only constitutional government we had, and that he remained here because he could do more harm to the enemies of that Government by staying here than going there; brought down on the Senator (a steam ship) Tuesday last a large lithograph gilt-framed portrait of Beauregard, the rebel general, which he flaunted before a large crowd at the hotel when he arrived. I induced ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
CarletonJames Henry CarletonJames Henry Carleton was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. Carleton is most well known as an Indian fighter in the southwestern United States.-Biography:...
to have him arrested as one of the many dangerous secessionists living in our midst, and to-day he was taken to Camp DrumDrum BarracksThe Drum Barracks, also known as Camp Drum and the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum, is the last remaining original American Civil War era military facility in the Los Angeles area...
. He was accompanied by General Volney E. HowardVolney E. HowardVolney Erskine Howard was an American lawyer, statesman, and jurist.-Career:Howard commenced law practice in Brandon, Mississippi...
as counsel, and I have but little hope that he will be retained in custody."
He was released and that same year he was married to Laura Evertson, and remained in office as Undersheriff to 1865. While Undersheriff, King's investigation of the murder of the wealthy ranchero John Rains resulted in a bitter feud with Rain's friend and brother-in-law Robert Carlisle when he failed to get a conviction of the suspected murderer Jose Ramon Carrillo. The dispute festered between the friends and families of both men for some time and became known as the King-Carlisle Feud. At a ball held in Los Angeles on July 5, 1865, Carlisle attacked King but friends separated the men. The next day, King's brothers, Frank and Houston, had a shoot out with Tom Carlisle inside the saloon of the Bella Union Hotel (owned by another brother, John King) the Bella Union in downtown Los Angeles, resulting in the death of Frank King and Robert Carlisle.
In 1865, King became a law partner of Judge Murray Morrison. From 1865 to 1870 he was also one of the proprietors and editors of the Los Angeles News. In 1866 and 1867 he was City Attorney and in 1869, County Judge. In 1873 he printed and published the first city directory. He was one of the founders of the County Agricultural Society in 1871. He was active in aiding and inaugurating many of the early municipal projects of the city of Los Angeles.
On October 14, 1923, Judge Andrew J. King died at his home in Boyle Heights, 90 years old and the oldest member of the bar in Los Angeles.