Born - September 24, 1815 - Westfield, MA

Son of Leicester King and Julia Huntington King, both of Connecticut

Moved to Warren, Ohio in 1915 where his father opened a mercantile business.

In 1819 Leicester King, “was persuaded by his brother-in-law to visit Natchez, Mississippi, with a view of going into business there . . . he saw the injustice of slavery, and was unwilling to subject himself and family to its baneful influences, and at the sacrifice of . . . interests which promised large success, he returned to Warren.”^[i] Soon after his return, Leicester’s house became known as, “the general station for the passengers of the underground railroad. There they received shelter food and clothing.”^[ii] 

In 1820 when Henry was 5, the Warren Academy opened. One of his first teachers was Rufus P. Spalding.^[iii]  Twenty years later, in 1841, Spalding was made Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and in 1846, he helped Henry King to write the Akron School Law.^[iv]

On Christmas Eve 1825, Henry’s mom gave birth to a little baby brother, David L. King. Henry and David remained very close throughout their lives.

For a term of 7 years Leicester served as Associate Judge of Trumbull County.

In 1835 Leicester King organized the Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal Company, to build a canal from Pittsburgh, PA to Akron, O.

In 1835 Leicester was elected for his 1^st term in the Ohio Senate.

Henry attended Washington College, now Trinity college , in Hartford, CN graduated in 1836.

In 1837 Henry’s father, Senator King, having been elected to the Ohio Senate introduced legislation to create the office of Commissioner of Common Schools and appoint Samuel Lewis to the position. One month later the Massachusetts State government followed suit appointing Horace Mann to that position.

In 1838 Senator King introduced legislation in the Ohio Senate to elect the Ohio School Law of 1838. It was the most extensive and beneficial school law to date in the history of Ohio education, in effect, creating for the organization and implementation of the District Schools.

In 1839 Senator King was reelected.

Henry attended Cincinnati Law School, graduated in 1839, passing the law boards and moving to Akron, Ohio that same year. Henry’s father was a large landowner in Akron with many manufacturing and real estate interests there. This same year the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal opened for through traffic in Akron. The vast majority of canal workers, mostly Irish Catholics, lived in the area of town owned by Leicester King. He is remembered as given very liberal terms for his lands and Samuel Lane in his book Fifty Years and Over, credits him as this allowing for the early growth of Akron.

Upon arrival in Akron, in 1839 Henry opened a law practiced in connection with Judge Milton Sutliff of Warren, O.  Henry oversaw all of his fathers interests in Akron. He also represented a Hartford, CN insurance agency as a sales agent.

The next year, 1840, a childhood friend of his, James D. Taylor, having also graduated from law school in Cincinnati and passing the boards joined with Henry to form the law firm of King & Taylor.

In 1840 Henry ran for public office, Summit County Prosecutor, as a Liberty candidate. In each election thereafter he was a Free Soil candidate, though never came close to beating a Whig or Democratic candidate. The newspapers of the day show Henry was an ardent abolitionist participating in ever public event calling for an end to human slavery.

Married, on October 10, 1842 to Mary Crosby, the third daughter of Dr. Elakim Crosby, who would bare Henry two children, a daughter, Julia Huntington; and son Henry “Harry” Crosby King.

In 1844 Leicester King ran for Governor of the State of Ohio as a Liberty candidate. The Whig candidate Mordecai Bartley, won the election, becoming the eighteenth governor of Ohio.

In 1846 Henry King’s name begins to appear in the historical record as being connected with the common school reform movement in Akron. That year he is appointed by a citizen’s committee to petition the Ohio General Assembly to create a new system of schools for the town of Akron.

In 1847 the Ohio General Assembly passes the Akron School Law, which Samuel Lane credits Henry King as writing. Rufus P. Spalding probably helped as did Henry’s father. The citizens of Akron passed the local school law, seven school directors were chosen and the first day of free schools in Akron started July 5^th, 1847.

In 1848 - an effort to repeal the Akron school law by the Ohio General Assemble was saved at the last minute by an intense lobbying effort conducted by teachers throughout the state and by Henry King, Gen. Bierce, Mortimer Leggett, Horace C. Smith, Rufus P. Splading and others. A compromise was made allowing the schools in Akron to stay open, but it cut the funding formula to next to nothing. The General Assembly also allowed all other communities in the State of Ohio to elect the Akron School Law to create the same type of school system in their towns and villages. Also, while reviewing the Akron School Law, the General Assembly noticed the law intended to educate African Americans, which a majority of legislators being from Cincinnati and parts of southern Ohio, saw as harmful and created the Ohio Black School Laws in response. These inimical laws called for African Americans to be educated in schools apart from white children. These black school laws stayed in effect until 1876 in Ohio.

In 1848 Leicester King was nominated the Liberty Party Convention to run as Vice President of the United States with Charles F. Adams as President. This party then became knows as the Free Soil Party.

In 1848 Henry’s wife Mary gave birth to a little boy named Henry, they called him Harry.

In 1849, Henry’s little brother David L. King, now a graduate from law school and having passed the boards, came to Akron and join Henry’s law firm. His good friend and partner, James D. Taylor, contracted a fatal illness. The brothers called their new law firm King & King.

In 1849 Henry’s mother, Julia Huntington King passed away.

In 1849 David L. King married Miss Bettie Washington Steele, the grand-niece of President George Washington. She bore him five children, three of who survived into the 20^th century.

By 1850 the Akron School Law was in use by dozens of communities throughout the State. As the popularity of the school law spread, so did the name of Henry King. This year Henry was elected by the General Assembly to the office of Ohio Secretary of State and Ohio Commissioner of Common Schools, the office his father originally helped to create in 1837.

In 1850 Ohio choose to rewrite its State Constitution. As Secretary of State Henry King was responsible for organizing the election of members to the Constitutional Convention and helping to organize the Convention until the elected members took over the proceedings. As Commissioner of Common Schools it was his responsibility to provide the Convention’s Committee on Common Schools with all the information they needed to create good school law. He published that year the most extensive report on the status of education ever created in Ohio to that date. The wording which was elected as Constitutional Law covering education resulting from this Convention is largely from Henry King’s hand.

In 1850 the Congress of the United States passed the Fugitive Salve Act. This made it illegal for anyone to assist African Americans fleeing slavery. Both Henry and his father were deeply involved in what later became known as the Underground Railroad.

1852 Leicester King remarries. His new wife is Dr. Crosby’s oldest daughter, a widow, Mrs. Calista M. Howard and Henry’s sister-in-law, who then also became his step-mother.

1856 Leicester King dies - September, 16, 1856

Henry King served out his term as the last Secretary of State under the old Constitution, the new

Constitution called for the popular election of this office. Although, one can hardly pick up a newspaper without reading about Henry King’s activities during the 1840's, his name disappears from the historical record and is never again hear of until his death in 1857 at his brother David’s home in Akron. For seven years Henry’s activities are completely unknown and it is like he fell off the face of the earth. His newspaper obituary doesn’t say anything about how he died or anything about his activities after leaving public office. In it’s place the newspapers stated he was dedicated to serving the lord.

The Honorable Henry W. King died, November 20, 1857 - 42 years, 1 month.

On August 11, 1864 Henry’s son Harry died while in defense of the Capital Washington D.C., he was 16 years old.