Johnson County KS Archives Biographies.....King, Harry 1859 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 March 23, 2009, 3:59 pm Author: Ed Blair (1915) Harry King, a former county commissioner of Johnson county, now engaged in the mercantile business at Zarah, Kan., is a native of England. He was born in Buckinghamshire, March 26, 1859, a son of Charles and Rhoda (Smith) King, also natives of the mother country. They were the parents of two children, Harry the subject of this sketch, and Fannie, who died in 1872. The King family left their native country in the spring of 1870 and immigrated to Canada. After remaining in that country four months they came to the states, locating in Monticello township, Johnson county, Kansas. Here the father worked the first year for a Methodist minister, named Boles, who had been an Indian missionary among the Shawnee Indians before the Civil war. The second year that Mr. King was in Johnson county, he rented forty acres of land from Joseph King, a brother, and followed farming in a small way until his death, which occurred in 1875 and his remains are buried in a private cemetery on the Boles farm, one mile south of Wilder. Harry King attended private school in England and was about eleven years of age when his parents settled in Johnson county. Here he attended the public school and began farming for himself when seventeen years old, and for fifteen years specialized in raising potatoes in the Kaw valley. He was also engaged in buying and shipping potatoes, at the same time and did an extensive business which proved profitable. In 1896 he shipped thirty carloads of potatoes to Trinidad, Colo., besides many other shipments, elsewhere. In 1902 he traded for a stock of goods at Zarah and since that time has been engaged in the general mercantile business there. He has built up a large trade and has a good lively paying business for a country store. Mr. King has always taken a keen interest in public affairs and an active part in politics. He was elected road overseer, serving two years, and has also served at township clerk two years and has filled the office of township trustee for five years. In 1908 he was elected county commissioner of Johnson county and served four years in a manner that was satisfactory to his constituents and creditable to himself. During his term of office as county commissioner he took a special interest in bridge work and during that administration his ideas of bridge construction were largely incorporated in the work done. He had had considerable experience in bridge construction while township trustee and in 1903 in that capacity built the first concrete bridge in Johnson county. It is located two miles north of Zarah. While he was a member of the board of county commissioners about fifteen new bridges were completed in the county, among them the McCoy bridge, a concrete structure across Clear creek and another important structure completed during that time is the Bruton bridge which spans the Big Blue. Mr. King has been twice married. In 1880 he was married to Miss Carrie Haynes, who died in 1882, leaving one child, Carrie. In 1890 Mr. King was united in marriage to Miss Roxie Ballard in Wyandotte county, and five children have been born to this union as follows: Samuel, now engaged in business at Bethel; Rose resides at home; Harry. Jr.. is in the employ of the Ellet-Kendall Shoe Company, of Kansas City, Mo.; Benjamin, a student in Central Business College. Kansas City. Mo., and Teddy lives at home. Mr. King joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Bonner Springs, Kan., in 1890, and has been in good standing ever since. At present he is a member of Shawnee Lodge, No. 561. Mr. King believes in going forward. He is a strong advocate of progress and modern methods. He was one of the first to advocate good roads and never ceased advocating them, and he is entitled to a great deal of credit for the rock roads which have already been built in Johnson county. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF Johnson County Kansas BY ED BLAIR AUTHOR OF Kansas Zephyrs, Sunflower Sittings and Other Poems and Sketches IN ONE VOLUME ILLUSTRATED STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY LAWRENCE, KANSAS 1915 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/johnson/bios/king157bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 4.6 Kb