Austin Augustus King

Austin Augustus King (September 21, 1802 – April 22, 1870) was an American lawyer, politician, and military officer. A Democrat, he was the tenth governor of Missouri and a one-term U.S. representative.

Early life Austin King hailed from a long family line of military and political service. His maternal grandfather, John Sevier, was a U.S. Congressman and Governor. King was born in Sullivan County, Tennessee, to Walter and Nancy (Sevier) King, one of eleven children. Nancy was the daughter of famed military leader and Tennessee politician John Sevier. King's father was a farmer and often helped him on the farm. Austin King received his education in the frontier schools of his native state and then studied law under an attorney, as was often the case in those times. he also took private lessons in Latin and Greek.

In Columbia, King formed a successful law partnership with John B. Gordon, "riding the circuit"—by horse and sometimes by riverboat on the Missouri River—providing legal services to the communities of central and eastern Missouri.

During his time on the bench he presided over the trial of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, during the 1838 Mormon War. Smith and sixty of his followers were brought before King in a Richmond, Missouri, courtroom following their surrender after the Battle of Far West in Caldwell County. However, Smith and the rest were ordered held in the Liberty Jail in Clay County, Missouri. Smith was later allowed to escape custody by his captors and fled Missouri for Illinois.

King remained active in Democratic politics during his time as a judge, being a strong supporter of Martin Van Buren in the 1840 presidential campaign. King was a contender for the Democratic Party's nomination for Missouri Governor in 1844, but lost out narrowly to John Cummins Edwards. King presided over a time of great growth in Missouri. In his first year in office alone 142 new companies were granted state charters. Although fiscally conservative, King saw the benefits of expanded rail service and thus in 1850 recommended that $3.5 million (~$ in ) in state bonds be issued to fund two rail projects. King returned full-time to his law practice as well as keeping a hand in politics. In July 1855, King was a delegate to the Missouri Slave Owners Convention. Over 200 delegates gathered in Lexington, Missouri, to create a series of resolutions that advocated the position of states' rights held by so many other slave-holding southern states and to also endorse a pro-slavery position for the Kansas Territory. However, King later expressed his opposition to the Kansas Lecompton Constitution and Missourians crossing the border to vote on it. King served as the Missouri 6th Congressional District Representative from March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1865. Among the important legislation during his term was the Coinage Act of 1864, establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau, and passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. King very much wanted to be reelected for a second term in 1864; however, he was soundly defeated, coming in a distant third to Republican Robert T. Van Horn and fellow Democrat Elijah Hise Norton.

After his election loss, King returned to Missouri and continued his law practice for the few remaining years of his life. King fathered a total of nine children by his two wives. Sons Walter, William Augustus, Edward Livingston, Henry, Thomas Benton, and Austin Augustus Jr. with his first wife as well as daughter Melvina Elizabeth. Daughters Mary Bell and Nannie were born to King and his second wife. His son Henry died young, at approximately age six, in 1840. His son Austin A. King, Jr. was a pro-Union officer in the Missouri State Militia and later the Missouri Volunteer Cavalry where he attained the rank of colonel.

Legacy King is the namesake of Kingston, Missouri.