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From: "William M. Richards" <>
Subject: Re: [NYRICHMO-L] Rufus King MERRELL
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 14:51:34 -0700


Hi Holly,
It is most likely that Rufus King was just a popular guy for his time, and a
good source to name a child after. When I did a search of Rufus King I found
several other people named Rufus King and various other surnames. Keep in
mind I have a granduncle (your 3rd cousin twice removed)
who was named Grover Cleveland Merrell. I am pretty sure we are not related
to the former president. It was somewhat popular back then to name people
after prominent or respected public persons. Could you imagine naming a son
William Jefferson Clinton Merrell or whatever surname. I don't think so!!!

Bill Richards



Rufus King Writings and Biography

King was born at Scarboro (Scarborough), MA (present Maine), in 1755. He was
the eldest son of a prosperous farmer-merchant. At age 12, after receiving
an elementary education at local schools, he matriculated at Dummer Academy
in South Byfield, MA, and in 1777 graduated from Harvard. He served briefly
as a general's aide during the War for Independence. Choosing a legal
career, he read for the law at Newburyport, MA, and entered practice there
in 1780 .

King's knowledge, bearing, and oratorical gifts soon launched him on a
political career. From 1783 to 1785 he was a member of the Massachusetts
legislature, after which that body sent him to the Continental Congress
(1784-86). There, he gained a reputation as a brilliant speaker and an early
opponent of slavery. Toward the end of his tour, in 1786, he married Mary
Alsop, daughter of a rich New York City merchant. He performed his final
duties for Massachusetts by representing her at the Constitutional
Convention and by serving in the commonwealth's ratifying convention.

At age 32, King was not only one of the most youthful of the delegates at
Philadelphia, but was also one of the most important. He numbered among the
most capable orators. Furthermore, he attended every session. Although he
came to the convention unconvinced that major changes should be made in the
Articles of Confederation, his views underwent a startling transformation
during the debates. With Madison, he became a leading figure in the
nationalist caucus. He served with distinction on the Committee on Postponed
Matters and the Committee of Style. He also took notes on the proceedings,
which have been valuable to historians.

About 1788 King abandoned his law practice, moved from the Bay State to
Gotham, and enteredthe New York political forum. He was elected to the
legislature (1789-90), and in the former year was picked as one of the
state's first U.S. senators. As political divisions grew in the new
government, King expressed ardent sympathies for the Federalists. In
Congress, he supportedHamilton's fiscal program and stood among the leading
proponents of the unpopular Jay's Treaty (1794).

Meantime, in 1791, King had become one of the directors of the First Bank of
the United States. Reelected to the U.S. Senate in 1795, he served only a
year before he was appointed as Minister to Great Britain (1796-1803).

King's years in this post were difficult ones in Anglo-American relations.
The wars of the French Revolution endangered U.S. commerce in the maritime
clashes between the French and the British. The latter in particular
violated American rights on the high seas, especially by the impressment of
sailors. Although King was unable to bring about a change in this policy, he
smoothed relations between the two nations.

In 1803 King sailed back to the United States and to a career in politics.
In 1804 and 1808 fellow-signer Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and he were the
Federalist candidates for President and Vice President, respectively, but
were decisively defeated. Otherwise, King largely contented himself with
agricultural pursuits at King Manor, a Long Island estate he had purchased
in 1805. During the War of 1812, he was again elected to the U.S. Senate
(1813-25) and ranked as a leading critic of the war. Only after the British
attacked Washington in 1814 did he come to believe that the United States
was fighting a defensive action and to lend his support to the war effort.

In 1816 the Federalists chose King as their candidate for the presidency,
but James Monroe beat him handily. Still in the Senate, that same year King
led the opposition to the establishment of the Second Bank of the United
States. Four years later, believing that the issue of slavery could not be
compromised but must be settled once and for all by the immediate
establishment of a system of compensated emancipation and colonization, he
denounced the Missouri Compromise.

In 1825, suffering from ill health, King retired from the Senate. President
John Quincy Adams, however, persuaded him to accept another assignment as
Minister to Great Britain. He arrived in England that same year, but soon
fell ill and was forced to return home the following year. Within a year, at
the age of 72, in 1827, he died. Surviving him were several offspring, some
of whom also gained distinction. He was laid to rest near King Manor in the
cemetery of Grace Episcopal Church, Jamaica, Long Island, NY.

Source: National Archives and Records Administration

----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, October 15, 1999 8:24 AM
Subject: [NYRICHMO-L] Rufus King MERRELL


> This is especially for my MERRELL cousin, Bill Richards, and other
> researchers:
>
> Recently I listened to Lenny Lopate on WNYC radio (NPR) interview the
author
> of DUEL, a non-fiction account of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton's
duel.
> This writer (last name Fleming) talked about early 19th century politics
and
> mentioned a US Senator from NY, Rufus KING.
>
> This name rang a bell. And it may for Bill, too, because I had found the
> marriage record of
> bridegroom:
> Rufus King MERRELL, 23, b. Hampton VA, living in Mariners' Harbor, SI
> cooper, parents: John MERRELL and Sarah DECKER
>
> town records, #64, 5 Sep 1882
> bride:
> Lizzie Cordelia DE HART, 21, b./living in Mariners' Harbor
> parents: Henry DE HART, Gertrude E JONES
>
> Originally when I found this record, I wondered where the "King" came from
> and thought about maiden names. But learning there was a prominent citizen
> named Rufus KING has opened my eyes to this possibility. It's an
interesting
> avenue of research into the mind of an ancestor. Senator Rufus KING was a
Jeff
> ersonian. And if Rufus King MERRELL were my ancestor I could learn more
about
> the people who named him by researching the Senator he was named for.
>
> Keep this in mind!
> Cheers!
> Holly Tooker
>
> ______________________________

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