The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-31
Tomb of W. R King in Live Oak Cemetery, Selma

Lewis he was appointed Senator by Governor Chapman to succeed Senator Bagby who resigned The term ex- pired in 1s4s and Senator King was opposed for reelection by Judge Hop kins of Mobile. The Legislature en- dorsed him by vote of II to 6S.
 During the term of President Fill more, Senator King was the acting Vice President. the position held by Senator Frye of Maine when Theodore Roosevelt succeeded to the Presidency on the death of William Mckinley. while holding this position and while Senator from Alabama, Mir. King was stricken with serious lung trouble. Be-
 cause of his precarious health he re-
 signed his place in the Senate Decem-
 Der 20, 1852. and went to the warm climate of Cuba for It's benefits
 Tn the summer of the same year, however, he had been nominated Vice President of the United States on the ticket with Franklin Pierce. This ticket was triumphantly elected.
 The oath of office was administered to Vice President King in Havana by the American Consul. He was destined never to discharge the duties of the
 high office to which he was called. His trip to Cuba was without benefit and at last he hurried home that he might die in Alabama. The end came April Is .1S5a
 The private journal of Mir King is
 in his own handwriting and is pub lished just as it was written. 1t will be observed that he was not unlike l other great men in his lack of good 1 spelling and queer phraseology. | The Journal complete is as follows: | Private Journal of William R. King. | In the spring of the year 1S16. Mir.
 William Pinkney. of the State of Mary | land was apointed by the President of | the United States. Envoy Extraordin-
 ary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. Petersburg and minister
 for' special objects to the Court of his
 Majesty, the King of the Sicilies. was
 then a member of Congress of the U. | States the State of North Carolina in
 which capacity had served for the l i've last years.
 "Actuated by desire to visit the | Continent of Europe, which had fos-
 tered from a very early period of my | life, but when my various avocations
 had hitherto prevented me from carry l ing into execution ] determined to re- 1 sign my situation in Congress and re-
 quest the apointment of Secretary of
 Legation rightly eonceiving that
 should thereby enjoy greater facilities | for acquiring which constituted my
 chief object. My wish (when made
 known) was promptly met by the gov | erment and I received the Presidents
 
 | 1816. Various avocations detained us in | the United States until the month of of June during which time I visited
 my friends in North Carolina and made
 disposition for an indeterminate ab- | sence.
 "on the sth of June about 10 o'clock
 in the morning all the necessary ar | engagements being made we embarked | on Board the Boats of the Seventy | four gun ship Washington. then lying | in the Chesapeake Bay oposite to Ana | polls, waiting to receive and transport | us to the place of destination.
 The mediate family of Mir. Pinkney
 consisted of his Wife Sister, Three
 daughters and three Sons, attached to
 his Legation were his Private Secre-
 tary, MT. Charles Oliver Mr.s James 1 Craig, MT Jno. N. Darcy and Mir. w. M. 1 who together with his wife was returning into Italy to visit the par
 ents of the latter who resided at Nap | les.
 | Accommodations Crowded. with something of a heavy heart l bade adieus to the shores of my native | land there were companions of my ear | ly years, with whom the buoyant days
 of childhood had swiftly glided away,
 there were the Relatives of my fond
 est love, who had watched over my
 tender years with the most affectionate | and unremitted attention there were | my associates with whom in manhood
 I had trod the thorny path of Politics
 or explored the intricate ma4es of the