Washington DC - Genealogy Trails - Benjamin King Biography

Washington District of Columbia
Biographies

Benjamin King
1779 - 1837
Furnished by : John Sharp

Portrait by Saint Memin
circa 1806
This portrait is from
the Library of Congress
and is said to be the likeness of
Benjamin King


Portrait by Saint Memin circa 1806 This portrait is from the Library of Congress and is said to be the likeness of Benjamin King

Benjamin King
Master Blacksmith,
Benjamin King Washington Navy Yard Master Blacksmith, entrepreneur, veteran of the War of 1812 and inventor left a wide mark on early Washington D.C. and the new Navy Yard. In his lifetime, King was perceived as intelligent, creative and clever but just as often thought of as outspoken, boisterous and occasionally cruel. People who met King were rarely indifferent to his larger then life character. King was born on the Isle of Man circa 1764; little is known of his early life on this small rugged isle. His small homeland with a people of Celtic origin had its own distinct language, Manx Gaelic, (then spoken by the majority of the inhabitants, and although nominally under British rule the islanders) fostered King’s independent streak. King probably grew up with Gaelic and English spoken around him. Still in his early teens his parents or relations secure him a blacksmith apprenticeship. In time, he desired a larger world and left to work and train at Carron, Scotland renown as “Scotland’s Forge.” Here King perfected his superb metal working skills. Ambition and adventure led King as it did many of his fellow country men to immigrate abroad.
Like many King went to the Caribbean to make his fortune, he later claimed to have fought with the French armies in Santo Domingo. If this account is correct King may have worked for as one of the numerous mercenaries and freebooters who offered assistance for a price to the French in putting down the largest successful slave revolt in history. In 1801, famed Haitian liberator Toussaint L'Ouverture issued a constitution for Saint-Domingue which provided for autonomy and decreed that he would be governor-for-life. In retaliation, Napoleon Bonaparte dispatched a large expeditionary force of French soldiers and warships to the island, led by Bonaparte's brother-in-law Charles Leclerc, to restore French rule, and under secret instructions to later restore slavery. Such and experience with slavery and revolt left profound impressions on many European observers but what did it mean to King? Documentation is meager but nothing that occur during this time appeared to effect his attitude toward slavery as he continued a slave owner much of his adult life. How long King stayed in French service is and what he made of France’s military defeat is unknown he probably left with the defeated French forces. Ever resilient at he immigrated to Philadelphia and through contacts came to the notice of Commodore Thomas Tingey, first Commandant of the new Washington Navy Yard and his senior officer Captain John Cassin. The Department of the Navy first appointed King, Master Blacksmith of the Washington Navy Yard on April 12,1804 (and later reappointed following the War of 1812 by the Board of Naval Commissioners on August 15,1817) at a salary of $ 1.000.00 per year.
From his first days at the Yard, King, always stood out. He was not only a blacksmith but someone who constantly strove to reinvent or rework work outdated processes. Quickly King gained a reputation for helping other inventors and entrepreneurs by taking their design concepts and transforming them into actual working models. Famed inventor Robert Fulton specifically requested King’s assistance with metal fabrication for his newly invented torpedo. Early Department of the Navy correspondence reflects King’s own inventive nature and that he were often called upon to assist and evaluate new naval devices. Secretary of the Navy, Robert Smith writing to Commodore Thomas Tingey relates one such instance “King states that he has invented a Mathematical instrument, which is calculated to ascertain certain distances with great facility and he wants the assistance of Mr. Small to enable him to complete the instrument. Let him have Mr. Small or any other Mechanic of the Yard that he may require for this purpose.” King’s frequent absences from his salaried duties as chief blacksmith to work with inventors or to examine new nautical devices gradually became a source of irritation to Tingey and other naval officers.
King held a number of patents including one for an ’Equilateral Level for leveling lands” (straw cutting machine) on which he corresponded with President Thomas Jefferson. In 1819 King took out a patent for a cable twisting machine which allowed one man to the work of many. King was proud of his patents and defended them with vigor. One invention “a mode of making parallel holes” in iron plates for railings was apparently a favorite of his, he placed a notice in a newspaper stating that he would prosecute all “offenders to the utmost rigor of the law as he has already done in one case.” As early as 1804 King installed some of first plumbing fixtures in the “water closet” of the new White House then know as “the President’s House” for Thomas Jefferson. As late as April 29, 1807 King still worked on various projects, Benjamin Henry Latrobe the newly appointed Architect of the Capitol and Engineer of the Navy Yard worked closely with King. Latrobe writing to Jefferson recounts King’s work in a favorable light. “Having laid out the ground with the assistance of Mr. King, to whose kindness and skill I am under the greatest obligations…”
As WNY Master Blacksmith, King, by 1811 supervised a large shop composed of 47 journeymen, apprentices, laborers and slaves. In 1818 a writer noted there twenty two forges and three furnaces. In addition the blacksmith’s domain had large new tilt hammer operated by newly installed steam engine. The blacksmith shop like other departments at WNY made extensive use of enslaved labor. King owed five slaves and with other senior officers and civilians such as Tingey, Cassin, Master Plumber John Davis of Abel, Master Mast Maker Peter Gardner, and Clerk of the Yard, Thomas Howard these men leased their slaves to the Navy Yard. This was a profitable arrangement both for the slave owners who pocketed the enslaved workers wage and for the Navy Yard since white blacksmiths were paid $1.81 per diem versus 80 cents per day for each enslaved worker. Most of these enslaved men were used for heavy work as strikers wielding large hammers to beat molten metal into anchors. The payroll for 1811 reflects as many as 19 slaves including the 5 owned by King himself.
When the Secretary of the Navy sought to reduce enslaved labor King protested that enslaved workers were ideal for the blacksmith shop. “Experience has pointed out the utility of employing for Strikers Black Men in preference to white & of them Slaves before Freemen – The Strict distinction necessary to be kept up in the shop is more easily enforced – The Liberty white men take of going & coming is avoided the Master of Slaves for their own interest keep them at work- The Habits of Labor they are Inured to & then Ability to support it are striking Obvious – It also takes some time to learn their Business & the time a White Man learns, he quits us & the trouble is to be renewed.”
The WNY blacksmiths had a reputation as a tough group of tradesman who were often unhappy over their wages and working conditions. The mix of enslaved and free workers made for a volatile situation, and as a complicating factor the early shipyard and naval customs allowed men to drink beer and grog during their work hours as“refreshment.” Discord and occasionally violence flared up.
Benjamin Henry Latrobe first saw King, as a force of nature. After an August, 11, 1806 meeting with King, Latrobe wrote in his journal, ’He is a Universal Mechanic and the dernierresort [Last recourse] of all officers and artizans in every difficult undertaking and is seldom found at a loss.” As the two men worked together Latrobe quickly came to see King in more critical light while still willing to concede King’s ability as a craftsman he found the master mechanic too out spoken and thought him a severe and harsh task master ’Ben. King is forging the Crank. He has thought proper to alter his opinion and is making it the most tremendous lump of Iron, the Necks 4 inches in diameter, the squares 5 inches. He now thinks it too weak. He has been swearing and whipping his black Strikers at a terrible rate these two days past ...”
Kings first wife died in childbirth in 1806 he married again with the year to Elizabeth a young lady he met on one of his journeys to Philadelphia. In September 1811his young son and namesake Benjamin King Junior died in a tragic accident. “ On Monday last, Master Benjamin King, one of the Navy Yard in this city, was sculling in a small boat in the dock near the navy-yard wharf, he fell overboard and was unfortunately drowned , every effort to restore him to life proving unavailing. His father, who was not distant when the information reached him, ran to the spot, and leaping into the water, had nearly partaken of the untimely fate of his son. The youth was in his thirteen year, of the most promising genius; and his loss an affliction to his father, which none but a fond affectionate parent can realize.”
In an era where most people paid strict attention to hierarchy and deference to ones betters, Benjamin King paid little heed to either in his dealings with military or civilian authorities, King was unbowed. Indeed within a few months of his initial appointment as Master Blacksmith, senior Naval Captain, John Rodgers angered and displeased with the bilge pumps King’s blacksmiths manufactured wrote threateningly “It is in your Interest to pray that my Head may be knock’d off before I return for be assured if you are not punished before that period I will revenge the Injury you have done me, with my own hands.” Fortunately for both men Rodgers temper cooled and they continued to work together.
During the war of 1812, King age fifty, volunteered and fought heroically at the Battle of Bladensburg. Despite his acknowledged technical competence, Benjamin King's often outspoken manner and frequent critical comments regarding his naval superiors and colleagues caused friction and acrimonious relations with Commodore Thomas Tingey, and his successor Isaac Hull. King strained relations with Latrobe continued to deteriorate and Latrobe eventually came to believe King ’was a fool more then a Rogue, yet he is a very dangerous Man.” By 1812, Latrobe's patience with King had completely run out especially after King voluntarily appeared before a Congressional Committee and charged Latrobe with wasteful operation of the Navy Yard Steam Engine. Latrobe responded with a detailed response to John Randolph the Committee Chairman) attributing problems with the WNY steam engine to King's failure to supply the engine sufficient water. This Congressional hearing ended without no blame attributed but both men’s reputation suffered.
At various times Commandants Thomas Tingey and Isaac Hull tried unsuccessfully to remove King for insubordination. Two Secretaries of the Navy, Paul Hamilton and William Jones, both moved to discipline or remove their errant blacksmith but each finally relented and returned King to the navy payroll. Hamilton became upset with King over the blacksmith using the Georgetown newspaper Independent American to charge naval officials and others with “fraudulent practices.” Secretary Jones letter to Tingey nicely catches the essence of their dilemma, “The late Master Blacksmith of the Navy Yard, Mr. King having been dismissed for an irregularity and seriously implicating his character as a man or as a public Servant, and presuming that his suspension may be considered as inadequate to the offense he committed, you will again receive him into this Navy Yard and reinstate him in his former situation. The unquestionable character I have of him as able Mechanic renders his services of importance in the contemplated increase of the naval Forces of which a portion will go into early operation at the Navy Yard here.” For Secretary Jones, King’s technical competence proved far more persuasive than his rough out spoken manner, proud demeanor and disregard of orders.
King’s conduct and business dealing toward the end of his life increasingly became the subject of rumor and gossip. In the early years the Navy Yard had allowed some of the Master Mechanics to from their own private forges and workshops. Due to limited naval budget appropriations the early yard simply did not have workshops and facilities to house the blacksmith shops and King and others were allowed to work out of their private homes and shops invariably the line between public and private became muddled.
From February 12 to 20, 1829 the Board of Navy Commissioners conducted an investigation into accusations made by Master Boat Builder William Easby against, Benjamin King and his son Robert. Easby alleged that the King's had taken the property of federal government and had used official time to conduct their own private blacksmithing and iron foundry business. The Board inquiry called numerous master mechanics, journeymen blacksmiths, and apprentices who had worked with King and his son Robert over the years as witnesses. The Board concluded the King's had in fact worked on a variety of private business, while on the rolls of the WNY and on occasion, used government supplied materials for their private endeavors. After reviewing the investigation file, Hull noted that he found William Easby's complaints justified. "I find King so excessively stupid that I cannot get at time or anything else for him." Hull later wrote to the Chairman of the Board of Navy Commissioner, Commodore John Rodgers, "from some cause he appears deranged in his mind, and not to know what he is doing . . . I have informed Mr. King, that his services were no longer required in the Shop until your pleasure could be known." Hull pressed for King's removal but the Secretary of the Navy intervened with the decision that in view of Benjamin King's long service, he would be reduced to journeyman status, and allowed to continue on the rolls.
King’s residence in Washington DC was at 14th Street East near Eastern Branch, Middle Bridge.
Benjamin King died in September 12, 1840 at his residence in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. His obituary remembered “he was esteemed by the public authorities and by all who knew him as an honest and kind-hearted man as well as for his preeminent skill in his profession.”

END NOTES
¹ For King’s birthplace and probable birth date see Daily National Intelligencer September 21, 1840. Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who worked with King, recorded some of their conversations and what he knew of King’s origins and early life. The Journals of Benjamin Henry Latrobe , 1799 -1829: from Philadelphia to New Orleans / Edward P. Carter, John C. Van Horne and Lee W. Formwalt /editors (New Haven : Yale University Press, 1980) , 67-69. This account of King working at Clyde and Carron is confirmed in D.B. Warden’s, a Chorographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia, the Seat of the Government of the United States (Paris: Smith and Co. 1816), 64.
²Thomas Tingey lived in Philadephia and worked and sailed in the Caribbean did he meet King during this time? WNY payroll records have at least two other Benjamin King’s who worked at the Yard at the same time as Benajmin King was Master Blacksmith. These two individuals are Benajmin King 1779 – 1837 a carpenter who worked in the Boar Building Department and his son Benjamin King junior also a carpenter.
³Robert Smith to John Cassin, April 12, 1804, Naval Documents Related to Wars with the Barbary Powers, Volume IV, (Washington D.C.:U.S. Office of Naval Records and Library, Government Printing Office. 1939 – 44), 20-21.
“List of Persons , employed on annual salaries , at the Navy Yard Washington , with the stations they fill , amount of Salary by whom appointed and date of the present appointment vis: dated May 1819 lists King as first appointed in 1804 and later reappointed August 15, 1817 with an annual salary of $1,000.00 per annum. See http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/wny1819.html
⁴Robert Fulton to Thomas Tingey December 24, 1807, Fulton requests Tingey to have King do the fabrication of the copper torpedo housing “as you receive them Mr. King will immediately complete the work.” Thomas Jefferson’s to King regarding his “straw cutter” is dated December 22, 1822. King recounts his work on “Equilateral Level” in his letters of December 2, 1822 and January 3, 1823 See Library of Congress the Thomas Jefferson Papers 1606 -1827 accessed at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/.
⁵Smith to Tingey May 5, 1808 RG441, NARA.
⁶The American Monthly and Critical Review,Volume IV 1818, 68.
⁷City of Washington Gazette, 4, October 1, 1819.
⁸Microfilm Edition of the Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe edited by Thomas E. Jeffrey, Clifton, N.J. Letter to Benjamin King dated August 5, 1804 LB (34/C4). I have transcribed this letter from Latrobe to King regarding his work on Thomas Jefferson’s water closet at: http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/latrobeletter5aug1804.html.
Benjamin Henry Latrobe letter to Thomas Jefferson dated July 6, 1806, notes "everything relating to the water closet to be in perfect order" See Library of Congress The Thomas Jefferson Papers 1606 -1827 accessed at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/.
⁹Latrobe to Jefferson April29, 1807 See Library of Congress The Thomas Jefferson Papers 1606 -1827 accessed at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/.
¹⁰Warden, ,64.
¹¹PAY ROLL for Blacksmiths, employed in the Navy -Yard, Washington in the month of July 1811, accessed at: http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/wny1811.html.
¹²King to Cassin, January 14,1809, RG45/M125, NARA
¹³WNY Blacksmiths Petition to Smith, March 11, 1807, RG45/125, NARA.and Blacksmiths Petition to Hamilton circa October 1812. See http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/bio_wayson_e.html#blacksmith.
¹⁴Latrobe Journal August 11, 1806, and Latrobe to Jefferson April 29, 1807. See Library of Congress the Thomas Jefferson Papers 1606 -1827 accessed at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/.
¹⁵Latrobe to James Smallwood, October 5, 1810, Benjamin H. Latrobe Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. (Maryland Historical Society, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984-1988) Volume II, 1911.
¹⁶Paulson's American Daily Advertiser September19, 1811.
¹⁷John Rodgers to King, June 15, 1804, Naval Documents, Volume I, 193-194.
¹⁸Samuel Miller to James Madison, April 20, 1836. Miller, King’s commanding officer at Bladensburg, states King, took charge of disabled gun and was instrumental bringing the gun into action assisting the gum crew “cut down sixteen of the enemy.” See Library of Congress, The James Madison Papers accessed at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/madison_papers/.
¹⁹Latrobe to Randolph, January 25, 1812. Latrobe Papers Volume III, 240-242.
²⁰Hamilton to Tingey August 1, 1810 and Independent American August 1, 1810.3.
²¹Hamilton to Tingey, January 25, 1811 and Jones to Tingey February 3, 1813.
²²William Easby later married Ann Agnes Maria King the daughter of Benjamin King. Shortly after Andrew Jackson's election Easby left federal employment and set up his shipbuilding firm. He built a successful. http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/bio_easby_w.html.
²³Daily National Intelligencer September 21, 1840.


	END NOTES ¹ For King’s birthplace and probable birth date see Daily National Intelligencer September 21, 1840. Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who worked with King, recorded some of their conversations and what he knew of King’s origins and early life. The Journals of Benjamin Henry Latrobe , 1799 -1829: from Philadelphia to New Orleans / Edward P. Carter, John C. Van Horne and Lee W. Formwalt /editors (New Haven : Yale University Press, 1980) , 67-69. This account of King working at Clyde and Carron is confirmed in D.B. Warden’s, a Chorographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia, the Seat of the Government of the United States (Paris: Smith and Co. 1816), 64. ²Thomas Tingey lived in Philadephia and worked and sailed in the Caribbean did he meet King during this time? WNY payroll records have at least two other Benjamin King’s who worked at the Yard at the same time as Benajmin King was Master Blacksmith. These two individuals are Benajmin King 1779 – 1837 a carpenter who worked in the Boar Building Department and his son Benjamin King junior also a carpenter. ³Robert Smith to John Cassin, April 12, 1804, Naval Documents Related to Wars with the Barbary Powers, Volume IV, (Washington D.C.:U.S. Office of Naval Records and Library, Government Printing Office. 1939 – 44), 20-21. “List of Persons , employed on annual salaries , at the Navy Yard Washington , with the stations they fill , amount of Salary by whom appointed and date of the present appointment vis: dated May 1819 lists King as first appointed in 1804 and later reappointed August 15, 1817 with an annual salary of $1,000.00 per annum. See http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/wny1819.html ⁴Robert Fulton to Thomas Tingey December 24, 1807, Fulton requests Tingey to have King do the fabrication of the copper torpedo housing “as you receive them Mr. King will immediately complete the work.” Thomas Jefferson’s to King regarding his “straw cutter” is dated December 22, 1822. King recounts his work on “Equilateral Level” in his letters of December 2, 1822 and January 3, 1823 See Library of Congress the Thomas Jefferson Papers 1606 -1827 accessed at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/. ⁵Smith to Tingey May 5, 1808 RG441, NARA. ⁶The American Monthly and Critical Review,Volume IV 1818, 68. ⁷City of Washington Gazette, 4, October 1, 1819. ⁸Microfilm Edition of the Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe edited by Thomas E. Jeffrey, Clifton, N.J. Letter to Benjamin King dated August 5, 1804 LB (34/C4). I have transcribed this letter from Latrobe to King regarding his work on Thomas Jefferson’s water closet at: http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/latrobeletter5aug1804.html. Benjamin Henry Latrobe letter to Thomas Jefferson dated July 6, 1806, notes "everything relating to the water closet to be in perfect order" See Library of Congress The Thomas Jefferson Papers 1606 -1827 accessed at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/. ⁹Latrobe to Jefferson April29, 1807 See Library of Congress The Thomas Jefferson Papers 1606 -1827 accessed at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/. ¹⁰Warden, ,64. ¹¹PAY ROLL for Blacksmiths, employed in the Navy -Yard, Washington in the month of July 1811, accessed at: http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/wny1811.html. ¹²King to Cassin, January 14,1809, RG45/M125, NARA ¹³WNY Blacksmiths Petition to Smith, March 11, 1807, RG45/125, NARA.and Blacksmiths Petition to Hamilton circa October 1812. See http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/bio_wayson_e.html#blacksmith. ¹⁴Latrobe Journal August 11, 1806, and Latrobe to Jefferson April 29, 1807. See Library of Congress the Thomas Jefferson Papers 1606 -1827 accessed at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/. ¹⁵Latrobe to James Smallwood, October 5, 1810, Benjamin H. Latrobe Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. (Maryland Historical Society, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984-1988) Volume II, 1911. ¹⁶Paulson's American Daily Advertiser September19, 1811. ¹⁷John Rodgers to King, June 15, 1804, Naval Documents, Volume I, 193-194. ¹⁸Samuel Miller to James Madison, April 20, 1836. Miller, King’s commanding officer at Bladensburg, states King, took charge of disabled gun and was instrumental bringing the gun into action assisting the gum crew “cut down sixteen of the enemy.” See Library of Congress, The James Madison Papers accessed at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/madison_papers/. ¹⁹Latrobe to Randolph, January 25, 1812. Latrobe Papers Volume III, 240-242. ²⁰Hamilton to Tingey August 1, 1810 and Independent American August 1, 1810.3. ²¹Hamilton to Tingey, January 25, 1811 and Jones to Tingey February 3, 1813. ²²William Easby later married Ann Agnes Maria King the daughter of Benjamin King. Shortly after Andrew Jackson's election Easby left federal employment and set up his shipbuilding firm. He built a successful. http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/bio_easby_w.html. ²³Daily National Intelligencer September 21, 1840.

Return to :
Genealogy Trails - Washington D. C.