Robert J. King, is postmaster of Clarksville, where he has resided continuously since 1885. Save for a short period in the educational field of the county upon his advent to the state, his relation to the community of Clarksville was clerical until he entered the government service nearly sixteen years ago. In his service as postmaster of the metropolis of Red River county, he has rendered unusual and conspicuous attention to duty, and holds a record seldom equaled in presidential offices as a continuous servant of the government.
Mr. King is one of the many contributions of Bedford county, Tennessee, to the citizenship of Texas. He was born in that locality on May 18, 1860, where his father, Rev. Robert J. King, spent his life preaching the Gospel as a minister of the Lutheran church, and he was a son of Samuel King, who came out of the state of North Carolina and passed away in or near Shelbyville, Tennessee when in his young manhood. He, as the founder of this pioneer family, was descended from ancestry that settled in the colony of the old Tarheel state when King George yet held sway in America. This old patriarch was the father of five sons and three daughters, and their preacher son was among the first born of the number. One of these sons passed his life near Nashville; another lived near to Knoxville, and a third made his home in the vicinity of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Rev. King was born on Christmas Day, 1810. He was a man who was self-educated as well as self-assertive, and from his early life he felt impelled to take ministerial work upon himself. He died near Shelbyville in 1892, after an active and vigorous religious life that was resultant of much good in the cause in which he labored. During the turmoil of the Rebellion he remained steadfast for the Union, although many of his relatives went south because of their sentiment and gave active aid to the Confederate cause. Even his own son took the path marked out by the leaders in secession and opposed his brother on the battlefield at Murfreesboro.
Rev. King married Miss Mary Ann Philips, a daughter of William Philips, who migrated to Tennessee from Virginia. Mrs. King died at the age of seventy-five. Their children were eight in number, named as follows: John F., of Manchester Tennessee, an ex-soldier of the Confederacy; Samuel F.. who passed away in his native state; Charles B., of Cottage Grove, Oregon, and a Union soldier; Edmond C., of Alexandria, Indiana; George T.. of Fresno, California; Mrs. Samuel Brantley, of Beech Grove, Tennessee; Mrs. Leah V. Bobo, of Tullahoma, Tennessee, and Robert J., of this review.
Robert J. King received a liberal schooling in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and made use of his learning for a time as a teacher. He was twenty-five years old when he sought the west in Texas, and dates his advent into Red River county from September, 1885. He taught some two years at Rosalie and in 1887 he became a merchant's clerk in Clarksville. Four years were spent in the employ of R. N. Shaw and six years with Sam Steinlein, and from the store of the latter he went as the appointee to the office of postmaster of the city. He received his appointment from President McKinley and took the office on May 1, 1898, as the successor of W. H. Dickson. In 1902 he was commissioned by President Roosevelt and again in 1906, and Mr. Taft gave him his fourth commission in 1910, with the completion of which appointment he will have served sixteen years and broken the record for official tenure in the Clarksvlle office. His record has been one that he may well be proud of, and he occupies a prominent place in civic and municipal affairs in the city. He was brought up in a loyal home where the doctrines of Republicanism overshadowed all other political topics, and whatever active connection he has displayed in politics went to Republican fortunes, although he has never sought for political honors at any time in his life.
In April, 1883, Mr. King was married to Miss Nannie Newman, in Winchester, Tennessee. She was a daughter of Col. "Taz" Newman, a former Confederate officer, well known as a public man in Tennessee and a speaker in the state senate for four years. Col. Newman married Miss Sarah Buchanan, and Mrs. King and "Taz" Newman, of Mexico, are the issue of their union. The children of Mr. and Mrs. King are: Edward S., of Hugo, Oklahoma. He is with the Goldman Grocery Company and is married to Miss Mary Graham of Paris. They have two sons, Robert Joseph and Albert Edward. Newman King, of Shaw, Mississippi, married Miss Bonnie Sherry. Miss Carrie May King, the youngest of the family, is a resident of Clarksville.
Mr. King is well advanced in Masonry, and is Past High Priest of the Clarksville Chapter of Masons, and has represented his chapter in the Grand Chapter of Texas. He is a Past Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias and has sat in Grand Lodge of the Texas Pythian Knights, and filled other offices in the lodge. He is a member of the Presbyterian church of the United States of America.
Source: A History of Texas and Texans, Volume 4, by Eugene Campbell Barker, Francis White Johnson and Ernest William Winkler, published by American Historical Society, 1914; Pg. 1,947
