Date of Birth: March 24, 1755
Place of Birth: Scarborough, Massachusetts (now Maine)
Date of Death: April 29, 1827
Place of Death: Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York
Ethnicity: English, as well as 1/16th Scottish
Rufus King was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat. A member of the Federalist Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from New York, from July 25, 1789 to May 23, 1796, and again from March 4, 1813 to March 4, 1825, and a U.S. Minister to Great Britain, from July 26, 1796 to May 16, 1803, and again from November 11, 1825 to May 10, 1826.
Rufus was the Federalist Party’s nominee for Vice President of the United States, in 1804 and 1808, and for President of the United States, in 1812 and 1816. He was the Federalist Party’s last presidential nominee.
Rufus was the son of Isabella (Bragdon) and Richard King. After his mother’s death, he was raised by his father and stepmother, Mary (Black).
Rufus’s paternal grandfather was John Fennel King (the son of John King and Mary Milk). Rufus’s great-grandfather John was the son of Daniel King and Tabitha Walker. Mary was the daughter of John Milk, who was born in Norfolk, England, and of Sarah Weston.
Rufus’s paternal grandmother was Mary Stowell (the daughter of David Stowell and Mary Elizabeth Stedman). David was born in Massachusetts, the son of Samuel Stowell, who was born in Bath, Somerset, England, and of Mary Farrow, who was born in Hingham, Norfolk, England. Rufus’s paternal great-grandmother Mary Elizabeth was also born in Massachusetts, and was the daughter of Nathaniel Thomas Stedman, who was born in Biddenden, Kent, England, and of Temperance Wills.
Rufus’s maternal grandfather was Samuel Bragdon (the son of Samuel Bragdon and Isabella Austin). Rufus’s great-grandfather Samuel was the son of Samuel Bragdon and Mary Moulton. Isabella was the daughter of Mathias/Matthew Austin and Mary Canney.
Rufus’s maternal grandmother was Tabitha Banks (the daughter of Joseph Banks and Elizabeth Harmon). Joseph was the son of Richard Banks, who was born in Alkham, Kent, England, and of Elizabeth Alcock. Rufus’s great-grandmother Elizabeth was the daughter of John Harmon and Elizabeth Cummings.
Source: Genealogy of Rufus King – https://www.geni.com
photo by Gilbert Stuart [Public domain or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons