Leonard D. and Julia Turney King Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-183

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Leonard D. and Julia Turney King Papers consist primarily of letters (Series 1. Correspondence) between the husband and wife during Leonard’s time in the gold fields in California in 1852-54. Additional letters during this period were received from Cyrus Turney, Julia’s father; L.F. Warner, a druggist who handled disbursements for Leonard; William Warr (two letters of 1854 addressed to “Dear Friends” about the gold fields); Leonard’s sister Martha; and Alonson and Mrs. Macomber. An 1854 letter from J.W. Goucher to his wife relays the news that he has purchased Leonard D. King’s mining claim Three letters dating from 1878-79 originate with Rev. Charles D. King, eldest son of Leonard and Julia, from his time as a missionary to India with the Baptist Church.

A manuscript comprising Series 2, written in 2008 by a King family relative, provides context in the form of biographical information, maps, and a genealogical chart accompanying reproductions and transcriptions of the gold rush letters.

Dates

Creation: 1852-2008, undated
Creation: Majority of material found in 1852-1854
Other: Date acquired: 06/16/1986

Creator

King, Leonard D. (Person)
King, Julia Turney (Person)
Keeler, Joan Bigelow (Keeler, Joan Bigelow Cummings) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted; some of the letters are extremely fragile.

Biographical Sketch

Leonard D. King (1813-72), a native of Rhode Island, met and married Julia Turney (1822-89) of Connecticut in Oswego, New York. They settled in the small farming village of Mexico near Oswego. Leonard was a beer brewer and bottler; his debts were a factor in his decision to try his luck in the gold fields of California in 1852 at the age of 39, with two young children, Charles (1847-1933) and Cyrus (1849-1932). In addition to his wife, Leonard corresponded with two brothers from the gold fields: Joseph Scott King (1810-1994) in Cleveland, Ohio, and William Henry King (b. 1814) in New Haven, New York.

Leonard returned from his first trip to the gold fields in 1854. The following year the family moved to New London in Huron County, Ohio (about 20 miles southwest of Oberlin). Their third surviving son, Warner Allen (1858-1946), was born there in 1858 (one son, William Warr, was born and died in 1856). A last son, Jamie Penfield (1863-1865), died young. Julia’s parents, Cyrus (1798-1884) and Irene French Turney (1799-1865), also moved to New London. Leonard operated a cheese factory there, and both families continued to farm. Leonard’s last letter in the collection, dated 1859, shows that he again set out for the gold fields. He returned safely and continued to live with his family in Ohio.

Their eldest son, Charles, became a missionary with the Baptist Church in India, and the youngest son, Warner, became a dentist, practicing in Wellington, Ohio. Their middle son, Cyrus, also became a dentist, practicing in New London.

Leonard D. King was killed in 1872 at the age of 59, “while alighting from a moving train” in Wellington. Julia King married Darius King (1818-1876), a brother of Leonard’s, in 1874. She died in 1889 at the age of 68.

Marion King (1902-98), the donor of the Leonard D. and Julia Turney King Papers, was the great-granddaughter of Leonard and Julia King. Her parents were Cyrus King (1849-1932) and Adelaide Knowlton King (1849-1929). Marion King was the head librarian at the Lorain Public Library for 30 years, from 1937 to 1967.

Sources Consulted

Joan Biglow (Cummings) Keeler, “California Gold Rush Days: Family Letters from Leonard and Julia King, 1852-1854,” unpublished manuscript, 2008 (Leonard D. And Julia Turney King Papers, 30/183).

“Marion M. King Closes Books Oct. 31 After 30 Years as Head Librarian,” Lorain Journal, 27 September 1967.

Note written by Anne Cuyler Salsich.

Extent

0.40 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

The letters were given to Marion M. King by her relative H. K. Grimes; Marion King gave them to the Archives in 1986. The manuscript on the letters was given by the author, Joan Biglow (Cummings) Keeler in 2009.