Business and Politics
"In 1867, he was elected to represent Russell county in the [Alabama] State legislature." (Cherry, Francis. A History of Opelika, 1885). He was called “the brightest and best member ever enrolled on the list of the colored contingent” (Jackson, Thomas J. Columbus Enquirer-sun, August 11, 1895). However, he focused more on his business as a contractor than being a legislator to advance rights. To me, this was maybe a missed opportunity for a man like Horace King, who had accomplished so much during the time of slavery, to be vocal for the rights of his race in government. But it’s easy to say that now. Back then, there was so much animosity that King’s livelihood and family could have been at stake if he had taken more of a stand. This time in King’s life taught me that it isn’t always easy to stand up for rights, especially when it isn’t popular and someone’s livelihood depends on it.
Picture of Horace King, around 1870,
Troup County Archives
Picture of Horace King, around 1870,
Troup County Archives
"He seemed to make few enemies and he had friends in places of influence" (Gibbons, Faye. Personal Interview. 13 January 2014).
"King's political connections might explain the 1878 hearing convened to evaluate his Civil War claim against the Federal troops that raided Moore's Bridge in 1864 and Girard in 1865. A federal law passed on March 8, 1871, allowed compensation for property confiscated during the Civil War for the use of the Union army or navy, when seized from southern Unionists. King was one of the few African Americans offered this opportunity. His claim, amounting to $2,030 covered seven mules,...a wagon, harnesses, foodstuffs, and twenty-seven thousand board feet of lumber...The commissioners denied King's claims..." (Lupold, John S. and French Jr., Thomas L. Bridging Deep South Rivers, 2004). Right: Horace King Interrogatories, U.S. Southern Claims Commission, February 28, 1878. |
"Horace King died on May 28, 1885" (Gibbons, Faye. Horace King: Bridges to Freedom, 2002), at sixty-nine years old (his marker is mis-labeled as 1887). He had four sons and one daughter, all of whom he taught bridge building and contracting. Horace King was accepted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 1989. While this is a major accomplishment, the fact that he earned the award based on his work in the 1800s as a minority race, a slave, and living in the South, is a testimony to the responsibility he took for himself, his work, others, and the rights he earned as a result.
Grave marker of Horace King, LaGrange, GA
Grave marker of Horace King, LaGrange, GA
"I feel that my insight into King's life has strengthened me in many positive ways. Mainly at day's end as I stand in the shadow of a man who is looking in the same direction as I am, I can almost hear Horace King speak."
French Jr., Thomas. Personal Interview. 6 January 2014. |
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