Clarence King. 225 



had an effect in raising the standard of geological work in this 

 country, which, while less susceptible of direct estimation, lias 

 been none the less real and permanent. 



He was a man of remarkable intellectual versatility, and has 

 been probably as widely known and appreciated for his literary 

 as for his scientific ability, though his published literary writ- 

 ings have been singularly few in number. The recollection of 

 his consummate art as a conversationalist and raconteur, of 

 the delicate wit and irrepressible humor that showed itself at 

 times even in his scientific writings, of the kindly spirit and 

 refined courtesy that characterized his every action, and of his 

 irresistibly attractive smile, has left behind a mingled feeling 

 of pleasure and regret among all who had the privilege of 

 knowing him. 



Clarence King was born at Newport, Rhode Island, on the 

 6th day of January, 1812. He was the only son of James 

 Rivers and Florence Little King. His ancestors were among 

 the early settlers of New England, and all, as far as known, of 

 English extraction. Among them were an unusual number of 

 cultivated men, graduates of colleges, or distinguished in the 

 learned professions, in whom can be found traces of the many 

 and varied accomplishments in science, literature and the arts 

 that were so happily combined in their brilliant descendant. 



Daniel King, the emigrant, who came to Lynn, Massachu- 

 setts, in 1637, was a younger son of Ralphe Kinge of Wat- 

 ford, Hertfordshire, England. His great-grandson, Benjamin, 

 moved from Salem, Massachusetts, to Newport, Rhode Island, 

 and, according to family tradition, was a man of scientific 

 tastes, who occupied himself with philosophical instruments 

 and assisted Benjamin Franklin in his early experiments in 

 electricity. Samuel King of Newport, son of the latter and 

 great-grandfather of Clarence, was a portrait painter of merit, 

 who numbered among his pupils Washington Allston, and 

 Malbone, the miniaturist. On his mother's side, one of King's 

 great-grandfathers, William Little, was a graduate of Yale in 

 1777, and received an honorary degree from Harvard in 1786.' 

 Another, Ashur Bobbins, graduated from Yale in 1772, was 

 United States Senator from Rhode Island 1825-39, and received 

 the degree of LL.D. from Brown in 1835. His grandfather, 

 William Little, Jr., who died early in life, was noted as a 

 linguist, and a scholar. His grandmother, Mrs. Sophia Little, 

 poet and philanthropist, was a woman of remarkable public 

 spirit, energy, and decision of character, who retained her 

 mental and physical vigor in most remarkable degree up to the 

 time of her death in 1893, in her 95th year. 



His immediate King ancestors were pioneer merchants in 

 the then highly remunerative China trade, his grandfather, 



