Clarence King — Geologist 



known as King & Company. James, 

 the second son, married at the early 

 age of twenty-one, and was obliged to 

 leave his young wife before the birth 

 of his first child, Clarence, in order 

 to take the place of his elder brother 

 in China. By a singular fatality, 

 three out of the four brothers died in 

 the far East, and the house of King 

 & Company became bankrupt during 

 the crisis of 1857 through the loss of 

 one of the company's steamers, which, 

 under the charge of a confidential 

 English clerk (also named King) was 

 carrying a large amount of specie to 

 meet their liabilities at another port. 

 In this disaster was involved the 

 property of James, which had re- 

 mained in the firm since his death at 

 Amoy, China, in 1848. 



The young mother, left a widow at 



twenty-two, devoted herself to the 



education of her only son, learning 



with an inherited facility both classical 



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