Surnames: Allin, Conklin, Davis, De Graff, Duesler, George, Parsons, Russell
Source: History of the Mohawk Valley - Gateway to the
West - 1614-1925
Covering The Six Counties of Schenectady, Schoharie,
Montgomery, Fulton, Herkimer and Oneida.
Volume IV, Illustrated; Page
726
Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1925
Archie W. King has won success as an accountant and in the capacity of auditor is doing important work for the United States government. He represents one of the oldest families of the Empire state and for thirty-two years Amsterdam , Montgomery County, has numbered him among it's loyal citizens. He was born on March 24, 1872 in the town of Mayfield in Fulton County and his parents, Isaac and Jennie E. King were prominent residents of Gloversville, this state. The immigrant ancestor settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1657 and early in the eighteenth century the family was established in that part of Saratoga County, New York, which is now known as Batchellerville. There Isaac G King was born on October 15, 1844. During his early life he followed the occupation of farming, also engaging in educational work. Later he turned to industrial pursuits, becoming a successful glove manufacturer and his death occurred in Gloversville on June 30, 1919. He was one of the foremost business men of his community and stood high in the esteem of his fellow citizen.
Archie W. King attended the Union School at Gloversville and afterward finished a course at the Troy Business College. He came to Amsterdam in 1892 and secured a clerical position in the insurance office of Hays & Wormutt, afterward working for other firms. Subsequently he took up the study of accountancy and in 1919 entered the internal revenue service of the government. He is now connected with the tax department and fills the office of auditor. He is an expert accountant and his duties are discharged with thoroughness, accuracy and efficiency.
On November 15, 1893, Mr. King married Miss Carrie May DeGraff, a graduate of the Misses Bell's School of Amsterdam. Her father, John H. DeGraff, was born in the town of Mohawk, Montgomery County, September 2, 1835, and there attended the public schools and the old stone academy. He mastered the trades of carpenter and cabinetmaker and in 1865 became a resident of Amsterdam. For a time he was manager of a furniture factory and in 1873 formed a partnership with William Servoss, who became senior member of the firm. They purchased the site of the Mudge Hollow flouring mills in connection with the sawmill, and later a cider mill was added. On December 3, 1857, Mr. De Graff married Naomi Duesler of the town of Ephratah, who died on December 14, 1860. On March 3, 1863, he married the only daughter of Edwin and Caroline (Davis) Conkling and a cousin of United States Senator Roscoe C. Conkling, long a conspicuous figure in national affairs. Three children were born of this second union, Carrie May, and two who died in youth.
John J. De Graff, the father of John H. De Graff, was born in the town of Mohawk about the year 1811 and his wife was Phebe Godwin, of Fulton County. They had two children and the daughter, Mary C. De Graff, became the wife of Augustus L. George, of Fonda, New York. Mr. De Graff's great-grandfather Godwin gallantly defended American independence in the Revolutionary war and died on a prison ship in New York harbor. The ancestry of the family is Dutch and Welsh. Major John W. Davis, the great-grandfather of Mrs. De Graff, was born at East Hampton, Long Island, and also participated in the struggle for American freedom. He was a major in Colonel Livingston's regiment and served under General Washington. He was captured by the British at Sag Harbor, Long Island, and died on January 10, 1782, on board the Jersey prison ship. On May 14, 1772, he had married Puah Parsons and his widow, with her five children, William, Abigail, John Parsons, Ashael and Ramus, located at Amsterdam on a tract purchased with money from the sale of land granted her by the government. She also had large land holdings in Ohio and in western New York and her death occurred on the 29th of January, 1832. Colonel John P. Davis, the grandfather of Mrs. De Graff, was born at Lyme, Connecticut, November 4, 1777, and on June 1, 1805, married Susannah Allin. At one time he owned six hundred acres of land in Montgomery County, New York, and here resided until his death on July 31, 1848. James Allin, great-grandfather of Mrs. De Graff, was born in Rhode Island, February 25, 1744. He was one of the early settlers of Amsterdam and served in the state legislature.
Mr. and Mrs. King have a son, Charles De Graff, who was born in Amsterdam, December 3, 1894. After finishing his high school work he matriculated in the TriState College at Angola, Indiana, taking up the study of chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering, and completed his course in that institution in 1915, later taking postgraduate work at Toulouse, France. On April 1, 1918, at Syracuse, he enlisted for service in the World war, becoming a private in the Three Hundred and Twelfth New York Infantry, and was trained at Camp Dix, New Jersey. He was made a corporal in May, 1918, and was promoted to the rank of sargeant in October. He sailed for France, May 20, 1918, and participated in the Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel engagements, as well as in other important battles. He received his honorable discharge at Camp Upton, July 28, 1919, at which time he was serving as sergeant, and is now a lieutenant in the Engineers Reserve Corps. He is connected with the United States war department, acting as supervising engineer at McCook Field at Dayton, Ohio, and belongs to the American Society of Automotive Engineers. On May 17, 1918, he married Mildred Sarah Russell, a daughter of John H. and Henrietta Russell, of Baldwinsville, New York, and they have one child, Janis Arlene King, who was born on November 13, 1920.
Mrs. King is one of the Daughters of the American Revolution, being a member of Amsterdam Chapter, N. S. D. A. R.; also a member of Artwell Chapter, No. 308, Order of the Eastern Star, and a member of Oak Leaf Rebekah Lodge, No.123, I. 0. 0. F., being a past district deputy president of the Montgomery district. Mr. King is identified with the Masonic order, belonging to Artisan Lodge, F. and A. M., and to Amsterdam Chapter, R. A. M.; also a member of the I. 0.0. F., being a member of Amsterdam Lodge, No. 134, and of Star Encampment No. 33, and past district deputy of both branches, as well as past major of Canton Amsterdam No.20, P. M., I. 0.0. F. He also is past sachem of Canniengas Tribe No.421, Improved Order of Red Men. Thoroughness and devotion to duty are outstanding traits in his character and he enjoys in the highest degree the respect and esteem of his fellow men.
