17, 2008 by Ben Windham, Vice president from Alabama may have led secret life.ĪLABAMA FOOTPRINTS Confrontation: Lost & Forgotten Stories (Volume 4) is a collection of lost and forgotten stories that reveals why and how the confrontation between the Native American population and settlers developed into the Creek-Indian War as well as stories of the bravery and heroism of participants from both sides.MAGNOLIA - William Rufus DeVane King (1786-1853) is memorialized in many places, most notably in North Carolina in Clinton and Chapel Hill and in Alabama in Selma. James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, who was destined to become president.” Some historians believe they were lovers. King had an exceptionally close relationship with Sen. It’s still there today.”Īccording to Ben Windham of The Tuscaloosa News, the “subject of King’s sexuality is still a topic of debate. When they thought things had blown over, they reburied it in a cemetery lot set aside by the Selma City Council. They hid the coffin at the undertaker’s for a while. He tore into the big house hollering, ‘Somebody done stole Marse William!’īy then, the Selmians were way down the road. One of the King family servants saw them and sounded the alarm. They loaded King’s coffin onto a wagon and headed back to Selma. Wearing disguises and accompanied by two laborers, they rode out to King’s Bend and broke open his tomb with a sledgehammer. The story of what took place is from The Tuscaloosa News Februby Ben Windham. It is said that since his relatives were not interested in moving him to the city owned Live Oak Cemetery where he could be honored, that Selma’s mayor and the local undertaker took matters in their own hands. 2010 by Carol Highsmith (Library of Congress) Strange storyĪ strange story accompanies the removal to Live Oak Cemetery. He was reburied in Live Oak Cemetery in 1882. He is buried on the grounds of his plantation. He arrived at his plantation on Apand died the following day. On April 6, 1853, King boarded a ship for Mobile, and from there he followed the Alabama River up to his plantation at King’s Bend. Somehow, King managed to regain enough strength to return to the United States. After taking the oath, he returned to his sick bed. He did not take it willingly because he thought it was useless since he felt he would die soon. He was so weak that he had to remain seated when he took the oath. Surprisingly, Congress approved and on March 24, 1853, King was sworn in at an office in Mantanzas. Instead, he asked for permission to take his oath of office for vice-president in Cuba.
He was so ill, that he sent word that he wouldn’t be able to return to Washington. He died in Mantanzas and is buried in Cuba. However, Governor Pickens did not get well. The city Matanzas was warm and sunny and was supposed to have mineral springs that aided healing. Previously, Governor Pickens of Alabama had gone to Matanzas, Cuba in search of a cure for his cough. By November, he was so ill that he could not fulfill his duties in the Senate and resigned his position on December 20, two weeks into the December-March session. He had a hacking cough and had lost considerable weight.
It was feared that he had contracted tuberculosis in Paris where he served as minister to France. The Pierce/ King ticket went on to win the election, but King was very ill. Pierce was a moderate New Englander and William Rufus King was a conservative from Alabama. Pierce’s supporters wanted to unite the party so they allowed the allies of the opposing candidate, Buchanan, to select the vice-president running mate. When the 1852 Democratic convention took place in Baltimore, Frank Pierce was finally selected as the party’s presidential candidate on the 49th ballot. Vice-president William Rufus King Disagreement in Democratic Party in 1852 Though he acted officially as America’s vice president, he did not have the title. He remained just a heartbeat away from the presidency for two years. With the vice president’s office now vacate, King was next in the order of succession.
#William rufus king pro#
King was president pro tem of the United States SenateĪt the time, William Rufus King was president pro tem of the United States Senate.
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