27 May 1850 - 20 April 1916
New York General Contractor
Builder of Liberty's pedestal
and erector of the Statue of Liberty
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| 27 May 1850 - 20 April 1916 New York General Contractor Builder of Liberty's pedestal and erector of the Statue of Liberty |
From
Statue of Liberty Encyclopedia Barry Moreno, Simon & Schuster , 2000 King, David H., Jr. (b. 1849, New York, New York; d. 20 April 1916, New York, New York). Building contractor. King was a key figure in the construction of the Statue of Liberty and was especially important in obtaining the necessary granite from the Beattie Quarry at Leete's Island, Connecticut. His many assistants included G. R. A. Ricketts, Colonel J. M. Morgan, William Kennedy, Michael Byrne, and Charles O. Long. King worked on many other contracting jobs in New York City during his career, including the construction of Madison Square Garden, the old Equitable Building, the Washington Arch, and the Mills Building (corner of Broad and Wall streets). King held the presdencies of the New York Park Commission and the New York Dock Company; he retired from the latter position in 1909. He was a member of the Union League Club. From Bill and Karen Flagg (Bill is Great Grandson of David H. King, Jr.): Some of King's buildings/structures:
In the 1850 census, David H. King, Jr. was noted of Irish descent. He is found with Father David H. King and mother M. King (Mary Purcell) and Grandparents, James and Susannah along with a number of other siblings. In the NY Times Archives we have found the death notice for Susannah Haslett King wife of James and also those of the father, James and a brother, James, showing his birthplace being County Derry, Ireland.
He was a School Superintendent in the 1890s and for a short time Park Commissioner in 1895. Executive Committee of the Jekyl Island Club (GA) Board of the Knickerbocker Club In the 1900s he was President of the New York Dock Company. At various times he also maintained residences in Jekyl Island, GA, Newport, RI, Eastbourne, England. He died in 1916 and is buried with family members at Woodlawn Cemetery. A couple of web sites claim him to be African-American, they have been asked to correct this misinformation. The book by June Hall Mc Cash "The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony" contains interesting data and references. Two in particular for The Statue of Liberty are:
My efforts continue to gather more info. It appears that he was a self made man as his obit from April 21 1916 states that he did not attend college. He was born in NY 1850 and married Mary Lyon having children: Van Rennsaleer Choate King (1880) Mary and David (died as toddlers) Ruth (1886) m Villiers Terrage (a Polish Count) have asked for the aid of her Grandson Dorothy (1887) m Stanley G. Flagg III - 3 children, 4 grandchildren, 3 great great grandchildren Jeanne (1891) m. Charles de Rham (he died in WW1 no children). She bequeathed a Portrait by Thomas Gainsborough to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to honor her father upon her death 1965). David H. King, Jr.'s son, Van Rennsaleer, was killed in an earthquake in Kobe, Japan March 8, 1927 and is buried in Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, NC. He was a decorated Colonel in the US Army in WWI and superintendent of the Atlantic Coast Railroad. He incorporated King's Crosstie Co. both here and in Great Britain about 1924.. His wife was Isabelle Rountree King who died giving birth to an infant son who Van named after his father, David Haslett King. WASHINGTON ARCH 
For the Centennial of Washington's inauguration as President of the United States, a wooden Memorial Arch was constructed on the Washington Square. The arch, designed by Stanford White and built by David H. King Jr., was so successful at the celebrations, that a marble version was commissioned. In May 1895 the final version of the 77 ft. (23. 4m) Washington Arch was inaugurated. The pier sculptures of Washington as general and president were added in 1916 and 1918 respectively.
The Washington Arch at NYC-Architecture From  "The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony" June Hall Mc Cash, University of Georgia Press (July 1, 1998)
 Mrs. Ralph Izard (Alice DeLancey, 1746/47–1832) by Thomas Gainsborough (English, 1727–1788) Metropoiltan Museum of Art Painting purchased by David H. King Jr. in 1912, passsed to his daughter, Jeanne King deRham, upon his death in 1916, and bequested to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in memory of her father in 1966. Strivers Row Mr. King was a prolific builder with dozens of projects for many of New York's finest Architects of the later 19th and early 20th century. Besides the Statue of Liberty, one of his most influential developments was Striver's Row in Harlem (1891), also called the King Model Houses. Built on 138th and 139th Streets between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. and Frederick Douglass Blvd., King hired 4 different Architects: Clarence S. Luce, Bruce Price, James Brown Lord, and McKim, Mead & White, to design high quality row houses with similar materials and styles. The apartments maintained their prestige through Harlem's economic cycles and became homes to Harlem's wealthiest residents, continuing to the present day. 
From “Inauguration of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World” by the President of the United States1887 New York, D. Appleton and Company At the close of Mr. Evarts’s speech, M. Bartholdi, assisted by Mr. D. H. King, Jr, removed the French flag, which had covered the face of the statue, which was the signal for another enthusiastic outburst of the steam-whistles from the flotilla anchored in front of the island, and a national salute from the ships of war, drowning out completely, by the volume of sound, the strains of the Marseillaise from the band. It was full fifteen minutes before there was sufficient silence to permit of any more speaking, and then repeated rounds of cheering, as President Cleveland came forward, prevented his being heard at the beginning of his remarks. He waited quietly with a smile on his countenance, until the enthusiasm of the audience had spent itself, and then accepted, on behalf of the nation, the completed statue in the following words:
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