Early Life
Austin Augustus King was born in Sullivan County, Tennessee to Walter and Nancy (Sevier) King, one of eleven children. Nancy was the daughter of famed military leader and Tennessee politician John Sevier. Austin King received his education in the frontier schools of his native state and then studied law under an attorney, as was often the case in those times. King was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1822 and practiced in the Jackson, Tennessee area until 1830 when he moved to Columbia, Boone County, Missouri.
In Columbia, King formed a successful law partnership with John B. Gordon, "riding the circuit" - by horse and sometimes by riverboat on the Missouri River - providing legal services to the communities of central and eastern Missouri. He also became involved with Missouri Democratic politics shortly after arriving. Another early affiliation and a family tradition along with politics, was military service. With the outbreak of the Black Hawk War in 1832, Austin King was appointed a Colonel and served with the First Regiment, Third Division, Missouri State Militia.
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