This photograph from the Amagansett Historical Association's Carleton Kelsey Collection shows Lodowick H. King (1844-1904), a native of Amagansett, seated for a portrait. He wears his Union Army Civil War uniform with his hat, which features his regiment number within a cross, set on a table next to him. This photo dates to the war years or possibly shortly afterward.
King served with the 48th New York Regiment, as well as the 15th New Jersey Infantry in Company I. According to town clerk registers, he mustered into the Army on Aug. 25, 1862, and served for nearly three years. He reached the rank of sergeant by the time he was discharged on June 30, 1865.
In 1864, while still serving in the Army, King married Harriet M. Lester (1841-1912), and they raised five children. After his discharge, he joined the Coast Guard and served in the Life-Saving Service at a local station for several years before he had to retire because of declining health.
Sometime in 1873, he found time to build a house, which he also used as his blacksmith shop, and a small barn. These structures were located somewhere on Windmill Lane in Amagansett.
Lodowick H. King was the oldest of four children of Clark L. King (1820-1900) and Maranda King (1824-1896) of Amagansett. According to the 1860 census, when he was 16, he helped his father on their farm before leaving for military service. His father, a fisherman, sailed on the whaling ship Cadmus in 1837 and the ship Josephine from 1846 to 1849.
Clark King's whaling days included a dramatic encounter with a whale that struck him, sending him overboard. Several ribs were broken, but he survived.
