28 Facts About Amos Kling

Amos Kling was the father-in-law of US President Warren Harding.

Amos Kling's father was of German descent, while his mother was born in France.

At a young age, Amos Kling learned the trade of a tailor.

The Klings moved to Mansfield, Ohio and took up farming when Amos was a teenager.

Amos Kling took a job as a clerk in Bain's Hardware store and soon saved up enough money to buy the store.

Amos Kling met Louisa Bouton during a trip to New Canaan, Connecticut in the late 1850s.

Amos Kling's first daughter Florence was born in 1860, followed by Clifford in 1861 and Vetallis in 1866.

Amos Kling had preferred Florence be born a boy, but resolved to raise her more masculine than feminine.

At the dawn of the US Civil War, Amos Kling was a solid Republican, not because of opposition to slavery but rather because it was better for business.

Amos Kling retired from the hardware business in 1866 on account of poor health.

Amos Kling became a prosperous businessman from selling real estate, importing horses from France, and other business pursuits.

Amos Kling was on the boards of the Marion Telephone Company, the Marion National Bank, and the Columbus and Toledo Railroad, as well as owning a share in the Marion Hotel.

Amos Kling had Florence learn business skills by having her do accounting at the hardware store at a young age and ensured she received a good education.

Amos Kling expanded his influence by joining the local agricultural society and becoming its president, becoming a member of the school board, and overseeing the construction of the new courthouse and opera house.

Florence eloped with Henry "Pete" deWolfe, whose father had a poor relationship with Amos Kling, at the age of 19 and a son Marshall was born on March 22,1880.

Amos Kling responded by threatening to disinherit Florence and began to spread the rumour further.

Amos Kling resolved to buy up the debt of Harding's father, Dr George Tryon Harding, from land deals.

Amos Kling did invest in the new Marion Star building completed in February 1889, largely to make more money from Harding and his father who had gone deeply in debt to build it.

Amos Kling continued in his disgust for Harding long after the marriage, essentially ending his relationship with Florence.

Amos Kling pressured other Marion businessmen not to invest in any endeavor Harding partook in.

Amos Kling financed the Republican Transcript to compete with Harding's Marion Star.

Shortly after returning from Florida, Amos Kling's wife died on June 23,1893 of peritonitis.

When Harding ran for state senate in 1899, Amos Kling unsurprisingly opposed him, spreading the black ancestry myth and attempting to get his friend Mark Hanna involved, ultimately to no avail as Harding won the election.

Amos Kling gradually warmed somewhat to his son-in-law, writing him a letter apologizing for past malice and inviting the Harding couple on European vacations.

In 1906, Amos Kling remarried a widow 38 years his junior, Caroline Beatty Denman.

In 1907, Amos Kling had a summer home built in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Amos Kling suffered from kidney disease in his later years and became bedridden after an attack in spring 1913.

Amos Kling additionally granted $25,000 to his three grandchildren apiece, $5,000 to brothers George and Donald, and donated $10,000 to the Ladies' Home Association.