James E. King Jr.

{{Short description|American doctor and presidential child}}

{{Infobox person

| name = James E. King Jr.

| image = Dr. James E. King The Buffalo News, March 10, 1947, Page 5.jpg

| birth_name = Oscar Folsom Cleveland

| birth_date = 1874

| birth_place = Buffalo, New York

| death_date = 1947

| death_place = Buffalo, New York

| occupation = Physician

}}

James Edward King Jr. (September 15, 1874 – March 9, 1947), born Oscar Folsom Cleveland, was the biological son of Maria Halpin and Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland made payments to Maria Halpin after the boy was born.{{cite book|editor1-last=Sibley|editor1-first=Katherine A.S.|title=A Companion to First Ladies|date=2016|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|page=269|isbn=9781118732243|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77u4CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA269}} Grover Cleveland acknowledged that he was likely Oscar Folsom Cleveland's father. During the 1884 U.S. presidential election the controversy prompted Cleveland's opponents to adopt the chant, "Ma, ma, where's my pa?"{{cite web |url=http://thinkprogress.org/yglesias/2010/01/15/195801/historical-sex-scandals/ |title=Historic Sex Scandals |author=Matthew Yglesias |date=January 15, 2010 |publisher=ThinkProgress |access-date=July 2, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Serratore|first1=Angela|title=President Cleveland's Problem Child|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/president-clevelands-problem-child-100800/|website=smithsonianmag.com|publisher=Smithsonian/The Smithsonian|access-date=October 11, 2016|date=September 26, 2013}} The baby was adopted as James E. King Jr. into the family of Dr. James E. King Sr., the Buffalo, New York physician who supervised the asylum where Halpin was briefly confined.{{cite book|last1=Lachman|first1=Charles|title=A Secret Life: The Sex, Lies, and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland|date=2011|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing|page=202|isbn=9781616082758|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jz8Zj58-xugC&pg=PA202}} Dr. King (the younger) had a long career as a highly regarded obstetrician/gynecologist and medical school instructor; for many years he supervised Buffalo Women's Hospital (founded in 1885 as Buffalo Maternity Hospital).{{Cite web |title=Buffalo City Directory, 1895 |url=https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/VHB011/id/80027/ |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org |language=en}} Dr. King was married to Rose A. Kleinschmidt Weber in 1910,Ancestry.com. New York State, Marriage Index, 1881–1967. Original data: New York State Marriage Index, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY. but they were separated or divorced sometime before 1917,United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918, FamilySearch https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WQ2N-5W6Z Entry for James Edward or James E King and Sara H King, from 1917 to 1918. and had no children together."Medical Pioneer Dead: Dr. James E. King, Noted Specialist, Dies at Age of 71" The Buffalo News, March 10, 1947. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-medical-pioneer-dead-d/160394323/ {{cite book|last1=Kendall|first1=Joshua|title=First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama|date=2016|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|page=147|isbn=9781455551965|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MauDCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT147}} King enjoyed travel and frequently provided pro bono medical care to indigent women in the community.