Historically Speaking: The life of William King Atkinson in Dover
Tony McManus
Even his name sounds impressive: William King Atkinson. Except that this wasn t his original name. He was born in 1765 in Portsmouth as plain old William King, son of William King, but over the years he made a name for himself in more ways than one.
He apparently had some degree of intelligence and initiative. Graduating from Harvard in 1783 he opened a law practice in Dover in 1786. Almost immediately he made his mark, becoming Register of Probate a year later, a position he held until 1819, the year before his death. He served as Justice of the NH Supreme Court from 1803-05, and was state attorney general from 1807-12. Somewhere in those years he married Abigail Pickering, of the Newington Pickerings, a prominent family on the other side of the bay.