The following essay was originally posted to the Journey Genealogy Group blog in December of 2022. The Journey Group is Toledo’s African American genealogy group which focuses on the study and genealogy of Northwest Ohio’s African American community. Journey also traces the origins of lesser-known African Americans who made an impact in our community. The following essay is a revised version profiling Albert McKinney King, the first Black police officer on the Toledo Police Department and his remarkable wife, Julia Ward King..
“…held in high esteem by his comrades…”[1]
Albert M. King—Toledo’s First Black Police Officer
and
Julia Ward King—Toledo’s First Black Female Juvenile Court Probation Officer
Over 130 years ago, the Toledo Police Department hired its first African American police officer. Albert McKinney King was appointed to the department on February 1, 1887. He served 26 years, during a time of major change in America at the turn of the 20th century. Albert became a prominent member of the African American community in Toledo, setting a standard for Black police officers to follow. His Journey to Toledo and becoming a well-respected member of his community and the Toledo Police Department (TPD) is distinctive and provides insight into the lives and experiences of Blacks in Toledo in the early 1900s.[2]
Albert was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on January 21, 1851. His mother was also born in Canada, however, census records assert that his father was born in Kentucky—an indication that Albert’s father may have made his way to Canada via the Underground Railroad as a fugitive slave. In 1865, Albert emigrated to the United States. At the age of 35, he became a naturalized citizen on November 8, 1887. It is difficult to document his early years in America, but documents indicate that he worked in railroading and as a waiter. By 1880, he resided as a boarder with the family of Samuel Ward, in their home at 33 Oak Street. During this time, he became close with the Ward’s daughter, Julia. The couple wed in 1886 and set up a household, first on Wisconsin Avenue and then on Oakwood Avenue. Both became members of the Third Baptist Church—the second oldest Black church in Toledo.[3]
Albert King was part of the small group of Blacks who were hired as police officers by metropolitan police agencies in the late 19th century. To avoid any backlash from white officers and citizens, for the most part, Black officers were primarily assigned to Black communities, prohibited from arresting whites, and often denied promotions. However, arrest records from the period indicate that King was not restricted in his ability to arrest white citizens. His arrests include both white and Black subjects for a variety of offenses. It does appear that his primary patrol beat 
included the African American community in the near downtown area of Toledo. In that capacity, he was assigned to a walking beat in the African American community and required to maintain the peace and good order in his assigned area. King is the sole African American depicted in TPD’s 1900 Yearbook.[4]
Albert was also well-known in the community for his theatrical work. His experiences on the stage in Northwest Ohio reflected the activities of middle-class African Americans as they staged and performed their own productions. Minstrel shows often showed white performers in blackface presenting Blacks in demeaning and negative ways. 
King and others countered the caricatures of Blacks seen in the popular minstrel shows of the period. He was involved in the Douglass Dramatic Society’s production of the “beautiful and well-known comedy-drama, ‘The Lady of Lyons’ at Liberty Hall” in Toledo. Albert not only starred in productions, but he also authored a comedic farce titled, “The Surprise Party”, which was very well received at a concert performed at Warren AME Church in 1883. Albert also starred in a production of “The Mistletoe Bough,” that was so good money was raised to stage the play at the old Wheeler Opera House (pictured), an opulent concert hall in downtown Toledo that burned down in a fire in 1893.[5]
As Toledo’s first African American police officer, Albert served a total of twenty-six years and retired on pension in February of 1914 with Badge #2. In the TPD bulletin regarding his death, King was acknowledged as serving faithfully and as well-respected by fellow officers and the community. His remains were escorted by a coterie of forty patrol officers and the flags at all the police stations were flown at half-mast—a traditional show of respect for deceased officers.[6]
Albert married Julia King on October 20, 1875. Julia King lived until the age of 82 and upon her death in 1938, the Toledo News-Bee chronicled Mrs. King’s amazing life. Julia King was also interviewed as part of the slave narratives oral history project conducted by the Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal to combat the Depression. Mrs. King was interviewed by field workers of that Project in June of 1937, a year before her death. She was eighty years old at the time. Julia was born into slavery. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Her parents Samuel and Matilda Ward were enslaved. She had one sister, Mary Ward, a year and a half older than herself. Her father was the first member of the family to escape slavery via the Underground Railroad and eventually settled in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The rest of the family followed him and escaped their enslavement with the assistance of a Quaker boatsman. The entire family, settled in one of the small fugitive slave communities sprinkled throughout southern Ontario, Canada. The family immigrated back to the United States after the Civil War.
In an interview, she recalled early memories of Toledo. She remembered that most African Americans lived in Manhattan, Ohio, located near the intersection of present-day North Erie and Summit Streets near downtown Toledo. She also recalled that the first school for Blacks was located in a blacksmith shop on Erie Street in downtown Toledo. Students entered through a rear doorway since the Erie Canal was in the front of the building. Julia and her family eventually settled at 33 Oak Street. She described her husband as “a leader in the civic and social life and took an active part in theatrical work in the community.” Mrs. King was also a leader in the community. She became the first Black woman appointed as a Juvenile Court probation officer.[8]
The lives and experiences of Albert and Julia King are just a part of the story of Blacks in Toledo at the turn of the 20th century. Both were held in high regard in Toledo, and both were very well respected members of Toledo’s African American community.