David and Marsha Grady Family
Our KING Family
Special honor is given to Marsha's uncle, Ronald R. King, who passed from this life on Monday, May 7, 2001.
This is definitely Marsha's family! Marsha's father, William Carl KING, is the oldest son of an oldest son of an oldest son in this line of KINGs. Marsha has many special memories of her KING family, as her grandparents, William Thomas (known to everyone as W.T.) KING and Lois Maude RAWLS KING lived next door during all of Marsha's childhood.
We are descended from John C. KING, who was born about 1808 in Georgia (according to later census records). With such a common surname and given name, John has been very elusive - we currently have no idea who his parents were, exactly where he was born, or whether he had siblings.
John C. KING married Ann POWELL (possibly spelled with just one 'L') in 29 August 1844 in Laurens County, Georgia. It is likely that he and possibly his parents were in Laurens County at the time of the 1840 Federal Census - Marsha is working on searching that census for possible clues. As John C. KING was about 36 at the time of this marriage, it is also possible that he had a prior marriage with possible children from that marriage.
Sometime after their marriage, John and Ann KING migrated from Georgia to Alabama, with a possible stopover in Santa Rosa County, Florida (there is an entry in the 1850 Census for Santa Rosa County for a John and Ann KING of the right ages; however, there are no children listed with them. It appears that John KING was in Baldwin County, Alabama by 1860. In the 1860 census, a Mary A. POWELL, age 30, is listed in the John KING household as a servant. After Annie POWELL KING's death (sometime after 1871), John married Mary Ann POWELL.
Some stories indicate that Mary Ann POWELL was a daughter of Ann POWELL's (possibly by a first marriage); however, Mary Ann POWELL had 2 children (Thadeus, born 1859, and James W., born 1860) who had the surname POWELL in the 1860 census. They later used the surname KING. It is likely that Mary Ann (maiden name unknown) was married first to a POWELL, who may have been a relative of Ann POWELL KING's. There is also a story that Ann POWELL KING and Mary Ann POWELL KING were Native Americans, but there has been no other documentation to support that claim.
John C. KING and Ann POWELL had the following children:
- Francis Thomas KING (1844-1928)
- Margeanna Ella KING (1847-?). She married Robert M. VOLTZ.
- Roda C. KING (1849-?)
- Lucy E. KING JOHNSON (1850-?)
- Henry Driver KING (1854-?). He married Samantha Jane CUMBIE.
- William Washington KING (1855-1943). He married Emma BYARS, then Nancy Manciler COOPER.
- Mary Ella KING (1865-1938). She married (1) Dr. GREEN, (2) Francis FORD, and (3) Henry Joseph PARRISH.
- Jesse KING (1869-?) - Married Willie MOORE.
- Mark KING (1871-?)Mary Ann POWELL KING's sons were: Thadeus POWELL/KING (1859-?) and James W. POWELL/KING (1860-?).
Marsha's great-grandfather, Francis (Frank) Thomas KING was born 1844, probably while the family was still in Georgia. By 1880, he was on his own, listed as a boarder in the home of Ambres Mitchen in the 1880 Federal Census for Baldwin County, Alabama. His job was working in turpentine - beginning a long line of KING men involved in the timber and related industries, which were a major part of the economy of Baldwin and Monroe counties.
We know little of Frank's first wife, except her given name of Annie, and that she bore him a daughter, Mary Eleanor KING (1881-1945). Frank and Annie were probably married late 1880 or early 1881. Annie KING is estimated to have died sometime between 1881-1886.
On 17 September 1886, Frank KING married the widow, Sarah (Sally) SILCOX LITTLE, daughter of Jessie and Annie SILCOX. Sally had a son, Benjamin LITTLE, Jr. from her first marriage. Marsha's father, Carl, remembers knowing "Uncle Ben" LITTLE, who lived in the Baldwin County area. There are also family rumors that Sally was part Creek Indian, but no documentation exists to support that claim.
Frank and Sally lived in Baldwin County, Alabama, until sometime after 1920, when they moved near Eliska, in Monroe County, Alabama.
Frank and Sally KING had four children:
- Frank Hampton KING (1891-1982)
- Annie Elizabeth KING (1888-1981)
- John Leslie KING (1895-1986)
- Essie KING (1897-?)Frank KING died in 1928, while Sally lived until 1947. They are both buried reported to be buried at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, in Eliska, Monroe County, Alabama.
Frank Hampton KING was known for most of his life as F.H. He was born 26 January 1891 in Perdido, Baldwin County, Alabama. He married Mary B. BROWN, daughter of William BROWN and Georgiana HELTON, sometime between 1910-1914.
F.H. KING was a lumberman, founding F.H. KING and Sons Lumber Company in Baldwin and then Monroe County. The family business was maintained by three generations of KINGs until it was closed around 1983. Marsha's grandfather and father worked all their adult lives for the family business, and Marsha fondly recalls spending time after school and on summer days at the sawmill "helping" in the office or just getting in the way (probably very unsafely) around the lumber stacks, dry kiln and wood chip piles.
F.H. KING and Mary BROWN had twelve children:
- William Thomas KING (1914-1991). More information below!
- Neal Bruce "Bush" KING (1915-2000). Bush married Lucille DAVIS.
- Mary Hanis KING (Living)
- Hendesron KING (Living)
- Annie Mae KING (Living)
- Alma KING (22 Jan 1925-29 Jan 1925).
- Ima Gene KING (Living)
- Hugo Hampton KING (Living)
- Jewell KING (1928-1982). Jewell married Louisa TYSON.
- Masie Corinne "Rinne" KING (Living)
- Brunette KING (Living)
- Cecile Carolyn KING (1940-1980)F.H. and Mary lived long, fruitful lives in Eliska, Monroe County, Alabama. Many KING family reunions were held at their home until Mary's death 26 March 1980. After that, F.H. moved to Monroe Manor Nursing Home in Monroeville, Alabama, until his death on 4 July 1982. F.H. and Mary are buried at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Eliska.
Marsha's grandfather, William Thomas KING was known to all as W.T. He was born 15 August 1914 at home in Eliska. Being the oldest of so many children, he quit school at a very young age (reportedly 5th grade), to work in the family lumber business. He was a hard worker, and also a loyal supporter of his family. He married Lois Maude RAWLS, daughter of Wiley Hodges RAWLS and Mary Frances DAVIS. During their married life, W.T. and Lois were a rock of support to many of their younger siblings, and later to their nieces and nephews.
Their home became a family gathering place, as Lois was a wonderful cook, enjoying gardening and, later, painting. In the early 1970's, W.T. purchased a rustic cabin on Fort Morgan Road in Gulf Shores, Baldwin County, Alabama. From that time, the "cabin" became the summer refuge for the extended family.
W.T. and Lois had three sons and a daughter. They were loving grandparents and shared all they had with their family.
Unfortunately, about the time W.T. quit school, he also began smoking cigarettes. He continued to smoke them, even after developing emphysema in the 1980's, and after watching his younger brother, Jewell, die of lung cancer in 1982. In the early 1980's, W.T. developed lung cancer and had surgery to remove part of one lung. He was very ill during radiation treatments, but he recovered - and finally quit smoking.
In 1990-1991, W.T. grew frail while he worried and watched as one son, his only daughter, and one grandson were among the U.S. National Guard troops in the Gulf War. Despite having little education, W.T. was a well-read man and an avid subscriber to "National Geographic" - his reading served him well during the war, as he knew better than the rest of the family the history and geography of the region where his family served.
Marsha remembers W.T. crying when, soon after the end of the Gulf War in the summer of 1991, we learned that his daughter-in-law, Marsha's mother, had breast cancer and would have to endure surgery and chemotherapy.
We think he may have already sensed he was sick again, as we discovered in the fall of 1991 that his lung cancer had returned. In mid-November 1991, the doctors summoned family to his side. Marsha flew in for three days fom Austin, Texas, where she was living at the time and was able to spend the first quality time since childhood by his hospital bedside. Visitors flocked to his side - family, neighbors, former employees. He rallied enough to go home, where he died 24 November 1991.
Lois went on without him for a while, filling his shoes as the family "glue" - continuing to gather both the KING and RAWLS families for holidays. She continued her painting and gardening, but on 24 February 1995, Lois died of liver disease. She is buried next to W.T. at Monroeville Memorial Gardens in Monroeville, Alabama.
Note: Much of Marsha's information on the King family came from Henry Seymour, whose wife is also a descendent of John C. King's. Marsha has worked hard to supplement Henry's information, but has had no more luck than Henry had on tracing John C. KING prior to his married in 1844 to Ann POWELL.
Reports:
Photographs:
Photograph of W.T. and Lois King
Photograph of F.H. King & Sons Lumber Company, Frisco City, Alabama
More King family photographsRelated Articles and Transcriptions:
Frank Hampton King, Social Security Application
John C. King and Ann Powell marriage licenseRelated Families:
Marsha's RAWLS Page
Marsha's POWELL Page (coming soon)
Marsha's SILCOX Page
Marsha's BROWN Page
Marsha's BROUGHTON PageRelated Census Records:
Miscellaneous KING Census Records - Contains miscellaneous census records transcribed by Marsha, includes Monroe County AL, Baldwin County AL, and Santa Rosa County FL
Miscellaneous SHUMACK Census Records - Contains miscellaneous census records transcribed by Marsha, includes Monroe County AL (The SHUMACK family is related to the KING family by marriage)
Miscellaneous RHODES Census Records - Contains miscellaneous census records transcribed by Marsha, includes Monroe County AL (The RHODES family is related to the KING family by marriage)
Miscellaneous LAMBERT Census Records - Contains miscellaneous census records transcribed by Marsha, includes Monroe County AL (The LAMBERT family is related to the KING family by marriage)
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