Revision as of 08:07, 7 August 2007

The King family lived in Long Creek township, just north of Charlotte in Mecklenburg County, NC. The township was named for the creek that flowed south-westward into the Catawba River. Mecklenburg County is on the border with South Carolina, and midway across North Carolina, east to west. This fertile piedmont region, between the mountains and the seacoast, was mostly divided into smaller family farms, as compared to the plantations of the tidewater region. The King family were farmers.

Alfonso William King was born in December of 1861. The Civil War had begun, and his father fought for the Confederacy, being wounded at Chancellorsville in 1863. Alfonso was six years old when his sister Lillian Calidonia was born (known as Lillie, or Donia). Then two brothers (Joe, who was blind, and Frank) and another sister (Cora Jane) were born, five children in all.

The family were Methodists, attending Trinity Methodist Church. After marriage, Alfonso and his wife continued to attend Trinity Methodist. Eventually his parents were buried there.

Alfonso married Margaret Elizabeth Herron in February of 1883, and their first child Gracie was born in November of that year. The family then moved to Charlotte. Thirteen years later (1896) there were a total of nine children. Margaret was 33, Alfonso 36 years old. Two years later they had twins, but stillborn. Two more sons were born in 1900 and 1901, and then another child was stillborn. Margaret died giving birth to that child. She was forty years old.

Alfonso's youngest child was two years old when Margaret died; his oldest was twenty. The older boys no doubt worked as farm hands with their father, and the older daughters took charge of the house and smaller children. Alfonso married three more times, and had at least two more children. Sarah Isabel Jolly whom he married in 1907, and Henrietta Johnson, in 1911, were both from the Long Creek area. Henrietta King was born July 21, 1920, a daughter of third wife Henrietta Johnson. In 1921 Alfosno married Jonnie Young from Charlotte.

Alfonso died in March of 1932, and is buried at Trinity Methodist cemetery, with his first three wives.

Ancestry chart segment

 Generation 3           Generation 4               Generation 5
 
                                               +-- William John A. King
                                               |   (1840-1897)             
                    +-- Alfonso William King --+
                    |   (1861-1932)            |
 Mack Herron King --+                          +-- Sarah Jane Plummer
 (1891-1973)        |                              (1844-1912)
                    +-- Margaret Elizabeth Herron
                        (1863-1903)

Sources:

Children

(children with Margaret Elizabeth Herron)

(children with Henrietta Johnson)

Places of Residence

Photo Gallery

King family group

The man to left of the center post may be Alfonso King. The resemblance to later pictures of Mack Herron King is striking, but the picture seems to be from an earlier era. The child at far right of front row may be Mack Herron King, son of Alfonso. It is not certain which generation of the King family this photo represents. It appears to be an assembly of siblings and cousins, rather than parents & children.

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
1	1870 United States Federal Census, Long Creek Twp., Mecklenburgh Co., NC, Page 35, lines 16-19 lists Sarah J. King, 26, living with three children: son Alphonza King, 7; daughter Calindo King, 5; and son Josephus King, 1. Everyone was born in NC. This census is dated 30 Aug 1870.
2	1880 United States Federal Census, Long Creek Twp., Mecklenburgh Co., NC, Enumeration District 122, Page 20, lines 40-45 lists widow Sarah J. King, 35, living with five children: son Alfonso W. King, 17; daughter Lily C. King, 13; son Joseph King, 8; son Franklin King, 6; and daughter Cora King, 4. Everyone and their parents were born in NC. This census is dated 15 Jun 1880.
3	1900 United States Federal Census, Long Creek Twp., Mecklenburgh Co., NC, Enumeration District 196, Page 3, lines 67-77 lists William A. King, 38, born Dec 1861, married to Elizabeth King, 37, born Apr 1863. They live with nine children: daughter Gracie L. King, 16, born Nov 1883; son John I. King, 15, born Jan 1885; daughter Daisy M. King, 14, born Feb 1886; daughter Beulah Y. King, 13, born Oct 1887; son William C. King, 11, born Jan 1889; daughter Lundy J. King, 10, born Apr 1890; son Mack H. King, 8, born Jul 1891; daughter Annie L. King, 6, born Sep 1893; and daughter Fonnie E. King, 3, born Oct 1896. William A. King and Elizabeth King are listed as having been married for 17 years. Everyone and their parents are listed as having been born in NC. William A. King's occupation is listed as "Farmer." All of the children except for Annie and Fonnie are listed as attending school. Everyone except Mack H., Annie, and Fonnie can read, write, and speak English. This census is dated 4-5 Jun 1900.
4	1910 United States Federal Census, Long Creek Twp., Mecklenburgh Co., NC, Enumeration District 131, Page 18, lines 45-51 lists Alphonso King, 49, married to Sarrah King, 39. They live with five children: daughter Annie King, 17; daughter Fannie E. King, 14; son Mack H. King, 12; son Wilks King, 10; and son James King, 8. Alphonso King and Sarrah King are listed as having been married for 3 years. Everyone and their parents are listed as having been born in NC. Alphonso King's occupation is listed as "Farmer." All of the children except James are listed as attending school. Everyone except James can read, write, and speak English. This census page is undated, as is the following page. However, the previous page is dated 4 May, 1910, and the next page is dated 8 May 1910.
5	1920 United States Federal Census, Long Creek Twp., Mecklenburgh Co., NC, Enumeration District 174, Page 1B, lines 53-55 lists Alphonso W. King, 58, married to Etta King, 35. They live with one child: daughter Nellie King, 3. Nellie cannot yet read, write, or speak English. Everyone and their parents were born in NC. Alphonso is a farmer. This census page is dated 5-7 Jan 1920.
6	1930 United States Federal Census, Long Creek Twp., Mecklenburgh Co., NC, Enumeration District 64, Page 1A, lines 1-5 lists A. W. King, 68, married to Johnie King, 52. They live with two children and a "brother in law": daughter Nellie King, 13; daughter Henrietta King, 10; and "brother in law" Sam Howel[?], 40. The family lives on a farm. A.W. King was 21 at the time of his first marriage. Johnie King was 44 at the time of her first marriage. The two daughters attended school during the census year. Johnie was born in SC; everyone else (and everyone's parents) was born in NC. A.W. King is a farmer and Sam is a laborer on the farm. A.W. King is not a veteran. This census page is dated 2 Apr 1930.
7	Death Certificate from the North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, for Alphonso W. King. It lists his residence as Mecklenburg Co., NC. He is a white married farmer. He was born on 15 Dec 1861 in Mecklenburg Co., NC. He died at 6:00pm on 29 Mar 1932 at the Charlotte Sanitorium, Charlotte, NC. His father's name was William King and was born in NC. His mother's maiden name was Sarah Plummer and was born in NC. He was buried at Trinity Church on 31 Mar 1932.
8	North Carolina Deaths, 1908-1967, lists Alphonso W. King as having died on 29 Mar 1932 at the age of 70 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. His birthday is listed as 1862.
9	Marriage certificate certifying that A. W. King and Elizabeth Herron were married in Mecklenburg Co., NC, on 8 Feb 1883. A. W. King is age 21; Elizabeth Herron is age 19.
10	Will of Julius A. King form Will Book K, p 140-141 Mecklenburg Co., NC. Names Margaret E. King & children by her husband Alphonso W. King; Gracy L. King eldest dau. of Alphonso W. & Margaret E. King; 26 acres of land in Paw Creek township known as the old George King Place; burial to be at Moore's Chapel in Paw Creek Township.	Will transcription
11	Personal correspondence from Murphy Whistnant, second husband of Robbie King, granddaughter of Alfonso William King. He provided a list the brothers and sisters of Mack Herron King including full names, birthdays, and dates of death when appropriate. The list was given to him by Annie Lois King and was ammended with additional dates of death by Murphy at a later time.	N/A
12	Personal correspondence from Edmond Brady Williams, Jr., grandson of Mack Herron King.	N/A

Source notes

^[2] For some reason, Mack Herron King seems to only have aged 4 years since the previous census while all of the other ages match up reasonably well.

Conjecture

Research Wishlist