Mack Herron King

Mack Herron King

When Mack Herron King was born in July of 1891, the King family had been farming in Mecklenburg County NC for over a century. He was the seventh child of Alfonso King and Margaret Herron, with four older sisters and two older brothers. His mother died when he was 12 years old, by which time he had two more sisters and two more brothers. After four years, his father remarried; Mack was age sixteen. (He was 20 years old at his father's third marriage, and 30 at his fourth.) The family lived in Long Creek Township, north of present day Charlotte.
Between 1900 and 1910, Mack's oldest sister, Margaret, married John W. Hipp. The Hipp farm was off McKee Rd., in Steele Creek Twp. NC, on the backwaters of the Catawba River and near the border of York County SC. John Hipp died leaving Margaret with two small children, and Mack's father, Alfonso King, sent Mack down to help Margaret run her farm. Margaret's son Willie Hipp, at three or four years old, would follow Mack around as he plowed fields with the mule, and formed a life-long attachment to his uncle.
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While working for his sister Margaret, Mack King met his future wife, Nancy Grace Thomas, called "Nannie". The Hipp farm lay just inside North Carolina on the backwaters of the Catawba River; the Thomas family farm was "across the gully" and behind the Hipp farm, but in South Carolina. Mack King and Nannie Thomas were married in December of 1915. They resided with Mack's sister Margaret on the old Hipp farm for a time. In 1916 Margaret King Hipp remarried to a Mr. Wendel and moved to his house, but Mack and Nanny remained for a time on the farm.
Their first two children, Andy and Robbie, were born there on the Hipp farm in 1916 and 1918. As no birth records were kept at that time, these children had what was recorded as a "delayed birth certificate"; at the point when a birth record became necessary, the family brought to the court house whatever recording they personally had made, such as the family Bible, to establish the date. The Hipp farm lies in Steele Creek Twp., NC, just on the border of North and South Carolina. From the deed, located in the Mecklenburg Co. Courthouse, it has been established that these two children were born in NC.
Dr. Wylie, a well-known area surgeon, had built a dam on the Catawba River to generate power for his home. People living in the area asked to have the power extended to their homes, and Dr. Wylie formed a power company, Southern Public Utilities. (Angier B. Duke, tobacco barron from Durhan NC and founder of Duke University, became an investor in the power company; when he died in 1924, the name was changed to Duke Power Company which remains today the supplier for the multi-state region.) While the Kings were living in the area, a flood occurred that took ten feet off the top of the dam, and Nanny King remained fearful of floodwaters for life. The rebuilding effort reestablished the height and doubled the width of the dam, and Mack King was hired to work on the project. Nanny remained at the farm, and Mack stayed at the foreman's house, a two-story with rooms upstairs for temporarily lodging a few workers. Mack lived there in the foreman's house until one of the cottages in Power Company Village became available.
Nanny and Mack King and the children Andy and Robbie moved into one of the company houses sometime before 1920. Their next three children, M. H., Jetta, and Grace, were born there, and possibly Ruth. (This cluster of houses is in York Co., SC, just off India Hook Rd; a GPS reading taken from the road is 35 degrees 00.975" by 81 degrees 00.378".) Andy and Robbie would walk a mile up India Hook Road, just past the intersection, to attend a 2-room school. The church the Kings attended was also near this intersection. It is told that in summers, Mack would come to shore in a boat and Robbie would run down to take him his lunch.
In about 1926 or 1927, Mack King returned to Mecklenburg Co. NC with his family. His children had grown too old for the 2-room schoolhouse and would have to have been sent to school elsewhere, which the family could not afford. They moved near where Mack's brother John was a building contractor. John built the house on Wilkinson Blvd. in Charlotte, where Mack and Nanny lived the remainder of their lives. (Today, their driveway has been extended and has become Crispin Avenue.) Here Henry was born in 1927 and the twins Paul and Yates in 1929. They kept a large vegetable garden, some fruit trees, a bountiful pecan tree, and raised some poultry. Mack trained to become a plumber and worked at that career for the rest of his working life.
Charlotte grew into a major city over the course of their lifetime, and Wilkinson Blvd. became a busy major thoroughfare. Mack would frequently walk across the boulevard to a nearby grocery supermarket. In the summer of 1973, when he was 82 years old and in excellent health, he was making this crossing when he was hit by a motorist. He died shortly thereafter in the hospital. His wife Nanny survived him for nine more years.

	Date	Location	Notes	Sources
Birth	28 Jul 1891	Mecklenburg Co., NC
Marriage	19 Dec 1915	Fort Mill, York County, SC	To Nancy Grace Thomas
Death	1 Sep 1973	in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC	Struck by a car while crossing the road
Burial	3 Sep 1973	Trinity Methodist Church Cemetery, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC

Ancestry chart segment

 Generation 2       Generation 3           Generation 4
 
                                       +-- Alfonso William King
                                       |   (1861-1932)             
                +-- Mack Herron King --+
                |   (1891-1973)        |
 Jetta King ----+                      +-- Margaret Elizabeth Herron
 (1922- )       |                          (1865-1903)
                +-- Nancy Grace Thomas
                    (1892-1982)

Sources:

Children

(all children with Nancy Grace Thomas)

Name	Gender	Date of Birth	Birthplace	Spouse	Notes	Sources
Andrew Alfonso King	M	27 Jul 1916	Mecklenburg Co., NC	Inez Marie Pope
Robbie King	F	14 Jan 1918	Mecklenburg Co., NC	1) Tom Herbert Godfrey 2) Murphy Whisnant
Mack Herron King, Jr.	M	7 Jan 1920	York Co., SC	Evelyn Peale
Jetta King	F	27 Jan 1922	York Co., SC	Edmond Brady Williams	Direct line
Grace King	F	23 Feb 1924	York Co., SC	Sam McLain Waldrop
Ruth King	F	28 Nov 1925	York Co., SC	-never married-	died young (23 Dec 1927)
Henry Clay King	M	29 Nov 1927	Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC	Nadine Martin
John Paul King	M	1 Mar 1929	Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC	Nancy Jean Little	twin
Edward Yates King	M	1 Mar 1929	Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC	Patsy Gwen Lazenby	twin

Places of Residence

Location	Dates	Notes	Sources
Long Creek Twp., Mecklenburg County, NC	birth-1910
York Co, SC	~1920	near dam on Catawba River
Wilkinson Blvd., Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC	<1930-death

Photo Gallery

The family of Mack Herron King

Mack Herron King and Nancy Grace Thomas

Mack Herron King

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
1	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.
2	1910 United States Federal Census, Long Creek Twp., Mecklenburgh Co., NC, Enumeration District 131, Pages 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.
3	1920 United States Federal Census, Ebenezer Twp., York Co., SC, Enumeration District 110, Page 9, lines 60-63 lists Mack H. King, 18, married to Grace King, 17. They live with two children: son Andrew A. King, 3 years and 6 months; and son Robert King, 1 year and 11 months. Mack H. King and Grace King are able to read, write, and speak English. Mack H. King and Grace King and their parents were born in NC. The children were both born in SC. Mack H. King is listed as a Farmer. This census is dated 12 Jan 1920. * See source notes; these 2 children were born in NC.
4	1930 United States Federal Census, Berryhill Township, Mecklenburgh County, NC, Enumeration District 60-45, Supervisor's District 7, Page 7, lines 62-71 lists Mack H. King, 38, married to Grace King, 38. They live with their eight children: son Andrew King, 13; daughter Robbie King, 12; son Mack H. King, Jr., 10; daughter Jetta King, 8; daughter Grace King, 6; son Henry C. King, 2; son Yates King, 1; and son Paul King, 1. The family does not live on a farm. Mack H. King and Grace King were married when they were both 23. Andrew, Robbie, Mack Jr., and Jetta had attended school since Sept. 1, 1929. Everyone but the four youngest children can read and write English; everyone but the five youngest can speak English. Robbie, Mack Jr., Jetta, young Grace, and Henry were born in SC; everyone else and everyone's parents in NC. Mack's job is listed as a night watchman at a steel plant. This census is dated April 17, 1930.
5	World War I Draft Registration Card dated [illegible] 5, 1917. Name listed as Mack Herron King. Place of residence "Riverville, NC." Date of birth July 28, 1891. Place of birth Charlotte, PA. Occupation "Farmer." Dependants: "Wife + Child." Status married. No prior military service. Claimed exemption from the draft for "family dependancy." Describes self as a tall, stout cacuasian with grey eyes and light hair.
6	North Carolina Deaths North Carolina Department of Health. 1970-74 Certificate: 33B834. Mack King died on September 1, 1973 in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC. He was 82 years old. His birth date is listed as 1891. At the time, he was residing in Charlotte and married. An autopsy was not performed. Institution: General Hospital. Attendant: Medical Examiner.
7	Gravestone at Trinity Methodist Church Cemetery, Mecklenburg County, NC. Reads: "KING Grace Thomas (Mar. 15, 1892 - Oct. 29, 1982), Mack Herron (July 28, 1891 - Sept. 1, 1973)"
8	Gravestone for Ruth King at Trinity Methodist Church Cemetery, Mecklenburg County, NC. Reads: "RUTH Daughter of Mack H. & Grace Thomas King, Nov. 28, 1925, Dec. 23, 1927."
9	Personal correspondence from Edmond Brady Williams, Jr., grandson of Mack Herron King.	N/A
10	Research of Murphy & Robbie King Whisnant, correspondence & interviews of Murphy Whisnant by E. W. Williams, 1990-ongoing.

Source notes

• 1910 Census: 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.

• 1920 Census: The two children, Andie & Robbie, were born in NC, not SC, on the farm of Grace King Hipp where the young family of Mack Herron King & wife were living; the deed for the farm is a NC deed, found in the Mecklenburg Co. Register's office. The farm lies in lower Steele Creek Twp., on the backwaters of the Catawba River, on Lake Wylie. It is also near the border of York Co. SC. Between 1918 & 1920 the family moved to "Power Company Village" at the Catawba River Dam; this is actually in York Co. SC, and the next several children (Andy, Jetta, Grace, & possibly Ruth) were born there in SC. Again in this census, Mack Herron King seems to only have aged 6 years since the previous census [in which he also aged less than 10 years]. He is now listed as 10 years behind his actual age. Nancy Grace Thomas is also listed 10 years too young here. The children's ages, however, are correct. The enumerator listed the daugher Robbie King as a son, "Robert."

• 1930 Census: Everyone's ages are now back in order. According to this census, Jetta King can read and write but not speak English, which seems a bit unlikely.

• Nancy Grace Thomas King was known all her life as "Nanny Grace".