DAVID KING

DAVID KING RESEARCH

by Marie King Bailey and Melton King

Contributions by Joyce Disharoon

David King was born 1 Aug 1754, possibly in West Kilbride, Ayr, Scotland and died 12 May 1835 in Franklin County, Mississippi.

A family researcher whose research took her to Scotland located baptismal records that match David King. The source was the General Records Office, Scottish Church Records, Intellectual Reserve, Inc., c1995. The David King the researcher found was christened 8 Sep 1754.

The records indicate that this David King’s parents were George King and Mary Ninian. George and Mary had at least four children: Mary King, born 1749; William King, born 1751; David King, born 1754; and John King, born 1759. All the children were born in Scotland, but we have no knowledge of how many came to the United States. We also do not have information on any of these siblings. These were the only ones she found recorded who could have matched David’s family names.

Despite the similarity in the birth dates, we are not certain that the reference found is for our David King and we continue our research.

David came to America during the Revolutionary War, and before the Declaration of Independence was signed. We have not located an immigration record that tells us where David landed. He was living 18 miles from Camden in Camden District, South Carolina, when he was drafted to fight in the War.

David served in the American Revolution as a member of Capt. John Stark’s company of Col. Joseph Kersaw’s Regiment and was captured at the seige of Charleston. He was paroled and several weeks later enlisted in Capt. Gale’s cavalry company and fought in battles of Fish Dam Ford and Black Stocks as a corporal. He was wounded and was hospitalized for about three months. He then enlisted in Capt. McCreary’s company of Col. Thos. Armstrong’s regiment serving mainly at Elizabethtown, North Carolina. [See Attachments on this web page for David’s explanation of his war experiences]

David married an as yet unknown person. It is common to find the name Lydia Davis on the Internet as David’s first wife. We have found no proof of this. None of the granddaughters were named Lydia, and if they had followed the Scottish naming tradition, as well as the naming traditions of the time, the name Lydia would have passed down through the family.

David and his wife had five children: Katherine, Sarah, Mary, David II, and Jane. His two oldest daughters were born in South Carolina. His next three – David, his twin Mary, and Jane – were born in Georgia. His wife may have died before they moved into Mississippi, but that is not proven.

David’s Migrations

David lived in South Carolina for nine years and then moved to Jefferson and Washington Counties in Georgia. His Revolutionary War pension statement lists his residence as Washington County, and his second passport from Georgia to Mississippi lists his county of residence as Jefferson. He lived in Georgia for about fourteen years and did not own land there.

David, Sr. took settlers to Franklin County, Mississippi. We have records of two trips to Mississippi. David and his travelers were required to obtain passports from the United States government for their journeys. The passports allowed them to travel through the Creek Nation.

One trip was in 1806 with John Davis (Davies). The passport read: “David King [reverse] recommendation in favor of David King and John Davis for a Pass Port thro the Creek nation. Order taken 3 d November 1806.”

Another trip was in 1808 when he was given passports to Natchez for himself, his family, Anguish McMillan and his family. Their passport was signed by the Georgia governor in Milledgeville on 25 Feb 1808. It read: “David King and his family, having been recommended to me, by respectable inhabitants of Jefferson County, in this State, as honest and worthy citizens. I have given them permission to travel through the Creek Nation, they taking special care to conduct themselves peaceably towards the Indians, and agreeably to the laws of the United States.” [See Attachments at the bottom of this web page to see a photocopy of his original passport]

The most likely trail used by David was called Three Chopped Way. The trail was predominately a series of paths used by the Indians. The road was marked by surveyors in 1807 using a system of three notches on trees. It was a direct trail running across Georgia and Alabama and ending in Natchez, Mississippi. This trail was used by the settlers from South Carolina and Georgia.

David and his family settled in Franklin, which was not yet a county, and farmed a substantial amount of land.

We know he was there by September 1808 because his daughter, Catherine (spelled Katherine in the family Bible) married Thomas Aldridge in Adams County, Mississippi in September, 1808. The original license and marriage confirmation is an Attachment on this web page.

David’s Family

The children of David King (the first)I were:
1. Catherine. She married Thomas Aldridge in September 1808 in Adams County, MS. They had ten children and lived their lives in Franklin County.

2. Sarah Ann. She married

(a) David May about 1814 and they had five children.

(b) James Murray Lazarus 26 Feb 1840 in Franklin County. They did not have children.

3. David II. He married

(a) Sarah Anderson 13 Jul 1818 in Jefferson County, MS. This is a recorded marriage, however there was another David King in the area and this information may belong to him. The family Bible does not mention Sarah.

(b) Mrs. Zelphia Tidwell on 19 Mar 1835 in Franklin County. She had one son, Samuel R.Tidwell, by her previous marriage. Zelphia’s maiden name may have been Ratcliff, but further research is needed to confirm this. David and Zelphia had a son, William David Covington King, on 24 Aug 1837 in Franklin County.

(c) Clara Ann Seale Lazarus who was a widow and the daughter of Wright and Nancy Cain Seale. David and Clara Ann married 11 Jan 1866. This was after the death of her father in December of 1865.

4. Mary. She was a twin of David II and married Isaiah Mobley 1 May 1836 in Franklin County, where they continued to live. She was about 40 when they married and we have not found a record of children. Isaiah had been married before and had four children. They appear to have been adults when Isaiah married Mary because they do not appear in Isaiah’s household after he remarried.
5. Jane. She was born 1799 in Georgia. She married

(a) Robert H. Stuart on 15 Jul 1819 in Franklin County. Robert died 20 Jan 1823 after the birth of the younger Robert on 11 Jan 1823 according to the family Bible.Their children were:

Homer Melton Stuart (spelling later found as Stewart)

Robert H. Stuart

(b) Benjamin May on 8 May 1834. They had a daughter but Jane did not live long enough to rear her.

We do not know if Jane died in Franklin County or in Louisiana; however, her children lived in Jackson Parish, Louisiana and there are records of a Benjamin May with a daughter Sarah also living in Jackson Parish. There were at least two Benjamin Mays in the courthouse record, and there seems to be some dispute over where Benjamin Mays died.

In 1810 David was listed on the Franklin County, Census as head of household, and we do not believe the female entries included his wife. We believe she was deceased.
            Free white male over 21 = 1                     This was David, Sr.
            Free white male under 24 = 1                  This was probably David II
           Free white female under 21 = 3                  This was probably Sarah Ann, Jane, and Mary

Total free white inhabitants = 5

No slaves were listed

David King II

Our line is David King, II, who was born in Georgia in 1796. His third family, which is ours, is the only one known to have survived.

David II had a son, William David Covington King, who was in the Civil War. He died in Port Hudson, Louisiana of typhoid. Before his death he sent a telegram stating that he was very sick, and to please come. Things were so frantic at the time that the body was lost. David was never able to bring his son’s body home. Covington was an only child. The family story is that David King never forgave the Army for losing the body. His body has never been found.

Family lore says that about a year after this happened, Yankee deserters came through and stole from the King place. David was away from home at the time. The captain of the deserters decided that he would steal David’s wife’s horse. David’s wife’s name was Zilphia and this was her personal horse. She said that he couldn’t have it and jumped on the horse. The captain was indignant and told her if she didn’t get down he would hang her from the horse. Zilphia refused. The captain’s bluff called, he hung her. It didn’t kill her. The deserters left with whatever plunder they had. Zilphia lived until David got home and told him what had happened. She died shortly afterwards, and her son, Samuel R. Tidwell, died 13 Jan 1866.

David, in the company of a few others, one a preacher, went after the deserters. It is said that the deserters never made it to the Tennessee line.

This family story has no doubt been enhanced through the years, but the facts are that deserters came through, they did hang Zelphia but she lived long enough to tell David the story, and David and others did go after the deserters.

After Zilphia’s death, David married our grandmother, Clara Ann Seales Lazarus, who was a widow with young daughters. Her husband had died of the same disease from the same fort as had Covington King. David and Clara Ann married in January of 1866.

Clara Ann was the daughter of Wright Seale who was born 1796 in Jones County, Georgia, and Nancy Cain who was born 13 Feb 1804 in Hancock County, Georgia. Nancy died 27 Jun 1842 in Liberty in Amite County, Mississippi. Clara Ann was the youngest child and was born in 1836. Her father married again and had two more children, making twelve to the final group.

The Seales were also pioneers and settled in Amite County, Mississippi, as early as 1821. They seemed to travel back and forth between Mississippi and Green County, Alabama. We believe that the original family line came from Cumberland County, North Carolina through Wilkes County, Georgia, and then on to Alabama and Mississippi.

On 20 Nov 1866 David and Clara Ann had a girl named Barbara Gordonia. She only lived until 30 Jan 1867. They also had the following children:
1. David Virgil Hamilton King was born 9 May 1868 in Franklin County, Mississippi and died 10 Dec 1934 in St. Francisville, Louisiana. He is buried in Roselawn Cemetery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He married Lillie Esther Little on 10 Mar 1891. Esther was born 22 Sep 1870 in Franklin County and died 6 Jun 1955 in Franklin County. Their children were:

a. Clara Cynthia King born 7 Mar 1892 in Franklin and died Oct 1965 in Jefferson County, Alabama

b. David Millard King born 19 Feb 1895 in Franklin County and died 16 Jan 1966 in Warren County, Mississippi

c. Esther Ella King born 30 Jan 1897 in Franklin County and died 27 Sep 1898 in Franklin County.

David was married twice and the second time he married Lettie Lewis Murrell born Feb 1871. They were married after 1898. Little is known about David and his second family. Lettie had children from a previous marriage, but she and David did not have children together. Lettie died in December 1952.

David was an inspector for the railroad. He was killed when the small manual pump car that he traveled on during his inspections turned over. This happened near St. Francisville, Louisiana.

2. Homer Hiram Cassidy King was born 29 Jan 1872 in Franklin County, Mississippi and died 17 Nov In the late 1930s. They had two children:

a. Homer Cassidy King born 1 Oct 1920 in Franklin County, Mississippi and died 18 Dec 2005 in Temple, Texas.

b. Elzra Benoist King born 14 Feb 1925 in Adams, Mississippi and died 11 Apr 1980 in Adams, Mississippi.

David was 76 years old when his youngest child was born.

David seems to have stayed in Franklin County, Mississippi. In our possession is a note from David’s oldest step-daughter addressed to our grandmother. She says, “I only know he said they came to this country on pack horses traveling Indian trails. It was a wilderness then with deer, turkey, and bears.” She was quoting David the II.

He died in 1879. As you can see by the two obituaries in the Attachments, both David and his wife, Clara Ann, were well-regarded.