Kings of Harrison Co.,
Kentucky & Clark Co., Indiana
The George T. King family of Clark Co. Indiana has traced
their family history back to Joshua T. King (1761-1831) of Culpepper Co.,
Virginia married to Rachel “Hannah” Kannady.
While the exact year in which Joshua T. King moved to Harrison Co.,
Kentucky is unknown, Joshua’s will, dated 1802 in Harrison Co., Kentucky, is on
record[i]. Joshua T. King Jr. appears in the Harrison Co. census of 1830.
Joshua’s grave has not been located but his brother, Richard (1762-1827), is
buried in the King’s Cemetery in Cynthiana, KY located off of Lafferty
Pike. This cemetery is quite large and surely as other family members buried there but only two head stones were still standing as of summer 2012.
Richard King’s son, Paul King (1806-1872), has also been
located in a family cemetery in Oddville[ii]
where he is buried with his children and wives.
In this cemetery a headstone was located for Mahulda Garnett King
(1809-1839), wife of Richard King and sister of our ggg-grandmother Sarah B.
Garnett King (1808-1888). This connection with the Garnett family[iii]
has helped confirm that Joshua T. King of Virginia is indeed our
gggg-grandfather. In fact, christening
and marriage records indicate that Sarah and Mahulda’s father, Larkin Garnett[iv],
is also from Culpepper Co., Virginia.
Perhaps the families’ close relationship is indicative of social ties
that date back to when both families lived in Virginia. One could even suppose that the families may
have migrated to Harrison Co. together or during the same time period.
The King family does not possess a family bible and
therefore many stories from our grandfathers have been lost. However, the King grandsons of Clark Co.
Indiana[v]
have related several anecdotes regarding their grandfather George T. King
(1838-1964). Many of these stories
illustrate great grandpa King’s sporting affections such as hunting and
gambling. Some claim that George T. King
had inherited land and money that was lost through his gambling. It is also
said that great grandpa King never liked working and spent days in the hills of
Kentucky hunting while his wife, Sally Effie, ran a boarding house in Cynthiana
in order to support the family. Her
daughter, Tilly Lilly King, claimed that her mother would sweep the yard
waiting for her husband’s return. Aside from hunting, great grandpa King passed
many hours at the local pool halls where he taught his son George Jr. (1919-1984),
who was often sent by his mother to “fetch” his father, to master the
game. Great grandpa King boasted about
his young son’s talents at the pool table and often bet on his ability to beat
out other players who were much older than he.
During his high school years, grandmother Effie Taylor King
sent her son George Jr. to live with his
sister, Betsy, in Oddville. In this small town, George Jr. became a star
basketball player for Oddville High and learned to farm alongside his
brother-in-law, Earl Kerns.
When George Jr.’s older brother, Garnett, moved to
Louisville, KY, with his job on the tobacco market, he was offered several
hundred acres of land across the Ohio River in Clark Co., Indiana. Garnett bought the land and then encouraged
his younger brothers, George Jr. and Harold, to move to Indiana to farm the
property. In 1932, the King brothers
moved to Indiana where George Jr. and Harold met their wives, Edith Rachel
Lewman and Martha Hilton, daughters of local farmers. George Jr. and Rachel
Lewman were married in Vevay, Indiana on Feb. 14, 1941 and later had
four boys[vi]. Harold King and Martha Hilton King had two
girls[vii],
but Garnett and his wife, Alleen Lemmons King, never had children.
[i] Harrison Co. Will Book A pg. 40
[ii]
Located in a field belonging to John White.
5231 US HWY 62 E., Cynthiana, KY 41031
[iii]
Two King brothers (George T. and Paul) married Garnett sisters (Sarah B. &
Mahulda)
[iv]
Larkin Garnett (1856-1888) is buried in the King-Garnett Cemetery off of Two
Lick Pike in Cynthiana, KY.
[v]
Douglas King, Ronald King, Thomas A. King, George W. King
[vi]
Douglas King, Ronald King, Thomas A. King, George W. King
[vii]
Deanna King Morrow, Carol Sue King Wilson
