Category Archives: King Family of NC

King Family of NC, Lewis

The Lewis Family of Wilkes County, NC, 1700s: A Timeline, Part 3 – Recap

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Finding the sketch for the family of James Lewis, born c1767, in the Annals of Platte County, Missouri helped to sort out some family details in spite of the fact that there is no mention of elder Gideons.

I’m not positive that James Lewis was born as late as 1767, given that he owned land by 1785 – I think the date in the Platte County history might be about three years too late.

However, I am certain that the man who left Wilkes County and moved on to Indiana and Missouri was born in the 1760s.

How can this help sorting out the Gideons?

Well, to review, we have several tax lists to help out, plus the 1790 and 1800 censuses which include:

Edward King [born by 1738], in Rowan County by 1759, if he is the same man later residing in Wilkes and then Ashe Counties. [Note – There is only one Lewis on that list – Daniel. Nothing further known about him.]

Gideon Lewis [born by 1747], on Rowan County 1768 tax list of Gideon Wright. James Lewis [born by 1747], on Rowan County tax list of John Brevard. It is not known if James on Brevard’s list is the same man on the 1787 list in Wilkes County. There were several other Lewises early in Rowan County. The Brevard family lived in a section of Rowan that later became Iredell, so he may just be another man of the same name.

Edward King and James Lewis in Vannoy’s Company in 1787, neither with land and each taxed for one poll.

Gideon Lewis taxed on 384 acres and James Lewis taxed on 344 acres in Wilkes County in 1779.

James Lewis with 150 acres and taxed on one poll and Gideon Lewis with 300 acres and taxed on one poll in Nall’s Company in 1787.

Therefore, by 1787, we have two or possibly three men named James Lewis living in two different military companies, but only one Gideon Lewis.

James Lewis who appears on the 1779 tax list would have been born no later than 1758, and 21 years old, to be included. By 1787, James born c1767 is reportedly married and so listed.

Next, we have the 1790 census of Wilkes County, which indicates that a second Gideon Lewis is now of legal age with a family. I believe that he is the son of James Sr. and the brother of the second James (James Jr.), all living in the 10th Company district.

Gideon Sr. is now living in the 16th Company district, as a neighbor of Edward King.

1790 – Gideon, census, M +16, 2M -16, F, page 7, 10th Company
1790 – James, census, M +16, 3M -16, F, page 7, 10th Company
1790 – James, census, M +16, 2M -16, F, page 7, 10th Company
1790 – Gideon, census, 2M +16, 2M -16, 5F, page 11, 16th Company
1790 – Edward King, census, 2M +16, 4M -16, 5F, page 11, 16th Co.

The 1800 census of (now) Ashe County, North Carolina includes no Gideon Lewis over the age of 45, so he may have died. There are three Gideons enumerated, two of whom are 26-44 and one who is 16-25.

The identity of the Gideon Lewis living next door to James Lewis in Barren county, Kentucky is uncertain. Some believe he is Gideon Sr. and it is possible the Rowan County settler moved on with his son, James.

On the other hand, we don’t know who reported that Gideon was over 45 years of age. Was it Gideon himself or one of the others living in his home who didn’t know for sure how old Gideon was. They might have said, “Oh, he’s about 46” when in fact perhaps he was 44, which would have placed the tick mark in the younger category.

I think it is equally possible that this Gideon Lewis was the brother of James and that the two of them decided together to move west. Given the absence of either of their names from the land and tax records of Barren County, there is no way to prove or disprove this theory.

I realize that some of this pondering and sleuthing has been repetitive, but with the overwhelming lack of records, I had to cast a wide net.

After scouring through all these details, I am unable to find a James Lewis in the King FAN club who could be the father of the Feeley/Phebe Lewis, who married Edward King.

The earliest James I can document is the man born c1767, who eventually settled in Platte County, Missouri, where he died after 1860, in his nineties.

Therefore, by process of elimination, there is only one man in Edward King’s FAN club who is old enough to have a daughter who married c1767 – the first Gideon Lewis, first seen on the 1767 tax list of Rowan County.

Edward’s surviving son and daughter deposed that their parents married in Wilkes [sic] County in 1767, so Gideon fits the bill perfectly.

That’s my theory for now, and I’m going to stick to it – unless, of course, future research determines that Gideon was a contemporary of Edward and that an earlier, unidentified Lewis was his father and also the father-in-law of Edward King.

 

King Family of NC, Lewis, Sturgell

Sturgill+King+Lewis: Do the Puzzle Pieces Fit?

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If you’ve been following my blog lately, you’ll already know that I’ve been investigating possible families for a young lady, possibly Sophia King, who married William Sturgill about 1805, likely in Ashe County, North Carolina, where marriage records are lost before 1853.

To quickly summarize, once again since it seems to be in many online family trees, William Sturgill’s wife was NOT the daughter of a Dr. King from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York or anywhere else.

The Sturgill FAN club points to the extremely strong possibility that Edward King, who lived in Ashe County in 1800, and is found but one page away from the Sturgill family, is most likely the father of Ms. King.

Previous research uncovered a Revolutionary War pension application, put forth by two of Edward’s children, John King and Mary Mullins, that stated their parents had ten children and that they married in 1767 in Wilkes County, North Carolina.

Now Wilkes County wasn’t organized until 1777 and was set off from Surry County; Surry County was set off from Rowan County in 1771.

No marriage record has been found for Edward King and Feelie (or maybe Feebe aka Phebe) Lewis, who are named in the pension application.

Given the lack of vital records and other oddities in surviving records, such as no notation in land sales whereby wives release dower rights, I have been left with a paucity of records to create a FAN club for Edward King.

Census records have provided the first stepping stone.

The 1800 census of Ashe County, North Carolina includes but two King families –  Edward and Robert King. The eldest male in Robert’s home is aged 16-25, so he is not old enough to have a daughter marrying five years later, c1805. Edward, however, is 45+ and there are two females aged 10-15, who certainly could be of age to marry William Sturgill, c1805.

There is no way to determine if any Lewises, my third surname of interest, lived nearby due to the alpha order in which the census taker enumerated families that year.

The 1800 census does include one James Lewis and one James Lewis Jr.

However, in 1790, Edward King is found living in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Listed consecutively we find:

Frank King, 2 Males +16, Male -16, 3 Females
Jas King, Male +16, 2 Females
Edward King, 2 Males +16, 4 Males -16, 4 Females
Gideon Lewis, 2 Males +16, 2 Males -16, 5 Females

The relationships, if any, between Frank, James and Edward King is unknown, but my interest right now is in Gideon Lewis, given that Edward King married “Feelie” Lewis, c1767,

All are enumerated on Page 11 of Wilkes County and noted as the “16 Comp” (16th Company).

On Page 7, which is identified as being in the 10th Company, we find:

Gideon Lewis, 1 Male +16, 2 Males -16, 1 Female

Five doors away from Gideon, there are two more Lewis families:

Jas Lewis, 1 Male +16, 3 Males -16, 4 Females
Jas Lewis, 1 Male +16, 2 Males -16, 1 Female

Having seen online references to one Gideon Lewis Senior and Gideon Lewis Junior, I hoped beyond hope that there might be earlier surviving records that could verify the existence of two Gideons.

Although there were no land deeds filed by Gideon which named any children, on 5 August 1797, Gideon Lewis Sr. sold 120 acres of land in Wilkes County and the deed of sale (Wilkes County Deed Book D:266) included Gideon Lewis Jr. as one of the three witnesses.

Delving into one of my favorites resources, tax records, I uncovered several items of interest (Early Wilkes County Tax Lists on FamilySearch Film 7834323). Several of the tax collectors weren’t any more fastidious in their record keeping than some of the town clerks, as they put no date whatsoever on their tax lists.

Working back through time, Vannoy’s Company in 1787 included Edward King and James Lewis. Captain Nall’s Company (which corresponds to the 10th Company in the 1790 census), contains the names of Gideon Lewis and James Lewis.

In the lists estimated as being from c1784/85, in Captain Weaver’s Company appeared 4 names of interest:

Gideon Lewis, 200/1 (200 acres and 1 pole?)
Edward King, 100/0
Francis King, 100/1
Gideon Lewis Jr., -/1

This proves there were two contemporary Gideon Lewises, who might well be father and son.

However, these lists are still almost 20 years after the reported marriage of Edward King.

Wilkes County originally contained but one military or company district. By 1779, it had been divided into northern and southern districts. The earliest tax list discovered was for the North River District from 26 August 1779. On it are:

Edward King, 170 (acres?)
James Lewis, 344
Gideon Lewis, 384

Even though these men are taxed for land holdings in 1779, the first time Gideon Lewis appears in the Wilkes County Grantee Index is in 1785, when he received 150 acres from the State of North Carolina.

Edward King didn’t receive State land until 1798, when he obtained 150 acres. James and Gideon Lewis both first appear in 1785, receiving land grants.

Where were these men before 1779?

Who knows? Remember, the colonies were in the middle of a war. neither Edward King nor Gideon Lewis nor James Lewis appears in the land indexes for Surry County or Rowan County or Anson County (parent to Rowan County) at all.

However, all the acreage owned by these three men were on the North fork of the New River, making them neighbors.

Although I have seen exact death dates of death for some of these people, they all signed deeds with the proverbial X, so I doubt there are family Bible records around and there definitely are no death certificates or even probate records to be found.

I have found NO online research treating the Lewis family, so at the moment, I have no further clues to follow.

The residences of Edward King and the Lewises before 1779 remain a mystery. How James and Gideon Lewis Sr. are related is not known, but I believe they are and I also believe one of them is the father of Edward King’s wife, “Feelie” Lewis.

If you are related to Gideon or James Lewis and have researched the family, I would love to hear from you.

 

King Family of NC

Richard King of Rowan County, North Carolina, 1782

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The last will I’d like to share is that of Richard King, who died in Rowan County, North Carolina in 1782.

This Richard King appears in the DAR Patriot Index because future applicants need to prove correct service. He was born c1705, reportedly in Ireland, so would have been in his 70s when the American Revolution began and would not have received a bounty land warrant for service, when he died before the war had ended.

His will identifies his children and, although another Richard King was the soldier, there is no reason to believe that his children were not his.

Will of Richard King
Rowan County, North Carolina Will Book B:19-20

In the name of god amen, The seventh Day of May 1779 I Richard King of Rowan county and state of North Carolina being very weak in body, but of perfect Mind & Memory thanks be given unto god; Therefore calling to mind the mortality of my Body, & knowing that it is appointed for all Men Once to die, do make & ordain this to be my last Will & Testament; That is to say principally & first of all, I given & Recommend my soul into the hands of almighty God that gave it & my Body I Recommend to the earth, to be buried in decent christian Burial, at the discretion of my executor, nothing doubting but at the general Resurrection, I shall Receive the same again, by the mighty power of God; & as touching such worldly estate as it hath pleased god to belss me with in this life, I give, demise (sic) & dispose of the same in the following manner & form – – –

First I give & bequeath to Margaret my dearly beloved wife, my negro wench named Moriah, waggon, plough, harrow, and other utenseals, together with Household goods & moveable Effects, likewise the priviledge of the land I live upon to clear & cut wood at pleasure during Life: I order my moveable Effects as horses cows & c to be sold at publick vandue, her Riding horse excepted,

Likewise a cow and calf which I bequeath to my grand daughter Margeret Lansley;

the money of said Effects to be put to interest for the use of my wife, who is to discharge all my debts _ _

Likewise I give & bequeath to my son Thos King all my lands in considerationo that he pay to my grandson Richard Blythe the sum of forty pounds in two years after my Discease_ _ _

I bequeath to my sons Robt., James, Andrew & John King & my daughters Ann, Elisabeth, margeret & Mary to each of the I say I bequeath five shillings sterling.

And I Do hereby utterly disallow revoke & Disannull all & every other former Testaments, wills, Leagecies & bequests & Executors (my sons Robert and James I now appoint my sold Executors)

Ratifying & Confirming this and no other to be my Last Will and Testament

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal the day & year above written_ _ _

Richard King

Signed, sealed, published, pronounced
and Delivered by the said Richard King
as his Last Will & Testament in the
presence of us the subscribers

John (X) Kilpatrick
Willm Barr
Patrick Barr

Others have attributed Richard’s son, Robert King, as the man who married Mary Morrison, legatee in William Morrison’s 1771 will. I have no reason to doubt it and it puts me in the mind that this Richard King, if related to Edward King, might not even be related.

Robert is the common name, but Richard had no son Edward and Edward doesn’t have any Richard King appearing in records with him.