Richard of Kentucky, are you my KING? Richard, Oh, Richard, who is your Queen? – 52 Ancestors (Possible Ancestor 50)

Copyright Statement

UPDATE January 2019: After more study, I do believe that the Sabina/Sibby BALLENGER I discuss in this article was not Labina/Libby, but was indeed Sabina/Sibby. I have modified the article accordingly.

NOTE: January 2019. After this article, I discovered that the original interactive maps for Kentucky are at mapofus.org.

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I did not want to have to try to figure out new ancestors this week. It’s so hard! I have the flu! And I wrote every day last week! With the flu! But the 52 Ancestors theme this week is “King.” How could I not do something on my KING ancestors? Maybe somebody else in the group will have the same ancestors.

Wouldn’t that be lucky?
Oh, dear, these folks were in Kentucky!

I have avoided Kentucky research. Isn’t it a wilderness of log cabins and Daniel Boone (1)? A dangerous place filled with cougars, bears, squirrels, slaveholders, tobacco, coal mining, and Roberta Estes’ ancestors?

But Kentucky is right there, just a few hours south of me, very beautiful in the area where my ancestors lived, the gateway to the south and the Appalachian Mountains. The food is fantastic. And Kentucky rhymes with “lucky.” The counties we will be in today are full of beautiful rolling hills. It is a gorgeous area, and I haven’t been there enough.

Kentucky Landscape – 1832
James Pierce Barton (1817 – 1891) (American) (Painter)
Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons (http://goo.gl/EJKOWq).

I really have no excuses. Or at least no valid ones. Being fair to me, though, I have done a bit on-line. To be honest, I think I’ve just avoided Kentucky because I have had so much Indiana and North Carolina research to focus on and a new state seemed overwhelming. But, it’s time to take my head out of the sand and move forward. This post is about some possible Kentucky ancestors on my mother’s side.

A little map for those who may not be familiar with the location of the state of Kentucky in the USA. Directly north of Kentucky is Indiana (it’s sort of shaped like a high-heeled boot, without the heel).

Kentucky Location in the United States (in red). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-SA 3.0) by user TUBS. From Wikipedia topic Kentucky.

My mother’s WILSON line came from Delaware through Kentucky to Indiana. I’ve often wondered why they took that route. Maybe they traveled down the Ohio River. Kentucky was fresh, and it was a state at that time, but Indiana was not. Maybe they got land in Kentucky, but perhaps Indiana land wasn’t available. Then, maybe they left Kentucky because they didn’t like squirrels. Or maybe they wanted flat land. I do not know about their attitudes toward slavery. If they were opposed to it, that could have impacted their decision to cross the river as well. They were Methodists, and the split in the Methodist Episcopal church that was about to occur could very well have influenced the move north (2).

Robert and Nancy (SCOTT) WILSON were from Sussex County, Delaware, and married there circa 1802 (3). According to family records, by 1808, Robert and Nancy were in Fayette County, Kentucky, and then by 1822, they were in Decatur County, Indiana (4).

Robert and Nancy had 13 children (5). One of them was my 2nd great grandfather Henry Bascom WILSON who eloped from Indiana to Ohio on horseback with Amanda Melvina KING in 1843 (6,7). Amanda had 14 of Henry’s children and then died. He remarried and had fathered 4 more children. He gets a family reunion and a park named after him (8). His wives get no credit at all. Amanda birthed 14 of his children, and then literally died when her last child was 3 years old.

I know a little about Amanda Melvina KING, but I know nothing certain about her history or parentage. Or siblings.

Frustratingly, as I got into studying my records for this post, I realized that I don’t have any evidence electronically documented that Amanda’s middle name was even Melvina, although I’m 95% certain that it was. Her marriage record and gravestone both have the middle initial “M,” but no middle name (9,10). There appears to be more than one Amanda Melvina KING in history (11), and Amanda Melvina seems to be a name that was used by other families, too (12). But since I did not properly document my sources in my electronic records, I must either wait until I dig out my WILSON family binders to verify or hopefully find the information elsewhere. Regardless, her name certainly was Amanda M. KING, so let’s move on.

I have undocumented information that Amanda M. KING’s parents were Richard KING and Sybil BALLENGER/BALLINGER. I had posted a query on GenForum in 1999 asking for information about this couple (13). Of course, I didn’t state in the query where I got that information. But, for the purposes of this story, these two names, Richard KING and Sybil BALLENGER, are good enough to get us started.

You won’t find a “Sybil BALLENGER” (or BALLINGER, etc.) and a “Richard KING” together in digital record searches (well, if you do, please let me know). What you will find is an index record on Family Search for a “Sebina STOAL” or “Sebina STOUT” in a Bracken County, Kentucky, 1818 marriage bond with a Richard KING. Going to that actual digital microfilmed record (nice idea), you will see that “Sebina STOAL” was a transcription error for “Sebina Stout” (14), where the “S” was made old-style and looked like an “L”.

Marriage bond between Richard King and Sebina Stout, 11 April 1818, Bracken County, Kentucky. Some have put her name as “Sebina Stoal.” Family Search’s index has it as “Sebina Stout.”(14).

It was confusing, because the “Sybil BALLENGER” story, wherever it was from, was not holding up. I wonder who came up with Sybil? I also have it recorded that Amanda M. KING was born in Bracken County, Kentucky, but I do not know the source of that location. I do not know whether or not this Richard KING was the right Richard (and keep in mind, I don’t even yet have evidence that her father is a Richard KING), but you have to start somewhere.

My next question was, “Who is Sebina STOUT?” Wasn’t Richard KING’s wife supposed to have the maiden name of “BALLENGER”? I’ve run into this kind of thing more than once, as I’m sure many of you have: perhaps it was a married name, and this was a later marriage. Lo and behold, also in Bracken County, Kentucky, there was an 1813 marriage bond and statement of age for a Sibby BALLENGER to marry an Elisha STOUT (15,16). Well, that was quick and convenient!

Permission for marriage given by John Ballenger for Sibby Ballenger to marry Elisha Stout. This document states that Sibby is over the age of 21 (15).

Marriage bond between Elisha Stout and Sebby Ballenger, 7 July 1813, Bracken County, Kentucky (16).

At this point, then, I had a Sibby BALLENGER with permission-giver and bondsman John F BALLENGER who in 1813, at the theoretical age of at least 21, married an Elisha STOUT, and who then in 1818, was almost certainly the Sebina STOUT who married a Richard KING. These events occurred in Bracken County, Kentucky.

Then I found an abstracted marriage record on Family Search for a Francis M. KING, with parents Richard KING and Libby BALLENGER, in Boone County, Indiana, 1906, to marry Sarah A. ARBOGAST. There was no image available (17). Even though I don’t know who this Francis M. KING is, that was enough circumstantial evidence for me that the Sebina STOUT was Sebina BALLENGER.

Also in Bracken County, Kentucky, on 9 March 1798, a bond and license was issued to a Richard KING for marriage to a Mary DAYLY (18). I have corresponded with a descendent of this couple who thinks this may be the same Richard KING who married Sebina “Sibby” (BALLENGER) STOUT twenty years later in 1818 (19).

Richard KING and Mary DAYLY marriage bond, 9 March 1798, Bracken County, Kentucky (18).

It occurred to me that I needed to understand the formation of Kentucky counties, at least a little bit. George W. Durman has created a very useful site called 1st and 2nd Germanna Colonies Family History. It contains a slew of links to his information, with interactive maps of county formations of certain states, including Kentucky. I’ll share some basic facts here from the Kentucky County Formation Map Slide Show. [NOTE: Since the removal of RootsWeb, this page is gone. Please see mapofus.org for the interactive map of Kentucky county formations.]

In 1777, Kentucky County, Virginia, became effective. The area covered virtually all of the land that is now the state of Kentucky. In 1780, Kentucky County was separated into Jefferson, Lincoln, and Fayette Counties, Virginia, with the present-day boundaries of Bracken County, Kentucky, occurring inside of what was then Fayette. In 1786, Fayette was broken up so that Bourbon County, Kentucky, covered the area that includes present-day Bracken, and in 1789, Bourbon was separated so that Mason County took over that area. In 1792, Kentucky was admitted to the Union as its own state. In 1795, Campbell and Mason Counties covered what is now present-day Bracken, and in 1797, Bracken came into existence, exceeding its present-day boundaries. During all of this transition, Fayette, which had once covered the entire northeastern third of Kentucky, had become a much smaller county in the central third, so that by 1808, the year which Robert and Nancy (SCOTT) WILSON were already supposed to have been living in Fayette County, Kentucky, it was at least 60 miles to Bracken County (20).

Because Robert and Nancy (SCOTT) WILSON’s son, and my ancestor, Henry Bascom WILSON was born in Decatur County, Indiana, in 1824 (21), and Amanda M. KING was born in Kentucky in 1826 (22), it would be likely that the WILSONs and the KINGs met in Indiana. If the WILSONs lived in Fayette County, Kentucky, and the KINGs lived in Bracken County, Kentucky, I do find it hard to believe that they would know each other with the county boundaries being that far apart. However, if the families were influenced by Methodism and the Circuit Rider movement of early Kentucky, and if they attended Camp Meetings (23), they would have that in common. This is all speculation, but it is something to look into.

Amanda’s supposed birth in Bracken County, Kentucky, conflicts with her daughter Lavicy [Lovicy, Lovvicy, Lavvicy, Vicy] (WILSON) OSBON’s death record abstract on Family Search, which gives Lavicy’s mother’s birthplace as Owen County, Kentucky (24). In 1826, Owen was four counties west of Bracken (25).

I need more. That means marriage and death records of all of the 14 children of Amanda. Most of them either married or died or both in Hancock County, Indiana, so I need to make a trip to Greenfield. But, as I said, I have the flu. And it’s 10F out. Next week, it will be in the balmy 30s and maybe the flu will be over, but by then we will have another topic.

All of this to attempt to find something consistent about the name and birth location of Amanda. Now, I don’t mean to imply that if every one of her children’s marriage or death records says she was born in XYZ County, Kentucky, then she was. It is more likely that if her middle name is on even one of those records, then that name accurate. Marriage records have the advantage of often being made when the parent or parents are still living.

Hey, Mom, this nice man in the County Clerk’s office wants to know where you were born. Can you remind me again?

Well, yes, Honey, I was born down in Kentucky ’round where the great Ohio river is so close that you could throw a rock from the hill and it would hit Cincinnati….

Oh, Mother, I meant what town or county you were born in?

I don’t know, Hun’, ask your sister. She keeps track of all those things.

Mother, she said to ask you!

Well, you get the idea. Can’t ask Mom where she was born if she is dead, or if you are, so at least you may have a better chance with a marriage.

So as not to mess up the flow too much, I’ve put what I need to look for in the marriage and death records of Amanda M. (KING) WILSON’s offspring at the end of this post, for future reference. The existing data comes primarily from family records.

At the time of her marriage to Henry Bascom WILSON in 1843, Amanda was only 17. It would seem likely that at least one, if not both, of her parents (or at least an older brother or two) lived in Indiana in 1843, possibly even in Decatur County where the WILSONs lived.

With the theory that her parents are Sebina BALLENGER and Richard KING, we look for those names and surnames in Kentucky and Indiana U.S. Censuses.

It is important to note that if these families lived on the border of Harrison and Bracken Counties, which I am suspecting, then their census counties could have changed each year. I have another ancestor who owned property in Indiana on the border of Hancock and Henry Counties with a county road straight down the county boundary line, and I saw a similar pattern. The families could also be switching houses all the time, just to mix it up. The counties in question here are Bracken, Harrison, Pendleton, and Nicholas.

From our friend Mr. Durman again, here are the rough county boundaries among the census years 1810-1840 (26).

1810-1840 Census Rough Boundaries for Bracken, Harrison, Pendleton, and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky (26).

In Kentucky, there is no help from the first two U.S. Census Population Schedules, as the 1790 Virginia (including Kentucky County) and 1800 Kentucky censuses are both gone, gone, gone (27).

In 1810 Bracken County, though, there is an interesting group of properties near each other with households that include the surnames KING, DAILEY, BALENGER, and LEMONS (28). I mention LEMONS because it is of higher quantity in the set of images after these.

Year: 1810; Census Place: Bracken, Kentucky; Roll: 5; Page: 286; Lines 11-34; Image: 00158; Family History Library Film: 0181350 (28).

Here is the count of the members of each household.

Year: 1810; Census Place: Bracken, Kentucky; Roll: 5; Page: 286; Lines 13, 16, 19, 23, and 33; Image: 00158; Family History Library Film: 0181350 (28). Copyright Notice: You do not have permission to download or copy this image without obtaining it from me. Thank you.

I thought that was kinda cool. It doesn’t mean they are related to me, but it says something about the families and their relationships to each other, like a piece of circumstantial evidence that the Richard KING who married Sebina “Sibby” BALLENGER may have the one who also married Mary DAYLY, even though there is no Richard KING as head of household in Bracken County in 1810. “Collaterals.”

In the 1810 Census, in Harrison County, Kentucky (a county on the boundary with Bracken) is a Richard KING (29). Surrounding him are LEMONS and KING households. Who are these people – these LEMONS…? I don’t know, but I have three Family Tree DNA Family Finder matches with ancestral surnames of either LEMON or LEMONS; my brother has one; and, our first cousin has two, one who is in common with me. That match also has KING in her list of surnames. Very cool. It’s fun to find a new surname. Opens up the mind. And a can of worms.

Anyway, back to the 1810 Harrison County, Kentucky, U.S. Population Schedule. Lines 12–17 of Roll 6, Page 316 give us our KINGs and LEMONSes. That Barbra COURTNEY is probably related, too.

Year: 1810; Census Place: Harrison, Kentucky; Roll: 6; Page: 316; Lines 12-17; Image: 00337; Family History Library Film: 0181351 (29).

Year: 1810; Census Place: Harrison, Kentucky; Roll: 6; Page: 316; Lines 12-17; Image: 00337; Family History Library Film: 0181351 (29). Copyright Notice: You do not have permission to download or copy this image without obtaining it from me. Thank you.

The Richard KING who lived in Harrison County, Kentucky, had the following white household members (FWM = Free White Males; FWF = Free White Females):

FWM 26-44: 1  [b. c. 1766–1784]
FWM 10-15: 2  [b. c. 1795–1800]
FWM Under 10: 2  [b. c. 1801–1810]
FWF 26-44: 1  [b. c. 1766–1784]
FWF 10-15: 1 [b. c. 1795–1800]

If this is the Richard KING who married Mary DAYLY and/or Sebina “Sibby” BALLENGER, then just by the date of the census, we can probably presume that the female aged 26-44 is not Sibby, as she was not married to Richard KING until 1818.

However, if the female were Mary (DAYLY) KING, then the marriage occurred in 1798. The ages of all the children would fit within that time frame, as well as would the ages of the two adults. Mary (DAYLY) KING would have had to die before 1818 if the same Richard KING married Sibby (BALLENGER) STOUT that year. (Assuming Richard isn’t like some of my known ancestors.)

I have reason to believe that this is not the Richard KING I am looking for, though, which I’ll talk about a little later.

In the 1810 Kentucky census, there are no Richard KINGs in Bracken, Pendleton, or Nicholas Counties.

Moving on to the 1820 Census. Centering the focus on Richard KINGs, there is one in Bracken County (30) and two in Harrison County (31,32). There are no Richard KINGs in Pendleton or Nicholas Counties.

Copyright Notice: You do not have permission to download or copy this image without obtaining it from me. Thank you.

I would lay money that the Richard King in Marysville, Harrison County, Kentucky, with 9 slaves (top row) was the same one we saw above in Harrison County in 1810 with 8 slaves. The other two 1820 Richards had no slaves. Additionally, the Richard on Licking River is too young to be the same one from 1810. The one in Bracken is a possibility, but I find it hard to believe that between 1810 and 1820, a man would free all of his slaves without leaving the area in which he lived. I think the Richard in Bracken County could be a new Richard to this area.

Quite a few Kentucky Probate and Will records are on-line at Family Search. I found a will and settlement for a Richard KING, who I believe is Richard the Rich Slaveholder from Harrison County in 1810 and 1820 (33). He had daughters who married LEMONSes (among others) and a son Richard KING. He died between 25 October 1826 when he made his will and February 1827 when it was proved. On Find A Grave, a memorial for probably this same Richard exists, with the death date of 6 February 1827, and parents as Joshua S. KING and Martha (FRISTOE) KING (34). In his will, he names his wife as Sally, and on Find A Grave, she is listed as Sarah (KENNEDY) KING.

The rich slaveholder Richard KING was in the Revolutionary War. There are currently 25 associated applications and supplementals for him (35). At this time, I am not going to purchase any of them, although they can be well worth the $10 and are immediately available for download once the fee is paid. Some of the DAR records have his wife Sarah’s maiden name as CANADA (variation in spelling of KENNEDY).

By 1830, then, we can assume that our rich slaveholder Richard KING of Harrison County, Kentucky, has died, and left his property and slaves to his descendants.

In 1830, there is one Richard KING in each Harrison (36), Bracken (37), and Nicholas (38) Counties, and none in Pendleton county. If one of these is Richard the Rich Slaveholder’s son, then I would think it would be the one in Harrison County (top), who has one male slave aged 10–23. Richard left his son Richard “one negro boy named Willis” (39). We can call him “Richard, Son of Richard the Rich Slaveholder.” I am not going to study the rest of Richard the Rich Slaveholder’s children from his will and the censuses at this time. I need to continue on the trail of Richard KING from Bracken County right now.

Copyright Notice: You do not have permission to download or copy this image without obtaining it from me. Thank you.

Copyright Notice: You do not have permission to download or copy this image without obtaining it from me. Thank you.

By 1840, we have one Richard KING in Harrison county, Kentucky, with 8 slaves (40). Without a thorough study, I’m going to very cautiously presume that this is also Richard, Son of Richard the Rich Slaveholder.

We are short a Richard. In 1820 and 1830, we had a Richard KING in Bracken County, Kentucky. In 1840, there isn’t one. It is a Richard KING in Bracken County that we are pretty interested in.

Since we don’t know when Sibby or Sibby and Richard left Kentucky, and it would be next to impossible for us to determine that using the “ornery censuses” alone, we need land, will, probate, and vital records to tell us something.

In the 1850 Shelby County, Indiana, Census, there is a Sibe KING in living with Jonah M. ROGERS and Mary J. ROGERS, 2 ROGERS children, and a younger 15 year old Charles G. KING. Libe KING is listed as age 60, and born in Virginia. Jonah and Mary are listed as born in Kentucky. Charles G. KING was also born in Kentucky. The ROGERS children were born in Indiana (41).

A Jonah M. RODGERS and a Mary Ann or Mary Jane KING married in 1844 in Decatur County, Indiana (42). It is likely that if the Sibe KING in the 1850 Census household of Jonah M. ROGERS is Sibby (BALLENGER) KING, then Richard KING is dead by 1850 since Libby is not with him.

We have that Boone County, Indiana, 1906 marriage record abstract for a Francis M. KING, with parents Richard KING and Libby BALLENGER (43). This does not mean that either Richard or Sibby lived in Indiana, but we are logical enough to know that.

Indiana’s will and probate records are not so available. I’ll most likely have to make a trip down to some of the southern counties to actually look at the books in the Clerks’ offices. What I’m looking for are answers to the following:

a) Where were Richard and Sibby in 1840?
b) When and where did Richard die?
c) When and where did Sibby die?
d) Are these my people?
e) What children of Sibby do we know or can we presume? I have the beginnings of the answer to this one.

• Mary Ann/Jane KING, b. c. 1822, Kentucky; m. 16 October 1844, Decatur County, Indiana, Jonah M. RODGERS. Presumed from 1850 census and marriage maiden name (44,45).
• Francis M. KING, b. 22 August 1829, Kentucky; m1. c. 1855, Nancy M.; m2. 16 April 1906, Boone County, Indiana, Sarah A. (BAKER) ARBOGAST. Documented on Marriage Record with Sarah A. ARBOGAST (46).
• Charles G. KING, b. c. 1835, Kentucky. Presumed only from 1850 census (47).

So there’s more to do. I still do not have the answer to the question posed in the title of this post. I have a few promising DNA matches. And I am hoping that this week’s KING posts contain some other KING families that may provide leads. I know more now than I did when I started writing this post, but I do not know the answer. Yet.

The Find A Grave Memorial Page for Richard W. KING that I mentioned earlier links his parents as Joshua S. KING and Martha (FRISTOE) KING (34). I thought, “Fristoe is not a common name. Let me check my Family Tree DNA Family Finder matches to see if any of them list Fristoe as an ancestral surname.” Oh, thank you, thank you for that ONE match (identified as “RLM,” below) who actually listed her ancestral surnames! Genetically or genealogically, this surname could mean nothing or something, but let’s go with something for a minute.

I did an ICW (In Common With, or Triangulation) between that match, RLM, and the rest of my list. I got eleven people. I like to go straight to the Matrix matcher. I have an “Add to Matrix” from the Matches list on my wish list. Anyway, going straight to the Matrix matcher, which limits me to 10, so I had to juggle a little, I ended up with the following group of people who match with me, RLM, and each other.

We’ll call this the “Possible FRISTOE Group.”

Possible FRISTOE Group, Matrix, Family Tree DNA, Elizabeth Ballard

And the Chromosome Browser.

Family Tree DNA Family Finder Chromosome Browser Matrix Matched ICW RLM – possible FRISTOE line?

We have something going on with Chromosomes 6 and 11. Incidentally, my brother was in this group, but I saw no need in adding him, since there are so few places to put people.

Well, I said I wasn’t going to open this can of lemonworms, but I changed my mind. Here are my LEMONS matches. Two of them actually have the surname of LEMONS. And you’ll never guess what chromosome. Chromosome 6. Only their matches are on different segments. I decided to go faster this time by using DNAgedcom. If you have not used DNAgedcom.com, I highly recommend it. It’s like having ICW, Matrix, and Chromosome browser all in one. It allows you to access your Family Tree DNA Family Finder data directly to do this.

I used the option of excluding formatting so that when it returns in the browser after its calculations, I have something that I can copy and paste into a spreadsheet and manipulate.

I ended up with what could be three surnames in common amongst these 12 individuals. The surnames are LEMONS, FRISTOE, and DAVIS. FRISTOE and LEMONS are not currently in my family tree. DAVIS is a possible surname on a totally different line. I have already discussed the significance of LEMONS and FRISTOE. The surname DAVIS is one that is in common with several of the matches using the ancestral surnames list. These matches overlap.

Family Finder matches with Elizabeth Wilson Ballard on Family Tree DNA accessed using DNAgedcom and pasted into a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. Copyright Notice: You do not have permission to download or copy this image without obtaining it from me. Thank you.

I filtered, colorized, and made the names anonymous (Identifier column). I added a “Surnames in Common Amongst Themselves” column. There are two people who match me who actually have the surname of LEMONS. When I was analyzing the matches, I saw a pattern with another small group of individuals. Their common surname is DAVIS. I do not know the significance of these as they apply to me or my tree, but it is part of the research process and a good example of how I’m beginning to use DNA in my research.

For further DNA study, I will continue with other common chromosomes. I also need to do the KINGs and the WILSONs from my match list. The only BALLENGER I have at this time (well, of those who entered their freakin’ surnames!) is one who I believe I am related to on the COON line from Hancock and Henry Counties, Indiana, and not a BALLENGER line. I don’t have any DAYLY (and variation) matches. I do have a small number of KENNEDY ancestral surname matches.

I need to check all of these with my brother, my first cousin (thank you, C, and I miss you!), and my first cousin who should be sending in his test in the next few days (M, nag him, and I miss you!).

I need to do this with my matches on GEDmatch.

Forget about 23andMe and AncestryDNA. I can barely do anything there. I will try some surname searches, but that’s about as far as I’ll be able to get unless I can poke, prod, plea, and beg them to successfully upload their data to GEDmatch or Family Tree DNA, or both.

DNA tools work. Anyone who says differently is selling something.

Another thing that is exciting is that I will have a WILSON cousin’s data uploaded to FTDNA and GEDmatch soon. He is NOT descended from Amanda M. KING. He is descended from Henry Bascom WILSON’s parents Robert and Nancy (SCOTT) WILSON.

I don’t know what to do about Sibby BALLENGER. In the early part of this post, I said that I don’t even know that my Amanda M. KING is the daughter of a Richard KING, let alone who her mother was.

Just seeing the surnames FRISTOE and LEMONS leads me to think that I am descended from the parents of Richard the Rich Slaveholder. Richard the Rich Slaveholder himself had a daughter who married a LEMONS. His mother may have had the maiden name of FRISTOE. The other of his daughters married names that I need to study are TURNER and BLACKBURN.

Now, just one more thing. I have never looked at the will of a slaveholder. I have studied Richard the Rich’s now and abstracted the names and relationships (excluding the land grantors which he uses to help identify his tracts of land) (33). I also don’t show which of his heirs were already in possession of the slaves he had willed to them.

Here are his heirs as he named them in his will, and their slave inheritances.

• beloved wife Sally King
  -negro Nancy, Jone, Vilet, Tom, and Robert
  -dispose of boy Robert as she may see proper at her death
• son Daniel King
  -negro boy named Henry
• son Richard King
  -negro boy named Willis
• daughter Elizabeth, wife of Ezekial Turner
  -negro girl named Mary
• son Bartlett King, unsound in body and mind, wife and son Paul King guardians
• son Silas King, unsound in mind, wife and son Paul King guardians
  -negro boy Tom at death of wife
• son Paul King
  -one negro boy named Alva
• daughter Rachel, wife of Rankin Blackburn
  -one negro girl named Rebecca
• William Lemon [possible son-in-law? as he includes Lemon grandchildren in will]
• granddaughter Rachel Lemon
• granddaughter Lucinda Lemon
• granddaughter Elizabeth Lemon
• granddaughter Sally Lemon, who I have raised
  -one negro girl named Lucy [to Sally]
• “I wish it distinctly understood that it is my will that my black woman Jone shall be free at the death of my wife“ [Emphasis mine]

There is almost no doubt in my mind that “my black woman Jone” was the mistress of Richard. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of these slaves were his children. I don’t know if I am descended from him, but if I am descended from his parents, then his children could show up as DNA matches to me.

The Inventory and Appraisment of his Estate lists the following persons (33):

1. One black woman named Jone
2. One Man named Jack
3. One woman named Nancy & Child named Jan
4. One woman named Vilet and Child named Lucy
5. One Man named Alva
6. One Man named Thomas
7. One Woman named Mary
8. One Boy named Robert

See source (33).

It is unfortunate that a will does not give who the mother of each child was. Wouldn’t that be nice?

I am not ready to drop this subject yet. I’m on a roll with this research, and if I let it go, I may not pick it back up for a while. I may have to skip next week’s topic of “Tough Woman,” or actually, this could even lead into it. We’ll see if I can cheat.

I guess I don’t know who my KING is. And his Queen? She’s a killer.

 

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Sources

1) Wikipedia. Daniel Boone was an early explorer and settler of Kentucky. He created the “Wilderness Road” through the Cumberland Gap. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Boone : accessed 10 January 2015).

2) United Methodist Church. “The Slavery Question and Civil War (1844–1865)” (http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/the-slavery-question-and-civil-war : accessed 11 January 2015).

3) Ancestry. Delaware Marriage Records, 1744-1912 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Original data: Public Archives Commission, Delaware Public Archives. Marriage Records, 1744-1912. Dover, Delaware: Delaware Public Archives. Record Group # RG 1325; Subgroup # 003; Series # 004.

4) [Anonymous], “Information Concerning Robert Wilson and Nancy Wilson, His Wife”, photocopy of typed manuscript, Written before 1966. Possession of the author.

5) [Anonymous], Wilson Family Records; possession of the author.

6) [Anonymous], Wilson Family Records; possession of the author. Family tradition is that they went on horseback. The Henry B. Wilson family reunion started while he was still living. This story would have come straight from the horse’s mouth (so to speak).

7) FamilySearch. “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994,” index and images. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZDZ-YWL : accessed 10 February 2014), Henry B. Wilson and Amanda M. King, 17 February 1843; citing Butler, Ohio, United States, reference v 2 p 144; FHL microfilm 355779.

8) City of Greenfield Indiana. “Henry B. Wilson Park.” (http://www.greenfieldin.org/parks/facilities/356-henry-b-wilson-park : accessed 09 January 2015).

9) See 7.

10) Amanda M. Wilson tombstone, Park Cemetery, Greenfield, Hancock county, Indiana; transcribed and photographed by the author, circa 2012.

11) An Ancestry.com search of the exact first name “Amanda Melvina” with surname King  will pull up 10 historical records (excluding the one from this post).

12) An Ancestry.com search of the exact first name “Amanda Melvina” and no surname pulls up 4,911 records from many categories.

13) VandenBerg, Elizabeth. “Sybil Ballinger,b.c.1800,m.Richard King” query, GenForum; posted 27 February 1999 by Elizabeth VandenBerg (this author), (http://genforum.genealogy.com/ballinger/messages/278.html : accessed 11 January 2015).

14) Family Search. “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” index and images. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5ZC-33M : accessed 24 Feb 2014), Richard King and Sebina Stout, 1818.

15) Family Search. “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” index and images. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5ZZ-J47 : accessed 24 Feb 2014), Elisha Stout and Libby Ballenger, 1813.

16) Family Search. “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” index and images. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5ZH-5KZ : accessed 24 Feb 2014), Elisha Stout and Libby Ballinger, 1813.

17) Family Search. “Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959,” index and images. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XXP7-R25 : accessed 9 January 2015), Libby Ballenger in entry for Francis M. King and Sarah A. Arbogast; county clerk offices, Indiana; Image Number 00575, FHL microfilm 1,320,121.

18) Family Search. “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” index and images. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5Z8-62V : accessed 26 Mar 2013), Richard King and Mary Dayly, 1798.

19) Ancestry.com User “cking021” correspondence, 22-25 January 2014 regarding Richard King and Mary Dayley.

20) Durman, George W. “History of County Formations in Kentucky 1776-1939,” Web Page, (http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~george/countyformations/kentuckyformationmaps.html : accessed 09 January 2015).

21) Henry B. Wilson tombstone, Park Cemetery, Greenfield, Hancock county, Indiana; transcribed and photographed by the author, circa 2012. Full birth and death dates on stone. Birth location from family records.

22) See 10. Full birth and death dates on stone. Birth location from family records.

23) Wikipedia. During the Second Great Awakening of the religious movement, Cane Ridge, Kentucky, in Bourbon County was home to a series of Camp Meetings. Individuals seeking religious companionship, worship, and strength traveled many miles to get to these meetings. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Great_Awakening : accessed 10 January 2015), (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_Ridge,_Kentucky: accessed 10 January 2015).

24) Family Search. “Florida, Deaths, 1877-1939,” index. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FP9D-3TB : accessed 14 January 2015), Lorricy Osbon, 19 Feb 1916; citing Auburndale, Polk, Florida, reference cn 6089; FHL microfilm 2,116,817.

25) See 20.

26) See 20.

27) Family Search. “Kentucky Censuses, Existing and Lost.” (https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Kentucky_Censuses_Existing_and_Lost : accessed 11 January 2015).

28) Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA Year: 1810; Census Place: Bracken, Kentucky; Roll: 5; Page: 286; Lines 11-34; Image: 00158; Family History Library Film: 0181350. Original data: Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

29) Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA. Year: 1810; Census Place: Harrison, Kentucky; Roll: 6; Page: 316; Lines 12-17; Image: 00337; Family History Library Film: 0181351. Original data: Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

30) Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA. Year: 1820; Census Place: Bracken, Kentucky; Page: 11; NARA Roll: M33_19; Image: 20; Line: 30. Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

31) Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA. Year: 1820; Census Place: Marysville, Harrison, Kentucky; Page: 198; NARA Roll: M33_23; Image: 118; Line: 2. Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

32) Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA.Year: 1820 U S Census; Census Place: South Side of Licking River, Harrison, Kentucky; Page: 140; NARA Roll: M33_23; Image: 85; Line: 2. Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

33) Family Search. “Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990,” index and images. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-20791-18535-78?cc=1875188&wc=M6QC-623:173387201,173539001 : accessed 14 January 2015), Harrison > Will records, 1815-1832, Vol. B > image 175 and 176 of 313; county courthouses, Kentucky.

34) Find A Grave. Richard W. King Memorial. (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=95763452 : accessed 13 January 2015).

35) DAR Ancestor Search. Ancestor number A064749 (King, Richard) (http://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_adb/?action=full&p_id=A064749 : accessed 13 January 2015).

36) Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA. Year: 1830; Census Place: Western Division, Harrison, Kentucky; Series: M19; Roll: 37; Page: 129; Family History Library Film: 0007816. Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

37) Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA. Year: 1830; Census Place: Bracken, Kentucky; Series: M19; Roll: 34; Page: 39; Family History Library Film: 0007813. Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

38) Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA. Year: 1830; Census Place: Nicholas, Kentucky; Series: M19; Roll: 40; Page: 201; Family History Library Film: 0007819. Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

39) See 33.

40) Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA. Year: 1840; Census Place: Harrison, Kentucky; Roll: 113; Page: 124; Image: 254; Family History Library Film: 0007827. Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

41) Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA. Year: 1850; Census Place: Hendricks, Shelby, Indiana; Roll: M432_172; Page: 222B; Image: 18. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

42) Family Search. “Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959,” index and images. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XXFL-6ZX : accessed 12 January 2015), Jonah M Rodgers and Mary Ann King, 16 Oct 1844; citing Decatur, county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,516,616.

43) See 17.

44) See 42.

45) See 41.

46) See 17.

47) See 41.

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Future Research

The offspring of Amanda M. (KING) WILSON. Finding her middle name and birth location.

Nancy WILSON
m. 12 March 1868, Hancock County, Indiana to David LOY (Book: C- 5; Page: 209)
b. 12 February 1844 in Decatur County, Indiana, USA
d. 21 February 1926 (Probably in Madison County, Indiana, but check Hancock just in case, too late for WPA index)

Lavicy WILSON
m. c. 1868, Indiana to Jasper N. OSBON (not appearing in indexes; check Hancock County manually)
b. 01 April 1845 in Greensburg, Decatur County, Indiana, USA
d. 19 February 1916 in Auburndale, Polk County, Florida, USA (have)

James William “Jim” WILSON
m. 27 October 1870, Hancock County, Indiana to Martha Willis “Mat” JOHNSON (Book: C- 5; Page: 416)
b. 18 October 1846 in Decatur County, Indiana, USA
d. 25 October 1891 in Greenfield, Hancock County, Indiana, USA (Book RH-1; Page 10)

Isaac Andrew WILSON
m. 01 November 1875, Indiana to Barbara Ellen HAAS (not found in index, but try Hancock first; Madison County is a possibility, since the HAASes lived there)
b. 10 April 1848 in Decatur County, Indiana, USA
d. 29 March 1931 in Marion County, Indiana, USA (too late for WPA index)

Rachel Lucinda WILSON
m. 19 January 1870, Hancock County, Indiana to David H. BAITY (Book: C- 5; Page: 351)
b. 27 November 1849 in Indiana, USA
d. 15 January 1936 (too late for WPA index)

Sarah Ann WILSON
m. 02 October 1872, Hancock County, Indiana, to Jasper H. MOULDEN (Book: C- 6; Page: 139)
b. 13 October 1851 in Green Township, Hancock County, Indiana, USA
d. 24 October 1933 in Indiana, USA (too late for WPA index)

Mary Emily WILSON
m. 02 October 1872, Hancock County, Indiana, to George H. OWENS (Book: C- 6; Page: 139)
b. 13 January 1853 in Hancock County, Indiana, USA
d. 02 April 1934 in Indiana, USA (too late for WPA index)

Martha Eleanor WILSON
m. 02 October 1872, Hancock County, Indiana, to William Henry Harrison DUNN (Book: C- 6; Page: 140)
b. 19 March 1854 in Near Eden, Hancock county, Indiana
d. 07 June 1913 in Sugar Creek Township, Hancock County, Indiana, USA (Book H-2;  Page 75)

Infant WILSON
b. 18 March 1856 in Hancock County, Indiana, USA
d. 23 July 1856 in Hancock County, Indiana, USA (too early for WPA index)

Lucian Berry WILSON
b. 12 September 1857 in Hancock County, Indiana, USA
d. 06 November 1866 (too early for WPA index)

Celecia Olive WILSON
m. 19 November 1884, Hancock County, Indiana, to William Savannah TUTOROW (Book: C- 7; Page: 563)
b. 06 December 1859 in Indiana, USA
d. 09 December 1903 in Greenfield, Hancock County, Indiana, USA (book RH-9 on page 12)

Matilda Irene “Irene” WILSON
m. 05 September 1883, Hancock County, Indiana, to Elmer Ellsworth STONER (Book: C -7; Page: 471)
b. 19 June 1862 in Hancock County, Indiana, USA
d. 18 August 1922 in Hancock County, Indiana, USA (too late for WPA index)

Elmer Grant WILSON
m. 09 May 1886, Hancock County, Indiana, to Clara J. JOHNSON (Book: C- 7; Page: 693)
b. 06 July 1865 in Green Township, Hancock County, Indiana, USA
d. 08 August 1895 in Green Township, Hancock County, Indiana, USA (book RH-5 on page 122 )

Joseph Eddy WILSON
m1. 18 (or 10) September 1887, Willow Branch, Hancock County, Indiana, to Ida May TREES (Book: C- 8; Page: 5)
m2. 07 December 1899, Marion County, Indiana, to Louella M. “Ella” RUSSELL (Book: 6; Page: 267)
m3. 18 January 1905, Marion County, Indiana, to Hettie L. WILLIAMS (Book: 37; Page: 351)
b. 06 January 1867 in Hancock County, Indiana, USA
d. 04 December 1941 in Hancock County, Indiana, USA (too late for WPA index)

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How to cite this article using Elizabeth Shown Mills’ Evidence Explained formatting (replace the date in the citation with the date you viewed the page):

Elizabeth Wilson Ballard, “Richard of Kentucky, are you my KING? Richard, Oh, Richard, who is your Queen? – 52 Ancestors (Possible Ancestor 50)”, Diggin’ Up Graves (https://digginupgraves.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/richard-of-kentucky-are-you-my-king-richard-oh-richard-who-is-your-queen-52-ancestors/ : accessed 20 January 2023).

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