King, Jesse & Sofia James

The Kings of St. Helena Parish, St. Helena Parish, La.
File submitted by Lawrence King

"The Story of Jesse and Sofia James King and their Descendants" by Lawrence S. and Harold H. King, 1974

FOREWARD

Anyone who reads these pages and finds their name there, or that their name should be there, may be righfully proud. For you have sprung from the kind of stock that has made this nation great. Your ancestors were adventurous pioneers that came out of the very heart of colonial America into an untamed wilderness. They brought with them a strong back, a stout heart, and a faith in the Almighty.

As the facts that made this story unfold, and a mystery became less a mystery, we, the authors, experienced a feeling of awe and an awareness of their noble spirit.

Extreme care has been taken to present the facts herein as accurately as possible. Still there will be errors in dates, names, and places. And there will be some omissions. If you have correct information or any additional facts that will make this story more complete and correct, you are urged to send it to us.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the following people who gave of their time and cooperation in helping to tell this story:

Mr. Carl L. Johnson, Clerk of Court, St. Helena Parish, La. Mrs. Lovie Stokes, Pine Grove, La. Mrs. Charlie King, and daughter, Darby, Albany, La. Mrs. Dan Hoyt, Springfield, La. Mrs. Maggie Johnson Ratcliff, Hammond, La. Mrs. Clara Floyd Hudson, Sulphur, La. Mr. Charles Wesley Hoyt, Hillsdale, La. Mrs. Gladys King Haynes, Wilson, La. Mrs. Eugenia King Rawles, Baton Rouge, La. Mrs. Julia King Lea, Watson, La. Mrs. Nettie King Westmoreland, Pine Grove, La. Mr. Donald Johnson, Zachary, La. Mr. Dewitt Nesom, Pine Grove, La. Mrs. Annie Hoyt Hano, Holden, La. Mr. John Wesley Ballard, Holden, La.

SOURCES

Public Records, St. Helena Courthouse, Greensburg, La. National Archives, GSA, Washington, DC United States Census Records Conerly's HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI HISTORY OF AMITE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI Public Records, Tangipahoa Parish Courthouse, Amite, La. Jones' HISTORY OF METHODISM IN THE MISSISSIPPI CONFERENCE Family Bible of James Harvey King Family Bible of James Nick King "New Orleans Christian Advocate" issues of May 5, 1881, and August 17, 1889, Methodist Archives, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS Department of Archives and Records, Atlanta, GA

CEMETERIES

Amite Cemetery, Amite, La. Pine Grove Methodist Cemetery, Pine Grove, La. Natalbany Cemetery, Natalbany, La. James Chapel Cemetery, Holden, La. Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, La. Salem Cemetery, Oldfield, La. Mt. Zion Cemetery, Galvez, La. Grays Creek (Felder) Cemetery, Port Vincent, La. Live Oak Methodist Cemetery, Watson, La. Pitkin Cemetery, Greensburg, La. Cleveland Cemetery, Cleveland, Ms.

THE STORY OF JESSE KING AND HIS WIFE, SOFIA JAMES KING, AND THEIR DESCENDANTS

Jesse King was born in New Jersey around 1778. It has not been determined at this writing whom his parents were, nor how he came to be in Adams County, Mississippi Territory, when he married Sofia James in Natchez in the year 1801. There were Kings among the Jersey Settlers on the Mandamus Grant at Kingston near Natchez in the late 1700's, but none of the genealogy records of those families claim any connection to a Jesse.

The U.S. Census reports of 1840, 1850, and 1860 that record his children, list the birthplace of their father, Jesse, as New Jersey.

Sofia James, the wife of Jesse King, was born in Pennsylvania. She came to Natchez in 1800 with her parents, a brother, and two sisters. Her father was Bartholomew James (Jacoby), and her mother was Katherine Meyers, both of Pennsylvania. A month after arriving in Natchez, Sofia married John McGinty (or MccKinsay), the owner of the flatboat on which they descended the Mississippi River. One month after the marriage, John McGinty died. On January 18, 1801, Sofia married Jesse King. These marriage records are on file and can be seen in the Adams County courthouse, in Natchez, Ms.

Around 1810 Jesse and Sofia moved to Pike County, Ms., near Holmesville on the Bogue Chitto river. There they lived and reared their family. Jesse King was evidently an educated man. He served as a Notary Public and a Justice of the Peace for a number of years. The legal documents of record composed by him indicate a good control of the English language, and that he was versed in legal terminology. Sofia was probably illiterate, as she was unable to sign her name, but used a witnessed "X" on legal documents.

Jesse King was active in the civic affairs of Pike County. Records show a number of petitions to the federal government signed by him, along with other citizens.

Sofia James King's father and mother, the James (Jacoby) also moved to Pike County around 1810. Their son, Peter, was a young man at that time, and helped them operate a farm on the Bogue Chitto river for a few years. Batholomew James later moved to Copiah and Yazoo Counties. He died in Yazoo County in 1835.

Young Peter James became an ordained minister in the Methodist church in Mississippi, and became rather prominent in Church circles. One of his earliest assignments was to the Attakapas Circuit in the area of Opelousas, Louisiana Territory. There he met and married Charlotte Siddon of Opelousas in 1816. His story can be found in Jones' History of Methodism in the Mississippi Conference, and tells how he, his sisters, Sofia and Christiana, and their parents happened to come to Natchez. Peter James died in Yazoo County on March 16, 1869, and was buried in the family cemetery on his estate near Cypress Creek, a few miles west of Pickens, Ms. His final years were spent with much suffering caused by a fall from a horse.

His son, Peter, Jr., was a successful planter, and a layman in the Methodist Church.

In the year 1836, Jesse and Sofia and their children mvoed to St. Helena Parish, La. It is not known just where they settled in St. Helena Parish, but was likely near the present boundary of Tangipahoa Parish. In 1837 Jesse King purchased some government land in St. Helena Parish. This property, according to the records, was just west of Amite, La., but in St. Helena Parish, and lay on both sides of present State Route 16. Part of the property was drained by Coon Branch.

Jesse immediately sold the property to his two sons, jointly, James Harvey and Washington. Jesse died soon after this, as he was not listed in the U.S. Census of 1840; however Sofia was listed as a head of household with three other females living in her household, ages under twenty. Sofia was near 60 years of age at this time, and most likely died before 1850, as she was not found in the census of 1850.

Five children have been positively identified as issue of Jesse and Sofia King. They were John C., Washington, James Harvey, Catherine and Ketura. There was possibly a sixth named Elizabeth, but this was never confirmed.

JOHN C. KING was one of the older children. He was born in Mississippi, and the U.S. Census of 1840 for St. Helena Parish showed him between the ages of 30 and 40. He was married to Angeline Dean of Laurens County, Georgia. They had three children, Caroline, John Thomas, and William Wesley, born about 1837, 1840, and 1843, respectively. Angeline King died in 1843, leaving her husband and the three children, William Wesley being an infant.

The records in the courthouse in Greensburg, St. Helena Parish, show a Power-of-Attorney given to John C. King by Evaline Dean King, on February 10, 1844, to go to Laurens and Pulaski counties, Georgia, to claim her inheritance from the estate of her deceased father and mother, William Ennels Dean, and Suzanna Albritton Dean. Evaline was the wife of James Harvey King, and the twin sister of Angeline, the deceased wife of John C. Perhaps John C. was also going to Georgia on behalf of his minor children who were also heirs to the estate.

According to family legend of the descendants of John C. King, he actually did go to Georgia, but was never seen again by his family. Records in Laurens County show he was married again on August 29, 1844, to a Miss Ann Powell.

According to family legend, a letter was received from him, posted in Coffee County, Alabama, stating he was on his way home, but never arrived, and was never heard from again.

Caroline was the first married to Thomas Baker, and then to Thomas Wall. She and Wall had one daughter, Addie, who is buried in Amite, Louisiana, having died on December 16, 1901, just before she was to be married.

John Thomas was married to Julie Causey of Liberty, Mississippi. He was born September 22, 1840, and died July 16, 1912, at his home in Lake, Louisiana. He was buried in the Mt. Zion cemetery at Galvez, Louisiana. His wife, Julia, died in 1907, and was buried in the Felder cemetery, at Gray's Creek Baptist Church, near Port Vincent, Louisiana. Two of her children had been buried there while the family was living on the Livingston Parish side of the Amite river. At the time of the death of John Thomas, there was an antrax quarantine, and the body could not be conveyed across the river, wagons being the only means of transportation available at that time.

Susan, one of their children, died from hitting her head on a horse mounting block. Another child, Elizabeth, died from drinking lye water.

John Thomas King served in the Confederate army during the Civil War.

William Wesley was the third child of John C. and Angeline Dean King. He and his brother and sister were reared by their aunt Catherine Carnes. The census records of 1850 showed all three children in the household of Johnson and Catherine Carnes in St. Helena parish. Little information has been found about William Wesley King. He married Elizabeth Sharp and they reared their family in lower Livingston parish.

WASHINGTON KING was a son of Jesse & Sofia James King. He was born in Mississippi. Not much is known about Wash, except he was known of by the older informants with whom we talked. According to Mr. William Hoyt, Wash was the father of William Thomas King of Albany, Louisiana. William Hoyt was the son of Olivia Ballard, and the grandson of Ketura King Ballard, Wash's sister. The census of 1860 showed Wash as married to a Mary ? of Ireland. The earliest records found of Washington King were in the Greensburg courthouse as a joint purchaser of land with his brother, James H., from their father, Jessee, in 1837.

We found no issue of record for Washington King.

KETURA KING BALLARD was a daughter of Jesse and Sofia King. Was was born in Pike County, Mississippi, on October 1, 1814; and married John Ballard in Amite City, Louisiana, on March 3, 1836. They lived in Livingston Parish near Springfield. Many of their descendants still live in that vicinity -- Hoyts, Ballards, Kings. Ketura King was a saintly woman, and a loving wife and mother. She was a faithful member of the Methodist Church, having been received into the church at the age of 14. At the age of 66, she was severely injured by a falling chimney. Her husband, John, was nearby and dug her out of the rubble; but her injuries were too severe, and she died shortly thereafter.

The children of Ketura and John Ballard were as follows: Ketura (Kit), Olivia, Lenora, Serena Ann, John, Cason, and McCuloc. Ketura and Olivia both married Hoyts. Lenora married John Stokes of Pine Grove, Louisiana; and Serena Ann married Thomas William King of Albany, Louisiana. Ketura Ballard Hoyt's daughter, Emma, married Pearl Coffman of Pine Grove. Their children were Bessie (married Morgan Tiner), Judson and Kirk. Lenora Ballard Stokes's son was Ben Stokes. Ben was postmaster and ran a general mercantile store in Pine Grove.

CATHERINE KING CARNES was a daughter of Jesse and Sofia King. She was born in Mississippi, and married Johnson Carnes (known as "Bill"). They lived at Amite, Louisiana. No record was found of any children from this union, but they reared the three children of John C. and Angleine Dean King. Uncle "Bill" spoke German according to Mrs. Clara Hudson, granddaughter of John Thomas King. Carnes was born in North Carolina. The census records of 1870 for Livingston Parish showed Johnson Carnes, age 72, in the household of William Wesley King.

JAMES HARVEY KING was probably the youngest son of Jesse and Sofia King. He, too, was born in Pike County, Mississippi, on April 2, 1819, and died June 22, 1899, at Pine Grove, Louisiana. He is buried in the Pine Grove Methodist Cemetery, although there is no grave marker. James Harvey, better known as Jim, married Evaline Dean of Laurens County, Georgia, in 1839. They had nine children, two dying in infancy. Evaline died in 1875 at Pine Grove, and is also buried in the same cemetery. After her death, James married Mary Tabor on October 12, 1877, and they had one son, Beverly Tabor King.

James joined the Methodist church at the age of 20, and remained a "constant devoted member of the same, a model man attending upon the divine worship. For many years he was an exhorter, and class leader, and was instrumental in leading many sinners to Christ." This quotation is from his obituary as it appeared in the New Orleans Christian Advocate August 17, 1899. The obituary was written by Rev. F.N. Sweeney.

In 1854, James moved to Pine Grove, Louisiana, where he lived the remainder of his life. After his second marriage, however, he lived for a short time on the Tabor homestead just north of Alligator Pond, which is now the home of Dewitt Nesom.

In 1866 he purchased 515 acres of land at Pine Grove for $1,200. Much of this property is still owned and resided on by his descendants today.

The records at Greensburg courthouse show the purchase of four lots of land by James H. and Washington King, his brother, from their father, Jesse, in 1838. These lots had been acquired by Jesse King from the federal government in 1837. Records from the National Archives in Washington, D.C., bear out these transactions, and copies of same are made a part of this publication. This sale was cancelled by order of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States due to errors in the survey. The King brothers petitioned for recovery of the purchase price. The refund was made in 1848, according to the records.

The children of James Harvey and Evaline Dean King were Jessie E. (a daughter that died at the age of five), Eliza Jane, Angeline Sofia, Josephine, Mary Frances, James Nick, Thomas Darrell, William J., and Elbert Peter. James Harvey was the great-grandfather of the authors.

ELIZABETH KING was possibly a daughter of Jesse and Sofia King. The only information found on her was in the census record of 1850 which showed an Elizabeth King, age 22, living in the household of Johnson and Catherine Carnes. The 1840 Census showed a young girl, age 10-15, in the household of Sofia King, Jesse having died before that census. Other undocumented information suggests there was a child named Elizabeth, but no confirming information was found.

Thus far we have sketched the personal history of the first and second generations of Jesse and Sofia King. Although there isn't much detail, we were pleased to find this much documented material. This is especially true in view of the fact that most of these folks passed from this life before the turn of the 20th century. None of the third generation are alive at this writing, but there are a few of the fourth generation living at this time.

JAMES HARVEY KING Line

James married Evaline Dean in 1839 in St. Helena parish. This was some three years after he moved to Louisiana from Holmesville in Pike County, Mississippi, with his parents and brothers and sisters. He was only twenty years old at the time of his marriage, and Evaline was 21. Their first child, Jessie, a girl, was born about a year later. She lived to the age of five. Eliza Jane was born in 1843. She married James Marion Thomas of Copiah County, Mississippi, on February 11, 1862, and they lived at Pine Grove. James M. Thomas died in 1930 at the age of 97. His wife, Eliza Jane, had died as a young woman at the age of 35. Before her death she bore five children.

Angeline was born in 1846. she had two sons, J.C. Vaughn and Rafe King. Josephine, born in 1849, was married three times, bearing a child from each union. Her first husband was Melcher Vaughn, and their daughter was Eudora. Josephine, "Aunt Jo", also married P.P. Coffman, and their son was named Pearl. The third marriage was to Wiley Goynes, and they had one son, Dan. Wiley Goynes had a son by a previous marriage by the name of James Hall Boynes. Jim married Eudora, his stepsister, and they reared a large family at Pine Grove.

Mary Frances was born March 13, 1851, and died in infancy.

Thomas Darrell, seventh child of James Harvey and Evaline Dean King, was born September 20, 1855. He was married to Minerva Bookter on October 18, 1887, and they lived and reared their family at Pine Grove. Their children were Lawson, Clyde, Olivia, Clara, and Cecil. Thomas died on June 16, 1926.

William J. (known as 'Uncle Doc') was born on February 8, 1857. He married Mary Brown on December 20, 1877, and they lived at Pine Grove and Montpelier, Louisiana. 'Uncle Doc' operated a brick kiln at one time. The bricks were all stamped WJK. Their children were Barney, Harvey, Arthur, Ida, Eddie, Una, and Walter. William died on August 24, 1929, at Pine Grove, Lousiana.

James Nick was born March 20, 1852, and died July 3, 1911. He married Amelia Packwood of St. Helena Parish.

Elbert Peter, 4th son of James Harvey King, was born on November 5, 1859. He married Mollie Loflin of Baton Rouge, on November 19, 1883, and they reared their family on the east side of Dutchman Creek at Pine Grove. Their children were Lonnie, Ednea, Lula, Birdie, and Sedell. Peter died August 18, 1926, at Pine Grove.

James Harvey King remarried after his wife, Evaline, died. He married Mary Tabor of Pine Grove in 1877. They had one son, Beverly Tabor, born in 1879. Beverly married Jency Hodges. Their children were Vivian, Gladys, Norma, Eugenia, J.C., Ione, and B.T., Jr. Beverly, Sr., died August 18, 1952, and is buried alongside his wife in Salem Cemetery at Oldfield, Lousiana.

JAMES NICK KING Line

James Nick was the sixth child of James Harvey and Evaline Dean King. He married Amelia Packwood, and they reared their thirteen children at Pine Grove. During his early married life, James Nick moved about the area, probably seeking employment. He lived for a while on Greenwell Springs Road, near Comite, and at Blairstown. He settled down on a portion of his father's property at Pine Grove and established his homestead there. His wife, Amelia, survived him by more than thirty eyars. Nick and Amelia reared eight sons and five daughters. Their children were Samuel N., Janey E., Josephine L., George A., Willie M., Robert Edgar, Mollie E., Henry E., Emma L., Julia E., Luther A., John Wesley, James Howard, Frank N. and Nettie I.

Janey died as an infant, and Luther lived to age seven. All others lived to be married and had children of their own, except Sam, who died childless. Mollie reared a large family, but died realtively young of influenza during World War I. She is buried at Cleveland, Mississippi. Howard died in 1945. All others lived well beyond middle age, and some into their seventies. Two, Julia and Nettie, are still living as of this writing.

Wesley, Howard and Frank were veterans of World War I. Sam was a farmer at Pine Grove. Henry served on the police force of both Baton Rouge and Hammond. Wesley and George, "Addie", operated a street-car in Baton Rouge; Welsey having done that for sixteen years. All the other brothers were farmers, and lived at Pine Grove.

Emma married Alva Story of Pine Grove. Josephine "Beanie", married John Methvien and lived near Grangeville. Mollie married Round Fletcher of Old Field, Louisiana, and they lived at Pine Grove for a while, and then moved to the Mississippi delta, and then to the Arkansas delta. Julia married Will Lea of Dennis Mills, Louisiana. They lived in Baton Rouge for a while, and then moved to Watson, Louisiana, where they lived out their lived. Their only child, a daughter, Wynona, married Odom Graves, a long-time sheriff of Livingston Parish.

SAM married Lillian Morgan of Pine Grove. They had no children, and lived at Pine Grove where Sam was a farmer and a carpenter.

JOSEPHINE married John Methvien, and their children were Haney, Lola, Johnnie May, Carmen, William, Lee, Hazel, and Grenice.

GEORGE (Addie), married Dean Carroll of Pine Grove. Their children were Elmer, Louis Z., and Georgia.

WILLIE M. married (1) Rosa Phipps. Their children were Lila, Gordon, Norman, Ivy, and Amedee. His second marriage was to (2) Alma Fugler of Watson. Their children were Willie B., Vivian, W.M., Jr., Lillian, and James.

ROBERT EDGAR married Ruby Fletcher. Their children were Lottie, May, Claude, Lorraine, and Brent.

MOLLIE married Round Fletcher. Their children were Amelia, Ernest, Les, J.W., Marvin, and Christiva.

HENRY married Hester Warner of Pine Grove. Their children were Lucille, Hertha, Thelma, Eola, Eugene, William W., and Holly June.

EMMA married Alva Story of Pine Grove. Their children were Ina, Middie Dee, Leonard, and Teresa.

JULIA married William C. Lea of Dennis Mills, La. Their child was Wynona.

JOHN WESLEY married Leila Pruyn of Baton Rouge. Their children were John Sidney, Lawrence Seborn, Ernest Lea, and Harold Halbert.

HOWARD married Geneva Tiner of Pine Grove. Their children were James D. Ray, Janelle, and Peggy.

FRANK married Lula Mae Vaughn of Pine Grove. Their children were Lester, Celena, Daurice Newton, and Betty Jean.

NETTIE married Luther Westmoreland of Pine Grove. Their children were Charlene and Mona Mae.

JOHN WESLEY KING Line

John Wesley King was the son of James Nick and Amelia Packwood King. He was born at Pine Grove, La., St. Helena parish, and lived there until he entered the armed service of the United States in World War I. Wesley served in the Air Service branch. After being discharged from the service, he never returned to Pine Grove to live, but sought employment in Morgan City, Gueydan, and then Baton Rouge where he married and lived with his family until 1933. His four sons were born in Baton Rouge. In 1933 he and his family moved to Watson, La., where they lived out their lives. Wesley, his wife, Leila, and their son, Ernest, are buried in the Live Oak Methodist Cemetery in Watson.

All four sons attended and graduated from Live Oak High School. Sidney and Lawrence served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and Harold served in the Air Force from 1951 until 1955. Lawrence graduated from Louisiana State University in 1948.

SIDNEY married Helen Efferson of Watson. Their children are Darrell, Michael, Gloria, Dennis, Vicki, and Cathy. Darrell and Michael are graduates of Southeastern Louisiana University.

LAWRENCE married Rena Ott of Watson, and their children are David C., Lawrence Marvin, and Julie Eileen. David is a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University, and Marvin is a graduate of Louisiana State University. Julie attended trade school and also L.S.U.

ERNEST married Margie Griffin. They had one son, Raymond. Ernest was employed by Humble Oil Refinery in Baton Rouge for many years until his untimely death at the age of 41.

HAROLD married Lillian Strickland of Amite, La. Their children are Lereah Jean and Ernie. Harold is employed at Allied Chemical Co. of Baton Rouge.

---

Bartholomew JAMES (Jacoby), b. Schuylkill Co., Pa., 1747; d. Yazoo Co., Miss, between 1833 and 1840, m. in Pennsylvania, 1770 to Katherine MEYERS, b. 17 Dec. 1749, daughter of Edigius MEYERS (owned 200 acres in Brunsuring ?? township, Berks Co. in 1785). Resided Berks Co., Pa. Served in Pa., moved to West Virginia, took in 1799 and in 1800 moved to Natchez by flatboat. Lived in Pike County. Living in Amite County 1810 and which later became Pike County and left Pike County 1824 and resided in Copiah County, later he moved to Yazoo County' and died there 1835.

Children:
John, b. Berks Co., Pa. 1 Nov. 1771, d. nearl Waldo, Ohio 9 Apr. 1844, m. in Pa. 9 Aug. 1791
Catherine CAMBY, b. 13 May 1773, d. 13 Jan. 1837 (they had Catherine, b. 1792,
Margaret Elizabeth, b. 2 Nov. 1793, John, B. Pa. 8 Aug. 1795, d. Indiana 23 July 1863,
Magdalena, b. Pa. 31 Aug. 1797, d. in Indiana;
Salomia, b. Pa. 22 June 1799; Hanna, b. Pa. 2 Feb. 1801;
Jonathan Michael, b. Pa. 30 Mar. 1809; Jacob, b. Ohio, 8th June 1811; Joseph, b. Pa., 2 Nov. 1813;
Elias, b. Ohio, 3 Oct. 1815);
Christiana JAMES, b. Berks Co., Pa., 13 Oct. 1786, d. Ebenezer Holmes Co., Miss., 19 Apr. 1853, m.
  (1) 1804, Henry Pierce, m.
  (2) 1815, Thomas RULE, b. 1787, d. Holmes Co., 22 July 1850, son of Thomas Rule of Adams County (they had Cynthia RULE, b. Pike Co., 20 Aug. 1816, m. Silas MANCE and (2) Cemendus OVERSTREET; Elizabeth L. RULE, b. 14 Apr. 1820, d. 10 Sept. 1834; Francis RULE, b. 1824, d. 1841; Lewis RULE, b. 9 Oct. 1822, d. 5 May 1830; William J. RULE, b. 1829, d. 1859 unmarried; Thomas H. RULE, b. 10 Nov. 1826, d. Holmes Co., 1 April 1877; Martha RULE married S.H. LITTLE; John S. RULE, b. 11 Sept. 1830, d. 10 Jan. 1860; Nathan RULE, b. 1835); Peter JAMES, b. Berks Co., Pa. 23 Sept. 1789, d. near Pickens, Yazoo Co., 16 Mar. 1869, m. Opelousas, La. on 29 Oct. 1816 to Charlotte SIDDON, b. 19 Feb. 1797, d. 18 Oct. 1851 (they had Samuel L., b. Sept. 1817, d. 27 Oct. 1888 unmarried; Dardel Alphous, b. 23 Nov. 1819, d. Vicksburg, 28 Dec. 1872, m. 25 April 1852 to Susan E. BARNES; Sarah Keturah, b. 25 April 1822, m. 4 May 1843 to Dr. John E. MONTGOMERY; Thomas Griffin, b. 4 Oct. 1824, d. Oxford, Miss on 20 Jan. 1902; William W., b. Copiah Co., 21 Oct. 1826, d. Yazoo Co., 25 Dec. 1833; Susan E., b. 28 May 1829, d. Yazoo Co., 9 Mar. 1870, m. 23 May 1848 to Jackson D. CALLIHAN; Catherine Rachel, b. 29 Dec. 1831, m. 29 Dec. 1849, Thomas Mumford LAWSON; Melissa, b. 13 Sept. 1834, d. 20 June 1835; Peter Clark, b. 28 Aug. 1836, d. New Orleans, 26 Feb. 1900, m. 8 Oct. 1863 to Mrs. Mary E. GORDON; John Elias, b. 28 Feb. 1840, d. Sept. 1843; Benjamin F., b. 6 Apr. 1843, d. 4 May 1855); Sophie JAMES, b. Pa., m. (1) in Natchez, 17 June 1800 to John MCGINTY, m. (2) on 18 Jan. 1801 to Jesse KING - they moved to Pike County; Barbara JAMES, b. Pa., m. in Natchez on 28 Feb. 1802 to Simon HOOK.

Charlotte SIDDON (wife of Peter JAMES) mother was Rachael GRICE.

The above is JAMES genealogy (noted on bottom of page). Peter JAMES became an ordained minister in the Methodist Church in the Mississippi Conference. Sofie, his sister, married Jesse KING.

---

Obituary of Peter JAMES from the Mississippi Conference:

PETER JAMES

On the 18th of March, Peter James, superannuate passed to his reward at the home of his son in Holmes county. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1789. Ten years later his father moved to Virginia and in 1800 to Mississippi, arriving at Natchez on a flatboat on June 1st. Some years later they mvoed to Bogue Chitto creek, in what is now Pike county, where the youth aided his father in the cultivation of a farm.

He was licensed to exhort in May, 1812, and was licensed to preach and admitted on trial a year later, at the first session of the Mississippi Conference, at the home of Newit Vick in November, 1813. When Mr. James died only two members of that Conference were still alive, John Ira Ellis Byrd in Mississippi and John S. Ford in Georgia. In 1816 Peter James married Miss Charlotte Siddon near Opelousas, who passed away some years before the death of her husband. He had been a superannuate for several years before his death.

His son, Peter James, Jr., became a prosperous planter in the Yazoo delta, and until his death in 1900 was a liberal supporter of the Methodist Church. The James Observatory at Millsaps College is named in his honor. Three other sons of Peter James lived to maturity. Samuel L. James lived to a good old age near Pickens, Mississippi. He was never married. Dan A. James practiced medicine in Yazoo City and New Orleans before his death in Madison parish, Louisiana. Thomas G. James was a planter in the Yazoo delta until his death in 1902. Three daughters lived to maturity: Sarah married John E. Montgomery, Susan married Jackson Callihan, and Catherine married Thomas M. Lawson. Four children of Peter James and his wife died in infancy.

Mr. James wrote the following account of his early life in July, 1859:

"I was born in Pennsylvania in the year 1789. Father was a kind of itinerant, moving from place to place, until in 1799 he moved to Virginia near the Ohio River, twelve miles above Wheeling. In 1800 he started down the Ohio in an old-fashioned flat-boat with a man who was going down the river to the mouth of the Ohio and then up the Mississippi, I don't know where to, but they disagreed and father, with mother, myself, and three sisters, got in a trading boat that was coming down the Missiissippi as far as Natchez, and, on the first day of June in the year 1800, landed there, having just nothing but his family, and being then, I think, about 53 years old.

"Within a month sister Sophia married the man in whose boat we had come down, and within one month more he died . . . We all went to work and of course made a living and within a few years a little more, until Christeana married. Her husband was a carpenter and undertook great works, hired hands, and finally father went his security and all broke together.

"By this time I was about eighteen years of age and had never been at school but three months, and knew nothing but to work. Father and mother were both old and no one to provide for them but me. About this time it pleased the Lord to call me from darkness to light . . . Just about this time I believe God called me to the ministry. Nothing, no nothing, but a sense of duty could have induced me to undertake the work of the ministry, unprepared, without mental training, without any education; --and what can the church offer? Just nothing. If she will accept my services I must serve for nothing or next to nothing. I must furnish my outfit, horse, saddle, bridle, clothes, and the church offers me $80 if the people can and will pay that much . . ."

"In 1812 I was put on the circuit by the Presiding Elder and traveled the circuit from May until conference with exhorter's license. Some time in the same year I was received on trial and sent to the Tombigbee Circuit in the midst of hostile Indians, just after the fall of Fort Mims. In the fall of 1813 I returned and was appointed with Bro. Winnans to the Wilkinson Circuit, just on the edge, but before I had filled the first appointment I had my horse drowned in trying to swim the Comite River. In those days we had but few bridges and ferries, so we must swim and risk the consequences. I had my difficulties before I could get another horse, but that year our allowance was raised from eighty to one hundred dollars, and while on the last circuit I received my quarterage and was enable to procure another horse."

"My next appointment was Attakapas, a country of French Roman Catholics. Still there were a few others. That year there were no preachers on the west side of the Mississippi but Thomas Owens and myself and we never met but once and we met to come away. Oh, what a lonely year. I never even saw the Presiding Elder or heard from him or any one else from east of the Mississippi."

"That fall, I think in October, we met Bishop Roberts on Pine Ridge, Adams County, Mississippi, and there held the first Annual Conference ever held in Mississippi, and there I was ordained deacon in 1816."

"By this time I had to look to the payment of the debt above named. My first aim was to sell my stock of cattle, but when I attempted to gather them up, there were very few left. In addition father and mother complained they could not live on what I had left for their support. And still, above all, my land was forfeited to the Government by failure to make the annual payments. So all may see my way in the itinerancy was completely stopped. There was no alternative but to stop, locate, go to work, pay the old debt, try to pay for my place, and take care of my parents."

"I then married in 1816. So all may see that, having no education when young, I had no time in after life. Not that I do not have the will to use industry and energy of mind, but no power. My difficulties in making advancement as a preacher have been insurmountable."

---

Mrs. Kittwood King Ballard, daughter of Rev. Jesse King and niece of Rev. Peter James, was born in Pike County, October 1, 1814, and died December 1, 1880. She married John Ballard on March 4, 1836. Converted when a child, at the age of 14 she was received into the church and remained a faithful member.

[This information (above) was found in a book on "History of Methodism in the Mississippi Conference." Until about 1875, the Florida Parishes of Louisiana were in the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church. The excerpt is from an obituary of Ketura King Ballard which appeared in the "New Orleans Christian Advocate" following her death. (Note Ketura was misspelled)

The obituary relates the facts of her dying from a chimney falling on her. The circumstances of her accidental death is common knowledge among her living descendants.

Keturah King Ballard was a sister to James Harvey King, and the daughter of Jesse and Sophia King.]

---

Mrs. Angeline Dean, 1844 (Wife of John C. King) File D-3 Feb. 19, 1844 - John C. King represented that hs wife Angeline Dean died in 1843 leaving children: Caroline age 7, John Thomas age 4, William Wesley age 9 mo. He is appointed tutor with Jesse W. King under-tutor.

[This information (above) was taken from information found in the Genealogy Department of the L.S.U. Library. Angeline Dean was a sister of Eveline, wife of James Harvey King. The Jesse W. King listed here was not the father of John King, as he had died before 1844, but possible was his brother, Washington.]