King Family

Among the large number of immigrants who came to Henry County in 1851 was John M. King. The son of George and Katherine (Lightner) King, John M. King was born on August 7, 1799 near what is now York Haven, York County, Pa. The King family had come to Pennsylvania from Germany about 1700 and the family originally spelled the name Koenig. During the War of 1812, JOhn King went to little York with his uncle to join the "York Riflemen," but he was rejected on account of his youth, being only fourteen years old. John King learned the miller's trade which he followed for twenty-two years and he then devoted the rest of his life to farming. On May 20, 1819 he married Rachel Nelson who was born on January 2, 1802, the daughter of David and Susan (Swasegood) Nelson. In 1822 John King was made second miller at Ellicott mills about seven miles west of Baltimore, Maryland. Not wanting to raise his family in a slave state, John King returned to York Haven in the winter of 1824-25. Early the next spring, in company with his father-in-law David Nelson, he began the journey to Ohio. The King family made the trip in a one-horse covered wagon while his father-in-law had a three-horse wagon, in which they brought their families and a few essential belongings.

When they came to Ohio, John King had $118 and with this money he paid $100 for the last eighty acres of land in the southwestern part of Stark County, Ohio. He built a cabin in the woods and began clearing the land until his money was used up. John King then worked in the fields harvesting wheat which he reaped with a sickle and for this he received a bushel of wheat a day for his work; in those times a bushel being worth about 25c. Shortly after this, he and a neighbor walked to Cleveland, a distance of about sixty-five miles, to work on the Ohio Canal, where they received $9 a month and board. After working for two months they walked back, each carrying a peck of salt and half a side of sole leather. Beginning in the fall of 1826, John King went to Reynold's Mills, two miles south of Canton, where he made the first one thousand barrels of Ohio flour that passed for superfine in the New York market. He remained at these mills for eleven years and he then returned to his farm. It was about this time that his wife, Rachel, died and he then married his second wife, Sarah Baughman. Sarah King died on September 13, 1851. For his third wife, John King married Ruth McCullough on July 15, 1852 at Henry County, Ohio. Previous to this time he had moved his family to a farm near Colton, Washington Township. At the time of his death on September 28, 1858, John King was in possession of several large farms in Henry and Fulton Counties. His estate included a 160 acre farm in section 15 and another 160 acre farm in section 23 of Washington Township besides a 160 acre and a 40 acre farm in Swan Creek Township, Fulton County. Ruth King, who was born in Pennsylvania about 1818, remarried and lived in Washington Township until her death on December 18, 1892. Her name at the time of her death was Ruth Temple.

By his first two wives, John King had five children each. The children of John and Rachel King were: Charles Henry, born Oct. 7, 1821; twins Henrietta Caroline and Ann Eliza, born March 24, 1824; John Andrew King, born Sept. 3, 1826; and William N. King. Charles King lived in Ashland County, O. and was twice married and a schoolteacher. Henrietta King married Samuel K. Lighter and had two children, Helen and Frank A. Lighter. Ann E. King married James Andrews and lived in Fulton County, 0. John A. King came to Henry County about 1860 and he was an attorney at Napoleon and had a farm at Colton.

The children of John and Sarah King were: Jesse T. who married Alice Crouse on April 10, 1864 at Henry County and who later was a civil engi neer at Cleveland; Wilson S. King, born March 9, 1840, served in the Civil War in Co. D, 189 Regt., Ohio Infantry and married Eliza Ann Drumhiller who died on May 15, 1864 in Washington Township. On Nov. 6, 1866 Wilson King married Alvira Marsh and they lived on a farm in Washington Township until 1905 when he moved to Wauseon where he died March 14, 1923; Elias 0. King, born April 28, 1843, served in Co. G, 138 Regt., Ohio Volunteer Infantry and he married Elizabeth Baker on June 2, 1868. He was a farmer at Swan Creek Township, Fulton County and died on July 11, 1936. Mahlon P. King worked on the canal at Washington Township but later he became a farmer at Goshen, Indiana. Sarah Amelia King married Ira Butt nad lived on a farm near Elkhart, Indiana.

Submitted by: Robert Barnes