Person:William King (104)

Notes for William King: World Family Tree, vol 23, Tree # 1559, compiled by Mary Lois Pierce-Hughes, RR 2 Box 485, Athens, Ill. 62613, extracted May 1999. More About William King: Burial: Green Springs Cem, Washington, Virginia

William King was born. William King: William moved south to the Holston River Valley area in October, 1774.

According to a letter in 1893 from Adelaide Berry Duncan to her son George: "Sarah Sharp told me that one Sunday morning in the blockhouse, Billy King dressed in his clean white flax linen pants and hunting shirt, and laid the corner of his hunting shirt across his knee, and took Isaac, his baby on his knee. The baby had bowel complaint and stained his hunting shirt. He jumped up, and tore around as if the Indians had him, and Sarah Sharp and Elizabeth Sharp flew at him and got the baby away and the hunting shirt off him, for he took out his knife and they had hard work to keep him from cutting off the corner of the shirt that was so badly spoiled. Did any of them think that any of their descendants would write this down more than a hundred years after it occurred."

In July, 1776, American traders came into the Holston area with the warning that the Cherokee Indians were coming in large numbers. The militia was gathered, including Thomas Sharp and William King, who served in Captain James Shelby's Company. They marched about 15 miles south to Amos Eaton's Station and began to build a fort out of fence rails. They had not finished when spies brought the news that the Indians were near. It was decided to march out to meet them. They ran into a small party of Indians, who retreated when the scouts shot at them. The militia then decided to return to the fort, but it was too late. The main body of Indians, under Chief Dragging Canoe, caught up and attacked them. The militia turned and formed a battle line to answer the attack. Capt. James Shelby is credited with taking possession of a high piece of ground and preventing the Indians from surrounding the whites. Chief Dragging Canoe was severely wounded, and 13 Indians were known to have been killed. Thomas Sharp was sure of having killed one, and so was William King. Benjamin Sharp, in a letter to the "American Pioneer" in 1842 states: "A curious incident occurred during the engagement. An Alexander Moore, a strong, athletic, active man, by some means got into close contact with an Indian of nearly his own size and strength; my brother-in-law, William King, seeing Moore's situation, ran up to his relief, but the Indian adroitly kept Moore in such a position that King could not shoot him without shooting Moore. They Indian had a large knife suspended at his belt, for the possession of which they both struggled, but at length Moore succeeded and plunged it into the Indian's bowels; he then broke his hold and sprung off from Moore, and King shot him through the head." With their chief wounded, the Indians broke off the battle and retreated. The militia promptly went home to look after their families.

On October 6, 1776, William King served as a scout for Col. William Russell, who led the advance guard to launch an offense against the Indians near Long Island at Fort Patrick Henry.

William King had gone to Pennsylvania to move his parents to the Holston area, but enlisted as soon as he returned, about October 10, 1780. He marched off to burn the Indian towns and was not wounded.

In 1786, Hawkins County was taken from Sullivan County, Tennessee. A Commission including Joseph Martin, James McNeil, John Duncan, William King, Evan Shelby, Samuel Smith, and John Scott were selected to find a site for the county courthouse. Apparently, they did nothing about it, and a new commission was named in 1795.

William and Elizabeth were members of the Green Spring Church, just north of the Tennessee-Virginia border, and are buried there, although they lived in Tennessee.

William King, who started out as a private, eventually rose to the rank of Major, but carried the nickname "Uncle Billie". ["William King and Virginia Watkins, Their Ancestors and Descendants" by Maellen King Ford; file from Duncan Surname Association]

He was married to Elizabeth Sharp on Mar 9 1775.

http://home.att.net/~jlporte110/html/fam01588.htm

Husband: William KING

Married: MAR-09-1774 at: Lancaster Co., Pa.

  Died: NOV-05-1840      at: Holston, Washington Co., Va.  
Father:
Mother:
       Other Spouses: 

  Died: JUL-27-1829      at: Holston, Washington Co., Va.  
Father:John SHARP
Mother:Jane HAMILTON
       Other Spouses: 

  Born: DEC-04-1775      at:   

Married: 1814 at:

  Died: JUN-07-1824      at:  Washington Co., Va.  

Spouses: William MCCONNELL

  Born: MAR-01-1776      at: Washington Co., Va.  

Married: SEP-01-1808 at: Knox Co., Ky.

  Died: MAR-02-1862      at: Whitley Co., Ky.  

Spouses: Sarah Jane LAUGHLIN

  Born: JAN-23-1778      at:   

Married: at:

  Died: FEB-13-1831      at:   

Spouses: Finley ALLISON

  Born: NOV-01-1781      at:   

Married: at:

  Died: 1850             at:   

Spouses: Staunton PEMBERTON

  Born: SEP-27-1782      at: Sullivan Co., Tn.  

Married: SEP-__-1803 at:

  Died: MAY-18-1855      at: Jefferson Co., Ia.  

Spouses: Alexander W. LAUGHLIN

  Born: APR-03-1784      at: Sullivan Co., Tn.  

Married: DEC-23-1819 at:

  Died: MAY-09-1860      at:   

Spouses: Sarah DINSMORE

  Born: FEB-15-1785      at:   

Married: at:

  Died:                  at:   

Spouses: Benjamin Sharp BERRY

  Born: SEP-25-1787      at:   

Married: NOV-16-1813 at:

  Died:                  at:   

Spouses: Jane MCHAFFEY Betsie CARSON

  Born: 1022/1789        at:   

Married: at:

  Died: JUN-25-1865      at:   

Spouses: John VANCE

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. OneWorldTree (2). (Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA;)
   Database online.

   Record for Elizabeth Sharp