Sampson County, NC - Alworth King Cemetery Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Bud King - bud5082@earthlink.net The Alworth King Cemetery is located off the west side of King Road in what is now the Halls Township of Sampson County, North Carolina. The area in which this old cemetery is located was part of the Piney Grove Township until sometime after the 1880 United States Federal Census was enumerated. More specifically, the Alworth King Cemetery is located down an old pathway which begins at an entrance to a large field which is just a short distance to the west and on the opposite side of the road from the beautifully restored former home of Pauline King Miller, a descendant of Alworth King (1803-1865) and his wife, Jane (Bass) King (ca. 1813-ca. 1890). Alworth King was the eldest son of Michael King (1782-1834) and Seney (Oates) King (1787-1844) who were once residents of this same area of northern Sampson County. Alworth King and his brothers, Henry and James King, all married daughters of Everett Bass (1774-1834) and his wife, Rhoda (1774-1853), who once lived nearby this King family. This resulted in the production of quite a few double-first cousins all living in close proximity. Each of these King brothers (Alworth, James & Henry) left family cemeteries in this northeastern area of Sampson County. The other two King Cemeteries are located just off Keener Road; one on property now owned by Ronnie and Jane Brewer, and the other now owned by Doug Wilson. These three King Cemeteries are very important treasures for anyone interested in the history of this King family which has its roots on land located near the northern most extension of Somerton Creek in the old and now defunct County of Nansemond located in southeastern Virginia. When I had the chance to view this old cemetery in February of 2012, it had been almost completely engulfed by the woods, briars and brambles. I was accompanied on this occasion by my brother Thomas H. King of Charlotte, (NC) and my son, Parker M. King, of Kenly (NC), as well as Ronnie and Jane Brewer of the local area. The condition of the cemetery was so bad at this time that we were unable to get close enough to the graves to be able to take any clear pictures. Not to be discouraged, I went back several weeks later and with the help of Ronnie and Jane Brewer was able to clear out enough briars, brambles and shrubs to locate quite a number of graves and obtain pictures which were clear enough to permit the reading of most of the inscriptions on the stones. Also, we located several wooden gravemarkers most likely dating back to the mid to late 19th Century and several metal markers which were most likely from early 20th Century burials. Still, I knew there were additional graves located at this site which we had been unable to locate and I hoped to have the opportunity to go back and try again sometime, probably sometime in the fall. However, about a week after I had last visited the Alworth King Cemetery, I received a call from Ronnie and Jane Brewer informing me that they had obtained the assistance of several young men from the local area to clean up this old cemetery and try to locate additional graves, and that they had been able to identify the burial sites of several more members of the Alworth King family. Recently (11 April 2012), I had the opportunity to return to this old cemetery and review the gravesites which had been located. Still, there were several markers, both metal and wooden, that I cannot identify with certainty at this time. The following are the gravesites we could identify at this old cemetery by the inscriptions found on their tombstones: Alworth King, born Dec. 7, 1803 - died Aug. 5, 1865 (eldest son of Michael King and Seney Oates King); J. C. (John Claudius) King, born Sept. 25, 1873 – died May 23, 1891 (son of Lewis D. King & Annie E. Darden King); Annie Elizabeth (King), born Apr. 17, 1845 – died Feb. 5, 1925 – wife of Lewis D. King; Lewis D. King, born May 15, 1840 – died Jan. 15, 1877 (CSA & son of Alworth King and Jane Bass King); Eliza J. (King), born Sept. 21, 1849 – died Jan. 22, 1893 – the wife of T. W. King (actually Elizabeth Jane Moore King, the first wife of Thomas William King); Rhoda E., born Jan. 19, 1850 – Sept. 12, 1918 - wife of T. W. King (actually Rhoda Elizabeth King King, second wife of T. W. King, and daughter of Henry King and Mary A. Bass King); T. W. King, born Jan. 15, 1846 – died Jan. 6, 1924 (CSA & son of Alworth King and Jane Bass King); Mary Chida (Clida) King, born Aug. 14, 1885 – died Apr. 17, 1924 (sometimes Mary Clyda King, was the daughter of T. W. King and Eliza J. King); and M. A. King (Mathew A. King), born May 1, 1876 – died Sept. 2, 1951 (son of T. W. King and Eliza J. King ). There are other unidentified wooden markers and metal markers which are located in this cemetery. The two wooden markers which mark the grave located next to Alworth King are probably for the grave of his wife, Jane (Bass) King. Jane King probably died about 1890. According to information provided in the 1880 United States Federal Census (1880 Census enumerated on 18 June 1880), Jane King was living with her son, Michal (Michael) E. King, in the Piney Grove Township of Sampson County, NC, at the age of 66. Jane King was not to be found in Sampson County (NC) when the 1900 Census was enumerated. It is also possible that some of the unidentified wooden markers designate the gravesites of two sons of Alworth and Jane (Bass) King who may have died as teenagers. These were; John W. King who was included in the 1850 United States Federal Census as living with his parents at the age of 15 (he is not to be found thereafter as far as I know now), and Richard J. King who is included in the 1860 United States Federal Census as residing with his parents at the age of 7 (Richard J. King is included in the 1870 United States Federal Census as living with his mother in the Piney Grove Township of Sampson County, NC, at the age of 15; he is not to be found in any census thereafter, as far as I now can tell). I have been advised by a person connected with this King family, as recently as 13 April 2012, that there is a possibility that persons other than Kings are buried in this old cemetery, however, I cannot confirm this at the present time. Note; the information provided above in parentheses are comments provided by the author based on information gathered through years of researching the descendants of Michael King and his wife, Elizabeth H. King, who once resided in Nansemond County, Colony of Virginia and, to my knowledge, are the first members of this King family to live on this side of the Atlantic. A special thanks to Ronnie and Jane Brewer of the Halls Township area of Sampson County for all the assistance they provided in enabling me to locate the Alworth King Cemetery and collect valuable information about members of this branch of the King family. Thanks also to Jerome Tew, the Director of the History Center for the Mormon Church of Goldsboro (NC), and avid historian, who has helped me tremendously in my research efforts on my King family and has been by my side during many adventures in this respect. Randolph McPhail King (14 April 2012)