My Genealogy Hound

JOHN J. KING is successfully engaged in general farming on section 15, Tamaroa Precinct, Perry County, where he owns and operates a good farm of one hundred and ten acres. He also has a twenty-acre tract of timber land one mile to the west. His home is pleasantly located six miles northeast of Du Quoin. Well tilled fields and good buildings indicate the thrift and enterprise of the owner, who is justly ranked among the practical and progressive agriculturists of the community. Mr. King was born March 25, 1849, in this county, and is a son of Joshua and Polly (Brooks) King.

The father was born in Jackson County, Tenn., November 13, 1814, and the mother’s birth occurred in that county, on the 28th of April, 1812. They were reared and married in that state, and soon after their marriage they emigrated to Perry County, Ill., locating on Paradise Prairie, where Mr. King purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land. This was in 1832. On the farm which he there developed he continued to reside until his death, which occurred January 16, 1881. He was noted as a man of firm convictions, unswerving in his ideas of right and justice. He never engaged in litigation, was known as a man of sterling worth and integrity, and was very popular and highly respected by his neighbors. In politics he was a Republican, and in religious belief was a Methodist.

The mother of our subject was first married to Henry Carner, of Virginia. Three children were born to them, of whom two are yet living. They were reared with the children of Mr. King, and an affection existed between them rarely witnessed, and which has endured throughout the years. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Carner are, Mary J., wife of Archibald House, a highly respected farmer of Allendale, Mo.; and William H., a Baptist minister now residing in Pinckneyville, Ill. He traverses a vast amount of territory in the discharge of his duties, and is a faithful minister.

Joshua King and his wife became the parents of nine children, six of whom are living. Elizabeth Laurretta is the wife of Elisha G. Keeling, a farmer of Paradise Prairie; Martha C. married Levi Commeans, a farmer of Paradise Prairie; John J. is the subject of this sketch; Larkin B., who married Dora Harrison, of Paradise Prairie, is employed as clerk in Miller Brothers general mercantile store at Du Quoin; Matthew T., a farmer of Paradise Prairie, wedded Sarah Turner, of Marshfield, Mo., by whom he has five children; Amo R., who married Martha Jones, of Nashville, Ill., is now clerking for S. B. Eaton, of Du Quoin. The members of the family now deceased are, Sallie B., Eletha and Martha Canzada.

Upon his father’s farm John J. King was reared, and his boyhood days were spent in farm work and in attendance at the district schools. Being the eldest son, the general supervision, and consequently all the hard work of the place, devolved upon him. He continued upon the old homestead until his marriage, but shortly after that event removed to a forty-acre farm in the neighborhood, where he remained for six years. He then sold out and purchased sixty acres of land two miles to the north, which he operated for nine years, when he removed to his present home.

On the 28th of February, 1867, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. King and Almira J., daughter of Samuel Burr, a native of Canada, who came to the United States when a young man and settled on what is known as the Four Mile Prairie, near Pinckneyville. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. King, of whom seven yet survive: Corlie B., wife of Daniel A. Hampleman, a farmer of Union County, Ill.; William B., Roy O., Orrin G., John J., Almira F. and Polly J. E.,all of whom are still living with their parents. Those who have passed away are, Ira J., Ula G. and Carroll J.

Mr. King for four years filled the office of Justice of the Peace for Paradise Precinct, and is at present Township Treasurer of Schools, in which position he has efficiently served for six years. In politics, he is a stalwart supporter of the Republican party. He and his family are members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and are people of prominence in this community, where they are held in high regard.