Richard King was born in Dublin, Ireland, about 1705. He came to Philadelphia, then a small village, in 1728. Whether he was married or not, does not appear, but he had a wife and child, Anne, while living there. A few weeks after the birth of this child, his wife died. When Anne was about seven years old, Richard met and married Margaret Barkley of New Jersey. They made their home on the Raritan, above New Brunswick, New Jersey. Eleven children were born to them and then they moved to North Carolina in 1756 settling first on Third Creek but later moving to a farm adjoining Dr. McCorkle on Withers Creek. McCorkle's parents migrated from Pennsylvania the same time as did Richard and his family.
Richard King was bred a clothier in Ireland. He was a short thick-set man (one source said he weighed close to 400 pounds!), quick in temper and manner; sociable and religious, affectionate to tenderness. He never recovered from the death of his youngest son Samuel, who died of the fever in 1773.@S7@ |
Margaret Barkley
Robert King
Birth