William and Margaret King may have gone about 1587-8, for in these years the inhabitants of this part of Devonshire were expecting a hostile invasion of their coast by the Spaniards. In 1587-8 the British navy was concentrated at Plymouth to repel the great (and, as claimed, the invincible) Spanish Armada. In Plymouth Harbor lay 120 English ships awaiting the approach of the Spaniards and the Port of Plymouth alone supplied seven of these ships, manned with sailors recruited from the neighborhood. This was the fleet that sailed under Drake and Hawkins, both of whom were Devonshire men, to that memorable victory (1588) over their Spanish foe. It is probable, therefore, that William and Margaret Kinge were the great grandparents of James King, of Suffield, Connecticut, and it may be that the records of some neighboring parish or some parish in London will hereafter make this certain. III. THIRD GENERATION. WILLIAM and CHRISTINA (Christia Lapp) KINGE. The record from the Ugborough Parish Registers relating to them is as follows: "1621-Willus Kinge et Christia Lapp nupti erant 27 Septembris." (A. D. 1621—William Kinge and Christina Lapp were married 27th of September.) These I suppose to have been the grand parents of James King of Suffield, whose father in such case probably was born in 1622. As the Ugborough Parish registers show that in 1642 a William Kinge there married Agneta Elwill and no other King family appears in the records between the years 1621 and 1642, I think fair to assume that this William Kinge (father of James King of Suffield) was the son of William and Christina (Lapp) Kinge. Heretofore, from the meagerness of the records, we have been compelled to rely on probabilities but from this point forward the records are complete and we shall deal only in certainties supported by the Parish Registers. Before leaving these prior generations, however, we must note the persistence of the christian name, William, in the Kinge fam ily above and its transmission from father to son. It was the usual custom in England from about A. D. 1550 (the period of the Reformation) and especially thereafter among the Puritans both in England and America to christen the eldest son with his father's christian name. James King's elder brother was named William and even in America James King of Suffield and his descendants followed this rule of giving their eldest (or some other) son the name of his father. This recognized custom strengthens the probability of the descent of a William from one of the same name. IV. FOURTH GENERATION. WILLIAM and AGNES (ELWILL) KINGE. These were the parents of our immigrant ancestor James King, Founder of the King Family of Suffield, Connecticut. William King married in Ugborough, Devonshire, England, Oct. 16, 1642, Agnes Elwill, who died in Ugborough, April 7, 1662. They had two children, viz. William King; baptized in Ugborough, Dec. 31, 1643; and James King, baptized in Ugborough, Nov. 7, 1647; died in Suffield, Connecticut, May 13, 1722; married (1) in Ipswich, Massachusetts, March 23, 1674, Elizabeth Fuller; (2) in Westfield, Massachusetts, Feb. 27, 1716, Hannah Loomis. The following are verbatim copies of entries made in the Ugborough Parish Registers: MARRIAGES. "1642-Willimus Kinge et Agneta Elwill nupti erant 16 Octobris" (A. D. 1642-William King and Agnes Elwill were married 16th of October). BAPTISMS. "1643-Willimus fil. Willirai Kinge et Agnetae, ux. bap. fuit ultimo die Decemb." (A. D. 1643-William, son of William Kinge and of Agnes, wife, was baptized the last day of December). "1647-JACOBUS, fil. Willi Kinge et Agnetae uxor eius bapt. 7 die Novembris" (A. D. 1647-JAMES, son of William Kinge and of Agnes his wife, baptized 7th day of November). Jacobus is the Latinized form of James (see Names and their meaning, by Wagner, page 254). The statutes of King James I of England (1566-1625) are called statutes “Jacobi." The Greek form of James in the New Testament is Jacobus. The coins of the time of King James I (A. D. 1603-1625) and of King James II (1685-1689) are inscribed "JACOBUS, DEI GRATIA, REX." The period between the marriage of William Kinge to Agnes Elwill (1642) and the birth of James King (1647) was that of the great Puritan Revolution in England. Both Exeter and Plymouth, between which cities lay Ugborough, were besieged and the whole neighborhood was the scene of severe conflicts between the Puritan and Royalist forces. Actual hostilities continued from 1642 to 1649 when King Charles was brought to the scaffold and the Commonwealth with Oliver Cromwell at its head was established. Thus our ancestor James King of Suffield was ushered into the world in the midst of a great revolution, wherein a king lost his head, a monarchy was temporarily overthrown and a great Commonwealth inaugurated. One hundred and twenty-five years later (1775-6) the descendants of this same James King in America, among whom were Lieutenant Eliphalet King, Ichabod, Joseph, Thaddeus, Dan King and others of the family, assisted at Bunker Hill and in the War of the Revolution to crush out forever the tyranny of Monarchy in our American colonies and laid the foundation of our present great republic. Again nearly a century rolls by (1861-4) and the descendants of those Revolutionary Patriots are found shedding their blood and giving up their lives to perpetuate the government which their ancestors helped to establish. Major Barnabas King falls at Shiloh and on the battlefield of Chicamauga on September 20, 1863, the brave and gallant Col. Edward Augustine King, a grandson of the Revolutionary Patriot, Lieutenant Eliphalet King, and colonel of the 6th U. S. Infantry, while commanding the Second Brigade, Reynolds Division, 14th Army Corps, laid down his life in the holy cause of liberty and for the preservation of the Union. Still another generation succeeded the Civil War veterans and 1898 brought on a war with Spain in the sacred interest of humanity and to free bleeding Cuba from a tyrant's intolerable oppression. Again descendants of the old King Family of Suffield are found battling for their country. George Cameron King, great-great grandson of Lieutenant Eliphalet King, enlisted with the famous Roosevelt Rough Riders (1st U. S. V. Cavalry) and won honor and distinction for his brave and meritorious conduct as a soldier at Las Guasimas, the great charge up San Juan Hill, the battle before Santiago and in every battle fought in Cuba in which the Rough Riders participated. Who can say that love of liberty and patriotism are not inheritable qualities! Let us, however, return to the subject of the English ancestry of the King Family of Suffield. In August, 1903, I wrote to Rev. W. E. Windle, Vicar of Ugborough Parish, Devonshire, England, for a complete list of all baptisms, marriages and burials in the King family appearing in the Parish Registers of Ugborough from their beginning in 1538 down to the year 1670 and also for a certified copy of the entry therein showing the earliest record in the parish of the marriage of a female member of the King family; also for certified copies of the record of baptism of any children of William and Margaret Kinge made between the years 1584 and 1605; also for certified copy of the record of marriage between William Kinge and Christina Lapp (then supposed to be Lange); also for certified copy of any other entry showing the marriage of a William Kinge or King, and certified copies of the record of baptism of any children of William and Agneta Kinge. Rev. Mr. Windle sent to me a list of baptisms, marriages and burials of members of the King family and also the following certified entries: "Ugborough Vicarage, Ivybridge, Devon. Sept. 12, 1903. Dear Sir: I beg to thank you for your letter and enclosure (£5) of Aug. 10th. The Ugborough Parish Registers date from 1538 (Baptisms and Marriages). The Burials commence 1542. There are no parish registers in England of an earlier date than 1538. I have carefully searched the Registers and enclose results. In addition to the fee for search of Registers-one shilling for the first year and 6d for each year additional-each certified copy of an entry costs two shillings and seven pence. The following are certified copies of the particular entries requested: MARRIAGES. 1548-Johannes Hayman et Maria Kynge nupti erant 27 die Augusti. 1621-Will'us Kinge et Christia Lapp nupti erant 27 Septem bris. 1642—Willi’mus Kinge et Agneta Elwill nupti erant 16 Octo bris. BAPTISMS. 1584-Rob'tus filius Will'i Kinge et Marger. uxor eius baptizat fuit 27 Mar. 1643-Willi'mus, fil Willi'mi Kinge et Agnetae Ux. bap. fuit ultimo die Decemb. 1647-Jacobus, fil. Will'i Kinge et Agnetae uxor eius bapt. 7 die Novembris. I hereby certify that the above six entries are accurately copied from the Parish Registers of Ugborough. Sept. 11, 1903. Cameron H. King Esq. W. E. Windle The only other record necessary to mention here is the following: BURIALS. "1662-Agneta, uxor Gulielmi Kinge sepulta fuit septimo die Aprilis." (1662-Agnes, wife of William Kinge, was buried the seventh day of April.) Supplementing the foregoing Certificate we have the following information relative to William Kinge of Ugborough, who there on October 16, 1642, married Agneta Elwill, and was the father |