They are laughing again. My ancestors. Perhaps I’m mistaking laughter for their cheering me on, but in either case their presence is heavy these days. And it is rather intense. I can not imagine how anyone can go about pursuing those who have walked before them without quietly holding conversation with them. I find myself whispering into the winds, so that they may hear my soft and gentle pleas for a clue. Maybe, just maybe, they are starting to hear me…

My great grandmother Louise King

Mama Ease. She died 11 years before I was born so I never had the opportunity to know her personally. She was my mother’s maternal grandmother. And before she was Mama Ease, grandmother to my mother and her siblings, she was Louise King, born on the 12th of August in 1900 to parents Stark King and Jeannie Gilliam King. Her place of birth was likely in the Enola community of Yazoo County, Mississippi, but I’m not 100% certain. With the exception of one Census year, 1930, the life of Louise was documented very well. Since my mother knew her I know her through my mother’s memories of her. She isn’t much of a mystery. Old family photographs captured her beauty. Oral history provided me with details of her ability to make an exceptionally palatable pound cake. Furthermore, she worked for the famous Tropical Hut restaurant in Chicago as a Cook. One of my cousins who knew her well often describes how Louise would share with her and show her the doughboy uniform of her brother Riley King, who died in WWI. Of course all that was after she left Mississippi sometime in the early to mid-1930’s. No, Louise King is not a mystery, but her parents and their vague ancestral lineage mark the beginnings of my brick walls.

My 2x great grandmother Jeannie Gilliam King

Incredibly little is known about Mama Jeannie or Jeannie Gilliam, so I will describe what I do know – most of which I learned through Census records. Jeannie was born about 1872 in Mississippi. Unable to successfully locate her in 1880, the first true and solid documentation I have is her 20 July 1888 marriage record to spouse Stark King. They married in Yazoo City, Mississippi. By 1900 Jeannie and Stark have established a nice growing family and can be found residing in the Enola Precinct in Yazoo County. In 1910 they’ve moved over the Yazoo County line into Beat 5 of Warren County on Ball Ground Road. From 1920 to approximately 1934 Jeannie and her family can be seen living in the Choctaw community of Shaw, Bolivar County, Mississippi. Like her daughters, whom she had sent away from the Mississippi Delta into Chicago, Illinois, Jeannie later made the bustling city her home during her later years of life. Mama Jeannie perished in 1951 leaving no information behind about her parents. This lack of information has made her difficult to locate prior to her 1888 marriage record despite her uncommon surname.

Stark King on the other hand is a bit of a different story. I can’t begin to describe how much sleep has been lost over figuring out the life of my 2x great grandfather, Stark King. Unlike his wife, Stark can be located on the 1880 Census. It is on this record that I find him living with his mother listed as Nora and his siblings, Mose King, Mary King and (half-siblings?) twins John and Susie Williams. Stark is said to be 17 years old at the time which would place his birth date in the year 1867. He should have been enumerated with his family in 1870, but I’ve had a terrible time in all my attempts to locate them in Yazoo County or surrounding areas. The rest of Stark’s life and his whereabouts for the most part are as clear as day and as follows: 1900 – Beat 1, Enola Precinct, Yazoo County, 1910 – Beat 5, Warren County, 1920 – Beat 5, Bolivar County, 1930 – Beat 5, Bolivar County. He was deceased as of September 23, 1932 in Shaw, Mississippi. Although his daughter, Brucie King Johnson provided names for both of Stark’s parents for his death certificate, I remain skeptical about the John King noted to be his father.

The real trouble I have with my ancestor Stark King lies within his own name. While the last name King was quite common in Yazoo, the first name Stark wasn’t common at all in Yazoo or elsewhere. Strangely enough there is a white doctor by the name of Thomas Stark King residing in Yazoo County as well. This doctor had only one son whom he named Stark King and his son was born a few years give or take from the date of my Stark King. To make matters even worse the white Dr. Thomas Stark King had a wife named Lenora, but she can also be found simply listed as Nora. I did mention that my Stark’s mother was also named Nora too, right? Besides racial designations the only other difference I can establish between the two families is that they were residing on different sides of the county from 1880 onward.

1880 U.S. Census record with the family of Dr. Thomas Stark King

1880 U.S. Census with the family of Nora King and children including my 2x great grandfather, Stark King

So where does the name Stark come from and where am I really going with this? In regards to the name your guess is as good as mine. In regards to every other matter I can’t help to wonder and cling to the idea that the two families could have been connected biologically or other. Dr. Thomas Stark King had a brother named John King who was of the right age to be my Stark King’s father. However, I have very little to support that theory of parentage. I’ve had the kindest volunteers in the world to collect wills and probate records on the white Thomas Stark King family and related individuals. Sadly, those documents did very little in solidifying a connection. My Stark King was listed as a mulatto only on the 1910 Census year and I’m not even sure if his father was white or black. So I’m stuck in regards to paper records here.

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