Thomas Shadrach King (1852-1918): My grandfather, Thomas Shadrach King, was born in 1852; he was the eighth of twelve children. He too grew to maturity in the Chestnut Ridge area of Lincoln County, Tennessee. He married Mary Lina Chapman on the 24th of December 1878 in nearby Bedford County. Records show that grandfather Tom tried his hand at farming in Lincoln County Tennessee, apparently on land received or purchased from his father-in-law, John Chapman. Later, he operated a restaurant situated on the courthouse square in Fayetteville, Tennessee. Around 1895, grandfather King tenant farmed some land situated near Toney, Alabama, close to a church cemetery where he and other members of his family are buried. But, apparently he was not a very successful farmer. So around 1900 grandfather King and family gave up their rural life style and moved to the textile mill village of Merrimack. At that time, Merrimack was located a few miles west of Huntsville, Alabama. It is now known as Huntsville Park. Afterwards, grandfather King and most of his ten children that were age twelve or older, went to work with the Merrimack Manufacturing Company. My father joined them in the textile mill when he turned age 12 in 1908. Sometime in 1909, the family moved to Birmingham, Alabama. While there, they worked in textile mills. They lived in Birmingham for a year or so before returning to Huntsville. However, by March of 1911, they were back in the Huntsville area, living in the Dallas Mill area. Since, records show that my father was working for the Dallas (textile) Manufacturing Co. by that date. Space for photograph and caption. FAMILY OF THOMAS S. KING, ca. 1905, HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA. Top: L to R: Tera, Ann, Sumner, Ethel, Bot: Sanford & wife Mollie, Jackson, Thomas and Robbie. After a brief stay in the Dallas Mill area, the family moved back to the Merrimack Mill Village area. I was told that shortly after they returned to Huntsville, they moved into the same house on Triana Road where they lived before moving to Birmingham! Grandfather Tom's oldest living grandchild, Mrs. Ibbie King Bradford, once described him as being a voracious reader and an exceptionally well educated person for his time and circumstances. Also, that he used his inheritance from his father in furthering his education. And for a brief period, he taught school in the Toney, Alabama area. Ibbie also said, that at his work place, grandfather Tom associated with the better educated supervisors and managers. He worked in the Merrimack textile mill until his death in 1918. His death occurred a couple of years before my birth during a nation wide flu epidemic. Shortly after grandfather King's death, his daughters' Ann, Robbie and Ethel, had saved sufficient funds to finance the purchase of about two acres of land near the south end of the Merrimack mill village. Then they borrowed funds needed to build a large two bedroom frame house for themselves and their mother. The house is situated on the southern outskirts of Merrimack Village (now Huntsville Park). It is now known as 4002 Triana Boulevard, Huntsville, Alabama. The King house lot was very long and narrow. But there was not only room for the house, but also for a barn, wood/coal shed, hen-house, privy and large vegetable garden. There grandfather Tom's widow, Mary Lina Chapman King and her daughters Ann, Ethel and Robbie, enjoyed living a semi-rural life style during the remainder of their lives. Ephraim Jackson King (1895-1948): My father, Ephraim Jackson King, was at various times called Jackson, Jack or E. J. King. He was named after his great grandfather and grandfather. He was the last of the ten children mentioned above. His birth took place in 1895 on a farm near the Madison Cross Roads' area of Toney, Alabama. He received a grammar school education. He married Beatrice (Leatrice) Cloud on 14 January 1920 in Huntsville, Alabama. As previously mentioned, my father's parents put him to work in a local textile mill at age twelve, since that was the custom of the area at that time. During his late teens, he followed the western wheat harvest for two seasons as a farm laborer, starting in north Texas and going north to Canada as the harvest season progressed. During World War-I in 1917 at age 22, he joined the U. S. Navy. He served as a fireman aboard a destroyer named the U.S.S. Nichelson. They were escorting cargo ships between New York City and Brest, France. Also during the war, he like my father-in-law (Walter Clay Hardy) who also served in France, developed a long lasting dislike for the French people. I don't recall all of their reasons, but their distaste was related to their treatment by local citizens while they were serving in the military in that country. After World War-I, my father and his sister Robbie King, owned and he operated a meat market in the West Huntsville, Alabama area. After 1924, he owned and operated roofing companies, first in Birmingham, Alabama and later in Houston, Texas. In Texas his firm was known as the Crown Roofing Company. People who knew my father early during his life, have said that he had an excellent memory and a likable personality. Also that he was a very good salesman. But he became addicted to alcohol and was disabled before his 40th birthday. He died in 1948 at the age 53 due to tuberculosis of the lungs. OUR CLOUD FAMILY LINE: The "Cloud" family name is much less common than our King family name. Yet it has been used in England, Scotland, Ireland and France as far back as the year 1000. In France near Paris, there is a town called Saint Cloud. Apparently no one really knows the origin of the Cloud name. Some authors think it is of Frankish origin and others of Irish or Norman origin. Some think it is derived from the Saxon word "Clud" that means hill or outcropping of rock. Others think it is from the Frankish word "Hlds" (H being pronounced as C). In England where our Cloud line came