Charles John King (b. 14 November 1863 Devon, England d. 12 July 1943 Grass Valley, California).
This picture was taken sometime between 1884-86 in Cairo, Egypt; my Great Great Grandfather was around 21 years old at the time he began his journey. He married my Great Great Grandmother Anna Levers 20 January 1887 in the East Hill Methodist Church, St. Austell, England. My Great Grandmother Emma Lavinia King (Hayes/Van Duzer) was born in St. Austell 13 April, 1888.
**********************
My Great Great Grandfather's life before he came to America in 1894 was quite a mystery to me until several months ago when I began more thorough research into his family in Devon, England. I knew he had gone to Egypt on a famous expedition as a young man and had come home with several medals presented by Queen Victoria. I remember my Nana sharing them with me as I was growing up. The medals are now treasured keepsakes of Cousin Joan and family. When I began my genealogical family research a few years ago I began to ask more specific questions about this trip. Why did he go? Why was he a Royal Engineer? Was he in combat? What family life did he come from that might have encouraged his enlistment? These were all unknowns until I had a few DNA matches on Ancestry.com, and I was then able to piece together the King family in Devon from census lists, military records and other family trees. With more research, I finally had some answers to my questions.
I also knew there was a "diary" of this trip in the family as well. Just recently I was able to borrow the partially transcribed pages as well as the original manuscript from Cousin Pam. I would like to thank Pam for all her hard work transcribing and typing up a good deal of the project already! I have been working on transcribing the remainder of the manuscript in the last few months. Genealogy work is always easier with a good team.
Now, it is my goal to publish the complete collection of memoirs on line to share with the rest of the family, as well as generations to come. The original manuscripts will be preserved for future family members also. This blog is a companion to more detailed family history, which can be found at auniquesenseofplace.blogspot.com. The link is on the right sidebar if you are interested in finding out more about Charles King and his life right before and after he came to the United States. Just click on the labels for Charles J King when you get there.
The Medals
The Khedive Star Medal given to Charles King in 1885 in recognition of his participation in the Nile Expedition and service afterwards.
The Khedive Star Back View (shared by JoanK)
The Manuscript
The flyer for the bazaar.
Charles King wrote part 1 of his memoirs on the back of these flyers...
My Great Great Grandfather wrote down his personal experiences as "one whose good fortune it was to take part in that celebrated Nile expedition ...one of the most gigantic expeditions of modern times.." He wrote part 1 of his memories on the back of flyers for an upcoming St. Austell Baptist Chapel Bazaar. The flyers were printed Nov. 27th, 1890. Mrs. King (his wife) was on the committee and served as the Secretary. He must have written his memoirs of the expedition around this time. Perhaps a handy stack of flyers was close by when he was ready to start jotting down his thoughts! Part II was written in a small notebook and recopied into a larger notebook. He must have run out of Bazaar flyers.
I do not know what audience he wrote these memories for....was he going to speak at the Bazaar? That is entirely possible. Was it for another public gathering of people? Could be. Egypt was viewed as an exotic destination; its history and culture were popular subjects at the time. His "paper" , as he called it, would have been of interest to a wide audience.
Charles' descriptions and thoughts were very vivid in his memory, so he must have written this within a few short years of the actual event. In fact, he began by saying...."The cry of General Gordon and Khartume (sic) is fresh in the memory of many today, as fresh I may say as in the year 1884...."
I look forward to sharing his memoirs with you in upcoming posts! The medals and the manuscript are just the beginning of the journey.
********************
1908 Watercolor of the Aswan, Nile, Egypt
Conrad Hector Rafaele Carelli (1869-1956), and English watercolorist and painter.
"A stunning painting of a view across the river Nile towards Elephatine Island, at Aswan, Egypt. the scene shows the cataracts of the Nile, which are areas of shallow water, where rocks and boulders punctuate the river bed. The city of Aswan (formally spelled Assuan and in ancient times known as Swenett) was the frontier town of Ancient Egypt facing the south. Because of its strategic position, Egypt was always conceived to 'open' or begin at Swenett".
From The Somerset and Wood Fine Art Company website/Pinterest.com..
No comments:
Post a Comment