Duncan King Cemetery
Contributed by Jason Bordeaux
Columbus County, NC

The original burial site for Duncan, Lydia, Alexander, and Catherine King is back in the woods behind the Shiloh Methodist church, 4658 Old Lake Rd, Bolton, NC. This is at the intersection of Hwy 211 and Old Lake Road. The obelisk marking their graves was moved from the woods to the church in the 1930s.
On January 24, 2009, descendants of Duncan King and other interested parties met at Shiloh Baptist Church. Their goal was to locate the original graves of the King family and determine if others might be buried there. Ruth King of Chadbourn organized the expedition and Layton Dowless of Whiteville found and surveyed the grave sites using grave dowsing. As shown on the diagrams, 2 cemeteries were found. One is assumed to be the King slave cemetery.



Duncan King obelisk located at: N34 22.259 W78 26.816
King slave cemetery located at: N34 22.064 W78 26.916
Duncan King cemetery located at: N34 22.056 W78 26.934






Photographs courtesy of Jason Bordeaux
Click on photos for larger images

Duncan King Obelisk at Shiloh Methodist Church

The west face of the marker reads:

DUNCAN KING a Native of Scotland and an officer in Gen Wolf's army at the Battle of Quebeck departed this life July 3, 1793. Aged 64 years

LYDIA FOSQUE wife of Duncan King departed this life Dec'r 31, 1819. Aged 70 years

The east face of the marker reads:

ALEXANDER KING a resident of Bladen County, son of Duncan King & Lydia was born Jan 1, 1768 departed this life May 23’d 1860. Aged 92 years 4 months and 23 days. Was 61 years a member of the Methodist E. church.

Also CATHERINE HOLMES wife of Alexander King born May 8, 1782 departed this life Feb’r 15, 1837. Aged 54 years 9 months and 7 days.

From newspaper article "Forbear's life as colorful as romance novel" by Jennifer Essen:
"Camille Byant remembers when her mother, Roxie McDougald, found the marker overturned and covered with vines and grafitti in the 1930's. It was the King family cemetery behind the present church, and she had it pulled with a tractor from the woods and placed at its present location."

From newspaper article "Shiloh's Story Full Of History" originally published in "The News and Observer", Raleigh, NC, March 7, 1926:
"In 1840, Rev. James King and other descendants erected at the graves of Duncan and Lydia King a handsome imported monument of Scotch granite. It took a yoke of ten oxen a week to transport it from the Cape Fear river landing to their graves. It is a graceful obelisk, eight feet tall, 20 inches at the base and 10 at the apex, resting on a broad base."