Figure of the Week

George Phillips King (1813-1876) was the son of Samuel King (1774-1841).  He was born in Pennsylvania, but lived much of his life in the White Oak area of Stafford.  In 1845, George married Susan Warren (died 1865), the daughter of William Warren.  During the War Between the States, George was a Unionist.  He moved to Fredericksburg during that unsettled time and worked as a merchant and manufacturer of  soap and candles.  His wife was an invalid at this time.  The Union army stole a great deal from his two Stafford farms, including his steam sawmill.  After the war, George P. King asked the Southern Claims Commission to be reimbursed for $6,430 for the items taken but, despite being a proven Unionist, was allowed only $2,259.  In 1868, George P. King was overseer of the road “from the run east of Little Whim on the road from White Oak to the Chatham Bridge, in place of James Heflin.”  George was assistant marshal for the 1870 Stafford census.  He died of rheumatism.