HUGH KING was born December 17, 1754 in Argyle, Scotland. In 1777-78 he was living in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, when he volunteered under Major DAVIE, "later Colonel and afterwards Governor of North Carolina." KING resided at that time on a plantation rented from Colonel EZEKIEL POLK, "afterwards of [Maury] Co." During KING's first tour of duty he was in a skirmish with a detachment of Colonel TARLETON's Dragoons at Charlotte Village, North Carolina. After he returned from this tour he was drafted from Captain ALEXANDER's Company and spent three months in Captain McRAE's Company guarding wagons. WILLIAM ORR, a neighbor of KING's, was the wagonmaster. KING volunteered for another tour of duty, during which he was in the Battle of Ramsour's Mill, "when Captain FALLS was killed." KING was on still another tour when General DAVIDSON was killed at Beatty's Ford on the morning of February 8, 1781.
On April 1, 1781 KING enlisted for ten months in Captain ALEXANDER's Company. They marched to South Carolina, where they were in the Battle of Strawberry Fields, eighteen miles from Charleston. He was also in the "battle of the quarter house," when two wagons loaded with specie (principally gold) and arms were captured from the Tories. KING also saw action during the siege of Ninety-Six. He never received any pay for his services. HUGH KING was living in Maury county by 1811,when he paid taxes on 350 acres of land on Fountain Creek. He was an elder of Elk Ridge Presbyterian Church, which was located in Giles County, just across the line from Maury County.
At the time of the 1820 census his household consisted of one male ages sixteen to eighteen; two males ages eighteen to twenty-six; one male over forty-five years of age; one female ages 16 to twenty-six; and one female over forty-five. On June 11, 1833 KING applied for a pension in Maury County. He was allowed $93.33 per annum for ten months' service as a private of cavalry and fourteen months as a private of infantry in the North Carolina Line. KING was listed as the head of householdin Giles County, Tennessee in the 1840 Census of Pensioners. He had requested a transfer of his pension from "Murry" County in April, 1838, because "all of my children married and left me except one daughter and my being unable to support myself in my old age, I removed to Giles County to live with my son-in-law."
His wife, MARY MONTGOMERY KING, died December 7, 1843 and was buried in Elk Ridge Presbyterian Church Cemetery. On July 8, 1845 he again requested a transfer, "having lately removed to Woodford County, Kentucky from Tennessee . . . My friends and relatives with whom I lived in Tennessee died and I removed to Kentucky with a son." Once again, on January 27, 1846, HUGH KING requested a transfer of his pension to Vermilion County, Illinois, since,
. . . he was induced to come to Illinois for the reason that he lost his wife sometime since; and having four children living in Illinois, he was desirous to reside with some of them.
The date of King's death has not been established. However, he died in Danville, Illinois