Clues by Association

If one of the ways we can uncover those aggravating hidden details about our family history is by examining our ancestors' friends, associates, and neighbors, those associated with King Stockton surely give us an intriguing picture.

While there is very little that can be discovered about King Stockton through a search of online resources, we've already learned that he had been a key influence in the young life of future attorney and judge, James Dean. Once I located the actual booklet of King Stockton's life, I then had another clue about someone who considered the man worthy of remembrance: the author of the seven page biography.

While I have yet to confirm his true identity, the author of the Stockton biography—listing himself as A. L. Lewis—may have also been a significant figure in the African American community in northern Florida. If you followed the link located by reader Per Larsson in yesterday's comments, those initials may have stood for Abraham Lincoln Lewis, businessman and philanthropist in the Jacksonville area.

Reading such biographies of the associates of King Stockton gives me pause to consider: though living a mostly unsung life, this man's character led him to interface with others for whom he became an inspiration and, likely, a mentor. While this little booklet about King Stockton's life does not, for the most part, recount his own accomplishments, seeing the fingerprints of these silent associations makes me wish all the more that someone had given voice to such details.

There are, however, other aspects of his saga that were mentioned. Mostly, these were tales from the man's childhood, growing up in pioneer settlements in territorial Florida during the years of the Seminole Wars. Enough names from that local history were mentioned that I'd like to take the detour of researching those accounts to verify what happened.

Then, too, was the page listing King's wife, Louvenia, and the names of his children—prompting me to go the genealogist's route and sketch out a pedigree chart to help keep everyone straight in my mind. With its digital home set up on Ancestry.com, I'll have easy access to documentation to follow the family trail through a few more generations of descendants. After all, at least one of them has turned out to be a DNA match to me, so I may as well learn a little bit more about these relatives I never knew I had.

There is, however, one other task I want to take care of, in relating this story of the unnamed slave's story from my childhood memories. It necessitates my going through my aunt's belongings to find a specific photograph, though, before I can tell you that story—and such rummaging through old storage bins can sometimes be a haphazard endeavor. If I can manage to produce the photo I'm seeking—I'll give myself the weekend to find it—I'll be able to share one more vignette about the connection between the family of King Stockton and that of George and Sidney Tison McClellan.