Age at Death: 95
Date of Death: October 7, 1911
Interment source:
Bay View Cemetery Association, Corpus Christi, Texas. Record of Interments
NO HEADSTONE
1. Biography
In the 1900 census of Nueces County (E. D. 133, sheet 3/page 158B), elderly Anthony King states that he was born in Washington (D. C.) in April of 1802. If that were so then he would have been at least 100 years old when he died on 2 May 1903. Even the interment records of the Bayview Association indicate that at the time of his death, Anthony was regarded as approaching the century mark. In that record, however, he is listed as 95 years old at the time of his death. Anthony King appears 20 years earlier in the Nueces County census records in 1880 (p. 14C). He is a member of the African-American community who is a laborer, born in Virginia (he could easily have considered Washington, D. C. as a part of that state), who is married to Sarah and has 5 children. In this census Anthony lists himself as 55 years old (thus born about 1825). His wife Sarah is 38 years old and a native of Tennessee. Their children range in age from 10 months to 14 years old and are all natives of Texas according to the record. During the 1880s the city made an effort to try and improve the upkeep of Old Bayview Cemetery by hiring a sexton who was in charge of its maintenance and interments. Articles from the Caller report the work E. T. Joy who was in charge of cleaning the cemetery and was paid by the city mayor as authorized by the city aldermen (see Caller of 11 August 1888 on page 8 column 4). However, on November 11, 1888 Mr. Joy died. Because of his illness he had not been able to fulfill his responsibilities in October either, but the council moved to pay his account for that month and then accept bids for the position of City Sexton. The notice from the mayor's office stated that those seeking the position must state the amount they would want per month for keeping the Old Bayview Cemetery in a clean condition, "subject to inspection each month" (Caller of 17 November 1888 on page 8 columns 3-4). It was Anthony King who submitted the bid that was accepted by the city council. The highest bid was from Lee Riggs who agreed to do the job for $30 per month. Anthony agreed to do the work for half that amount--$15 per month. Others who bid were G. B. Williams, James Stephenson, E. M. Mack, Alex M. Rose, and Thadeus S. Hoyt (many of whom are also buried in Old Bayview). The lowest bid was from Hoyt who agreed to do the work for $7.50 per month. The council then chose the City Sexton by written vote. Anthony received 5 out of 6 votes. The other vote went to E. M. Mack, also a member of the African-American community and a retired Union veteran of the Civil War. The article notes that Anthony was to fill out the unexpired term of E. T. Joy (Caller of 8 December 1888 on page 8 column 3). However, Anthony must have done a good job as he continued to be chosen when elections came due (see Caller of 9 May 1890 and 6 June 1891). In 1891 he received all 7 votes of the council members (Caller of 6 June 1891 page 8 column 4). His work must have had a different significance when he lost his wife Sarah King in 1896. The early death records of the city of Corpus Christi note that Sarah King died of consumption at 49 years old on 28 June 1896 (early records page 92 #1335). There is no obituary to record the passing of Anthony or Sarah King. Nor are there tombstones marking their graves. However, we know Anthony is buried in Old Bayview because of interment records which were kept by the Bayview Cemetery Association from 1897 to 1913. Unfortunately those records do not include the time of Sarah's death (1896) to verify that she too was buried there. It seems most likely that Sarah would indeed be buried in the cemetery her husband cared for, and we can imagine that he gave special attention to that site. Only a month after her death, an article in the Caller calls the older citizens to form an association to help "Uncle Anthony" in locating and marking graves. It laments that many graves are unmarked and fears they will be disturbed by new burials before very long. The article asks that once this association is formed there be no further burials or removals allowed without the committee's consent (Caller of 24 July 1896 page 6 column 4). By this time Anthony would have been up in years and less able to do some of the more hard labor, but he would have been familiar with the gravesites and known the identities of the more recent burials as well as the families of the older burials. No doubt his knowledge of the old cemetery would have been invaluable. By 1900 Anthony was living on Buffalo Street with his daughters "Fanny" and "Sarra" who were taking in laundry to support the household. Anthony and Sarah King are known to have had at least the following children: Cynthia (c. 1866), Anthony Jr. (c. 1868), Moses (c. 1870), Joseph (c. 1877), Fannie (c. 1879), and Sarah (about a year younger than Fannie). As to Anthony's last name, Mrs. J. D. Smith, granddaughter of Malvina Garrett Moore in an article written in 1939 entitled "Early Negroes of Corpus Christi" states, "The Vineyards and Means had slaves who came to Corpus Christi after the war's end. Capt. King (Richard King) brought in Anthony King, who became the father of a large family. His daughter was one of the early teachers in the public schools."
Research and transcription: Michael A. Howell
2. News item
City sextons
Complaint is made of the manner in which the city cemetery is kept. Mr. Joy, you will have to stir yourself a little more; grass grows mighty fast you know.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller, November 3, 1888, page 5, col. 2
E. T. Joy, city sexton and an old resident of this locality, died on last Sunday evening after a brief illness (Sunday Nov. 11, 1888) The deceased was an honest, kind-hearted and much respected man.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller, November 17, 1888, Page 1, col. 4
Anthony King
At a meeting of the city counsel Anthony King was elected city sexton.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller, May 9, 1890
As quoted in Men and Events of Forty Years ago
Source: Corpus Christ Caller Times, May 11, 1930, Section 2 Page 9, col. 1- 2
Reseach: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription: Geraldine D. McGloin