Boles Cemetery
Johnson County, Kansas
Transcribed by Johnna Quick and photographed by Jane Owens.
From “The History of Johnson County, Kansas? published by Ed Blair in 1915,
pages 402-404
Harry King, a former county commissioner of Johnson county, now engaged in the
mercantile business at Zarah, Kan., is a native of England. He was born in
Buckinghamshire, March 26, 1859, a son of Charles and Rhoda (Smith) King, also
natives of the mother country. They were the parents of two children, Harry the
subject of this sketch, and Fannie, who died in 1872. The King family left their
native country in the spring of 1870 and immigrated to Canada. After remaining in
that country four months they came to the states, locating in Monticello township,
Johnson county, Kansas. Here the father worked the first year for a Methodist
minister, named Boles, who had been an Indian missionary among the Shawnee Indians
before the Civil war. The second year that Mr. King was in Johnson county, he
rented forty acres of land from Joseph King, a brother, and followed farming in a
small way until his death, which occurred in 1875 and his remains are buried in a
private cemetery on the Boles farm, one mile south of Wilder. Harry King attended private school in
England and was about eleven years of age when his parents settled in Johnson
county. Here he attended public school and began farming for himself when
seventeen years old, and for fifteen years specialized in raising potatoes in the
Kaw valley. He was also engaged in buying and shipping potatoes, at the same time
and did an extensive business which proved profitable. In 1896 he shipped thirty
carloads of potatoes to Trinidad, Colo., besides many other shipments elsewhere.
In 1902 he traded for a stock of goods at Zarah and since that time has been
engaged in the general mercantile business there. He has built up a large trade
and has a good lively paying business for a country store. Mr. King has always
taken a keen interest in public affairs and an active part in politics. He was
elected road overseer, serving two years, and has also served at township clerk two
years and has filled the office of township trustee for five years. In 1908 he was elected co
unty commissioner of Johnson county and served four years in a manner that was
satisfactory to his constituents and creditable to himself. During his term of
office as county commissioner he took a special interest in bridge work and during
that administration his ideas of bridge construction were largely incorporated in
the work done. He had considerable experience in bridge construction while township
trustee and in 1903 in that capacity built the first concrete bridge in Johnson
county. It is located two miles north of Zarah. While he was a member of the board
of county commissioners about fifteen new bridges were completed in the county,
among them McCoy bridge, a concrete structure across Clear creek and another
important structure completed during that time is the Burton bridge which spans the
Big Blue. Mr. King has been married twice. In 1880 he married Miss Carrie Haynes,
who died in 1882, leaving one child, Carrie. In 1890 Mr. King was united in
marriage to Miss Roxie Ballard in Wyandotte county, and five children have been born to this
union as follows: Samuel, now engaged in Business in Bethel; Rose resides at home;
Harry, Jr., is in the employ of Ellet-Kendall Shoe Company, of Kansas City, Mo.;
Benjamin, a student in Central Business College, Kansas City, Mo., and Teddy lives
at home. Mr. King joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Bonner Springs,
Kan., in 1890, and has been in good standing ever since. At present he is a member
of the Shawnee Lodge, No. 561. Mr. King believes in going forward. He is a strong
advocate of progress and modern methods. He was one of the first to advocate good
roads and never ceased advocating them, and he is entitled to a great deal of
credit for the rock roads which have already been built in Johnson county.