Mrs. William P. King

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Mrs. William P. King, out in Kaufman County.

Now, not every county seat has a story behind it, but Kaufman County's got one, and right at the center of it stands a woman named Frances A. King. Hold that name in your mind, because she's going to earn it.

Frances came to the Republic of Texas as the wife of the founder of King's Fort. That was 1840, and pioneering in the Republic of Texas was not a gentle undertaking. The marker is careful to tell us she did it with great courage and enthusiasm; and before this story is done, you'll understand why they bothered to say so.

Her husband died in 1846. And that's the kind of moment that ends a lot of stories. For Frances, it was not the end.

She later remarried, becoming Mrs. Tabor, and somewhere in that chapter of her life, a newly organized Kaufman County needed to decide on a county seat. The candidates were in, the contest was live, and Frances A.

King (now Mrs. Tabor) entered the election for Kingsborough. Entered it, and won it.

Then, in April of 1851, she did something that sealed the deal in the most permanent way a person can. She deeded 75 acres for the townsite, and another 75-acre timber tract to the county commissioners: James W. Love, J.

Larkin Austin, and John W. Terrell. That's 150 acres she handed over to make sure this county had a place to grow.

King's Fort had become the village of Kingsborough by then. And Kingsborough would eventually take the same name as the county itself: Kaufman. This marker was erected by the Clover Club and the Cameo Club.

And it honors a woman who didn't just survive the frontier; she shaped what came after it. Frances A. King donated the very ground beneath a county seat.

That's not a footnote. That's the whole story.

What the marker says

(Frances A. King) (Donor, Land for County seat, Kaufman County) Wife of founder of King's Fort (in 1840), Frances A. King pioneered with great courage and enthusiasm in Republic of Texas. After King's death in 1846, she later (as Mrs. Tabor) entered and won election of Kingsborough for county seat of newly organized Kaufman County. In April 1851 she deeded 75 acres for townsite and a 75-acre timber tract to the county commissioners, James W. Love, J. Larkin Austin and John W. Terrell. King's Fort had grown into village of Kingsborough, later given same name as county. INCISE ON BACK: Erected by Clover Club and Cameo Club