Honoring Isadore Julius King: A Connection That Deepened My Passion for Family History

Family history is more than names on a chart or dates on a document. It is about connection, discovery, preservation, and understanding how the lives of those who came before us continue to shape our own stories today. For me, one of those meaningful connections came through my 2nd cousin, twice removed, Isadore Julius King.

Isadore Julius King (November 22, 1949 - January 13, 2023)

Growing up without my biological father left me with many questions about my family history and where I fit within it. Those gaps extended through other parts of my immediate ancestry, as I never truly had the opportunity to know my maternal biological grandfather. Still, family members such as my cousin Terry Edwards, whom I affectionately call Aunt Terry, and my Uncle Tony, who is actually my great uncle, helped keep me connected to that side of my family. Their love, guidance, and willingness to share family knowledge planted seeds of curiosity that would later contribute to a deep passion for genealogy.

In late 2010, I began hearing about Ancestry.com through advertisements. On January 9, 2011, I officially joined the platform and began exploring my family history in earnest. Like many beginning genealogists, I started with what I knew and reached out to relatives to help fill in the gaps. I owe special thanks to Uncle Tony, whose knowledge and encouragement helped me tremendously during those early stages of research as it relates to the King side of my family.

As I researched the King side of my family, I discovered my 2nd great-grandfather George James King, Sr.’s siblings. Through that process, I learned that his brother Leroy had three sons: Leroy, Carl, and Isadore J. King. Leroy had named his son Carl after his brother Carl, a touching example of how family names carry memory and honor across generations.

While adding cousin Carl James King, Sr., to my tree, I noticed that it connected me to another Ancestry user named Isadore King. At the time, his tree contained only three individuals: Carl King, Sr., Carl’s wife Mary E. Williams, and one private living individual whose identity was hidden from public users. I immediately suspected that this Isadore King was the nephew of Carl King, the son of his brother Isadore.

On July 9, 2020, I sent Isadore a message through Ancestry.com introducing myself and explaining how I believed we were related. I also shared that I had copies of his “Uncle Carl’s” obituary as well as his grandfather Leroy’s obituary. Remarkably, within 36 minutes, Isadore responded. Though I would not see his reply until September 10, 2020, our eventual conversation became one I would never forget.

After exchanging phone numbers, Isadore called me just as he promised. During that conversation, we shared stories about ourselves, our families, and our lives. Interestingly, I never even asked him many questions about genealogy or family history. I was simply grateful to connect with a relative and experience the warmth of that family bond.

Yet that conversation changed something in me.

Meeting Isadore, even briefly over the phone, supercharged my passion for genealogy. It reminded me that family history research is not simply about collecting records; it is about rediscovering people, preserving memories, and rebuilding connections across generations. In many ways, Isadore fueled my determination to continue researching our family, not just in hopes of learning more about myself, but discovering relatives I had never met.

Because of the impact he had on me, what began as simple curiosity soon became something much larger. Today, my family tree on Ancestry.com contains 846 people, 1,759 historical records, and 154 photographs, and the work continues. The platform has been an incredible resource for preserving our family’s history, reconnecting branches of the family tree, and uncovering stories that may otherwise have been lost to time.

I was saddened when Isadore passed, because we never met in person, and we never touched base again after that initial phone call. It wasn’t until Isadore’s sister-in-law Donna kindly shared his obituary with me yesterday that I realized I never added him to my ancestry family tree. As I prepared to add him properly to my family tree, I encountered something puzzling: his name did not include the suffix “Jr.” Naturally, I revisited the records I had gathered over the years. When I looked again at Carl James King Sr.’s obituary from the Times Herald, published Saturday, March 28, 1987, I noticed a detail I had overlooked before. The obituary stated:

“Mr. King married Mary Elizabeth Williams on April 19, 1939. This marriage bore five children, Cynthia, Carl Jr., Isadore, Raymond and Duane, all of whom were born in Port Huron, where Mr. and Mrs. King resided for 27 years.”

At that moment, the mystery became clear. Just as Leroy had named his son Carl in honor of his brother, Carl James King, Sr. had named one of his sons after his own brother, Isadore J. King. That is why the younger Isadore did not carry the suffix “Jr.” It was another beautiful example of remembrance and honor being passed through generations of the King family.

Isadore, thank you for responding to my message and for taking the time to speak with me. Now I know that I already possessed your father’s obituary and your grandfather’s obituary, and now I will preserve yours as well. Although we never had the opportunity to meet in person on this side of heaven, I believe one day we will meet on the other side.

Until then, I remain committed to preserving our family’s stories, records, and memories, hopeful that future generations will continue the work long after me, and someone one day will preserve mine too.