State of North Carolina, Wilson County }
Be it remembered that on this the 28th day of July AD 1871 I, H.W. Peel, Coroner of said County, attended by a Jury of good and lawful men, (viz) W.S. Dun, John Baily, Timothy Wheeler, Jim Bass, Rober Gardner, Gray Web, George Best, Willy Ellis, J.W. Amerson, P.A. Whitley, Jos. Edmundson, Jos. Peacock by me summoned for that purpose according to Law after being by me duly sworn and Empanneled at the house of Sol Woodard in the County aforesaid did hold an inquest over the dead body of Charles King (col) and after inquiring into the facts & circumstances of the death of the deceased, from a view of the corpse and all the testimony to be procured, the Jury find as follows, that is to say that the deceased came to his death by aixdently discharge of a loaded gun of the hands of Wm Woodard. /s/ J.M. Amason Forman, W.S. Dunn, Robt. Gardner, John (X) Baily, Timothy (X) Wheeler, Wiley Ellis, James (X) Bass, Geo. D. Best, Gray Webb, J.W. Peacock, Joseph Edmundson, J.A. Whitley
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I Jas. T. Graves being sworn do testify that I examined the body of Charles King col and find that he came to his death of a gun shot wound entering his head in the left eye & penetrating the brain which was the cause of death. James T. Graves M.D.
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Raford Newsom being solemly sworn says as follows. Namely that Wm Woodard Charles King Raford Newsom & Caroline King All the above names were at work on the farm except Caroline who went down to carry Charles King breakfast her husband. While eating his breakfast Wm Woodard came along and he and Charles King got into a play with the gun and while in the play the gun went off axidentily and shot Charles King near the left eye which instily killed him Raford (X) Newsom
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Caroline King the wife of the deceased being solemnly sworn says as follows. The facts stated by Raiford Newsom as above are true the best of her understanding. Caroline (X) King
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Neither Charles nor Caroline King appears in Wilson County records, but the jurors of the inquest are listed in the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township.
Coroner’s Records, Miscellaneous Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives