“Vinciata”
Joseph Wallace King (1911-1996)
Joseph Wallace King was born on the 11 of May 1911 at Leatherwood
Plantation in Horsepasture, Virginia. He was the eleventh of thirteen
children born to Annie Gordon Staples and Joseph Wallace King. Mr.
King had a whiskey distillery and a plug tobacco company and was
responsible for the management of his wife's family plantation. Life was
pretty easy and happy until the whole thing went up in smoke one
Christmas Eve. Older family members remembered three year old Joe
standing under a tree as the family home burned to the ground
screaming "where’s the baby, where’s the baby". The baby was sister
Madeline who was only a few months old and Joe had already laid claim
to her as his. Someone laid baby Madeline at his feet and at least one
person was happy that day.
Much was lost in the fire including the family bible in which the births,
deaths and marriages had been recorded. In rural Virginia this was
often times the only way dates were noted. Although his date of birth
often appears as 1912 due to a well meaning older sister, Margaret, who
shaved off a year for him when he had to register for a social security
number, his actual date of birth was 1911.
The family moved to North Carolina shortly after the fire. First to
Stoneville and then to Bennett before settling in Greensboro. At age
sixteen Joe moved to nearby Winston-Salem to live with a sister who
had married a local Winston-Salem boy. He began attending Reynolds
High School and the wonderful art classes there. This was just what he
had been looking for,
a place to study art.
Family Owned & Operated
"Under New Ownership"
Formally: Apollo Flame
Serving Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Serving Breakfast All Day
We Cater
Daily Specials
Hours:
Mon.-Sat. 7am - 9pm
Sunday 7am - 2:30pm
336.377.2199
www.vinciata.net
150 Hanes Mill Ct.
Winston Salem, NC
16