FIRST GENERATION

1. Francois de Coninck ⁽¹⁾ was born between 1585 and 1590 in Flanders. He died after 1637 in Wytschaete, Flanders (now Belgium). .
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The following biography was copied from pages1,5, 23 & 24 of the book "History of the KING FAMILY in Flanders & America 1300's - 1980 ---- The Ancestry & Descendants of Pieter de Coninck II (aka Peter King II) & his wife Anna Calet, Immigrants to New Castle County, Delaware by 1680/81. (including connecting families of Hanson, Haughey, Lamb, Laurence, McClaren, EcEwen, Skeer, Sweesy, Vandegrift, Westfall and others)" by Robert E. King and Doris R. (Van Dusen)Jones.

QUOTE from pg 5

ORIGINS OF THE SURNAME "KING"/"DE CONINCK"
The surname "King" like its Flemish equivalent of "de Coninck" is generally stated to be one which was taken by (or given to) a person in the Middle Ages who portrayed the role of a king in a medieval church play. ...... The second possible origin of the name King/de Coninck i s that medieval archer societies................ were headed by leaders who were called "kings". Thus these group leaders might have adopted their titles as second names when surnames were developing in Flanders prior to the 12th century.
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QUOTE from pg 1

INTRODUCTION
...... The earliest known King ancestors did not spell their name King. Rather, their name was de Coninck which is the Flemish version of the same surname, and their residence in the late 1500's was in what is now the western part of Belgium, about 60 miles west of Brussels. At this time however this was a part of Flanders..........
The King family ...... apparently descends from the celebrated Flemish hero of 1302, Pieter de Coninck (=Peter King) ....... . Yet due to the scarcity of records prior to the 1500's, the specific proven line of descent from the hero of 1302 starts only with Francois de Coninck (=Francis King) who was the grandfather of Pieter de Coninck II (=Peter King II) who immigrated to America in 1679 with his family .... . Francois de Coninck lived at or near the Flemish village of Wytschaete in the early 1500"s and early 1600's and may have been the grandson of a Jacques de Coninck who died in 1557 near Wytschaete ..... . This village (which is also spelled Wijtachate) is located 5 miles south of the once-important city of Ypres (also spelled "Ieper"). Records to follow (pages 7-13) show that many members of the de Coninck family, probably including both Francois and his possible grandfather Jacques, were non-resident business people of Ypres who lived in the rural Wytschaete region. Most if not all of the de Conincks in this are a may have been descendants of the hero of 1302, with western Flanders perhaps their homeland from at least the 1200's ....... .

FLANDERS
Based on available evidence the "nationality" of the King family recorded in this genealogy is Flemish. -- referring to Flanders, which, before 1830, was a separate political unit in northern Europe. However it is somewhat misleading to think in terms of "nationality" when dealing with early Flanders. Prior to the 17th century when the de Conincks lived in what is now western Belgium, they were subjects of a prince rather than nationals of a country. In the late 1500's and early 1600's when Francois de Coninck was alive, the village of Wytschaete was administered as part of the "Chatellenie d'Ypres," a medieval term originally meaning that the region was once land which belonged to the castle of Ypres and its ruler.
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QUOTE from pg 23
Unfortunately, no specific information was found on the earliest-known direct ancestors as to their social relations, cultural background, and their ideas and prejudices. Nonetheless, certain general deductions can be made due to their known standing in the early 1600's as "buitenpoorters" (non-resident business persons) of the city of Ypres. First it is certain that the de Coninck(King) ancestors were educated persons because the conduct of business required a fair degree of intelligence and executive ability. They evidently had training in mathematics and probably were familiar with the use of counters and of the abacus. Furthermore, they had to have had an understanding of bookkeeping and finance, and also would have had training in letter writing and were probably bilingual. They would have known both Flemish and also the language of the business world, French. (END QUOTE)

QUOTE from pg 24
Thus from an intellectual viewpoint the ancestors in early 17th century Flanders can be visualized as able and hardworking but with knowledge probably little beyond what was necessary to earn a living. Like others at the time, they probably were religious and attended church regularly. Also like many others in the area, The de Coninck ancestors apparently severed their ties to Catholicism in the mid to late 1500's and became members of the "Reformed" Church. This change may well have led to their move to Netherlands. (END QUOTE)
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He was married. Francois de Coninck had the following children:

+2 i. Pieter (I) King (de Coninck).