Roswell A. King (b. 1790) was born in Sharon, CT, married Theresa Tennent (b. 1804), and lived in London and Ireland until 1829, when he learned that gold had been discovered in North Carolina. King’s Mine and the Silver Hill Mine were among several mines that he prospected in Davidson County, NC. Silver Hill Mine, located a few miles south of Lexington, NC, opened in 1838 and was the first operating silver mine in the country. According to Dialectic Society minutes for July 30, 1841, "Mr Dusenberry moved that a committee be appointed to write to write to Mr King and request of him a specimen of his minerals—carried the members who compose this committee are [James Lawrence] Dusenberry [Stephen Sneed] Green & G[eorge W.] Henderson (Vol. 9, University Archives, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).