Martin Luther King Jr.'s childhood home

Nation & World News

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s older sister, Christine King Farris, takes us on a rare tour of their childhood home, sharing memories along the way.

Christine King Farris, the eldest sister of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., recently conducted a tour of the Kings' childhood home, sharing memories of her famous brother along the way. The house was built in 1895 and was known as the Williams House after the Rev. A.D. Williams, the King children's grandfather. He and his wife, Jennie, bought it in 1909. The house is about a block from Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Williams was pastor.

Farris still attends Ebenezer, where her brother became an associate pastor at 19. Her father and grandfather also preached there.

A family photo hangs in the entryway of Martin Luther King Jr.'s childhood home. It includes (clockwise from top left) Alberta Williams King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr., Jennie Williams, Alberta's mother, and the three King children, A.D. (Alfred Daniel), Christine and Martin Jr. (AJC file photo / Jessica McGowan)

Farris learned how to bake but doesn't remember the men working in the kitchen. All the King children had chores. When it came time to wash dishes after supper, she remembers M.L., Farris' nickname for Martin Jr., invariably needed to use the bathroom.

The family ate dinner together every night and would discuss current events and the children's school day. "Daddy King" even quizzed the children on politics during the meals.

Music was important to Alberta Williams King, who directed Ebenezer's choir. She hired a music teacher to give her children piano lessons. M.L. learned just enough to memorize the first few measures of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and used that knowledge to impress people later in life.

A photo of Rev. A.D. Williams, the King children's grandfather, hangs near a Monopoly set in the den. Farris says M.L. was a great Monopoly player.

When the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. married Alberta, the Rev. A.D. Williams' only daughter, King moved into his in-laws' house. The Williamses took a downstairs bedroom, the Kings this upstairs room. It was here that Farris and her brothers were born.

Farris was born early, and the Kings had not yet bought a crib. She stayed in a drawer in their chifforobe for a couple nights until they bought a crib.

M.L. and A.D. shared their bedroom with an uncle, but the room was filled with Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs, marbles and other toys.

During summers, the King children spent plenty of time on the second-floor porch, watching the activity on the street and sleeping outdoors.

"I don't want people to paint him as some kind of icon," Farris says of M.L. "He was a typical child and he had a normal, typical boyhood. I want children to be able to identify with him, to know that they, too, can make a contribution."

1/13

Christine King Farris, the eldest sister of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., recently conducted a tour of the Kings' childhood home, sharing memories of her famous brother along the way. The house was built in 1895 and was known as the Williams House after the Rev. A.D. Williams, the King children's grandfather. He and his wife, Jennie, bought it in 1909. The house is about a block from Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Williams was pastor.

Today's Gallery Headlines

Alerts

PHOTOS: The Compass Rose Cafe serves up quality food with heaping side dishes of life skills

PHOTOS: Centennial Yards transformation continues

PHOTOS: Matt Ryan introduced as Falcons President of Football

PHOTOS: Georgia legislative session kicks off with Wild Hog Supper