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Family
Marriage: Children:
  1. Louise Knight: Birth: 1812 in Woodhouse, Ontario, Canada. Death: 1875 in Southwold, Elgin, Norfolk, Ontario

  2. Charles Knight: Birth: ABT. 1814 in Port Dover, Norfolk, Ontario. Death: 3 MAY 1840 in Port Dover, Norfolk, Ontario

  3. Walter Knight: Birth: ABT. 1816 in Port Dover, Norfolk, Ontario. Death: 29 APR 1840 in Port Dover, Norfolk, Ontario

  4. Benjamin Knight: Birth: ABT. 1817 in Port Dover, Norfolk, Ontario. Death: AFT. 1880 in Hixton,Jackson Co. Wisconsin

  5. Dorothy Knight: Birth: 1820 in Woodhouse, Norfolk, Ontario.

  6. Orrin Knight: Birth: 1822 in Woodhouse, Norfolk, Ontario.

  7. Mary Elizabeth Knight: Birth: MAR 1825 in Woodhouse, Norfolk, Ontario. Death: AFT. 1880 in Garden Valley, Jackson, Wisconsin

  8. Person Not Viewable


Family
Marriage: Children:
  1. Silas Knight: Birth: 1802 in New York. Death: 1867 in Frankville, Winneshiek, Iowa


Notes
a. Note:   My 4th grt grandparents: John was a Methodist. He and his wife were also in Court in 1818 for some bills maybe, they had Tavern Bills it said. They lost the case. Discovered Silas's mother was not Elizabeth, in family notes they have the other boys named as half siblings, and that his mother is now Mrs John Williams and she lived in New York State. Haven't found her yet. Correction made Jan. 2010 by me. Believe first wife's maiden name to be Bayard. Thinking first name Mary. Just thoughts. I think his father (John's) was the one hung for treason during the War John's brother Charles also was in Pennsylvania as was our John Found a Daniel married to Mary who was born in Canada West, and living in Scio in 1860, must be or maybe John's sibling. Parents (John) went to Canada and came back for another wife I believe in Erie, I forgot to put the researchers info on this in, and now can't find it. Looks like both John and Charles were in the Lincoln militia, John in the 3rd Regiment and Charles in that one or another. The 3rd Regiment was from Frenchmans Creek, right across the Niagara River from Buffalo, so they lived there prior to 1811 or 1812, then Charles and John were captured and the area they lived in occupied by the Americans. So the family moved to Port Dover while John and Charles, and maybe other family members were war prisoners. I am asking the Lincoln Militia for some more details and have ordered a couple of books to read up on the battles. Seems like Charles was captured at the battle of Queenstown Heights, probably on Grand Island and John was captured at the battle of Sugar Loaf Hill. So they both rejoined the family in Port Dover after the war which would mean they were released about 1815. Hopefully we can find out a little more from military records.It appears that John was also in the Lincoln militia and was taken prisoner. This explains some gaps and why the family stayed in Port Dover for awhile. I hope this lady sends me more on the records. I will also research the Sugar Loaf battle to see what that was On 4 Jun 1831, John Knight aged 44 transferred to serve as a private in the 2nd or Reserve Battalion of the 1st Regiment of Norfolk Militia formed for men aged 40 or over.4 One other thing, Robert Mutrie, the historian in Norfolk there, had found records that the parents of John and Charles were with them in Port Dover. He was pretty sure about that. So I think that the parents lived in Woodhouse later on as well, and maybe the other John in Woodhouse is the father. But it will take some time to figure it out. I think what happens was the family were refugees from the first American invasion across the Niagara River. The first attack was right about at Frenchmans Creek, where the family lived, so when that happened some family men were captured in the battle of Queenstown Heights, like Charles, because the Frenchmans Creek regiment of the Lincoln militia was the first to engage the Americans on the Island in the river there. Then John was captured not long after at Sugar Loaf, and maybe some other family men were captured. So the family fled to Long Point in 1811 and was probably granted a homestead in Woodhouse, but couldn�t perfect it, (i.e. build a road along one side and a cabin) because the men were prisoners. So the family waited in Port Dover until the men got released by the Americans. So I think when I finally see the land grants in Woodhouse we will see that they were granted land but didn�t perfect the claim until after the men got back. That is what looks like happened anyway. It looks like there were two grants made, one to one John Knight and one to another John Knight. All notes from David... I had purchased a book some time ago which was the best known list of United Empire Loyalists. This book was used to confirm whether families had the right to the EU title and that was the reason the list was compiled. One of the main units of loyalists was Butlers Rangers. When the loyalist forces had been driven north over time they were finally given land at Niagara on the Fort Erie side between Fort Erie and Port Colborne. This was unsettled land so the only people that lived there were former Butlers Rangers, and they were settled there with the thought in mind by the British that these people would defend the Fort Erie area, which they indeed did in the war of 1812 by way of the Lincoln Militia. This was the militia that formed at Port Colborne from local residents. So here are a few things that you might find interesting. 1. The United Empire List does have a John Knight (It seems clear that this John Knight was the father of our John Knight that was the father of Silas Knight), Benjamin Knight, and James Knight as members of Butlers Rangers. 2. Butlers Rangers was drawn in large part from loyalists in Philadelphia that had to flee for some years after the British abandoned Philadelphia and the sons of liberty started burning out loyalist homes and businesses. These reprisals by the Sons of Liberty want on for a couple of decades. We know John Knight was likely in Philadelphia at 1796 because his brother Charles was confirmed born there at that time. 3. The family ended up at Port Colborne before 1811 and were members of the Lincoln Militia fighting in the war of 1812. Charles, and John Jr. were taken prisoner and Benjamin was killed at the Battle of Sugarloaf Hill. Again, only Butlers Rangers had been settled at Port Colborne and Fort Erie. In 1811 the family relocated to Port Dover, probably to get the women and children out of the way of the war at Niagara. We know this from Robert Mutrie, the Canadian loyalist historian, that John Knight arrived in Port Dover in 1811 with his parents. John was taken back after being captured by the Americans, to the United Staes in June 1813, and the same as Charles. 4. Two John Knights are shown in the census of Woodhouse with homes very close together or adjoining lots. Father/Son So it was interesting to find John Knight in the U.E. book as a member of the New York Royal Rangers, (Butlers Rangers). This would be the father, born 1755. But there is one interesting twist to this. John Knights son, Silas, our ancestor had a different mother from all the other of Johns children. Her name was almost certainly Bayard, and the Bayard family was centered in Philadelphia for the most part. We have learned from the work done by Joseph Knights descendants and information from Mormon researchers in Salt Lake that Joseph Knight is part of our family and from the original family in Massachusetts. The two families used to visit in Eau Claire and shared pictures so the link is finally complete. But, Silas Sr. did not travel on with the family and later on ended up living with Joseph Knight, in Scio, just down the road from Hume. Joseph Knight, the brother of John Knight Sr. and uncle of John Knight Jr. had quite different political beliefs as most of the rest of his family did. Joseph was a minuteman and was believed to be one of the masked men at the Boston Tea Party. So Silas lived with him for some time before meeting and marrying Phoebe Short (part Metis Cree Indian). Silas and Phoebe then moved to Woodhouse, probably about 1825, and lived with relatives there while their homestead or home was completed. The interesting aside is that Silas didn�t become involved in any loyalist activity, other than the local militia in Woodhouse much later on, and did not get involved in the Upper Canada Revolt in 1837 where other family members died. My dad said they were hanged and many had to flee. But Silas continued on living and prospering in Woodhouse and Handimand until around 1857. Additionally there is quite a lot of evidence that the family was devoutly Methodist. However, I have found several documents where Silas entered �none� for religion for his family and it was unusual in that almost everyone on every page stated some religion but Silas wrote in �none� on each of these census and documents, for each family member, as if he was making a point. So it seems to me that Silas was very different than the rest of the family and maybe influenced by the Bayard side of the family. The Bayards in Philadelphia were originally loyalist but then quickly changed to patriots when the rebels looked like they were going to win. The Bayards were fairly wealthy lawyers and business people, and it is possible Silas stayed with his mother for some time before ending up in Scio. So much of this you know very well but I thought you might find some of the other information that has come in as interesting. After researching this for some time I have come away with the distinct impression that Silas was not in fact a loyalist or a Methodist and really had a mind of his own, much different from the rest of the family. I have also seen evidence, especially from the Rebecca Knight story that he was thoughtful and philosophical, insisting that the children appreciate seeing places and events so they would remember them. This might be a clue that he was influenced by the Bayard family in some way, or maybe Joseph was that way. At any rate, some of this is just kind of trying to fill in the blanks from the clues but it helps sometimes in figuring out where to look next for information. All the best and look forward to hearing from you in the future. A lot of new things will go on the website in the next couple of months or so and I hope people in the family will find it interesting. David HIs website is all small letters silasknight.com alot of pictures and info etc.....go check it out From David Knight: It is documented in several sources that as a result of the service of John and Charles Knight in the war of 1812 as Lincoln Flank Unit Militia, that the family was granted the only title ever issued by the government of Canada, that of United Empire Loyalist (UE). Charles Knight was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 12, 1796. His brother John, (father of Silas Knight Sr.) was born some years earlier in Massachusetts according to multiple references in family records. Charles, John , and their parents, became part of the Loyalist exodus. Johns family and parents, arrived in Port Dover at Long Point in approximately 1811 or 1812. Both John and Charles arrived in Long Point some years later, having been taken prisoner by the Americans in the war of 1812. Charles was captured on July 12, 1813 at the battle of Black Rock, also known as the Battle of Buffalo. This was the battle in which Buffalo was burned to the ground. Prisoners taken during this battle were held by the Americans at Rensselaer, New York and were released at the end of the war. John was captured in a battle at Sugarloaf, at Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1813 and was returned to Canada in a prisoner exchange in 1814. During his captivity he was held at Pittsfield, Mass., a short distance from the original family location in the Worcester area. He received aid during his internment indicating he had been wounded. . After their release from a prisoner of war camp, Charles and John made their way back to the Long Point Settlement. John and the family settled on land grants in Woodhouse, Ontario and Charles was granted land in Southwold, Elgin, Ontario. A third brother to John and Charles was Silas. Silas settled farther to the west, in Kent, A fourth brother, Benjamin, was listed as killed at the battle of Sugarloaf near Port Colborne, and was perhaps killed in the same battle in which John was wounded and captured. Records indicate only two skirmishes at Sugarloaf during the war of 1812. The documenting of the captures of John and Charles can be found in the Loyalist reference book, "Soldiers Of The King" by William Gray on page 266. The family is believed to have lived for some time in Port Dover upon arrival at the Long Point Settlement in 1811, but some question remains as to when the Woodhouse land grant took place. A birth of Louise Knight, daughter of John and Elizabeth Knight, is shown in the family history taking place at Woodhouse in the year 1812, but there are no Knights listed in the Woodhouse partial census of 1811-1812. Subsequent sibling births of Charles, Walter, and Benjamin are recorded as having occurred at Port Dover in the years 1814, 1816, and 1818 respectively. Robert Murtrie, the famous Norfolk, Ontario historian found that the parents of John and Charles Knight had arrived in Port Dover with the rest of the family and and lived in Port Dover until Charles and John were released as American war prisoners. Later, an assessment of Woodhouse shows two John Knights living there, each owning property. So it is likely the second John Knight was the father of John Knight, the father of Silas Knight Sr.. More research is needed into the individual land claims in Woodhouse to who each John Knight was.


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