John Knight FamilyGrandfather, John Knight was born in Manchester, England; April 15, 1807, the son of Philip Joseph and Elizabeth Grantham Knight. He was the oldest in a family of two boys and six girls. His father was a factory worker, at the age of twelve John started factory work. However, he got better than an average education, under the tutelage of his mother's brothers, who were teachers. He read English law with his uncle George Grantham.He was a strong supporter of the Whig Party on two occasions he was arrested for his harsh Street Corner Oratory against the Tories regarding poor factory conditions and child labor.In his early twenties, he decided to come to America. He had hoped to marry his sweetheart, Elizabeth Grayshon, of Leeds, England, and bring her with him, because she was under age, her father refused his consent.According to Grandfather's Travel Log, which is still legible, he sailed from Liverpool, February 23, 1830. Elizabeth stood on the wharf and waved as long as she could see his boat. The ocean was rough, carried them far south of their course, high waves knocked them down when they went on deck, provisions washed overboard. One man died and was buried at sea. They all shouted with joy when they sailed into New York Harbor. The average speed had been 7 knots per hour. They were on the ocean six weeks and one day.Grandfather found work in Baltimore, Maryland, in a place called the Thistle Factory. He also did some teaching. It was three years, when Elizabeth's father was on his deathbed, that he gave her permission to come to America. Grandfather sent her money, bought the license and engaged the minister. They were married the evening she came to Baltimore.Soon after marriage, Grandfather bought a Quarter Section of land went of High Hill, Meigs Township, Muskingum County, Ohio. He moved his family to the farm in 1834. His first experience at farming. He taught the first Subscription School in Meigs Township, eighteen Subscribers a total of forty-two dollars. School began December 1, 1837 in a log cabin below Highhill. Everything was going well, until 1840 when he lost his wife, Elizabeth, in childbirth, leaving him with a baby and four other small children. November 24, 1841 he married, my grandmother, Mary Fenton, who had helped care for his children. Her parents were Jesse and Martha Fenton, close neighbors.After his second marriage, he sold his farm and bought two other parcels on the Morgan-Muskingum County line. A part of the N.E. Quarter Section 2, Bristol Township, Morgan County and all of the S.E. Quarter Section 35 Meigs Township, Muskingum County. The latter joined Section 36, the land of Ansley Blackburn, who married grandmother's sister, Jane Fenton.Grandfather's Morgan County land had a two story log house and log cabin on it. He added three rooms to the larger house. This served as a home for his five children and four more born to him and grandmother. by October 12, 1848, he was the father of nine, Names -- Emma, John, Sarah, Phillip, Elizabeth, and George, Jesse, Martha Jane, William (my father).When the first road was built from Lytlesburg to intersect the Sandhollow and Seelyville roads at the Morgan County line, it put four and one-half acres of grandfather's land east of the new road, about the same of Uncle Ansley Blackburn's on the west side.Grandfather built three houses and a store building on his land. This first house was built from the log cabin in Morgan County. He added three frame rooms, one served as a general store and Post Office, the other rooms were the keepers living quarters. Later the store, and Post Office were moved to the new frame building. It remained the Knight Ohio Post Office until Rural Free Delivery came. The building remained a store until the 1940's, under at least a dozen different keepers. By now Grandfather had learned some building skills. In 1861, he and his sons started to fall giant oaks, poplars and walnuts for a house, barn and other outbuildings, across the county line. This land was still in woods. The logs were hauled by oxen down the Sandhollow Road to Ellis Miller's saw mill. The large wooden sills and big sandstones for foundations were hewn by hand. In 1863 the house was started, in which I was born and now live. John W. Sears, was the stone mason. John Blackburn, construction and Grandfather the inside finisher. It was finished by 1864. My grandparents moved into it that fall and spent the rest of their lives there. My parents lived in the in the log house for twenty years, both of my brothers were born in it and I spent two years there.After the building projects were finished, Grandfather started to look for farm land for his five boys. His first trip was west. He and a friend, Silas Hurd, went by stagecoach to Madison Co., Illinois. Each bought a section of land north of Odin. Grandfather's second trip was north along the Wisconsin River. The cold climate and hazardous journey by stage, riverboat and walking t
