Person:Joshua Knight (23)

BIOGRAPHY: From Descendants of Roger Williams Familytreemaker.com Rev. Knight became connected with the Christian Ministry very early in life,laboring in the interests of the Conregational denomination. He preached for three years in Rome,New York, then went to Sherburne for 21 years. He met and Married Ruth Talcott while in Sherburne. After the death of his wife, he moved to Vienna,Oneida,New York where he died. He married his step-daughter Polly Kenyon.

In the Portrait and Biographical Album of Ogle County, son Hezekiah has a biographical sketch that details his father,Joshua, as coming from Maryland, one of three brothers who immigrated from England. It lists Joshua's marriage to Ruth Talcott, but does not mention the marriage to Polly Kenyon. It is believed that Hezekiah "made up" a story about his father, as he was embarassed about the scandal of Joshua and Polly.

From: "Pat Ratcliff" <pratclif@earthlink.net> To: Williamknight57@yahoo.com Subject: William Custer Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 00:03:24 -0400 vi. Joshua Knight, born March 21, 1771 in Norwich, CT; died June 06, 1853 in Vienna, Oneida Co., NY; married (1) Polly Kenyon Knight; born September 20, 1804; died November 03, 1847 in Onieda Co., NY; married (2) Ruth Talcott 1804; born 1774; died January 22, 1823 in Sherburne, Chenang Co., NY.

The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 1800 - 1950 First Presbyterian Church Page 12

    Joshua Knight, brother of Daniel, came to Rome as a supply minister and preached eleven times before there was a regular minister and so marked an impression did he make upon one member of the congregation that when  the subscription paper for a regular minister was passed around, M. B. Sizer wrote, "Two dollars if Mr. Knight remains, nothing without"

The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 1800 - 1850 First Presbyterian Church Rome, New York

Page 20
  By now they had a parson, a regular minister, the Reverend Moses Gillett. During the years 1800 - 1806, the church had various supply ministers, itinerant pastors or visitors to the neighborhood, such as the Rev. Joshua Knight and Dr. Waterman.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~nychenan/shr100-3.htm The old Church on the West Hill was organized, as the records also state, "At a meeting of a number of the members of the Calvinistick Congregational Society of Sherburne, holden at the house of Elisha Gray in s'd Sherburne, the 18th day of October, 1803," with eleven constituent members, to wit: Isaac Foote, Sedate Foote, Henry Finn, Margaret Finn, David Dixon, Triphena Dixon, Sarah Talcott, Elizabeth Merrill, Elijah Sexton, Ebenezer Baker, and Gambo Dasset; the latter a colored man, a native of Gambia, Africa. There were soon a large number of additions, and the new Church and Society went prosperously forward. Abram Raymond was the first Deacon, and afterwards Isaac Foote, Jr., and Joseph Adams were also chosen to that office. On the day of the organization, a call was tendered Rev. Joshua Knight, who had previously preached there on several occasions. He was ordained and installed as pastor of that Church at a Council convened at the residence of Major Joseph Dixon on the 29th of February, 1804, remaining in that connection for nearly twenty years, and until he was deposed from the ministry after a long and remarkable trial based upon his expressed purpose to marry his step-daughter, which he did about a year afterwards, on the 22d of October, 1824, both he and his wife being immediately thereafter excommunicated by the Church.

CENSUS: 1850 United States Federal Census Name: Joshua Knight Age: 79 Estimated birth year: abt 1771 Birth Place: Connecticut Gender: Male Home in 1850(City,County,State): Vienna, Oneida, New York Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: Vienna, Oneida, New York; Roll: M432_565; Page: 191; Image: 384.