Charles
McKnight
(1861-1950)
Charles
McKnight was born on Sept. 22, 1861 near Uniontown,
Fayette County, PA, the son of Henry and Barbara (Minerd)
McKnight.
When Charles was age one, his father enlisted in the Civil War, and was away for nearly a year. Then, when Charles was five, in the winter of 1866, his mother died in childbirth. It's thought that Charles was taken in and raised by an uncle and aunt, Andrew and Mary (McKnight) Hiles of Dunbar, Fayette County.
Charles
married Keziah Stimmel (1869-1912). Their
seven children were Luzetta Cottom, James Henry McKnight, Daniel "LeRoy" McKnight,
Clarence "Jay" McKnight, William Stewart McKnight, Sarah B. Newell and Charles
"Edward" McKnight.
The McKnights lived at Dawson, Fayette County, PA. Charles worked at coke ovens in nearby Dry Hill and Jimtown.
In the photo seen below, Charles and Keziah are seated in the back row, center, with children, left to right: Luzetta, Charles Charles "Edward," Keziah and James. In the front row, left to right: William, LeRoy, Jay and Sarah.
Keziah
died in 1912, of causes unknown. Charles outlived her by 38 years.
In 1950, on Charles' behalf, grandson Charles Cottom was involved in organizing the first McKnight Reunion in 1950, held in Dawson.
Charles died just a few months after the reunion in 1950. He is buried beside her at the Bryan Methodist Church Cemetery at Dawson. The reunions continued for some years afterward.
Son Daniel McKnight served in World War I and was a coal miner at Tower Hill in Fayette County.
Daughter Luzetta McKnight married William H. Cottom ( ? - ? ). They resided on a farm in the Vanderbilt area. He served on the Franklin Twp. School Board. They had eight children -- Clara Nelson, Ethel Thomas, Olive Gordon, Curtis Cottom, Donald Cottom, Charles Cottom, Mary Edith Linderman and a son who died as an infant.
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The Cottom's son Curtis Earl Cottom was a coal miner and farmer, and was a member of the Juniata Sportsmen's Club.
Son Clarence "Jay" McKnight married Clara Belle Keffer. They resided in Lower Tyrone Township, Fayette County, and had eight children -- Jesse F. McKnight, Charles McKnight, Pearl Sherman, Thomas E. McKnight, Beatrice Forsythe, Trillis Mellinger, Ruby Livingston and Elma Antonini.
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Jay and Clara Belle's son Thomas E. McKnight (1918-2008) also served in Germany with the U.S. Army during World War II, and before the war was employed at a coal mine of the H.C. Frick Coke Co. He also worked for Duraloy, and was a member of Flatwoods Baptist Church. Thomas married Ruth Gilmore. They resided in Vanderbilt but did not have any children. Thomas passed away at the age of 90 on June 25, 2008, at home. He was laid to rest in Cochran Cemetery.
During
World War II, four grandsons served in the US Armed Forces. While the
newspaper clipping seen here mistakenly labels them as brothers, they
were two sets of brothers who were first cousins to each other. Top row, left to
right: Pvt. Oliver "Knute" McKnight and Pvt. Glenn McKnight, sons of William and
Fannie McKnight. Bottom row, left to right: Pvt. Charles McKnight and Seaman
First Class Jesse F. McKnight, sons of Clarence "Jay" and Clara Belle (Keffer)
McKnight.
The news article about the four soldier-cousins says that before the war, Oliver, Glenn and Jesse had worked at the A. Overholt & Company at its Broad Ford Distillery near Connellsville, while Charles labored for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
Granddaughter
Mary Edith Cottom (1931-2005) married Harold Linderman. They resided in the
Flatwoods area near Vanderbilt. Mary Edith was "employed at the former
Anchor Hocking Glass Plant No. 5 in South Connellsville as a selector-packer for
many years," said the Uniontown Herald Standard. (The Anchor-Hocking
plant is seen at left.) "But she and her husband, Harold, are best
remembered by many school children because of their employment at the Franklin
Elementary School where they worked as custodians for many years."
Copyright © 2000-2002, 2006, 2008 Mark A. Miner