James
Henry McKnight
(1884-1963)
James
Henry McKnight was born on March 19, 1884 at Brownsville, Fayette County, PA, the
son of Henry
and Martha (Nutt) McKnight.
On March 20, 1905, a day after his 19th birthday, he married Nora Victor (1883-1961), daughter of Davis and Dorothy (Swaney) Victor of Fairchance. She was a year older than her husband.
The
McKnights had seven children -- Dorothy Spaw, Martha Bush, Margaret
Anna Garletts, Phillip Davis McKnight, George Swaney McKnight, Laura Edna
Radcliffe and Lela Katherine Cyphert.
Nora is seen at right with their twin daughters Dorothy and Martha.
James was a longtime farmer and coal miner. Working with his father in law Davis Victor in 1909, they were injured in an accident at the Cyrilla No. 2 Mine in Fayette County. The 1909 publication Report of the Department of Mines of Pennsylvania reports that each man's "Face and hands [were] burned by the ignition of coal dust from a blast of dynamite blowing through a rib between two entries."
Living so far away, James did not get home much to see his parents. He occasionally wrote letters to his mother, and in August 1932 she wrote him a reply, summarizing many of her troubles during the era of her widowhood and the Great Depression:
Well my dear boy I surley was glad to get your letter. I am not vary well this Spring and Summer but able to work. We have had so many to cook for. There was lots of berries and lots of people... There is hard times every place so Gimmy come home and stay with me. I don't often hear anything of your people... May God bless you and take care of you and I pray for you always. From your Momma to my dear boy.
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Early view of Fairchance's Church Street. Note the ever-present mountains in the background. |
When James' mother died in 1938, her newspaper obituary reported that James was residing in Chicago. It's not known when he returned to Western Pennsylvania.
In 1944, sadness struck the family when daughter Dorothy died of a brain tumor at age 38.
Nora died in Fairchance on June 28, 1961.
James died at the home of his daughter Margaret in Fairchance on March 7, 1963. He is buried in nearby Maple Grove Cemetery.
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Fairchance, 1959 -- from the front of the family home |
Son George McKnight lived for in Queensland, Australia during the 1940s, and served in the Pacific Theatre during World War II and the Korean War.
Son in law John H. Bush was a coal mine at Jones & Laughlin's Richeyville mine from about 1930 to 1966.
Son in law Charles Cyphert operated two coal mines -- Francis Mine in Diliner, PA and Martin Hollow Mine in Monongalia County, WV. He also owned and operated coal machinery rebuild shops in Morgantown -- Progressive Industries and Charter Engineering.
Daughter Margaret Anna McKnight married Grant Garletts. They had four children -- Terry G. Garletts, Patricia Bowers, Nancy Eberly and Linda Baker. Son Terry G. Garletts (1941-2008) married Anna Marie Check. He "attended the Trinity United Methodist Church of Fairchance," said the Uniontown Herald-Standard. "He was employed at the USX Clairton Coke works for many years until his retirement."
Granddaughter Beth Radcliffe is actively
researching this branch, and helped to organize McKnight Reunions in 1999-2002.
Great-grandson Brendon Radcliffe has designed the VocalGroup.org website for the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Mercer County, PA. In October 2007, Brendan married Marcia Jones. Their wedding photograph portrait is seen here.
Copyright © 2000-2002, 2004, 2007-2008 Mark A. Miner