John
Henry McKnight
(1866-1910)
John
Henry McKnight
was born
on Feb. 5, 1866 in Fayette County, PA, the son of Henry and Barbara (Minerd)
McKnight. Tragically, his mother died when he was 9 days old, and he was taken into the home of and adopted by his aunt and
uncle, William and Mahala (Minerd)
McKnight. Thus he is a major link between the two major McKnight branches of
the Minerd-Miner-Minor family.
When John was 14, in 1880, he resided with his cousin Elizabeth Williams in their household in North Union Twp., Fayette County, PA.
John married Frances Wood (1870-1931), a native of Menallen Twp., Fayette County, and the daughter of Abner and Martha (Johnson) Wood. Frances' grandfather, Daniel Johnson, had come to Fayette County from Ohio. Frances' parents were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Uniontown, Fayette County.
The McKnights had four known children -- Pearl Kerfoot, Clara Lowdermilk, Katherine Paine and Belle Coughenour.
Little is known of the McKnights' married lives. In 1899, when Frances' mother died in Uniontown, the obituary said they were living in nearby Redstone Township.
In 1910, John was working as a janitor in a bank, and lived on Dunlap Street in Uniontown. Sadly, he died that year, at the young age of 44. The cause is unknown. He is buried in Sandy Hill Cemetery, near New Salem, Fayette County.
Shortly after his death, daughter Pearl wrote a letter to an aunt, Martha (Nutt) McKnight, dated July 22, 1910. The letter demonstrates the various interconnections between the two major McKnight family branches:
We are all real [well] except Mama. She hasn't been very well lately. If she is better next week she and I are going to Uncle Charlie's for a few days. Aunt Jane said you wanted some carpet rags. We have about 30 or 35 lbs. and if you want them come up right away or let us know for we expect to move soon. I suppose they sell for about .10 [cents] but can determine the price when you come up... We are getting along real well but of course miss Papa very much.
After
a time as a widow, Frances married W.J. Ferguson ( ? - ? ). Nothing about him is
known. After marriage, the couple relocated to nearby Washington,
Washington County, PA.
Frances passed away in
1931 in the Uniontown Hospital
(seen here in a rare old postcard view). She had "been ill for some time," said her newspaper obituary. She was buried
beside her 1st husband at Sandy Hill.
Daughter Clara Lowdermilk resided in Clarksburg, Harrison County, WV in the early 1930s.
Daughter Belle Coughenour was a stenographer at a contracting company in 1920. She died in 1976, and is buried beside her parents.
Daughter Katherine Paine was a private-duty nurse in 1920 and lived in Fairmont, WV circa 1931.
Copyright © 2000-2006 Mark A. Miner