Thomas
Springer
McKnight Sr.
(1898-1976)
Thomas Springer McKnight was born on Jan. 17, 1898 in
Jefferson Twp., Fayette County, PA, the
son of Henry
and Martha (Nutt) McKnight.
Thomas married Margaret Mae McCune (1894-1973). She was five years older than he was.
They had four children -- Beatrice Rebecca Newhouse, Thomas Springer McKnight Jr., Mary Elizabeth Kinsell and David McKnight.
The McKnights lived in Brownsville, Grindstone (1938) and Adah, Fayette County.
Thomas was a longtime machinist with the Monongahela Railway Co. of Brownsville, and was a charter member of the International Association of Machinists.
During the Depression, employment for Thomas was scarce. In an August 1932 letter from his mother to his brother James, she writes: "Tom was over last evening. He onely has 3 nights [of work] a week."
The busy railroad junction in Brownsville
Margaret passed away on March 1, 1973, at the age of 79.
Thomas outlived her by three years. He died at home of a heart attack on March 20, 1976, at the age of 78. They are buried together at Lafayette Memorial Park, Brier Hill, Fayette County.
Copyright © 2000, 2002, 2005 Mark A. Miner