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William Stewart
McKnight |
William Stewart McKnight was born in 1898 near Dawson, Fayette County, PA, the son of Charles and Keziah (Stimmell) McKnight.
He married Mary Frances "Fannie" (?) (1899- ? ) and had six children. The four known children were Hazel Charlotte McKnight, Paul William McKnight, Oliver "Knute" McKnight and Glenn McKnight.
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| Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Yards at Dickerson Run |
The young
family made its home near the Bryan Methodist Episcopal Church in Dawson, Lower Tyrone Township, Fayette County. The federal census of 1920 shows
the 22-year-old William employed as a repairman on the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie
Railroad.
Tragedy struck in the summer of 1929 when William contracted a deadly case of typhoid fever. He was "ill but a short time," reported the Connellsville Daily Courier, and died at his home on July 5, 1929, at the age of 32. The funeral was held at the Bryan Church in Dawson, led by Rev. William F. Seitter, followed by burial at the Dickerson Run Union Cemetery.
The
widowed Fannie continued to make her home in the Dawson area and was still
living during the 1940s. Nothing more about Fannie is known, but will be
reported here when learned.
At least two of the McKnights' sons --Oliver "Knute" and Glenn -- served in World War II. They were pictured together in a local newspaper article, along with cousins Charles McKnight and Jesse F. McKnight, sons of Clarence "Jay" and Clara Belle (Keffer) McKnight. The article says that Oliver "has been in the armed forces since last October, is stationed somewhere in the South Pacific, with the Signal Corps. He attended Dunbar township High School and had been employed by A. Overholt & Company at its Broad Ford Distillery" near Connellsville. It added that Glen, "located somewhere in England, went into the service last December and is with an infantry outfit. A graduate of the Dunbar Township High School with the Class of 1941, he has been employed by Overholt."
Copyright © 2008 Mark A. Miner