Newton Stuart Knight (1829 - 1922)

Born 10 Nov 1829 in Jones, Mississippi, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Serena (Turner) Knight — married about 1858 (to after 1880) in Mississippi, USA

Descendants

Died 16 Feb 1922 at age 92 in Jasper, Mississippi, USA

Problems/Questions Profile managers: John Voltz [send private message] and Anne Huff [send private message]

Newton Knight was a Mississippian.

Capt. Newton Knight served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: Jul 1861
Mustered out: Jan 1862
Side: CSA
Regiment(s): Company F of the 7th Mississippi Infantry, Company F of the Seventh Battalion

Capt. Newton Knight served in the United States Civil War.
Side: USA
Regiment(s): Knight's Company

Biography

Newton Knight was born on 10 Nov 1829 and his parents were Mason and Albert Knight (1799-1864). ^[1]

His grandfather John "Jackie" Knight (1773–1861) was one of Jones County's largest slaveholders. However, Newton and his father, Albert, neither owned slaves nor inherited any. ^[2] His son, Tom, wrote that Newton was morally opposed to the institution due to his Primitive Baptist beliefs. In accordance with its teachings, Newton forswore alcohol, unlike his father and grandfather. ^[3]

There are stories that Newton's mother's real name is Rebecca Griffith ^[4] and that she was given the name Mason because she was either found by or brought to the family by Masons on a rainy night. However there is no proof or solid source for this story which has her as being from Tennessee and we know from other stories that she came from North Carolina (per census info and a former slave of Newton's grandfather).

Newt married about 1858 to Serina Turner and they moved to Jasper County, Mississippi, USA. ^[5]

Newt was an American farmer, soldier and Southern Unionist in Mississippi, USA. He was best known as the leader of the Knight Company, a band of Confederate army deserters who resisted the Confederacy during the Civil War. Local legends tell of Knight and his men forming the "Free State of Jones" in the area in and around Jones County, Mississippi, at the height of the war. The nature and extent of the Knight Company's opposition to the Confederate government is disputed among historians. ^[6]

He fathered 9 children with his white wife, Serena. While still married, after the Civil War, Newton took up with his grandfather’s former slave, Rachel, ^{[6] [7]} and they had five children together. The two families lived in different houses on the same 160-acre farm. ^[8]

According to Martha Wheeler (a former slave of Newton's grandfather) Newt and Rachel were never married, but "she was known as his woman". ^{[9] [6]} Newton gave Rachel and her children a house next to him and Serena.

By entering a common-law marriage with Rachel and proudly claiming their mixed-race children, Newton Knight caused a scandal that still reverberates. ^[10]

Rachel traveled out to Utah, but found it was too cold, and she returned to Mississippi [per Knight researcher Kenneth Welch]. ^[9]

Newton ran his home in a harem-like fashion having simultaneous relationships with Serena, his wife, Rachel, and George Ann, Rachel’s daughter. During the early 1870s, George Ann gave birth to two children that many believe were fathered by Newton ...

- (John) Howard Knight, b: Aug 1871

- (Rachel) Anna Knight, b: March 1874.

However, Cleo Garraway (Howard’s granddaughter) said that she never heard anyone say that Newton was the father of her grandfather, Howard, or her Aunt Anna.

Cleo was so ashamed of the circumstances of her birth, she did not care to know from whom she was descended. ^[9]

About 1881 he converted to Mormonism. ^[11]

After Rachel’s death in 1889, Newton is supposed to have fathered at least two children by George Ann (Rachel's daughter) ^[12] ...

- Gracie Knight, b: Nov 1891

- Lessie Knight, b: May 1894.

By the 1910 census Serena and Newt were living separately - they never divorced.

Newton Knight died of natural causes at the age of 92 on 16 Feb 1922 and even though it was illegal for blacks and whites to be buried together, he left instructions, that he was to be buried next to Rachel, ^[7] on a hill in Jones County overlooking their farm, in what is now called the Knight Family Cemetery. ^{[3] [13]} This was in spite of a Mississippi law that barred the interment of whites and blacks in the same cemetery. ^[2]

Children

• Children by Serina Turner ^[14] ...

1. George Madison "Mat" Knight (1859-1911) m: Frances "Fannie" Knight
2. William E. Knight (1860-1872)
3. Thomas Jefferson Knight (1861-1956) m: Mary E. Welborn
4. Martha Ann Eliza "Molly" Knight (1864-1917) m: Jeffrey "Jeff" Early Knight
5. Joseph Sullivan (1866-1908) m1: Sarah E. Welborn; m2: Mary "Mollie" L. Hodges
6. Susan Ada (1868-1947) m: Ulysses Grant Welborn
7. Keziah "Kizzie" ^[15] (1871-c1955) m: Joseph Ray Welborn
8. Cora Ann Knight ^{[16] [9]} (1872-1950) m1: Jeffrey "Jeff" Early Knight; m2: William Jasper Andrews
9. Leonard (1875-1875).

• Children by Rachel ^{[9] [17] [18]} ...

1. Martha Ann Knight (1866-1933); m: Samuel Knight (son of Daniel Thomas Knight - Newt’s 1st cousin)
2. John Stewart Knight (1868-1920)
3. John Floyd Knight (1871-1941); m1: Sophronia Cox; m2: Lucy Jane Ainsworth
4. Augusta Ann Ann "Gustan" Knight (1872-1951) m: William S. Watts
5. John Madison "Hinchie" Knight (1875-1939); m: Mary Florence Magdalene Smith
6. Mary Malinda (Knight) Yawn [per FindAGrave] (1876-1946).

• Children by George Ann (Rachel's daughter) ...

1. Leslie "Lessie" D. Knight ^[19] (1894-1944); m1: William Alonzo Bounds; m2: John Riley Lewis; m3: Leslie Robertson
2. John Howard Knight (1871-1922); m: Candace Martha Jane "Carrie" Smith
3. Rachel Anna "Anna" Knight (1874-1972)
4. Grace "Gracie" Knight (1891-1966)

Some of Newt’s children by Serena and Rachel married or had bi-racial children together ...

• Knight's son, George Madison “Mat” (by Serena), married his step-daughter, Frances "Fannie" (Rachel’s daughter from a previous union). ^[20]

• Newt’s daughter, Martha Ann Eliza "Molly" (by Serena) m: Jeffrey "Jeff" Early (Rachel’s son by a previous union). ^[21]

Jeff also possibly fathered at least one of Cora’s four children (Molly’s younger sister). Cora and her four children were living with Newt in 1900 and 1910. ^{[22] [23]}

DNA

Father confirmed by DNA test comparison, Anne Huff, Huff-6103, and S.J., R.S., H.S.K., C.E.D., descendants of John Albert Knight; W.A.F., M.E.S., G.L.S., E.E., D.C., P.C., A.M.F., J.H., B.H., descendants of Keziah Knight; M.A.W., B.R., G.K., S.K., M.H., M.C., descendants of Reuben B. Knight; G.E.A., E.P., descendants of William W. “Willie” Knight; S.A., P.J., descendants of James W. “Benjamin” Knight; L.O., R.A.Y., M.Y., descendants of Martha Ann “Martha” Knight Yawn; genealogical relationship between matches are third and fourth cousins. Most recent common ancestor is Knight-6575, Albert Knight.

Father confirmed by DNA test comparison, Anne Huff, Huff-6103, and and E.L., O.M.C., V.C., all descendants of John Madison “Hinchie” Knight (son of Rachel); J.A.H., descendant of George Madison “Mat” Knight (son of Serena); S.S., J.S., M.S., M.C.K., all descendants of Martha Ann Eliza “Molly” Knight (daughter of Serena); J.L.S, descendant of Cora Ann Knight (daughter of Serena), AncestryDNA, genealogical relationship between matches 3rd cousin, Most recent common ancestor is Knight-19452, Newton Knight.

Mother confirmed by DNA test comparison, Anne Huff, Huff-6103, and S.J., R.S., H.S.K., C.E.D., descendants of John Albert Knight; W.A.F., M.E.S., G.L.S., E.E., D.C., P.C., A.M.F., J.H., B.H., descendants of Keziah Knight; M.A.W., B.R., G.K., S.K., M.H., M.C., descendants of Reuben B. Knight; G.E.A., E.P., descendants of William W. “Willie” Knight; S.A., P.J., descendants of James W. “Benjamin” Knight; L.O., R.A.Y., M.Y., descendants of Martha Ann “Martha” Knight Yawn; genealogical relationship between matches are third and fourth cousins. Most recent common ancestor is Rebecca “Mary Mason Rainey” Griffith Knight.

DNA has confirmed that, Newt also fathered an illegitimate child, Corena Elizabeth Knight (1867-1946), with Elizabeth Ellen "Lizzie" Coleman Knight, the widow of his uncle, Daniel Champion Knight (1824-1863). ^[24] As of July 2021 there are at least two more individuals tested through AncestryDNA claiming Newton Knight ancestry through other illegitimate children. ^[25]

Civil War

In July 1861 Newton enlisted in the 8th Mississippi Infantry Regiment of the Confederate Army. Six months later he was given a furlough in order to return home and tend to his ailing father. ^[6]

In May 1862, Newton, along with a number of friends and neighbors, enlisted in Company F of the 7th Mississippi Infantry Battalion. ^{[6] [26]} They preferred to serve together in the same company, rather than with strangers.

In November 1862, Newton went AWOL. ^[12]

In May 1863 he was arrested and jailed for desertion. He was possibly tortured, by Confederate authorities. ^[2] As an example to others, they burned his homestead and farm, leaving his family destitute. ^[6]

In October 1863, the Knight Company was formed with Newton Knight as Captain. The Knight Company consisted of about 125 men (per "Mississippi History") from the Piney Woods region of Mississippi, USA (including Jones, Jasper, Covington, and Smith counties). They were organized to resist Confederate units attempting to force their participation in a cause they had rejected. ^{[27] [28]}

The Knight Company protected the area from Confederates. Newton and his men are credited with trying to create the "Free State of Jones" in the area around Jones County, Mississippi, USA.

By the spring of 1864, the Confederate government in the county had been effectively overthrown. ^[3] In July 1864, the Natchez Courier reported that Jones County had seceded from the Confederacy. ^[29]

Historians disagree about the activities of the Knight Company during the Civil War. From late 1863 to early 1865, the Knight Company allegedly fought fourteen skirmishes with Confederate forces. ^[6] After the Siege at Vicksburg, Confederate authorities began receiving reports that deserters in the Jones County area were looting and burning houses. ^[30] During this same period, Newton led a raid into Paulding, where he and his men captured five wagon loads of corn, which they distributed among the local population. ^[12] Their activities appear to have been a mixed bag.

After the end of the war, Newt returned to his farm in Jasper County, Mississippi, USA where he cultivated local crops. ^[6]

After the war, the Union Army tasked Newton as a commissioner in charge of distributing food to the needy, in Jones County, Mississippi, USA. ^[12] In completing this task, Newton interacted with many indigent women who had lost their husbands during the war. One such woman was Elizabeth Coleman, who was listed as indigent with children in 1865. ^[31]

He also led a raid in nearby Smith County that liberated several children who were still being held in slavery. ^{[6] [3]}

In 1870 Newton petitioned the federal government for compensation for several members of the Knight Company, including the ten who had been executed by Lowry in 1864. ^[29] The roster of the company was part of Newt’s petition to Congress for compensation for men who joined him in supporting the Union. This and subsequent attempts failed. The 1870 roster did not include all members of his company. Newt explained that he omitted those who, in his opinion, had fallen away from the Union cause after the war. ^[28]

In 1872 he was appointed as deputy US Marshal for the Southern District.

Like many Southern Unionists, he supported the Republican Party.

In 1875, Republican Governor Ames appointed Newton as Colonel of the First Infantry Regiment of Jasper County, Mississippi, USA, an otherwise all-black regiment defending residents against insurgent activity. But, white Democrats regained control of the state government that year, and forced Ames out of office.

Reconstruction ended officially in 1877 and Newton withdrew from politics. ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ 1850 USA Census of Jones County, Mississippi, USA; on FamilySearch database with images (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4L8-Y9Q : accessed 11 May 2016) citing NARA#M432; family#85; for father, Albert Knight, b: 1799; with wife, Mason; & children: Albert, Jesse, Newton, Leonard, Franklin, Martha, Andrew
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} "The State of Jones: The Small Southern County that Seceded from the Union by Sally Jenkins & John Stauffer; Anchor Press of New York in 2009; p43-45
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} "Newton Knight and the Legend of the Free State of Jones" by James R. Kelly, Jr.; Mississippi History Now, April 2009; from the Wayback Machine
4. ↑ "Free State of Jones" by Victoria Bynum which questions the story of his mother's real name being Rebbecca Griffith
5. ↑ 1860 USA Census of Jasper, Mississippi; on FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6GD-8KX : accessed 09 Aug 2015) from Fold3.com citing FHL#803,583; NARA#M653; household#1019; for Newton Knight, b: 1837; with wife S. K.; & son G. M.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8} Biography.com for Newton Knight
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Mississippi History now, Newton Knight and the Legend of the Free State of Jones by James R. Kelly, Jr. (history instructor for Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi, USA)
8. ↑ 1880 USA Census with Rachel is living next to Serena & Newton Knight
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4} "On the History of Rachel Knight" by Sondra Yvonne Blivins; from Renegade South History of Unconventional Southerners]
10. ↑ "The True Story of the ‘Free State of Jones’" by Richard Grant; Smithsonian Magazine, March 2016
11. ↑ "Weekly Clarion" newspaper of Jackson, Mississippi, USA on on 30 June 1881; Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress; Text: "The Ellisville Eagle says that several Mormon Elders are preaching at points west of that town and are gaining converts. They have baptized … Newton Knight and some of their families."
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3} The Free State of Jones: Mississippi’s Longest Civil War by Victoria E. Bynum & University of North Carolina Press in 2001
13. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #5398274 for Newton Knight; with inscription "He lived for Others"
14. ↑ 1870 USA Census of Jasper, Mississippi; on FamilySearch database with images (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF38-V2B : accessed 09 Aug 2015) citing FHL#552,231; NARA#M593; SW Beat; p12; family#86; for Newton Knight, b: 1840; with wife Serena C.; & children: George M., Thomas J., William E., Martha A. E., Joseph S., Susan A.
15. ↑ 1880 USA Census of Jasper, Mississippi; on FamilySearch database with images (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4GX-Q43: accessed 20 Jul 2021) citing Beat#4 SW; ed#111; p76; family#109; for Newton Knight, b: 1839; with wife Susan (Serena) & children, Sullivan, Susan, Keziah, Cora A.
16. ↑ 1910 USA Census, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MP8L-CKX : accessed 09 Aug 2015) citing FHL#1,374,757; NARA#T624; ed#19; sheet#25A; family#353; for Newton Knight, res: Beat#4, Jasper, Mississippi, USA
17. ↑ 1870 USA Census of Jasper, Mississippi; on FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF38-VL7 & https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4GX-SCR & https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF38-V2Y) citing Beat#4 SW; p12; family#87; for Rachel Knight, b: 1840; with children: George Ann, Jefferson, Edmond, Faney, Masha, Stuart
18. ↑ 1880 USA Census of Jasper, Mississippi; on FamilySearch database with images (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4GX-Q43: accessed 20 Jul 2021) citing Beat#4 SW; ed#111; p76; family#105; for Rachel Knight, b: 1840; with children: D.A. Geoffrey, Martha A., Joseph S., Floyd, A. A., Hinchey, George Ann; & grandson, John H.
19. ↑ "Texas, Deaths 1890-1976" on FamilySearch database with images (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSBY-GVC : accessed 13 Aug 2015) citing State Registrar Office in Austin, TX; FHL#2,137,703; certificate #9181; for Leslie Robertson, b: 20 Feb 1944 (father: Newton Knight & mother: George Ann Knight); d: 20 Feb 1944; husband: Leslie Robertson
20. ↑ 1880 USA Census of Jasper, Mississippi; on FamilySearch database with images (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4GX-Q43: accessed 20 Jul 2021) citing Beat#4 SW; ed#111; p76; family#106; for Mat Knight, b: 1859; & wife Frances
21. ↑ 1880 USA Census of Jasper, Mississippi; on FamilySearch database with images (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4GX-Q43: accessed 20 Jul 2021) citing Beat#4 SW; ed#111; p76; family#107; fpr Jeff E. Knight, b: 1859; with wife Mary (M.A.E.)
22. ↑ 1900 USA Census of Jasper, Mississippi; on FamilySearch database with images (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9XW-TMM: accessed 20 Jul 2021) citing Beat#4; ed#53; sheet#7; family#122; for Newton Knight, b: Nov 1837 with daughter Cora; & William, Mary E., Fisher, Annie - grandchildren.
23. ↑ 1910 USA Census of Jasper, Mississippi; on FamilySearch database with images (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MP8L-CKX: accessed 20 Jul 2021) citing ed#19, sheet#25A; family#353; for Newton Knight, b: 1837; with Cora, Billie, Mary E., Chester, Ada - grandchildren ("grand" added later to all except Ada).
24. ↑ Father confirmed by DNA test comparison, Anne Huff, Huff-6103, and E.L., O.M.C., V.C., all descendants of John Madison “Hinchie” Knight (son of Rachel); J.A.H., descendant of George Madison "Mat" Knight (son of Serena); S.S., J.S., M.S., M.C.K., all descendants of Martha Ann Eliza “Molly” Knight (daughter of Serena); J.L.S, descendant of Cora Ann Knight (daughter of Serena), AncestryDNA, genealogical relationship between matches 3rd cousin, Most recent common ancestor is Knight-19452, Newton Knight.
25. ↑ Ancestry.com Family Tree by Anne Huff with DNA connections
26. ↑ "United States Civil War Soldiers Index 1861-1865" on FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F9NZ-V31 : accessed 09 Aug 2015) citing FHL#821,859; NARA#M232; roll#22; for Newton Knight, Private, Company F, 7th Battalion, Mississippi Infantry, Confederate
27. ↑ Renegade South: Histories of Unconventional Southerners for Newt Knight
28. ↑ ^{28.0 28.1} Renegade South, The Knight Company Revisited for Knight Company Roster which is copy of the one he was said to have used when he petitioned Congress to pay him and his men for work they did for the Union Army
29. ↑ ^{29.0 29.1} "Telling and Retelling the Legend of the 'Free State of Jones'" by Victoria Bynum; University of Arkansas Press in 1999; p17–29 Guerillas, Unionists, and Violence on the Confederate Home Front
30. ↑ Official Records of the Civil War, 1:32, part#3; p580
31. ↑ Indigent and Disabled Confederate Soldiers and Dependents 1862-1868 on FamilySearch database with images; citing E.E. Knight and children, 1865.

• 1900 USA Census of Beat#4 SW, ed#53; Jasper, Mississippi

• 1910 USA Census of Beat#4, ed#19, Jasper, Mississippi

• 1920 USA Census of Beat#4, ed#19, Jasper, Mississippi

• More stories of Newt Knight at Renegade South histories of unconventional southerners

• Echo of the Black Horn: An Authentic Tale of "The Governor" of "The Free State of Jones" by Ethel Knight; Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group of York, PA in 1951

• "Legend of the Free State of Jones" by Rudy H. Leverett; University Press of Mississippi of Jackson, MS in 1984

• Free State of Jones 1862-1875 Deason House

• Deason House story of Newt Knight's activities during the Civil War

• FGR for Newton Knight & Serena Turner from "The Kings Meadow" compiled by LDK