John Knight Sr. (abt. 1601 - 1674)

Born about 1601 in England

Husband of Mary (Unknown) Knight — married 1619 in Southampton, Hampshire, England

Descendants

Died 29 May 1674 at about age 73 in Charlestown, Middlesex, Massachusetts

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John Knight Sr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 198) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Caution/Disputed Items

There are at least five John Knights listed in the Great Migration Directory.^[1] John Knight born at Romsey, Hampshire and later of Newbury is commonly confused/conflated with the John Knight of this profile.

Many claims have been made that John's wife Mary's birth surname was Pickering.^{[citation needed]}

Biography

John Knight's birth location and date are unknown, although he was very likely born in England. He sailed for New England in May of 1638 as a passenger on the Bevis; his occupation was listed as "carpenter."^[2]

The first entries for land granted to John Knight are Lot 41, five acres, and Lot 75, one acre at Watertown in the June 26, 1637 apportionment .^[3] The discrepancy between the dates of John's arrival and the land assignments is due to an attempt by later editors of Town records to reconstruct the data from a missing page.^[1]

1639 Jul: A Court case of John Knight against John Morecraft was mentioned in Governor Winthrop's notes.^[4]

In 1639 fifty prospective residents were ranked by a committee organizing a new settlement at Sudbury. As a wealthy landholder, John was assigned a ranking of seventh.^[5] His house lot was on the North Street or East Street.^[6] Subsequent land distribution moved him into fourth place as a landholder. He may have been considered a land speculator and was therefore not selected to participate in Town governance. It's possible he was forced to choose between freemanship in Sudbury or Watertown, perhaps influencing his decision to return to Watertown.^[7]

On March 31, 1640/1 John purchased a a house and land at Watertown previously owned first by William Swift and second by Thomas White.^[8] John Knight "of Waterton in N.E. Carpenter" resided there and received a grant of 270 acres in May of 1642.^[9] (A list of his grants and properties are in the first Watertown "inventory" recorded sometime before 1646.^[10] Properties owned at the end of 1646 appears in the third "inventory.") ^[11]

At a meeting held February 8, 1647/8 John (and another man) "is apoynted to warne al the Cornoners in Bowmans field to the next meeting of the 7 men [selectmen] and the forefaied men to warne in all the Cornoners in Howes field to come to the fame meetinge." He was also given permission to erect a fence "provided he make without the fence a sufficient watering for man and beast."^[12]

On September 8, 1649 John purchased a dwelling house and forty acres in Woburn. "John Green of Charlestown, senior, sold unto John Knight of Woburn one dwelling house in Woburn, also eighty acres of arable and meadow land....being at the southwest of the town of Woburn and surrounding on all sides of the Common of the said town."^[13] In late 1654 he was recorded there as a planter and inhabitant. He continued to have holdings in Watertown but disposed of them in 1652.^[9]

He removed to Charlestown & then Woburn (proprietor in 1650) and back to Charlestown before his death. His will was dated December 14, 1672 & probated June 10, 1674 at which time a gift to his granddaughter & my ancestor, ELIZABETH KNIGHT, was confirmed. He bequeathed also to his sister, Abigail and to son-in-law Robert Pierce of Woburn.

He had the following children:^[14][15]

1. Mary Knight
2. Samuel Knight
3. Joseph Knight
4. Michael Knight ^{[citation needed]}
5. John Knight

Abstract of Woburn Deeds: 3:B1 p. 24 "John Green of Charlestown, senior, sold unto John Knight of Woburn one dwelling house in Woburn, also eighty acres of arable and meadow land....being at the southwest of the town of Woburn and surrounding on all sides of the Common of the said town" (No date) On December 29, 1671, there is a record of a promisory note from William Johnson of Woburn, carpenter, owing John Knight of Charlestown, 400 pounds sterling. From this you can see that John Knight had returned to Charlestown by 1671. From the will of Robert Pierce of Woburn, yeoman: "...about 30 acres purchased of my father-in-law, John Knight, late of Charlestown, deceased by deed dated March 6, 1663" (Robert Pierce married John's daughter, Mary).

Research notes

GM Directory entry: Knight, John: Unknown; 1638 on Bevis; Watertown, Sudbury, Charlestown, Woburn [Drakes’s Founders 60; Lechford 390; WP 4:128; MBCR 1:300; WaBOP 9, 10, 13, 43; WaTR 1:14, 15; SLR 1:44, 47; SuTR 4; MLR 1:155; Rodgers 3:244-46; Stevens-Miller 1:229-32].

1640 Oct 8: At a the Colony Court held at Watertown, a "John Knight, for his drunkennes, swearing & other disorder, was censured to bee severely whiped."^[16]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Anderson, Charles. "John Knight of Watertown and Beyond." Great Migration Newsletter, V.1-20.(Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018.) By Subscription $. Page 77.
2. ↑ Drake, Samuel Gardner. Founders of New England. Boston, MA: New England Historic and Genealogical Register, 1860. Page 60.
3. ↑ Watertown Records, Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings. Watertown, MA: Watertown Historical Society, 1894. Page 10.
4. ↑ Forbes, Allyn Bailey ed. Winthrop Papers Vol IV. Boston, MA. The Massachusetts Historical Society, 1944. Page 128.
5. ↑ Powell, Sumer Chilton. Puritan Village, the Formation of a New England Town. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 1963. Page 84.
6. ↑ Hudson, Alfred S. The History of Sudbury, Massachusetts 1638-1889. Sudbury, MA: Town of Sudbury, 1889. Page 75.
7. ↑ Powell, 1963. Page 89.
8. ↑ Suffolk Deeds, Vol I. Boston, MA: City of Boston, 1880. Page 118.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Holman, Mary Lovering. Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens. Concord, NH. Self-Published, 1948. Pages 229-30.
10. ↑ WaTR1, 1894. Page 39.
11. ↑ WaTR1, 1894. Page 128.
12. ↑ Watertown Records, Comprising the First and Second Books of the Town Proceedings. Watertown, MA: Watertown Historical Society, 1894. Pages 14-15.
13. ↑ Johnson, Edward F. Early Woburn Deeds Recorded at Middlesex County Registry, 1649-1700. Woburn, MA: Self-Published, 1895. Page 3.
14. ↑ Holman, Mary Lovering, 1868-1947. Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens And His Wife Frances Helen Miller. Concord, N.H.: Privately printed at the Rumford Press, 1948. p. 229
15. ↑ Colonial County Court Papers, 1648-1798, Middlesex Co. MA, Folio 71, Film No. 8131116, Images 437-451, https://familysearch.org (see image on Joseph Knight profile)
16. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Vol. I 1628-1641. Boston, MA: Massachusetts State Legislature, 1853. Page 300.

See Also:

• Bond, Henry: "Genealogies and History of Watertown MA", 2nd edn. (1860), 2 vols in 1, p. 816, and many other references.
• Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and his wife Frances ... Holman, Mary Lovering, 1868-1947.