Jabez Knighton (1865 - 1950)

Born 4 Feb 1865 in Holme, Huntingdonshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann (Smith) Knighton — married 16 Jul 1883 in Holme, Huntingdonshire, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Elizabeth Jane (Hill) Knighton — married 27 Aug 1899 in Holme, Huntingdonshire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 23 Jan 1950 at age 84 in Kirton, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: James Knighton [send private message]

Biography

Jabez Knighton was born in Huntingdonshire, England.

Jabez Knighton was born on February 4, 1865 in Holme, Huntingdonshire.^[1] He was the eleventh child of Samuel Knighton and Sarah Lowe, who had fifteen children in total. He was baptised on March 12, 1865 at St Giles' Church in Holme.^[2]

In the 1871 census, he is living with his parents and siblings at Holme.^[3] In 1881, he is a boarder in the household of William Jinks, working as an agricultural labourer.^[4]

Jabez married Mary Ann Smith on July 16, 1883 at St Giles' Church in Holme.^[5] She was the daughter of William Smith and Jemima Willmot. The couple had seven children; Sarah, Ruth, Esther, Ernest, George, Samuel and Florence.

In the 1891 census, Jabez and his family are living at Exhibition Road in Holme.^[6]

In 1897, the Reverend George Broke, rector of Holme, launched his unique method of providing services to his parishioners; the Fenland Ark; a fully functional floating church with seating and an altar. Jabez and Mary attended the first day of services, and their daughter Florence was the third person to be baptised on the ark.

Mary died at the young age of 33 in 1898. Jabez remarried on August 27, 1899 to Elizabeth Jane Hill, daughter of Ambrose Hill and Harriet Elizabeth Naylor.^[7] The couple had six children; John, Ethel, Edward, Doris, Nora and Amos.

Jabez and Elizabeth were living at Long Drove, Holme in the 1901 census^[8], and at 78 Black Ham Drove, Holme in the 1911 census.^[9] In 1901, his occupation was "turf digger".

The family moved to the nearby village of Yaxley sometime around 1915. Jabez and Elizabeth lived on Chapel Lane^[10], and they would remain there until Elizabeth's death in 1940. Afterwards, Jabez went to live with his daughter in Kirton Fen, near Boston, Lincolnshire.

According to grandson Peter Squires, Jabez was a keen musician and played the concertina, and had a unique way of playing it by holding it with his arms held straight over his head.

Local historian Jack Beeby in Yaxley recalls that Jabez would maintain the ditches surrounding the farmland in Yaxley, and apparently he did a very good job of it.

His granddaughter Pamela Cadman (nee Knighton) remembers that he was known by his family and friends as "Jabey".

On January 23, 1950, Jabez died of bronchitis at home in Kirton. He was 84 years old.^[11] He was buried on January 26 at the nearby church of St Gilbert's in Brothertoft, although there is no headstone. Ann Epton, member of the Facebook group "Old Lincolnshire Rural Photos" gives these directions to his burial spot;

“I have a transcript of St Gilbert's Brothertoft. Jabez Knighton was buried 26 Jan 1950 aged 84. He is listed as being of Kirton Fen. The grave is in the new section Row B grave 32. There is no gravestone. However he is between Henry Fawcett (B30 and his wife Mary B31) and Florence Emma Enderby and her husband Roger (B33/4) . If you were to visit drive over the cattle grid at the parish hall, follow the track to the church to park. Walk round to your left past the church into the newest section of graveyard. Row b is second from the back, and the grave would be about 3/4 the way down. Good luck.”

Sources

1. ↑ General Register Office, birth certificate for Jabez Knighton, registered Jan-Feb-Mar 1865, Peterborough registration district, Volume 3b, Page 213.
2. ↑ Huntingdonshire Family History Society, Holme St Giles, Parish Registers 1604-2000, Page 57. 1865, Mar 12; KNIGHTON Jabez, s of Samuel & Sarah otp, labourer.
3. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VFF9-DB5 : 26 April 2019), Jabez Knighton in entry for Samuel Knighton, 1871.
4. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27C-H22K : 11 December 2017), Jabez Knighton in household of William Jinks, Holme (Hunts), Northamptonshire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 1, Piece/Folio 1589/68, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,483.
5. ↑ General Register Office, marriage certificate for Jabez Knighton and Mary Ann Smith, registered Jul-Aug-Sep 1883, Peterborough registration district, Volume 3b, Page 409.
6. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L8D-GN2 : 2 May 2019), Jabez Knighton, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Northamptonshire county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
7. ↑ General Register Office, marriage certificate for Jabez Knighton and Elizabeth Jane Hill, registered Jul-Aug-Sep 1899, Peterborough registration district, Volume 3b, Page 562.
8. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9YW-K3R : 20 May 2019), Jabez Knighton, Holme, Huntingdonshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Stilton subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
9. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7G6-9QR : 18 July 2019), Jabez Knighton, Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
10. ↑ Ancestry.com, 1939 England and Wales Register (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Ancestry.com, The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/6356G.
11. ↑ General Register Office, death certificate for Jabez Knighton, age 84, registered Jan-Feb-Mar 1950, Boston registration district, Volume 3b, Page 6.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to James Knighton for creating WikiTree profile Knighton-58 through the import of Knighton_Tweedie Family Tree.ged on May 2, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by James and others.