William Knox

WILLIAM KNOX OF Blandford, Mass. A RECORD OF THE BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS OF SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS BY O NATHANIEL FOOTE ( A descendant) OF ROCHESTER, N. Y. NOVEMBER 1926 Copyright 1926 By Nathaniel Foots Of Rochester, N. Y. FOREWORD It may be of sufficient interest to justify relating here how this book came to be prepared for publication. The late William Ogden Wheeler of Sharon, Conn. (No. 877 in this book) with his sister, Mrs. Tiffany (No. 878) began to gather information as to their Knox pedi gree, while he was working to complete a genealogy of the Ogden family, begun by his uncle, William Butler Ogden, who died in 1877. In this work Mr. Wheeler em ployed Mr. Lawrence Van Alstyne of Sharon, Conn. Neither the Ogden nor the Knox investigations had been completed at the time of the death of Mrs. Tiffany in December, 1899 and of Mr. Wheeler in January, 1900. Mr. Wheeler's maiden sisters Emily (No. 879) and Laura (No. 883), then took over the work, continuing the employment of Mr. Van Alstyne. The Ogden book was published in 1907 under the title, "The Ogden Family, Elizabethtown Branch." It is a book of 532 pages with over fifty portraits and twenty-nine illustrations and is a credit to all who assisted in its preparation. From 1907 until her death in 1918, Miss Emily Ogden Wheeler (No. 879), with the help of Mr. Van Alstyne con tinued the work of gathering and compiling the Knox material, together with material for a Wheeler genealogy. After her death there was no one of her family willing to go on with the work and the Knox material was then turned over to me by Mr. Van Alstyne, because it was thought that on account of my Knox descent, I would have enough interest to preserve it and perhaps to con tinue the work for publication. Since 1918 I have en deavored to bring the information down to date and to verify the accuracy of some of the data turned over to me. The additions and corrections so made have been iii iv FOREWORD considerable and I know of no source of information that has not been explored. I have been asked many times whether our William Knox of Blandford was of kin with the celebrated Scotch divine, John Knox the Reformer, or of General Henry Knox of Boston and Maine of Rev olutionary war fame. Nothing has been found to estab lish that there was such a kinship with either. In the Ogden book pp. 323-326 is printed an interest ing and appreciative biographical sketch of William Ogden Wheeler, evidently written by Mr. Van Alstyne. Near the middle of page 324 is the foll.owing, "While the Ogden work was under way, Mrs. Tiffany, Mr. Wheeler's sister became interested in tracing the ancestry of her grandmother, Eleanor Knox Wheeler. This he found time to assist her in and succeeded in tracing the line back to William Knox, brother of John Knox, the Re former/' I did not see the Ogden book until quite recent ly and since Mr. Van Alstyne's death. In the papers he turned over to me there was nothing to suggest that any one had succeeded in tracing the line of William Knox of. Blandford back to William, a brother of John Knox the Reformer. He undoubtedly believed that Mr. Wheeler had so succeeded at the time he made that statement in the Ogden book in 1907; but between that year and 1918, he must have convinced himself that there was no suf ficient authority or proof to support the statement. After all the research over so many years, we do not know where in Europe our William lived before he came here or who his ancestors were or what relatives he left behind him. He was born nearly 200 years after John, the Reformer. As to General Henry Knox, it appears from the book entitled "Henry Knox" by Noah Brooks, New York, 1900, that he was a son of William Knox who came to America in 1729, with a party of Scotch Irish Presbyterians under the spiritual leadership of Rev. John Morehead. Henry was born in Boston in 1750 and was the seventh of ten FOREWORD V sons. No proof has been found that Henry's father, Wil liam, was of kin with our William of Blandford, though they came to this country about the same time. They had the same christian name and so were not brothers. General Henry Knox spent three days in Blandford, January 11th to 13th, in 1776, waiting for snow, when he was engaged in hauling "with eighty yoke of oxen" the cannon and other ordnance captured at Fort Ticonderoga, to Boston to aid in the successful siege of that town. See "Taverns and Turnpikes of Blandford" by Sumner G. Wood, 1908, pp. 7 4, 76 and 78. Some of the children of our William Knox were living at Blandford at that time. I know of no reference in any of the accounts of that important enterprise of General Knox's which resulted in the capture of Boston from the British forces, or in any of the historical material relating to Blandford, which mentions the discovery by the General of any rela tives of his while he waited at Blandford. General Knox's letters and papers are now in possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society at Boston and I am in formed by the Librarian that they contain no information of his meeting any relatives at Blandford. When errors or omissions in this work are discovered, as they will be, in spite of all our efforts, I hope the dis coverer will be good enough to give me the necessary in formation for correcting the error, for use in a later edition, if one is published. ~~ (No. 572 in this book.) Rochester, N. Y. November 10th, 1926 KNOX GENEALOGY FIRST GENERATION. 1. WILLIAM KNox,1 b. ---, -, --; d. ---, -, --; will dated June 5, 1773, proved April 5, 1774; m. Elizabeth ----, b. ----, --; d. ----- --, . --; dau. of-----. William Kno~ with whom this record has to do, is :first found at Hopkinton, Mass. When he came there, or where he came from, is not definitely known, though there is a tradition that he came from the north of Ire land with his brothers Adam and John. In a work entitled, "The Taverns and Turnpikes of Blandford," by Rev. Sumner G. Wood, published· in 1908, it is said, on page 69, speaking of Deacon John Knox who began the business of innkeeper at Blandford in 1757, that,. "This town worthy had emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland, his native city, with his older brothers William and Adam, when only ten years old." No authority is given. This John is apparently No. 2 below, a son of William. He was born about 1720, and if ten years of age when he came to this country, he came about 1730. A work entitled, "The Genealogical Memoirs of John Knox," by Rev. Charles Rogers, London, 1879, contains this statement in an appendix at page 172, "Adam Knox, born in the Province of Ulster in 1719, emigrated to America in 1737, accompanied by his two younger brothers. He settled at Boston, one of the brothers. William, accepting employ ment at New Glasgow, now called Blandford, in western Massa chusetts. Adam and William were both married. Their descend ants are numerous throughout the States." Knox Genealogy.-1. 2 KNOX GENEALOGY The date of emigration, 1737 conflicts with the record at Hopkinton, which under date of May 15th, 1730 is, "Born to William and Elizabeth Knocks, a daughter, Elizabeth." On April 1st, 1737, William Knox of Hopkinton, Mass., weaver, buys of Christopher Jacob Lawton and wife, of Leicester, Mass. 300 acres of land in a place called Glas gow (now Blandford); consideration 300 pounds. William Knox is frequently mentioned in Blandford town records up to 177 4, when his will is probated at Northampton, Mass. The will is dated June 5, 1773 and proved April 5, 1774. He styles himself, "William Knox of Blandford, Gentleman" and says he is infirm of body but of sound mind; names, well beloved wife Elizabeth; son, John, to be sole executor ; son William ; son Adam; daughter Griswold, the wife of David Black; names David Brown, James Brown and Elizabeth Brown, now Elizabeth Campfield, the children of my daughter Agness, deceased. No exact rec_ord of his death has been found, nor is there any record of the death of Elizabeth, his wife. CHILDREN: 2. i JOHN K.Nox m. Sept. 28, 1741, Rachel Freeland. 3. ii. WIT,TJAM KNox m. Isabel Furguson. 4. iii. ADAM KNox m. 1st. Eleanor -----; 2nd. Mary Campbell. 5. iv. GRISWOLD KNOX m. Lieut. David Black, b. Nov. 8, 1720, son of Hugh Black and his wife, Elizabeth. No dates are found for her birth, death or marriage. The "Blandford Address" says Hugh Black was the first to arrive with his family in the fall of 1736, a.nd that it was at his house the proprietors met to number the farms they designed to give to each of ·the first fifty families to settle in the town. His house was on the west side of the Town Street. It is supposed that David remained in Blandford until after his marriage, and then settled in what was then called the "Tyringham Equivalent,, since called Otis. He built a tavern upon the main road from Westfield to Great Barrington, which road passed through Bland ford. He had a saw mill and a grist mill.

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