Sunday, July 24, 2011

Knight family of Spetisbury, Winterborne Stickland and Turnworth

An interesting email and a number of images from an Australian correspondent on the Butt family has led me back once again to my Knight family. I haven't been able to agree with other Knight researchers on our mutual ancestors before William Knight (married to Sarah Ellis) and John Knight (married to Ann Vincent). I have a vague recollection of my Grandfather mentioning that he had grandparents that were cousins and that they had 18 children. It does appear that it was a set of his great grandparents who had 13 children but I was only eight when he died so could easily have misunderstood that. I haven't been able to find the cousin relationship although Ellis Knight and Eleanor Knight certainly shared the same surname (they were my grandfather's great grandparents). There is at least one cousin marriage though that I do know about now and my grandfather could have been confused in that regard now that I have put the Carter/Blake/King family puzzle together with Joseph Blake and Joanna King (one set of my 4x great grandparents) being first cousins.

As I was going through the Winterborne Stickland Parish Registers I noted a marriage with John Vincent of Dewlish and so I had a look at that parish and discovered many Vincent entries including Ann baptized 26 Oct 1755 at Dewlish and the daughter of James Vincent and Ann Moulam. Ann Vincent married John Knight 9 Jun 1783 at Shapwick (2 miles from Spetisbury) and I have been trying to find information on this couple for quite a while. Why do they marry at Shapwick and not Spetisbury? Dewlish is 11 miles from Shapwick as well; why not Dewlish if that is her birthplace? James Vincent and Ann Moulam married 28 Nov 1733 at Dewlish and their first daughter Ann died young. However, when I check the OPC Dorset site for Shapwick the marriage registration is there for John Knight and Ann Vincent but no baptisms at Shapwick for the Knight family. Also they are the only Knight marriage at Shapwick between 1731 and 1813.

Also in the Winterborne Stickland Parish Registers I found the burial of John Knight 17 Nov 1826 and his age was listed as 69 years giving him a likely year of birth of 1757 and there is a christening 2 Oct 1757 at Spetisbury of John son of David Knight and Martha Buller (married 17 Feb 1756 at Spetisbury). I had discarded this couple as the parents of John because John and Ann did not name one of their sons David. Nor did they name one of their sons Henry and David is known to be the son of Henry Knight and Mary Oliver (married 25 Dec 1727 at Spetisbury). But as I worked my way through these thoughts I am remembering that I did not find the children of John Knight and Ann Vincent - they were given to me early on in my genealogy work. I did not touch the Knight family when we went to Salt Lake City so in fact I have not really looked at this family beyond doubting the connections that other researchers have found between William and John Knight (both are my 4x great grandfathers) and the ancestors of these two.

Looking at the IGI since the baptisms are not yet online at Ancestry in the Dorset records, I find

Eleanor baptized 12 Dec 1786 at Silton
Martha baptized 28 Oct 1796 at Silton

I know from the census that Eleanor always says she was born at Spetisbury so the Silton is somewhat confusing and as well 19 miles from Spetisbury. Is this an error of transcription? Once the registers are online prior to 1813 I will have an answer to that question. Looking at the OPC Dorset website, Silton Bishop Transcripts do not list any Knight baptisms between 1731 and 1880 so it is an error but in favour of which village? That remains to be discovered.

Did they have only the two children? There are seven other children listed for this couple by other researchers: Elizabeth Ann, Thomas, Jemima, Benjamin, Joseph, James and Samuel. No baptisms are listed by other researchers for these children; dates given are from the census when available otherwise they would appear to be subjective.A great deal is known about Eleanor and she was 83 years of age when she died. She lived with my grandfather's grandfather and died just before the marriage of my great grandparents Blake 25 Sep 1870 at Turnworth (Edward Blake married Maria Jane Knight 29 Oct 1870 at Upper Clatford).

Eleanor Knight married Ellis Knight 29 May 1804 at Spetisbury but their marriage in the IGI is listed as Silton. This Knight marriage does not appear on the Silton Parish Records on the OPC site.

From another researcher I have but not verified by me:

Spetisbury Parish Records
FHL Film # 1239228

Baptisms
1812  May 24    Harry  s/o William & Sarah Knight 
1811  Nov 8      Samuel s/o Ellis & Eleanor Knight
1810  Oct 1       George s/o Henry & Anne Knight
1810  Oct 8       William s/o William & Eliz Knight
1809  Aug 20    George s/o William & Sarah Knight
1809  Nov 26    Mary Ann d/o Ellis & Eleanor Knight
1808  Jun 28     George s/o Ellis & Eleanor Knight
1808  Oct 30     Jane d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1807  Feb 25    Eliz d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1807  Mar 22    Hannah d/o William & Sarah Knight
1807  Aug 16    David s/o William & Eliz Knight
1806  Jul 27      Ellis s/o Ellis & Eleanor Knight
1804  Jan 22    Charles s/o William & Sarah Knight
1804  Oct 21    Eliza d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1802  May 11   James s/o William & Sarah Knight
1802  Dec 26   Mary Ann d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1801  Jan 11    Henrietta d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1800  Nov 30   John s/o John & Ann Knight
1799  Mar 22    Benjamin s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1799  Sep 22   William s/o William & Sarah Knight
1798  Apr 29    Joseph s/o Thomas & Ann Knight
1798  Sep 25   Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1797  Jan ?      Maria d/o John & ?? Knight (bef Jan 10)
1797  Nov 13   Jemima d/o William & Ann Knight
1796  Oct 8      Martha d/o John & Ann Knight
1795  Sep 17  Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1795  Oct 4      George s/o Sarah Knight
1795  Dec 15   Ann d/o Thomas & Ann Knight
1794  Jan 30    Mary d/o Thomas & Ann Knight
1794  Mar 3      Harriet d/o John & Eliz Knight
1794  Jul 6        James s/o William & Ann Knight
1792  Jun 3       Charlotte c/o John & Eliz Knight
1792  Aug 9      Mary Ann d/o Thomas & Eliz Knight
1792  Oct 7       Mary Ann d/o John & Eliz Knight
1791  Apr 21    Jane d/o John & Eliz Knight
1791  Oct 16    Elizabeth Anne d/o William & Ann Knight
1789  Jun 28   Charles s/o William & Ann Knight
1789  Sep 25   Sophia d/o Jo & Anne Knight
1789  Dec 1     Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1787  Dec 16   David s/o John & Eliz Knight
1786  Jan 1      Jane d/o John & Eliz Knight
1786  Dec 12   Eleanor d/o John & Ann Knight
1785  Aug 24   Joseph s/o Joh & Anne Knight
1784  May 2      David s/o J & Eliz Knight
1778  Oct 1       George s/o Thomas & Martha Knight
1777  Jan 26     Mary d/o Thomas & Martha Knight
1777  Dec 27    David s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1774  Apr 3        Henry s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1773  Nov 21     Henry s/o Thomas & Martha Knight
1772  Dec 13    Thomas s/o David & Martha Knight
1770  May 20     David s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1768  Feb 24     Elizabeth d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1766  Feb 2       Sarah d/o Henry  & Ann Knight
1764  Feb 5      William s/o David & Martha Knight
1764  Mar 21    Henry s/o Henry & Ann Knight

Marriages
1804  Apr 8     William Knight & Eliz Mitchel
1804  May 29  Ellis Knight & Eleanor Knight
1799  Apr 13    Henry Knight & Ann Holloway
1798  Nov ?     William Knight & Sarah Loader
1793  Nov 7      James Collins & Ann Knight
1791  Jan 17     John Smith of Blandford Forum & Mary Knight
1786  Oct 23     William Knight, b & Ann Ballet, s, both OTP

Burials

1810  Oct 8      William s/o William & Eliz Knight
1806  Jan 1      Martha Knight
1801  Feb 3     Henry Knight
1801  Jun 10    Elizabeth Knight
1801  Sep 14   Charles Knight
1801  Sep 14   James Knight
1799  Feb 15   John Knight
1798  May 8     Ann Knight
1796  Jan 5      Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1796  Jan 13    Harriet d/o John & Eliz Knight
1793  Oct 19    Miriam Knight
1791  Apr 21   Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1788  Jun 2      Henry Knight
1788  Jun 11    Ann widow of Henry Knight
1787  Jan 31    Jane d/o John & Eliz Knight
1786  Jan 19    David s/o John & Eliz Knight
1786  Aug 16    Mary Knight
1785  Sep 4      Joseph s/o John & Eliz Knight
1778  Sep 28   Henry Knight, parish clerk
1773  Sep 20   Henry s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1768  Feb 26   Eliz infant d/o Henry & Ann Knight


From this list I have as children of John and Ann Knight:

1800  Nov 30   John s/o John & Ann Knight
1796  Oct 8      Martha d/o John & Ann Knight
1789  Sep 25   Sophia d/o Jo & Anne Knight
1786  Dec 12   Eleanor d/o John & Ann Knight
1785  Aug 24   Joseph s/o Joh & Anne Knight

I am noticing that Elizabeth Ann, Thomas, Jemima, Benjamin, James and Samuel belong to different parents namely William and Ann Knight. David, Henry and Thomas are all brothers and sons of Henry Knight and Mary Oliver. The big question to me at this point is who is Henry Knight married to Mary Oliver. He was Parish Clerk at Spetisbury and buried 28 Sep 1778.

I shall check the Spetisbury records on Ancestry now to see if I can find any marriages for these children and I did not find anything conclusive for Sophia, Martha, Joseph or John siblings of Eleanor.

I do have one part of my question answered with respect to John and William Knight. They are not brothers. Probably they are not first cousins but beyond that I have no idea. I am not sure of the parents of William Knight and Sarah Ellis. Sarah does appear on the census so I know that she was born around 1756 which fits with the data that I have. But were the parents of William Knight as thought? Were they William Knight and Mary Dashwood who married 9 Aug 1760 at St Peter Shaftesbury Dorset?

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