GEORGE MCKNIGHT AND MARY SMITH - CANADA PROJECT 150

First Published in the Halton-Peel  Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society Newsletter - Special Edition Halton-Peel KINections - Canada 150 Project - July 2017

The Halton-Peel Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society invited members to share stories about ancestors who lived in Canada at the time of confederation in 1867.  George McKnight and Mary Smith are my paternal 3x great grandparents

George McKnight and Mary Smith Family

George McKnight (abt 1817-1884) was born in Fermanagh Ireland and came to Canada about 1836.  According to his wife Mary Smith McKnight’s (abt 1821-1909) obituary, George McKnight married Mary Smith in 1835 in Enniskillen, Fermanagh Ireland and they emigrated to Toronto, Ontario. The obituary is probably from the Listowel Standard, Perth County, dated May 28, 1909.  The obituary states:   "...and settled in Toronto, where Mr. Mcknight engaged in the mercantile business for two years.  From there they moved to Albion Township and followed farming until 1854.   In that year they moved into Minto Township, Wellington County......"

Other researchers have quoted an autobiography by a Fermanagh Patterson Rutherford that claims the business that George McKnight operated was a Dry Goods Store near the Eaton's store on Yonge Street in Toronto.  There was a listing for a McKnight and Saxon listed as Wholesale Merchants in the 1837 Toronto & Home District Directory.  The address is simply Yonge Street, Toronto.  This was a business listing and I have not found a home address for the McKnight family, so possibly they lived above the store.  There was no listing for Mr. Saxon either.  Certainly looking at other businesses in the area, in this time frame, the dry goods stores seemed to be on Yonge Street north from King Street. 

If Mary Smith McKnight’s obituary is correct, the family moved to Peel County by 1839.  Certainly the family was listed in Albion on the 1851 Census.  According to the book The Way it was:  a History of Minto, George McKnight was one of the original landowners of Minto Township, Wellington County and purchased Lots 41 and 42 on Concession 1.  The land sale is recorded as September 10 and 11, 1854. 

George’s parents James and Ann/Hannah Colwell Mcknight and George’s siblings also came to Albion around the same time.  The 1846-1847 Brown’s Toronto City and Home Directory shows a James McKnight living at Concession 3, Lot 29 in Albion, Peel County.  It is possible George and his family lived with his parents until he moved to Wellington County.

George and Mary had at least ten children: Isabella (1839-1913), Anne Jane (1841-1894), Margaret (1843-1920), Sarah (1847-1929), John (1847-1911), James (1850-1931) born in Albion, Peel County.  George (1857-1936), Mary (1861-1938), Elizabeth (1862-1867) and Samuel (1865-1957) were born in Wellington County.  

Sarah McKnight was baptized August 19, 1849 in Albion and she was born in Albion on January 6, 1847 according to the Wesleyan Baptism Register.  This is the first documented proof that the family lived in Albion.

Mary Smith and George McKnight - unknown source

George and Mary and their children Isabella, Anne Jane, Margaret, Sarah, John and James are all listed on the 1852 Census living in Albion.  As their daughter Isabella was born in 1839, it is possible the family was living in Albion as early as 1839; however there is no documentation to support this information.

MCKNIGHT FAMILY - PART 3

 The Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario has an obituary for George McKnight, that lists his wife Mary Smith and his children.  George McKnight was born about 1817 according to the various census, but this biography/obituary states he was born in 1827 in Fermanagh, Ireland and he emigrated to Canada in the early fifties (1850) with his family.  This is incorrect  as Isabella his daughter, was born in Ontario about 1839.  So while some of the information is suspect it does give a sense of who George McKnight was.

From other sources, I know he came to Wellington County by 1854 as he is listed as one of the first owners of land in Minto Township at Concession 1, lots 41 and 42.  The biography states "There were no roads at this time and the McKnight found their way through Wallace and up to their location the 'blazed' path.  Here Mr. McKnight made a small clearing and built a log house, eventually clearing the whole farm and living upon it until his death."  The article also states that he was a Conservative and the family were members of the Church of England.

The most valuable part of the biography lists his children and more importantly who they married.  Unfortunately the daughters are listed by their married names, i.e.:  Mrs. Robert Newton.  This takes some sorting out to discover which daughter it means.  Luckily the  men fare better, they are listed by name and the full name of their wives.

By using the biography as well as information from other sources here are the family marriages:

Isabella   (1839 - 1913)  m. Robert Newton

Ann J.      (1841 - 1894) m.  Leonard Denney/Denny

Margaret (1843 - 1920)  m.  Moses Aldrich

Sarah      (1847 - 1929) m.  Robert Magwood, George Adams, E. G.  Harris

John        (1849 - 1911) m.  Elizabeth Phillips

James     (1850 - 1931) m.   Sarah Rutherford

George   (1857 - 1931)  m.  Mary Jane Lovell

Mary       (1861 - 1938) m.  Charles Heuckerote 

Elizabeth (1862 - 1867)        --

Samuel   (1865 - 1957) m.  Elizabeth Rothwell

Most of the family seemed to stay in the Wellington County area and George McKnight's farm stayed in the family for years after his death.  I believe there are still quite a few McKnight family descendants in the area to this day.