The first THOMAS KNOWER, a native of the East London borough of Eastcheap, was born in 1560 and died in 1623. It is probable that his parents or grandparents were among the Protestant artisans of Northern Europe who flooded East London during the religious upheavals of the Reformation. The name "Knower," so similar to "Knauer," suggests as much, as does the absence of the family from Eastcheap parish rolls prior to Thomas' birth. His son, the emigrant Thomas, possessed a Bible in French, a hint that the family may have Flemish or French Protestant roots. According to the parish records of St. Clement's, Eastcheap, Thomas was married twice: first, to MARGARET LOWNE on February 14, 1584/5; and second, to ANN BREAMER, on October 26, 1597. According to "The Descendants of Thomas Knower, citing Malden Families," by George Walter Chamberlain, "Margaret Lowne was the widow of Vincent Lowne, also of St. Clement's. (London Marriage Licenses, p. 805) "He may have been a Flemish cloth worker who came to London from Flanders in Europe. He was born about 1550. His wife, Margaret, was buried in St. Clement's Oct. 6, 1596. He married, second, in St. Clement's Oct. 26, 1597, Anne Breamer, widow of Robert Breamer of the same parish. He was buried in the middle aisle of St. Clement's Church, February 24, 1623. Robert Breamer, probably her son, was buried in St. Clement's on May 27, 1598." ("Malden Families," page 430).
Children of THOMAS KNOWER and ANN BREAMER listed in the baptismal register of St. Clement's are:
i. ANNE KNOWER, baptized July 9, 1598.
2. ii. THOMAS KNOWER, baptized September 13, 1600; found dead around November 9, 1641, on the Mystic River near Charlestown.
iii. MARY KNOWER, baptized August 25, 1602, died December 20, 1620.
iv. JOHN KNOWER, baptized October 28, 1604.
3. v. GEORGE KNOWER, born about 1607, died February 13, 1673/74, in Malden.
vi. MARGARET KNOWER, baptized April 30, 1608, died May 13, 1608.
2. THOMAS KNOWER married ELIZABETH ---- before 1622 in St. Clement's Church, Eastcheap. Before 1628, he married OLIVE -----.
Although he was handicapped by the loss of the first volumes of Malden's town and church records, in 1937 George Walter Chamberlain of the Malden Historical Society made a creditable effort to reconstruct and publish the genealogies of the town's founding families, including the Knowers. Not every conclusion Chamberlain reached stands up to modern scrutiny, and questionable conclusions will not be repeated here. He did, however, ferret many helpful references to the Knower brothers from the surviving public records of Charlestown and its daughter town, Malden. As made clear by the compilers of "The Great Migration Begins," a modern look at the same surviving material published by the New England Historical Genealogical Society in 1995, it is necessary to read the names "Knocker," "Knohor" and "Knore" as references to the Knower brothers, and to understand that reconstruction of family relationships from ship's lists is based solely on reasonable assumptions. Thomas Knower appears on a list of settlers at Charlestown in 1630, and again in 1633/34. Apparently he got himself into some sort of trouble with the Charlestown authorities; the record notes on 3 February 1631/2: "Tho: Knower hath bound himself in £10 to make his personal appearance at the next Court, to answer such things as shall be objected against him" [Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1628-1686, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed., vol. 1, p. 93]. On 3 April 1632: "Tho: Knower was set in the bilbowes for threatening the Court that, if he should be punished, he would have it tried in England whether he was lawfully punished or not." [p. 94]. The nature of his offence was not recorded, but on 3 September 1639, "Thom: Knore" was brought to court "for selling a pot full of strong water without license, was fined 5s." [p. 269]. Thomas may indeed have returned to England, as a Thomas Knore, 33; Noll Knore, 29; and Sara Knore, 7, arrive at Charlestown in the "Abigail" on July 17, 1635. (The Original Lists of Persons of Quality..., John Camden Hotten, ed. London 1874; rpt. Baltimore 1974, p. 92) It is probable that this is the same man, but the evidence is not conclusive. Noll -- which is likely a nickname for 'Olive', as 'Nol' was a nickname for Oliver Cromwell -- and Sara do not appear again in the surviving records, but it is a reasonable assumption that they form a family unit with Thomas. Thomas apparently died by misadventure. Governor John Winthrop noted in his diary for early November, 1641, that "One Knore, of Charlestown, coming down Mistick in a small boat laden with wood, was found dead in it: a good caveat for men not to go single in boats in such a season of the year, for it was very stormy weather." (John Winthrop Diary, Vol. 1, page 51) An inventory of his estate taken Nov. 19, 1641, mentions his two bibles, several other books, and nearly 30 acres of land in various parcels. "1 old shallop, 3 oars, 1 mast, 1 compass," valued at 14s. The inventory calls him Thomas "Knocker" and mentions a debt owed to his brother George "Knocker." That one of the bibles was in French suggests that the family had Flemish or Huguenot origins, not at all uncommon for cloth workers in the eastern boroughs of London. Land mentioned in the inventory tallies roughly with 1638 Charlestown Book of Possessions in which "Thomas Knowhor" is reported to hold five parcels of land: dwelling house with garden plot at Sconce Point; four acres of land in East Field; one acre and a half meadow in Mystic Marshes; five acres woodland in Mystic Field; and twenty-five acres of land in Water Field [Page 51]. There is one last clue to mention. Charles Henry Pope, in his "Pioneers of Massachusetts," published in Boston in 1900, asserts that an "account book, used in London in 1593 and 1594, by Thomas Knower and Abraham Cartwright of London, clothier, was used as a record book by the first town clerk of Charlestown; it gives many names of clothiers and others who had dealings with them." [page 274]. This evidence, if reliable, helps strengthen the link between Thomas and George Knower of Charlestown with the Thomas Knower, clothier of London.
Probably the child of THOMAS KNOWER is:
i. SARAH KNOWER, born about 1622/3, Eastcheap, London.
3. GEORGE KNOWER married ELIZABETH KENDALL in Malden about 1645. His death was recorded in Malden in February 1674. Probate records give his age at death as 67 years, 10 months, 3 days. According to Chamberlain, "George Knower of London, brother to Thomas, was an inhabitant of Charlestown as early as 1631. He was living on the Mystic side (now Malden) prior to Nov. 1, 1664. His wife was Elizabeth. She was one of the signers of the Matthews petition in Malden Oct. 28, 1651. George Knower, 67 or thereabouts, made his will Dec 3, 1674; it was proved April 6, 1675. (Middlesex Probate Records 5:28) He mentions his wife, Elizabeth, his son, Jonathan, his daughter Mary Marrable; he refers to Elizabeth Kendall, to his grandchildren Hannah Bucknam and Elizabeth Bucknam. He calls his wife "Elizabeth Knower, once Elizabeth Kendall aforesaid. He made his son Jonathan and his wife Elizabeth his executors ("Malden Families," p. 432) According to "The Great Migration Begins," George Knower was admitted as an inhabitant of Charlestown in 1631 and is on the lists of inhabitants dated 9 January 1633/4 and January 1635/6. "There is no entry for George Knower in the 1638 Charlestown Book of Possessions, though there should be. This may be because the only property owned by him was on Mystic side and not in Charlestown proper. In a deed from John March to John Green, for example, a five-acre lot on Mystic side has George Knower as one of the abutters [ChBOP 119] In 1640 "George Knowe" was one of the petitioners who "having been heretofore inhabitants in Charlestowne and could not there have accommodation to live comfortably they were forced to crave leave of the Court to build and plant upon Mystick side which they did" now wish relief from various actions of the town of Charlestown which they consider prejudicial [Lechford 364-65]. On 2 April 1661 "Captain Edward Johnson of Oburne (Woburn)" sold to "William Bucknam & George Knower of Malden ... all that my forty-acre lot of land" in Malden, "with fifteen acres more sometime the lots of Mr. Hubbard & Robert Shorthose adjoining to the said forty acres" [MLR 9:228]. In his will, dated 3 December 1674 and proved on an unknown date, "George Knower aged 67 years or thereabouts" bequeathed to "my loving and dear wife" her thirds, including two cows, "during the life of Elizab[eth] Knower, wife of the aforesaid George Knower" with further instructions for "my son Jonathan" to provide lamb's wool yearly, "as also 4 lambs yearly and every year the aforesaid Elizab[eth] Kendall [sic] shall have of the aforesaid Jonathan to dispose of"; to "my daughter Mary Merrable one half of my ten acres of land & one acre of marsh more or less lying next Mr. Bellingham on that side of a creek with half of a parcel of marsh lying at the bottom of the upland before mentioned"; to "grandchild Hannah Bucknam the other half of the ten acres ... and the half part of the marsh"; to "grandchild Elizabeth Bucknam two cows" at eighteen or marriage; residue to "my son Jonathan Knower" [MPR 5:29-31]. The inventory of the estate of George Knower totaled £503 7s. 6d,, of which the "housing & land" was £385 [MPR 5:31-32]. An Elizabeth Kendall died Jan 4, 1695/6, in Gloucester, Essex County, Massachusetts. It is unknown whether she was the same woman as George's widow. "The Great Migration Begins" sums up George Knower's career with this characterization: "George Knower lived in New England for nearly half a century, owned land and had a family, yet we know almost nothing about him. Nothing has been found to show that he held office or performed any civic service, or, on the other hand, that he was summoned to court by his neighbors or the town and colony authorities. He does not seem to have been a church member, and was not a freeman. Apparently he tended his crops and cattle and provided for his family, and otherwise avoided participation in the greater society around him."
Children of GEORGE KNOWER and ELIZABETH KENDALL are:
4. i. JONATHAN KNOWER, born about 1645 in Malden; died October 15, 1722 in Malden.
5. ii. SARAH KNOWER, born about 1648 in Malden; died before 1673.
6. iii. MARY KNOWER, born about 1650 in Malden, died after 1673 in Malden.
4. JONATHAN KNOWER married SARAH WINSLEAD in October 1676 in Malden. She was born about 1653 in Malden, a daughter of John Winslead. On April 13, 1690 Thomas Winslead made a deed of gift in which one of the grantees was his sister Sarah Knower. Jonathan Knohre is listed as a freeman in Malden, in 1690.
Children of JONATHAN KNOWER and SARAH WINSLEAD are:
7. i. SARAH KNOWER, born July 1680 in Malden or Charlestown; died September 7, 1722, in Malden.
8. ii. JONATHAN KNOWER, born 1682; died December 21, 1745, Malden.
iii. THOMAS KNOWER, born November 24, 1685; died in infancy.
iv. ELIZABETH KNOWER, died June 5, 1687, Malden.
9. v. JOHN KNOWER, born March 11, 1688/89, Malden; died November 28, 1746, Malden.
vi. THOMAS KNOWER, born April 28, 1694.
On November 26, 1722, Thomas Knower was warned by the Malden authorities to entertain Margaret Calvin no longer; she and her child had been staying with Knower for about five months.
5. SARAH KNOWER was born in about 1748 and died before 1673. She married JOSES BUCKNAM before June 1655. He was born July 3, 1641 in Charlestown.
Children of HANNAH KNOWER and JOSES BUCKNAM are:
i. JOSES BUCKNAM, born January 1664/65.
ii. HANNAH BUCKNAM, born August 1669.
iii. ELIZABETH BUCKNAM, born 1671.
6. MARY KNOWER was born about 1650 in Malden died there after 1673. She was married twice; first to NATHANIEL WHITTEMORE, before 1668 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was born before 1636 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. On May 3, 1673, she married JOHN MARABLE, who was born November 10, 1646 in Charlestown and died June 2, 1730 in Malden.
Children of MARY KNOWER and NATHANIEL WHITTEMORE are:
i. MARY WHITTEMORE, born April 26, 1668, Charlestown.
ii. NATHANIEL WHITTEMORE, born September 26, 1670, Cambridge.
7. SARAH KNOWER was born July 1680 in Malden or Charlestown, and died September 7, 1722 in Malden. She married THOMAS STEVENS.
Child of SARAH KNOWER and THOMAS STEVENS is:
i. THOMAS STEVENS, born April 7, 1709, Malden.
8. JONATHAN KNOWER was born 1682, and died December 21, 1745, in Malden. He married MARY JOHNSON.
Children of JONATHAN KNOWER and MARY JOHNSON are:
i. MARTHA KNOWER, born May 28, 1717; m. GAMALIEL ROGERS, March 21, 1731/32, Boston.
ii. MARY KNOWER, born November 5, 1718, Malden; died September 3, 1748, in Malden.
10. iii. JONATHAN KNOWER, born December 5, 1720, Malden.
iv. HANNAH KNOWER, born February 2, 1721/22, Malden; married JOHN SARGENT, October 1, 1747, in Malden.
v. SARAH KNOWER, born January 11, 1723/24. 11.
vi. DANIEL KNOWER, born September 5, 1725, Malden; died after 1793, Malden Mass.
vii. BENJAMIN KNOWER, born June 16, 1727, Malden; died August 1, 1730, Malden.
viii. ELIZABETH KNOWER, born November 4, 1728, Malden; died July 22, 1739, Malden.
ix. LYDIA KNOWER, born March 5, 1729/30, Malden; died April 30, 1803, Malden.
x. ELIZABETH KNOWER, born September 27, 1732.
9. JOHN KNOWER was born March 11, 1689 or 1690 in Malden, and died November 28, 1746 in Malden. He married ELIZABETH MITCHELL in about 1723 in Malden.
Children of JOHN KNOWER and ELIZABETH MITCHELL are:
i. JOHN KNOWER, born March 1722; died April 18, 1722.
12. ii. JOHN KNOWER, born February 28, 1723/24, Malden; died September 14, 1758, Malden.
iii. JOSEPH KNOWER, born February 28, 1723/24, Malden; died December 20, 1727, Malden.
iv. THOMAS KNOWER, born January 7, 1730/31, Malden; died September 3, 1738, Malden.
10. JONATHAN KNOWER was born December 5, 1720 in Malden. He married MARY ANN WILSON, who died May 5, 1783 in Malden.
Children of JONATHAN KNOWER and MARY WILSON are:
13. i. JONATHAN KNOWER, born August 22, 1749, Malden; died January 15, 1807, Malden.
ii. HANNAH KNOWER, born August 15, 1751.
iii. ELIZABETH KNOWER, born August 15, 1756, Malden; died November 16, 1810, Malden.
iv. JEMIMA KNOWER, born June 8, 1759; m. SAMUEL LEWIS, February 3, 1777, Malden.
v. JOSEPH KNOWER, born 1765, Malden; died February 18, 1782, Malden.
vi. SIBELLA KNOWER, born 1765.
vii. STEPHEN KNOWER, born March 19, 1768.
11. DANIEL KNOWER was born September 5, 1725 in Malden, and died after 1793 in Malden. He married ABIGAIL WHITTEMORE November 25, 1749. She was a daughter of SAMUEL WHITTEMORE and PETERNELL MITCHELL. She was born June 21, 1727 in Malden and died there January 25, 1785.
Children of DANIEL KNOWER and ABIGAIL WHITTEMORE are:
i. ABIGAIL KNOWER, born November 7, 1750; married JONATHAN GARDNER, January 18, 1770. He died October 10, 1780, at sea in the West Indies.
14. ii. BENJAMIN KNOWER, born September 30, 1754, Malden; died November 9, 1806, in Roxbury, Mass.
iii. DANIEL KNOWER, born March 10, 1757, Malden.
Like his brother Benjamin, Daniel Knower served both on land and at sea during the American Revolution. He enlisted as a private in Captain Nayler Hatch's company in 1775; in July 1778 he is recorded as having served in Capt. Nathan Sergeant's company, seeing action at the Battle of Winter Hill. Later that year he and Benjamin Knower are both seamen on the brig Hazard. The last we know of him is a note in the Malden Vital Records dated 1780: "Lost in the extraordinary Hericane in the wesindies," along with his brother-in-law Jonathan Gardner, above.
15. iv. PETERNELL KNOWER, born August 3, 1761; died September 1816.
v. SAMUEL KNOWER, born April 16, 1766. A Samuel Knower died July 6, 1806, age 40, in Roxbury. This could be he.
12. JOHN KNOWER was born February 28, 1723/24 in Malden and died September 14, 1758 in Malden. He married PHOEBE SPRAGUE June 17, 1746 in Malden.
Children of JOHN KNOWER and PHOEBE SPRAGUE are:
16. i. JOHN KNOWER, born January 7, 1745/46, Malden. 17.
17. ii. THOMAS KNOWER, born December 6, 1748, Malden; died November 22, 1825, Westminster, Mass..
iii. ELIZABETH KNOWER, born December 21, 1750.
18. iv. GEORGE KNOWER, born February 16, 1753, Malden.
v. PHEBE KNOWER, born February 18, 1755, Malden; died March 3, 1764, Malden.
vi. RACHEL KNOWER, born April 10, 1757; m. SAMUEL GROVER, May 23, 1781, Malden
To read more about the Revolutionary War generation, click here
13. JONATHAN KNOWER was born August 22, 1749 in Malden, and "found dead in his bed" January 15, 1807 in Malden. He married MARY ANN FOLLINGS May 20, 1781, in Boston Mass. The marriage was solemnized by the Rev. Eliakin Willis. Their only known child died February 22, 1782, at birth.
14. BENJAMIN KNOWER: Click here to jump to Descendants of Benjamin Knower of Roxbury
15. PETERNELL KNOWER was born August 3, 1761, and died September 1816. She married GEORGE SHUTE March 3, 1785, son of AMOS SHUTE and PHOEBE SPRAGUE. He was born May 29, 1763 in Malden, and died December 2, 1831.
Child of PETERNELL KNOWER and GEORGE SHUTE is:
i. CHARLES SHUTE, died July 1, 1818.
16. JOHN KNOWER was born January 7, 1745/46 in Malden. He married JANE RICE August 10, 1773. She was born in Leominster, Mass. John Knower was a resident of Worcester, Mass., in the 1800 and 1810 federal censuses.
Child of JOHN KNOWER and JANE RICE is:
i. JOHN KNOWER, born February 12, 1774, in Worcester.
17. THOMAS KNOWER was born December 6, 1748 in Malden, and died November 22, 1825 in Westminster, Mass. He married ANNE MILES February 10, 1780 in Westminster, daughter of REUBEN MILES and ANNE RICE. She was born July 4, 1758 in Westminster and died October 7, 1849. Thomas is first recorded as a Westminster taxpayer in 1779; he lived in Worcester County in the 1800 census and in Leominster in 1810.
Children of THOMAS KNOWER and ANNE MILES are:
i. THOMAS KNOWER, born February 1781; died in infancy.
ii. PHEBE KNOWER, born March 26, 1781, Westminster; died April 19, 1785.
iii. NANCY KNOWER, born February 21, 1783, Westminster; died July 3, 1805; m. JOHN BROWN.
iv. SARAH KNOWER, born March 13, 1785, Westminster; died August 2, 1861, Westminster; m. JONAS PATCH.
v. PHEBE KNOWER, born March 5, 1787, Westminster; died November 7, 1839; m. (1) JOSEPH BROWN; m. (2) DAVID GOODHUE.
vi. POLLY M. KNOWER, born May 1, 1789, Westminster; died November 2, 1791.
vii. LUCY KNOWER, born October 1, 1791, Westminster; died November 6, 1791, in infancy.
27. viii. THOMAS KNOWER, born January 6, 1795, Westminster. Died September 1879.
According to the Fitchburg Sentinel of September 26, 1879, "Another of our oldest citizens, Capt. Thomas Knower, died Monday morning of cancer which has been troubling him for several years. He received the cognomen of 'captain' from the fact that he at one time commanded the old 'floodwood' company that existed some 50 years ago."
Della Noel Knower found the graves of three of the children who died in infancy in Woodside Cemetery, Westminster, Mass., on a visit in 2006.
18. GEORGE KNOWER was born February 16, 1753 in Malden. He married NANCY SHUTE July 26, 1787, daughter of AMOS SHUTE and PHOEBE SPRAGUE. She was born October 6, 1767.
Children of GEORGE KNOWER and NANCY SHUTE are:
i. NANCY KNOWER, born September 17, 1789; m. JACOB SHUTE, September 25, 1817, Malden
ii. GEORGE SHUTE KNOWER, born April 2, 1792, Malden. 28.
28. iii. SAMUEL KNOWER, born June 18, 1799, Malden.
iv. PETERNELL KNOWER, born February 1, 1794.
27. THOMAS KNOWER was born January 6, 1795 in Westminster. He married (1) ELMIRA EAGER on December 5, 1820. She was the daughter of JONATHAN EAGER and RHODA COWEE. She died October 30, 1834; Thomas then married (2) SALLY ESTABROOKS on May 10, 1835. She was born in New Ipswich, N.H., and died February 17, 1875. On September 14, 1838, at age 43, Thomas Knower of Westminster made an affidavit regarding his military service to the Revolutionary War pension board.
Children of THOMAS KNOWER and ELMIRA EAGER are:
i. MARY BIGELOW KNOWER, born March 24, 1823, Westminster.
41. ii. HORACE BROWN KNOWER, born January 21, 1828, Westminster; died October 7, 1885, after being struck by a train.
To view photos of Knower places in Westminster, click here
28. SAMUEL KNOWER was born June 18, 1799 in Malden. He married SUSANNA STRATTON on December 1, 1822 in Roxbury. She was born about 1803. This Samuel Knower was apparently the first to move his family any great distance from Boston. In the 1850 federal census, the family appears in Brooklyn, fourth ward, where Samuel is a shoe merchant with his son George. In the 1870 census, he turns up in the 13th ward of Brooklyn, where at age 71, his occupation is given as courier. Philip Rand of Michigan writes, "Sammy was a fire chief in Roxbury Mass. I have a firehorn that he used during the great Roxbury fire of 1831 that excited him so much he crushed the horn in his bare hands. My niece has a large oil on canvas of him painted in 1830. He was a strong, intelligent looking man."
Children of SAMUEL KNOWER and SUSANNA STRATTON are:
i. GEORGE SHUTE KNOWER, born July 16, 1825, Roxbury, Mass.
ii. JOSEPH STRATTON KNOWER, born April 6, 1827; he married (1) LYDIA GURNEY; then (2) her niece, EMILY UPTON.
Joseph is living in Roxbury, Mass., in the 1850 federal census, but in 1860 is found working as a miner in Township 2, Tuolumne County, California. He enlisted March 4, 1864, in the 6th California Infantry, Co. H, attained the rank of captain; and was discharged October 25, 1865 at Benicia Barracks, California, with his company. His pension application, filed 1905 in Massachusetts, names his widow as Emily U. Knower. She filed for relief in 1918 as a resident of Maine. In the 1890 Boston directory, he is a bookkeeper in an office at 87 Milk St., residing at 77 Clifton St., Dorchester.
Philip Rand writes, "(Joseph Stratton Knower) although not a blood relation, married two of my relatives. You have him listed as marrying Emily U (Upton), when in reality he married her Aunt Lydia Gurney first! (He married Emily later. I'm not sure when he and Lydia married. I do know that he spent some time as a hand on clipper ships going to the orient and about the time of the gold strikes in California left the ship and settled in San Francisco. I believe that Lydia was with him at the time. He did something there to become prosperous although that is still a mystery, and when the Civil War broke out took a commission in the First California Volunteer Infantry, spending his time in garrison in or around San Francisco! I have in my possession his sword, and his commission written on silk stamped with gold and signed by Leland Stanford, the first governor of California. After the war he and Lydia returned to the Boston area. At some point she died and is buried in Norway Maine, in the Gurney/Upton ancestral plot. Emily Upton (wife number 2) is my great-grandmother. She and her kids were living on the family farm in Norway Maine in the late 1800s. Joe was an aging lonely bachelor and invited Emily and her kids, including my grandmother Harriet, to come live with him and keep his house. He married Emily early in the 1900s. He died about twelve years after that. Joe is buried in the cemetery in Norway, Maine with most of the brood, including Emily and my grandmother. I have a photo of him asleep in his chair in the sun taken just before he died. He was short and rotund and had a long, snow-white beard. Dad said he loved to play Santa Claus at Christmas. I've often wondered what happened to Lydia (Gurney), his first wife. I know they were married sometime in the forties or early '50s and I have the impression she was in California or not, but beyond, I'm not sure. Joe built a house in Roxbury, Mass. (9 Thane St.) that was home eventually to my great-grandma Emily (Upton) Delano and my father. If you happen to get up into Maine, Joe is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in West Paris, Maine."
iii. CHARLES HENRY KNOWER, born August 30, 1828, Roxbury Mass..
42. iv. WILLIAM H. KNOWER, born January 1, 1830, Roxbury, Mass.; died April 2, 1909, Oregon.
v. SUSAN M. KNOWER, born November 18, 1831, Roxbury Mass..
vi. SAMUEL EDWIN KNOWER, born September 29, 1834, Roxbury Mass. He is found using the name Edwin only in the 1850 federal census. His residence is the fourth ward, Brooklyn, his occupation is clerk.
43. vii. FRANKLIN HAYWARD KNOWER, born May 1, 1836, Roxbury, Mass.
Philip Rand writes, "Franklin ended up in New York City and, I believe, fought for the Union in the Civil War."
viii. CHARLES HENRY KNOWER, born about 1838. He is probably the C.H. Knower listed in 1860 federal census as resident in a boarding house in New York City, 9th ward, division 4.
ix. ELLEN E. KNOWER, born about 1847.
41. HORACE BROWN KNOWER was born January 21, 1828 in Westminster, Mass., and died October 7, 1885 after he was struck by a train. He married MARY ADELIA SAWIN in Westminster, daughter of JAMES SAWIN and EUNICE HYDE. Most of the members of this family are buried in Woodside Cemetery, Westminster.
Children of HORACE KNOWER and MARY SAWIN are:
i. CALVIN HEYWOOD KNOWER, born June 28, 1855, Westminster.
58. ii. CHARLES FRANKLIN KNOWER, born December 21, 1856, Westminster.
42. WILLIAM H. KNOWER was born January 1, 1830, in Roxbury, Mass., and died April 2, 1909 in Oregon. He married MARY ELLIOT April 25, 1852. She was born May 15, 1831 in Corinnia, Maine.
Children of WILLIAM KNOWER and MARY ELLIOT are:
59. i. SUZIANN EMMELINE KNOWER, born June 24, 1861, Wisconsin; died June 19, 1942, Oregon.
60. ii. FRANKLIN ELLIOT KNOWER, born July 10, 1863, Shelby, Wis.; died February 27, 1943, Viroque, Wis..
43. FRANKLIN HAYWARD KNOWER was born May 1, 1836 in Roxbury Mass. He married ELIZABETH SHAW. In the 1880 federal census, Franklin is a bookkeeper living with his mother in the residence of Arthur Hallock in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Child of FRANKLIN KNOWER and ELIZABETH SHAW is:
61. i. LAURA IZETTA KNOWER.
58. CHARLES FRANKLIN KNOWER was born December 21, 1856 in Westminster, Mass. He married EDITH E. PRESCOTT November 26, 1879 in Westminster, daughter of GEORGE PRESCOTT and EMILY TAYLOR.
(Your scribe indebted to his descendant Della Noel Knower for information about the previously unknown two youngest children of this couple and their descendants; additional information has come recently from Knower descendant Lisa Batchelder. To view Della's family album click here)
Children of CHARLES KNOWER and EDITH PRESCOTT, all born in Westminster, are:
62. iv. ELEANOR PRESCOTT KNOWER, born November 9, 1895. She married J. Albert Roy. She died in 1980.i. HENRY HORACE KNOWER, born January 10, 1882, died October 1. 1947. He married ANNIE BAKER.
ii. ALVIN LAWRENCE KNOWER, born June 19, 1884. Died 1964.
iii. GLADYS GEORGIANNA KNOWER, born August 19, 1886. Married Chester E. Lynde December 9, 1937; died 1977.
iv. BESSIE MARIE KNOWER, born November 8, 1888. She married Michael Paskuskas. She died in 1977.
v. MARY EMILY KNOWER, born August 11, 1890. Married the Rev. Edward J. Abar February 14, 1914; she died 1984.
63. vii. ARTHUR HERMAN KNOWER, born September 11, 1902; died November 2, 1970, in Springfield, Mass.
59. SUZIANN EMMELINE KNOWER was born June 24, 1861 in Wisconsin, and died June 19, 1942 in Oregon. She married (1) CHARLES DUDLEY about 1886 in Wisconsin; then (2) JOSIAH W. DELAP about 1890 in Oregon.
Child of SUZIANN KNOWER and CHARLES DUDLEY is:
i. WILLIAM EDWARD KNOWER, born December 24, 1887, Wisconsin; died August 26, 1964, Oregon.
60. FRANKLIN ELLIOT KNOWER was born July 10, 1863 in Shelby, Wis., and died February 27, 1943 in Viroque, Wis. He married MARY DEVORSE March 10, 1885. She was born August 8, 1862 in Randolph County, Illinois.
Children of FRANKLIN KNOWER and MARY DEVORSE are:
i. EVA KNOWER.
ii. ADDIE KNOWER.
iii. HAROLD KNOWER.
iv. LLOYD KNOWER.
v. SELMA KNOWER.
vi. FRED J. KNOWER.
vii. FRANKLIN HAYWARD KNOWER, born December 15, 1901; died October 15, 1993, in Iowa.
viii. ERNEST MERLE KNOWER, born June 13, 1904.
61. LAURA IZETTA KNOWER married GEORGE WILLIAM PETTY.
Child of LAURA KNOWER and GEORGE PETTY is:
i. FLORENCE ANNA PETTY, who married JOHN JAMES EWEN.
62. ELEANOR PRESCOTT KNOWER was born November 9, 1895, in Westminster, Mass. She married ALBERT ROY.
63. ARTHUR HERMAN KNOWER was born September 11, 1902; died November 2, 1970, in Springfield, Mass. He first married ELIZABETH KINDRED, who was born February 1, 1897 in Fitchburg, Mass., and died April 19, 1941 in Northhampton, Mass. A daughter and grandchildren of his second marriage, to ALICE ELEANOR SCOTT, of Hawley, Mass., are living.
The couple is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Springfield.
Della Noel Knower writes in January 2006: Grandpa Knower was in the army and was a machinist in life and then became a nurseryman after retiring. I remember he would bring my mother flats and flats of annuals every spring to plant. He died a few days before my seventh birthday. He was a sweet man who loved to cook and introduced his granddaughter to the joys of cheeseburgers!
ARTHUR HERMAN KNOWER and ELIZABETH KINDRED had two sons:
64. CHARLES HERMAN KNOWER, born April 10, 1920 in Leominster, Mass. and died February 9, 2001 in Glendale, Calif. He married three times; a child of his first marriage is presumably living. CHARLES HERMAN KNOWER and his third wife, PEARL LUTZ, who died in 2001, are buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, Calif.
65. A SON, living; three children and three grandchildren
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