The Problem of Sarah Knight

Of all the branches of the Adams family tree, Sarah Knight's has been the slowest to develop. I have reached the point where I have a reasonably good guess and have decided to document it and proceed with research along that line until proven wrong.

Despite records for two marriages, the births of 9 children, and death and obituary, precious little record has been made of her birth date, birth place, or parents!

Document Date of Birth Place of Birth Parents Notes

Jacob's marriage 1880DEC26-1881DEC25 (blank fields) (not asked) Parental consent noted
suggests age may be mis-stated at 18
Paul Jacob's birth Not Recorded Not Recorded (not asked)
Charles Jacob's birth Document not viewed
Churchill Jacob's birth Not Recorded Not Recorded (not asked)
Mildred Jacob's birth Not Recorded Not Recorded (not asked)
Brady Jacob's birth 1881MAR25-1882MAR24 Wood, WV (not asked) some data has been amended
at later date
Addie Jacob's birth 1882JUN10-1883JUN09 Pleasents, WV (not asked) has been amended;
here father from Wood, WV
Adam's marriage Document not viewed
Garfield Adam's birth Document not viewed
Anna Adam's birth Document not viewed
Mary Adam's birth Document not viewed
Death 1882 JAN 18 New Cumberland, WV Not Accertainable
Not Accertainable
Obituary Document not viewed
1900 Census 1881 JAN WV
1910 Census 1881APR26-1882APR25 USA
1920 Census 1881FEB10-1882FEB09 WV
1930 Census 1880APR25-1881APR24 WV

Clearly it would be nice to find the Adam's marriage record. I hold little hope for the obituary since the death record suggests that no one still alive knew the facts. The births of the 3 Adam's children are under Pennsylvania blackout, so are unlikely to be seen by me.

As you can see in the table above, only 3 records identify the place of birth with more detail than just "West Virginia" (nothing disputes the state of birth). I discount the death record, as it was reported by a next generation person who could not identify the parents. I cannot make New Cumberland fit in any way. I think the later generation got confused by the marriage being held in New Cumberland.

The other two leads come from the last two Jacobs' births - Wood County and Pleasants County. I like Pleasants County. If you search for WV births in the early 1880s with surname Knight, you find "S E Knight" born in SEP 1882 in the Jefferson district of Pleasants County. I mention the district because the Jefferson district is the southernmost district in Pleasants County. It is on the border of Wood and Richie Counties, and was probably in Wood County before Pleasants County was formed, in 1851, from portions of Tyler, Richie, and Wood counties.

The parents listed for this baby girl are "H Knight", a farmer, and "B C Knight". In the 1880 census, you can find Henry and Barbara Knight living in the Jefferson District of Pleasants County! In the 1900 census, we find "John" and Barbara Knight living in Empire village, Knox Twp, Jefferson county, Ohio with their last two children - Mary Ethel and Brady A. In the 1910 census, John and Barbara still live in Empire village with son Brady, and on the same page are Morrison and Sadie E Jacobs!!! [and note that Sadie named her youngest son "Brady A"]

Another genealogist has reported finding a marriage in Monroe county, Ohio, for "John Henry Knight" and "Barbara Catherine Williamson". I have yet to view this document.

I find this evidence sufficiently compelling that I choose to continue my research based upon the assumption that this "S E Knight" is the "Sarah Eliza Knight", wife of Garfield Adams, in whom we have such an interest.

[written: 11 NOV 2016]