e - TITLE PAGE PIONEER (full name) BIRTH (date and place) DEA TH (date an·d place) PARENTS . MARRIED (who and date) ARRIVAL I N UTAH (date) - (Company arrived with) HISTORY (who wrote) (date written) (who submitted) (address) CAMP & COUNTY SUBMITTING James Philander Knight 29 April 1838 - Far West, Caldwell Co. , Mo. 1 5 June 1909 - Delta, Millard Co. , Utah Newel Knight Lydia Gol dthwaite Elizabeth Jones 8 Au gust 1860 13 October 1850 Bishop Edward Hunter Company N ora Lund May 19 66 R uby McMillan R. F. D. Mor ga n, Utah 84050 __M _t_._Jo_y _________ Camp _ Mo_r....g:;...a_n __________ County ( Camp Historian & address )_ ___C_ h_lo_e_H. _He_in_e_r_ _________ 1 440 Old Hwy Road, Mor g an, Utah 840 5 0 County Historian & address )_ __v el_o....;y_T_o_n_k_s_D_i_c_k_s_o_n_ ________ PO Box 203, Morgan, Utah 84050 SOURCE OF INFORMATION & PAGE NUMBERS: Hazel Meriwether Case e - JAMES PHILANDER KNIGHT My great grandfather, James Philander Knight, was born 29 April 1838, 1n Far West, Cal dwell County, Missouri. His parents were Newel and Lydia Goldthwaite Knight. He had an older sister, Salley, and one sister, Lydia, who was younger. His younger brothers were Joseph, N ewel, Jesse and Hyrum. It might be interesting and informative to the readers of this history to g ive just a little family background. His father, Newel, was born 13 September 1800, in Marbaro, Vermont, the son ·of Joseph and Polly Peck Night. He married Sally Coburn, who bore him one son, Samu el. Then she died. Newel, who was a member of the Mormon Church, g rieved sorely for his companion. At Kirtland Ohio, he labored t irelessly_ on the temple. Here he met a young Latter - day Saint widow by the name of Lydia Goldthwait Bailey. Lydia was born in 18 12 in Sutton, Worcester County, Mass . She had a happy life with her parent s, Jesse and Sally Burt Goldthwaite, and her brothers and sisters. Her marriage to Calv i n Bailey was unhappy and they separated. She was convert ed to Mormonism while visiting friends in Canada. Her family objected to her new found reli gion, but she was true to her c o nvicti ons and joi ned the Saints in Kirtland. The Prophet Joseph Smith h imself, requested to perform the marriage ceremony of uniting Newel and Lydia as husband and wife on 23 November 1835. The Saints were driven out of Kirtland and went to Far West, Missouri. The Knights were with the group that made the trip. It was here that Lydia gave birth to James, of whom this history mainly concerns. His early years were filled with the persecution of the Sai~ts in Far West and Nauvoo, Illinois. Eventually his family assembl ed with the other homeless Mormons at Winter e • • -2 - Quarters, N e braska , aft e r the d eath of the P r ophet. The Prophet had been a bout to go W e st t o £ind a s afe p l ace for his peopl e just b e fo re h e was killed. So , whe n the Sai nts w er e force d to lea v e Nauvoo, Bri gham Young intende d to carry out th e Prophet's plan. When James was eight years o l d,' h i s father and some of the other stal warts of the Church started out from Winter Quarters to cross the plains . However, winter overtook them and they made camp on the Ponca Indian lands, by invitation of the Chi ef. It was here in January 184 7 that James I father, Newel Knight, died. It was a sad time indeed for his s orrowing mother and the rest of the family In the Spring the bereaved and a l most destitute family returned to Winter Quarters until they were better prepared to make the journey across the plains. James, nine, and Samuel, thirteen, did the driving of the oxen . James remembered well the hardships they endured at this time. His brother Samuel went on to the Valley with friends. Finall y , President Young asked his mother for her two wagons and two teams to help other poor Saints to the Valley. When they were returned the wagons were badly used and the teams poor and weak. The young man often recalled the preparations they made to make the long journey across the plai ns themselves. On July 4 . 1850, the Knight family left with the Bishop Edward Hunter Company, this was a Perpetual Emigration Fund company. They could use money from the fund and then pay it back when they could after arriving in the Valley. There were 261 Saints and 67 wagons in this Hunter group. James, as teamster, had trouble with the oxen stampe ding and other expe riences . He was obliged to take a lot of responsibility for a twel ve year old l ad. When young, he ha d a serious sick spell. He was given a ble ssing and was promised that he would never be s i ck again, even though he was frail , e • • -3- a t the time the b lessing was g iven. This was lit erally fulfilled. On 13 October 18 50, they reached Great Salt Lake City. They were surprised to see so many homes and the ni·ce wide streets all laid out . James directed the oxen to his Aunt Lydia. Johnsons 1 place where they were warmly welcomed. James was so pleased t o be re unit ed with h is brother, Samuel. Aft er resting for a few da ys, Samuel su gg ested the y secure a buildi ng lot in the south eas t part of town where they could have feed for their cows on the near-by h ills. So the mother instructed the boys to yoke the oxen and drive to a vacant lot which she h ad arra_nged for . They made camp and settled down to plan for a home. They were near the adobe yard and the y saw many adobe hous es around, so the boys decided they tould make the adobes as well as anyone else. Brother Johnson was eng a ged to lay up the walls for their two roomed h ouse for work the boys could do for h im. They hauled p ole s from the mountains for the roof, split them for doors and window frames. The thoughtful mother had brought a few panes of glas s for the windows. They were soon comfortable and happ y in their first home in the Valley. James worked at everything he coul d to help support the family . His mother started a neighborhood school which paid quite well in produce. In the fall of 18 5 1, a friend of M rs. Knight by the name of John Dalton, who had a farm six miles from the City, ask ed the widow to b e his plural wife and g o out on this farm and live. Her main reason for accepting was to have work for her boys witho ut them having to leave home. Work they h ad and plenty of it. Afte r fiv e yea rs of the dr udgery of hard farm life, his mother could take it no l onger and brought her boys and came bac~ to the City to live. In 18 58 , when rumors of the coming of Johnston's Army was circulated and e • • -4- an army was recruited from among the Mormons, James' brother-in-law, Zermira Palme r, who lived in Provo, was one who was call ed. He invited his wife's folks to come down there and live with Salley in his absence. Thus, we find James, twenty years old, working on the Palmer farm in Provo. His mother dickered for a home there and' they were once more comfortably situated. A widower , named McClellan came cou rting Mrs. Knight, whom she married mainly t o care for his two motherl ess g irls. Eventually the McClellan family moved to Santa C l ara, then to St. George where James' mother died on the 3 April 1884 . Samuel had also settled in Santa Clara. When James was 22 years oid he married a lovely young l ady by the name I of Elizabeth Jones. They were xjna rried 8 August 18 6 0. She was born 20 May 1844, in Pennsville, Ohio, the daught er of Elisha and Margaret Talbot Jones . Their home was made happy by the arrival of a son, James, in Provo. About this time the Church leaders were e ncouraging the settling of Sanpete County to the south and east of Provo. It is not known just why nor when the James Knight family left Provo and moved to Fairview to try their luck in coloni7ing that remote sectio n of Sanpete County. They perhaps stayed there about five years because Newel (m y g randfather) and Elisha were both born there. Perhaps discoura g ement prompted them to again take up residence in Utah County in a bout 1865 , this time in the new settlement of P ayso n. The land was fertile and productive and water plentiful. James. being ambit ious, soon had a nice farm and some livestock. His family steadily increased. By 188 5 , he was the father of 14 children, 5 having died young and 9 grew to maturity and reared families . Elisha was 15 when he died. James, Margaret E ll en, Lee and Martha were the ones who died as children. Newel, Clara Eli7abeth, ' e • -5 - Artime ntia, Lydia Rozina , Arnol d, Syl via Emil y, Eva Sarah, J e ss e L eroy, and Edwin Del il e were the one s who lived to rear familes . I n 19 0 7, in M illa r d C o unty, much new lan d wa s being brought into culti vation by putting d ams in the .Sevier Riv e r. Lat e r the new town w as called Delta. Some of James Kni ghts sons moved to this section of West Millard County to take up . l and and make homes. Great Grandfather spent h i s last days there with his son Deli le. It was June 15, 1909, in Delta, M illard County, Utah, that death came to this stalwart pioneer. He was taken back to Payson for burial. He was 71 years of a g e. His blesing of health had been ful filled, even in death, he passed awa y peacefully without any last sickness. True, he didn't leave or make alot of money like his brother Jesse, who became wealthy by his discovery of rich mineral mines. But James' riches were the fine sons and da ughter s he reared a nd their numerous posterity who are ever appreciative of their noble heritage. The followin g is the account of the healing of James P . Knight when he was a little boy under the hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. 11 James was very ill. Fever had reduced him to a skeleton, and the mother's heart ached as she looked at his wasted body; but not once did she think of his dying. The next morning early , the Prophet chanced to pass the house and Lydia ran out and asked him to come in and see her little child who was nigh unto death. He told her to do one thing and if that didn't save him she would have to gi ve him up . •You must send for Father Geor g e W. Harris, take some warm water • and soap, wash your child from the crown . of his head to the soles of his feet ; then have Father Harris annoint him with holy consecrated oil from the crown ... ' - e • • -6- of his head to the sol es of h i s feet, an d I thi nk your child will live. i Lydia lost no time in ob e ying his words . and when the b l essing was over she had the joy of seeing her child revive and he was heal ed." From then on Grandpa Knight had good health. Whil e living in Delta he seemed to know that he had only a short time left upon the earth. All his children had been sent for . His oldest son Newel (my grandfather) had died in Lake Fork, Duchesne County in 1908. When his daught er-in-law, Lizetta, got the word she wanted very much to go see her father-in- l aw -before he died , but the only means of g etting money for the trip was by selling her milk cow. Great Grandpa immediately sent word back for her not to come at such a sacrifice. It was far more important that her children h ave milk than for her to come. On June 15, 1909, he had partaken of a good meal with his assembled loved ones. He went o ut on the porch and sat in his favorite chair and ther e his spirit quietly took leave of his body. Information for this history was furnished by Ha , el Meriwether Case and was arranged by Nora Lund (DUP Historian, May 19 66 )