Richard Knight (abt. 1605 - abt. 1680)

Born about 1605 in England

Husband of Sarah (Rogers) Knight — married 16 Jan 1648 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island

Descendants

Died about 1680 at about age 75 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island

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Biography

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Note

Richard Knight, husband of Agnes Coffley, christened on 14 January 1602/3, at Romsey, County Hampshire, England and settled in Massachusetts, is not the same person as this Richard Knight. That Richard Knight apparently arrived on the ship The James of London and was a tailor. ^[1]

Early History

The origins of Richard Knight of Newport, Rhode Island are unknown (Robert Charles Anderson, FASG [Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists], The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640; A Concise Compendium [Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 2015], 198).

Richard Knight was born probably after 1605 in England. The earliest record found of this person is on 4 Aug 1640 when he agreed with the town of Hampton, New Hampshire, to keep a mill at the landing and was granted 100 acres. ^{[2] [3]}

An assumption has been made that Richard came from Norfolk, England because of this record as most Hampton settlers came from Norfolk County,England. ^{[4] [5][6]} However, in the book McCormick-Hamilton-Day Ancestral Lines, Compiled for Elizabeth Day McCormick & Robert Hall McCormick III, privately printed, 1957 it suggests Richard came from Kent County, England.

Marriages

Richard's first marriage was in England; his wife's name is unknown. She apparently did not travel to the New World with him, but it is not known whether she was deceased before he traveled or not. If his birthdate is about 1605, he probably married between 1625 and 1635.

About 1647, he married Sarah Rogers, daughter of James and Mary Rogers of Newport, Rhode Island. (cf. R.I. Colony Deeds, ed. Chapin, I,6).^[7][8]

• Spouse: Sarah ROGERS b: 1625 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, d. 1685^[9]
• Married: 16 JAN 1648 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island
• After his death wife Sarah moved to East Greenwich, Rhode Island. ^[10][11][12]
• On Feb 23, 1684/5, Sarah is found in the records of East Greenwich, Rhode Island when she served on a jury of women with respect to the condition of a young woman.

Children

His son by the first wife, probably named Richard, was living in England in 1649. Richard Knight and Sarah Rogers had three sons for certain, and it is very likely that Richard, Priscilla, and Rebecca were also children of Richard, as there was no other Knight family in Rhode Island but that of Richard. Toby Knight, the early settler of Newport apparently left no family. . ^{[13] [10][11] [12]}

Children of Richard and Sarah

1. John KNIGHT, b: 1649 in East Greenwich, Kent, Rhode Island; The children of his brother John later moved there from Connecticut. ^[2] John of East Greenwich died about 1710. ^[14]

2. Jonathan KNIGHT, b: 1653-1717 ^[9] in Coventry, Kent, Rhode Island; Jonathan settled in Warwick and Providence; He named a son Richard. Jonathan of Warwick and Providence acquired 200 acres in the Hall and Knight Purchase. ^[2] Jonathan, of Warwick, Providence, Rhode Island, died June 25, 1717. ^[14]

3. David KNIGHT, b: 1656 in Woodstock, Windham, Connecticut; David also a son Jonathan. David Knight also resided in East Greenwich and Norwich, Conn., and he died in 1744, leaving children. ^[2]

4. Richard KNIGHT, b: 1658 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island (probable son)

5. Priscilla KNIGHT, b: 1662 in Providence County, Rhode Island; (probable daughter) - On 25 Mar. 1684/5 Priscilla Knight was summoned to the Newport Court for fornication ^[15]

6. Rebecca KNIGHT, b: 1665 in Rhode Island; (probable daughter) - She was probably the Rebecca Knight who gave half a crown towards the building of the Quaker Meeting House at Mashapaug (near Providence) in 1702.^[4]

Timeline

1640-Hampton, New Hampshire to 1646 - Rhode Island

• Richard Knight, the emigrant ancestor of this branch of the Knight family, appears first in Hampton, New Hampshire where he owned a mill. ^{[16] [6] [2]}

'In Rhode Island he was a house carpenter by trade, and the items given above show that he practiced the same trade at Hampton. He probably fled to Rhode Island at some time between Jul 8 and Sep 9, 1645, to escape punishment for his misdeeds. This experience seems to have had a salutary effect on him, for thenceforth his life in Rhode Island was, so far as is known, entirely decorous.'

• On Aug 4, 1640, an agreement was made between the town of Hampton and Richard Knight regarding his building and keeping a mill at the landing there, and 100 acres were granted to him.
• On Sep 14, 1640 he contracted to build a meeting house. On Jan 29, 1640/1, it was voted that instead of working on the Common Richard Knight was to make a gate for the pound.
• He was the defendant in a suit brought by Stephen Kent in December, 1641.
• On Jul 9, 1645, a warrant for his arrest was issued to the constables of Boston, Mass., on account of certain thieving activities of his, and on Sep 9, 1645, Joseph Armetage was ordered by the Court to hold all the goods in his hands of Richard Knight "late of Hampton, now of Rhode Island." ^[6]
• Feb, 1645/6 Goodman Knight conveyed his house, mill, and 100 acres at Hampton to Christopher Lawson of Boston, Mass.
• December, 1646, he brought suit at Newport against William Jeffrey ^[17]. W[illia]m Jeffryes, gent.," was a patentee of Agamenticus [York] on 2 December 1631 (and on 2 March 1631/2) [York Hist 1:86-88]. On November 1641 he received his division of lands at York, in partnership with Samuel Maverick, Elias Maverick and Hugh [sic] Bursley [York Hist 1:135].

1647/8 to 1676 - Newport, Rhode Island

• On January 16, 1648, he had a deed from James Rogers, whose daughter Sarah he married about this time, of two parcels of land consisting of forty and of two acres; on February 18, 1648, he deeded this land with some bought of Robert Griffin to his wife and heirs.
• Feb 8, 1648/9, he agreed with his wife Sarah not to sell the 40 acres of land bought of James Rogers and Robert Griffin, but entailed it upon her and eldest son by her, who was to have it at the age of twenty years. If he should have no son, then the land was to go over to their eldest daughter, at the age of sixteen years. Moreover, his son in Old England was to have no part in it. (Rhode Island Colonial Deeds, edited by Chapin, Vol 1, Pg 6).
• 1653; Rhode Island jury, foreman, 29 August 1653 ^[18].
• On December 22, 1656, he sold to George Kenrick, of Providence, twelve acres of land. He sold four acres of land to Lawrence Turner, December 5, 1658, and in 1663 bought lands in Narragansett, with Henry Hall. ^[19]
• Dec 5, 1658. In the latter year he was "Water Bailey" (Water Bailiff).
• May 1659 - Tied for third place in voting for Assistant from Newport to Rhode Island General Court, 7 May 1659 ^[20].
• 1664; Deputy from Newport, October 1664 ^[21].
• 1667; Committee to set rates for Newport, 13 May 1667 [RICR 2:197].

'1677 to 1680 - East Greenwich, Rhode Island

• 1677- Richard appears to have rendered military service to the colony in King Philip's War, for on October 31,1677, he was one of the grantees of the East Greenwich Lands, for service in that war. Each grantee received 100 acres.^[22]
• 1679 - He, his wife and son John sold land to Francis Brinley and Richard Smith, December 11, 1679.

Death about 1680

• 1680 - Taxed 7 shillings. Last record of Richard.
• Before 27 Oct 1680, Newport, Newport, Rhode Island^[9]
• Burial: (Ref. Homer T. Knight)."Richard was probably buried in his back yard, perhaps with a wooden marker. This was the practice in Newport in those days. In the middle of the nineteeth centry many of these private cemeteries were moved to central locations in Newport, but since most of Richards's kin had moved elsewhere, the site of his burial had been lost."
• His widow petitioned the assembly, on October 27,1680, for confirmation of the share in East Greenwich which had been settled on her husband without court order, and her request was granted on the same terms as the rest of the inhabitants; she deede to her son John, October 12, 1683, while living at East Greenwich, a ten-acre lot of land and a farm of ninety acres, reserving privileges in the house for herself. She died after 1685

Will

• Will of Richard Knight, Feb 1648

'Newport the 8th day of February 1648 . . . I Richard Knight of Newport doe inverce and ingage to my wife Sarah Knight that I will not sell . . . any of the Tract of Land latly bought of James Rogers and Robert Griffin but doe. . . Intaile it upon her and my heires forever, but Especialy to her and my Eldist: sonn if any and in case wee have no sonn to my Eldist daughter to be my and her proper he ire after my death and if a sonn he shall have it at The age of oile and Twenty yeares if I have left my beinge in this life, and if noe sonn then the Eldist daughter shall have it at Sixteene yeares of age provided alwaies that the thirds of the Land and the best and convenientest roome in the house is to be my wifes, duringe her life, and then to returne to the heire . . . But if there be more then one Sonn the daughters are noe heires soe long as any of the male be liveinge, but if noe sonn or sonns or if the sonn or sonns die with Ishue, then the Eldist daughter then livinge shall be the Right heire, But this is more Largely declared that if the Eldist sonn dye without Ishue the next shall enjoy it, But if the first have children whether sonns or daughters and alsoe the rest that are herein appointed to be heires, And this have I done the day and yeare above written, to avoyd strife because my sonn in ole England shall have nothing to doe herein nor have any Right to any Land of mine in New-England. In testimony hereof I put to my hand this day and yeare aforesaid.

'Signed in the presence off John Downeing (his X marke) Robert Spink X his mark Richard Knight'

Estate Settlement

• 1710, September: John Knight now resident in Providence, RI, eldest son, and heir of John Knight late of Norwich in ye Collony of Connecticut decesd: grandson and heir of Richard Knight of Newportdecesd vs. Peter Wells, Job Babcock, William Tanner, Isaac Shelden, Joseph Car[pen]ter, Peter Crandall, Samuel Hopkins & Gersham Cotterell yeomen all of Kingstowne?in a plea of partition, damage L800 as per summons dated 15 July 1710. In their plea, by attorney N. Blagrove, the defendants stated that they held no land in common undivided with the plaintiff?what land they hold is in fee simple, having received their title from Henery Hall, surviving joint tenant of [torn] Knight. David Knight and West Clark upon their engagement say that Richard Knight of Newport decd about 31 years agoe.^[23] page 77.

Research Notes

Great Migration Directory, p 198: Knight, Richard: Unknown; 1640; Hampton, Newport [HmTR 47, 48; TAG 20:225-26; NEHGR 87:264-66].

Sources

1. ↑ Great Migration: Passengers of the James of London, 1635 [1].
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island, Vol 1, J. H. Beers & Co, 1908, p.28 [2]
3. ↑ New Hampshire; Pub. 1970; p. 350-51, Pope
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} New England Historical and Genealogical Register; Boston, MA; Vol. 87; G. Andrews Moriarty; 1938; p.264-266 Moriarity Article
5. ↑ Burke, Sir John Bernard Burke's American Families with British Ancestry Ancestry.com. ND. Digital Images, 27 June 2015. Note: Reprinted from Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry (16th Ed). Burke's Peerage: London, 1939.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Essex Quarterly Court Files at Salem, Mass
7. ↑ American Genealogist, Page: Additions and Corrections to Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island; G. Andrews Moriarty; V. 29, #4; April 1943; pp. 225-226
8. ↑ Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island comprising three generations of settlers who came before 1690 : with many families carried to the fourth generation; Austin, John Osborne Pub. J. Munsell's Sons, Albany, NY, 1887; Page: p. 330 [3]
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Bishop Family Tree
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} "Rhode Island"; Beers p. 28.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} "New. Eng. Hist. Gen. Register vol. 87 p. 387
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} The American Genealogist" vol. 13 p. 54 Vol. 20 pp. 225 226.
13. ↑ Descendants of Richard Knight & Sarah Rogers Abbreviation: Descendants of Richard Knight Author: Helen C. Cooper Publication: Self published, Kelowana, BC, 1991; pp 1-5.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} New England Families Genealogical and Memorial, Cutter, William Richard; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, Baltimore, MD, 1994 (reprint of 1913); Vol. 3; p. 1528
15. ↑ Newport County Court Files, book A, p.70).
16. ↑ Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, John Osborne Austin, pp. 330-3.
17. ↑ Acquidneck Quarterly Court Files, printed
18. ↑ [EQC 1:314]
19. ↑ Rhode Island Land Evidences, Vol. I, 1648-1696: Abstracts, p. 6; pub. 1921 [4]
20. ↑ [RICR 1:408]
21. ↑ [RICR 2:61]
22. ↑ Register of the Society of Colonial Wars in the District of Columbia Washington City, 1905, p. 47
23. ↑ Jane Fletcher Fiske; Gleanings from Newport Court Files 1659 - 1783; Boston, Mass.; 1998.

• NEHGR, Jul 1933, Pg 264-5, article by G. Andrew Moriarity, of Bristol, Rhode Island;https://archive.org/details/genealogicaldict00aust/page/n675;https://archive.org/details/genealogicaldict00aust/page/n675 Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families, 1620-1700;

See also:

• Descendants of Richard Knight & Sarah Rogers Abbreviation: Descendants of Richard Knight Author: Helen C. Cooper Publication: Self published, Kelowana, BC, 1991
• Roots Web Home Searches Family <a href="http://www.newspapers.com?xid=109" target=_blank>Newspapers.com: Premier Newspapers Online</a> Descendants of Richard and Sarah Rogers Knight Entries: 27123 Updated: 2013-09-08 11:23:18 UTC (Sun) Contact: William Custer Knight, Descendants of Richard and Sarah Rogers Knight. RootsWeb is funded and supported by Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb community. Entered by Tom Quick.
• Levi Byram and Martha Jane Belnap, Gold Medal Pioneers, By Donald Levi Gale Hammon, 1996 - Page 14/15
• The Benjamin Families from Columbia County, New York, Compiled by R. M. Benjamin, Published by Pantagraph Ptg. & Sta. Co., Bloomington, Ill. 1911 - Page 19/20
• John Pember, The History of the Pember Family in America, By Celeste Pember Hazen, 1939 - Page 155
• Gleanings from Newport Court Files 1659 - 1783; Jane Fletcher Fiske
• Register of the Society of Colonial Wars in the District of Columbia, Washington City, 1905
• The Early Knights of Rhode Island; By G. Andrews Moriarty, A.M., LL.B., F.S.A., of Bristol, R.I.
• Genealogical and Family History of the State of Connecticut: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. Volume II Knight
• Register of the Society of Colonial Wars in the District of Columbia Washington City, 1905
• The Early Records of the Town of Providence; Volume XV; BEING THE PROVIDENCE TOWN PAPERS; Vol. 1 1639 - April 1682 NOS. 01 - 0367; Printed 1899
• Rhode Island Land Evidences, Vol. 1. 1648-1696, Originally Published, Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence,Rhode Island 1921,
• Civil and Military Lists of Rhode Island 1647-1800
• History of Newbury, MA
• Rhode Island Court Records v. 1 & 2
• The Early Knights of Rhode Island by G. Andrews Moriarty.

Acknowledgements

• Knight-62 was created on 06 August 2010 through the import of Lynch-Tree.ged.
• This person was created through the import of grant2.ged on 07 February 2011.
• This person was created through the import of Bishop Family Tree.ged on 18 February 2011. Bishop Family Tree
• WikiTree profile Knight-1404 created through the import of EBENSTEIN-GRANGER.GED on Aug 19, 2011 by Merryann Palmer
• WikiTree profile Knight-1751 created through the import of Mcalary Family Tree.ged on Oct 20, 2011 by Anna McAlary.
• The profile Knight-348 (John Putnam)was merged with Knight-3809 (Tom Quick) on Oct 14 2013.