Thomas Knight (abt. 1636 - aft. 1661)

Born about 18 Sep 1636 in England [uncertain]

Died after 1661 after about age 24 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

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Thomas Knight is currently protected by the Puritan Great Migration Project for reasons described in the narrative. Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: PGM

Disputed Origins

A previous version of this profile claimed he was son of Walter Knight, possibly relying on the Tingley Fraud.^[1] Walter had no known children.^[2] Therefore, Walter has been detached as father and Elizabeth Gunne, previously attached as Walter's wife has been removed as his mother for lack of any evidence for the purported relationship.

Biography

Supposedly the son of Walter Knight, born 18 September 1636 in Cape Ann^[1] or England, and supposedly living 1661 in Salem, Massachusetts.^[1]

Research notes

From Smith-32867:

The profile currently (26 Oct 2015) claims a specific birth date (in England), as well as a specific death date and place (Salem). The Salem Vital Records show no such death date nor any death date for a Thomas Knight.

So far, the only Thomas Knight I can find from this time period is a Thomas Knight, 21, who was transported to St. Christophers, imbarked in the Mathew of London, on 21 May 1635.^[3] This calculates back to a birth year of 1614-- 20 years earlier than the birth date currently claimed on "our" Thomas Knight. We also don't know what happened to the 1635 Thomas.

I find no other Thomas Knights that fit this profile. Maybe others can do better?

I'd be curious if someone could find a birth for him in England. Maybe he was a real guy named Thomas born on the date to someone. But there's no evidence of him in New England, much less Salem.

A review of the Deed Index for Essex County, Massachusetts, showed no Deeds for Thomas Knight in the right time frame: Grantees, Grantors^[4] Cole-12288 01:35, 9 June 2021 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Tingley, Raymon. Some Ancestral Lines, Being a Record of Some of the Ancestors of Guilford Solon Tingley and His Wife, Martha Pamelia Meyers (1935) Page 189.
2. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles. Great Migration Begins (1995). Page 1140. American Ancestors (by subscription)
3. ↑ "Emigrants to St. Christophers &c," in NEHGR, 14:353.
4. ↑ "Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZZ-Y5W9?cc=2106411&wc=MCBL-TWR%3A361613201%2C361826201 : 22 May 2014), Essex > Deed index (grantor) 1640-1799 Fos-Nix > image 453 of 724; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.