Thomas George Knight (1871 - 1958)

Born 5 Sep 1871 in Shoreham, Sussex, England

Husband of Emma (Timbers) Knight — married 15 Apr 1894 in Craydon, Surrey, England

Descendants

Died 30 Jan 1958 at age 86 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Thomas Knight was born in England.

Thomas Knight has English ancestors.

Thomas was born in 5 Sept. 1871 in Shoreham, Sussex, England to George Knight and Caroline Jelly. ^[1]

Thomas married Emmaline Timbers on 15 April 1894 in Craydon, Surrey, England. ^[2]

Thomas and Emma Knight lived at 10 Paxton Yard Oak Terrace, in London, England. Thomas worked on the estate of Lord Spicer, as a highly respected groundskeeper. ^[3] In fact it was Thomas's impressive work that lead to him becoming the first official City of Sarnia, Gardner in the early 1900's. City officials decided they needed an official gardener to help make Sarnia beautiful and at that time Lord Spicer's brother was living in Toronto. He was associated with one of Sarnia's city leaders and he highly recommend Thomas Knight for the job.

Thomas arrived in Canada on 28 March 1906 at Halifax with Beatrice and Elsie aboard the Corean. ^[4] Emma and Margaret followed almost 2 moths later, arriving in Canada on 20 May 1906 at Quebec aboard the Kensington. ^[5]

Thomas and Emma lived at 105 St. Clair Street in Point Edward,^[6] in a city owned house. Across the street from this house was marshland that was being filled with dirt from the excavation of the new elevators. Thomas was tasked with the job of planting trees in this lot. In fact it was Thomas who helped then Prime Minster, Alexander Mackenzie plant one of the first tress on this filled in marshland, which later became known as Bayview Park. Thomas also had a hand in building Victoria and Tecumseh parks. He worked for the city for 32 years and became the first city employee to receive a pension. ^[7]

Thomas passed away in 30 Jan.1958 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, just slightly over 2 years after Emma passed away on 21 Dec. 1956 .^[8]

Sources

Picture of Thomas's headstone http://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Timbers-27

1. ↑ England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q277-TCNX : 18 August 2016), George Knight, Penge, Surrey, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 58, Piece/Folio 824/116, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,409
2. ↑ England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NNYJ-YS3 : 10 December 2014), Thomas Knight and Emma Timbers, 15 Apr 1894; citing Penge, Surrey, England, reference 338; FHL microfilm 2,145,575.
3. ↑ England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9CM-PFW : 29 August 2015), Thomas Knight, Lambeth, London, Middlesex, England; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Norwood subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey
4. ↑ Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2QSH-KP5 : 27 December 2014), Thomas Knight, Mar 1906; citing Immigration, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, T-500, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
5. ↑ Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2Q38-99P : 27 December 2014), Emma Knight, May 1906; citing Immigration, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, T-486, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
6. ↑ Recensement du Canada de 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9T-2T3Y : 2 March 2015), Thomas Knight, 1911; citing Census, Lambton West Sub-Districts 38-60, Ontario, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,418,506.
7. ↑ Sarnia Observer, July 1996, Special Edition, Sarnia Rich in Culture, photo copy of article, https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Knight-7414
8. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=167388102