wills frederick knox,richard knox,john c. knox of norton,kings county
hi,i am looking for info on wills f. knox from norton who died about 1825?, his son richard p. knox, and his son john c. knox born about 1838/1840, thank you sheila
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Re: wills frederick knox,richard knox,john c. knox of norton,kings county
Hi, The following is a summary I put together for a "ghost" in a ghost walk of the Bloomfield Anglican cemetery a few years ago. It may help a little.
Wills Frederick Knox As my badly deteriorated stone records, it was erected . . . Sacred / To / the Memory of / Wills Frederick Knox / Esquire / of the Parish of Norton / Kings County / who Departed this life / on the 29th of July / in the year of our Lord / 1825 / in the 42nd year of his age / - / And for several years one of / His Majesty’s Justices of the / Peace in Kings County
The so-called Knox Grant issued in 1809 to my father, myself, and eight others of my family totalled 5000 acres. In 1812 it was all quitclaimed to me, making me one of the largest landholders in the county. I eventually sold much of it, especially the northern portion of the grant. It stretched from the O’Neill Road in the north, southward across the Searsville Road, the Parleeville Road, through Mercer Settlement and on to the south side of the Kennebecasis River. At the northern end it stretched from roughly the Harmer Road to the Sears Road. At the southern end it extended from just above the present Norton bridge almost to the Gray Road.
As a Justice of the Peace, I was involved in the county government and was often called upon to witness and certify my neighbours’ deeds, wills, and other documents. I also played a prominent part in Christ Church from its beginnings. In 1814 I was a victim of that notorious felon, Henry More Smith who stole my horse. It was my pursuit of him over three days and a distance of 170 miles to Pictou, Nova Scotia which resulted in his arrest and return to Kingston Gaol where so much of his amazing story was later witnessed and recorded by Sheriff Walter Bates.
I was married in the spring of 1822 to Miss Submit Howe, daughter of the late Caleb Howe, former Lieutenant in the Queens Rangers, but my marriage was not destined to last long. As a deed registered for posterity in the Kings County record books in the spring of 1824 relates, "Whereas some unhappy differences have arose between the said Wills Frederick Knox and Submit his Wife, they in regard thereof, have mutually consented and agreed to live separately and apart from each other. . .”
When I died in 1825 the bulk of my estate was left in trust for “my natural son” Robert Phillips Knox who was then under age. The inventory of my estate included not only 3 tracts of land worth £2 550, but also a number of books and periodicals with titles ranging through provincial law, farriery, navigation, and history.
This poor stone is all that remains to mark the life of one who was once a significant figure of influence in Norton Parish.
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Re: wills frederick knox,richard knox,john c. knox of norton,kings county
hi john,thank you so much for your help and info, john c. knox,son of richard knox,married my gr.gr.gr. aunt eliza carney, after eliza,s death, he and his children imigrated to nebraska, then on to colorado, where john died. sheila
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Re: wills frederick knox,richard knox,john c. knox of norton,kings county
Thank you for this post since it fills in some blanks for me concerning Wills. The reason for my interest in him is that Submit Howe is my 4th great-grandaunt and I am a descendant of her brother Charles.
Regards, Ken McKinlay Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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