Butte County
Biographies
JOHN H. McKNIGHT
JOHN H. McKNIGHT.—A native of Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Mass., John H. McKnight was born June 15, 1854. He was the third son of John and Ellen (Tracy) McKnight, natives of England, who emigrated to the United States early in the nineteenth century. Mr. McKnight left Massachusetts in 1875 and reached California by way of the Isthmus of Panama the same year. He came to Butte County in the spring of 1877 and teamed on the Humboldt road for a number of years. In 1884 he leased a tract of land on the Pratt Grant and has been extensively engaged in farming and cattle-raising since that time.
In 1888, Mr. McKnight was married to Miss Alice Anna Jackson, a native of California. Mrs. McKnight’s mother was Georgia Wheeler, the first white child born in Sierra County; and her father was Richard Jackson, a native of England. Mr. and Mrs. McKnight have one child, Mrs. Mabel Claire Safford, whose daughter, Marian Knight, is of the fourth generation of native daughters of California.
On every occasion where it has been found necessary to enlist the citizens in projects for the advancement of the county, and the betterment of the moral, social and educational conditions of the county and state, Mr. McKnight’s name has always been found among those who have worked for ultimate success. He is a considerate neighbor, a sincere friend, and a man of the highest integrity.
Transcribed
by Sharon Walford Yost.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Page 1186, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Sharon
Walford Yost.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies