Table of Contents
G6: Henry Knight
The only thing known about Henry Knight is what is written on his son’s marriage certificate – that he worked as a cotton porter.
G5: Henry Knight (1866-1930) and Emma Pickersgill (1870-1897) / Mary Ann Crawshaw (1872-)
Birth: Henry Knight was born in Liverpool during April 1866 and named after his father. Nothing is known of his early life.
Marriage 1: to Emma Pickersgill on 1 October 1888 at the Church of Our Lady and St Nicholas with St Anne on Chapel Street. He was aged 22 and she was 19.
Spouse history: Emma had been born in 1869 to William Pickersgill, a house painter who was originally from Hull. Her mother died when she was young, and in 1881 the widowed father lived with his three daughters on Beatrice Street amongst the rows of terraced house in Everton.
Children: (1) Richard in 1889, (2) Mary in 1890, (3) Nathaniel in 1891, (4) Elizabeth in 1893, (5) John in 1896.
Death: Emma died in City Hospital in 1897 when aged just 27 and was buried in Walton Park Cemetery on 10 September.
Marriage 2: with five children to care for Henry wasted no time in finding them a new mother, and on 24 October 1898 married Mary Ann Crawshaw at St Catherine’s Church in Tranmere on the Wirral.
Spouse history: Mary had been born in in Birkenhead on 26 June 1872, although unusually her father is not recorded on the marriage certificate.
Children: (1) Henry in 1900, (2) Charles in 1902, (3) Emily in 1907
Occupations: Henry became a coal hawker, a job he would have until at least 1911. By 1921 he was a self-employed carter.
Residences: at the time of their marriage Henry lived in a terraced house on Adlington Street off Great Crosshall Street, while Emily lived around half a mile away on Burlington Street. The young family moved frequently within Everton, rotating through five houses in five years before settling on Penrhyn Street – where they had at least five different houses over the next two decades.
In 1913, Henry and Mary moved with their three youngest children to Beatrice Street on the opposite side of Great Homer Street, where they still lived together when captured on the 1921 census. After Henry’s death Mary took in a succession of short-term lodgers in the period up to the Second World War, when the 1939 Register captured her living alone.
- Henry: 5 Adlington Street (1888); Penrhyn Street (1890); 122 Beatrice Street (1891); 115 Gordon Street (1891); 4 Penrhyn Street (1893); 7 Penrhyn Street (1894); 57 Penrhyn Street (1896-1902); 32 Mill Street (1898); 6/21 Court, Penrhyn Street (1903-1905); 2/21 Court, Penrhyn Street (1906-1912); 3 Beatrice Street (1913-1929) – all in Liverpool.
- Emma: 58A Beatrice Street (1881); 32 Burlington Street (1888); Penrhyn Street (1890); 122 Beatrice Street (1891); 115 Gordon Street (1891); 4 Penrhyn Street (1893) – all in Liverpool.
- Mary: 14 Mill Street (1898); 57 Penrhyn Street (1898-1902); 6/21 Court, Penrhyn Street (1903-1905); 2/21 Court, Penrhyn Street (1906-1912); 3 Beatrice Street (1913-1939) – all in Liverpool.
Deaths: Henry died in Fazakerley Hospital in June 1930 when aged 64 and was buried in Walton Park Cemetery on 1 July. Mary likely died the following year.
Notes: the marriage certificate of Henry and Mary records that the couple supposedly lived in different houses on Mill Street, although this is unlikely since the electoral register consistently records Henry on Penrhyn Street.
G4: Richard Knight (1889-)
Birth: Richard Knight was born in Liverpool on 15 October 1889. He was the first child of Henry and Emma.
Christening: on 27 October 1889 at St Peter’s Church in the city centre.
Residences: Richard Knight: 122 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1891); 115 Gordon Street, Liverpool (1891); 4 Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1893); 7 Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1894); 57 Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1896-1902)
Notes: it’s possible that Richard joined the army in 1909 and served in the First World War, before marrying Martha Brown in 1920 and having a son, Frederick, the following year. However, due to the commonality of his name further confirmation is required.
G4: Mary Jane Knight (1890-)
Birth: Mary Jane Knight was born in Liverpool on 6 October 1890. She was the second child of Henry and Emma.
Christening: on 20 October 1890 at St Peter’s Church in the city centre.
Residences: Mary Jane Knight: 122 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1891); 115 Gordon Street, Liverpool (1891); 4 Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1893); 7 Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1894); 57 Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1896-1902)
Notes: nothing further is known about Mary, but she is not the same person who married Thomas McCready in 1903 as is sometimes cited in online trees. It’s possible that she married William McNiven in 1910 and had three children with him, but due to the commonality of the name further confirmation is required.
G4: Nathaniel Knight (1891-1930)
Birth: Nathaniel Knight was born in Liverpool on 30 November 1891. He was the third child of Henry and Emma.
Christening: on 9 December 1891 at Christ Church on Great Homer Street.
Emigration: in 1908 when he was aged just 16, Nathaniel emigrated to Canada to become a farm labourer in Brantford in south Ontario. He arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 28 March onboard the SS Corsican after a voyage from Liverpool. The 1911 census sadly did not capture addresses but did record that he was working as a domestic servant for the merchant Joshua Taylor and his family.
Military service: Nathaniel enlisted into the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force during September 1915. He joined the 84th Battalion and after a period of training arrived in France in August 1916. He was hospitalised after just a few weeks when he had to drop out of a march due to pain in his feet. An examination revealed that his ankles and the muscles on the back of his legs were small and undeveloped, which when combined with abnormally high feet arches meant that he was deemed fit only for base duty. He spent much of the remainder of the war serving in various depots. He returned to France at the end of August 1918 with the Canadian Labour Corps. He was repatriated to Canada in March 1919 and discharged as medically unfit.
Marriage: to Catherine Fairbrother on 13 January 1918 at St Nathaniel’s Church in Liverpool. He was aged 26 and she was 24.
Spouse history: Catherine had been in Liverpool on 6 August 1893 to Irish dock labourer John Fairbrother and Isabella Heyes, although the birth was registered under the name Kate. She was christened a few weeks later at St Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church on Scotland Road. In 1901 the family lived in one of the courts that ran off Penrhyn Street and just a few doors down from her future husband, and indeed the house that his family would take over a few years later. Catherine likely entered service and in 1911 was captured working as a kitchen maid for Hannah Johnson at Highfield on Mill Lane. She was also recorded at the home of her mother on Arkwright Street in Everton.
Children: (1) Nathanial in 1920, (2) Harold in 1923.
Residences: after being discharged Nathanial returned to England in June onboard the SS Tunisian stating his intention to live in a terraced house on Anthony Street in Everton. From 1921 the faily lived on nearby Aughton Street with Catherine’s widowed mother and brother John. In 1928 they moved away from the rows of terraced houses that characterised Everton to a new house on the Norris Green Estate in West Derby. After Nathaniel’s death. Catherine lived with her children on Daniel Street. Post-war she lived back in Everton with her youngest son until at least 1970.
- Nathaniel: 4 Penrhyn Street (1893); 7 Penrhyn Street (1894); 57 Penrhyn Street (1896-1902); 6/21 Court, Penrhyn Street (1903-1905); 13 Aughton Street (1921-1927); 25 Ingrave Road (1928-1930) – all in Liverpool.
- Catherine: 2/21 Court, Penrhyn Street (1901); 36 Arkwright Street (1911); 3 Sirdar Street (1918); 21 Anthony Street (1919); 13 Aughton Street (1921-1927); 25 Ingrave Road (1928-1930); 2 Daniel Street (1938-1939); 5 Morland Street (1945-1970) – all in Liverpool.
Occupations: in 1920 Nathanial worked as a general labourer for Macfie & Sons, which was a sugar refinery based on Bachelor Street.
Deaths: Nathaniel died in early 1930 when aged just 38. Catherine did not remarry and died during 1979 when aged 85.
G3: Nathaniel John Knight (1920-2002)
Birth: Nathaniel John Knight was born in Liverpool on 19 April 1920. He was the first child of Nathaniel and Margaret.
Marriage: to Margaret Ann Monaghan during 1946 in Liverpool. He was aged 25 and she was 21.
Spouse history: Margaret had been born on 12 November 1924 to William Monaghan and Ellen Prescott.
Children: it’s possible that they had four children, but further confirmation is required.
Residences: the newlyweds briefly lived with Nathaniel’s mother before getting a place of their own, a small terraced house on Kingswood Avenue in Walton, where they would live for the remainder of their lives.
- Nathaniel: 13 Aughton Street (1923-1927); 25 Ingrave Road (1928-1930); 2 Daniel Street (1938-1939); 5 Morland Street (1945-1947); 77 Kingswood Avenue (1951-1970) – all in Liverpool.
- Margaret: 77 Kingswood Avenue, Liverpool (1951-2008)
Deaths: Nathaniel died in November 2002 when aged 82. Margaret survived him for a few years and died on 26 April 2008.
G3: Harold Knight (1923-)
Birth: Harold Knight was born in Liverpool during 1923. He was the second child of Nathaniel and Margaret.
Residences: 13 Aughton Street, Liverpool (1923-1927); 25 Ingrave Road, Liverpool (1928-1930); 2 Daniel Street, Liverpool (1938-1939); 5 Morland Street, Liverpool (1945-1970)
Little is known about him, other than after the war he lived with his mother until at least 1970.
G4: Elizabeth Knight (1893-)
Birth: Elizabeth Knight was born in Liverpool on 19 January 1893. She was the fourth child of Henry and Emma.
Christening: on 1 February 1893 at Christ Church on Great Homer Street.
Residences: 4 Penrhyn Street (1893); 7 Penrhyn Street (1894); 57 Penrhyn Street (1896-1902); 57 Penrhyn Street (1901); 6/21 Court, Penrhyn Street (1903-1905) – all in Liverpool.
Notes: there is a strong possibility that she married Robert Emery in 1913 and John Lloyd in 1920, but the dates of birth does not match with our Elizabeth and so further confirmation is required.
G4: John Henry Knight (1896-)
Birth: John Henry Knight was born in Liverpool on 30 December 1896. He was the fifth child of Henry and Emma.
Christening: on 13 January 1897 at Christ Church on Great Homer Street.
Residences: 57 Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1896-1902); 6/21 Court, Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1903-1905)
Notes: due to the commonality of his name, nothing further is known about Henry. He also has at least one namesake born at a similar time adding further uncertainty.
G4: Henry Knight (1900-1989)
Birth: Henry Knight was born in Liverpool on 9 August 1900. He was the first child of Henry with second wife Mary.
Christening: on 9 August 1900 at Christ Church on Great Homer Street.
Marriage: to Emily Wilcock on 14 April 1924 at St Peter’s Church on Sackville Street in Everton. He was aged 23 and she was 19.
Spouse history: Emily had been born in Liverpool on 20 February 1904, the first child of house and ship painter Joseph Wilcock and his wife Ann Jane Yates. She was christened at St Peter’s Church in the city centre a few weeks later. The family lived in a terraced house on Priory Grove in north Everton, later moving one of the courts that ran off Eccles Lane. By 1921 they lived on Roscommon Street in north Everton.
Children: (1) Emily in 1924, (2) a girl in 1927, (3) a boy in 1934, (4) Kenneth in 1937.
Occupation: 20-year-old Henry worked as a labourer in the sawmill of timber merchant J.W.M. Wean Co. on Dundee Street when the 1921 census was taken. Emily meanwhile worked in her mother’s shop. In 1939 Henry worked as a filter cleaner in a sugar refinery.
Residences: the newlyweds initially moved in with Emily’s parents, but by 1928 had a place of their own just around the corner on Bala Terrace. Just before the outbreak of war they moved into a house on Roscommon Street, but by the end of the conflict lived on Morland Street. This would be their home until at least 1970.
- Henry: 57 Penrhyn Street (1901-1902); 6/21 Court, Penrhyn Street (1903-1905); 2/21 Court, Penrhyn Street (1906-1912); 3 Beatrice Street (1913-1924); 117 Roscommon Street (1924-1926); 1 Bala Terrace (1928-1938); 94A Roscommon Street (1939); 10 Morland Street (1945-1970); Flat 37, Thrilmere Court, Harding Close (1989) – all in Liverpool.
- Emily: 69 Priory Grove (1904); 2/1 Court, Eccles Lane (1911); 117 Roscommon Street (1921-1926); 1 Bala Terrace (1928-1938); 94A Roscommon Street (1939); 10 Morland Street (1945-1970); Simonsfield Nursing Home, 1A Sunbury Road (1991) – all in Liverpool.
Deaths: Henry died on 23 April 1989 when aged 88. Emily survived him for two years and died on 20 April 1991 when aged 87. She had resided at Simonsfield Nursing Home on Sunbury Road.
G3: Emily Elizabeth Knight (1924-2015)
Birth: Emily Elizabeth Knight was born in Liverpool on 27 August 1924. She was the first child of Henry and Emily.
Marriage: to Robert Evans during 1961 in Liverpool. She was aged 36.
Children: likely one child.
Occupation: despite having only just turned 15 in 1939, young Emily worked as a label compositor for a chemist when recorded on the 1939 Register, whose job it probably was to put the labels on the medicine bottles.
Residences: 117 Roscommon Street, Liverpool (1924-1926); 1 Bala Terrace, Liverpool (1928-1938); 94A Roscommon Street, Liverpool (1939); 10 Morland Street, Liverpool (1945-1961)
Deaths: Emily died on 16 April 2015 when aged 90 and was cremated at Anfield Crematorium a week later.
G3: Kenneth Knight (1937-2012)
Birth: Henry Knight was born in Liverpool on 26 January 1937. He was the fourth child of Henry and Emily.
Residences: 1 Bala Terrace, Liverpool (1937-1938); 94A Roscommon Street, Liverpool (1939); 10 Morland Street, Liverpool (1945-1961); 10 Morland Street, Liverpool (1963); 10 Morland Street, Liverpool (1967-1968)
Death: on 2 May 2012 when aged 75.
Notes: it’s likely that he married twice and had three children.
G4: Charles Knight (1902-1946) and Margaret Jones (1902-1974)
Birth: Charles Knight was born in Liverpool on 7 April 1902. He was the second child of Henry with second wife Mary.
Christening: on 16 April 1902 at Christ Church on Great Homer Street.
Marriage 1: to Margaret Jones on 7 June 1924 at St Polycarp Church on Netherfield Road North in Everton. They were both aged 22.
Spouse history: Margaret had been born on 12 April 1902 to George Jones, but due to the commonality of her name, nothing is known about her early life.
Children: (1) Charles in 1925, (2) Margaret in 1928, (3) Elsie in 1928, (4) Henry in 1930, (5) Alice in 1932, (6) Mary in 1935, (7) George in 1937, (8) Emily in 1939, (9) Albert in 1941, (10) Marian in 1944.
Death: Charles died in an accident on the docks during the week before Christmas 1946, when aged just 44. This left Margaret a 43-year-old widow with nine surviving children to support.
Marriage 2: Margaret married 51-year-old widower Richard Fairhurst in early 1950.
Spouse history: Richard had been born on 28 April 1898, the sixth child of John Fairhurst and Harriet Sidebotham, and was christened at St Peter’s Church in the city centre a few weeks later. His father worked for a lithograph printer. Richard married Alice Ranger the next year and it’s thought that they had a son in 1926, also called Richard. Alice died in 1942.
Residences: at the time of their marriage, Charles and Margaret lived just a few doors away from each other. They then lived with Charles’s parents until at least 1927, before moving to a home of their own, albeit still on the same street.
Following Margaret’s marriage to Richard, the family moved into his house on Copeland Street in central Everton – which incredibly was the only home he would ever live in.
- Charles: 57 Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1902); 2/21 Court, Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1911); 3 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1921-1927); 45 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1931-1939)
- Margaret: 32 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1924); 3 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1924-1927); 45 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1931-1939); 40 Copeland Street, Liverpool (1950-1968)
- Richard: 40 Copeland Street, Liverpool (1898-1966)
Occupations: in 1921 Charles worked as a carter for Thomas Singleton, but he eventually became a dock labourer. Richard was a porter at Park Lane railway station in 1921, progressing to become a ‘checker’.
Deaths: Richard died at home in 1967 and was buried at Everton Cemetery on 9 March. Margaret died on 5 January 1974 when aged 69.
G3: Charles Knight (1925-1988)
Birth: Charles Knight was born in Liverpool during 1925. He was the first child of Charles and Margaret.
Residences: 3 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1925-1927)
Notes: likely one of the redacted records on the 1939 National Register. It’s possible that he married Frances Burns in 1957 and had a child. He may have died during 1988, but confirmation is needed.
G3: Margaret Knight (1926-2005)
Birth: Margaret Knight was born in Liverpool on 28 September 1926. She was the second child of Charles and Margaret.
Marriage: to Thomas Wignall during 1946 in Liverpool. She was aged 19.
Children: one girl and four boys between 1947 and 1958.
Residences: they perhaps lived on Beatrice Street between 1949 and 1963, then on Beatrice Walk between 1968-1970.
- Margaret: 3 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1926-1927); 45 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1931-1939)
Deaths: Margaret died in Liverpool on 14 June 2005 when aged 78. Thomas likely died in 1979 but further confirmation is needed.
G2: Thomas Wignall (1948-2012)
Birth: Thomas Wignall was born in Liverpool on 8 March 1947. He was the second child of Thomas and Margaret.
Marriage: to Lynda Debnam during 1970 in Liverpool. He was aged 22 and she was aged 20.
Children: a boy and a girl between 1976 and 1983.
Residences: 55 Walton Lane, Liverpool (1970); 34 Sunbury Road, Liverpool (2003-2006)
Deaths: Lynda died in Liverpool in February 2006 when aged 56. Thomas died on 4 July 2012 when aged 64.
G3: Elsie Knight (1928-2010)
Birth: Elsie Knight was born in Liverpool on 15 March 1928. She was the third child of Charles and Margaret.
Marriage: to Thomas George Harold Cutts during 1952 in Liverpool. She was aged 23 and he was 25.
Spouse history: Thomas had been born in Liverpool during 1926 to Thomas Cutts and Margaret Slimond. He was aged 13 when evacuated to Wales upon the outbreak of war in 1939, living with John and Lizzie Riley at their home called Glandur on North Road in Caernarvon.
Children: three girls between 1954 and 1968.
Residences: the newlyweds briefly lived on Everton Terrace in central Everton, but by 1953 had moved around the corner to Sampson Street which would be their home until at least 1965.
- Elsie: 45 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1931-1939); 40 Copeland Street, Liverpool (1950-1951); 53 Everton Terrace, Liverpool (1952); 2 Sampson Street, Liverpool (1953-1965); 3 Charterhouse Drive, Aintree (2003-2010)
- Thomas: Glandur, North Road, Caernarfon (1939); 53 Everton Terrace, Liverpool (1952); 2 Sampson Street, Liverpool (1953-1965)
Deaths: Thomas died in Stockport on 27 July 2004 when aged 78. Elsie died in Liverpool on 20 January 2010, aged 81.
G3: Henry Knight (1930-1933)
Birth: Henry Knight was born in Liverpool during 1930. He was the fourth child of Charles and Margaret.
Death: died in Alder Hey Hospital in 1933.
G3: Alice Knight (1932-2010) and Ronald Christopher Howard (1928-2009)
You can read about the history of Ron and Alice, their ancestors and descendants, in the Howard line.
G3: Mary Knight (1935-2005)
Birth: Mary Knight was born in Liverpool on 4 May 1935. She was the sixth child of Charles and Margaret.
Marriage: to Matthew McMullan during 1956 in Liverpool. She was aged 20 and he was 21.
Spouse history: Matthew had been born in Liverpool on 23 April 1934 to Matthew McMullan and Veronica Dowd. In 1939 the 5-year-old boy lived with his now widowed mother in a small terraced house on Rothsay Street in central Everton. She was a waitress in a café. The neighbouring house was occupied by a John and Mary McMullan, both aged 69 and possibly his paternal grandparents.
Children: two boys and a girl between 1958 and 1962.
Residences: the newlyweds initially lived with Mary’s parents before getting a house of their own on nearby Kepler Street, with a daughter born there in 1962. They then left the cramped city centre behind and moved out to one of the new housing estates in Dovecot, offering green space and modern amenities.
- Mary: 45 Beatrice Street (1935-1939); 40 Copeland Street (1950-1956); 40 Copeland Street (1957-1958); 17 Kepler Street (1961-1963); 6 Churchdown Close (1964-1970); 102 Grant Road (2003-2006) – all in Liverpool.
- Matthew: 8 Rothsay Street (1939); 40 Copeland Street (1958-1959); 17 Kepler Street (1961-1963); 6 Churchdown Close (1964-1970); 102 Grant Road (2003-2004) – all in Liverpool.
Deaths: Matthew died in Birkenhead in October 2003 aged 69, while Mary followed in Liverpool on 27 May 2005 aged 70.
G3: George Henry Knight (1937-2001)
Birth: George Henry Knight was born in Liverpool on 17 September 1937. He was the seventh child of Charles and Margaret, and commonly known by his middle name.
Residences: 40 Copeland Street, Liverpool (1950-1963)
Death: in Liverpool on 11 June 2001 when aged 63.
Notes: Henry lived at home until at least 1963. Little is known about him due to the commonality of his name, but it’s thought that he was a builder and married later in life to a woman who had two children from a previous marriage.
G3: Emily Knight (1939-2011)
Birth: Emily Knight was born in Liverpool on 30 July 1939. He was the eighth child of Charles and Margaret, and commonly known by his middle name.
Marriage: to Frank Jones on 12 August 1972 in Liverpool. She was aged 33. Nothing is known about Frank due to the commonality of his name.
Children: Emily had a daughter in 1964 to her partner John O’Brien. She had a child with Frank in 1973.
Residences: 45 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1939); 40 Copeland Street, Liverpool (1961-1968); 121 Parthenon Drive, Liverpool (2002-2007).
Deaths: Emily died in Liverpool on 4 January 2011 when aged 71, being buried at the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Notes: it’s assumed that Emily is one of the redacted records on the 1939 Register.
G3: Albert Knight
Birth: Albert Knight was born in Liverpool during 1941. He was the ninth child of Charles and Margaret.
Residences: 40 Copeland Street, Liverpool (1950-1968).
Notes: we know that he never married or had any children, but due to the commonality of his name nothing further is known.
G4: Emily Knight (1907-)
Birth: Emily Knight was born in Liverpool on 7 April 1902. She was the third child of Henry with second wife Mary.
Christening: on 5 June 1907 at St Matthew’s Church on Scotland Road.
Emigration: Emily emigrated to the United States in 1926, arriving in New York on the SS Baltic on 26 February. She stated on the immigration forms that she was intending to stay with her aunt Mrs M.A. Milen on Greenwich Street, New York. She was described as 5 feet and 7 inches tall with fair hair, grey eyes, and a fresh complexion.
Three years later Emily filed a Declaration of Intention, the first formal step towards becoming a US citizen. In the next step of the process, she filed a Petition for Naturalization in July 1937, becoming a US citizen.
Residences: in 1929 Emily lived on West 103rd Street in the Upper West Side, renting a room off a Mary Kelly. By 1935 she had moved to West 105th Street.
- 2/21 Court, Penrhyn Street, Liverpool (1907-1912); 3 Beatrice Street, Liverpool (1913-1924); 81 W 103rd St, New York, NY (1930); 217 W 105th St, New York, NY (1937)
Occupations: Emily worked as a machine operator in a factory from at least 1929 to 1935.
Notes: it’s possible that she married after 1935 as there is no further record of her.
