John Knox was born
In the 1860s, the Atlantic
Tennessee & Ohio Rail Road, now
My Mom, Ruth Hunter Knox was
born in 1924 in Huntersville, and died in 1970 in
My cousin, John “Wilson”
Knox Jr. born 1919, refers to “our” John Knox as “Old” John Knox. That’s probably because there were – and still
are -- so many John Knoxes in our family…including Wilson himself.
“Old John” was my 3rd great
grandfather. Fortunately, his eldest
son, my 2nd great grandfather Robert J. Wilson Knox, had a unique name…and left a very good paper
trail for Knox Family researchers.
Robert J. Wilson Knox’s fourth son, William
Andrew Knox was my
great-grandfather. William’s second son, James
Chalmers “Chal” Knox, was my
grandfather. Chal’s youngest daughter
was Ruth Hunter Knox, my mother.
Three Generations of Knoxes
William Andrew Knox (1890s), James Chalmers Knox
(abt 1895), and Ruth Hunter Knox (abt 1941)
When I began researching
John’s story more than 10 years ago, I was mostly a “collector” of the work
product of other genealogists. No need
to “reinvent the wheel”, I thought. My
Mother’s sage advice -- “don’t believe everything you read” -- now rings in my
ears. In retrospect, it was certainly
advice I should have heeded in preparation of our Knox Family History. Yes, sometimes, family traditions do get
confused with facts. Moreover, once anything is in print, it
takes on a life of its own -- attesting to the power of publishing.
In the fall of 2007, I
received the good news that fellow “Knox cousin” and family researcher, Becky
Cronin, had proven her lineage back to “our” Robert Knox, a Revolutionary War
Soldier, and was accepted into the DAR.
I was thrilled for her…and my next thought was “I should do this too – for my five granddaughters.” Becky descended from Robert’s son,
James. We had been sharing information
for about 7 years. She had been working
on this for years…and her success motivated me!
Within a few days, I began
collecting the required evidence to prove my lineage back to “our” Robert. Imagine my shock and surprise when I lined
up all the evidence…and suddenly realized what is now obvious – a huge hole. There is no evidence that “my” John
Knox was the SAME John Knox who was the son of “our” Robert! Actually, there is no evidence “my” John Knox
ever lived in
My initial reaction: “Of course he’s Robert’s son, everyone says so. The proof is here in
this pile of papers…somewhere. I’ll
find it.”
Over the next few months,
I took a fresh look at all the evidence I had collected during the previous 9
years of Knox research -- verifying “facts” and testing old “traditions” about
“my” John Knox. I methodically "dotted all the i’s and crossed all the
t’s". I re-read old
correspondence with other Knox researchers.
I searched for deeds and court records looking for new evidence, or
clues that might provide the missing link
in my Robert Knox lineage.
All that Robert Knox
research
and analysis did bear fruit...but the not the proof I was looking for. In the process, I learned to appreciate the
difference between fact and tradition, and along the way, a
completely new view of “my”John revealed itself. This is the story of my journey back through
time -- and what I learned about the life and times of "my" John Knox
of