Key Facts

Snapshot:	poor farm laborer
Parents:	64Jesse B. Knight mother uncertain
Born:	circa 1849 Georgia
Last known record:	1880 census Militia district 92 (map), Washington County, Georgia
Buried:	unknown

34John Knight was born in Georgia circa 1849.1-3 Judging from the 1850 census, his father was 64Jesse B. Knight.1 34John's mother might be 64Jesse's wife Martha, who is listed in the same census, but due to a minor problem previously explained in 32Russell Knight's profile, I can't be certain. (Interestingly, this census also includes 34John's brother 32Russell, who was 21 at the time. Decades later 32Russell's son 16George married 34John's daughter 17Alice. This is one of the two known instances of cousin marriage among my ancestors.)

1850: 34John's family in Washington County, Georgia. Full page.1
Other records show that they were living in militia district 92 (map).4,5

1860: 34John's family still in Washington County. Full pages: 1, 2.2

I haven't found 34John in the 1870 census. The census-taker may have skipped his residence.

34John married 35Tempie Bedgood in nearby Jefferson County, Georgia on 2 August 1871.6 The priest who performed the ceremony was a Methodist,7 so perhaps 34John was Methodist, too.

34John's and 35Tempie Bedgood's marriage certificate. Full page.6

Tax digests from the mid-1870's show that 34John lived in militia districts 92 and 94 (map), Washington County, Georgia. These tax records repeatedly show that 34John owned no taxable property, and that he owed only $1 in tax (apparently the minimum amount),8 so he was probably somewhat poor.

The 1880 census shows 34John, his wife 35Tempie, their children, and 35Tempie's parents and two siblings all living in the same house. No one in the house could read or write.3

1880: 34John's household in militia district 92, Washington County, Georgia. Full page.3

I have found no other records pertaining to 34John after the 1880 census, nor do I know where he's buried. He's not in the indices of Washington County's Wills Book B (1852-1903), nor Inventories & Appraisements Book B (1863-1901). This isn't particularly surprising, however, since he seems to have been poor and probably died intestate.

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Division 91, Washington County, Georgia. Page 253, dwelling 755, family 755, Jesse B. Knight household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 170. Internet Archive, <http://archive.org/stream/7thcensus0067unix#page/n364/mode/1up>, accessed 23 May 2013.

2: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Washington County, Georgia. Pages 241 and 242, dwelling 632, family 614, Jesse B. Knight household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 140. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu140unit#page/n243/mode/1up> (page 241) and <https://archive.org/details/populationschedu140unit/page/n244/mode/1up?view=theater> (page 242), accessed 14 October 2021.

3: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 92, Washington County, Georgia. Enumeration district 125, page 258A, dwelling 1, Gilford Bedgood household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 170. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/stream/10thcensus0170unit#page/n718/mode/1up>, accessed 14 October 2021.

4: Washington County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1850, page 17, Jesse B. Knight. Ancestry.com (“Georgia Property Tax Digests, 1793-1893” / Washington County / 1850 / images 35 and 36 of 131), accessed 16 February 2013. Although I used Ancestry.com, the same record can be seen on FamilySearch: <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-7HRZ?i=580&cc=4130006&cat=307097>.

5: Washington County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1851, page 18, entries for J.B. Knight and R.W. Knight. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-74PF?i=654&cc=4130006&cat=307097>, accessed 14 October 2021.

6: Jefferson County, Georgia. White marriage book A (1803-1880), page 505, marriage of Mr. John Knight and Miss Mary T. Bedgood. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-21404-28668-60?cc=1927197>, accessed 1 June 2013.

7: George Gilman Smith, The History of Georgia Methodism from 1786 to 1866 (A. B. Caldwell, Atlanta 1913), page 213

8: Washington County, Georgia. Tax digest book for 1872-1877, various entries for 34John Knight. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1893" / Washington / 1872-1877 / images 40, 41, 227, 228, 738, and 739 of 1058), accessed 13 May 2014.