Key Facts

Snapshot:	farmer; drafted during World War I
Parents:	16George W. Knight 17Alice Knight
Born:	18 June 1896 or 1897 Washington County, Georgia
Died:	23 March 1961 Macon Hospital (now named Medical Center Navicent Health), Macon, Georgia
Buried:	Thigpen cemetery, Laurens County, Georgia Approximate coordinates: N32.45208 W82.70409

8Bryant Knight, son of 16George W. Knight2,3 and 17Alice Knight2,4, was born on either 18 June 18964-6 or 1897.2,7,8

He was born in Washington County, Georgia,2,5 probably in or near Harrison (since his World War I draft registration card shows his birthplace as "Harrison Station," presumably a reference to the town4). By the time he was about four, he was living in Washington County's militia district 1384 (map), as shown by his family's listing in the 1900 census:9

1900: 8Bryant's family in militia district 1384 (map), Washington County, Georgia. Full page.9

By 1910, his family had moved into a rental farm house around Orland.10

1910: 8Bryant's family in Orland, Montgomery County. Full page.10

On 5 June 1918, 8Bryant registered for the draft for World War I. His draft registration card4 describes him as a self-employed, 21 year-old, medium-height, slender white man with black eyes and black hair. Although the question about being "palpably physically disqualified" is answered "no," later records (described below) show that he did have a disability of some sort.

8Bryant Knight's WWI draft registration card. Bigger copy.4

8Bryant was subsequently drafted for World War I. According to his service summary card (copied below), he was inducted into the Army on 31 August 1918. He was sent to "MG Tng C" (machine gun training center) at Camp Hancock, a training camp near Augusta.5

Camp Hancock, photographed around the time 8Bryant was training at the camp. Larger version.11

Fortunately for 8Bryant, he wasn't sent overseas and received no wounds or injuries in action. The war ended on November 11th, and 8Bryant was honorably discharged on 9 December 1918.5

8Bryant Knight's WWI service summary card. Bigger copy.5

Although 8Bryant wasn't wounded in battle, his service summary card notes that he was 16⅔% disabled. His son Billy provided more details about this disability (and later treatment thereof) during an interview in 2014:12

Billy: Ulcers. He had ulcers in his stomach.

1Bryant: Stomach? Oh, okay.

Billy: They operated on him and took most of 'em out. You know, got the ulcers out. [...] They pulled all his teeth but one. You believe that? When they operated. And he had one tooth right there. [...] The doctor was Claxton, up there in Dublin, old man Claxton. And [...] [Dr. Claxton] thought [8Bryant] was gonna die, so [...] he didn't even put his entrails back in there right. He just plopped them over in there and, and sewed him up. And Daddy pulled through, you know. And oh many years later, when Daddy [...] had to go up there in the hospital Dublin--Macon, the doctor looked at him and examined him and all, and he told Mama, he said, "Who done that surgery on him?" She told him. She told him. He said, "Is he still practicing medicine? If he is, you can sue him." She said, "No. He's dead." She said, "They thought he was gon' die." He said, "Yeah, but it don't matter if you think they gon' die or not. If he ain't dead, you gotta still go back and, you know, fix 'em right before you close 'em back up." But he didn't. And then, then later on he had that stroke. But he always had trouble with heartburn. I remember him gettin' up and goin' take the ah, ah baking powders, take a spoonful of that. Yeah, that's what he [...] used to have to take. He drank a lot of milk, but it didn't... Back then you had a bunch of pork, you know, you know to survive. I know now what that is. Boy, that's aggravatin' stuff.

1Bryant: Nowadays it's a little bit easier to treat, I don't know, it may have helped him, but anyway that way, obviously he didn't have those drugs, but...

Billy: But that, that's why he was, he was disability. And then [...] they claimed he got alright [...] and ah, cut out his check. You know he wasn't getting but I think it was twelve dollars a month back [...]. And we moved to Macon. [...] Daddy wasn't paralyzed then. He got paralyzed over there.12

After his discharge, 8Bryant returned to his parents' rental home near Orland, as shown by the 1920 census, which also shows that 8Bryant couldn't read or write.13

1920: 8Bryant's family in Orland, Treutlen County, Georgia. Full page.13

8Bryant met his future wife 9Julia Thigpen around this time. Their son Billy provided a few details:12

Billy: And then he said at, ah, at the end he left, and when he got you know, ah, discharged, he come down to Rockledge. That's where he met my Mama.

1Bryant: Yeah, I noticed they got married a few years later after...

Billy: She wasn't but 15, I think it was.

1Bryant: Did they, they, did they ever say anything about how they kinda, like, met, or, like, when they were dating or anything?

Billy: Mama just said. Mama just said, "I fell in love with him. He had pretty, pretty good black hair you ever seen." That was about all I ever heard about it, just you know.12

8Bryant married 9Julia on 26 September 1921:14

1921: 8Bryant's and 9Julia Thigpen's marriage certificate14

By 1930 8Bryant and 9Julia had had three children. They were living in a rental farm house next door to 9Julia's brother Lee Thigpen around Rockledge in Laurens County. The census shows that 9Julia was literate.15

1930: 8Bryant's family in Rockledge, Laurens County, Georgia. Full page.15

By 1940 they had had another son, and they were living next door to 9Julia's parents, 18Willie Thigpen and 19Sallie Williams. The 1940 census shows that 8Bryant had only completed the second grade, while 9Julia had completed the fifth.16

1940: 8Bryant's family still near Rockledge. Full page.16

8Bryant had to register for the draft during World War II.8

8Bryant's WWII draft card. Bigger copy.8

We find him again in the 1950 census:16

1950: 8Bryant's family still near Rockledge. Full page.16

I only have one photograph of 8Bryant and 9Julia, and it's displayed at the top of this page. I don't know when the photograph was taken, but I suspect that it may have been taken in the early 1950's. The automobile in the background belonged to 8Bryant, but it didn't have working headlights, as described by 8Bryant's son Billy:12

Billy: It didn't have no lights on it. Lights were blowed or whatever. [...] we used to go from over there at Rockledge, over where we lived, and [...] four or five miles, to a. Back then, the shows [...] was a tent. Moving tent. And they'd bring 'em Westerns and all around and show 'em [...] on the screen in them tents.

1Bryant: [...] like a temporary theater or something, okay, I see.

Billy: Yeah, that's what it was. We'd go over there to them shows. And we'd been over there, and ___ [unclear] or one of 'em was ridin' the bumper up there with a lantern and holdin' it down below [...] the grill so they could see [...] see the roa--, ah...

1Bryant: See the road at nighttime or somethin', yeah.

[...]

Billy: Yeah. Keep anybody from runnin' over you, too. Oh, I'll never forget that. That was so funny.12

8Bryant and 9Julia were probably still living in Laurens County in March 1953 (since 9Julia's mother died that month, and her obituary lists "Mrs. Julia Knight [...] of Rockledge" as one of her surviving children18).

By 1955, though, they had moved to 332 New Street, Macon, Georgia, as shown by their listing in the 1955 Macon city directory:19
   
332 New Street is in Macon's downtown area. Bibb County tax records state that the structure was built in 1900,20 so it probably looks similar to how it did when 8Bryant and 9Julia lived there. 8Bryant's family lived on the upper floor, while another family occupied the lower floor.12

8Bryant's great-grandson 1Bryant Knight on the front porch of 332 New Street, Macon, Georgia in June 201321

Sadly, a stroke paralyzed 8Bryant,12 leaving him unable to walk down stairs. During 1956 and 1957 or thereabouts, the family lived in the more easily accessible bottom floor of an unspecified house on nearby Mulberry Street.12

The 1958 Macon city directory shows 8Bryant and 9Julia at 126 Comer Terrace.22
   
126 Comer Terrace is in Payne City. Bibb County tax records show that the house was built in 1923.23 8Bryant seems to have continued living at this address until his death in 1961.

Bryant had a heart attack and died at the Macon Hospital (now named Medical Center Navicent Health) on 23 March 1961. A copy of his death certificate is below.2

His funeral notice24 and obituary3 were published in the local newspaper.

8Bryant is buried by his wife at Thigpen cemetery, Laurens County, Georgia near the back of the cemetery at coordinates N32.45208 W82.70409.7

His wife also applied for a footstone to note his military service.6

8Bryant apparently died intestate, since Bibb County's estate records index doesn't include him. (However, the index does show that 9Jullie applied for guardianship of Billie C. Knight,25 presumably their son who was interviewed for other parts of this profile.)

His Social Security number was 252-22-0894.26

Sources Cited:

1: Photograph of Bryant Knight and Julia Thigpen. Provided by their son Billy Knight on 27 December 2014.

2: Bibb County, Georgia death certificate 06096 for Bryant Knight

3: "Deaths and Funerals," The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia), 25 March 1961, page 3

4: World War One Draft Registration Cards. Bryant Knight, born 18 June 1896, Harrison Station, Georgia. NARA microfilm publication 1509. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KZZN-N1V>, accessed 1 April 2012.

5: World War I Service Summary Cards, Army Enlisted Personnel. Bryant Knight, Army serial number 4569168. Georgia Archives, microfilm 320/47 (Samuel P Killen - John S Lacy).

6: Headstone Applications for U.S. Military Veterans. 1961, Bryant Knight, service number 4569168. Ancestry.com ("U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970" / 1960-1961 / Kendrick, Fred-Krause, Willis I E / images 2698 and 2699 of 4088), accessed 8 October 2021.

7: Tombstone of Bryant Knight, Thigpen Cemetery, Laurens County, Georgia at approximate coordinates N32.45208 W82.70409. Photographs taken by Bryant Knight, 12 May 2009.

8: Georgia World War II draft registration cards, card for Bryant Knight born 18 June 1897. Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975, record group 147. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MN-83WH-Z?i=643&wc=NBMM-GP8%3A1298967101&cc=1880573>.

9: 1900 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 1384, Washington County, Georgia. Enumeration district 97, sheet 6, dwelling 124, family 124, George Knight household. NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 228. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/stream/12thcensusofpopu228unit#page/n478/mode/1up>, accessed 9 October 2021.

10: 1910 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Orland, Montgomery County, Georgia. Enumeration district 138, sheet 4B, dwelling 68, family 68, George W. Knight household. NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 201. Internet Archive, <http://archive.org/stream/13thcensus1910po201unit#page/n280/mode/1up>, accessed 4 May 2013.

11: Isaac Shulman, "M. G. Training School Camp, Camp Hancock, Augusta, Georgia," (Online image). Library of Congress, <http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007664100/>, accessed 16 March 2011.

12: Interview with Billy Knight (son of 8Bryant) on 27 December 2014. A partial transcription of the interview is available.

13: 1920 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Orland, Treutlen County, Georgia. Enumeration district 126, sheet 17B, family 211, George Knight household. NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 280. Internet Archive, <http://archive.org/stream/14thcensusofpopu280unit#page/n1138/mode/1up>, accessed 4 May 2013.

14: Treutlen County, Georgia. White Marriage Book 1, page 56, marriage of Bryant Knight and Julia Thigpin. Treutlen County Probate Court, Soperton, Georgia. I have seen the original of the marriage record at the Treutlen County probate office in Soperton. At first glance, this copy seems to show that the marriage occurred on 6 September instead of 26 September, but the "2" is just faint in this copy. I can attest that the "2" is clearly written on the original document. Also, the "6" was originally written as a "5," but someone used a heavier pen to trace over it, changing it to "6."

15: 1930 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Rockledge, Laurens County, Georgia. Enumeration district 32, sheet 9B, dwelling 172, family 178, Bryant Knight household. NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 373. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/stream/georgiacensus00reel373#page/n184/mode/1up>, accessed 9 October 2021.

16: 1940 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Rockledge, Laurens County, Georgia. Enumeration district 87-35, sheet 5A, family 93, Brint Knight household. National Archives, <1940census.archives.gov>, accessed 2 April 2012. This image is also available on Familysearch.org at <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-27876-13994-72?cc=2000219&wc=MRB8-1JY:790105601,795238401,798691501,798691502>.

17: 1950 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Laurens County, Georgia. Enumeration district 87-36, sheet 27, dwelling 221, Bryant Knight household. National Archives, <https://1950census.archives.gov/search/?county=Laurens&ed=87-36&name=bryant%20knight&page=1&state=GA>, accessed 11 November 2022.

18: "Mrs. Thigpen Rites Today," The Dublin Courier-Herald (Dublin, Georgia), Wednesday 11 March 1953, page 8

19: Polk's Macon (Bibb County, GA.) City Directory, 1955 (R. L. Polk & Co., 2910 W. Clay St., Richmond, VA, 1955), page 305. Ancestry.com, accessed 24 January 2013.

20: Bibb County, Georgia. Macon/Bibb County Board of Tax Assessors, property record card for parcel Q074-0189 (332 New Street). <http://www.co.bibb.ga.us/TaxAssessors/index1.html>, accessed 22 April 2012.

21: Photo of 1Bryant Knight at 332 New Street, Macon, Georgia in June 2013

22: Polk's Macon (Bibb County, GA.) City Directory, 1958 (R. L. Polk & Co., 2910 W. Clay St., Richmond, VA, 1958), page 316. Ancestry.com, accessed 24 January 2013.

23: Bibb County, Georgia. Macon/Bibb County Board of Tax Assessors, property record card for parcel N072-0064 (126 Comer Terrace). <http://www.co.bibb.ga.us/TaxAssessors/index1.html>, accessed 7 May 2013.

24: "Funeral Notices," The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia), 24 March 1961, page 24

25: Bibb County, Georgia. Court of Ordinary, Docket and General Index to Proceedings of Estates 1823-1964, volume K-L, page 56E, estate of Billie C. Knight, minor. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893T-F4NT?i=714&cc=1999178&cat=233058>.

26: Ancestry.com ("U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," entry for Bryant Knight of Laurens County, Georgia, SSN 252220894; <https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8907980:60901>), accessed 9 May 2023. You can see a copy here.