On This Day - Leanna

My great-grandmother’s sister Leanna Alice Jollett Knight died 20 Sep 1936.

Leanna A Knight
Born
Mar 14, 1867
Died
Sept 20, 1936

 Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved. 

On This Day - William Lewis Knight

 

William Lewis Knight
20 Jun 1898 - 2 Sep 1970

William Lewis Knight was the 6^th child of 11 born to my great-grandmother’s sister Leanna Jollett Knight and her husband James Mitchell Knight. In 1919 he married Ethel Morris and the two raised their own brood of 11 children.

Like so many of my relatives, they left Greene County, Virginia for Baltimore, Maryland where jobs in industry and government were waiting.

William died this day in 1970.

 

BelAir Memorial Gardens
Harford County, Maryland
Findagrave Memorial #122880414

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sunday's Obituary: Leanna Jollett Knight

Sunday’s Obituary is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers asking bloggers to share old obituaries and other information about an ancestor.

1936

Death of Mrs. Mitchell Knight

Mrs. Leanna Alice Knight, wife of Mitchel Knight died at her home near Stanardsville on Sunday, September 20^th at the age of 69 years. She is survived by her husband Mitchel Knight, five sons: James of Martinsville, Va., William and Isaac of Baltimore, Md., Edward of Charlottesville, and Clyde of March, Va., and four daughters: Mrs. Bertha Shiflet, Mrs. Pearl Shiflet, and Mrs. Lona Knight. Two daughters, Victoria Shiflet and Eliza Gibson preceded her in death.

[it says FOUR daughters but lists only three; missing is Mrs. Laura Maybelle Shiflett]

She is also survived by five sisters, Mrs. W. J. Sullivan, Mrs. A. J. Coleman, Mrs. W. B. Davis, Mrs. Sallie Clift all of Shenandoah, and Mrs. Victoria Breeden of Waynesboro, Va.

She leaves 51 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Mrs. Knight connected herself with the Brethren Church a number of years ago and was a faithful member until her death.

She lived a simple unassuming life, always ready to aid those who needed her. She will be greatly missed by her neighbors and friends.

The funeral was conducted from the Evergreen Church of the Brethren by Rev. E. L. Cave.

Wendy

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Tombstone Tuesday: The Knights

Tombstone Tuesday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks bloggers to include an image of a gravestone of one or more ancestors along with a brief description of the image or the ancestor.

Evergreen Church and entrance to the cemetery
Dyke, Greene County, Virginia
photo courtesy Jan Hensley

Leanna Jollett Knight and James Mitchell Knight are buried near one another in the Evergreen Church Cemetery in Greene County, Virginia. A pretty little stone church and a well-maintained cemetery surrounded by a low stone wall - beautiful scenery from every direction - who wouldn't want to be buried here?

James M. Knight
May 9, 1866
Feb 16, 1942
photo courtesy Jan Hensley

Leanna A. Knight
Born  Mar 14, 1867
Died Sep 20 1936
photo courtesy Jan Hensley

Wendy

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

James Franklin Jollett's Kids: Leanna Knight

As part of my “Genealogy Do-Over” efforts AND to force myself to get crackin’ on my James Franklin Jollett book, Jollett Reunion, I will be researching and writing brief biographies of James Franklin, his wives, and his children.

Leanna Alice Jollett was the fourth child born to James Franklin and Lucy Ann Shiflett Jollett. That was on March 14, 1867 in Greene County, Virginia. However, there is no record of a “Leanna” in the 1870 census. Oh, the Jolletts were enumerated on time, that is a fact. But there was no Leanna. There was a three-year old daughter though, listed exactly where she should have been listed, chronologically after Laura and before Mary F. Her name was “Columbia A.”

from the 1870 Greene County, Virginia Federal Census

In the next census in 1880, Columbia was nowhere to be found. In her place was Leanna, age 13, right after Laura and before Mary F, the same age expected for Columbia had she been listed.

from the 1880 Greene County, Virginia Federal Census

There is no real explanation for the disappearance of one and appearance of the other. Maybe there were twin girls and the enumerator failed to list Leanna, and then maybe Columbia died before 1880. Or maybe the common nickname “Lum” latched onto a middle name Ann and then “Lumanna” somehow morphed into “Leanna” and it stuck. Maybe the enumerator simply mis-heard “Leanna” and wrote “Columbia.” We will probably never know.

What is true, though, is that Leanna was the name on her marriage record, death record, tombstone, and every census from 1880 to 1930.

James Mitchell Knight and Leanna Jollett Knight

At age 18, Leanna married James Mitchell Knight, a farmer and son of a farmer, whose childhood in Greene County was much like her own. Both attended school, probably the same school since they grew up as near neighbors. One of Leanna’s grandchildren once said that Leanna was not a beautiful woman but her grandfather – who was quite handsome – absolutely adored his sweet Leanna.

The Knights had eleven children, and all survived into adulthood. They owned their own farm in the Monroe District of Greene County. Supposedly for a time they ran a store, but that is not reflected in the census records, only in the memory reported by their son Clyde. Leanna was the postmistress for the Nimrod Post Office from 1919-1925.

Leanna was quite social, and her name often appeared in the society columns when she visited her aunt Clementine Morris, sister of Leanna’s mother. It didn’t matter that they lived just a few miles from one another in the same county; a visit was a visit when it came to local news. Despite their 20-years difference in age, they had much in common. Both boasted very large families, Aunt Clem’s outnumbering even Leanna’s large brood. As a result, they had children of the same age, so they surely had plenty to talk about.

Leanna died in 1936 from endocarditis and myocarditis, in other words, severe heart problems. Some time later, Mitchell went to live with their son James Frank. He died in 1942, just a short six years after his beloved Leanna. The two are buried in the Evergreen Church Cemetery in Greene County.

 

at a Jollett Reunion before 1924
Standing: James Mitchell Knight, Sallie Jollett Clift, Leanna Jollett Knight,
Walter Davis, Mary Frances Jollett Davis, Decatur Breeden,
Victoria Jollett Breeden, Laura Jollett Sullivan, Will Sullivan
Seated: Jack Coleman, Emma Jollett Coleman

Leanna Alice JOLLETT (14 Mar 1867 Greene Co, VA – 20 Sep 1936 Albemarle Co, VA) and James Mitchell KNIGHT (9 May 1866 Greene Co, VA – 16 Feb 1942 Greene Co, VA) married 1 Mar 1885 Greene Co, VA

1. Bertha Ola KNIGHT (18 Jan 1885 Greene Co, VA – 31 Jan 1963 Greene Co, VA) and Benjamin SHIFLETT (10 Jun 1891 Greene Co, VA – 24 Jan 1959 Greene Co, VA) married 24 Dec 1912 Greene Co, VA
2. Victoria KNIGHT (4 Jul 1887 Greene Co, VA – 2 Feb 1929 Albemarle Co, VA) and Martin Lucas SHIFLETT (14 Aug 1882 Greene Co, VA – 5 Dec 1950 Ruckersville, VA) married 2 Mar 1904 Greene Co, VA
3. Laura Maybelle KNIGHT (3 May 1890 Greene Co, VA – 20 Apr 1975 Greene Co, VA) and James Pearlie SHIFLETT (25 Jun 1889 Greene Co, VA – 2 Sep 1922 Greene Co, VA) married 17 Jan 1907 Greene Co, VA
4. Eliza Jane KNIGHT (14 Jun 1892 Greene Co, VA – 23 Jun 1928 Albemarle Co, VA) and Charles Herbert GIBSON (17 Apr 1896 Greene Co, VA – 30 Apr 1990 Charlottesville, VA) married 27 Nov 1919 Greene Co, VA
5. James Frank KNIGHT (3 May 1894 Greene Co, VA – 18 Apr 1986 Albemarle Co, VA) and Margaret LAWSON (16 Dec 1895 Greene Co, VA – 6 Mar 1963 Charlottesville, VA) married 9 Apr 1913 Greene Co, VA
6. Pearl Josephine KNIGHT (25 May 1896 Greene Co, VA – 27 Dec 1988 Madison Co, VA) and William Harvey SHIFLETT (Mar 1893 Greene Co, VA – 3 Aug 1926 Greene Co, VA) married 13 Oct 1913 Hagerstown, MD
7. William Lewis KNIGHT (20 Jun 1897 Greene Co, VA – 2 Sep 1970 Baltimore, MD) and Ethel Florence MORRIS (20 Mar 1899 Greene Co, VA – 6 Dec 1973 Baltimore, MD) married 10 Jan 1919 Greene Co, VA
8. Edward Cole KNIGHT (6 Oct 1899 Greene Co, VA – 1 Sep 1982 Charlottesville, VA) and Eva Mae SHIFLETT (27 Apr 1906 Greene Co, VA – 25 Aug 2000 Charlottesville, VA) married 7 Sep 1927 Albemarle Co, VA
9. Lonia “Lonnie” Catherine KNIGHT (24 Jul 1904 Greene Co, VA – 22 Sep 1988) and m1) Isaac Joshua KNIGHT (17 Sep 1899 Greene Co, VA – 29 Apr 1962 Maryland) married 25 Dec 1920 Greene Co, VA ; m2) Meade Elton JENKINS (19 Apr 1904 Winchester, VA – 21 Nov 1971 Staunton, VA) married 2 Feb 1957 Charlottesville, VA
10. Clyde Henry KNIGHT (28 Oct 1904 Greene Co, VA – 13 Oct 1997 Charlottesville, VA) and Elsie Olyn MORRIS (13 Feb 1904 Greene Co, VA – 28 Sep 1984 Charlottesville, VA) married 3 Jun 1927 Greene Co, VA
11. Isaac Finks KNIGHT (20 Aug 1908 Greene co, VA – 21 Dec 1994 Dundalk, MD) and Etha MORRIS (15 Oct 1908 Greene Co, VA – 20 Oct 1994 Baltimore, MD) married 4 Apr 1928 Greene co, VA

Wendy

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.