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J. M. Knox
J. M. KNOX, a large landowner in Perry township, Armstrong county,
residing across the line in Parker township, Butler county, is engaged in
farming, and has several production oil and gas wells on his property. He was
born on the John Guthrie farm, in Perry township, this county, Dec. 20, 1856,
and belongs to a family established in this country by his great-grandfather,
George Knox, who was from the North of Ireland, whence he went to Scotland,
later coming to America. He was twice married, and by his first wife, whose
maiden name was Gibson, had two children. After her death he married a Miss
Graham, of Clarion county, Pa., by whom he had two sons and one daughter.
George Knox settled on the farm where his great-grandson, J. M. Knox, now
lives, then known as the Moore place. He died there at the age of eighty-one
years.James Knox, one of the sons of George was born on the Moore farm, and there
grew to manhood, receiving his education in the locality. He married Rebecca
Graham, and to this union were born children as follows; Eliza, who married
Andrew Campbell, of Butler county; William, who married a Miss Porter, and
lived in Butler and Armstrong counties; George; Nancy Jan, wife of Hon. A. L.
Campbell, of Petrolia, Pa., former State senator; Samuel, who married Martha
Gibson; and James, twin of Samuel, who died unmarried. The father of this
family died, at the home of his son George, at the age of sixty-seven years,
and is buried at Parker’s Landing. The mother is buried at Petrolia.George Knox, son of James, was born on the farm now occupied by his son, J.
M. Knox, grew to manhood there, and obtained his education in the schools of
the vicinity. For a few years he lived on the John Guthrie farm in Perry
township, in 1864 buying out the heirs of the old homestead place, where he
continued to make his home until his death, April 25, 1893. at the age of
seventy-three years. He is buried in the Fairview cemetery in Butler county.
Mr. Knox took an active part in the affairs of the locality, serving as road
supervisor and school director for several years. In political matters he was
a Republican. He married Jane (Steel) Guthrie, widow of William Guthrie, who
was drowned in a river in California, while engaged in contracting there. By
her first marriage she had the following children: Ann Eliza, wife of Daniel
Walker; John, who resides in Perry township; Hugh, Perry township; Nancy,
deceased; Samuel, who lives at Millers Eddy, Clarion county; and William, of
Sugar Creek township, this county. By her marriage with Mr. Knox she had five
children: J. M. mentioned below; Jennie E., widow of James E. Samuel, of East
Pittsburgh, Pa.; Nancy, wife of Edgar Say, of near Bruin, Pa.; Mary Eleanor,
wife of George Say, of near Bruin; and A. L., who resides on the farm
adjoining his brothers in Butler county. Mrs. Knox died April 25, 1903, on the
tenth anniversary of her husband’s death, and is buried with him in the
Fairview cemetery. They were members of the Presbyterian Church.J. M. Knox attended the Shields and Knox schoolhouses in Perry township,
and also a school in Parker township, Butler county. After commencing work he
farmed and found employment in the oil fields, as a driller, in time beginning
to drill for himself. He now owns six producing gas well, five of the oil
wells being located in Perry township. He has large holdings of land, having
two farms in Perry township of forty-four and a half and one hundred acres,
respectively, another tract of 112 acres, two-thirds of which lies in Perry
township and the rest in Parker township, Butler county, and a tract of
forty-six acres in Allegheny township, Butler county. He resides on that
portion of his 112-acre farm lying in Parker township. Most of the buildings
on this property were put up by his father in 1873, though he did some
building himself in 1897. Mr. Knox engages in general farming and produces
crops above the average, applying his practical methods to every branch of his
work. He is an excellent business man, and all of his enterprises have
prospered under his thorough management.On June 25, 1903, Mr. Knox married Mary Barto, of Clarion county, where she
was reared and educated. Her father, Daniel Barto, was a well known furnace
worker of that section. Mr. and Mrs. Knox have one child, George. Mr. Knox
takes no part in public affairs or political matters, but he is a Republican
in party connection.The farm on which Mr. Knox lives was formerly owned by his
great-grandfather, who bought it for his sons Thomas and Huston Knox, the
latter of whom made his home there. He was twice married, his first union
being to a Miss Hutchison, his second to a lady named McCoy. His children
were: Washington, who married a Logue, of Clarion county, Pa.; Rebecca, Mrs.
McCall, of Clarion county; Elizabeth, wife of Gib. Moore, of Butler; and
Peggie, wife of Joseph Graham, of Parkers Landing.Source: Pages 360-361, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed September 2001 by Linda M. Stitt for the Armstrong County Beers
Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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