I also have a fairly lengthy history of his descendants.

In the late summer of 1804, when Thomas Jefferson was President and Lewis & Clark were setting out on their big adventure, my great, great, great, granddaddy was being born; it was July 27 and Laurens County, South Carolina. We know quit a bit about the man he came to be from the accounts of A. C. Stepp, a friend and fellow preacher. They both preached in the Laurens and Greenville County area. Mr. Stepp wrote many eulogies for local newspapers. He wrote eulogies for Silas to two newspapers, one is much longer than the other, and then he made a speech at a memorial service some months later; which I have a copy of. The manuscript was saved and was included in a book entitled Variosa. It is a collection of essays from that corner of the state and that time period. The section that has to do with Silas Knight is about what it takes to make a man. Following is an excerpt from one of the newspaper eulogies.“ Rev. Silas Knight. The papers bring us the sad intelligence that Brother Knight is Dead. He had been in declining health for more than a year, and had lived beyond his three score years and ten, being about seventy-nine years old. The history of his ministerial life is interwoven with the history of the Reedy River Association. He entered the ministry as a Licentiate according to the Minutes, in 1834....“and spent his whole life in what is now Laurens County, S. C. He raised a large family of children, and two of his sons studied medicine and became practicing physicians, Dr. S. S. Knight, near Cannon's Store in this County, and Dr. James Knight, who commanded a cavalry company during the war, and who died shortly after the surrender. Silas Knight was twice married, but all of his children except one, were the fruits of his first marriage. He raised his family near Fowler's Cross Roads in the neighborhood of Warrior's Creek Church, where he lived until his second marriage, when he removed to near Durban's Creek Church.” [long account and eulogy] A. C. Stepp.” Well that tells us quite a bit about Rev. Silas. The Variosa manuscript speaks to the  life of a young boy raised in a log cabin in the woods with only footpaths to the door, of growing up depending on tobacco crops for money and distilleries for fun. The pages that follow tell of a young man that had lost his way but then follows with this: “Here is a secret which no ear hath heard, the germ which no eye hath seen. There was a man in Silas Knight, and all the powers of darkness couldn’t keep him there. He was bound to come forth into the broad open light of day, and over every obstacle to make himself known and felt in the world.” Stepp goes on to say the things that Silas was known for as a man were Truth, honesty, courage, energy, temperance, religion and duty. So I guess he fell out the bar and right into the ministry. It also states that he worked his fields from Monday to Friday and worked at church business Saturday and Sunday. He ran for the office of Tax Collector during a time when it was unheard of to run a campaign without serving and drinking spirituous beverages. People could and would be offended if he didn’t drink with them but he stood by his convictions and never served nor sipped whiskey and he still won,” by a vast majority“. He was well thought of in Laurens County. He was even known to rebuke his parishioners for taking to big a drink at communion. He was tough on booze. Silas did own slaves. The 1840 Laurens Co. census list two males under 10, one male between 10 and 24, and one between 24 and 35. The female list includes 3 under 10, one between 10 and 24, one between 24 and 35. Totals are 4 male and 5 female. In the 1860 slave census he is listed as having eight: one male age 40, one female age 40, one male age 33, one male 15, two females 8, one female 5 and one male 1. The records of Warrior Creek Baptist Church show that;” Levi, a man of color, property of Rev. S. Knight, was received into the church on August 1, 1856.” Silas was elected several times as a delegate to Association and delegate to Union. These are regional organizations of churches. Over the years Silas had quite a few dealings with the Courthouse in Laurens. He was involved in the Probate of his seven sons and daughters that died before him. Then he had many land deals, many with family members. At his death he held over 500 acres. I saw no criminal cases that the family was involved in. He is buried at the Warrior Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Laurens County, South Carolina. His tombstone says he was born on July 27, 1804 and died on March 29, 1883. His first wife, Sallie, is there with him and several of their children. There is also a lady buried head to head with Silas that is named Judy Knight. Her stone reads: Sacred to the Memory of Judy Knight, who departed this life April 29, 1849, being about 76 years of age. A little quick math and we find her date of birth about 1773, making her 31 when Silas was born. Right now my best guess is that she is his mother though I have no solid evidence, actually what I have is no other suspects. There is a record of a Judy Knight, Thomas Knight and James Shockley signing as witnesses to a land deal in Union Co., SC,  February 28, 1794. I have no way of knowing if this is the same woman, if it is the same woman she is about 21 years old at the signing. There is a trail of Knights and Shockleys in the upstate and in North Carolina. The Shockleys have a plot in the Warrior Creek Cemetery beside the Knight family’s. Silas’s last pastorate was at Harmony Church in Laurens County. I went to Harmony Church with my father, we found only four Knights in the cemetery, and all were buried in the twentieth century, probably distant relatives. We did see a plaque located at the entrance to the church which reads: Dedicated to the memory of Silas Knight, the first preacher of Harmony Baptist Church. Silas’s first wife was Sallie Smith. I know very little about Sally other than that she was born on June 13, 1806. She had thirteen children. and died on April 12th 1868. The 1850 census lists her as Sallie. The 1860 census lists her as Sarah so I think she was named Sarah Sallie. She is buried at Warrior Creek Baptist Church in Laurens. Her tombstone reads: In Memory of Sallie Smith, wife of Rev. Silas Knight...  In May of 1870 Silas remarried, this time to the widow Sarah Holcomb. He was 66 and she was 41. Her maiden name was Edwards. I don’t know who her parents were, just that she was the widow of Bradley Holcomb and had a minor son named John and three other children, Virgil Earl, Jefferson Davis, and Louisa Ann. John was 15 when they married. In years to come Silas named John as one of the executors of his Last Will and Testament. Silas and Sarah had one child together, a girl named Fannie Emma born in 1873. After Silas’s death Sarah sued his estate because she had had a house left to her by her first husband and when she married Silas they sold her house. The proceeds of the sell were deposited by Silas in their accounts. When he died she had to prove that that portion of the money was hers from a previous marriage, which she did and the funds were set aside from the rest of the estate. It didn’t seem to be a fight, just necessary litigation. I also discovered some church histories in a book called “Quakers in Laurens Co.” I don’t know why the Baptist are listed in this book but, so be it. This book is also available at the SC Archives in Columbia. Here are two short histories that mention Silas Knight. Harmony Church The majority of the first settlers came to this country for religious freedom. One group of Scotch-Irish exiles brought with them to upper Laurens County deep-rooted spiritual ideals and planted them securely in an organization called Harmony Church. The principles practiced in the formative years have been zealously preserved by succeeding generations. It was in 1844 that this group of people felt the need of a meeting place more substantial than the brush arbor if they were to attract enough members to unite as a church. These people were both Baptist and Presbyterians, and each denomination felt its dependence upon the other. Near a spring on land donated by John Halk, the Baptists and Presbyterians felled trees, cleared the underbrush and built a frame structure-- one oblong room. It most appropriately could have been called the “Share Ye Church,” for both denominations shared and shared alike in all phases. The Presbyterians used the building on the second and fourth Sundays; and the Baptist, on the first and third, with special provisions made for an occasional fifth Sunday appearing on the calendar. They worshipped together for special events and the young enjoyed joint participation. The name Harmony had been agreed upon. After the ninety-year-old building was burned, the two groups were advised to erect separate houses. Instead they went ahead with plans to replace the one-room building with a substantial brick structure to be used jointly. For purposes of identification the Presbyterians adopted the name New Harmony, while the Baptist retained the original name Harmony. The spirit of brotherly love was not modified in any way. Memorial tablets honoring the first two pastors have been added; one is to the Reverend Silas Knight, the Baptist Minister, donated by a Presbyterian member; and the other, to the Reverend John McKittrick, the Presbyterian pastor, donated by a Baptist member. The deed recorded in the county courthouse named as trustees of the property “ Elders of the Presbyterians and Deacons of the Baptist Church, Share and Share A-Like” Friendship Baptist Church The Reverend Silas Knight and the Reverend D.C. Freeman, missionaries from the American Sunday School Union, came to Gray Court in the spring of 1882 and organized a Sunday school made up of forty members. The group met in a nearby shop, and J. W. Riddle served as the first superintendent. During the summer, prayer meetings were held followed by a revival which brought thirty-two new members into the group. In September of that year Austin Cheek gave three acres of land for a church site, and a small wooden structure was begun. Long seats were arranged down the center or the sanctuary with shorter seats on each side. An “Amen corner: of three seats on each side of the pulpit was included in the building plan. The Reverend Freeman served as pastor, and Saturdays were specified as conference days. If a member of the church failed to live up to his church vows, a committee was appointed to see him and help him to overcome his wrong doing. In more recent years the original building has been enlarged and brick veneered. A vestibule has been added; and the interior, redecorated.
Well that’s about it.
Richard Knight

My E-mail addesss is: Rknight846@aol.com
 

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