Knight, John

  • Quakers who were U.E. Loyalists by: Randy Saylor @ https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~saylormowbray/genealogy/quakerloyalists.pdf
    • BIRTH 4 AUG 1740
    • DEATH 28 SEP 1769, Penfield, New Brunswick
    • Beaver Harbor and Pennfield, a settlement just inland, are located on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy just east of Passamaquoddy Bay. Following the Revolutionary War, this group of Quakers left well-established farms in the United States on account of persecutions and confiscations of their properties, and sailed for Beaver Harbour at Pennfield on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy in NB.
    • They all were in New York City and were considered Loyalists. It is not clear if they were all disowned by their meetings. In the history of the Society of Friends, the Pennfield settlement is unique both for its Loyalist identification and its antislavery stance. Although there were other Quaker ventures in the maritime provinces, the settlement at Pennfield is considered an anomaly because its designation as ‘Loyalist’ is a contradiction in Quaker terms.
    • Joshua and John Knight, were convicted of treason by the American colony and disowned by the Society of Friends in 1777. They were among those who had sought protection in New York. Their families had joined them there when their lands were confiscated by authorities. Joshua Knight was acknowledged as the leader of the Quaker settlement. It is not known how Joshua Knight was reinstated as a Quaker. Beaver Harbour was the first avowed anti-slavery settlement in North America. In June 1783, there was a New York City newspaper advertisement for those “belonging to the Society commonly called Quakers, and to those who have had a birthright among them, and now wish topromote that society, and have made a return of their names in order to be removed to the River St Johns”. The meeting was attended by 48 men and one widow. Joshua Knight became their leader. In August, 21 of the men and their families sailed to the Maritimes.
    • It is a complicated story. There was much hardship, the land they were granted was poor for agriculture. A June 1785 meeting of Suffering for Pennsylvania and New Jersey expressed concern for members “lately settled at Nova Scotia [New Brunswick was formed from Nova Scotia in 1784], there being among them women and children who are members of our Society and have been under the necessity of following their husbands and parents.” This implies the men may have been disowned. Joseph Moore, a Pennsylvania Quaker visited Beaver Harbor to assess their needs. He reported in March 1787 that there were upwards of 40 persons members of our religious Society. Supplies were sent later that year. Following that, London also sent supplies.
    • In 1790 a fire destroyed most of the settlement and some of the Quaker community declined to continue to live at Pennfield. The settlement was visited by Joshua Evans and Timothy Rogers (1795) and Joseph Hoag in 1801. The settlement continued in a reduced state. No record has been found to indicate that Pennfield meeting was recognized as being under any Monthly Meeting. Regardless, Pennfield was the home to a significant number of Quakers and disowned Quakers who received land as Loyalists and sympathy and support for the Philadelphia meetings.Some Pennfield Loyalist Quakers end up in Upper Canada.
  • Loyalist in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=4492
  • Find A Grave: Cannot locate