Amy Johnson Crow, on her blog No Story Too Small, has challenged her fellow bloggers to post 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. This is week twenty-seven.
My great-great-great grandmother, Maria Knight, was born sometime around 1823 in Montreal. I have found a record for a Mary Knight born on September 5, 1821 to William and Helen Knight, but I am not yet sure if it’s the same Maria.
On April 30, 1838, Maria Knight married David Salter:
David Salter of Montreal, tinsmith, and Maria Knight also of Montreal were after publication of Banns united in Holy matrimony on the thirtieth day of April in the year of our Lord on thousand eight hundred and thirty eight in the presence of the subscribing witnesses by me,
E Botterell, minister.
By the 1850 US census, finds David (32), Maria (26) along with Jane (8), Henrietta (4) and William (2), living in Rensselaer, NY. They are living with two other families and David is a tinsmith. The census states the family is from England. What the census doesn’t show are the three young children – Richard, Sarah and Louisa – who died between 1842 and 1846.
On the 1855 New York census, David (40) and Maria (34), along with Jane (12), Henrietta (9), William (7) and Charles (3), are found in Troy City, Ward 1, in Rensselaer. David is a coppersmith and the family is noted to have been living in Rensselaer for seven years, which would suggest an arrival date of around 1848.
By the 1861 census the family is back in Canada. David (46) and Maria (39) are shown along with their children Jane (18), Henrietta (15), William (12), and Charles (9).
The family moved around fairly frequently. City directories from 1864, 1865 and 1873 show them living at 132 George Street. And the 1871 census finds the family there: David Salter (56), a tinsmith, along with Maria (48). William (23) is now a printer and Charles (18) is a jeweller. Also at home are Jane (26) and Henrietta (24). By 1877, city directories show the family at 15 Mayor Street.
Maria Knight died on August 6, 1879.
