Knight Family Reunion – 2004 - Pictures are below

A Final Report

November 16, 2004

It was a long time in coming, but come it did on November 6, 2004, in the beautifully landscaped area among the pecan trees surrounding Pineola Farms, the site of the Knight Family Reunion - 2004, just a short ten miles west of Fort Valley, Georgia.  This particular group, descendants of Reuben Walter and Minnie Priscilla Blewster Knight, last joined together for a smaller reunion in 1990.  The last sizable reunion was held more than 14 years ago, in 1987, at the home of Mary Hilke Knight Day and Charles Edward Day, in Monroe County, Georgia. 

Pineola Farms, which has a separate and distinct history of its own, relating to the Bassett and other families, was chosen as the site for the Knight Family Reunion, about a year ago, when its owners and residents, Knight descendants, agreed to host the reunion.  Those hosts, Delise Rochelle Chapman and Paul Howard Knight, were the linchpins for this reunion and, through their considerable efforts, from providing the facilities to arranging for the catering of the food, the affair was a family and genealogical success.

For those Knight Family members who had not had the pleasure of visiting Pineola Farms previously, Delise Knight provided a guided tour of their home and shared many historic details about the residence.  The restored home was originally built in1865 by Stephen Elisha Bassett, and each room has a separate history, and since the walls cannot talk, Delise provided every dramatic detail

Some Knight family members had an opportunity to renew acquaintances, while others used the occasion for first-time introductions.  Whatever the case, the more than 50 family members spent the entire day remembering relatives of the past, as well as some members who were not able to attend the reunion.  Oral family histories were told and retold, and although some details may have gone through some reengineering, pride for this small family line was in evidence throughout the day.

Although the reunion was entitled The Knight Family Reunion – 2004, the theme quickly became the First Cousins’ Reunion.  Those first cousins are Perry, Nelle, Howard, Mary, Verlyn, Richard, David, Caroline, Brian, and Lon Jr. – Knights all.  And the cousins, the majority of whom were in attendance, came from points throughout the United States, including Georgia, Florida, and Hawaii.  Three of the cousins – Richard, Brian, and Lon Jr. – were not able to attend, but kind words were said about them and they were well represented by the other cousins.

Some of our senior and most beloved family members – Lon Bishop Knight, his wife Caroline Hooten Knight, and Martha Thelma Knight [Duke] [Fletcher] – all of whom attended our 1987 and 1990 reunions - passed away during the intervening years.  The fact that these senior members of the Knight Family were no longer among us, had a somewhat unsettling affect on the first cousins because the younger family members now looked to them as the authorities on the Knight Family line.  Hopefully, and I believe they did, the first cousins represented themselves well in answering all the family questions that naturally arise during such occasions.

Although the reunion was dominated by the descendants of Reuben and Minnie Knight, we were very fortunate in having descendants of Reuben’s brother, Guy Lester Knight, join with us.  Guy Lester’s daughter Eunice Edna Knight and her niece, Jennifer Knight-Boyd and family, were among the early arrivals at the reunion, driving in from Bainbridge and Marietta, respectively.  Jennifer has done considerable genealogical research of the Guy Lester Knight and Hardison families, as well as others, and brought samplings of her research to share with the group.

In concert with the “first cousin” theme, a brochure was prepared for each first cousin and their descendants.  The brochures included a letter of welcome, an ancestry chart, copies of the original letter that announced the reunion, Knight Family Reunion Questions (to test everyone’s knowledge of the Knight Family history), and copies of  birth, marriage, and death records from Reuben’s and Minnie’s Bible.  Also available for viewing was a document entitled “Cowboy Soldier,” which consisted primarily of letters written by Benjamin Franklin Knight when he was in the United States Army at Fort Benning Georgia.  The letters are significant because they were written to his mother and father, Minnie and Reuben, and the contents of the letters touched on most other family members during the early 1920s.  Additionally, there was another document about Archibald Franklin Knight, great-grandfather of the first cousins, which contained extensive genealogical and historical details about the Knight Family from the mid-1800s to about 1923, when Archibald died.  And finally, we got to see “Buddy Lee” again, thanks to Verlyn and her son Charles Thomas, who brought the little legend along to the reunion.  “Buddy Lee” is the answer to question number 19 in the “Knight Family Reunion Questions – 2004,” in your reunion brochure. 

Other family members brought various photographs and memorabilia to share with the group.  Especially noteworthy were the letters and documents either written by or related to Walter Blewster Knight and Lon Bishop Knight that Priscilla Nelle Knight Howell and her son James Owen Howell, and his son Jacob, brought with them.  Nelle was born and raised, and still resides, in Laurens County Georgia.  Nelle and Owen also shared original historical documents, letters, and photographs, pertaining to the Perry Family, from which Nelle’s mother, Sallie Rebecca  Perry, had her origins.  On the lighter side was a paper containing various recipes and home remedies for various foods and afflictions, respectively.  A cure for dropsy and kidney trouble, which called for mullin leaves, roots, and “a small amount of liquor to keep it from turning sour,” just might turn out to be worse than the original affliction, even when taken at the rate of only “one tablespoon, three times a day.”

And with that, the curtain falls on the Knight Family Reunion – 2004.  As the day came to a close – much too quickly – reports indicate that the reunion was a success.  Much of the success can be attributed to our hosts – Paul and Delise Knight – and to them we owe a debt of gratitude and extend our appreciation for all their hard work.  During the final moments of the reunion, Paul and Delise said they would be willing to again be our hosts for a return engagement in another few years down the line.  Let’s keep that invitation in mind and let’s not wait too many years before staging our next reunion.  In the meantime, Paul has already posted Reunion - 2004 photographs on the Pineola Farms site - http://pineola.com/ - check ‘em out.

Pineola 1907

Thanks to everyone, especially Howard and Paula Knight for the pre-reunion luncheon and support all along the way, and please take care.    

Knight Family Reunion at Pineola - November 6, 2004   Click Picture To Enlarge