Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Knight, Stanley |
Othernames |
"Stan" Full name was Fulton Stanley Burns Knight |
Born |
03/28/1883 |
Birthplace |
Meaford, Grey County |
Places of residence |
Town of Meaford, Grey County In Saskatchewan for 3 years (early 1900s) |
Titles & honors |
Circa 2015, "The Stanley Knight Heritage Society" exists |
Father |
George Thomas Knight (b. 1849-d. 1929) |
Mother |
Sarah Knight (nee Bannan) d. 1932 |
Nationality |
Canadian |
Education |
Meaford Public School (M.P.S.) |
Notes |
Fulton Stanley Burns Knight was born on March 28, 1883, in Grey County. Apparently he preferred to be known as Stanley Knight. His father, George T. Knight, was a woodworker, furniture maker and carriagemaker in Sydenham and St. Vincent, and later lived in the town of Meaford. Stanley's grandfather, Alfred Knight, who emigrated in 1844, had moved to the Queen's Bush in 1847, after a short while residing in the Newmarket area. The Knight family originated from Wales and Alfred Knight was English-born (May, 1821), in London, England. Alfred married Martha Luton, a Quaker woman who lived in Newmarket. They lived at Lot 1, Concession 1, South of the Centre Road, in Sydenham Township, on a hundred-acre farm. After Martha Knight died in 1872, Alfred purchased a home at Lot 20, Concession 6, in St. Vincent Township and moved his family there. Stanley's father, George T. Knight, was listed in the 1891 census as a Cabinetmaker, and he also owned a planing factory at Meaford c. 1893. George T. Knight & Sons made wooden ship helms, and __________________. The family business was at ______________ Meaford, until 19__. In the 1901 census, Stanley was recorded as "age 18" and working as a Cabinetmaker at Meaford. At the time of his marriage, he was working as a "Turner" (wood-turner). He married Louise Victoria Lewis at Thornbury, Grey County, on April 28, 1909 (Rev. E. Appleyard officiated). Stanley was 26 years old and was a resident of Meaford. Louise was twenty and the daughter of James Lewis and Susannah Lewis (nee Vickers). Louise passed away in 1926, in her 37th year, succumbing to pneumonia after childbirth. Stanley was left with four sons and a daughter. They were Ivan, Burton (Dick), James, Victor (b. 1926), and Rosalie. He married Eva Marie Lawrence in 19__. Another son, David, was born in 19__. There was another daughter, Maureen, born in 19__. Stanley Knight served as Mayor of Meaford from 1944 to 1949. In February, 1949, he was one of the dignitaries present at the opening of the new and modern Meaford Public School building. He had attended the previous Meaford Public School, which was built in the 19th-century. Stanley was very interested in local history, and he and Frank Harding did a lot of work collecting information and images pertaining to the history of Meaford and its local families. He also collected some artifacts. He and Frank worked on the DIARY OF PETER FULLER publication of 1959. Stanley Knight passed away on May 1, 1964. Many of the images he had collected were later published in 1986 in the book PICTORIAL MEAFORD, which was printed by Stanley Knight Limited. Some of the images he had collected are also seen in UPWARDS TO THE STARS (a history of the Meaford High School by Gary McEachern). Stanley liked to provide Christmas gifts to schoolchildren. There are a couple images in PICTORIAL MEAFORD that show this philanthropic endeavour. There also was a group called "The Stanley Knight Glee Club" in town in the 1960s. Stanley Knight Limited was located at 226 Boucher Street North in Meaford. It manufactured "Beaver Brand" hardwood flooring. In 2015, the old brick factory building is emptied of most of its former contents, and is slated for demolition. There are images of the exterior of the building in PICTORIAL MEAFORD. Mr. Knight had moved his business there in 1937. The following is his obituary: "Meaford was bereaved of one of its best-known citizens on Friday May 1st, in the passing at Meaford General Hospital, of local industrialist and former Mayor, Mr. F. Stanley Knight. He was in his 82nd year. In August, 1962, Mr. Knight suffered a rather severe stroke, which left him restricted in his ability to communicate with others and just a week prior to his passing, he had received a broken hip through a fall at his home on Sykes Street. He was born in Meaford, the son of the late George T. Knight, for many years a local builder, and the late Mrs. Sarah (Bannan) Knight. He attended Meaford Public School and was an errand boy from the age of 10 for the Butchart Hardware. In 1899 he began the trade that occupied his lifetime, taking employment as an apprentice in his father's Planing Mill. Mr. Knight remained in Meaford throughout his lifetime with the exception of a three year stint in the early 1900's as a builder of barns while homesteading in Saskatchewan. Mr. Knight was predeceased in 1926 by his first wife, the former Victoria Lewis of Thornbury. He is survived by his wife, the former Eva Marie Lawrence, five sons, Ivan, Burton (Dick), James and Victor, all of Meaford, David of Toronto, and two daughters Rosalie (Mrs. Wm. Sims of Meaford), and Maureen, of Abilene, Texas. There are 18 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Also surviving are four brothers and a sister, Arthur, Fred, Howard, Hugh and Mary (Mrs. Ben Bishton) all of Meaford. He was predeceased by a brother Reginald in 1944. All seven children of the late George T. Knight have remained in Meaford; all of the sons remaining in the woodworking business. The manufacturing business founded by the late Mr. Stanley Knight traces its beginnings to the depression years of the hungry 30's when Mr. Knight launched a new career for himself in the Hardwood Flooring Industry with a capital of $23.56. At that time, at the age of 51, he began the manufacture of hardwood flooring in a small plant erected on Edwin Street. Through a determination to succeed in those lean years, he built his business to the point where in 1937 he took over the defunct plant on Boucher Street, formerly operated by the Seaman Kent Company Limited. It was on May 1st, 1937, 27 years to the day before his death, that the machines began turning out hardwood flooring in the Boucher Street plant. In 1940, complete and modernized flooring machinery was installed and a rigid policy of Mr. Knight has since been to keep abreast of modern methods of manufacture with the latest of equipment. Today shipments of his Meaford product are made throughout the North American continent, Great Britain, and Europe. Mr. Knight was the founder of Stanley Knight Limited, Meaford Woodenwares Limited, Stanley Knight Development Limited and the Knight Press, which businesses are presently carried on by four of his sons. The late Mr. Knight was Mayor of Meaford from July, 1944 to July, 1949, which period saw the War's end and the post war growth in Meaford. He is remembered as a fighter for Common Sense Planning locally and although many found themselves quickly challenged by Mr. Knight, he almost invariably has been the better respected for it. Forseeing the need for housing in Meaford in 1948, Mr. Knight developed the area then known as the Old Station Hill on the South side of Meaford and today many fine homes are located in this area, including the recently-completed Olivet Baptist Church. Mr. Knight liked children, and in 1947, he "adopted" 400 school children and treated them annually and on their birthdays for several years. For many years he sponsored the local Christmas party for school children. Mr. Knight was for many years interested in local history, and in 1955 was Chairman of the Meaford and St. Vincent Centennial Celebrations. A collector of many artifacts and pioneer relics, he was at the time of his death, close to publication of a two volume history and pictorial of Meaford and St. Vincent. A hobby was writing poetry and there are several volumes of his manuscripts from which some selections have been published and distributed. Another hobby was the Knight Family Tree, on which considerable work has been done and which has been of great interest to many hundreds of the Knight Clan in this country and abroad. The late Mr. Knight had a wide following of friends in the lumber and machinery trade on both sides of the border. In 1957, he gained widespread attention through an advertising stunt which took the form of several "inter-stellar" communications and the subsequent selling of "official" signed and sealed deeds to lots on the moon. Many hundreds of persons in Canadian lumber circles are the proud possessors of these very formal looking deeds and a complete thesis on "Moonalia". A sound businessman with a keen memory for facts, Mr. Knight was often sought for guidance in matters of business. He had a wide knowledge of local land survey and has assisted many in matters of question. Mr. Knight was a member of Christ Church (Anglican). A private funeral for members of the immediate family was held Monday, May 5th, from the Gardiner Funeral Chapel, with Rev. R. A. Coupland conducting the service. Interment was at Lakeview Cemetery. Pallbearers were his five sons and son-in-law." |
Occupation |
Wood Turner / Cabinetmaker / Woodworker The Knight Manufacturing & Lumbering Co. Manufacturer (Hardware Flooring) George T. Knight & Sons Stanley Knight Limited Mayor of Meaford (1944-1949) Local Historian / Collector The Stanley Knight Glee Club (1960s) Chairman of the Meaford and St. Vincent Centennial Celebrations Geneaologist Stanley Knight Development Limited Meaford Woodenwares Limited Founder of The Knight Press (print shop) |
Publications |
"Stanley Knight Dies At Age 81: Well Known Ex Mayor And Industrialist Buried on Monday", MEAFORD EXPRESS, May 7, 1964. Cowie, Doris, KNIGHTS FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. Published by Stanley Knight Ltd.,1975 (includes images of Stanley Knight) PICTORIAL MEAFORD (p. 112, 126, 136, 296, has images of the exterior of the factory building, and there is a photo portrait of Stanley Knight around the time he was Mayor) Ontario Birth Record 010887 "One of Finest in Ontario Hon. Dana Porter Says Opening Meaford School", OWEN SOUND SUN TIMES, Feb. 7, 1949 (mentions a speech by Stanley Knight welcoming the guests to the opening of the new school) |
Relationships |
Grandfather: Alfred Knight, d. April 2, 1909 Grandmother: Martha Knight (nee Luton) d. Dec. 1, 1872 18 grandchildren Brother: Reginald Knight Brother: Arthur W. Knight (d. 1970) Brother: Fred Allan (Freddy) Knight, b. Nov. 18, 1880 Brother: Howard Dean Knight, b. Feb. 27, 1885 Brother: Hugh C. Knight Sister: Mary E. Knight (m. Ben Bishton) In-laws: James Lewis and Susannah Lewis (nee Vickers) Uncle: Edward B. Knight (b. Woodford, d. 1944) Uncle: Henry Knight Aunt: Emma Knight (Mrs. Dean) |
Role |
Business person |
Spouse |
1. Louise Victoria Lewis, m. April 28, 1909, 2. Eva Marie Lawrence |
Children |
Ivan Knight Kenneth Burton (Dick) Knight b. 1918 James Knight David Knight Victor Lewellyn Knight b. 1926 (m. Elinore Young Eagles) Rosalie Knight (m. William Sims) Maureen Knight |
