The Knowles Story

William and Isabella Knowles Chapters

Unpublished William Knowles
Obituary/Eulogy - March 1897

by Dave Jordan

Background

Chuck Jordan's November 1977 letter to me about the Jordans and Knowles included some information about William Wallace Knowles' obituary.

….. "The Knowles family came from the same part of Ireland, although I had been told that when my Grandfather Knowles died that the death notice in the paper gave his birthplace as Edinburgh, Scotland. I do not know how to confirm this, although I was given to understand that he was a joiner, i.e., being a businessman he belonged to all the organizations that helped his business grow, such as: The Masons, The Orangemen, etc."

No obituary was found in a search of the Chicago Daily News and Chicago Tribune for March 25-29, 1897. However, the following obituary or eulogy was part of a cache of documents saved from that period by the Knowles/ Leonhardt family. It appears to be part obituary, part eulogy.

Obituary

Jan 27

William Wallace Knowles, ex-Captain of the First Regiment Royal Scots of Chicago and one of the most prominent Scottish residents of the City died last night at his home, 5744 Wabash Avenue. He had been in ill health for a year, and during the past three months grew rapidly worse. Mr. Knowles was born forty-six years ago in Aershire County, Scotland and came to Canada when a boy. During the Louis Riel rebellion he was a Sergeant of the Manitoba Mounted Police. About nine years ago, Mr. Knowles came to Chicago and engaged in the tailoring business, which he has since followed. Since 1889 he has lived in Englewood.

The deceased leaves a widow, two daughters, Mrs. Margaret Jordan and Muriel age 10 and a son Wilfred 9. Besides his connection with the Royal Scots, he was a member of the A.F.A.M Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Independent Foresters and Knights of the Red Cross. Funeral service will be held Saturday afternoon at the house, Rev. F. J. Walton, Pastor of Trinity Reformed Episcopal church officiating. The remains will be interred at Oakwoods Cemetery.

March 27th, 1897

Comments

William Wallace Knowles died of tuberculosis on March 24, 1897 and was buried on March 27, 1897. The date on the top of the obituary/eulogy is January 27 but the date at the end of the document is March 27th 1897. The phrase "died last night" and "Funeral Service will be held Saturday" suggest this document was intended as an obituary since he died March 24th. However, the March 27th date suggests the document could also be part of a eulogy at his funeral. Probably it was some of both. Written initially on January 27th, William probably knew he was dying of tuberculosis with no hope of recovery. Thus he and his wife, Sarah probably collaborated on an obituary, and changes were made along the way.
Spelling is as it is in the original document. The current spelling of Aershire is Ayrshire.
William Knowles was born December 28, 1848 making him 48 and not 46 years old at the time of his death. William was born in Kildrumferton, Cavan County, Ireland and not Ayrshire County, Scotland. However, it is believed he is Scottish and Ayrshire may well be the place of birth of his father or grandfather. A place of birth in Ireland even though of Scottish heritage might not be what William wanted to portray.
It is known that William was in the North West Mounted Police from 1873-1876. It is unclear why Manitoba Mounted Police was written, as there was no such organization. The Louis Riel rebellion is quite famous and took place in 1885. This was a major rebellion in Saskatchewan and the NWMP were called upon to help the local militia. Given the urgency of the crisis, it is possible that William was re-activated almost 10 years after he was discharged from the NWMP. He would have been about 35.
The phrase "About 9 years before" suggests that William arrived in Chicago about 1887. A William Knowles (Tailor) is listed at 3400 Emerald for 1887 in the Chicago Directory, and a William Knowles (Tailor) is listed at 5734 Wabash for 1890. The 5734 Wabash address is in Englewood and is the home he stayed in until his death.
Muriel Knowles was born March 20, 1886 in Montreal and Wilfred March 14, 1887. If the text were written in January 1897, the ages would be correct.
The First Regiment of Royal Scots, organized in 1893 was a kilted drill corps that was a Scottish pipe and drum band.

Notes

Initial Web Publication Date: 5/1/2003
Modified:
Desktop Master file: Stories_Knowles