The Knowles Story

William and Jane Knowles Chapters

The William and Jane Knowles Story

by Dave Jordan

Our earliest known Knowles was William Knowles who was born in 1798, probably in Scotland. However, he lived in Ireland and at the time of his death he owned property in the Townland of Killyfassy in the Parish of Ballymachugh. William died at age 78 in September 1879 in Killyfassy. He was a farmer and his wife was named Jane. William and Jane lived in Cavan County, Ireland, a beautiful area with relatively rough terrain, filled with forests, bogs, and lakes.

William and Jane had a son, who was also named William, and for our story and to avoid confusion, he'll be referred to as William Knowles II and his father William Knowles I. Since William Knowles I was born in 1798, it is presumed William Knowles II was born between 1815 and 1820 in either Scotland or Ireland.

In the 1840s, William II met Jane Wallace of Duff Castle, Kildrumferton, Ireland. William Knowles II and Jane Wallace were married on 15 Nov 1847 at St. Patrick's, Kildrumferton, Cavan County, Ireland. Jane Wallace was born about May 1819 and was baptized at St. Patrick's Church in Kildrumferton on May 23, 1819. She was about 28 years old and was living in Duff Castle in the Parish of Crosserlough at the time of her marriage. Her parents were John and Mary Wallace and her father was a pensioner at the time.

William Knowles II was about 30 years old when he married. He was living in Granard, which is located in the Barony of Granard in the County of Longford. Granard is just south of Cavan County. William I his father was a farmer at the time. The 1857 Griffith Survey indicates only a single Knowles in all of Longford County. His name was George Knowles and he lived at 55 The Hill in Granard. It is possible that our William Knowles was related to him.

William Knowles II was a pensioner at the time of his marriage. This is of some interest as it is thought that one would be quite old to be a pensioner and it is thought that William II was only about 30. Thus William II may be older than guessed or perhaps he attained a military pension at a young age. Muriel Leonhardt's genealogy notes suggest that either he or his father was in the British Army. It might also be possible that William Knowles I born in 1798 was actually the William Knowles that married Jane Wallace in 1847. He would have been about age 50 at the time. While this is possible, it is not thought to be so, but will be kept under consideration.

William II and Jane had at least two children. They were:

  1. William Knowles born December 27, 1848. To avoid confusion he will be called William Knowles III. William III was baptized a few days later on December 31, 1848 at St. Patrick's, Kildrumferton, Cavan County, Ireland.
  2. Robert Knowles born in 1856 in Duff Castle, Kildrumferton.

These are their only known children but likely there were others, including a young woman whose picture is in our Mystery Photo Collection.

In 1857, William Knowles was the owner of two pieces of property in Duff Castle, Kildrumferton (Crosserlough). One was a small farm of just over an acre and the other was a house next to it. In 1857, he had rented the house. William Knowles was also a tenant on land he leased in Killyfassy, Ballymachugh from the Honorable Somerset Maxwell. This included a house, office and 16 plus acres.

One hypothesis is that William and Jane lived in the small house next to the one-acre farm in Duff Castle just after they were married. If so, this house would be where William (1848) and Robert (1856) were born. Perhaps the home was too small for the growing family and by 1857 they had moved to Killyfassy, choosing to rent out their Duff Castle home. Later testimonial letters indicate that their son William Wallace Knowles managed their father's farm in Killyfassy until 1872 and perhaps it is the same parcel as in the 1857 Griffith's Survey.

The period of the Knowles marriage was a particularly difficult period for farming in Ireland. During the four-year period between 1845 and 1848, potato crop failed three times because of a fungus. That event and the resulting decline since the early 1800s in the value of export cereal grains to Europe caused great economic stress and large numbers of Irish left. Cavan County was particularly hard hit between 1845-1847 just as William II and Jane married. The population of the county fell from around 240,000 in 1841 to about 175,000 by 1851 due primarily to the famine and resulting movement to other locations. However, somehow in the midst of all this William and Jane stayed and held several pieces of property. Their son, William III was still farming in the 1870s. So they must have prospered.

Around 1872, William III about age 24 left for Canada eventually moving to Chicago about 1887. His brother Robert also left Ireland, probably in the late 1880s and the two lived and worked together in Chicago during the 1880s and 1890s.

It appears that William II and Jane stayed in Ireland or traveled and settled in England after the boys left for North America. There are portrait photos of them in the Knowles Photo Collection taken in Liverpool in 1884. There is also an unusual picture taken with the Society of Buffaloes in Stonehouse, Devon, England. It is not known when William II and Jane died or where, but given the location of the pictures it is possible that they retired to England with one or more of their children.

Notes
  1. Initial Web Publication Date: 4/1/2003
  2. Modified:
  3. Desktop Master file: Stories_Knowles