Name Index

Myron Wesley Knox was born May 1, 1855 in Attica, New York, the son of Norman L. Knox. He married Hattie Elizabeth Gardiner (May 11, 1860; d: September 12, 1934) in Pleasant Valley, MN in July of 1879. He died November 9, 1922 in Bemidji, Minnesota.

Helen (Knox) Northup writes, concerning him:

My grandfather's name was Myron Wesley Knox. He was born May 1st 1855 and died Nov. 9th 1922. Since I was born in 1918 I do not remember him but from pictures I know he was a stocky ,rather plump old man at the time of his death with a big bushy mustache. The only picture I remember seeing was one taken outside of our house and he was holding my brother Elroy who was one year younger than me and my sister Norma was the baby. They were living in the house in Bemidji at 12th and Park where my Dad lived later and used for his headquarters during the day when he was operating his creamery- grocery truck route. They originally lived in New Yorkstate Wyoming County and moved to southern Minn where they farmed near Redwood Falls where my dad was born. They came up to Beltrami County in 1903 when the area was opened up for homesteading. They brought up their household goods by oxen. they first homesteaded in Nebish township back behind where Coffin's live each of my Grandparents and my Grandmother's Mother, (Nancy Jane Ralyea) homesteading a forty acre lot. Later they traded these forties for the three on Ten Mile Lake. My Grandfather farmed but he was also a carpenter ; was a county commissioner at one time and also on the school board when the first Pleasant Valley School was built in about 1909 one mile west of where the Pleasant Valley church now stands; and of course in 1921 when the big Pleasant Valley School was built (now belonging to my son, Darien Northup) was very much involved in the planning and actual building . Five of their seven daughters became school teachers and their oldest son Charles taught school and was involved with selling textbooks to school districts in later years. The Knox School in Thief River Falls was named after him. They had built a small school where they first homesteaded also called the Watson or Rice Dam school. While my mother was teaching in the Pleasant Valley school before she married my father in 1916 my Aunt Carol (Knox) was teaching in that school. Carol later married Paul Larson and they owned Larson Boat Works in Little Falls, Minnesota.

I remember my grandmother quite well as she spent her last few years with my Uncle Carl and Aunt Marjorie Jones and she died there in 1934, Sept 12. Her funeral was held in the Pleasant Valley School as there was no church in our community at that time. I was 16 at that time and my future husband, Vyron Northup had just come up to our area from Ottertail County to visit his aunt and uncle (the Claude Claypools ) and remained to marry me and settle in Pleasant Valley.

My grandmother's name was Hattie Elizabeth Gardner Knox. I will here include an excerpt from a letter I received from a Mrs Robert Shaw who taught school in PV in 1908 and wrote this about my grandmother:
"And here I want to pay tribute to Mrs .Knox. She, mother of 11, was never too busy to spread cheer and encouragement and possessing the valuable gift of of inspiring each one to do his best. We cannot over estimate the value of such a woman to her family, friends, and community."

A couple of little anecdotes handed down about my grandparents: One time some former neighbors from New York State were visiting and my grandfather and his friend were out in the cornfield admiring the tall beautiful crop. After awhile they heard the friend holler, "Myron, where be ye?" and my Grandfather Hollered back, "Here I be! Where be ye?!!!"

One time my grandfather was out in a field by their log house and a young bull got him down on the ground. My grandmother was hauling some milk pails and separator parts back to the house to be washed . She started running out there when she heard my grandfather holler pulling the little wagon behind her rattling and flashing in the sunshine , Hearing and seeing this strange apparition rattling toward him, The bull took off running thus saving my grandfather's life !!

Then, I also have this letter from Larry Watkins:

My name is Larry Watkins. I am the grandson of Laurence Edmund Knox. I've been researching for twenty years now and I just ran across your website and it was a real treat. Maybe you can help me correct some of the information about my grandfather. Laurence is with a U, like my name. Laurence met Mabel A. Grape on a train going to CA. Laurence and Mabel married and had three girls; Shirley(my mom), Patricia and Gloria. Mabel had three children from a previous marriage; Bernard, Dorothy and Jeanne Cook. Barney Cook died early. They all lived in Los Angeles where Laurence or Larry as they called him was the general manager of the Carnation Company. He was president of the California Dairy Council and the California Diary Institute. He was also a member of the prestigous Jonathan Club. He got my father, Glen Watkins, a job as a milkman but later he hired him to open the Carnation stores in Disneyland in 1955. I have two sister's Jill and Karen. I have a photo of a Knox reunion in L.A. in the 1940's at my grandfather's house with a lot of Knox's in it. I have alot more information and photos. I have also been researching the Gardner's because my great great grandfather is Wing Chase Gardner. I'm trying to track him down. Another interesting character is the Scottish sheriff from Mississippi, John T. Knox, Norman's father. He bought up every single piece of property he could get his hands on and was later killed by his enemies. I got Nancy Jane Cooley( Jane N. Relyea married John Relyea) in Wyoming Co., New York in 1870 and 1880 with Bertha and Hattie. In 1990, Jane N. lived with her brothers Alonzo and Gilbert in Livingston, N.Y.

Charlie Northup, being something of a Historian, adds the following:

Knoxes homesteaded in 1903. The Leech Lake/Red Lake trail came around the north end of Ten Mile Lake. It continued along the East side of Ten Mile Lake, Then West of Boston Lake before it headed back East Through Naylors duck pass, Staying on the North of Mud Lake, angleing south east, North of Lake Julia and Crane lake, Too come out on the top of the world, over Dickinsons Ski Hill. The Obrien Trail went East from the leech Lake/Red Lake trail, Starting in the middle of Knoxs' South feild, (right through that gap with the ditch in it, that we used to drive the tractor through to pass from the south feild, by the lake, too the south feild by the Pleasant Valley Road) This trail headed East accross Glen Thompsons (Rons land) passed WhiteFish lake (On the North) and on to end where the fire tower used to be on the BlackDuck highway (County #32) Where O'Brien built his homestead, and the Township was named after him. Now, you may visualize sitting on Great GrandFathers front porch looking south down the Indian road, towards where they first homesteaded, (one quarter mile East of Charlie Coffin, and somewhere between a Quarter mile and a half mile south of Charlies place, on the Mud river,(They only had Forty acres there) Where Grandpa and the older sisters and brothers went to school at the Rice lake Dam School) Look off to the right and watch all the people heading up and down the Indian trail. Now, there is a lot of activity in the community, what with all the logging going on, on the Mud River, with The old Town of Nebish Pumping out saw timbers, full bore, That O'Brien trail is just a steady string of people comming and going (until the timber was pretty well used up in 1926) The other side of the issue is, The Nebish rail road continued into Bemidji in 1905, so they took the bulk of the traffic. The logging railroad was put into Island lake the same year (1905) so camp # 4 , and all the logging camps around island lake were started then and were used until 1916 Pretty steady. The road from Island Lake, through camp # 4 , past where they built the Ten Mile lake school, continued past the Pinetree corner (well known all over the state) and on over through old Nebish, on into New Nebish.

A couple of side remarks, The indian word for "Mud" is "Puposky" and the Indian word for "Tea" is "Nebish"
For what ever that's worth.
Hope I havn't bored you TOO much.
Love Chuck Myron Wesley Knox page is under construction. Please check back often for updates.

Myron and Hattie (Gardiner) Knox Family

Children of Myron and Hattie Knox

Charles Wesley Knox b: March 16, 1882 m. Antoinette Bellig (d: February 20, 1950) d: 1967
Shirley Ina Knox b: November 28, 1887 m. William Hart d: February 1, 1959
Ethel Lucinda Knox b: December 21, 1889 m. William Betts; May 1, 1912 d: July 14, 1977
Marjorie Lee Knox b: July 27, 1891 m. Harry Carl Jones (b: August 9, 1891, d: September 1960) June 27, 1917 d: February 1965
Nellie Golden Knox b: August 16, 1892 m. Carl Ludke d: November 16, 1967
Norman Lewis Knox B. 7 Apr 1894 M. Esther Clara Viola FLEISHMAN 21 Jun 1917 Puposky, Minnesota Died 1958??
Carol Bird Knox b: July 3, 1896 m: July 27, 1927; Paul Gordon Larson d: April 1987
Laurence Edmund Knox b: October 26, 1898 M. 1.) Lila Lee
2.) Mildred (Knox) ?
d: May 14, 1956
Bess June Knox b: June 6, 1901 m: December 28, 1967; Herman Keating d: March 18, 1989
Donald Leslie Knox b: August 25, 1904 m. Margaret (Peggy) (b: January 24, 1908; d: August 1, 1956) d: December 1, 1966
Florence Lucille Knox b: October 26, 1907 M. Charles Trelogan d: April 21, 1981

Knox Family Reunion in California