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William KNIGHT,^{1 2} son of Daniel KNIGHT ( - ) and Margaret WILLIAMS ( - ), was born on 20 Sep 1789 in St. Nicholas, Liverpool, England. He was baptised on 24 Nov 1789 in St. Nicholas. He was a Mariner. He married Elizabeth LEMMON on 1 Apr 1820 in St. Peter's Church, Church St., Liverpool, England.^{3 4} by Banns.

There existed a number of people by the name of William Knight in Liverpool between 1800 and the late 1800's and it has been difficult to reliably identify William and his family, particularly in the early 1800's. However some facts exist. Crosbie St., Liverpool was given as the residence and William's occupation was given as mariner in all of the children's baptisms, over 10 years, 1820-1830. neither he nor his wife could write, evidenced by their signing the marriage document with a cross. And William was alive in 1842 as daughter Margaret's immigration documents indicate. Other information is less reliable.

We do know that, living in housing in Wapping by the Liverpool docks was very basic, unsanitary and rough. A later description is "In 1803, the whole district as far as Parliament Street, and beyond, was covered with streets, and to a great extent with houses. The bane of Liverpool, the erection of narrow unwholesome court-houses was here suffered to a most pernicious extent. Various changes have taken place and much of the property has been removed for commercial purposes and public improvements, but the original vice still clings to the locality, rendering almost abortive the adoption of effectual sanitary measures". Crosbie Street maps show Roperies (rope works) adjacent to street in 1801. "Crosbie Street is the site of the ropery of Messrs. Crosbies and Siddalls." By the 1833 maps Crosbie Street, in the Wapping area of Liverpool docks, had been converted to a goods train station. "The construction of the Wapping railway tunnel commenced in 1827 and encompassed Crosbie Street as an end terminal of the famous Liverpool to Manchester Railway Line. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway began in Liverpool at Wapping, very near to the Queen's Dock. A part of it extended to Crosbie Street and ended at the junction of Liverpool Road and Water Street in Manchester at the terminus (passenger station at the end of the line). The original goods station was built at Wapping Station opposite the Kings Dock in Liverpool and was connected to the main line of the Liverpool to Manchester Railway." William's son William was born in 1827 and George in 1830, residence Crosbie Street, adjacent to this construction, presumably. "The Railway Station, now extending from Wapping to Park Railway Lane along Crosbie Street, was established after the tunnel was st constructed in 1831. From its modest commencement it has gradually enlarged its borders to its present gigantic dimensions. "(1875). Crosbie street had disappeared under Wapping Goods station, but reappears as Kings Dock Street in the present day.

Another major event which may have affected this family was Cholera. "Asiatic cholera reached Britain for the first time in late 1831, with the main epidemic occurring during 1832. The disease caused profuse diarrhea, severe dehydration, collapse, and often death. There was widespread public fear, and the political and medical response to this new disease was variable and inadequate."A cholera epidemic was evident again in 1849 and crosbie Street was heavily infected.Living in court housing was very unsanitary and Crocbie Street in 1849 had 24 courts in a short street. An article "The court and cellar dwelling: The 18th century origin of the Liverpool slum" focuses on Crosbie Street, where the Knight children were born. "The courts on this street are fairly typical of those added in the areas of working-class accretion during the 1780s. Crosbie Street has been selected for this reason and because of its reputation for a degree of squalor and immorality which singled it out for mention on several occasions during the public health agitation of the 1840s. " Sanitary provision was minimal even eighty years after construction (Table II), there being on average one privy to six houses (Figure 10). The privies listed in 1863 were earth middens and not water closets, there being few street sewers until the 1850s. Furthermore, the front houses were without yards and the inhabitants of these houses had to use the privies and ashpits of courts. As the council did not take on the responsibility of court cleansing until 1846, the state of these areas which served between 60 and 100 people can be appreciated only by reading the eye- (and nose-!) witness accounts of the middle-class visitors. Cleansing even by the inhabitants was made almost impossible by the lack of paving, the ground consisting of earth or cinders."

And regarding population density "At the microlevel these densities can be translated into yards per person and in 1841 Fir Court, containing 118 inhabitants, had 1,1/3 square yards per person and Oak Court 1,1/4 square yards per person."

The 1841 census does not indicate that the family were living together anywhere in Liverpool, although various names of family members are scattered amongst other families. No verifiable information, however.

Liverpool census in 1851 has a William Knight,lodger at Frederick St., Court 25. He is a mariner, a widower, born Liverpool,age 60 or possibly 40. Living with 2 mariners wives and their 2 children. If it is our William Knight, then his wife has died or something else between 1830 and 1851, and William was born around 1791.^{5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12},

Elizabeth LEMMON, daughter of Isaac LEMON (1750-1819) and Elizabeth REYNOLDS (1756-1810), was born on 4 Dec 1799.¹³ She was baptised on 1 Jan 1800 in St. Nicholas.^{14 13 15} IGI.

The wider Lemon family have some Jewish background according to research done by Suzanna Edkins. This is confirmed to be through Isaac Lemon.

No definitive death can be found for Elizabeth.¹⁶

Elizabeth LEMMON and William KNIGHT had the following children: