Joseph Knight Sr. (November 26, 1772 – February 2, 1847) was a close associate of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

. Knight provided significant material support to Smith's translation and publication of the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

Life

Knight was born in Oakham, Massachusetts. In 1795, he married Polly Peck. By 1800 they were living in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. They moved to Colesville, New York, in 1808. Among Knight's children was

Newel Knight Newel Knight (September 13, 1800 – January 11, 1847) was a close friend of Joseph Smith and one of the first branch presidents in the Latter-day Saint movement. Born at Marlboro, Vermont, Knight was the son of Joseph Knight, Sr. and Polly Peck. ...

Latter Day Saint movement

Knight first met Joseph Smith while Smith was working for

Josiah Stowell Josiah Stowell Sr. (also spelled Stoal; 1770–1844) was an associate of Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint ...

. Knight later hired the 20-year-old Smith to work for him. Knight owned four farms, a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

, and two carding machines. Knight assisted Smith in his courting of Emma Hale by lending him his sled. The Smiths also borrowed Knight's wagon when they went to pick up the golden plates from the Hill Cumorah. Knight is addressed in a section of the

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

dated to May 1829. He is also addressed briefly in a section dated to April 1830. Knight was baptized into the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

on 28 June 1830. All his children, their spouses, his sister, and three of his wife's siblings, along with their spouses joined the church. The Knight family constituted the Colesville Branch, the first

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

in the church. They later sold their homes and properties and migrated as a group to

Thompson, Ohio Thompson is an unincorporated community in Thompson Township, Geauga County, in the U.S. state of Ohio at an elevation of 1270 ft (287 m). The Thompson Ledges, an important geologic and topographic feature of northeast Ohio Northe ...

, where they settled on the farm of Leman Copley, a former Shaker who had become a Latter Day Saint. Shortly after this Copley left the church, and forced the Colesville Saints to leave his farm so they then migrated to

Jackson County, Missouri Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri, on the border with Kansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (af ...

. Knight and his family were driven from Jackson County in the Mormon persecutions of 1832–33 and eventually settled in

Caldwell County, Missouri Caldwell County is a county located in Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 8,815. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Its county seat is Kingston. The county was organized December 29, 1836 ...

. They were driven from Missouri entirely in the winter of 1838–39 and settled shortly thereafter at

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...

. The Knights became, in effect, a prototype of all those hundreds of Saints who were bodily thrust from Jackson to

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

, from Clay to Caldwell County, and later from the state. The personal descriptions and notarized statements that express their sufferings and losses become an index to the difficulties that whole mass of exiled people experienced. Knight was a member of the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge. The Knights left Nauvoo with the majority of Latter Day Saints in 1846, and journeyed west with the

Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who Human migration, migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the ...

. Knight died on the trek west at Mount Pisgah, Iowa.

Legacy

A tourist attraction in Nineveh, New York, the former ancestral home of Joseph Knight Sr., is listed as the number one thing to do by

Tripadvisor Tripadvisor is an American company that operates online travel agency, travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content. Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages, and ...

in the city.

Notes

References

*. *. *. *. *. *. *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Joseph Sr. 1772 births 1847 deaths American Freemasons Converts to Mormonism Doctrine and Covenants people History of the Latter Day Saint movement Knight family (Latter Day Saints) Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Missouri Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Mormon pioneers People from Broome County, New York People from Colesville, New York People from Worcester County, Massachusetts