World War II in the Words of My Uncle: "Short History of Uncle Charlie's Heritage" (Post #2)

Some have asked for some family information of my uncle, Charles David Knight, to get to know him better and his family. I will start with his birth and a little history about him. I will then share his mother's ancestral history and then his father's ancestral history. I will conclude sharing about his siblings and their offspring. The nieces and nephews he adored and who adored him.

Short Biography of Charles David Knight.

Charles David Knight was born in Westbrook, Cumberland, Maine, USA on 14 August 1915, to Nina Lillian Anderson. His biological father was known by a few but has been lost to history. The man he always called Dad was Frank Eugene Knight. Frank and Nina would be married 11 Mar 1916, in Gorham, Cumberland, Maine, USA officiated by Rev. Bailey G. Lipsky.

I do not know if Frank Knight went through legal channels to adopt Charles but Charles birth certificate shows Frank Eugene Knight as his father.

Charles would always live in Gorham, Maine, where he helped his family with a small family farm that included vegetables, strawberries, along with a few pigs, chickens, cows and the like. His father, Frank, worked at a local mill and his mother, Nina, would become a home maker once children came along. She was always trying to make some extra money by making jewelry pins using old glass lens decorated with butterflies and flowers. She also did a great deal of knitting.

Uncle Charlie attended up to his freshman year in high school. He was an Eagle Scout and later after the war became involved in the Masonic Lodge and would rise high in the degrees of that organization. When not working on the small family farm or at war, he worked at the SD Warren Paper Company in Westbrook, Maine all his life.

Though he was known as a ladies man and had a long time girlfriend at the time of his death, he never married. He always sensed he had a duty to his parents and the small farm his father built in the 1920's.

Charles died unexpectedly on 25 June 1984, at the old homestead in Gorham, Maine, from a heart attack while peeling a mango at the kitchen sink. Family members found him the next morning when he didn't answer his phone. He died at the age of 68.

His Mother's Short Biography, Nina Lillian Anderson

Nina's parents married on 24 Dec 1890, in Everett, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA officiated by Rev. R. Perry Bush. Her mother Eva Marie Demers was of Westbrook, Maine. Eva's parents both came from Quebec, Canada. The Demer's line arrived in Montreal, Quebec from Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France in 1653.

Nina's father, David O Anderson was born 1864 in Aylesford, Kings, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Anderson line came from Aberdeenshire, Scotland sometime in the 1780's to Nova Scotia, Canada.

After Eva Demers and David Anderson's marriage, they will return to David's place of birth in Aylesford, Nova Scotia. They will have two children, David Saul Anderson born 12 June 1893, in Aylesford, Kings, Nova Scotia, Canada and died 21 November 1977 in Newington, Hartford, Connecticut, USA, and then their daughter Nina Lillian Anderson born 25 June 1896, in Aylesford, Kings, Nova Scotia, Canada and died 28 March 1978, in Fryeburg, Oxford, Maine, USA after a very short stay at a local nursing home.

David O Anderson died unexpectedly 28 April 1897, in Aylesford Station, Kings, Nova Scotia, Canada at the age 33. His widow and two children will return to the United States 23 February 1902, to Boston, Massachusetts on the USS Boston but after a few years will be living in Westbrook, Maine, the place of Eva Marie Demers' birth. Eva Marie Demers will die 6 October 1961, in Gorham, Cumberland, Maine, USA.

His Father's short Biography, Frank Eugene Knight

Frank's parents were Charles Eugene Knight and Mary Ellen Strout. They would marry 20 October 1883, in Gray, Cumberland, Maine, USA. They would have three children: Grace Knight born 14 April 1885, in Gray, Cumberland, Maine, USA and died 13 December 1952, in Gorham, Cumberland, Maine, USA; their second child was Roy Moody Knight born 23 July 1889, in Gray, Cumberland, Maine, USA and died 21 November 1944, in Gorham, Cumberland, Maine, USA and their last child, my grandfather, Frank Eugene Knight born 21 May 1893, in New Gloucester, Cumberland, Maine, USA and died 21 August 1957, in Gorham, Cumberland, Maine, USA.

Frank Eugene Knight's mother, Mary Ellen Strout, was born 15 September 1868, in Raymond, Cumberland, Maine, USA and died 15 August 1953, in Augusta, Kennebec, Maine, USA. Mary Ellen Strout's parents both came from southern Maine. The Strout line came from Truro, Cornwall, England before 1680 to Marblehead, Essex, Massachusetts, USA.

Frank's father was Charles Eugene Knight and was born 28 Jan 1860, in Poland, Androscoggin, Maine, USA and died at age of 35 on 18 March 1895, in New Gloucester, Cumberland, Maine, USA. Charles Eugene Knight's father was from Poland, Androscoggin, Maine, USA and his mother was from Great Falls, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA. The Knight family would come from Hampshire, England in 1620 on the ship called Bevis and also settle in Marblehead, Essex, Massachusetts as the Strout family will do several years later.

Charles Siblings and His Four Nieces and Fourteen Nephews

These are his sisters and brothers listed according to their age of birth.

Waneta Huskue Knight BIRTH 23 NOV 1916, in Westbrook, Cumberland, Maine, USA, DEATH 23 JUN 2015, in Lisbon, Androscoggin, Maine, USA was married twice. Her six children were Pauline, Leroy, David, Peter, Frank, and Charlie.

Flavilla May Knight BIRTH 14 DEC 1917, in Gorham, Cumberland, Maine, USA, DEATH 4 JUN 2012, in Portland, Cumberland, Maine, USA was married once. Her four children were Beverly (deceased), David (deceased), John, and Harriett.

Eugene Ricker Knight BIRTH 29 AUG 1923, in Gorham, Cumberland, Maine, USA, DEATH 10 JUN 1991, in Gorham, Cumberland, Maine, USA was married once. His two children were Joceila, and Conrad (deceased)

Helen E Knight BIRTH 11 DEC 1925, in Gorham, Cumberland, Maine, USA, DEATH 17 JAN 2017, in Homestead, Miami-Dade, Florida, USA was married once. Her six sons were Joseph, Robert, Steven (deceased), Richard (deceased), Donald, and Thomas.