Week 39 of the 52 Ancestors Challenge - "On the Farm"
This is my Great-Grandmother's brother, John Knight Jr., at his farm on Gosling Road in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (dated prior to 1950). It was passed down to him by his father, JOHN KNIGHT, who died in 1917.
This is my Great-Grandmother's brother, John Knight Jr., at his farm on Gosling Road in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (dated prior to 1950). It was passed down to him by his father, JOHN KNIGHT, who died in 1917.
This property was purchased by my 2nd Great-Grandfather in 1913, who had previously only rented farms in Portsmouth and Newington, NH, following his move here from England in the 1880's. Uncle Johnny didn't marry, and lived here with his sister Abbie, who was married but deserted by her husband. My grandmother and her siblings also lived here for a time, after their parents met their untimely deaths in 1929 and 1932.
The government came through in the 1950's, with plans on building an air base in Newington, spreading partly into Portsmouth, and included the Knight property. In April 1952, Uncle Johnny sold off all his standing timber to H. Roby Jewell, with the right to construct a sawmill on the property while the clear cutting was done. In October of the same year, all the heirs of John Knight Sr (and their spouses) signed over the 65 acres to the U.S.A. for $10,600.
The government came through in the 1950's, with plans on building an air base in Newington, spreading partly into Portsmouth, and included the Knight property. In April 1952, Uncle Johnny sold off all his standing timber to H. Roby Jewell, with the right to construct a sawmill on the property while the clear cutting was done. In October of the same year, all the heirs of John Knight Sr (and their spouses) signed over the 65 acres to the U.S.A. for $10,600.
A portion of the 1952 plan of the properties being purchased for the air base
On the Knight land was the "Roach Cemetery", and was one of eleven that needed to be moved prior to the construction of the air base. There were 75 (or 86) graves that needed to be relocated from the disputed area.
The 1892 map of Portsmouth shows the home of "Miss A. Roach", whose home John Knight would purchase many years later [from Clarence D. Foss, who had purchased it from Amanda Pickering; it having previously belonged to Owen Roach, nephew to (Miss) Ann Roach]. Also on the map (to the right) is the location of the Gee Pickering farm, where John Knight had rented before moving to the Gosling Road property.
1952 topo map of Portsmouth, NH, showing rough location of the John Knight property. The "Spur Road", which would later become Rt 4/Route 16, was not yet built.
This is the current map of the former Pease Air Force Base, showing where the Knight formerly was (approximately, I'm no surveyor!). Circled in blue is the Pease Development Authority building, which sits on the same knoll where the old farm once stood.
Johnny Knight and his brother Walter, at his Newmarket, NH farm (photo dated 10 July 1967). He passed away the following year, and is buried (in an unmarked grave, as is most of his family) in Newington Cemetery.
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