My Genealogy Hound

HORACE W. KNIGHT. There are many important industries in Seneca Falls, and among these may be mentioned the concerns with which Mr. Knight has been connected, and to the success of which he has been a large contributor. He dates his residence in this city from the year 1859, since which time, with the exception of a brief period spent in New York City, he has made his home here. After coming to this place a second time, he purchased a plant and embarked in the manufacture of pattern letters. For these he found a ready sale, building up a trade that extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and establishing a reputation as a reliable and honorable man. The firm of Knight & Son is widely known, and is numbered among the solid companies of Seneca Falls.

A native of this state, our subject was born in Mayfield, September 7, 1839, being the son of Rev. Horace B. and Mary (Hillman) Knight, natives respectively of Vermont and New York. The mother, who was a daughter of Isaac Hillman, and sister of Joseph Hillman, of Troy, N. Y., a noted evangelist, passed away in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, at the age of sixty years. The father, who is still living and makes his home in Colorado, at one time was a resident of Seneca Falls, being pastor of the Wesleyan Church here for a number of years. While living at Syracuse, N. Y., he was agent for the American Wesleyan Book Concern. Throughout this country he is well known by the prominent ministers of his denomination, and his labors as a minister of the Gospel have been fruitful of much good.

In the place where he was born Horace W. Knight passed the days of childhood and youth, and there he acquired the rudiments of his education in the common schools. Later he continued his studies in other cities, and finally was graduated from the high school at Troy, Ohio. On completing his literary studies, he learned the printer’s trade in the office of the American Wesleyan, on Spruce Street, New York City, and after thoroughly mastering the occupation, he became a compositor in the office of the Syracuse (N. Y.) Journal.

On coming to Seneca Falls in 1859, Mr. Knight accepted a position as compositor in a job office, also engaging in the same capacity on a paper. He was then but twenty years of age, yet he possessed the shrewdness and excellent judgment that seldom come until maturer years. He was ambitious, too, and was not satisfied to remain in the employ of others. With characteristic confidence in his own ability to gain success, he purchased the plant operated by his employers, and agreed to pay therefor the sum of $12,000, no slight undertaking for one with as little capital as he had. He continued the business, employing Arthur Baker as editor of the paper.

From that Mr. Knight turned his attention to the manufacture of paper bags, for which he found a demand, and in which there were but few engaged. On selling out, he became connected with parties in New York City in the manufacture of the same article on a larger scale. On his return to Seneca Falls, he bought a plant and began to manufacture pattern letters, in which enterprise he has since successfully engaged. Aside from this business, he is connected with other important industries in this city, and has also valuable real-estate interests.

The marriage of Mr. Knight united him with Miss Sophia E., daughter of Samuel Taylor, of Seneca Falls. Five sons have been born to them: Charles H., Horace De Lancey, Willis G., Homer L. and Robert. The family residence is a neat and cozy abode, situated in the northern part of the city. In the First Congregational Church, of which he is a member, Mr. Knight has served as Treasurer for about a quarter of a century, and to the maintenance of its various enterprises he is a generous contributor. He is a Director in the Seneca Falls Savings Bank, one of the important financial concerns of the place. For a time he was also engaged in the manufacture of tissue paper, but has recently sold that interest. He aided in the incorporation of the Seneca Falls Carriage Company, of which he has since acted as Treasurer and General Manager. In all his enterprises he has displayed a cautiousness of judgment and discrimination that have been of the greatest aid in promoting his financial prosperity. In politics he is a Republican.