Sayrs Gazlay Knight
Sayrs Gazlay Knight5 (Adelia Gazlay,4 James Gazlay,3 John Gazlay,2 John Gazlay1)
Parents
| Father | Albert Gallatin Knight (28 May 1808 - 5 January 1886) |
| Mother | Adelia ‘Della’ Gazlay (14 December 1813 - 18 April 1858) |
Personal Information
| Record Created: 11 December 2010; Last Edited: 20 November 2021 |
| Person ID | 1841 |
| Name | Sayrs Gazlay Knight |
| Gender | Male |
| Born | 27 September 1833 in Brattleboro, Windham County, Vermont1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| Married | ca. 1863 to Rebecca Traver4, 5 |
| Died | 20 May 1903 in Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin1 |
Biography
A brief biographical sketch appears in his obituary, which is excerpted here: Sayres G. Knight was born in Battleboro, Vermont, September 27, 1833, a son of the late Albert G. Knight, who came to Racine on horseback in the year 1836, and was identified with the early history of the city. Sayrs came the following spring when but a few years old, and his education was acquired in the primitive schools of the early days, and he also experienced all of those hardships known to the pioneer. His first experience as a civil engineer was when the old Racine and Mississippi railway was built. In later years he was the city engineer of Racine. Sayrs surveyed, gave lines and laid out a large portion of the north, south and west sides of the city. After retiring as city engineer he went west and was engaged in the engineering department at Omaha, Nebraska, where he remained for some years and returned to Racine. Soon he was elected county surveyor, and was a surveyor there for over forty years. He was occasionally called upon to make surveys to settle disputes. He was a quiet and unassuming man, and there was not a better known or more honored citizen in the county. He was survived by his wife, three sons, Albert G., head engineer of an electric railway in La Salle, Ill.; William, employed in the Racine East Manufacturing company offices, and Harold, who assisted his father in his engineering work; two daughters, Jane M. Knight, of New York, and Marietta, a music teacher of Racine; three sisters, Mrs. Jane Whiteley, Racine; Mrs. Jewett, California, and Delia Knight, Andover, Massachusetts.6
Person/Family
| Spouse 1 |  Rebecca Traver |
| Born | July 1845 in Canada |
| Married | ca. 1863 to Sayrs Gazlay Knight |
| Children | of Sayrs Gazlay Knight and Rebecca Traver: |
| 1. | Jane M. Knight |
| Born | ca. 1865 in Illinois |
| +2. | Albert G. Knight |
| Born | ca. 1874 in Wisconsin |
| Married | ca. 1896 to Carrie Nichol |
| 3. | Marietta Knight |
| Born | 20 November 1879 in Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin |
| Died | 10 October 1938 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota |
| +4. | William Traver Knight |
| Born | 6 May 1882 in Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin |
| Married | 5 December 1906 to Elizabeth H. ‘Libbie’ Van Buren |
| Married | 21 April 1917 in Hudson, Columbia County, New York to Caroline Agnes Wagner |
| Died | December 1968 |
| +5. | Harold Timothy Knight |
| Born | 5 November 1884 in Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin |
| Married | ca. 1914 to Mary Irene DeLong |
Sources
- Wisconsin Deaths and Burials, 1835-1968; Sayrs G. Knight; died 20 May 1903 in Racine, Racine [County], Wis.; born 27 Sep. 1833 in Vermont; surveyor; spouse: Rebecca; father: A. G. Knight, born in Vermont; mother: Delia Knight, born in Vermont.
- U.S. Federal Census, 1850, Wisconsin, Racine County, Town of Racine, Page No. 88, family of Albert G. Knight (42, VT, farmer); Delia G. Knight (36, NY); Sayrs G. Knight (16, VT); Jane Knight (14, NY); Mary H. Knight (6, Wis.); Timothy Knight (69, VT); Dolly Knight (60, VT).
- U.S. Federal Census, 1860, Wisconsin, Racine County, City of Racine, Page No. 198, family of Albert G. Knight (52, Vermont, conveyaurio [?]); Sayrs. G. Knight (26, Vermont, lawyer); Mary H. Knight (16, Wis.); John Knight (9, Wis.); James Knight (6, Wis.); Delia Knight (2, Wis.); Simon Whiteley (29, England, printer); Jane K. Whiteley (24, NY).
- U.S. Federal Census, 1880, Wisconsin, Racine County, Racine, Enumeration District 162, Page No. 8, family of Sayrs G. Knight (47, Vermont, land surveyor); wife Rebecca Knight (35, Canada); daughter Jane M. Knight (15, Illinois); son Albert G. Knight (6, Wisconsin); daughter Mariette Knight (6/12, Wisconsin, Nov.); servant Carrie Grostabel (19, Wisconsin).
- U.S. Federal Census, 1900, Wisconsin, Racine County, Racine, Enumeration District 35, Sheet No. 19B, family of Sayrs Knight (33, Vermont, Sept 1833. county surveyor); wife of 37 years Rebecca Knight (54, Canada, July 1845, 5 children, 5 living); daughter Marietta Knight (20, Wisconsin, Nov. 1879); son William T. Knight (18, Wisconsin, May 1882); son Harold T. Knight (15, Wisconsin, Ju. [?] 1884].
- Obituary, The Racine Weekly Journal, Friday, May 22, 1903. Sayrs G. Knight.
- The History of Racine and Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin, Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879, page 596, biographical sketch of Albert G. Knight. Digitized by Google and available at Google Books.
- Gazlay History, written by Spencer G. Kuhn, a grandchild of Theodore Gazlay; undated. This is a typewritten re-compilation of the earlier Genealogy of the Gazlay Family, compiled by Theodore Gazlay in 1890, including the 1852 statement of the family history by Reverend Sayers Gazlay, an elder brother of Theodore. This document re-formats the information in the 1890 work. For example, facts originally shown in list form, such as birth and death dates, are incorporated in the narrative of this later work. Two post-1890 sections are unique to this document: one with additional details about Theodore Gazlay’s family, with dates as late as 1951; and another on the Donaldson family, featuring Jean Gazlay Donaldson and her six marriages, with several dates in 1965.