Dallas County, TX - Biographies -  W.R. Knight

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John Henry Brown's History of Dallas County, 1892, pp. 465-466

W. R. KNIGHT, architect, contractor and builder, Dallas, was born in
Polk County, Texas, in 1853, the third-born of the four children of W.J.
 and  Marietta (Rossell) Knight. His father, born in Nashville,
Tennessee, came to Texas in 1835, settling first in Polk county, where
he engaged in general merchandising and was County Clerk for several
terms. Mr. Knight's mother, a Dative of New York, came to Polk County in
1842, was married there, and she and her husband settled in Moscow, that
county. They also resided for a time in Livingston, the county seat of
that county, where Mr. W. J. Knight's death occurred, in 1855, while he
was in office as County Clerk. His excellent wife still survives him,
now residing in Dallas. Mr. Knight, our subject, was brought up in
Houston and Galveston, learning his trade in the latter city. He
commenced taking contracts for building on his own account in Cleburne,
Johnson County, and continued there four years. In 1885 he went to
Galveston and engaged in contracting, and in 1887 came to Dallas, where
he has since prospered in his chosen calling. On national questions he
is an independent Democrat, taking an active interest in the public
welfare. He is a member of the Board of Trade and president of the
Builders and Traders' Exchange; also a member of Coeur de Lion Lodge,
No. 8, K. of P. Mrs. Knight is a member of the Methodist Church. In
February, 1882, he married Anna Gillcoat, a native of Fort Smith,
Arkansas, and a daughter of George W. and M. A. (McClung) Gillcoat, who
settled in Dallas in 1888, coming from Cleburne, Johnson county, Texas.
Mr. and Mrs. Knight have four children: Mabel, Myrtle, W. R., Jr., and
an infant daughter.