Clement Knott is my great-great-great-grandfather. He is the last person in the human chain of my paternal line. He is also a person of contention.

Clement was born about 1794 in Maryland. The death certificate for Raphael Knott, his son, gives Maryland as the birthplace of his father. The 1860 census for Breckinridge, Kentucky lists a C. Knott living in the household of Mary Swink. Clement’s daughter, Mary, married Christian Swink and lived in Breckinridge. Mary’s children were born there. The 1870 census for Breckinridge County had Clement Knot, 77, living with Ruben Ford and Catherine. Amanda Swink, a daughter of Mary Swink, lived with them.

Several researchers have placed Clement, my relative, as being born about 1780, moving to Kentucky before going to Missouri. I disagree with this assessment because that Clement stayed in Missouri and is on church roles there. The roles indicated he had his children in Missouri and died there. The Perry County Genealogy Trails list Clement and Mary Quick at their 15y daughter’s marriage in 1830. Clement Knott of Breckinridge was fathering children with Nancy ‘Ann’ Hardesty in Kentucky between 1815 and 1832.

Family oral history, as related, told Clement married Nancy Hardesty.  I searched for years, before Ancestry.com, for any reference to this marriage. I posted online to genealogy boards. One day I received an email that there was a Hardesty family history book that listed Ann Hardesty marrying John Riney who died within a year. She remarried to Clement Knott. The dates are appropriate for the age of the individuals and the children they parented.

Leave me a comment if you want additional information on Clement or Nancy. Or share with me your family history or family interest.

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