Biography

05/06/1836 - 10/12/1918

Doctor William James McKnight (R37) Indiana and Jefferson Counties 1881-1884

Early Life: 

Doctor William James McKnight, born May 6, 1836, Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania; son of Alexander and Mary Polly Thompson McKnight; common schools education; engaged, farming, printing typesetter who produced medical books; studied, medical books, attended medical lectures; opened, Brookville Medical office, 1857; combined medical practice Brockwayville 1859; married, Penelope Goddard Clark, 1860; children, Amor Archer McKnight, Adaline McKnight Kennedy, Jay Byron McKnight, Bonnie McKnight Matson; appointment, Governor Andrew Curtain, Civil War examiner surgeon Jefferson and Forest Counties; engaged, pharmacy partnership Brookville, 1863; Quartermaster Sergeant, Company G, 57th Pennsylvania Emergency Militia, Civil War two-month duty, 1863; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1881-1884; Jefferson Medical College, M.D., 1884; died, October 12, 1918 (aged 82), Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, interment, Brookville Cemetery, Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. 

Early Career:

Medical practice, Doctor Niver, Brockwayville, 1859; engaged, pharmacy partnership, half-brother, Thomas L. Templeton, Brookville, 1863.

Quartermaster Sergeant, Company G, 57th Pennsylvania Emergency Militia, Civil War two-month duty, 1863

Authored:

McKnight, W. J. (William James), 1836-1918: A pioneer outline history of northwestern Pennsylvania : embracing the counties of Tioga, Potter, McKean, Warren, Crawford, Venango, Forest, Clarion, Elk, Jefferson, Cameron, Butler, Lawrence, and Mercer : also a pioneer sketch of the cities of Allegheny, Beaver, Du Bois, and Towanda : my first recollections of Brookville, Pennsylvania, 1840-1843, when my feet were bare and my cheeks were brown / (Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott, 1905)

Pennsylvania Politics: 

Appointment, Governor Andrew Curtain, Civil War examiner surgeon Jefferson and Forest Counties.

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 37th district, Indiana and Jefferson Counties, 1881-1884; committee assignments, Agriculture (Chairman), Banks, Compare Bills. 

Legacy: 

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Historical Marker Database Doctor William J. McKnight, (1836-1918) inscription: A physician turned senator; he coauthored an act in 1883 that established a board to oversee the distribution of unclaimed bodies to medical schools for anatomical study. In effect, it made grave robbery illegal and promoted the advancement of medical science.

Location. 41° 9.622′ N, 79° 4.79′ W. Marker is in Brookville, Pennsylvania, in Jefferson County. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 209 Main Street, Brookville PA 15825, United States of America.

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members M". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Smull’s Legislative Handbook, (1883). Smull, W.P., (Editor) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 765, 770-772, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 734.

Dr. William J. McKnight Historical Marker (hmdb.org)

Dr William James McKnight (1836-1918) - Find a Grave Memorial