Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums

John Jay Knox 

Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory

Introduction
The Hayes Presidential Center acquired this collection in 1962.  Additional Knox family letters can be found at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, and at the New York Historical Society in New York City.  Other correspondence from John Jay, Jr. can also be found in the Hayes Papers at the Hayes Presidential Center.  Much of the family biographical information was provided in 2007 by Bruce A. Jones of Teaneck, New Jersey, who has conducted extensive research on the Knox family.  Additional material from Mr. Jones may be found within this collection. 

Biographical Sketch
John J. Knox was born March 18, 1791 to James and Nancy Ehle Knox.  John J. was a successful merchant and banker.  He owned one of the largest general stores in Oneida Co, NY and was a co-founder of the Bank of Vernon in 1839, serving as its president until 1862.  He also owned and had interests in several other businesses.  John J. Knox also was active in the New York State Militia, being appointed brigadier general in 1826 by Governor DeWitt Clinton.  In addition to his commercial and military pursuits, he also served on the Board of Trustees at Hamilton College form 1828 to 1876.  For thirty years he was the Senior Trustee and President of the Board of Trustees.  A powerful and influential man, he was twice a presidential elector: once for William Henry Harrison and once for Abraham Lincoln (his second term). 

John Jay Knox married Sarah Ann Curtis on October 7, 1813.  They settled in Cook’s Corners in Augusta, Oneida County, New York.  This village came to be known as Knox Corners, and finally Knoxboro in 1863.  John Jay and Sarah had ten children: Elizabeth Ann, Cordelia E., James Curtiss, William Eaton, Algenia, John Jay, Jr., Henry Martyn, Charles Eugene, and Emma Louise.  John Jay Knox, Sr. died on January 31, 1876. 

Elizabeth Ann Knox (April 18, 1816 – May 2, 1876) married Thomas Williams and lived in Vernon, NY.  They had two children: John J. Knox and Charles Eugene.

Cordelia E. Knox (August 14, 1817 – December 10, 1876) married Andrew Anderson.  They had six children: Emma, Edward, Adelaide, Sarah, Jennie, and John Jay Knox.

James Curtiss Knox (November 29, 1818 – July 16, 1894) married Mary Whiteley.  They lived in Knoxboro and had three children: James Theodore, William Strong, and Mary Louise.

William Eaton Knox (October 16, 1820 – September 17, 1883) was a Presbyterian minister.  He married Mary E. Chandler, who died in 1845.  He then married Alice Woodward Jenks.  His children were: John Henry, Frederick William, Mary Alice, George William, and Robert Jenks.

Algenia Knox (July 27, 1822 – November 17, 1864) married Charles Rhodes.  They lived in Oswego, NY and had six children: Charles Eugene, Benjamin, Katherine Taylor, Sarah Adelaide Knox (Sauchie), and John J. Knox.

Sarah Adelaide Knox (December 14, 1826 – June 11, 1910) married William Neil Strong. They had two daughters: Frances Adelaide and Emma Louise.

John Jay Knox, Jr. (March 19, 1828 – February 9, 1892) graduated from Hamilton College in 1852 with a Master’s Degree and became a teller at the Bank of Vernon.  With help from his father, John Jay and his brother Henry Martin opened the private banking firm J. Jay Knox & Co. in St. Paul, MN.  The firm closed in 1862.  In February of 1862 John Jay published several articles supporting a national banking system based on a safe, elastic, convertible and uniform paper currency in Hunt’s Merchant Magazine and Commercial Review.  The articles impressed Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, and John Jay was appointed to a clerkship at the Treasurer’s Office.  From there he quickly worked his way up, and was appointed Comptroller of the Currency in 1872.  He served in this office through the Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes and beyond, leaving the post in 1884.  He then served as President of the National Bank of the Republic in New York City, a position he held until his death.  John Jay married Caroline Elizabeth Todd in 1871, and they had seven children: Caroline Todd, Elizabeth Irving, John Jay, Jr. (died in infancy), a second John Jay, Jr., Irving Gillis, Herman Warren, and Adelaide Strong. 

Henry Martyn Knox (July 10, 1831 – May 12, 1904) married Charlotte B. Cozzens and had three children: Carolyn, Henry Cozzens, and John Paul. 

Charles Eugene Knox (December 27, 1834 – April 30, 1900) founded and was President of the German Theological Seminary in Bloomfield.  He married Sarah Fake and they had the following children: Charles Rhodes, Mary Fake, Sarah Algenia, Frederick Jay, Herbert Eugene, Margaret Prentiss, John Williams, Helen Theodosia, Robert Henry, Alice Adelaide, Gertrude E., Edward Prentiss, and Ernest Arnold. 

Emma Louise Knox (April 3, 1836 – December 5, 1917) was unmarried and lived at the Homestead in Knoxboro. 

Scope and Content
This collection contains nearly 500 pieces of correspondence and spans from 1826 to 1947, though the bulk of the collection dates from the 1830s through the 1880s. The incoming and outgoing correspondence of John Jay Knox, Sr., Charles E. Knox, and Edward Prentiss Knox make up the majority of the collection.  It is mainly correspondence between family and friends, although there are some letters concerning business and civic matters.  There are also five letters from Edward Prentiss Knox written while he was serving in World War I.  The correspondence is arranged into incoming and outgoing correspondence for each Knox family member and/or family. An item level inventory of the collection is provided.

Inventory
Ac. 1537
1/3 linear ft.

1. John Jay Knox, Sr. – Misc. Correspondence

2. John Jay Knox, Sr. – Incoming Correspondence A-O

• Allen, Edward – Dec. 24, 1835
• Anderson, Andrew – Jul. 9, 1845
• Bennett, S. – n.d.
• Camp, L. D. - n.d.
• Case, Salmon – Dec. 2, 1841; Oct. 15, 1842
• Chandler, W. W. – June 18, 1836; Dec. 21, 1842
• Cook, Jos. L. – Dec. 10, 1836; June 27, 1842; Dec 31, 1842; Jan. 13, 1843
• Curtis, J. G. – Sept. 26, 1838; June 10, 1842
• Dexter, S. Newton – June 29, 1836; Jul. 16, 1836; Dec. 10, 1842; Dec. 29, 1842
• Dix, C. & E. – Jan. 3, 1837
• Field & Co. – Apr. 15, 1842
• Hand, J. J. – Apr. 2, 1842
• Hoblen, S. N. – Mar. 30, 1842
• Johnson, B. P. – Jul 25, 1842
• Kirkland, C. P. – Oct. 30 1838
• Kellog, H. H. – Sept. 12, 1838
• Knox, O. S. – June 18, 1836
• Munger & Buckingham – Jul 8, 1842; Apr. 9, 1842
• Norris, Robert J. – Jul. 2, 1842
• Ostennoler, Leicister – Dec. 8, 1842

3. John Jay Knox, Sr. – Incoming Correspondence P-Z

• Parmalee, Solomon – Aug. 11, 1835; Apr. 7, 1836; June 29, 1836; Feb. 7, 1838; Dec. 3, 1838
• Penney, Joseph – Sept. 12, 1838
• Pond, T. T. – Jul. 6, 1842
• Ranney, O. T. – May 18, 1841
• Reynolds, A. W. – Apr. 9, 1842
• Richmond, S. N. & A. – Jan. 27, 1841
• Seymour, A. – Jul. 22, 1842
• Shearman, W. H.  – Oct. 6, 1836; Oct. 29, 1836
• Spencer, J. H. – Apr. 7, 1836
• Storr, David – Dec. 20, 1826
• Swift, W. P. & Co. – Apr. 9, 1842
• University of the State of N.Y. – June 15, 1868
• Ward, Sardis – Jan. 21, 1826
• Wetmore, Calvary – n.d.
• Williams, Ransom G. & Hubbard, Joel M. – Apr. 1842 

4. John Jay Knox, Sr. – Outgoing Correspondence

• 1842, Apr. 12
• 1842, Apr. 23

5. John Jay Knox, Jr. – Outgoing Correspondence

• 1874, May 19
• 1875, July 7
• 1877, Mar. 2
• 1877, Apr. 14
• 1877, Dec. 20
• 1881, Feb. 15

6. Charles E. Knox and Family – Outgoing Correspondence

• 1848, July 20
• 1854, May 24
• 1854, Oct. 7
• 1859, Sept. 3
• 1875, May 28
• 1878, Mar. 11
• 1880, Feb. 4
• 1887, Aug. 15
• 1887, Sept. 6
• 1887, Dec. 2
• 1887, Dec. 21
• 1888, Jan. 25
• 1888, Feb. 29
• 1888, May 22
• 1888, Aug. 18
• 1889, Nov. 1

Knox, Sarah Fake [wife]

• 1856, Feb.
• 1875, Feb. 19

Knox, Frederick J. [son]

• 1886, June 15

7. Charles E. Knox – Incoming Correspondence A-E

• _______, Adelaide – Oct. 26, 1889
• Allen, Albert – n.p., n.d.
• Allen, Lyman Whitney – Newark, Oct. 31, 1889
• Anderson, Sarah – Long Island, Aug. 3, 1879
• Axmann, Herman – Brooklyn, Oct. 20, 1889
• B____, Augusta – Bloomfield, NJ, Aug. 5, 1879
• Beal, M. B. – Easthampton, MA, Mar. 16, 1878
• Browler, Chas. DeW. – Ann Arbor, MI, Nov. 19, 1878; Dec. 21, 1878; Jul. 30, 1879; Sept. 2, 1879; Sept. 22, 1879; Feb. 11, 1880
• Brown, S. R. – Springside, June 21, 1856; Jul. 11, 1856
• Broyton, J. McK. – Utica, Mar. 5, 1874 (in part only)
• Bullock, V. V. – Albion, June 18, 1860
• Canfield, B. C. – Morristown, Apr. 2, 1877
• Curtis, Wm. W. – Galesburg, IL, Feb. 10, 1864
• Dean, L. W. – NY, Jan 25, 1883
• Dodd, Amzi – London, n.d.; Mar. 23, 1864
• Dwight, B. W. – Clinton, NY, Mar. 27, 1879
• Ellinwood, F. F. – NY, Feb. 15, 1870
• Erdman, Mrs. – St. Paul, Apr. 8, 1861
• Erdman, W. J. – Fayetteville, NY, Oct. 25, 1865

8. Charles E. Knox – Incoming Correspondence F-N

• Filld, Henry M. – NY, Jan. 22, 1857
• Fine, Mary B. – Winona, n.d.; May 8, no year
• First National Bank, NY – Oct. 31, 1889
• Gallagher, S. C. – Liberty, Jul. 25, 1877
• Gillen, Chas. A. – Jan. 13, 1893
• Hoghton, Louise S. – Monnouth Beach, Dec. 4, 1877
• Howell, J.W. – Bloomfield, Nov. 27, 1882; Apr. 1, 1884
• Jackson, F. Wolcott, Treas. German Theological School. – n.d.
• Jortisell, A. H., Jr. – Bricksburg, May 22, 1874
• Keep, R. P. – Hartford, June 6, 1880
• Kellog, H. H. – Clinton, May 5, 1858
• Kendall, H. – NY, Apr. 16, 1863; Apr. 17, 1863
• Koester, Chas. F. – Marysville, KA, Nov. 27, 1872
• McChain, George – Ithaca, NY, Nov 15, 1859
• Marsh, E. E. – Bloomfield, Sept. 24, 1883
• ­­­______, Molly – May 11, 1902
• Murray, J. O. – Princeton, Nov. 12, 1889
• Newark Academy – Newark, NJ, Feb. 20, 1880 (2); Jan. 6, 1882
• Norris, M. P. – (Morristown, NJ) Sept. 8, 1893

9. Charles E. Knox – Incoming Correspondence O-Z and Miscellaneous

• Orr, Peggy – Montclair, NJ, Jul. 8, no year; Oct. 11, 1921
• Packard, Prof. – (Yale College) n.d. (copy)
• Peloubet, Chabrier – Bloomfield, June 12, 1872
• Peters, William R. – Feb 18, 1865
• Rogers, Sarah K. – Brooklyn, Jul. 1, 1887
• St. Paul City Sabbath Schools – Flier dtd. June 13, 1860
• Schlote, Helene – Gottingen, Easter Sunday, n.d.
• Shaw, Charles D. – Paterson, NJ, Oct. 29, 1889
• Smith, D. M., Scovel, A., Judson, R. – n.d. (printed)
• Smith, Gerritt – Dec. 5, 1855
• Smith, J. Few – Newark, NJ, Aug. 29, 1863; Apr. 7, 1864
• Strong, William F. – Albany, Nov. 16, 1864
• Tallman, George C. – Utica, NY, Mar. 19, 1864
• Thirrell, H. F. – Philadelphia, Sept. 19, 1864
• U.S. Christian Commision – St. Paul, Feb. 1864
• Van Dorne, (Milt) – Richmond, IN, Aug. 23, 1863
• Wallace, Miss – n.d. (invitation)
• Wells, James, Sears, H., Goodrich, H., St. Clair, James – June 18, 1860
• Wheeler, Isaac B. – n.p. May 17, 1866
• Whiton, James M. – Long Island, Sept. 12, 1877; Aug. 2, 1879
• Williston Seminary – Easthampton, MA, Aug. 28, 1877; Mar. 11, 1878; June 25, 1879; Dec. 23, 1879; Feb. 19, 1880; Mar. 30, 1880
• Wood, Louisa W. – Bloomfield, NJ, Feb 19, 1877

10. Algenia Knox Rhodes and Family – Outgoing Correspondence

• n.d. (17 letters)
• 1852, May 15
• 1863, Dec. 5

Rhodes, Catherine Taylor [daughter]

• 1887, Jan. 1

Rhodes, Benjamin [son]

• 1859, Nov. 17

Rhodes, Sauchie (Sarah Adelaide) [daughter]

• 1862, Dec. 15 

11. Emma Louise Knox – Outgoing Correspondence

• 1883, May 27
• 1887, Apr. 2
• 1887, Apr. 9
• 1887, June 14
• n.d.

12. Henry M. Knox and Family – Outgoing Correspondence

• n.d. (8 letters)
• 1851, June 10
• 1851, Nov. 12
• 1852, June 5
• 1852, Sept. 30
• 1852, Nov. 2
• 1853, Oct. 6
• 1857, May 4
• 1860, May 21
• 1860, June
• 1860, June 16
• 1861, Feb. 14
• 1862, Sept. 10
• 1865, Oct. 18
• 1868, Aug. 15
• 1869, June 29
• 1877, Dec. 12

Knox, Charlotte (Lottie) B. Cozzens [wife]

• 1889, Oct. 19 

13. James C. Knox and son Theodore Knox– Outgoing Correspondence

• 1836, Feb. 23
• 1838, Dec. 21
• 1880, Apr. 30
• 1887, Dec. 3
• 1887, Dec. 13 (postmarked)
• 1888, Jan. 2 (2 items)
• 1888, Jan. 6
• 1888, Mar. 7
• 1888, Apr. 23
• 1889, Oct. 23

Knox, James Theodore [son]

• n.y., Dec. 9
• n.d., 1855
• Feb. 8, 1856

14. William E. Knox and Family – Outgoing Correspondence

• n.d. (seven letters)
• 1851, Nov. 13
• 1853, Nov. 21
• 1859, Nov. 7
• 1860, Apr. 10
• 1860, June 4
• 1860, June 19
• 1861, Apr. 17
• 1862, Apr. 18
• 1862, Aug. 20
• 1863, Jul. 8
• 1863, Aug. 17
• 1863, Dec. 23
• (1864), Mar. 22
• 1866, Feb. 2
• 1866, Jul. 6
• 1867, Sept. 3
• 1871, Feb. 13

Knox, Alice Woodward [wife]

• 1864, June 23
• 1868, May 30                                                 
• 1869, Apr. 5

Knox, John H. [son]

• 1857, Sept. 22
• 1860, Jul. 23
• 1868, Mar 31

Knox, George William [son]

• 1889, Dec. 2 

15. Thomas Williams, Jr. and Eliza Ann Knox Williams – Correspondence 

• n.d. (in part)
• n.d.
• 1837, Jul. 14
• 1838, Apr. 16
• 1838, Apr. 17
• 1841, Oct. 30
• 1841, Nov. 18
• 1841, Dec. 11
• 1842, Apr. 12
• 1842, May 18
• 1842, Dec. 13
• 1843, Sept. 28
• 1874, Dec. 18
• 1875, Jul. 29
• 1879, Sept. 13
• 1880, Jan. 30
• 1881, Jan. 1
• 1889, Nov. 23

16. Edward Prentiss Knox – Outgoing Correspondence – Undated

17. Edward Prentiss Knox – Outgoing Correspondence 1886-1914

• 1886, Sept. 9
• 1887, Sept. 5
• 1902, n.d. (two items)
• 1902, Apr. 26
• 1902, Oct. 13
• 1902, Oct. 19
• 1902, Nov. 8
• 1903, Mar. 11
• 1903, May 8
• 1904, Oct. 30
• 1910, Nov. 3
• 1911, Apr. 3
• 1911, Aug. 21
• 1911, Aug. 29
• 1914, Apr. 11
• 1914, Nov. 4

18. Edward Prentiss Knox – Outgoing Correspondence 1916-1929

• 1916, Jan. 2
• 1917, Feb. 1
• 1917, May 22
• 1917, Sept. 22
• 1917, Nov. 25
• 1918, Nov. 12
• 1918, Nov. 26
• 1919, Jan. 26
• 1919, Feb. 2
• 1919, Mar. 3
• 1919, n.d.
• 1919, Dec. 11
• 1920, Feb. 22
• 1920, Mar. 14
• 1920, Apr. 4
• 1920, Apr. 13
• 1920, May 29
• 1920, Aug. 13
• 1921, Mar. 28
• 1923, Feb. 9
• 1923, Mar. 1
• 1923, Mar. 28
• 1923, Apr. 2
• 1929, Aug. 26

19. Edward Prentiss Knox – Incoming Correspondence

• Knox, Charles [brother] – Oct. 19, 1920
• Knox, Gertrude [sister] – Dec. 4, 1898; Oct. 8, 1899
• Knox, Sarah [mother] – n.d. (13 letters); Mar.10, n.y.; Jan. 27, 1914; Dec.30, 1814; Feb. 4 1916; Aug. 11, 1919; May 16, 1920; May 25, 1920; Impartial letter, n.d.
• Receipt, May 13, 1947

20. Miscellaneous