by Laura Knight
Census Records from Images provided by USA National Archives and Records Administration. Washington D.C. extracted by myself from images on ancestry.com
I've extracted what limited information was available from each source and households (HH) are separated by double asterisks thus: ** and the name of the Head of Household (HH) on the record is in bold for ease of finding. I've gone over this several times, trying to catch all errors, but I can't guarantee that there are none; I just do my best at any moment. Also, as noted elsewhere, for ease of search/finding, I've most often converted names to the modern spelling and have frequently included how the name appears in the record and/or how the transcriber rendered it: (text: Knite, trans: Kite). Also note that I have excluded Northern State Knights. If someone else wants to collect the Northern Knights and arrange them as I have so I don't have to do any extra work, I'll be very happy to include them and give credit where it is due.
At this point, the censuses are getting much longer and it has become impossible for one person to comb through the records with the thoroughness I would like; I do have a life outside of genealogy. Obviously, I focus more intensely on those areas where I know VA Knights moved to, but still, the population is growing fast and I can't guarantee exhaustive coverage though I am doing my best. In some of the newly settled areas, the censuses are still mercifully short and in some cases, I covered the entire sheet. When that is the case, I put the word "ENTIRE" at the end of the list. In this census, I haven't done Pennsylvania as I have been doing up to this point and the whole census, in general, has not been scoped out as thoroughly as earlier ones. I'll get it done and added eventually. I think there is enough here to keep a few people busy; it's very long as it is.
This is the first census that lists every household member by name, age, and where born. It's not 100% accurate, as is sometimes shown, but it's a darn good start. In my opinion, it should be illegal to mess with the effort to obtain pure demographic information in a census.
104 Record Returns
1850 – CA Calaveras Calaveras Dist – Federal Census - ** John Knight, 27, miner, MO, in HH with Robert Emmet, 37, miner, MO; James Jackson, 36, miner, MO. ** Thomas Knight, 27, miner, Switzerland; A. O’Neil (A. O Niel), 30, miner, NY. ** B. M. Knight, 21, miner, VA in HH of F. Brown, 22, miner, NY. ** James Knight, 31, miner, MS; in HH of Charles Roll, 24, OH. ** Daniel Knight, 29, miner, England, in HH of Thomas Johnson, 28, miner, England.
1850 – CA Benicia Solano – Federal Census - ** Stephen Cooper, 52, farmer, KY; Malinda Cooper, 49, KY; S. Cooper, 20, farmer, MO; Susan Cooper, 19, MO; Elizabeth Cooper, 15, MO; Thomas Benton Cooper, 13, MO; Martha Cooper, 10, MO; Joseph Knight, 12, CA; Cooper Knight, 10, CA; Ellen Knight, 8, CA; Bill Knight, 6, CA; Vito Knight (Victor?), 5, CA; Rosina Knight, 3, CA; John Jorden, 10, MO; Joseph Woolfscule, 12, CA; Juaneta, 21, servant, mulatto, CA; Jim, 18, servant, mulatto, CA; Guadalupe, 14, servant, mulatto, CA. ** Other names noted on the page: Browns of MO & KY.
1850 – CA El Dorado – Federal Census - ** Nathan Knight, 24, miner, VT; Loomis Sheldon, 32, miner, NY; William S. Knight, 27, miner, VT. ** John Knight, 23, miner, KY; James Knight, 21, miner, KY; both in HH of John G. Ray, 22, miner, TN; William H. Gardner, 21, miner, KY; John Hemphill, 22, miner, OH.
1850 – CA Mariposa – Federal Census - ** Jesse Knight, 28, miner, IN, in HH of William A. Stroud, 39, miner, NJ.
1850 – CA Napa Napa Valley – Federal Census - ** Thomas Knight, 29, trader, ME; David Hudson, 30, farmer, MO. ** Frances Hudson, 18, NC next HH.
1850 – CA Sacramento Sacramento – Federal Census - ** James B. Knight, 28, trader, OH. ** Charles E. Knight, 27, VA, in HH of John B. Buston, 23, merchant, VA; Charles H. Buston, 24, merchant, VA; George Whitfield, 26, merchant, VA; Samuel W. Venable, 27, merchant, VA. ** John O. Knight, 29, auctioneer, MA; in HH of Orlando P. Cassady, 46, ME. Very international collection of people on this census!
1850 – CA Stockton San Joaquin – Federal Census - ** W. H. Knight, 26, trader, Buenos Aires; Fred Qugaro, 19, trader, Buenos Aires; Florence Qugaro, 26, Buenos Aires; H. Dorrance, 21, servant, MO; T. A. Cole, 25, teamster, TX. ** Samuel Knight, 34, merchant, MD.
1850 – CA Sutter Auburn – Federal Census - ** William S. Knight (Knights), 30, miner, IL; J. M. Manning, 35, miner, IL; Charles Wood, 34, miner, IL.
1850 – CA Sutter Beals Bar Forksville – Federal Census - ** S. Knight, 25, miner, MA.
1850 – CA Tuolumne Georgetown – Federal Census - ** Conrad Knight, 42, miner, MD in HH of O. P. Hughes, 29, miner, PA; James A. Watson, 26, miner, PA; Peter Kelley, 37, miner, Ireland; Samuel J. Stringfellow, 31, miner, Ireland.
1850 – CA Tuolumne Township 1 – Federal Census - ** William Knight (Knights), 33, farmer, VA; in HH of C. F. Dodge, 30, merchant, NY.
1850 – CA Tuolumne Township 5 – Federal Census - ** B. M. Knight, 30 miner, VA.
1850 – CA Yolo Cache Creek – Federal Census - ** Carmel Knight, 35, F, MX; Comoleta Knight, 15, MX; Joseph Knight, 13, MX; Gregory Knight, 11, MX; Ellen Knight, 9, MX; William Knight, 7, CA; Peter Knight, 5, CA; Andana Knight, 3, CA; infant Knight, 1 mo, CA. ** William Kendall, 24, farmer, of NY, next HH. ** William Knight, 21, miner, MO; in HH of Stephen McCollum, 43, farmer, MO.
1850 – CA Yolo Washington – Federal Census - ** George Knight, 30, farmer, NY; BF. McCollins, farmer, NY; S. A. Lewis, 27, carpenter, TN; M. Hilbert, 24, rancher, ME; N. Jong, 37, rancher, ME.
1850 – CA Yuba – Federal Census - ** James Knight, 24, miner, MI; in HH of Seth Scott, 39, miner, Germany, Britton Luma, 26, miner, CT; James R. Reed, 33, CT. ** S. B. Knight, 30, miner, NY. ** George Knight, 26, miner, PA.
1850 – CA Yuba Grass Valley – Federal Census - ** William Knight, 24, miner, OH; Joseph S. Knight, 28, miner, OH; Joseph Lunn, 34, miner, OH. ** John Knight (Knights), 28. Text unreadable.
1850 – CA Yuba Nevada City – Federal Census - ** William Knight, 42, miner, Ireland, in HH of D. H. Pratt, 32, miner, TN. ** Benjamin Knight, 28, miner, NY. ** James Knight, 35, miner, Ireland, in HH of John C. Head, 32, miner, IN. ** David P. Knight, 32, miner, IN; in HH of John Harmon, 32, miner, VA.