Vinson Knight (1804-1842)

Gathered here is the most comprehensive repository of materials on the life of Vinson Knight, father of Adaline Knight (wife of Utah Pioneer Gilbert Belnap) and spouse of Martha McBride.  Click on the links below to access biographical and historical information by or about Vinson Knight:

Biographies and Related Materials

• Centennial History in Honor of Utah Pioneer Gilbert Belnap, 1850-1950 (including 1952 and 1956 Supplements)
• Belnap, W. Dean. Heritage With Honor: Genealogy and History of the Ancestry and Descendants of Gilbert Belnap (1821 – 1899) (1974)
• Belnap, Flora. “The Life Story of Vinson Knight”  [TO COME]
• Watson, Elden J. “Vinson Knight: Biography of a Nauvoo Bishop” (from Family History Library; missing multiple pages; includes life sketch by Lola Almira Belnap Coolbear at end but copy is illegible in some places)
• Coolbear, Lola Almira Belnap. “Sketch of the Life of Vinson Knight” (from Family History Library; poorly scanned version)
• Joseph Smith Papers: “Knight, Vinson” (contains links to scanned images of original primary sources)
• Marion Adaline Belnap Kerr Collection, LDS Church Archives
• Kerr Family Collection (register), Weber State University

Birth Records

• Town Birth Record (filed under Huntington, MA) (Ancestry.com)

Letters

• Vinson Knight, Kirtland, OH, to Rizpah Lee Knight (mother) [typescript copy], 24 Jun 1835
• Vinson Knight, Spencerburg, MO, to William Cooper, Perrysburg, Cattaraugus, NY [transcribed copy], 3 Feb 1838
  • BOAP Transcription
• Vinson Knight, Nauvoo, IL, to Rizpah Lee Knight (mother) [transcribed copy; not Vinson Knight’s handwriting], 14 Feb 1842

New York Period (including primary and secondary sources)

• History of the Church, vol. 2, chapter 3, 22 Mar 1834

Ohio Period (including primary and secondary sources)

• Property Deed  [TO COME]
• “[List of Licenses issued to Ministers of the Gospel],” Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, vol. 2, no. 9 (Jun 1836), pp. 335-36
• Jessee, Dean C. “The Kirtland Diary of Wilford Woodruff,” BYU Studies, vol. 12, no. 4 (____), pp. 365-99:  8 Jan 1837 (p. 381)
• “Minutes of a meeting of the members of the ‘Kirtland Safety Society,’ held on the 2d day of January, 1837,” Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, vol. 3, no. 6 (Mar 1837), pp. 475-77
• Kirtland Bishopric Circular: “To the Saints scattered abroad, the Bishop and his Counselors of Kirtland send greeting,” 18 Sep 1837
• “Communications,” Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, vol. 3, no. 12 (Sep 1837), pp. 561-64
• History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, vol. 2, chapter 6, pp. 106-108: Sep 1837
• Caroline Barnes Crosby Journal, 1836-1837
• “The Way It Looks Today: A Camera Tour of Church History Sites in the Kirtland Neighborhood,” Ensign (Jan 1979), p. 31
• Flake, Chad J. “The Newell K. Whitney Collection,” BYU Studies, vol. 11, no. 4 (Summer 1971), pp. 322-28 (page 324)
• Kimball, Stanley B. “Sources on the History of the Mormons in Ohio: 1830-1838 (Located East of the Mississippi),” BYU Studies, vol. 11, no. 4 (Summer 1971), pp. 524-40 (pages 531-32, 534)
• Crawley, Peter. “A Bibliography of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New York, Ohio, and Missouri,” BYU Studies, vol. 12, no. 4 (Summer 1972), pp. 465-538 (pages 515-16)

Missouri Period (including primary and secondary sources)

• History of the Church, vol. 3, chapter 4, 25 Jun 1838
• History of the Church, vol. 3, chapter 6, 8-9 Aug 1838
• Autobiography of Anson Call, 1839
• Mormon Redress Petition  [TO COME]
• LeSueur, Stephen C. “‘High Treason and Murder’: The Examination of Mormon Prisoners at Richmond, Missouri, in November 1838,” BYU Studies, vol. 26, no. 2 (____), pp. 3-30 (pages 14, 28)
• Mormon Affidavits & Petitions relating to the Missouri Persecutions, Marie Eccles-Caine Archive of Intermountain Americana, Utah State University, Special Collections and Archives, MSS COLL 19
• Gentry, Leland. A History of the Latter-Day Saints in Northern Missouri, pp. 385-387  [TO COME]
• Gee, John. “Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence of the Joseph Smith Papyri,” The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, pp. 175–217
• Baugh, Alexander L. A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri (Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, 2000), pp. __-__

Illinois Period (including primary and secondary sources)

• Nauvoo Legion Commission, Governor Thomas Carlin to Vinson Knight, 31 Mar 1841  [TO COME]
• Esplin, Ronald K. “Sickness and Faith, Nauvoo Letters,” BYU Studies, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 425-34: 9 Sep 1839 (page 428)
• Doctrine & Covenants 124:74, 141: 19 Jan 1841
• “University of the City of Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, vol. 3, no. 4 (15 Dec 1841), pp. 630-31
• “Officers of the City of Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, vol. 3, no. 4 (15 Dec 1841), p. 638
• “Common School Books Adopted,” Times and Seasons, vol. 3, no. 5 (1 Jan 1842), p. 652
• “New York Weekly Herald,” Times and Seasons, vol. 3, no. 5 (1 Jan 1842), pp. 652-53
• Legal Notice of Bankruptcy Petition, dated 28 Apr 1842 [Nauvoo] Wasp, vol. I, no. __ (7 May 1842)
• “Notice,” Times and Seasons, vol. 3, no. 16 (15 Jun 1842), p. 830
• “Affidavit of the City Council,” [Nauvoo] Wasp, vol. I, no. 23 (27 Jul 1842)
• Ursenbach, Maureen, ed. “Eliza R. Snow’s Nauvoo Journal,” BYU Studies, vol. 15, no. 4 (____), pp. 391-416: 3 Aug 1842 (page 395)
• “Affidavit of the City Council,” Times and Seasons, vol. 3, no. 19, pp. 869-70 (1 Aug 1842)
• Platt, Lyman. Nauvoo, Illinois Tax Index, 1842, p. 232, Coordinate 6N8W
• “Died,” Times and Seasons, vol. 3, no. 20, p. 894 (15 Aug 1842)
• History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, vol. 2, chapter 27, p. 599: 31 Aug 1842
• Bennett, John C. The History of the Saints; or, an Expose of Joe Smith and Mormonism, pp. 227-28, 235, 247-48
• “Extract of a Letter from Robert D. Foster,” [Nauvoo] Wasp, vol. I, no. 23 (24 Sep 1842)
• Bancroft, Hubert Howe. History of Utah, 1540-1886 (from The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, vol. XXVI) (San Francisco, The History Company, 1889), p. 199, footnote 13
• Whitney, Orson Ferguson. History of Utah, Vol. 1 (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons Co., 1892). pp. 148, 176, 182-83
• Hogan, Mervin B. “The Confrontation of Grand Master Abraham Jonas and John Cook Bennett at Nauvoo” (1976)
• “News of the Church: 17 Historical Sites Dedicated in Nauvoo,” Ensign (Oct 1982), pp. 74-76
• “News of the Church: Church Plans Sesquicentennial of Nauvoo,” Ensign (May 1989), pp. 107-09
• ________. “The Earliest Eternal Sealing for Civilly Married Couples Living and Dead,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, vol. 35, no. 3 (Fall 2002), pp. 41-46
• Anderson, Devery S. “The Anointed Quorum in Nauvoo, 1842-45,” Journal of Mormon History, vol. 29, issue 2 (Fall 2003), pp. 137-57
• Bergera, Gary James. “Identifying the Earliest Mormon Polygamists, 1841-1844,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, vol. 38, no. 3 (Fall 2005), pp. 1-74
• Franklin D. Richards, Diary, 9 Dec 1887, LDS Church Archives
• Smith, George D., ed. An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton, p. 108 (misidentifies “[Vinson] Knight” as “[Newel] Knight”): 23 Jun 1843
• Compton, Todd.  In Sacred Lonelinesss: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997), p. 369
• Rowley, Dennis. “Nauvoo: A River Town,” BYU Studies, vol. 18, no. 2 (Winter 1978), pp. 255-72 (pages 259-60)
• Cook, Lyndon W. “Isaac Galland–Mormon Benefactor,” BYU Studies, vol. 19, no. 3 (Spring 1979), pp. 261-84 (pages 270-74)
• Knight, Gregory R. “Journal of Thomas Bullock (1816-1885) 31 August 1845-5 July 1846,” BYU Studies, vol. 31, no. 1 (Winter 1991), pp. 15-76 (page 24)
• Hartley, William G. “Nauvoo Stake, Priesthood Quorums, and the Church’s First Wards,” BYU Studies, vol. 32, nos. 1-2 (____), pp. 57-80 (pages 60-61, 63-64)
• Barney, Ronald O. “Letters of a Missionary Apostle to His Wife: Brigham Young to Mary Ann Angell Young, 1839-1841,” BYU Studies, vol. 38, no. 2 (____), pp. 156-201 (pages 163, 191)
• Nauvoo Official Mormon Record Book, 1837-1842
• Nauvoo Documents Collection, Rick Grunder Books
• Hickman, Warren W. “History Notes on the Life of William Adams Hickman,” Heart Throbs of the West, vol. 6, pp. __-__
• Bennett, Richard Edmond; Black, Susan Easton; Cannon, Donald Q. The Nauvoo Legion in Illinois: A History of the Mormon Militia, 1841-1846 (Arthur H. Clark Company/University of Oklahoma Press, 2010), pp. __-__
• Flanders, Robert Bruce. Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi (University of Illinois), pp. 36, 38, 44, 101, 146, [149,] 166, 169, 181  [TO COME]
• Gibbons, Francis M. and Gibbons, Daniel Bay. “Andrew Smith Gibbons: I Have Planted Thirteen Orchards,” A Gathering of Eagles: Conversions from the Four Quarters of the Earth (Writers Club Press, 2002), p. 204  [TO COME]

Iowa (including primary and secondary sources)

• Kimball, Stanley B. “Nauvoo West: The Mormons of the Iowa Shore,” BYU Studies, vol. 18, no. 2 (Winter 1978), pp. 132-42 (page 138)
• Woods, Fred E. & Atterberg, Douglas. “The 1853 Mormon Migration Through Keokuk,” The Annals of Iowa (Winter 2002), p. 6

Presiding Bishop

• Taylor, John. “The Order and Duties of the Priesthood, etc,” Journal of Discourses, vol. 21, pp. 358-72: 8 Aug 1880 (page 362)
• Taylor, John. Items on Priesthood, Presented to the Latter-day Saints (1899), pp. 19-20 1899
• Pratt, Orson. “The Divine Authority of the Holy Priesthood, etc.,” Journal of Discourses, vol. 22, pp. 27-38: 10 Oct 1880 (page 34)
• Quinn, D. Michael. “I Have a Question: After Edward Partridge was called to be a bishop there were others who were called to be bishops. Did the Lord call Bishop Partridge to be a presiding bishop?” Ensign (Dec 1973), p. 32
• Quinn, D. Michael. “The Evolution of the Presiding Quorums of the LDS Church,” Journal of Mormon History, vol. 1 (1974), pp. 21-38  [TO COME]
• Tvedtnes, John A. “The Office of Bishop,” Meridian Magazine
• Quinn, D. Michael. Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power ((Salt Lake City: Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, 1994), p. 559
• Campbell, Eugene E. Establishing Zion: The Mormon Church in the American West, 1847-1869 (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1988), [chapter 9]
• Beecher, Dale. “The Office of Bishop,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, vol. 15, no. 4 (Winter 1982), pp. 103-115

Other/Unsorted References to Vinson Knight

• History of the Church, vol. 2, chapter __ 27 Sep 1837  [TO COME]
• Gibbons, Francis M. “Sixteen Years as a Witness,” Ensign (May 1986), p. 75
• Hill, Marvin S. Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism (1989) (see chapter 5)

LDS Materials

• Patriarchal Blessing: Vinson Knight, Ohio, 24 Jun 1835  [TO COME]
  • Transcription
  • Transcription

Newspaper Articles

• “Life of Joseph Smith, Deseret News, 7 Aug 1852
• “History of Joseph Smith,” Deseret News, 5 Feb 1853
• “History of Joseph Smith,” Deseret News, 19 Feb 1853
• “History of Joseph Smith,” Deseret News, 30 Apr 1853
• “History of Joseph Smith,” Deseret News, 5 Oct 1854
• “History of Joseph Smith,” Deseret News, 4 Apr 1855
• “Fiftieth Semi-Annual Conference,” Ogden Standard Examiner, 16 Oct 1880
• “Discourse,” Deseret News, 9 Mar 1881

Census Records

• 1830 U.S. Federal Census, Perrysburg, Cattaraugus, NY
• 1840 U.S. Federal Census, Hancock County, IL

Death Records

• [see above]

Photographs and Images

Residence: Kirtland, OH

• Vinson Knight Home (early view)
• Vinson Knight Home, about 1978
• Vinson Knight Home, May 2003

Residence: Nauvoo, Illinois

• Vinson Knight Home (early view)  [TO COME]
• Vinson Knight Home with Della A. Belnap standing in front, 27 Sep 1966
• Vinson Knight Home (front/east side), 28 Jun 1978 (taken by Joy M. Belnap)
• Vinson Knight Home (front/east and south sides), 28 Jun 1978 (taken by Joy M. Belnap) 
• Vinson Knight Home (back/west and north sides), 28 Jun 1978 (taken by Joy M. Belnap) 
• Vinson Knight Home (north side), 28 Jun 1978 (taken by Joy M. Belnap)
• Vinson Knight Home (front), 2002

Spouses

• Martha McBride (1805-1901)
• Philindia Clark Eldredge Myrick

Children

• Almira Knight (1827-1912)
• Rizpah Knight (1829-1895)
• Adaline Knight (1831-1919)
• James Vinson Knight (1833-1912)
• Nathaniel Knight (1835-1836)
• Martha Abigail Knight (1839-1844)
• Rodolphus Elderkin Knight (1841-1842)

Parents

• Rodolphus Knight (1768-1809)
• Rizpah Lee (1774-1853)

Last update:  6 Sep 2022