by Karen Yvonne Hamilton, May 2025

LAST UPDATE: 5/3/2025. This page is still being researched. Subscribe for updates.

John Thomas KNOWLES was born on August 3, 1803, to Nancy (unknown last name) and Alexander George KNOWLES (1782-1862).  He went by the name Thomas. He applied in 1876 in Key West for US Naturalization. On that application, “Free white person” is crossed out.

ADDITIONS, CORRECTIONS, AND PHOTOS WELCOMED!

He married Hannah Elizabeth PRANCE on January 16, 1836, when he was 32 years old. 

Hannah Elizabeth Prance was born on October 20, 1814, in Long Island, Bahamas, to Sarah Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) and John William PRANCE. Her brother was born on September 25, 1816, and passed away that same day.

During John Thomas and Hannah’s lifetime in the islands, there was unrest and several slave uprisings, most notably the Pompey Rebellion in 1830 in Exuma and the uprising at Golden Grove on Cat Island in 1831. Slavery was abolished in the Bahamas on August 1, 1834.

It was not uncommon for the English Bahamian settlers to go ‘home’ occasionally. While there, they would register marriages, births, baptisms, deaths, etc.

John Thomas’ sister, Sarah Ann was born on December 15, 1837. She was baptized at the Church of England, Parish of St. Thomas in Pensford in the County of Somerset, September 30, 1832. The family was living at Stanton Drew at the time of Sarah Ann’s birth. Stanton Drew sits in the Chew Valley of Somerset. The Stanton Drew stone circles are just outside that village. 

PHOTO CREDIT: https://megaliths.patrickrevell.me.uk/trip-reports/2016e-stanton-drew.html
PHOTO CREDIT: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stanton-drew-circles-and-cove/history/

“Stanton Drew is a small village and civil parish within the affluent Chew Valley in Somerset, England, situated north of the Mendip Hills, 8 miles south of Bristol in the Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority. Just outside the village are the prehistoric Stanton Drew stone circles.” Wikipedia

CHILDREN

  • Sarah Ann was born on December 15, 1836, in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.
  • James Alexander was born on August 5, 1839, in Long Island, Bahamas.
  • Sophia Lavina was born on November 30, 1842, in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.
  • Oscar Washington was born in 1845 in Long Island, Bahamas.
  • Justin Everett was born on January 8, 1847, in Long Island, Bahamas.
  • George Washington was born on May 7, 1866. 

Hannah gave birth to a third son, Justin Everett, on January 8, 1847, in the Bahamas. There has always been some speculation as to when Justin’s father, John Thomas left the Bahamas for Florida. The birth records of Justin Everett show that the family did not leave the islands right after the abolition of slavery, as some supposed. They were still in Long Island a little more than a dozen years after the final declaration of freedom for the Bahamian slaves was enforced.

Shortly after Justin was born, the family made the momentous decision to escape the crumbling economy of the Bahamas and set out for a new life. Many of the Bahamian plantation owners chose this same route, a chance to start over in the blue green waters of the Florida Keys. Some settled into the bustling town of Key West, others chose from the abundant keys to rebuild a life for their families. 

In the summer of 1860, John Thomas and Hannah Elizabeth were living on Cudjoe’s Key along with the families of George Johnson and Robert Johnson, all from the Bahama Islands. George Johnson and his wife, Mary Ann, had seven children ranging in ages from 2 to 15. There was also a young mariner named James Longridge living on the island. A 33-year-old sailmaker from North Carolina named Daniel Miller lived nearby as the lone resident of Sugarloaf Key.

Florida Keys

Cudjoe’s Key, called Littleton Island in 1772, lies 110 miles from Miami and 20 miles from the island of Key West. Some say it was named for the Joewood tree (also called Cudjoe wood). The more interesting story of how the key received its name is that it was named after an escaped slave named Cudjoe (a common African name) who lived on the key for some time. Local resident historian John Vieles believes that Cudjoe lived on the key before the island was surveyed in 1849 (Gerde). Whichever the case, the name Cudjoe’s Key later dropped the possessive and became simply Cudjoe Key.

John Thomas’ sister, Sarah Ann, also lived nearby with her husband Robert Johnson and their two daughters, Adela (or Adeta) and Rebecca. Census records show that Sarah KNOWLES Johnson immigrated to the U.S. from the Bahamas in 1852. In 1880 and 1885 she was living at 440 Angela St (St. Angella St) in Key West with two of her children, Joseph, a cigarmaker, and Velena.

John and Hannah’s son James, age 21, followed his father into the occupation of mariner. Their daughter, Sophia, at 17, earned a bit of money as a seamstress. On this census, Oscar Washington was 15 and Justin Everett was 12.

John Thomas Knowles died November 15, 1891 in Key West, Florida and was laid to rest in the Key West Cemetery.

SOURCES

St Matthew Anglican Church Records; St Matthews Church, Nassau, Bahamas Bahama Gazette; 1850 United States Federal Census; 1860 United States Federal Census; 1870 United States Federal Census; 1880 United States Federal Census; 1885 United States Federal Census; Florida, Naturalization Records 7 Aug 1876 Key West Florida; Bensel’s Key West Directory 1887; Records of The Key West Cemetery 1888-1905 compiled by Col. Leonard H. Smith; Statue of Pompey – Bahamas Ministry of Tourism https://bahamasgeotourism.com/entries/statue-of-pompey/83393002-ac74-4f69-b655-351200603f10

FLORIDA KEYS HISTORY FACEBOOK GROUP: Consider joining our group for more on Florida Keys History.

FLORIDA EVERGLADES HISTORY FACEBOOK GROUP: Consider joining our group for more on Florida Everglades History.