06/22/2023
Person to Know —Lucy Knox, wife of Henry Knox, died June 20, 1824. Her Tory family left her for Canada, as she stayed with her bookseller, “Harry” Henry Knox.
Before the Revolution the London Book Store on Cornhill, Boston, kept by Henry Knox, was a fashionable resort for British officers and Tory ladies of literary tastes. Henry Knox was of Boston birth and culture, which made him a favorite with the scholars of that day.
Lucy Flucker, the daughter of Hannah Waldo and Secretary Flucker, was a "high-toned loyalist of great family pretensions." As a young lady she developed literary tastes, and was permitted to inspect the books of the young merchant at her pleasure. As Lucy studied books Henry Knox studied Lucy, and evidently thought though she be,
“The daughter of a hundred earls she is the one to be desired.”
They were married on the sixteenth of June, 1774, and both espoused the cause of the Revolution. Her family opposed and bitterly deplored her marriage, predicting that she would eat the bread of poverty and dependence.
During the exciting days of 1775 and 1776 all her family friends left Boston for Halifax, and subsequently made their home in England. Lucy Knox turned from all that had before been dear to her to follow the fortunes of her husband.
When General Gage denounced as rebels all who were found aiding the cause of the colonists, and forbade any one to leave Boston without permission, Mr. and Mrs. Knox quietly quitted the town, Mrs. Knox preserving her husband's sword by quilting it between the linings of her cloak.
They joined the American camp at Cambridge. 'T is said of Lucy Knox:
“She followed the army, and her presence and cheerful manners did much to diffuse contentment and enliven scenes.”
The soldiers could not murmur at privations which she endured without complaint.
"Sad it is," says Mrs. Ellet in her history of "Women of the Revolution," that " no record remains of the ministrations of women in thus softening war's grim features." The good they did, however, was at the time acknowledged with respectful gratitude. There is reason to believe that General Knox often deferred to his wife's judgment, regarding her as a superior being, and it is said that her influence and superiority were owned by Washington himself."
As the wife of the brilliant secretary of war, Lucy Knox ranked next to Mrs. Washington in the social scale of the nation.
Lucy Knox inherited from her grandfather, Samuel Waldo, a part of the famous "Waldo Pa- tent." General Knox, by purchase, secured the remaining shares. Their estate comprised the greater part of the present counties of Penobscot, Waldo and Knox.
In 1795 they established their home at Thomaston, selecting a charming sport on the banks of the George's River.
In the Old South Meetinghouse, Boston, may be seen a pen and ink sketch of Montpelier, the home of General and Madam Knox. It is to be regretted that a building so famous in the early history of the nation should have been permitted to fall into decay.
This French villa, with its grand staircase, and broad halls with open fireplaces and carved wood- work was the scene of many festivities. The hospitality of General and Madam Knox was unlimited, and many distinguished visitors were among their guests. Louis Philippe and Talleyrand brought letters of introduction to General Knox, and were made welcome beneath his roof.
It was not unusual for shiploads of people from Philadelphia and other cities to arrive at Montpelier. At one time the entire tribe of Penobscot Indians were their guests.
How Lucy Knox managed her cuisine we are not told, but of their larder Sullivan tells us: "An ox and twenty sheep were killed every Monday morning." A hundred beds were made up daily in the house. In the stable were twenty saddle-horses and several pairs of carriage-horses. No finer equipage was seen on the streets of Boston than that of Lucy Knox.
In those early days when the roads of Maine would hardly admit of land travel from Thomaston to Boston, she must have taken horses, carriage, coachman and footman on board of the sailing vessel on which she herself embarked, reaching Boston only after days upon the ocean.
The busy, gay life at Montpelier was brief. General Knox died in 1806, leaving Madam Knox greatly embarrassed financially. Of twelve children only three survived their father.
Lucy Knox is remembered by her neighbors as a woman of commanding presence. Even at three-score she had brilliant black eyes and. a florid countenance. They always deferred to her intellectual superiority, but had very little sympathy with her aristocratic pretensions. She often deplored death, mourning most of all that her head must lie as low as others. Her manner of living was severely criticised by the clergy, and yet many ministers were among her guests. Though restricted in means, Lucy Knox continued active in her charities and in the exercise of her generous hospitality during the eighteen years of her widowhood.
Mothers of Maine, by Helen Coffin Beedy, 1895.
Image: There are no images of Lucy so I share with you her “Harry,” Henry Knox, by Gilbert Stuart, 1806.
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