Legislator Details
Vital Records Information:
Marital Information:
married Sarah McHard Adams; children: 2, Charles and lucius L. or Lewis
Number of Children: 0
Background
Education:
Biographical Sketch:
Son of Alexander and Amanda (Sheldon) McKnight.
He came to Michigan in 1820 and apprenticed as a printer with his uncle John P. Sheldon, publisher of the Gazette. He stayed on as a journeyman until the paper was destroyed by fire in 1827. Soon he started his own paper which merged with the Free Press in 1830. He was editor and proprietor until 1836. He was appointed the printer for the Legislative Council and the Executive Officers. In 1836, he was appointed postmaster of Detroit and subsequently disposed of his interests in the Free Press. He remained postmaster until 1841. He was appointed a member of the governor's military staff where derived the title of Colonel. In 1845, President Polk appointed him Miner Agent for the Lake Superior Region and moved to Sault Ste. Marie. He was an advocate for development of the commercial interests in the north. In 1847, he purchased a schooner that was soon joined by steam powered ships to for what was known as the McKight Lake Superior Line. !851 saw the completion of his rail line [the Chippewa Portage Co.] around the Falls of St. Mary for hauling ore. He was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the State Insane Asylym. At the time of his death he was pressing the US government to pay for services hauling the mail to Lake Superior
Notable Facts:
Published the first daily newspaper in Michigan, the Free Press. in early 1835.