| Battle: | Battle of Dunbar in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland |
| Ship/Arrival: | Unity, Dec 1650 |
| Prisoner and List: | |
| Name Variations: | |
| Residences: | |
| Other SPOW Associations: |
Published: 19 Sep 2018
Updated: 09 Oct 2018
Page contributors: Andrew Millard, Teresa Rust and Kenneth Whittemore.
IMPORTANT UPDATE! (July 2018)
According to, Christopher Gerrard, Pam Graves, Andrew Millard, Richard Annis, and Anwen Caffell, in, Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650, (England: Oxbow Books, 2018), on page 254, Thomas is categorized as:
Possible [that he is a Dunbar prisoner transported on the Unity]
Nock/Knox, Thomas. Residences: Dover NH. Appears: 1657. D.1666. Appears with other Scots at Dover. [Exiles]
For explanations of the category, abbreviations and references see List of Dunbar prisoners from Lost Lives, New Voices.
First Generation in the New World
1. THOMAS NOCK/KNOX, born, possibly in Scotland and died on 29 Oct 1666, from an accident. He married, REBECCA TIBBETS.
Biographical Notes:
On 09 Oct 2018, Dr. Andrew Millard wrote, “The date of the 1652 grant was doubted by Stackpole in his Scotch Exiles typescript (see attached page) where he said “the last figure is very indistinct and doubtful. It may be 1656 or later.” Have you managed to see the original of this grant? If that date is not certain, then all are agreed he had a land grant was in 1657, but there is another indication he was there slightly earlier. Both the Tibbetts and the Knox books says Thomas’s son Thomas jr. made a will on 15 Feb 1676, though Stackpole says 15 Sep 1676. An image of this will ought to be on Ancestryhttps://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8996, but I don’t have a subscription to US records. Ancestry have transcribed the month as February. Sylvanus, another son, was taxed in 1677 according to the Tibbetts book and Stackpole. They must have been 21 to make a will and be taxed, placing their births in or before 1655 and 1656. Sylvanus was apprenticed in 1670 according to the Tibbetts book, which conventionally would have happened at the age of 14. Although age at apprenticeship did vary, this would fit with a c.1656 birth. If the 1652 date is correct I agree he is unlikely to be a SPOW, but if he first appears in 1655-56, in a place where there were a number of SPOWs, then I’d still consider him to fall in the possible category. The key thing is the date on that first land grant, for which the original or a good image of it needs to be consulted.”
Children of Thomas and Rebecca (Tibbets) Knox/Nock:
2. i. THOMAS² KNOX, b. at Dover, New Hampshire; d. Unmarried.
2. ii. SYLVANUS² KNOX, b. at Dover; m. 1st, ELIZABETH EMERY; m., 2nd, WIDOW ESTHER (PHILBROOK) BEARD.
2. iii. REBECCA² KNOX,
2. iv. ELIZABETH² KNOX, b. at Dover on 21 Nov 1663; d. 12 May 1669, age 5 years.
2. v. HENRY² KNOX, b. at Dover on 08 Feb 1666; m., SARAH ADAMS, dau. of Charles Adams.
Second Generation
2. i. THOMAS² KNOX, (Thomas¹), was born at Dover, New Hampshire and died ?. His will is dated 15 Feb 1676, he gave everything to his mother, siblings and uncle; no wife or children. Unmarried.
2. ii. SYLVANUS² KNOX, (Thomas¹), was born at Dover and died after his will dated 7 Mar 1716, which was proved the following February (1716/17?). He married, first, on 02 Apr 1677, ELIZABETH EMERY, who died 06 Jun 1704. He married, second, Widow, ESTHER (PHILBROOK/PHILBRICK) BEARD.
Children of Sylvanus and Elizabeth (Emery) Knox:
3. i. ELIZABETH³ KNOX, (Sylvanus², Thomas¹), b. 12 Feb 1678.
3. ii. SARAH³ KNOX, (Sylvanus², Thomas¹), b. 4 May 1680.
3. iii. SYLVANUS³ KNOX, (Sylvanus², Thomas¹), m., SARAH DRISCO.
3. iv. THOMAS³ KNOX, (Sylvanus², Thomas¹), m., ABIGAIL (_____).
3. v. JAMES³ KNOX, (Sylvanus², Thomas¹), m., ABIGAIL THOMAS.
3. vi. ZACHARIAH³ KNOX, (Sylvanus², Thomas¹), m., SARAH (_____).
2. iii. REBECCA² KNOX, (Thomas¹), she married, first, WILLIAM WILLEY. She married, second, SAMUEL TIBBETS.
2. iv. ELIZABETH² KNOX, (Thomas¹), b. at Dover on 21 Nov 1663; d. 12 May 1669, age 5 years.
2. v. HENRY² KNOX, (Thomas¹), was born at Dover on 08 Feb 1666. He married, SARAH ADAMS, the daughter of Charles Adams. Sarah married, second, ELEAZER WYER, of Somersworth. Edward Wyer, the SPOW, had a son ELEAZER.
Sources and Notes:
