never forgotten

Oscar Knox, his wife Leila Smoot Knox, her brother James Ellis Smoot, and the Knox children (oldest to youngest): William, Daisy, George, James, Bertha, and Carrie

Sometimes, I love the internet. While looking for something completely unrelated, I came across the North Carolina State Archives Flickr page and I found two photographs of a family connected to Iredell and Cabarrus Counties. Oh, look! A rabbit! Yes, I went down the hole.

Finding turn-of-the-century photographs for African American families, especially in the south, is both rare and beautiful. Not only are there photos of the Knox family, but the State Archives also has their family Bible which has been digitized and is available to view online for free.

Knox family births in family Bible

I went through all the names listed with a fine-toothed comb and then went to Find A Grave. I ended up adding six people to Find A Grave based on their death certificates and Bible records.

I'm sure there are more names, but I'm happy that six have been added.

Oscar Knox was born in Iredell County in 1878. His mother was born enslaved in 1852. Her name was recorded as Shinnie Knox and China Shinny. While most slaves did know their exact birthday, Shinnie did. Most likely because it was an easy date to remember: July 4, 1852. Independence Day. Although Shinnie did not know her own independence until the Civil War ended in 1865, she knew that her birthday was significant.

At the time of the above photo (c.1909), Oscar and Leila had 6 living children. According to the Bible, another daughter Gertrude was born in 1905 and died in 1907, before the photo. They went on to have Three more children (Melvin, Bular, and Nathaniel) before Leila died in 1914 following complications of her last pregnancy. Unfortunately, both Melvin and Nathaniel died in infancy. I could not find a death certificate for Melvin, but because he was born and died the same month, it's possible none was ever filled out.

Leila Smoot Knox with daughter (possible Carrie) c.1909

However, Nathaniel was two months old when he died of tuberculosis. His death certificate does not have his name. He is listed as either "Soney Boy Knox" or "Some Boy Knox" and I'm not going to lie, that made me mad. That little baby had a name, even though the person writing the death certificate did not think it important enough to write down. His name was Nathaniel and he was buried beside his brother where his mother would join only a few months later.

I have a Nathaniel. He is five years old. I could never forget his name nor do I ever want him to be forgotten by others, and I don't want to forget this Nathaniel either.

The phrase "Never Forgotten" is carved on a lot of headstones, but in my travels I have seen it more on African American headstones than any other. Although the six people I added to Find A Grave most likely don't have markers, their names can now live forever. Not only that, we have photos of this precious family that will surely never be forgotten.

Thank you for caring.