Oscar Knight Diaries
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The entire collection is scanned and online.
What's in the entire collection?
Two handwritten diaries by Oscar Knight from 1898-1900 which contain information about the Knight family’s travels from Australia to England and America as well as their life in Pittsburgh. Oscar describes his and his family's church and Sunday school attendance as well as trips to the library, zoo, and other outings.
About Oscar Knight.
Oscar Le Maistre Knight (1888-1961) was born in England to Australian parents, father John Phillip Knight (1860-1916) and mother Harriet Smith Knight (1860-1943). The family consisted of Oscar’s older brother Eric Smith Knight (1886-1970) born in England and their younger sister Estelle Mary Knight (1890-1971) born in Australia.
Prior to settling in Pittsburgh, the Knights resided in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a short period, where they made friends that they remained in contact with following their relocation to Pittsburgh. In Harrisburg the family attended the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, located near the Pennsylvania State Capital. During the family’s time in Pittsburgh the Knights lived and went to school in the Highland Park neighborhood. The family resided at 5538/5542 Stanton Avenue. Oscar and his brother attended Fulton School on North St. Clair Street. The family were all avid churchgoers and Oscar and his siblings regularly attended Sunday school and from evidence provided in Oscar's diary, it appears that they attended Emory Methodist Episcopal Church on Highland Avenue. By 1901, the Knight family left Pittsburgh and returned to Australia where they all lived for the remainder of their lives.
Following their return to Australia, Oscar Knight obtained higher education at Newington College in Sydney, and in 1911 graduated from Sydney University. He became an Civil Engineer by profession and appears to have travelled for work often based on passenger lists in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He would also work for his father's hardware business for a time. He married Elizabeth Ellen Gerrard on January 11, 1919. They were known to have had at least two daughters. Oscar Knight died December 17, 1961 in Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia.
