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Simon G. Knaur Simon
G. Knaur (1825–1896)
and his brother George
Ernest Knaur Sr. (1831–1892) were patriarchs of a large clan
that had a major impact on the development of Denison beginning around
1880.
The brothers were born to parents who had immigrated to the United
States from
Germany and married in Ross County, Ohio, in 1821. The Knaur brothers lived in Warren County, Indiana, until moving to Texas in 1879. At that time, Simon was 55 years old and George was 48. It is unclear what the brothers did during the Civil War. In 1860, they were farming in Pine Township, near Rainesville. In 1870, they were still there. They moved their families to Honey Grove, Fannin County, Texas in 1879. A year later, in 1880, the group moved to Denison, in Grayson County. Simon G. Knaur married Louisa Jane Dawson (1826–1909) in Warren County in 1846. They had numerous children, many of whom lived in Denison: John David Knaur 1848 - 1926
Upon
arrival in Denison, Simon
listed his occupation in the 1880 Census as farmer, though he was
living in
town on Woodard Street. By 1887, he was a dealer in lime, living at
1325 West
Sears. He had become a brickmaker by 1881, living Simon's oldest son, John David Knaur, had married Clara F. Barnum in Indiana, but she died in 1880 in Fannin County, Texas. In Denison in 1895, he married Laura L. Coppage Askew, a widow with two children. Meanwhile, in 1891, John was manager at Oliver T. Lyon's yard selling building supplies (lumber, lath, singles, sash, doors, blinds, paints, oils) at the northeast corner of West Crawford Street and South Austin Avenue. Lyon lived in Sherman, Texas. By
1896, John had become a coal
dealer on East Chestnut Street near the MKT Railway. The 1900 Census
found him
working as a railroad laborer. He was at the Katy shops in 1901 and was
a
foreman there by 1903. The family moved that year to 320 North Burnett
Avenue.
By 1909, John was on his own, working as a painter, a trade he
continued
through 1925. The family moved to 326 West Sears by 1913. John passed
away in
1926. Laura lived until 1932. Simon's younger son, Lewis S. Knaur, married Minerva J. "Minnie" McLaughlin (1857–1934) in Warren County, Indiana, in 1878, before leaving for Texas. In 1887, he was working as a car repairer at Denison's Katy Shops. He was living at 524 West Crawford Street. By 1891, he had joined his father Simon as a brickmaker and had moved to 915 West Shepherd Street. In 1896, when Simon died, Lewis was still listed as a brickmaker. In 1900 he was a teamster; in 1901 a "huckster." Such a person "sells small articles, either door-to-door or from a stall or small store". But in 1903 he was back as a teamster. After this, Lewis did not appear in the Denison City Directory, but the census found him farming outside town. Lewis died in 1932. Minerva passed away two years later. Lewis and Minerva's older daughter, Myrtle Knaur (1885-1965) married James Leo Short (1883-1932) and lived in Denison her whole life. His other daughter, Rosa Lee Knaur (1888-1968), graduated from Denison's Educational Institute in the Class of 1906, did not marry and worked as a stenographer. Simon's youngest child, Stella Knaur (1859–1938), did not marry. She worked as a teacher and then as a seamstress. She inherited the family home at 1325 West Sears and lived there until her death in 1938 at age 78. ca 1902 Extended Family Possible Identification Back Row (L-R) Schuyler
Colfax Knaur, Abraham Lincoln Knaur, Frank Bright, George Ernest Knaur,
John Simon Knaur, Newell Wright, William Eldridge Knaur Middle Row (L-R) Benita Boone Knaur, w/o Schuyler Colfax Knaur Ireline Walker Knaur, w/o Abraham Lincoln Knaur Elizabeth Mary Knaur Bright, w/o Frank Bright Lula Knaur, w/o G.P. Brous Lillian Shannon Knaur, w/o George Ernest Knaur Grace Carpenter Knaur, w/o William Eldridge Knaur Front Row (L-R) Nellie Knaur, d/o William Eldridge Knaur Elizabeth Knaur holding Grace Marion Knaur, daughters of John Simon Knaur Bertha May Knaur, d/o William Eldridge Knaur Newell Knaur Wright John Sherman Knaur, s/o John Simon Knaur George Clifford Knaur, s/o John Simon Knaur 
 Knaur Family Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |