26 Facts About Luke Knowlton

Luke Knowlton was a political leader of colonial Vermont, the Vermont Republic, and the state of Vermont.

Luke Knowlton served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, a member of the Governor's Council, and a member of the Vermont House of Representatives.

Luke Knowlton served in the French and Indian War as a private in a Massachusetts militia regiment, and performed duty at Fort Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga in New York, and Fort Number 4 in New Hampshire.

Luke Knowlton was chosen as Newfane's first town clerk when the town was organized in 1774, and he served from 1774 to 1783, and again from 1784 to 1789.

Luke Knowlton had been a Loyalist in the years leading up to the American Revolution, and had received from the British government a land grant in Sherbrooke, Quebec, but upon moving to Vermont he aligned himself with the Patriot cause.

Luke Knowlton fled to Canada, but he returned to Newfane a year later.

Luke Knowlton was sent to the Congress of the Confederation as an emissary of Vermont residents who held New York land grants, but became a convert to the cause of Vermont statehood.

In 1784, Luke Knowlton was again accused of being sympathetic to the British in Canada, and southeastern Vermonters loyal to New York, led by Francis Prouty, took him from his home by force in the middle of the night, and released him in Massachusetts.

Luke Knowlton returned to Newfane just as a detachment of militia led by Stephen R Bradley was preparing to pursue his abductors and free him.

Luke Knowlton was indicted for burglary, forcibly carrying Knowlton away from his home, and resisting arrest.

Luke Knowlton was acquitted of the first two charges, and received a fine and a 40-day jail sentence on the charge of resisting arrest.

Luke Knowlton served in the Vermont House of Representatives in 1784,1785,1788,1789,1792,1805, and 1806, and was a member of Vermont's Governor's Council from 1789 to 1800.

In 1786 Luke Knowlton was appointed a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, but his position was eliminated later that year when the size of the court was reduced.

Luke Knowlton served as Chief Judge of the Windham County Court from 1787 to 1793, and again from 1802 to 1803.

In 1786 Luke Knowlton was one of the recipients of land grants and the charter for the town of Danville.

In 1791 Luke Knowlton received from Vermont's government a 10,000 acre land grant in Franklin County as payment for his government service.

Luke Knowlton later sold this grant to Joseph Baker, who used it to found the town of Bakersfield.

Luke Knowlton continued to reside in Newfane until his death on December 12,1810.

Luke Knowlton was buried at Newfane Hill Cemetery in Newfane.

Calvin Luke Knowlton graduated from Dartmouth College in 1783, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Newfane.

Patty Luke Knowlton married Daniel Warner, and was the mother of Willard Warner, and the grandmother of Willard Warner, an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a United States senator from Alabama after the war.

Silas and Lucinda Luke Knowlton were the parents of Paul Holland Luke Knowlton, a prominent Canadian businessman and political figure.

Luke Knowlton died on May 4,1800, and was buried at Sheldon Cemetery in Sheldon.

Luke Knowlton was a graduate of Dartmouth College who became an attorney and served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives and Assistant Judge of Windham County.

Luke Knowlton later moved to Canada, where he died on September 17,1855.

Knowlton Pond in the Brighton community of Island Pond was named for Luke Knowlton, who helped survey and lay out Brighton in the 1780s.