The English name "Knight" came from the Old English word "cniht," which meant boy, youth or serving lad.
In the feudal system introduced by the Normans the word was applied at first to a tenant who served his lord as a mounted soldier.
      Over time, the term knight was understood to indicate someone who owned an estate awarded by the king for special service.
      As for the Knight family of Bulloch County, the story (apparently) begins with the Earl of March, Roger de Mortimer, who fell in love with Queen Isabella Capeto.
      Capeto was not only the daughter of King Philippe IV of France, but was also the wife of King Edward II of England.
Isabella, equally infatuated, sided with Roger de Mortimer when he led a rebellion against King Edward II.
      Mortimer then became the de facto ruler of England for three years until Edward III; son of Edward II captured Mortimer in battle.
      Mortimer was imprisoned in the Tower of London, and then hung. Isabella, who was pregnant with Mortimer's child, was given a large pension for life.
      She gave birth to a son, Willielmo, in 1325. After paying eight shillings for the "fifth part of a knight's fee", he became known as Willielmo Knyght de Bradley. 
      After another 10 generations of Knights in England, the Knights came to America in 1682 with William Penn's first group of Quaker settlers.
      They crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the ship "Welcome", which landed at Newcastle, Delaware, eventually settling in Byberry outside of Philadelphia.
      Generations of Knights moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia and then to North Carolina, as new land became available with the settling of the southern frontier.
      John Knight VII married Elizabeth Jordan Epps. Their grandsons Joseph and John IX acquired 1000 acres of bounty land in Effingham County in 1788.
      From their new homes in Effingham, then Scriven, and finally Bulloch County, the Knights helped settle what is now known as the Coastal Empire.
      Joseph Knight was part of the group of the citizens of Scriven, Bryan and Effingham Counties who petitioned the State Convention that Bulloch County.
      Meanwhile, John Knight IX commanded a Battalion of Continental troops during the Revolutionary War.
Joseph married Jerusha Cone, and they had the following children: Maryam, Robert, Charles, Joseph Jr., Thomas, and Frances Alexander.
      Joseph's son Joseph Jr. was married three times: to Nancy, to Martha Hagins, and to Lurene (also spelled Cyrene, Serena, Surena).
      Joseph Jr.'s children included Joseph III, William, Edmund, James, Thomas, John, Martha, Allen, George, Charles, Rebecca, Jerusha, and Elizabeth.
      John IX married Rachael Frances "Fannie" Anderson. Their children included Levi; Jemima; William Anderson; James; Jonathan; Abraham; Samuel; John Jr; and Thomas.
      John IX's son William Anderson married Sarah Cone, daughter of William, the first Senator from Bulloch County and the first pastor of the Little Ogeechee Baptist Church.
      William and Sarah had the following children: Thomas; Keziah; Levi Jefferson; William Cone; John; Sarah; Elizabeth; Aaron A.; and Jonathan Blanton.
      John IX's son Jonathan married Elizabeth Hannah Tucker. Their children were: Mary; William; Jonathan Jr.; Elizabeth L.; James Henry; Thomas S.; Sarah; Matthew Albritton; Nancy; and Eliza.
      John IX's son Abraham married Sarah Helen Tucker. Their children were: Samuel; Andrew J.; Thomas; Mary Elizabeth; Abraham N.; Elijah Tucker; Eliza; Thomas Erastus.
      John IX's son Samuel married Mary Nancy Roberts. They had the following children: Fatima; Moses; Aaron; Jesse; Thomas; Joel; Frances "Fannie"; Elizabeth; Mary; and Martha.