Lucy Flucker Knox

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Lucy Flucker Knox
Born(1756-08-02)August 2, 1756
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedJune 20, 1824(1824-06-20) (aged 67)
Thomaston, Maine

Lucy Flucker Knox (August 2, 1756 – June 20, 1824) was an American revolutionary. She was the daughter of colonial official and Hannah Waldo, daughter of Samuel Waldo. She married Henry Knox, who became a leading officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lucy accompanied Henry and lived on the military camp during the war. She accompanied Henry Knox until he retired from the army in 1794.

Early life and education[]

She was born into a wealthy family of privilege. Lucy's father, Thomas Flucker, holding office under the British colonial government wanted Lucy to marry someone of a higher social status. However, in June 1774, Lucy married Henry Knox. Her parents disowned her because Henry was a merchant-class suitor at the time. Her family then fled for London once Boston had fallen, and she would never see her family again.[1][2][3]

Lucy Knox was fortunate enough to be born into a rich, Loyalist-ranked family which gave her access to homeschooled education and an extensive amount of resources at the house library. Even for a woman of elite social class, she was always regarded as someone with "extensive reading". In fact, Lucy Knox was a frequent visitor to Henry Knox's bookstore and that was where the couple first met.[4][5]

Life during the American Revolutionary War[]

During most of the Revolutionary War, Lucy and her husband were apart. Unfortunately, unlike other officers' wives she was wasn't able to get as many visits to the war camp. The reasoning behind Lucy Knox not receiving as many visits as other officers' wives was that she had already given up all she had (her family) for this patriotic cause and therefore her husband was resistant to her visiting and witnessing all the suffering. Even though they were separated for such a long time, Lucy and Henry didn't let their love die out and were connected through letters they sent each other. Their letters at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. They provide a first-hand view of one of the closest people to General Washington as well as an insight into the life of a war-hero spouse.[6][7][8]

Personal life[]

Lucy Flucker fell in love with a revolutionary war patriot Henry Knox, who was born into poverty in Boston in 1750. Despite her father's wish of her marrying a man with higher social status, Lucy Knox followed her own heart and fell in love with Henry while he was working at a bookstore in Boston.

References[]

  1. ^ "Women of the American Revolution - Lucy Knox". www.americanrevolution.org. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  2. ^ Sandham, W. (1925). "General Henry Knox: After Whom Knox County, Illinois, Was Named". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 18(2), 436-439.
  3. ^ Defiant brides: the untold story of two revolutionary-era women and the radical men they married. Boston: Beacon Press. 2012. ISBN 9780807001172.
  4. ^ "Knox, Lucy Flucker (ca. 1756-1824), to Henry Knox | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History". www.gilderlehrman.org. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  5. ^ Carol., Berkin (2005-01-01). Revolutionary mothers : women in the struggle for America's independence. Knopf. ISBN 1400041635. OCLC 54826129.
  6. ^ Knox, Lucy (April 13, 2009). "Wife of Revolutionary War Patriot Henry Knox". History of American Women. Archived from the original on April 4, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  7. ^ Anita, Silvey (2010). Henry Knox:Bookseller, Soldier, Patriot. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 13–16. ISBN 978-0547505879.
  8. ^ "Knox, Henry (1750-1806), to Lucy Knox | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History". www.gilderlehrman.org. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
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