Did you know Mr. Pat McKnight?

He was my Grandfather!

Pat McKnight moved to and lived the majority of his life in Chatham
while his little girl spent her life in Ireland. Although they drifted apart over the years, fate would have it that friendship would one day reunite Pat’s memory with one of his granddaughters…

Pat McKnight was married in Ireland and he and his wife soon after welcomed a baby girl (Ellen in 1921); sadly, a short time after, Pat lost his wife. Being a young widowed father, an Aunt stepped in to help in the raising of Ellen. While trying to find work, an opportunity presented itself to Pat to come to Canada to work. Acting in the best interest of his little girl, he left Ellen with the Aunt with full intentions of sending for her once he got settled in his new job and found a new home suitable for a little girl. Once he was in the position to be able to bring Ellen to Canada, he could see that she was quite content living with the loving Aunt and he felt it best not to disrupt her life again. They stayed in touch as much as possible but as the years passed it became less and less until they were no longer in touch at all except for in their thoughts and deep in their hearts.

Ellen lived a long life, passing away in 2009 at the age of 88. She had three children, Eileen, Marian, and Jim. She always wondered about her Father, as her children (Pat’s grandchildren) still do today. It’s true, we live in a smaller world today and with the help of the internet, Marian found out that her Grandfather settled all those years ago here in Chatham where he was eventually laid to rest in St. Anthony’s cemetery in 1967. She obtained a copy of his death certificate to read that there was a Michael O’Hara (along with his address) listed as the person who looked after her Grandfather’s burial. Investigating further, Marian was then able to find out that a K. O’Hara currently resided at that same address and, curious to know if there was a relation between the two, Marian wrote a letter. Low and behold she soon learnt that Kathleen O’Hara, (now age 93), was the wife of the late Michael O’Hara, (a good friend of Pat’s and the man who took care of his burial.)
Kathleen took the letter to her daughter Bev (Bailey) and, thrilled to help, they together they were able to find Marian’s phone number in Ireland (again through the internet.) When they called her, Marian was so happy to speak with someone who knew her Grandfather. After all of the years gone by Kathleen even still had an old cigarette box of Pat’s papers and an old photo of him from a past Christmas that her husband had kept. She and Bev sent this box of treasures over to Marian (along with the information of the site where her Grandfather is buried) so she could share these memories with her brother and sister.

As fate would have it, it turned out that the granddaughter Eileen had friends coming to Canada this past August so she decided she would join them and take a side trip to Chatham to explore the area where her Grandfather lived and died. With the help of Kathleen and Bev, while here Eileen learned more about Pat McKnight and who he was during a gathering they put together of family and friends. Stories told about Pat quickly connected Eileen deeper to the man he was and, while in Chatham, she also took this opportunity to arrange for a headstone for her grandfather.

“Did you know Mr. Pat McKnight?
He was my Grandfather!”

If you did know Mr. Pat McKnight and have a story or an old photo that you could share with his grandchildren, they would be forever grateful. You can connect with them at: marian.gallagher@enovanti.co.uk

Information/photo for this editorial provided by: Bev Bailey