Stanley Knight, the 1930's and 1940
I have no photos of my grandfather from the 1930's. What I do have is sparse and a bit confusing.
In 1937 he is listed as living at 420 Capital Avenue NE Apartment 1 with Arlowine (Meeker) Knight and his occupation is listed as a machinist.
According to a niece of Arlowine Meeker Knight (later Winston, Jorgenson then Coyle), Arlowine had two boys named Milton and Martin.
They were teenagers when she was a child, and were out of the house by the time she got to know her Aunt Arlowine.
This is an excerpt from a communication I had with Arlowine's niece:
...I do know that she went by the name of Knight for a period of time when they bought a house in Denver (a search of county public records should show a deed with one or both of their names on it), that she lived there for quite a while and that she remarried twice to my knowledge, and I could almost swear that the two sons were from that marriage, but I was born MUCH later - 1957. I do know for a fact that she received mail addressed to Arlowine Knight at our house while she stayed with us...
According to records, On February 15th, 1935 Martin J Coleman was born and on February 3rd, 1937 Milton P. Knight was born to Arlowine Meeker Knight.
Armed with this information, I did a U.S. Phone and Address directory search and learned that Arlowine Coyle resided with Martin Coleman in Colorado until her death in 2006. Martin passed away in 2011. This implies that they are related, but I have not found any official documentation that confirms Martin was her son. I only have the information provided by Arlowine's niece.
Milton Knight married Rose Stone, and had three children with her. Two of those children are alive and in their 50's, but I have been unable to communicate with them. I have located them via phone numbers and social media, but my requests have gone unanswered. I have had DNA matches with their children, and they have been friendly and helpful. My first cousins, once removed!
In the 1939 U.S. City Directories catalog, Stanley is listed as living at 704 Dale, San Diego, California and his occupation is listed as salesman. His wife is listed as Arlowine Knight.
Remember, phone books are out of date the minute they are published. People move and relationships change frequently.
On June 15, 1939 there is a certificate of marriage for Stanley and Delyla Lewis in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
Their daughter, Peggy, was born on March 29, 1940.
A lot of questions were asked about why my grandfather was in Aberdeen, South Dakota. I learned he was traveling with a carnival, and had made a stop in South Dakota. He met and married Delyla, and then left soon after they were married. Delyla was pregnant, and had Peggy a month after Stanley was sentenced to prison.
Delyla's parents had the marriage annulled (I think, I will need to confirm this with my aunt) right after Peggy was born.
On February 17th of 1940, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison for ‘transporting stolen automobile in interstate commerce’. I petitioned the national archives to find out why my grandfather was incarcerated.
This was their response:
The 1940 census shows his residence as Lakewood Heights, Fulton, Georgia (United State Penitentiary, Atlanta)
On that census it states that Stanley’s ‘inferred residence in 1935 is Missoula, Montana’.
As of 1940, Stanley has four children and three wives. June (Alice), Martin and Milton (Arlowine), and Peggy (Delyla).
He's been listed as a machinist and a salesman in phone book records, and shown to have lived in Michigan, California, South Dakota, Montana, and Georgia. And he's a felon.
My mother has told me stories over the years that he would claim he 'spent time in the pen' but would never tell his children why he was there or for exactly how long. He also told stories about how he would repair and drive cars for the Purple Gang (an organized crime syndicate that worked in Chicago/Detroit).
This decade of his life has left me with these questions:
- Did he get caught transporting cars for the mafia?
- Why was he traveling with the carnival?
- Why would he have an address listed in Montana?
- What took him to California?
In 1937 he is listed as living at 420 Capital Avenue NE Apartment 1 with Arlowine (Meeker) Knight and his occupation is listed as a machinist.
According to a niece of Arlowine Meeker Knight (later Winston, Jorgenson then Coyle), Arlowine had two boys named Milton and Martin.
They were teenagers when she was a child, and were out of the house by the time she got to know her Aunt Arlowine.
This is an excerpt from a communication I had with Arlowine's niece:
...I do know that she went by the name of Knight for a period of time when they bought a house in Denver (a search of county public records should show a deed with one or both of their names on it), that she lived there for quite a while and that she remarried twice to my knowledge, and I could almost swear that the two sons were from that marriage, but I was born MUCH later - 1957. I do know for a fact that she received mail addressed to Arlowine Knight at our house while she stayed with us...
According to records, On February 15th, 1935 Martin J Coleman was born and on February 3rd, 1937 Milton P. Knight was born to Arlowine Meeker Knight.
Armed with this information, I did a U.S. Phone and Address directory search and learned that Arlowine Coyle resided with Martin Coleman in Colorado until her death in 2006. Martin passed away in 2011. This implies that they are related, but I have not found any official documentation that confirms Martin was her son. I only have the information provided by Arlowine's niece.
Milton Knight married Rose Stone, and had three children with her. Two of those children are alive and in their 50's, but I have been unable to communicate with them. I have located them via phone numbers and social media, but my requests have gone unanswered. I have had DNA matches with their children, and they have been friendly and helpful. My first cousins, once removed!
In the 1939 U.S. City Directories catalog, Stanley is listed as living at 704 Dale, San Diego, California and his occupation is listed as salesman. His wife is listed as Arlowine Knight.
Remember, phone books are out of date the minute they are published. People move and relationships change frequently.
On June 15, 1939 there is a certificate of marriage for Stanley and Delyla Lewis in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
Their daughter, Peggy, was born on March 29, 1940.
A lot of questions were asked about why my grandfather was in Aberdeen, South Dakota. I learned he was traveling with a carnival, and had made a stop in South Dakota. He met and married Delyla, and then left soon after they were married. Delyla was pregnant, and had Peggy a month after Stanley was sentenced to prison.
Delyla's parents had the marriage annulled (I think, I will need to confirm this with my aunt) right after Peggy was born.
On February 17th of 1940, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison for ‘transporting stolen automobile in interstate commerce’. I petitioned the national archives to find out why my grandfather was incarcerated.
This was their response:
The 1940 census shows his residence as Lakewood Heights, Fulton, Georgia (United State Penitentiary, Atlanta)
On that census it states that Stanley’s ‘inferred residence in 1935 is Missoula, Montana’.
As of 1940, Stanley has four children and three wives. June (Alice), Martin and Milton (Arlowine), and Peggy (Delyla).
He's been listed as a machinist and a salesman in phone book records, and shown to have lived in Michigan, California, South Dakota, Montana, and Georgia. And he's a felon.
My mother has told me stories over the years that he would claim he 'spent time in the pen' but would never tell his children why he was there or for exactly how long. He also told stories about how he would repair and drive cars for the Purple Gang (an organized crime syndicate that worked in Chicago/Detroit).
This decade of his life has left me with these questions:
- Did he get caught transporting cars for the mafia?
- Why was he traveling with the carnival?
- Why would he have an address listed in Montana?
- What took him to California?