The Elbert Knox Sr. Family
The Glendale branch of the Knox family is thought to have come to America in the mid 1800’s from Scotland or Ireland.
Elbert Knox, Sr. lived in Whitestone, SC before coming to Glendale, around 1920, to work in the mill. His first wife had recently died leaving him with his two little children, JD and Annie Mae. It was very hard for him to raise his children alone and work. Elbert met Annie Mae Thompson while working in the mill. They struck up an acquaintance and she saw how hard it was for him. She suggested that they should get married and she would help him raise his children. They married and moved into the house on 155 Chaffin Street. Eventually, more children came along and they became a large family. These children were:
James Booker (nickname JB or Joe) was born in 1916 and joined the army in 1936. He married Estelle Branch and had children, Barbara Anne, Estelle Faye and Jimmy. He opened a TV repair shop at Fort Bragg and lived in Fayetteville, N.C. Family’s most memorable event about him: bringing Christmas gifts for Elbert Jr. (Dusty) and Barbara each year. He died in 1962
Annie Mae was born in 1919 and worked at Glendale for 39 years. She never married and lived in the family home until her death in 2008.
Elizabeth, (Peg), was born in 1922 and worked at Glendale about 35 years. She never married and now lives in a nursing home in Inman, SC.
Dalton Defoix, (nickname Bill), was born in 1925 and worked in Glendale 25 years. He married Katherine Bagwell and had one son, Roger. He lived in Glendale and then Converse. He died in 2001.
Mildred Emma was born in 1928 never worked in the mill. She married Paul Mcgaha who was in the army. They had children, Cheryl, Victoria, and Paul Andrew. She died in 2003.
Elbert Jr. (nickname Dusty) was born in 1931. He never worked in the mill but joined the US Air Force. His first wife was named Sue and they had two children, Jimmy and David. His second wife was named Ruby and they had no children. He lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He died in 2005.
Barbara Knox was born in 1937. She graduated from Pacolet High School in 1955. She married Pete Teal who is now deceased. They have three children, Teresa, David and Michael and five grandchildren. Barbara now lives in Glendale.
At one time, Elbert Sr. was the conductor on the trolley that ran through Glendale from Spartanburg on its way to Clifton and back again. The track ran behind the Knox house. Sometimes, Annie Mae would take “Peg”, the youngest child at the time, down to the track. Elbert would stop and let her ride over to Clifton and be picked up on the way back to Spartanburg.
The children all went to the Glendale Grammar School. The older ones quit school before high school to go to work in the mill. This was the normal thing at that time. Wages were low, and the depression had left everyone devastated and everybody in a large family had to help out. The youngest child, Barbara, was the only one to complete high school.
The Knox descendants still own the house at 155 Chaffin Street and are in the process of remodeling the inside for Barbara and her daughter, Terry and Terry’s two daughters, Carrie and Barbara, to live there.
