Ann Elizabeth Knight was born at Badsey in 1863, the youngest of three children of William Knight, an agricultural labourer, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Hartwell). Her family had lived in Badsey since the 17th century. The Knight family were living on Brewers Lane, Badsey, in 1871.
In 1872, Ann’s eldest brother, John, then aged 22, decided to seek his fortune overseas. Together with his friend from the village, Owen Joseph Hall, they sailed from Liverpool steerage class, arriving in Baltimore, Maryland, on 30th April 1872, from whence they headed to Auburn, Ohio. Whereas Owen later returned to Badsey, John settled in America. Two years later, Ann, then aged 11, and her parents and brother, Edwin, decided to join John in America.
At the time of the 1880 census, Ann was living on a farm in Auburn, Geauga County with her parents and siblings. In the early 1880s, the whole Knight family moved to Duplain Township, Clinton County, state of Michigan, where her brothers had farms next to each other. Ann’s mother died at Duplain in 1885.
Ann’s whereabouts for the rest of her life are unknown as she had left the family home by 1900.