EARLY LIFE
Mattie the tinker
Margaret E. Knight’s upbringing in York, Maine, was marked by her early fascination with tools and woodworking, eschewing traditional dolls in favor of crafting and creating. From a young age, she displayed a keen interest in hands-on activities, preferring to tinker with jack knives, gimlets, and wood scraps rather than play with typical toys.
Born to Hannah Teal and James Knight, Margaret—affectionately known as “Mattie”—grew up alongside her brothers Charlie and Jim under the care of their widowed mother. Following their father’s untimely passing, the family relocated to Manchester, New Hampshire, seeking opportunities in the burgeoning cotton mill industry.
Formal education was limited for Knight, who left school at the age of 12 to join her siblings in the mills to support the family financially. However, her innate curiosity and inventive spirit flourished despite the challenges of her circumstances.
At just 12 years old, Knight witnessed a tragic accident at the mill involving a worker who was struck by a steel-tipped shuttle from a mechanical loom.
A Jane of all trades
Motivated to prevent such accidents, she quickly devised a safety device for the loom, which was swiftly adopted by other mills in Manchester. Although the specifics of the invention remain somewhat ambiguous, it likely involved either a mechanism to halt the loom in the event of a broken shuttle thread or a physical guard to block flying shuttles.
Unfortunately, health issues prevented Knight from continuing her work in the mills. Nevertheless, she pursued various jobs throughout her teens and early twenties, including roles in home repair, daguerreotype photography, engraving, and furniture upholstery, demonstrating her versatility and determination to overcome obstacles on her path to success.
