In a letter written by my grandmother's Aunt Rose in the early sixties, she describes her mother's mother as follows: "Henrietta's mother Emily Knox claimed she was a lineal descendant of John Knox The Reformer."

The idea that we (my mother and I) are lineal descendants of John Knox the Reformer is one that presents a bit of a problem. The problem is that it can not be true. Here's why...

John Knox the Reformer was born between 1504 and 1514 at Gifford Gate, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, a contemporary of Edward VI / Mary Queen of Scots / Elizabeth I, and a leading figure in the history of the Protestant reformation. John Knox was married two times and had only five children who survived into adult. He married Marjorie Bowes circa 1553. After Majorie Bowes death, he married the sixteen year old Lady Margaret Stewart in Mar 1563. He died on 24 Nov 1572 at Edinburgh, Scotland.

By Marjorie Bowes, John Knox had two sons both born at Geneva:

• Nathaniel Knox was born in May 1557. He died in 1580 at Cambridge, England. He was buried on 28 May 1580 at Cambridge, England. He was unmarried and had no issue.
  
• Eleazer Knox was born in 1558. He died on 23 May 1591 at England. He was buried in 1591 at St John's College, Oxford, England. He was unmarried and had no issue.

Children of John Knox the Reformer and Lady Margaret Stewart were as follows:

• Martha Knox was born circa 1565
• Margaret Knox was born circa 1567
• Elizabeth Knox was born circa 1570.

So it goes that John Knox the Reformer had no other descendants besides his two sons who bore the name of Knox and the only line of descent from the Reverend Knox to have survived past the 17th century is the line that descends from John's youngest daughter Elizabeth who married the Reverend John Welsh in 1594 and had three sons and 1 daughter.

According to "Genealogical Memoirs Of John Knox" by Rev. Charles Rogers (Londen: 1879):

• William, the eldest son, was a physician in the Netherlands and he was there accidently killed.
• Josias, second son, became an ordained minister, migrated to Northern Ireland and died in Templepatrick, Ulster.
• Nathaniel, third son, died young after being shipwrecked.
• Louise, the younger daughter, was born in 1613; she was alive in 1625, and though her subsequent history is not certainly known, it is not improbable that she married and settled in Fifeshire.

Yet this mistake of claiming descent from John Knox the Reformer through a "Knox" line seems to be a common one. For example the Wikipedia article on James K. Polk mistakenly identifies John Knox the Reformer as one of the President Polk's ancestors when it states: "His mother, Jane Polk (née Knox) was a descendant of the Scottish religious reformer John Knox."