A family tradition says the Knott family came originally from England, in the area between Scotland and Wales, and fled to The Netherlands because of religious persecution. While the story is not documented, neither can it be discounted.
Lancashire, one of the places in England where the Knott name is concentrated, is between Scotland and Wales. It is possible that some ancestors emigrated from England in the late 1500s or early 1600s. By that time, Protestant Reform was gaining favour in some parts of Lancashire, particularly in the southeast, and more particularly in the areas around Manchester. At the outbreak of the English Civil War, in 1642, many of these converts were Presbyterians, Calvinists who rejected the Episcopalian organization of church authority, but who also did not share the Separatist belief in the autonomy of each individual church. As Presbyterians, especially during a time when protestant belief was first developing in Lancashire, local Lancastrians could have faced opposition, if not outright persecution, for their beliefs.
In the city of Groningen, the name Knot, used as a family name, appears in church records at least as early as 1649. In the province more generally, the name appears by 1635 with leaseholders of lands confiscated from the abbeys at the time of the reformation.
But Lambert did not live in the city of Groningen, nor was he a leaseholder. Perhaps he was descended from someone who had fled England two or three generations earlier, someone whose descendants dropped the family name in favor of the Dutch use of patronyms. Or perhaps not.
And last but far from least, special thanks to Jan Verster for showing me land records associated with people named Cnote. Thanks to Jan, as well, for all his help so many years ago in showing me how to work with the Parish records and for sharing the information he had on his own family
[S00050] Nederlands Hervormde Kerk, Rottum, Kerkelijke registers, 1602-1832, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1950.).
Record name: Rottum Parish Registers; FHL #109483
Menne baptized 28 October 1700, son of tollmeister '''Lambert Garbrants''' and '''Nieltjen Jans''' (married 19 July 1685, from Kantens)
[S00030] AlleGroningers, (Regionaal Historisch Centrum - Groninger Archieven.).
Record name: Marriages Rottum1655-1811
Huwelijk 19-07-1685 Rottum
Bruidegom '''Lambert Garbrants''' van Kantens
Bruid '''Nieltjen Jans''', van Kantens
Bron Trouwboek Rottum 1655-1811
Collectie DTB (toegang 124)
Inventarisnummer 396, folio 9
ca. 1660 - 1708 (48 jaar)