Philip Augustus Knaut was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-born merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. He was a member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 for Lunenburg from 1758 to 1781.

He was born in the Electorate of Saxony

Electorate of Saxony

The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...

 and first came to Nova Scotia with Edward Cornwallis

Edward Cornwallis

Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis was a British military officer who founded Halifax, Nova Scotia with 2500 settlers and later served as the Governor of Gibraltar.-Early life:...

 in 1749. In 1750, he married Anna Grob. Knaut settled in Lunenburg

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...

 in 1753, where he became one of the first shopkeepers there. He was justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

, an officer in the militia and coroner; he also operated a sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

. Benjamin Gerrish

Benjamin Gerrish

Benjamin Gerrish was a merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia. He was a member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1759 to 1768....

 chose Knaut as his agent at Lunenburg for trading with the First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 people. Knaut married Jane Brimner in 1781 after the death of his first wife. He died in office in Lunenburg. John Newton

John Newton (Nova Scotia politician)

John Newton was a surveyor, official and political figure in Nova Scotia. He served as a member of the 2nd General Assembly of Nova Scotia and then represented Halifax County in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1770 to 1772.He was the son of Hibbert Newton and Hannah Adams, the...

, collector of impost and excise at Halifax, who had married Knaut's daughter Catherine, inherited control of Knaut's estate.

His widow married John Bolman

John Bolman

John D. Bolman was a German-born physician, surgeon and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Lunenburg township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1793 to 1809....

, who also served in the provincial assembly.