[1] Knight attended Lewis, Oneida, and Fulton county schools, and then lived in Minnesota with his uncle from 1867 to 1869.
He moved to Omaha, Nebraska, and then to the Territory of Wyoming, where he worked in various occupations including as a store clerk and postmaster.
[1] Knight then became a court clerk and attorney, opening a law practice in Evanston, Wyoming.
[2] He was also a land sales agent for the Union Pacific Railroad, and was elected prosecuting attorney of Uinta County, Wyoming in 1888.
[1] Knight was appointed to the Wyoming Supreme Court in 1897, and was elected to a full eight-year term in 1898.