Knotts was born in Highland County, Ohio, in 1861, and subsequently graduated from Valparaiso University.
[2] He was the brother of Armanis Knotts, an early mayor of Hammond, Indiana.
Prior to taking up the administration of Gary, he served as Superintendent of the Indian Schools in South Dakota during the presidency of Grover Cleveland,[2] moving to Hammond in 1891, where he combined local entrepreneurship with various positions in the Hammond police department.
[3] A Democrat and longtime supporter of organized labor, Knotts became a leading member of the "town forces" in a struggle against US Steel for political control of the city.
[4] Knotts was defeated in the 1913 election by the company-backed Republican candidate, Roswell Johnson.