Family history key element in art purchase

Gail Craig (left), a descendant of the Mobley family, and Mary Crews, a descendant of the Knight family, share old family photos at the Rector High School Helping Hands Foundation auction Sunday, Aug. 31, in which Crews' granddaughter, Molly Redyke, bought a painting of the late Moses Knight. Redyke's $10,500 bid edged Craig's final bid of $10,000, with all of the funds going to the Helping Hands Foundation to assist disadvantaged Rector students. (Democrat photo/Nancy Kemp) [Click to enlarge]

Two families long connected by not only a shared community and history, but also by that greatest bond of all, love, recently were able to bring their descendants together.

As part of the Labor Day celebration, Rector native and renowned artist Paul Frets painted a beautifully lifelike portrait of Moses Knight, a beloved figure from the town's past. To raise funds for the Rector High School Helping Hands Foundation, the painting was sold at a special auction during the holiday weekend.

In a surprising and emotional display, the painting earned a winning bid of $10,500 from Molly Redyke of Tulsa, Okla.

If the story ended at this point, it would still have a tremendous outcome. A man who was loved by many in the community was memorialized in an outstanding piece of art, while a worthy cause was the beneficiary of a sizeable donation.

However, there's more history to the event and the factors leading up to it.

Redyke won the painting in a bidding war with Jim and Gail Craig of Stuttgart. The Craigs bid up to $10,000 before giving up their efforts to secure the painting.

Both Redyke and the Craigs were interested in the painting due to the family heritage and sense of history each felt from the work.

Redyke is an eighth generation descendant of the Knight family, which, during the time of slavery, owned Moses Knight. Once slavery was abolished, Knight and his family remained with the Mobleys, working for the family with whom they had grown close over a period of several years.

The Craigs also share a familial history with the Knights. Gail is a fourth generation descendant of the Knight family, from whom Moses received his surname.

According to information gathered by the Craigs, two families, the Freemans and the Knights, moved to Rector from Gainesville, Tenn., in the mid 1800s. As was the custom in the American south at the time, these two families brought their slaves with them when they moved. Moses' father was owned by the Knight family, while his mother had been a slave to the Freeman family.

The Knights and the Mobleys became forever interwoven when three Knight sisters married three Mobley men. With these unions, young Moses Knight and his family came to work and live on the Mobley farm.

Redyke's grandparents, Jim and Mary (McCluney) Crews of Maumelle are natives of Rector. She and her family have come to Rector for many years to gather and celebrate Thanksgiving with relatives, including her uncle and aunt, J.D. and Mary Crews of Rector.

Redyke had come to Rector to enjoy the Labor Day gathering and enter her son, Parker Wright, in the baby contest. She actually learned of the auction two days before it was to take place. She purchased the painting in honor of her mother, the late Sue (Crews) Doshier, and her great-grandparents, the late Donald and Doma McCluney of Rector.

Redyke says her purchase of the painting comes from a desire to maintain connections to the past, both now and in the future.

"I wanted to have some sort of permanent roots to Rector so that my son might feel connected to the small town like I do," Redyke said. "I know there will come a time when I know very few people within the community, and my connections will fade off, but I will always hold Rector very close to my heart. I feel that with the purchase of this painting, it will create a sense of belonging no matter how many ties I have left in Rector."