Thomas Knox was born in Virginia on May 29, 1715. He later moved to Perquimans County, North Carolina by 1761. A Quaker, he was appointed to present and defend both a 1777 and a 1779 petition from the Perquimans County Quakers to the North Carolina General Assembly concerning the requirement of all citizens of the state to swear an oath of allegiance. He died in Northampton County, North Carolina on April 27, 1787.