William Hyer Knowles

William Hyer Knowles was a prominent Pensacolian businessman.

William Hyer Knowles
Born	December 27, 1857 near Pensacola
Died	1939
Occupation	Banker
Religion	Episcopalian
Spouse	Mary Davis Ellis
Parents	Peter H. and Josephine Hyer Knowles
Children	Ellis Knowles Josephine Knowles Seligman Jeannie Knowles Fay Peter Knowles William Hyer Knowles, Jr.

William was born to Peter H. and Josephine Hyer Knowles near Pensacola on December 27, 1857. He was educated in private schools in Pensacola, and later briefly attended the University of the South in Tennessee, but did not earn a degree. In 1876 he entered the banking firm of Knowles and Brent, in which his brother L. P. Knowles was already engaged with Francis Celestino Brent. The firm was at some point renamed F. C. Brent and Company and was later merged into the First National Bank.

Knowles was married on November 25, 1885 in Newbern, North Carolina to Mary Davis Ellis, whose father served as the governor of North Carolina in 1861.