Although many people assume that Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight was of Scandinavian ancestry because of her decision to build Vikingsholm in the Scandinavian tradition, she was actually of English decent. She was born Lora Josephine Small in Galena, Illinois, in 1864 - one of a family of four daughters and one son. In the early 1920s, Lora Small Moore married Harry French Knight, a stockbroker from St. Louis. This marriage was not successful, and they were divorced prior to the building of Vikingsholm. Many remember her because of her generous contribution to youth groups in California and Nevada, and provision of educational opportunities for innumerable young people who otherwise could not have afforded them. She was a major benefactor to the Christian Science churches in Santa Barbara, Reno, and South Lake Tahoe. She and Mr. Knight were prime financial backers of Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic.[1]
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