Capt. John Clapp

 

A Biography

With Notes on his Families

By his Descendant

Dr. Ellen Knight[1]

 

Many Clapp descendants trace their origins to the Dr. George Gilson Clapp recorded as the progenitor of a prolific line of American Clapps in Ebenezer Clapp’s Clapp Memorial: Record of the Clapp Family in America.  Ebenezer Clapp reported that the story of George Gilson Clapp had “been transmitted in different forms in all the branches of his descendants.” He acknowledged one anachronism but concluded it “does not injure the main points of the record.”

 

However, there are many problems with the story, principally that the American part of the story (at least) pertains to another Clapp – Capt. John Clapp.  The old story is as follows:

 

George Gilson Clapp, M.D. was born in England and was educated for the profession of medicine; he possessed an ardent thirst for knowledge, and visited most of the countries of Europe, extending his travels through Palestine and some parts of the Turkish Empire. He visited the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, in the character of a pilgrim, the only mode in which he could travel in safety.  He acquired a knowledge of various languages and assumed many of the oriental customs, amongst others the habit of chewing opium, of which he became fond to excess. He crossed the Red Sea, as also the Black and Dead Seas, travelled in Egypt, and returned to his native country after having spent nearly twenty years in foreign nations, and expended the greater part of a large fortune, in course of his various travels. Soon after his return to England, he commenced the practice of medicine in London, but the Great Plague breaking out soon after, he removed to this country and settled himself in South Carolina, in the year 1666 or 1667, where he resided about two years, and then removed to the city of New York. The colony was at that time under the government of Lord Cornberry, with whose advice Dr. Clapp settled himself in West Chester Co., about 30 miles from the city. He was esteemed one of the most learned men in the colony, and such was his reputation in his own neighborhood in this respect, that an idea prevailed amongst many of his neighbors that he was possessed of some supernatural agency.[2] 

 

The mix-up of George Gilson and John Clapp has been pointed up before.  Percy E. Clapp (1883-1958), a descendant of John’s son John, reportedly made a thorough search of the contemporary records in England, South Carolina, and New York but found no mention of the name George Gilson Clapp.[3] So have others. 

 

Without question, it was actually Capt. John Clapp who was the subject of the American part of the sketch on George Gilson Clapp (though not with those dates).  While not a single document has emerged on the fabled George Gilson Clapp (in England or America), John left behind records that not only document his birth in England, residences in South Carolina and New York, but also the fact that he was esteemed and learned.

 

England

 

Among a number of Clapp family papers that were found in a barn and given to the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, there is a page on which John Clapp stated:  "[torn, perhaps “Mar”] 25. 1670: I maryed the Daughter of Luke Channell Gentleman: by name Elizabeth She Being his Eldest Daughter: Aged 16 year & 3 months & I just 20: ye very Day of my marriage.... “[4]  On this page he also recorded the births of four children, his second marriage to Sebilla Axtell Hulton, and her death. This one page establishes the links from England to South Carolina to New York and is supplemented by further documentation.

 

In the registers of St. Nicholas of Deptford,[5] there is a record of the first marriage:

Jno. Clapp married Eliz. Channell 26 Mar 1671. 

 

Deptford was apparently John Clapp’s home town.  Originally part of the county of Kent, Deptford lies on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London.  In 1513, King Henry VIII decided to site a naval dockyard at Deptford, and this remained in operation until March 1869.  St. Nicholas Church, where there are other Clapp records (see below), was the original parish church.

 

According to the NYGBS papers, John Clapp had married Elizabeth Channell and had three children prior to immigrating to the colonies:

 

·          Elias: "[Dec]emb 25 1670 about the hours of 6 & 7 in ye morning Die my first Son Elias was born & on new years Day follow[i]ng was Baptized at my house By ye Reverend Doctor Plume haveing for God fathers Sr. Theophilus Bedelph & Esqr Pen[...]ing & for God mothers Ma[da]m Laneir & Mam Whitley." [Sir Theophilus Biddulph of Westcombe, Kent, was an alderman of London.]

·          Gilson: “September 25, 1674 my second son was born & baptized ye next day by sd Doctor Plume having for God fathers [M]r Robt. Robinson & Capt. John Wood & God mothers Ma[da]m Catharina Forabosio Coleman & Ma[dam] Amy Castle who called his name Gilson”

·          Elizabeth:  “[tear] 10 1677 my daughter Elizabeth was born about 9 o’clock p.m. & was babtized ye 20^th following by sd. Doctor [Pl]ume having to God fathers Mr. Ths. Whitley & Mr. Thom[a]s Lewis & to God mothers Ma[dam] Elizabeth Lewis & Ma[da]m Charlott Whitney

 

South Carolina

 

Precisely when Capt. John first came to America is not known, since, as a sea captain and merchant, he may have voyaged to the Americas prior to August 1680, when he arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, with four servants.  The first known land warrant bearing his name is dated 18 October 1680.  According to another warrant, his wife and child arrived on 9 October 1682.

  

Several documents identify John Clapp as an early land holder in Charleston, South Carolina, during the 1680s.[6] Charleston, the first permanent settlement in South Carolina, was founded after King Charles granted a charter in 1663. First settled at Albermarle in 1670, it was moved to its present site at the juncture of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers in 1680. John Clapp owned house lots in Charles Town  (Nos. 31, and 71)[7] and, reportedly,[8] three plantations, one called "Westpenhea" on the west side of the Ashley River, another on James Island on the east side of the Stono River, and a third on Cooper River.[9]   (The traditional story would have the Clapps in South Carolina prior to a permanent settlement, quitting it on the formation of Charleston.) 

 

Land Records

 

18 October 1680, You are to admeasure and lay out unto Jno. Clapp gent. [blank] of land in some convenient place not yet laid out nor marked to be laid out heretofore for any person or use…

 

23 Dec 1681, You are forthwith to cause to be admeasured and laid out unto John Clapp Gentleman three hundred and forty acres of land in the right of himselfe and fower servants namely Peter Cross, George Gibbon, Honour Crawley, and Dorothy Smith arriveing in August 1680 in some place not yett laid out or marked to be laid out for any other person or use…

 

Jan 1681/82, You are forthwith to cause to be admeasured and laid out unto John Clapp Gent. the Towne lott knowne by the No: of 71…

 

17 Aug 1682, Lords Proprietors to John Clapp, Gent., grant for one town lot at Charles towne now in his possession known by the # 71 ….

 

25 Feb. 1683/84, Whereas Thomas Dickeson on the 2d of January last appeard before the Grand Councill & then & there relinquished his interest to a parcell of land scituate upon Cooper River conteyneing 340 acres of thereabouts formerly laid out unto Mists. Dorcas Smith deceased[10] and alsoe prayed that Captn John Clapp might have a speciall warrant for the said Land which was accordingly ordered, and whereas the said Clapp hath due to him by the Lords proprietors conssesions the above quantity of land for the arrivall of his wife and child the 9^th of october 1682/ for the arrival of Tho. Tunbridge the 17^th of october aforesd, and for the arriveall of Wm Williams his wife and child the 24 Decemb 1683/ whose names are all recorded in the secretaryes office, you are therefore forthwith to cause to be admeasured unto Capt John Clapp the said three hundred & forty acres of land …

 

19 Jan 1685/6, John Clapp to Mr James Torquett both of the province, merchants, for a competent sum of lawful money of England, all that parcel of land commonly known by the name of Capt Clapps Plantation containing about 433 acres situate of the eastern side of Stonoh River bounding Wward on sd river, Nerly on land of Edwd Wilson, Serly on land of Doctor Napper, formerly of Robert George, Eerly on lands of several person.

 

The location of the Stono River plantation is shown on some early Charlestown maps.

 

John Clapp’s name appears repeatedly in other South Carolina records.[11]

 

9 Feb 1681/2, John Clapp was one of three who did inventory of estate of John Lynch, deceased.

 

25 Aug 1682, Richard Codner sold town lot #63, said to bound on the lots of Capt. John Clap and of Mr Christopher Smyth to Nward.

 

22 Nov 1682,  Capt John Clapp was listed among six men to inventory the goods and chattel of the late William Chambers. 

 

2 Nov 1682,  John Clapp witnessed the sale of the ship Success from Stephen Bull to Maurice Mathews and James Moore.

 

4 Dec 1682,  Capt John Clapp was listed among six men (including also Joseph Calfe, father-in-law of Gillson Clapp) to inventory the goods and chattel of the late John Smith. 

 

23 Dec. 1682, Clapp was a witness to the will of John Cottingham.[12]

 

13 Feb 1682/83  Joseph Calfe and Capt John Clapp were mentioned in inventory of the late Mr. Thomas New. 

 

3 Nov 1683  Stephen Bull, Esq., Sheriff of Berkley County, deputized Capt John Clapp to execute an order to Bull from the governor to carry John Fisher, who was convicted of felony and murder and sentenced to death, to the gallows and hang him until dead. 

 

14 May 1684, John Clapp was administrator of the estate of William Hulton.  Gov. Morton committed Clapp and Sibilla, his wife, to make a full inventory by July to satisfy all debts.

 

20 Apr 1687, John Clapp witnessed an appointment.

 

S C. Family:  Johns’ first wife Elizabeth did not long survive in South Carolina.  John Clapp recorded:  "April the 9 1684 I maryed Ma[dam] Sebilla Hulton ye widow & [r]elict of Mr. Willm. Hulton Apothicary & ye Eldest Daughter of [La]ndgrave Daniel Axtell: also Deceased: joyned in wedlock by [R]ev. John Lawson."[13]  Daniel Axtell had been issued a warrant to lay out 3,000 acres in South Carolina on 13 Dec 1680; in Aug 1681 he was created a landgrave.

 

John and Sebilla had a son John, born as recorded in the NYGBS papers:

"Octbr: 19. 1685 about ye hours of 4: or 5 A.M. my 3d Son [wa]s born: & ye 4 (or 21): ye 22 mo following was baptized, haveing to God[fa]thers my Brother In Law, Mr. John Moor[14] & Mr Ralph Isard to Godmother M[adam] Middleton: they Called his name John."  [John Moore was married to Sebilla’s sister Rebecca.]

 

The Clapp-Axtell marriage was short-lived. "[missing] ary 12th 1685: about ye hours of 6 & 7 p.m. It pleased ye Almig[hty] God to Take from me to himself my Second Dear Tender & loveing [wife] Sebilla."  

 

John Clapp remained in Charlestown as a merchant and planter until about 1688.  He then moved to New York.  How many children may have gone with him is unclear.  None of the deaths of his children are recorded in the NYBGS papers.  His wife Elizabeth brought a child to South Carolina in 1682, presumably Gilson.  A son John was born in 1685.  This child, however, apparently died as an infant, since there is record of another son John born in New York.  According to the Ebenezer Clapp’s history: "tradition tells [a child] came near being caught by an alligator in South Carolina, an accident which induced the family to remove to the less barbarous settlement of New York."[15]  The alligator story is a curious one.  One may wonder what child was involved.  Only Gilson is presumed to have accompanied his father to South Carolina and to have survived from the first two marriages.  A son by the name of Elias did survive Capt. John, but the dates of his marriage and death work much better if a second son Elias were born later to John’s third wife Dorothy, similar to his second son John.  Ebenezer Clapp inserted the alligator story in reference to a grandchild of George Gilson Clapp named John, the John who was the father of Gilson, John, and Elias – in fact, Capt. John himself.  It must be seen already that the traditional genealogy is confused over these first few generations.

 

Capt. John moved to New York before 1690.  He may not have sold out of Charleston immediately.  Documents from the 1690s connect the John Clapp of South Carolina with John Clapp of New York and record that he sold land, but they also indicate he either retained land in South Carolina or his name remained associated with the land.

 

10 Jun 1691 (received 17 Oct 1681), Flushing in Queens Co. Long Island, John Clapp, merchant of town and co. aforesd formerly an inhabitant and resident of South Carolina appoints his well beloved brother and friend Mr Samuell Sands of New Shoram also called Block Island now bound for South Carolina his attorney, to receive all debts, good and merchandise.

 

February 10, 1692, John Clapp, of the city of New York, gentleman, appointed his friend, Jonathan Amory, “of Ashley River in the Province of South Carolina Gentleman,” his attorney to sue and recover for him the debts due him in South Carolina and to give possession to Mrs. Jane Cliff of the plantation he sold her.  Proved May 4, 1692[16]

 

24 Feb 1696/7, David Maybanck had a warrant for one hundred acres of land which land is situate upon the south side of Couper river & is bounded northerly to the plantacon of Capt. John Clap & southerly on the plantacon of Mr [blank] Adams and was formerly granted to Thomas Dickeson & is escheated.

 

28 Aug 1698, the will of Mary Crosse, made on this date, mentions the lot in Charles Town, “which was formerly Capt. John Clapps whereon ye great house stands yt he lately lived in.”

 

New York

 

As part of his maritime or mercantile business, Capt. John probably visited New York and Block Island, Rhode Island, prior to moving north.  After leaving So. Carolina, John Clapp first lived in Flushing, Queens County, on Long Island, on the opposite side of East River from Manhattan.  It was probably there, about 1689, that he married his third wife, Dorothy Ray.[17]  Their son John was born on Long Island in the fall of 1690; however, their other children were probably born in New York City or Westchester Co. 

 

Dorothy Clapp was a child of Simon Ray, one of the first settlers of Block Island. Born in Hundon, England, Ray came to America with his parents about 1640, settling first in Braintree, Massachusetts, and then on Block Island (which lies off the eastern end of Long Island).  Dorothy's mother was Mary, daughter of Major Nathaniel Thomas of Marshfield, Mass.  

 

New York City was an older settlement than Charleston.  Originally purchased by the Dutch in 1626, New York became English when England took all of New Netherland in 1664. During 1673-74, while England and the Netherlands warred in Europe, the Dutch reclaimed New York, but by the terms of the peace treaty New York was returned to the English.  Though Capt. Clapp arrived after the Dutch wars (and Indian wars), he was present for another battle.  In 1689, while the governor was away, some New Yorkers rebelled against their officials (for some good reasons), and Jacob Leisler took control of the government.  It was a time of turmoil and unrest. 

 

During this time, a town meeting on Long Island was called to discuss "the severe oppressions, and tyranical usurpations, of Jacob Leisler and his accomplices."  It appointed Capt. John to write to the new monarchs, William and Mary, through their secretary of state.  He did so in November 1690.  In part, his letter claims that two of Leisler's men, "base villains with there collected Rabble in a barbarous and inhuman manner came over from New York to Long Island, and there did break open plunder and destroy the houses and estates of there Majtes subjects in a most rude and barbarous manner not regarding Age or sex, stripping our wives and daughters of there weareing aparill carrying away with them all that was portable shooting at and wounding divers poore Englishmen (:some deemd mortally wounded:) whose rage and fury yett stoppt not heare: but flew so far as to sequester our estates and expose them to sale, a piece of Tyranny yett unknown to freeborn English subjects, not convicted of crime meritorious of such a punishment giveing no other reason for there soe doeing, but because we woold not take commissions from the pretended Lieut Govr to bee part executioners of his Tyranical will and exorbitant comands; and extort an illegal tax from the subjects, for denying of which there is now 104 persons of us, men of the chiefest and best estates upon Long Island are driven from our beings and dispossessed of our freeholds."[18]

 

It is a skillfully crafted letter, designed to appeal on many levels:  “wee in a deep sense of our miseries and bad condition doe with all humility presume to acquaint Your Lordp with our present state and on our bended knees implore their Gracious Majties to cast a propitious eye of clemency and grace upon us, and not suffere there poore subjects totally to be ruined and undone by these monsters of men, whoe when they have done their utmost to ruine there Majties faithful people, wee have just cause to beleave will inevitably betray there Majtes City, Fort and province of New York to the French, hee not being able in the least measure to answer to those  many and grievous crims he has committed which must be laid to his charge, which will force him to shelter under Cataline’s maxim (:The Ills that I have done can not be safe but by attempting greater:).”  The quotation is from Ben Johnson’s play Catiline about a Roman patrician who headed a conspiracy to overthrow the government and obtain all places of power and trust for himself and his followers. 

 

In March 1691, Leisler surrendered to the new governor appointed by the crown, Henry Sloughter.  Gov. Sloughter called an assembly which marked the beginning of representative government in New York.  The new governor appointed John Clapp to be clerk of the House of Representatives on April 9, 1691.  Clapp served in this capacity until April 1697. 

 

Another document, dated Aug 14, 1690, places Clapp in Flushing, a court proceeding by Clapp against. John Abramse.  As of Jun 10, 1691, the Clapps were still connected with Flushing, when John appointed his wife’s brother-in-law Samuel Sands “to be my Sole and Absolute attorney.” Before the next February, the Clapps moved from Long Island to New York. 

 

Bowery:  The Clapps lived in the Bowery, of which he was appointed pound-keeper on March 31, 1693.  His location there is recorded in the New York tax lists from 1695 to 1698.  He apparently continued there through 1705.[19]  In the Bowery he took up a new occupation.  Whereas a June 1691 document described Capt. John, while he still resided in Flushing, as a merchant, an April 1695 list of New York Freemen identified Clapp as a victualler.  He kept a tavern at the southwest corner of Bowery Lane and the Sand Hill Road.  Reportedly, in March 1690, Jacob Leisler described Clapp’s tavern as “a good neat house, about two miles from the city.” [20]  Clapp apparently always owned several properties and may have maintained overlapping residences in Long Island and Manhattan. 

 

In 1697, Clapp issued an Almanack for the Year 1697, published by William Bradford, in which he listed his tavern, the "baiting place where Gentlemen take leave of their friends, and where a parting glass or two of generous wine   'If well apply'd makes their dull Horses feel/One spur i' th' Head is worth two in the heel.'"  It states that the distance from New York to Boston over the Forest Path is 274 miles and names the places and distances between them where travelers could find entertainment for man and beast.  “From the Post Office in New York to J. Clapp’s in the Bouwery is 2 mile.”  The almanac closes with the notice: "At the aforesaid Clapps, about two miles without the City of New-York, at a place called the Bowr'y, any Gentleman Travellers that are Strangers to the City, may have very good Entertainment for themselves and Horses, where there is also a Hackny Coach and good Saddle Horses to be hired."[21]  Family tradition tells that Capt. John kept the tavern at the request of the governor who resorted there with his associates "for their amusement in enjoying his company, for he was said to be very amusing."[22]  

 

Clapp’s almanac is weighty evidence of his reputation as a learned man, already manifest to a lesser degree in the Leisler letter.  The fact that he produced such a volume would have been impressive in his contemporaries’ eyes.  Furthermore, the book has been cited in modern scholarly articles.  One noted the earliest known American translation of Dante, albeit only a snippet, in Clapp’s almanac.[23]  Others have discussed the cosmology of early almanacs, noting that Clapp’s almanac included a ten-page essay on the Copernican world view.  Regardless of whether the science stands up today, it is evidence that he had studied and could discourse on scientific subjects.  There is no documentary corroboration, though, that anyone thought he was possessed of supernatural agency.

 

Several more documents place Clapp in New York and the Bowery.  He was a witness, on November 30, 1694, to the will of Solomon Peters of the Bowery. His name appears on a list dated April 2, 1694/95 of New York Freemen made in the mayorality of Charles Lodwik Esqr.  On July 1, 1696 Daniel Bastianse, son of Francis Bastianse, deceased, free Negro, of the Bowery, conveyed a lot in the Bowery to him.[24]

 

Clapp owned several lots of land in New York.  That he let some property is evidenced by the will of Lucas Stanton of New York, dated June 1692 in which he leaves 10 pounds “to my landlord Captain John Clapp” “to buy him a mourning ring, in consideration of the trouble I have given him.”[25] 

 

Among the land that the Clapps owned in New York was a 5-acre tract originally part of the Stuyvesant lands (Peter Stuyvesant was the last Dutch director of the colony), which John and Dorothy sold on July 27, 1697 to John Hutchins.[26]  In 1703 the Clapps were still in New York, for the household appears in a 1703 census, in the Out Ward.  Soon thereafter the Clapps invested in unsettled land to the north. 

 

Long Island & New York Family:  In some sources, including J. O. Austin’s Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island and the history of Richard Stillwell and family,  Dorothy Ray is erroneously identified as the wife of Samuel Sands.  Dorothy could not have married both men, as their children were born about the same time.  There are a series of documents indicating that John Clapp married Dorothy Ray and that Sands married Mary Ray.  Percy Clapp reportedly submitted some data to Austin who replied on Nov. 24, 1909, that Samuel Sands’ wife was other than Dorothy Ray.[27]

 

While an actual marriage record is not known, documentation of the Clapp-Ray marriage includes the following:

 

·          In 1691, John Clapp appointed his "trusty and well beloved brother and friend, Mr. Samuel Sands of New Shoreham alias Block Island to be my sole and absolute attorney."  Sands was Clapp's "brother" in that he was husband of sister-in-law Mary Ray.

·          In a letter dated March 5, 1793, Caty (Catherine Ray) Greene, Dorothy's great-niece wrote that Dorothy Ray “married a Clapp, at  Rye, – some of them are living, – very clever people."[28]

·          The will of Simon Ray of New Shoreham, made October 11, 1737, proven March 31, 1755, includes a bequest to his kinsman Silas Clapp of 100 pounds.  Silas was the grandson of John Clapp.

·          The above-noted record of the land sale on July 27, 1697 to John Hutchins which mentions “John Clapp, of the city of New York, gentleman, and Dorothy, his wife.”

 

There are also various other records which link the names of Clapp and Ray, including the will of Benjamin Clapp, witnessed by S. Raye; an agreement between William and Tristam Dodge witnessed by Cornbury Clapp and Simon Ray 2d on Feb. 1, 1724/25; a conveyance by John Sands to Samuel Sands on Jan. 27, 1709 witnessed by John Clapp and Samuel Clowes; a conveyance by Samuel Sands to Jonathan Rogers dated March 18, 1715 and witnessed by Elias Clapp and Anne Sands; a conveyance to John Sands on Dec. 29, 1722 witnessed by Elias Clapp; a receipt given by Edward Sands to John Sands dated Feb 22, 1721/22 in presence of Elias Clapp; and a conveyance on Jan. 17, 1707/08 witnessed by John Baxter and Roger Kenyon (Mary Ray’s second husband), and recorded by John Clapp, Recorder.[29]

 

Capt. John and Dorothy Ray had children.  Their names are known from various documents, though (except for John) not their birth dates or even the order they were born.  The birth of John was recorded on the flyleaf of a book and copied in the Clapp Memorial.  The dates of the others must be guessed at.  The Clapp Memorial, which is quite faulty in the early generations, attributes to John a son named Henry of whom no evidence exists, probably confused with the name Cornbury.

 

·          John, “7 mo., 12, 1690 John Clapp ye son of John Clapp, was born about 11 hr. p.m. or nere midnight in the town of Flushing upon Long Island & was baptised by Doct Innis ye 18th day of ye same month.  Simon Ray his uncle.”[30]  He lived until 1730 and married Dorcas Quimby.

·          Elias, d.c.1783, married Ruth Allen.  In 1718, Benjamin and Elias were in conflict with Constable Mills of Greenwich over rates (as told below), suggesting they were in their late teens or adulthood at that time.

·          Benjamin, died 1727.

·          Cornbury, b.c.1704, a date suggested by Lord Cornbury’s arrival to assume his new position as governor of New York in May 1702 and by Cornbury’s being old enough to be a witness and buy land in 1725.

 

The Clapp Family in the 1703 Census:  The 1703 NYC census enumerated the following in Capt. John's household: 2 males aged 16-60, 2 males under 16, and one female.  If one adult male and the female are Capt. John and Dorothy, 3 males are left to be identified.  One of the boys under 16 was surely John, who was age 13 in 1703.  One male over 16 and one under remain to be identified.  However, five sons survived Capt. John.  If two sons were born after 1703 and an older son were still in the household as of 1703, that would explain the other two enumerated men. Cornbury was surely born after 1703.  Benjamin or Elias could have been the other child under 16.  Gilson was probably the one over 16.  Without actual birth documents, the birth dates and order of John and Dorothy’s son remains an open question.[31]  (Since Capt. John was 53 at this time, the second male aged 16 to 60 could not have been his father.)

 

Westchester: About 1705, while Lord Cornbury was governor and perhaps on his advice (as stated in the traditional story), John Clapp moved to Westchester County. The fact that John named a son Cornbury attests to his having an acquaintance with Lord Cornbury.  Lord Cornbury – Edward Hyde (1661-1824), the third Earl of Clarendon, (first cousin to Queen Anne) – was governor of New York and New Jersey from 1701 to 1708, when Capt. John was in his 50s.  Unfortunately, Lord Cornbury turned out not to be a good governor, earning a reputation as a spendthrift, bigot, a drunken and vain fool, and an embezzler. 

 

 In 1704, Capt. John was one of 29 proprietors of Bedford Township in Westchester Co., though apparently he did not live there himself.  In 1705, he purchased from the Native Americans a large tract in the neighborhood of Rye Pond in North Castle and another large tract in Rye Township.  He again bought land from the Native Americans in 1710.  Other land grants were recorded in 1707, 1708, 1709, and 1715.  (Further land records in the name of John Clapp may pertain to his son John.)  Within the Northcastle grant, Clapp reserved 300 acres for his own family's use.  His land bordered and perhaps extended into Greenwich, Connecticut, leading the family into some disputes relative to the boundaries.

 

Capt. John continued to be a community leader in Westchester.  In 1707, he was appointed clerk of the County of Westchester, a position he retained until 1711.  In 1710, he made a census of the county for Secretary Clarke.  He is described in French's History of Westchester as "leader of the yeoman...a sagacious and energetic man."[32] 

 

Westchester Family:  Capt. John apparently married a fourth time.  A John Clapp married Mrs. Ruth Ferris on 19 Jan. 1707-08 in Stamford, Conn., a town east of Greenwich in Fairfield County.  Ruth was the widow of two men, Daniel Weed, by whom she had two children, and Peter Ferris. (While it has been suggested elsewhere that Ruth Ferris married John Clapp Jr., the dates do not work.  John Jr. was only 17, but Ruth was formerly married to men about the age of Capt. John or older.[33])  

 

One story from the Westchester era involving the Clapp family is that in 1718 "Samuel Mills, the constable of Greenwich, went to the house of one of the inhabitants of Rye, living close upon the Connecticut line, and demanded of him the rates due to the minister of the parish of Horseneck.  Upon his refusal, the constable and his assistant 'took him into safe custody, and put him under keepers, in order to be committed to gaol, there to lye, till said Rates and charges were paid.' Elated by success, the constable was proceeding to the neighbors' houses on the same errand, when, as he relates, 'There did meet us one John Clap, Elias Clap, Benjamin Clap, and Thomas Sutton, all with clubs in their hands; .... and John Clap asked me where I was agoing; and I said, to your house and your neighbours' houses; and he and the other three run across the lots to his house and shut to the doors, and told me if I came in they would knock me in the head; and then I went from them, and was coming home, about a quarter of a mile from the Colony line and within the township of Greenwich; and there came up to me Adam Ireland, Thomas Sutton, John Clap, Elias Clap, Benjamin Clap, all of the Government of Connecticut, and [sundry others] ... and said Ireland asked, Where is the constable of Greenwich? and said he had a warrant to take me prisoner.'  Then the said company soon laid hands upon the deponent, and by force and violence pulled him off from his horse, threw away his constable's staff, and carried him and the collector before Justice Budd of Rye." The boundary was not settled by survey until 1731.[34]   (It is not stated whether the John Clap of the story is Capt. John or son John, though it appears they all shared one house and John Jr. was then married.)

 

Capt. John Clapp’s death date is unknown.  “It is certain, however, that he died before February 18, 1725/26, when his son, Gilson Clapp of New Rochelle, conveyed land at Greenwich, Conn., ‘that came to me by my honoured father, Deceased.’”[35]  Son John, married to Dorcas Quimby, lived until 1730.   Elias married Ruth Allen in 1727 and settled in Westchester Co. and apparently survived through 1783, when his will was proved.  Benjamin died in 1727, presumably childless since his will left his estate to his wife, four brothers, and ten pounds to the Quakers.  Both Benjamin and Cornbury purchased land in Greenwich but may have remained living in Westchester. In 1727, Cornbury was mentioned in Benjamin's will but not in the settling of the estate.  It is assumed he had died.  It is also assumed he did not marry or have children. There are scattered records of Gilson Clapp in North Castle, New Rochelle, and Southeast (Dutchess Co.).  When he died is unknown.  He may have left descendants.[36]

 

Slaves:  In addition to the family, the 1703 census also records that two male and one female negroes were in the Clapp household.  It is likely that Capt. John owned slaves on his Carolina plantations as well.  Occasional records of slaves were noted with regard to his descendants.  A Gilson Clapp of South Carolina (see below) was involved in the slave trade.  It is not known what trade Capt. John might have been engaged in. 

 

Religion:  According to Baird's History of Rye, in 1718 Capt. John was styled a "reputed Quaker."  John Clapp was born into the Anglican church.  Any conversion to the Society of Friends would probably have occurred in New York.  Flushing, Long Island, had been the scene of successful missionary efforts among the Friends, many of whom also held meetings in Westchester, where they won converts.  In Rye in 1710, there were reportedly "7 families of Quakers and 4 or 5 families inclining to them."[37]  Many Clapp descendants belonged to the Society; however, whether Capt. John himself was convinced is unknown.  Since Lord Cornbury oppressed the Quakers in New Jersey, it is questionable whether he and Capt. John could have been friends if the Captain were a Friend himself.  However, after Lord Cornbury’s governorship ended, Capt. John may have converted.  Alternatively, John Clapp Jr. could have been the Friend meant, since it is known that some of his descendants were Friends.  His brother Benjamin left money to the Friends in his will. 

 

Artifact:  One family artifact allegedly dating back to the original American Clapps is a set of bed hangings now in the Department of American Decorative Arts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.[38]  These embroidered bed hangings were purchased in 1940 from a Mildred (Mrs. Harold) Wilcox of Greenwich, Conn.[39]  It is unknown how Mrs. Wilcox came to own them.  A handwritten page in an envelope labeled “The history of the old needle worked Curtains” accompanied the bed hangings.  Headed “Bed Hangings,”this paper traced their ownership down through Sarah C. Sands, identified as “the present owner” and thus as writer of the page.  In this paper, probably written between 1872 and 1904, Sands stated: “The work of the three wives of Dr. George Gibson Clapp begun in Italy, taken to London, carried to America on appearance of the Plague in 1664, and finished by the third wife in New York.  Dr. Clapp first settled in America in South Carolina; two years after removing to New York City – thence to West Chester County, New York.  His descendants in regular order are as follows – a son – George Gibson Clapp whose son John Clapp settled near his father – having four sons, the third still retaining his father’s name John Clapp, and died in 1730.  This oldest son John married Alice Allen of Long Island and purchased a large estate in Greenwich, Connecticut which was inherited by his son Thomas Clapp, he being the only surviving male heir.  Thomas Clapp died leaving no children.  His sister Mary married Joseph Carpenter of Harrison, N.Y. whose youngest daughter married John Sands, Sarah C. Sands their daughter being the present owner of the curtains and the eighth generation.”

 

Adding dates and spouses to the above recital, one gets:

Sarah Carpenter Sands (1831-1904)

Mary Carpenter (1795-1872) m. John Sands (1795-1868)

Mary Clapp (b. 1750) m. Joseph Carpenter (1745-1812)

John Clapp (1714-1778) m. Alice Allen (1711-1787)

John Clapp (1690-1730) m. Dorcas Quimby (1690 – bef 1754)

Capt. John Clapp & Dorothy Ray

George Gibson Clapp

George Gibson Clapp

 

The Museum has only two other papers on the provenance of the bed hangings, information copied from Ebenezer Clapp’s Clapp Memorial and a letter from Mrs. Wilcox offering to sell the items.  It must be noted that there are no documents contemporary with the bed hangings.  

 

It is unclear whether Sarah Sands’ history was written independent of Ebenezer Clapp’s history or was influenced by it.  He was not in touch with Sarah Sands’ family,[40] but she could have had access to his book, as it was published in 1876 during the time she owned the curtains.  The discrepancies between the “Bed Hangings” page and Clapp Memorial could be ascribed either to errors in copying information from the book[41] or to their being based on an independently transmitted variation of the tradition.  Clapp himself stated that the George Gilson Clapp story had been transmitted in different forms in all the branches of his descendants. [42] 

 

There is one noteworthy bit of information in “Bed Hangings” not in the Clapp Memorial – that the embroidery is the work of the three wives of George Gilson Clapp.  Ebenezer Clapp said nothing about George Gilson’s wife or wives or his father’s wife or wives except something entirely theoretical:  “Dr. Clapp is also said to have been of Italian descent, but if such a tradition has any foundation in fact, it probably amounts to nothing more than that his father may have been a traveller, as well as himself, and perhaps married in Italy (emphasis added).”  While it is not impossible that another Clapp ancestor besides Capt. John had three wives, John Clapp is known to have had three wives, the third living in New York.  The “Bed Hangings” paper is yet more evidence that the history of John Clapp has been confused with the traditional George Gilson legend.

 

According to both former assistant curator of the American Wing, Margaret Jeffery, [43] and the current curator of the Met’s American Decorative Arts department, Amelia Peck, [44] the bed hangings are English, not Italian, in style.  There is reportedly no way to tell if they passed through three sets of hands.  The ground fabric was printed with the motifs, and then the set was embroidered following the pattern with set stitches.  They could have been embroidered by Clapp wives, or they could have been professionally embroidered in England and brought over by any of them.  As for dating them, judging by the design, they could belong to Capt. John’s generation or a generation earlier, as the motifs are typically English from the middle of the 17^th century. According to Jeffery, the patterns are of the type that became popular in the late 16^th century and remained popular for almost a hunderd years.  In conclusion, the bed hangings certainly belonged to the Clapp family, but there is no way to prove who did them or when or whether the work was done in England, America, or both.

 

Conclusion:   Despite the errors and confusions of various secondary sources,[45] from the wealth of documents cited above, it is apparent that the Clapp who left England for America, who first lived in South Carolina, and who moved to New York City and Westchester County was Capt. John Clapp.  While Ebenezer Clapp himself noted an “anachronism as regards the connection of Lord Cornbury with Dr. C,” it is also apparent that the reputation in the New York colony attributed to George Gilson Clapp in The Clapp Memorial belongs properly to Capt. John. 

 

 

Ancestry of John Clapp

 

And what of the rest of the story?  Even though it was Capt. John Clapp who founded the American line of Clapps, the earlier part of the legend of the traveler George Gilson Clapp concerning 20 years travel prior to the Great Plague of 1665 (when Capt. John was only about 15) must belong to his father or other relative.  The fact that part of the story is wrongly attributed does not discredit the rest of the story.  However, though there are some American documents mentioning a Gilson Clapp, mariner or merchant, no evidence has yet come to light to document a Dr. George Gilson Clapp.  In fact, there is evidence suggesting that Capt. John’s father was someone else.  [Please note that this suggestion is not yet proven but is certainly credible and worthy of further investigation.]

 

Capt. Elias Clapp

 

There are other records worth noting in Deptford (where John married Elizabeth Channell:

      1648 Elias Clapp married Susan Gilson, Deptford, Kent[46]

      1 Ap 1649 Jno. s/o Elias Clapp born.[47]

 

Though the NYGBS paper from the barn and the Deptford records differ slightly, which is not unusual for 17th century records,[48] here is a suggestion that our Capt. John Clapp was the Jno. Clapp, son of Elias and Susan, born in Apr. 1649 (age 20 in March 1670 if he was born in 1649/50).  This would explain why John named his first son Elias – after his father – and his second son Gilson – after the family name of his mother.  Other records which give Elias the title of Captain and identify him as a mariner provide a professional link between Elias and John.

 

Further, there was a Susan Gilson, christened on 25 Nov 1630 at St. Dunstan, Stepney, London (located across the Thames River from Deptford), who was the daughter of a George Gilson.  According to the Clapp Memorial, John was the grandson of George Gilson Clapp.[49]  Perhaps he was actually the grandson of George Gilson and the son of Elias Clapp.  Unfortunately, it is unknown if George Gilson was a physician or if he traveled, though there were several Gilsons of Stepney, including a George, who were mariners.  It also has not been established that the Susan Gilson who married Elias Clapp was George’s daughter.[50]  George  Gilson’s wife was named Mary; her nationality (or whether there was any other woman in the family who was Italian) is unknown.

 

Deptford records provide the burial dates for Elias and Susan Clapp, 6 Jun 1689 for Elias and 14 May 1673 for Susan.  Other records from St. Nicholas in Deptford, and the will of Elias Clapp of Deptford, dated 17 May 1689,[51] provide the following family information:

 

Unknown Clapp parents

  Children:

- Capt. Elias Clapp married (1) 1648, Susan Gilson  (2) 9 Apr 1674, Elizabeth Healing

Children of Elias & Susan:

- John: chr. 1 Apr 1649

- Patience: chr. Jul 1649

- Susan: born c. 1655, m. William Wild on 22 May 1681 at St. James Dukes Place, London, London, England

Child of Elias and probably Elizabeth

- Elizabeth (under 21 and unmarried as of May 1689)

- Thomas Clapp, married Jane, survived Elias.

 

Capt. Elias Clapp styled himself “mariner” in his will.  Little is yet known of his career, except that he made a voyage for the East India Company, captaining the ship Asia (a.k.a Asia Merchant) on its first voyage for the East India Company, which started in 1684 and ended 1685, and that he had a one-eighth interest in the ship Robert and Margaret of London of which his son-in-law William Wild was master.[52]  His will makes reference to some damask “which I brought from the Straits,” though it is unknown when he voyaged there.

 

His brother Thomas may also have been a mariner.  There was a Thomas Clapp commissioned in 1666 to be captain of the Little Lion fireship in the Royal Navy,[53] though it is unknown if this was Elias’s brother.[54] 

 

Elias Clapp’s will unfortunately does not conclusively identify his son John as Capt. John.  Elias simply stated, “Whereas my sonne John Clapp is indebted unto me the sume of three hundred pounds sterling I do freely forgive him the said debt and over and above the same I give and bequeath unto him my said sonne John Clapp the sum of five pounds in full satisfaction of all demands.” 

 

“George Gilson Clapp” is the composite of at least two people, Capt. John and someone older.  Perhaps he is the composite of three men – John and Elias Clapp and George Gilson.

 

 

Gilson Clapp

 

While it is not the intent of this history to trace the lives of all of Capt. John’s children, a discussion of the various Gilson/Gillson Clapps follows, as the evidence both presents clues and leaves mysteries regarding the identity of the original Clapps and their descendants.  (In the following, the spelling “Gilson” is used for New York men and “Gillson” for South Carolinians; however, neither spelling is used consistently for any of the men in original sources.)

 

There are records of a Gillson Clapp in South Carolina. Could this be George Gilson Clapp?  If so, one would have to exchange the traditional image of the traveler in exotic lands for the factual one of a slave trader.  However, it is unlikely that the S.C. Gillson was George Gilson Clapp, since he showed up in S.C. after Capt. John left and would have been in his mid-sixties or older when the S C. Gillson’s son Gillson was born.

 

Some genealogies have stated that when Capt. John left Charleston, his son Gilson stayed behind.  Capt. John did indeed have a son named Gilson.  As the Gillson Clapp of South Carolina was a mariner, there is the professional connection with Capt. John.  Also the records of this man do not appear until the 1690s, consistent with his having been learning his trade in the years prior to those records, though he would have had to attain the title of captain by the age of 19.  If this were a son of Capt. John, it is not likely that he would have stayed behind but rather returned to South Carolina.  Otherwise, it would mean Capt. John left behind a child no more than 14 when he went to New York (especially curious if there is any truth to the alligator story noted above).  The 1703 census states that there was another male over 16 living in Capt. John’s household in New York.  This could possibly have been a relation of his wife’s rather than his own son but is most easily explained as being Gilson.  Further, if Capt. John was the father of the South Carolina Gilson, it would also mean he abandoned an orphaned grandchild who had no living maternal grandparents, to be brought up by guardians in South Carolina.  In fact, there was no apparent communication or connection between the Clapps of New York and those of So. Carolina in the 18^th century.

 

However, the real difficulty is that the Gillson Clapp of South Carolina died in 1698, and there are records of Capt. John’s son Gilson being in New York after that time.  Notably, Benjamin Clapp mentioned a brother Gilson in his will written in 1727.  Since the Gilson who died in 1698 and the one alive in 1727 cannot be the same man, the only possibility for identifying the So. Carolina Gilson as Capt. John’s son is that Capt. John named a second son Gilson after the first died.  Is this possible?  Capt. John had two sons John and probably two sons named Elias.  However, the first John and Elias died as children, not as adult who had perpetuated the name with their own sons, as the South Carolina Gillson did.  Still, it is possible.  Records that name Gilson in New York are unknown before 1726.  The order of the brothers in Benjamin’s will is: John, Elias, Gilson, Cornbury.  If  they were named in order of age, that would support the idea of a second Gilson, son of Capt. John.  Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence yet to solve the mystery of how Capt. John and Capt. Gilson were related (if at all).

 

In addition to Benjamin’s will, the name “Gilson Clapp” appears in records of 1725/26[55]; 1731, when he bought & sold land in Conn.; 1736, when he was “of North Castle”; 1739 when he was in New Rochelle; 1741-47, again “of North Castle; 1758 when a Gilson Clapp married Sarah C. in Dutchess Co.; 1757-59 when taxed in Southern Precinct; and 1768 when “Gillson Clapp” was listed twice among tenants of a lot in Southeast, Dutchess Co.[56]  These documents could pertain to more than one generation.  If Gilson had descendants in N.Y., this might account for some of the Clapps whose tie-in with the family has not been established and solve a few family mysteries.

 

South Carolina Gillson Clapps: 

There were three generations of Gillson Clapps living in South Carolina from the 1690s through the early 18^th century – Capt. Gillson Clapp, mariner; his son, a merchant; and his grandson, who apparently died young.  In 1693, the name of Capt. Gillson Clapp first appears in the proprietary records of South Carolina, when he witnessed some documents in Barbados and later proved them in Charleston.  He married Elizabeth Calfe, daughter of Joseph Calfe, a sword cutler, and his wife Elizabeth.  Calfe’s name appears in proprietary records of S.C. as early as Nov 1679 when he had land on Oyster Point.  In 1681 he received a grant for a plantation of 3 small islands containing 80 acres then in his possession on Wandoe River.  In Dec. 1681, he purchased half of a town lot in Charles Town and sold one-eighth of it in 1683  He made a will on 26 May 1683 and appointed his wife Elizabeth as sole executrix.[57]  He probably died soon afterward.  As executrix, Elizabeth sold some land in 1687 and later.  She died before Jan 1696.  Their daughter Elizabeth was their sole surviving child.

 

Gillson and Elizabeth were married by 1696 for, according to proprietary records, Gillson Clapp of Charlestown, mariner, and his wife Elizabeth granted three lots to Charles Burnham 27 January 1695/6.[58]  They had a son, also named Gillson.  Capt. Gillson Clapp died about 1698.  Elizabeth was a widow in April 1699.  In 1699 Benjamin Bull, a merchant late of the River of Gambo, Africa, then of London, gave Michael Cole, mariner, his power of attorney "to receive from heirs, adm. and executor of Gillson Clapp, late of S. C., deceased," the following: "75 oz. of gold in rings which I delivered to Cptn Clapp at Joure in ye River of Gambo of the value of 300 pounds per his receipt 3 Jan 1698."  Response (261 pounds currency) was made by Elizabeth Clapp, widow, on 10 April 1699.[59]  This Gillson was reportedly part owner of the Sloop Content and involved in the slave trade in Gambia.[60] 

 

After being widowed, Elizabeth married Daniel Lindrey (a.k.a. Daniel Sindrey). Lindrey had become a merchant in Carolina before 27 May 1695 and was elected in 1703 to represent Berkeley and Craven counties in the Commons House of Assembly.  The Lindreys had a daughter Sarah in 1704.  [Sarah Lindrey married Joseph Blake (son of the governor) and left descendants, who are outside the scope of this history.]  Daniel Lindrey made a will on 20 Nov 1701 when he intended to take a “long and dangerous” sea voyage.  The will was proved on 7 Oct 1704 and named Elizabeth as sole executrix. 

 

Elizabeth Calfe Clapp Lindrey then put together several parcels of land in Charlestown County, creating a plantation known as Magnolia Umbra.  This plantation was formed from 13 acres out of a grant to Henry Simonds, 112 acres from Joseph Pendaris, and 39½ acres from Richard Cartwright.  On 5 Feb 1704 she took out a new grant for 125 acres (the first two parcels) to herself. She devised the whole 164½  acres to her son Gillson.[61]  She also owned land in Charlestown.

 

Elizabeth died in 1705 after naming Col. William Rhett and his wife to be her children’s guardians.  One of the uses the Rhetts made of funds from the estate was Sindrey Row, a row of houses William Rhett built in 1709-1711, shown on the c. 1710 map by Edward Crisp and maps of 1939 and 1774, though they burned in a 1778 fire.  According to a complaint dated 17 Apr 1722 by Gillson Clapp v. Col. William Rhett and his wife, his mother made a will and devised to Gillson certain lots in Charlestown "on the Bay and in the Broad Street." In this complaint, Gillson Clapp “says that the defendants had the complainants plantation in their possession as guardians of the complainant" and the Rhetts reportedly charged "several annuale sumes for the maintenance and education of the complainant and his said sister."  The complaint refers to "a plantation and slaves which [the Rhetts] have had in the possession ever since the decease of the said Elizabeth Sindrey [Lindrey]."[62]  The records of the estate the Rhetts administered is preserved in an account book in the collections of the South Carolina Historical Society.

 

This Gillson also engaged in the slave trade, returning to Charleston in 1718.[63]  Within the next few years, he married.  Gillson first married Margaret Lynch and had two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, born about 1723 and 1725.  He married second on 29 Jan 1733/1734 Sarah Ward and had a son Gillson born on 3 Nov 1734, who apparently did not survive childhood.  Only Mary married and left descendants (all also outside the scope of this history).

 

Gillson was established as a merchant “on the Bay” (i.e. along the river) in Dorchester, Berkeley Co., in 1724, where he became a substantial land holder and served as Justice of the Peace from Berkeley Co. in 1734 and 1737.  Gillson Clapp owned a large amount of property.  In 1725, he purchased three town lots in Dorchester and later acquired more.  He did not keep the 164½ acres of land inherited from his mother.  He purchased an additional 10 acres and, with his wife Margaret, sold it all to Robert Hume on 2 Sep 1726.  He had a house and store in Dorchester, which went up for sale at different times.  In 1732:  "To be Lett or Sold at Dorchester, a new Brick House, 40 Foot by 30, with a wooden Store 50 Foot by 20, fronting the River, with a Lott, Quantity a Quarter of an Acre whereon the same does stand.  In 1735:  “Designing to leave off Shop keeping,” he advertised for sale a “wooden Store 50 feet long and twenty feet wide, one part of which is being fitted for a Shop.” Prospective buyers were advised to “treat with Gillson Clapp in Charles Town.”  The store was advertised for sale again after his death by William Power who was in company with Clapp.  Gillson Clapp was the first owner of record (1735) for the Harrietta Plantation on S. Santee River.

 

In Sumners, Gillson was the owner of a small, unnamed plantation composed of an aggregation of several Dorchester subdivisions in what was called the second range in the first division; "it represented the extreme Western limit of the original Dorchester grant, of that part of it called 'Roses' land from an original Rose for whom it had been surveyed prior to 1696."  Gillson’s will mentions houses and lands in or near Dorchester, lands in parish of St. James, Santee and Prince Ge orge’s Parish, Winyah, and lands near Williamsburg, Craven County. 

 

In his will Gillson left his dwelling house to his wife for her use until a house was built for her on a lot in Charlestown.  He directed that the Dorchester house be sold two years after his death, with the proceeds to support and educate his children.  In March 1740, a notice duly appeared in the South Carolina Gazette for public sale of a "brick house in the town of Dorchester, lately belonging to Mr. Gillson Clapp" along with 103 acres of "very good land" said to be "within a mile of the same & fronting the River."  In 1748 Kenneth and Mary Clapp Michie sold several  Dorchester properties, which she had inherited.  After Gillson’s death, his widow married William Hopton on 3 Apr 1744.  They had four children (also outside the scope of this history).