Deacon Thomas Clapp

Deacon Thomas Clapp was born in 1597 in Dorchester, Dorset, England. He died 20 April, 1684 in Scituate, MA.

Parents: Nicholas Clap (1575-1631) and Elizabeth Unknown (d. 1631).

Married:

1. about 1637 in Scituate, Massachusetts to a woman whose name was perhaps Jane.
2. about 1657 in Massachusetts to Abigail Wright (1622-1712) as her second husband; she was the daughter of Richard Wright (b. 1598) and Margaret, his first wife, and the widow of Robert Sharp. She married William Holbrook third.

Children of Thomas Clapp and his 1st wife:

1. Thomas Clap (15 Mar 1639-29 Jan 1691/2). Married Mary Fisher,
2. Increase Clap (May 1640-13 Sep 1716) married Elizabeth Bursley.
3. Samuel Clap (ca 1638/1642-18 Mar 1733) married Hannah Gill.
4. Elizabeth Clap (ca 1647-18 Mar 1698) married Thomas King.
5. Prudence Clapp (ca 1649 - 1687) married Joseph Stetson.
6. Eleazer Clap (ca 1652 -15 Mar 1676) Died in King Philip's War.

Children of Thomas Clapp and his 2nd wife:

1. John Clap (18 Oct 1658-ca 1671) died as a child
2. Abigail Clap (19 Jan 1659/60-) married Stephen Tilden

Parents

Thomas Clapp represented by this profile was son of Nicholas Clapp.
From page 88-91 of Joseph Neal Ancestry published 1945 by Walter Goodwin Davis:

• “The will of Nicholas Clapp of Venotry in the County of Devon was made on his death-bed March 12, 1681, and proved on March 29, 1681. He gave to the poor people of the parish of Sidbury 10s. and to the poor of Venotry 3s. 4d. To Jane Clapp, Thomas Clapp, Barbara Clapp, Radagond Clapp, John and Ambrose Clapp, his children, fourscore pounds each from the profits of his lands and tenements in Venotry, to be paid at the rate of nineteen pounds a year. If any child died before time of payment, his share to be equally divided amongst the others. He made arrangements for prepayment if any of the four youngest children "shall be willing to putt themselves to any arte or trade. To Elizabeth, his wife, a feather-bed performed (i.e. furnished), six pewter dishes, potts and a middle pan of brass, a chest, two coffers and the use of other household stuff for her life. To son Thomas, his third best pot of brass. To each of his daughters Jane, Barbara and Redagon, a brazen pan. To his son Nicholas Clapp, a pewter dish. Residue to Richard Clapp, his eldest son and heir, to whom he gave his lands and tenements in Venotry. Executor: son Richard Clapp. Overseers: his sons-in-law Francis Pile and Hercules Searles, to each of whom 21s. Witnesses : Nie Putt, Wm Winter, Christopher Whitmore.”
• “Children…. Thomas3 Clapp … born in SIdbury, co. Devon about 1609… In 1630.. went to New England..died in Scituate Apr 20, 1684”

The earliest comprehensive account of this Clap family was Ebenezer Clapp's The Clapp Memorial. Record of the Clapp Family in America ... (Boston, MA: 1876), pp. 91-94. Brief mention was made in 1889 in NEHGR 15:255 (1861) and NEHGR 43:429 (1889). Mary Lovering Holman prepared The Scott Genealogy . . . (Boston 1919) p 22, 229 and Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and his wife Frances Helen Miller (n.p. 1948) 1:280. In 1959 Edith Bartlett Surnner produced Edith Bartlett Sumner, Descendants of Thomas Farr of Harpswell, Maine, and Ninety Allied Families (Los Angeles 1959) 61-641. In 1945 Walter Goodwin Davis published an account in The Ancestry of Joseph Neal, 1769-c.1835 (Portland, Maine, 1945) 87-93. In 1992 a brief mention was made of Thomas Clapp by Gale Ion Harris in “Captain Richard Wright of the Twelve-Mile Island and the Burnhams of Podunk” in The American Genealogist 67:38. In 2001 Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn Jr. and Melinde Lutz Sanborn produced account in The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635 (Boston, MA: NEHGS 2001) 2:76-81. According to Robert Charles Anderson all of these accounts were superseded by the study of the Clapp family by Dean Crawford Smith and Melinde Lutz Sanborn in The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton, 1878-1908, Part IV: The Ancestry of Linda Anna Powers, 1839-1879 (Boston, MA: NEHGS 2000) 114-195. Anderson should know as he is editor and peer reviews the NEHGS publications and Melinde Lutz Sanborn was co-author of the Great Migration series. This is the most comprehensive study of the Clapp family ever published and includes extensive records from England. What does this study conclude? Thomas Clapp was son of Nicholas Clapp. Per PGM policy unless other more recent peer reviewed sources are presented we go by Anderson’s judgement. No other sources exist. Therefore the father of this profile should be changed to Nicholas Clapp.[1][2][3] Robert Charles Anderson and Melinde Lutz Sanborn in The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635 (Boston, MA: NEHGS 2001) 2:76-81 link write:

• "A second group of Clap siblings... came to New England: NICHOLAS CLAP {1637, Dorchester}, THOMAS CLAP {1638, Weymouth}; John Clap, who was in New England by the 1640s; Prudence Clap, wife of our Edward; Barbara Clap, wife of JOSEPH WELD {1635, Roxbury}; and Radigon Clap, who rnarried John Capen, son of BERNARD CAPEN {1633, Dorchester} Joseph Neal Anc 88-89; Scott Gen 227-30; Stevens-Miller Anc 1:278). Another sister, Jane Clap, was almost certainly wife of JOHN ALDERMAN {1634, Dorchester} {GM 2: 1:20-23}."

Note these were all the children of Nicholas Clapp per Melinde Lutz Sanborn in Kempton Ancestry: Nicholas Clapp named his children in his will: James, Thomas, Barbara, Radegon, John and Ambrose [Inquisition indented taken 2nd May 9 Charles [I][1633] of Nicholas Clapp died 12th March 7 Charles [1631/2] also Richard and Nicholas son and next heir were "24 years or more" on 2 May 1633. i.e 1609 or later. Thomas Clapp in Plymouth Colony Deed 4:176 deposed aged 69 in 1678 i.e. born 1608. Thomas died 20 Apr 1684. Thomas m/1 Jane ___ b say 1617 d bef Jan 1556 m/2 Abigail (Wright) Sharp b abt 1623 d btw 28 Nov 1702 (will) and 13 Feb 1707/8 (proved). Jane was mother to his six children. John Clapp in 1655 named in his will his brother Thomas Clapp and his children Elizabeth, Prudence, Samuel and "the rest of his children." [Suffolk Probate 1:111]. Thomas rec'd legacy from his father Nicholas 1631 and sailed 1637,Hingham lists 13 Mar 1638; Sidbury, Devon, England 5 Jun 1644; Transcription of Will and Inventory p 134-137

From Kempton Ancestry page 132 published in 2000 written by the co-author of The Great Migration and peer reviewed at NEHGS by Anderson:

• "THOMAS1 CLAPP (Nicholas(A) Richard(B)), presumably born in Sidbury, Devonshire, England, about 1608; died in Scituate, Mass., 20 April 1684; married first say 1637 JANE __, born say 1617, died before January of 1656[/7?] when her husband is known to have remarried, kinswoman of Joan (Upham) Martin of Rehoboth; married second after January of 1655 and before 15 January 1656[17?]76 ABIGAIL (WRIGHT) SHARP, born in England about 1623 died between 28 November 1702 when she wrote her will and 13 February 1707[/8?] when her will was proved,79 daughter of RICHARD and MARGARET (__) WRIGHT.
• Citations: Plymouth Colony Deed 4:176; Walter Goodwin Davis, The Ancestry of Joseph Neal, 91; Suffolk Probate 3:67,; Suffolk File #5400; Plymouth Probate #10242; Suffolk Probate 4:228; Scituate YR 2:397.

JOHN1 Clapp (Nicholas(A) Richard(B)), born say 1616; died in Dorchester, Mass., between 11 July 1655 when he wrote his will [Suffolk Probate 1:111] This very interesting will made when he suffered from "sicknes & great weakenes of body," named his wife, "my dear and loving brother Ambrose Clap [clearly still in England from the context of the will]", "my dear brother Richard Clap in England"; "my loving brother-in-law Edward Clap", "my loving cousins Richard and Elizabeth Clap children of my brother Richard Clap"; "my loving cousin Deborah Clap, daughter of ye said brother"; "my loving cousins Nathaniel, Ebenezer, Sarah and Hannah, brother Nicholas' children"; "my loving cousins Elizabeth, Prudence, and Samuel Clap children of my brother Thomas Clap"; "ye rest of his [Thomas'] children"; "my cousin John Capen"; "my dear and loving cousins Roger Claps children"; "my brother Nicholas, my brother Edward and my cousin Roger Clap."

Notes

From Deane’s History of Scituate:6

"Mr Thomas Clap was born in Dorchester, England, 1597. He came to New England with the early settlers of Dorchester , where his brothers John, Richard and Ambrose tarried. Thomas proceeded to Weymouth, where his first son Thomas was born 1639. He had grands of land in Hingham, 1637, but never resided there. His farm in Weymouth was near the present residence of Hon. Christopher Webb. He came to Scituate 1740. We find no record of his children born here, but we learn from incidental records, that he had Eleazer, Samuel, Elizabeth, Prudence, John born 1658, and Abigail born 1659. His farm in Scituate was on the south -west of Stockbridge's mill pond, and now owned by Calvin Jenkins, sen. He was a Deacon of the first Church 1647. He was an active, useful, and venerable man."21

Links

• http://www.rickster.org/html/clapp.bak
• http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/gen/report/rr02/rr02_359.htm

Citations

• 6. Samuel Deane, History of Scituate, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1831.
• 87. George Walter Chamberlain, History of Weymouth, Boston, 1923.

  ---

  
  

Immigration: 07/24/1633

• Event: Admitted 1638 As a Freeman at Dorchester, Massachusetts
• Event: Admitted 4 JUN 1645 As a Freeman at Scituate, Massachusetts
• Event: Moved 1639 To Weymouth, Massachusetts
• Event: Removed By 1644 to Scituate, Massachusetts
• Will: Dated 1/1/1675 and proved 8/19/1682

  ---

Notes

From https://archive.org/details/clappmemorialrec00clap/page/106/mode/1u...

Mr. Clapp was a Deputy to the Court in 1649, /erseer of the poor in 1667, that being the first year such offi- .s were chosen. He was a useful and enterprising man. He died April 20, 1684, greatly respected. His farm in Scituate was on the south-west of Stockbridge's mill-pond, and afterwards owned by Calvin Jenkins. Who his wife was has not been ascertained, ex- cepting that her christian name was Abigail.
Richard Sylvester, who lived in Weymouth about 1640, held doc- trines too liberal for the age in which he lived ; they were supposed to be similar to those of his minister, Mr. Lenthial, whose doctrine was "that all baptized persons should be admitted to the church without further trial." This Mr. Lenthial afterward retracted before the General Court of Massachusetts ; but Sylvester refusing, he was disfranchised, and therefore removed into Scituate, then in the Plymouth Colony and out of their jurisdiction. As Thomas Raw- lins, Thomas Clapp, James Torrey and William Holbrook went to Scituate about the same time, Deane supposes it was on account of holding similar opinions.