Johann Leopold Knapp

Johan Leopold Knapp was born in 9 Oct 1778. There were many PUSH factors in the Grand Duchy of Baden Germany to make him LEAVE. Farmland was being subdivided amongst family members and was too small to feed families, Johan is listed as a Carpenter - such a trade makes it easy for him to emigrate. I think he took a boat down the Rhine to either Amsterdam or Rotterdam Ports and took passenge on a Dutch East India Trade Ship to the Cape. When Johan was about 11 the French Revolution broke out and there was a lot of fallout in Badenwhich was just across the Rhine river from alsace-lorraine now part of France. After that there was the upheaval cause by the Napoleonic wars and in 1798 when Johann was about 20 it is very likely he would have made the decision to leave Europe altogether. Uitenhage was founded in 25 April 1804 and it is possible that johann was one of the people attracted to their area to do the building of the town.