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(I) Henry Kent was born in Sheffield , England , in 1820, and died in Winsted , Connecticut , in 1871. He was about twenty-six years old when he came to America in 1846, and was at the time a cutler by trade, having acquire the knowledge of this trade in the factories at Sheffield , which is the chief manufacturing center of the cutlery industry in England . On arriving in this country, Henry Kent settled at Winsted , Connecticut , where he found occupation in line with his trade, and he remained there for the rest of his life. He married Jane Powell, also of Sheffield , England . Children, the first of two born in England : 1.
Page 828 Henry, Jr., killed in the Civil war, never having married. 2. Annie, married George Leonard, of Winsted, where they have remained, having one son, Henry. 3. Austin, born at Lakeville , Connecticut , who died at the age of sixteen. 4. Alexander, mentioned below. 5. Jennie, married Zachariah Stevens. 6. Florence , married a Mr. Fox; one son, Adrian, born at Grass Valley , California , where the family resides. 7. Nellie, married John Byrnes; children: i. Grace, and ii. Ethel, both born in Jersey City , where the family resides. (II) Alexander, third son of Henry and Jane (Powell) Kent, was born at Lakeville , Connecticut , November 28, 1851 . He was educated in the public schools of Winsted, and when he was able to work entered the cutlery business. He has been in Walden for the last thirty-nine years, and has been in the cutlery business all his life. He is a member of the Dutch Reformed Church of Walden, and for a number of tears has been one of its deacons. He has been president of the village for two terms, and a trustee of the village twelve years. He has occupied the position of village assessor two years. He is a member of the Freeman Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Walden , New York ; of Henry Gowdy Council, No. 75, of American Mechanics; and also of the Foresters of America. He married, in Walden, Mary Butters, of Walden, Orange County , New York . Children: 1. Carrie, married Bessley Freer, of Walden , New York , having one son, Kent, born in Walden , New York . 2. Jessie, married Robert Shepard, of Warwick , New York , having two sons: Walter and Robert, one born in Walden , New York , and the other in Tarrytown , New York . 3. Rosco. 4. Hector. 5. Stanley . 6. Hattie, all born in Walden , New York . The father of Mary (Butters) Kent, wife of Alexander Kent, above mentioned, was Alexander Butters, who was born in Scotland . He was by occupation a miller. He married Janette Mackie, who was also born in Scotland . Children: 1. George, was killed in the Civil War. 2. Robert, who was lost. 4. John, never married, and now deceased. 5. Jessie, married Hector Fenney, having daughter May, born in new York , where the family now dwells. 6. Thomas, married Mary Atkins, but has no children. 7. James, married, having four children: John, Elsie, Frank and James, born at Horchkissville , Connecticut , where the family now resides. 8. Mary, married Alexander Kent, above mentioned. 9. Alexander, married Ellen Hess, of Walden , New York , their children being: i. Bessie, ii. Thomas, and iii. Alexandria , all born at Walden , New York , where the family resides. 10. William, married Belle McDuff, of Walden , New York , having one son, Dayton , born in Walden , New York , where the father has a farm, and now resides at Schenectady , New York . BROWN. Brown is one of the commonest English family names, there being a proverb in England concerning the numerosity of "Smith, Jones, Brown and Robinson". According to the Register General of that country, Brown stand sixth in point of number of people bearing it among the surnames of England and Wales . Within a given period the Smith were 33m557 and the Browns 14,346. The etymology of the name is obvious, and, like the Roman Fuscus, the French Le Brun, the German and Dutch Briun or Braun, the name refers to the dark complexion of the original bearers. It is difficult to distinguish between the Browns of Saxon and those of Norman descent in England , and in America the case is complicated by the fact that both the German and the French forms of the name have in many cases been anglicized to the form here dealt with. In the case of the Browns of Saxon or Norman origin, the original form was in both cases "bruin". The Domesday Book of England has several Bruns, apparently Saxon, but the Battle Abbey Roll has it Le Brun from Normandy, and subsequently there are in England Le Bruns in plenty and after the Normans entered the country in Ireland, and ultimately in every rank of society. There is Scottish form Broun, a retained mediaevalism. A family of French refugees who settled in Norfolk after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685, under the name of Brunet, now write themselves Browne. (I) Benjamin Brown, the patriarch of the family of Browns here dealt with, was born in Sheffield, England, early in the last century, and died in the same town. he was probably identified with the cutlery trade that has made that town famous, and would seem to have continued in that occupation all his life. He
Page 829 married, but his married life appears to have been brief, for both Benjamin and his wife were dead some years before 1846. There is no record available either of the Christian name or maiden surname of his wife. They had two children: 1. Matthew, mentioned below, and 2. Ann. (II) Matthew, only son of Benjamin Brown, of Sheffield , England , was born about 1822, at Sheffield , England , and died in California , U. S. , in 1895. He spent his youth and early manhood in the place of his birth, but in 1860 came to America . He was, like his father, engaged in the cutlery business, his own special trade being that of a knifemaker. He lived in New York for one year following his arrival, and then moved to Lakeville , Connecticut , where he found occupation in his line that kept him there for some time. From Lakeville he moved to Newark , New Jersey , where he was engaged in the sewing machine business. He was some years in Newark , and from there he went to Middletown , New York , where he lived for fifteen years. From Middletown he went to Yonkers , New York , and thence to California , where he died at Los Angeles , April 8, 1895 . He married, at Sheffield , England , about 1844, Sarah Woodhouse, of the same place. Children: 1. Benjamin, mentioned below. 2. Ellen, died in infancy, in England . 3. John, died in infancy, in New York . 4. Annie, married Henry W. Mitchell, of Middletown , New York , where they still reside, and had Clarence, died young. 5. Mary E., married Oscar Garrison, of Middletown , New York , there being one daughter of the marriage, Mabel, born at Yonkers , New York , where the family resides. (II) Benjamin (2), eldest son of Matthew and Sarah (Woodhouse) Brown, was born in Sheffield , England , March 30, 1845 . He came to this country with his mother when he was about twelve years old, his father having come to this country a year before, and therefore received the elementary part of his education partly in England , and partly in America . When he was old enough his father put him to various business, but he finally took up the same trade as his father, and may now be said to have been in the cutlery trade nearly the whole of his working life. He traveled about with his father from place to place when the family first came to this country, but for the last forty-four years has lived in Walden, Orange County , New York . He was one of the original stockholders in the Walden Knife Works. For two years, from 1868 to 1870, he was with the New York Knife Works of Walden , New York , and has ever since been with the Walden Knife company. He is a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted in the thirty-ninth New Jersey Regiment. He was in the battle of Petersburgh, serving altogether nine months, and was honorably discharged June 17, 1865. Mr. Brown is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Walden, New York. He also belongs to the Foresters of America, and to the Fairchild Post, No. 564, Grand Army of the Republic, Walden, New York. He married, in 1876, Mary J., daughter of James A. Turner, of Middleburgh, New York, mentioned below, who was born July 25, 1856. Children: 1. Mark, born October 29, 1877, died July 6, 1881. 2. Ralph S., born December 14, 1879, married Jessie Carr, of Walden, New York, and have one son, Arthur, born at Walden, where they now reside. 3. Arthur C., married Katherine Eccles, of Middletown, New York, the family now residing at Walden. 4. Wallace, died December 1, 1906, aged twenty-two, having been born December 23, 1884. 5. William H., born April 7, 1888, died September 1, 1888, buried in Wallkill Valley Cemetery. 6. Albert K., born March 17, 1892. 7. Gordon, born March 2, 1900, died September 4, 1900. All these children were born at Walden, Orange County, New York, with the exception of Ralph, who was born in Reynolds Bridge, Connecticut. James A. Turner, father of Mrs. Mary J. (Turner) Brown, lived most of his life in Middletown, New York. He married Sarah Wallace, of Scotland. Children, all born at Middletown, New York, where the father died in July, 1896, in his seventy-seventh year: 1. James A., married and has children: i. Charles, ii. Alice, iii. Lulu, iv. Emma, v. Edward, and vi. Florence, all born at Brooklyn, New York, where the family resides, in Union Avenue. 2. Alice, married Frank Brasted, of Port Jervis, having one son, Frank T., the family now living at Minisink, Orange County, where the husband is postmaster. 3. Abram, married, and has children: i. Edward, ii. Sadie, iii. William, and iv. Dorothy, all born at Brooklyn, New York, the family now living at Woodhaven, New York, Abram being connected with the Fire
Page 830 Department of Brooklyn. 4. Sarah, married Walter Philpot, of Brooklyn, New York, having daughters Ethel M. and Mildred, born at Brooklyn, New York, where the family lives. 5. William T., married Minnie Lurch, having one daughter, Gladys, born at Brooklyn, New York, where the family resides. 6. Charles C., married twice, having by his first wife one daughter, Madeline J., and, by his second wife, Sarah Caroll, of New York, a son, Charles C., Jr., born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, now living in New York City; and 7. Ralph, died young. RAPELYE. This numerous and reputable family is descended from that of de Rapalie, which, was early as the eleventh century, possessed large estates in Bretagne and ranked among the arriere-ban of the French mobility. Some of its members were distinguished by military genius in the period of the Crusades; others were celebrated for political eminence and professional talent. But in the religious wars of the sixteenth century they became scattered, branches of the family subsequently gaining prominence in Switzerland and Belgium, where trey acquired large possessions and continue to the present time. The name was formerly written Rapalie, the practice which after obtained of writing the final syllable of the name with a "j", being a Dutch perversion of the original orthography. An American writer has said of this family: "Their general character for honesty, hospitality, industry, sagacity, talent, and perseverance, stands pre-eminent in the estimation of their fellow citizens; indeed they seem, in a great measure, to have retained through the lapse of more than two centuries, the characteristic gaiety, tact, and intelligence of their French origin, combined with the good sense, economy, and neatness of their Dutch progenitors." (I) Joris Jansen de Rapalie, the first American ancestor of the Rapalie or Rapelye family in this country, was born in Rochelle, France, and died at Brooklyn, New York, shortly after the close of the Dutch administration, and probably in 1667. He came with other colonists to this country in 1623, sailing in the ship "Eendragt" or "Unity", which belonged to the West India Company. He settled with others first at Fort Orange, now Albany, where he continued three years. In 1626, he removed to New Amsterdam and resided there till after the birth of his youngest child. On June 16, 1637, he bought from the Indians a tract of land, computed at three hundred and thirty-five acres, called Rennegaconck, now included within the boundaries of Brooklyn. Here Mr. Rapalie finally located and spent the remainder of his life. He was a leading citizen, acted a prominent part in the public affairs of the colony, and served on the magistracy of Brooklyn. He married Catalyntie, daughter of Joris to, who survived him many years. She was born in Paris, France, and died September 11, 1689, aged eighty-four years. Children: 1. Sara, born June 9, 1625, married (first) Hans Hansse Bergen, and (second) Teunis Gysbert Bogart. 2. Marritie, born March 11, 1627, married Michael Vandervoort. 3. Jannetie, born August 18, 1629, married Rem Vanderbeeck. 4. Judith, born July 5, 1635, married Pieter Van Nest. 5. Jan, born August 28, 1637, married but died in 1662 without surviving issue. 6. Jacob, born May 28, 1639, killed by the Indians. 7. Catalynte, born March 28, 1641, married Jeremias Westerburg. 8. Jeromus, born June 27, 1643. 9. Annetie, born February 8, 1646, married Marten Reyerse, and (second) Joost Fransz. 10. Elizabeth, born March 28, 1648, married Dirck Hooglandt. 11. Daniel, mentioned below. (II) Daniel, youngest son of Joris Jansen and Catalyntie (Trico) de Rapalie, was born at New York or New Amsterdam, as it then called, December 29, 1650, died in Brooklyn, December 26, 1725. He was a man of high respectability and an elder of the Brooklyn church. He married, May 27, 1674, Sarah, daughter of Abraham Klock, who died February 28, 1731, aged seventy-seven. Children, not in order of birth: 1. Joris, mentioned below. 2. Daniel, born March 5, 1691, married October 17, 1711, Aeltie, daughter of Johannes Cornell, at which time he lived at Brooklyn, but afterwards removed to Newtown, New York, on Long Island, and bought a farm on Flushing Bay, where he died march 19, 1737, his wife having died May 20, 1736, aged forty-four. 3. Mary, marred Elbert Hegeman. 4. Sarah, married Peter Luyster. (III) Joris Rapelje, eldest son of Daniel and Sarah (Klock) de Rapalie, was born at Brooklyn, March 4, 1675, died January 19, 1741. He followed the business of a brewer
Page 831 at Brooklyn and held the office of lieutenant of his Majesty's forces. He moved to Newtown about 1711, and bought the farm of his deceased brother-in-law, John Berrien, at the head of Flushing Bay, then comprising some three hundred acres, but since but up and divided. He conducted a large brewery there. He was the first of the family to write his name Rapelje, with the "j". He married at Newtown, Long Island, Agnes, daughter of Cornelius Berrien, of Newtown, the marriage taking place about 1711, soon after his removal to Brooklyn. Agnes (Berrien) Rapelje died November 3, 1756, aged eighty-one. Children: 1. Daniel. 2. Cornelius. 3. Abraham. 4. Jane, who married John Debevoise. 5. John. 6. Jacob. 7. Jeromus, mentioned below. (IV) Captain Jeromus Rapelje, youngest son of Joris and Ages (Berrien) Rapelje, was born at Brooklyn, September 14, 1717, died January 15, 1776. He bought the homestead, half of the paternal farm at flushing Bay, his part including the lands now or till lately in the possession of Cornelius Hendrickson and heirs of Colonel Williams. He was, like his father, a brewer, and continued the brewery business during his life. His son Jeromus, after him, bought the building and continued the business but the building has since been removed. He held a commission as captain of militia; was a resolute, energetic man, and a warm loyalist. Captain Rapelje is said to have been a person of large and heavy frame, and his consort as remarkable for her diminutiveness. He married, December 1, 1738, Wyntie, daughter of Abraham Lent; she died September 7, 1795, aged eighty years. Children: 1. George, born December 12, 1739; married his cousin Aletta, daughter of Jacobus Lent and died August 4, 1789, in his fifty-sixth year; his widow died December 23, 1810, leaving issue: i. Jeromus, ii. Margaret, who married David Springsteen, iii. Jacobus Lent, and iii. Daniel, who removed to Canada. 2. Abraham, born December 10, 1741; married Cynthia, daughter of Abraham Bogart, of Bushwick, and bought the farm fo his father-in-law in that town, where he settled, and died December 24, 17780, aged thirty-nine, leaving two children: i. Abraham, who married Sarah, daughter of Peter Wyckoff; ii. Wyntie, who married Henry Van Allen. 3. Cornelius, born August 10, 1748, died at Hallett's Cove, January 31, 1828, aged eighty years; married, November 17, 1780, Maria, daughter of his cousin, Jacobus Riker, and was a man of exemplary life and an office bearer in the Dutch Church. 4. Jeromus, mentioned below. 5. John, born March 5, 1755, died September 9, 1776. (V) Jeromus (20 Rapelye, son of Captain Jeromus (1) and Wyntie (lent) Rapelje, was born at Brooklyn, August 23, 1751, and died March 10, 1831, aged eighty. He remained on the paternal farm till his mother's death and afterwards lived at Newtown, Long Island. He married (first) September 1, 1775, Heyltie, daughter of John Bragaw, who dying March 28, 1788, in her thirty-fifth year, he married (second) Lanah, daughter of John Folk, who died October 13, 1831, aged sixty-three years. Children by the first marriage: 1. Jeromus 1, married April 14, 1804, Phebe, daughter of John Greenoak, and died February 26, 1843, aged sixty-seven years; children: i. Jerome, of Astoria, and ii. John Greenoak. 2. Jane, married Sylvanus Morris. 3. John, who lived at Hopewell, New York. 4. Wyntie Lent, who married (first) John Wiltsee, and (second) John Storm. Children by his second marriage: 5. Abraham. 6. George J., mentioned below 7. Helen Bragaw. 8. Joseph Ford. (VI) George J., son of Jeromus (2) and Lanah (Folk) Rapelye, was born at Newtown, Long Island, November 5, 1793, and died March 25, 1878. He married Margaret C. Colyer, daughter of James Colyer. Children: 1. James R., born December 20, 1822, died March 23, 1824. 2. Sarah. J., born October 23, 1824, died February 14, 1882. 3. George G., born December 5, 1826. 4. Peter D., born December 28, 1828. 5. Jeromus, born March 2, 1831, died June 11, 1832. 6. Margaret M., born August 12, 1833, died November 24, 1877. 7. Abram, mentioned below. 8. John W., born October 12, 1837, died March 17, 1864. 9. Ann E., born September 18, 1839, died November 10, 1885. 10. Phoebe C., born November 2, 1841. All these children were born at Newtown, Long Island. (VII) Abram, son of George J. and Margaret C. Ralepye, was born at Newtown, Long Island, August 10, 1835. He came to Orange County, New York, in 1857. For many years he was a carriage maker and blacksmith. He is a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth "Orange Blossoms", August 6, 1862. After
Page 832 twenty months he was honorably discharged at Brandy Station. He is a member of the Dutch Reformed Church of Walden, New York. He was sexton for eighteen years at Washingtonville, New York. For twenty-four years he served as constable of Washingtonville, and was also truant officer for many years, being also school collector for two terms. He married (first) Mary E. MacElroy, born April 4, 1844, at Goshen, New York, died August 14, 1887, at Washingtonville, new York, where she is buried; he married (second) Addie (Hunt) Miller, widow of Jesse A. Miller. Children by first marriage: 1. Margaret A., born April 25, 1861, at Salisbury Mills, New York. 2. Phoebe, born April 19, 1865, at Blooming Grove, New York, died January 11, 1891. 3. George C., born January 27, 1867, at Salisbury Mills, New York. 4. Cornelius, born March 21, 1869, at Salisbury Mills, New York, died April 28, 1889. 5. Edith, born August 6, 1871, at Washingtonville, New York, died March 16, 1911. 6. Mary E., born April 29, 1876. 7. Abram Jr., born May 1, 1880, at Washingtonville, New York, died September 17, 1880. 8. Sarah E., born August 28, 1881. Child by second marriage: 9. Elsie, born September 26, 1895, at Washingtonville, New York. The grandfather of Mrs. Addie (Hunt-Miller) Rapelye, the second wife of Abram Rapelye, was James Hunt. He married Mary Doxey, by whom he had four children: 1. James Jr., born January 20, 1819. 2. John. 3. Ann. 4. Ira. He married Mary Ann McGill, by whom he had two daughters: 5. Ella, and 6. Addie, who married (first Mr. Miller. James Hunt was a ropemaker and lived near Cornwall, New York. He died in 1899, aged eighty years, and was buried at Washingtonville, New York. KNAPP. The name Knapp is Teutonic in origin, and is more numerously prevalent in German than in the British Isles. The German surname is derived from the work Knappe, meaning an esquire or body servant to a knight or noble. The English Saxon word Cnapa, which has a meaning corresponding to the German Knappe, or from Cneap, meaning a hill, which in the forms of Knap, Knop, Knob, Nap, etc. occurs as a place name in midland and southern England. There are many variations in the spelling of the name, some families not adhering to any particular form, while others have been quite persistent in so doing, even when more liberty in that matter was practiced than now. The earliest mention of the name in England was in the Rotuli Curiae Regis , and occurs in the following passage: "Anno Regis Ricardi Ix: Xv die (i. e. 1198) Petrus Knape". From that time down it occurs frequently in English records. It is known in Suffolk, and Norfolk counties, and there is some evidence, though it is not conclusive, that some of the Knapps in America came from the former county. In the visitation of Suffolk of 1577 the coat-of-arms of the Knapp family is thus described: "Or, in chief, three close helmets, sable; in base a lion passant, of the last. Crest: An arm embowed proper, garnished or, the hand of the first grasping by the blade a broken sword, argent; hilt and pommel of the second, with a branch of laurel vert. Motto: Spes Nostra Deus ." Among the immigrants who are supposed to have come over with Sir Richard Saltonstall in 1630, were two men, perhaps brothers, named Nicholas and William Knapp, who with others became the first settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts. The children of Nicholas removed to Connecticut and are the ancestors of the Knapps of that state, of western Massachusetts, of New York, and of states farther west. William, who remained in Watertown, is the ancestor of those of the name in central and eastern Massachusetts, except the south-eastern portion, where they are from Aaron (possibly a third brother), who was one of the early settlers of Taunton. The Knapps of New Hampshire and Maine are also descended from William. (I) Nicholas Knapp, the first American ancestor of the family of the Knapps here dealt with, was born probably in Bury St. Mary's England, and died in Stamford, Connecticut, April 16, 1670. Savage and Bonds' "History of Watertown, Massachusetts", says he came in Winthrop and Saltonstall's fleet in 1630, which landed in Boston Bay on March 1, 1630. He is mentioned as living in Watertown, Massachusetts, where he lived until 1646, when by deed acknowledged May 6, of that year he sold to Byron Pendleton all
Page 833 his land except one acre called by him his pond meadow, which he sold the year before to Edward Garfield, dated September 29, 1645. He moved to Stamford, Connecticut, for in the year 1649 he owned land in that place, as appears from the land record, where also appears records of late date. We find his will dated February 15, 1670; it is to be found in the probate records in Fairfield, Connecticut. He married, at Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1630, Eleanor ---------, born in England probably, died June 16, 1658, at Stamford, Connecticut; and (second) March 9, 1659, at Stamford, Connecticut, Unity, daughter of Clement Buxton, and widow of Peter Brown. Children (by first marriage) 1. Jonathan, born 1631, at Watertown, Massachusetts, died December 27, 1637. 2. Timothy, born December 14, 1632, married Bertha Brandish, of Weathersfield, Connecticut, born 1637, settled in Rye, Connecticut. 3. Joshua, born June 5, 1635; married Hannah Close, who afterwards married John Bowers, Joshua, dying in 1684, at Greenwich, Connecticut, whither he moved in 1663, and where he was admitted freeman in 1669. 4. Caleb, mentioned below. 5. Sarah, born January 5, 1639, removed in 1646 to Stamford, where she married (first) January 12, 1657, John Disbrow, and (second) September 6, 1667, Peter Disbrow, sons of Peter Disbrow, of Rye, Connecticut, now Rye, New York. 6. Ruth, born January 6, 1641, married at Stamford, Connecticut, November 20, 1667, Joseph Ferris. 7. Hannah, born March 6, 1643. 8. Moses, born at Stamford, Connecticut, 1645, was a blacksmith and also a landowner in Stamford and Greenwich, married, 1669, Abigail, daughter of Richard Westcott, of Stamford, Connecticut, and died in 1648, married, may 22, 1685, Thomas Pennoyer (II) Caleb, son of Nicholas and Eleanor Knapp, was born at Watertown, Massachusetts, January 20, 1637, and died in 1674. In 1646 he moved with his father to Stamford, Connecticut, where he was made a freeman in 1670. In the Fairfield probate records his will of date November 10, 1674, and his inventory of March 4, 1674, reads: "I give unto Abigail Smith, my minor sister-in-law, to my Wife Hannah, and unto my six children here recorded, and implore my beloved friends, Joshua Knap, John Hody, Daniel Wostell, and Moses Knap, witnesses". His inventory was taken by William Newman and Jonathan Selbeck, the whole amounting to £170 16s. 4d. he married, at Stamford, Connecticut, Hannah, daughter of Henry Smith; she married (second) Thomas Laurence. Children: 1. Caleb, born 1661, married, September, 1694, Hannah Clements, and lived in Stamford, Connecticut. 2. John, born 1666, died 1753, married, October 30, 1681, Elizabeth Crissey, of Danbury, Connecticut. 3. Samuel, mentioned below. 4. Sarah, born 1670, married, 1685, Ebenezer, son of John Mead. 5. Hannah, born 1672, married, November 6, 1696, Nathaniel Cross. (III) Samuel, son of Caleb and Hannah (Smith) Knapp, was born at Stamford, Connecticut, about 1668, and died at Danbury, Connecticut, in 1739. He lived at Danbury, Connecticut, taking a considerable part in military and public affairs. The assembly of Connecticut confirmed him as ensign of the train band in October, 1713, and lieutenant deputy to the assembly in 1716. He married Hannah Bushnell. (IV) Joshua, son of Samuel and Hannah (Bushnell) Knapp, was born in Danbury, Connecticut, February 5, 1716, and died at Danbury, August 8, 1798. He served for a short time in the Revolutionary War, and was deacon in the Presbyterian Church of Danbury for many years. He married, about 1761, Abigail (Bostwick) Dibble, born in Brookfield, September 28, 1725, the first white child born there, and was the widow of Ezra Dibble. Children: 1. Joshua, born in Danbury, May 6, 1762, died in Sherburne, New York, 1829, enlisted in the Revolutionary Army November 15, 1781, assigned to First Regiment Connecticut line, appointed ensign November 15, 1781, retired with the Army in 1783, married Lodema Warner. 2. John, mentioned below, and others. (V) John, son of Joshua and Abigail (Bostwick-Dibble) Knapp, was born at Danbury, Connecticut, about 1776, and died at Salisbury Mills, Orange County, New York, about 1849. He left Danbury when young, and if the following notice refers to him he seems to have been apprenticed for a time to the tanning and show-making business. Silas Abbott, who did a shoe business and tanned leather, published the following reward at Danbury, September 12, 1794, "Two pence reward. Ran away from the subscriber, the 11 th instant, an ap-
Page 834 prentice boy to the tanning and shoe-making business named JOHN KNAPP, about seventeen years of age, small of his age, very talkative, wore away a leather blue and white coat, striped vest, and calico trousers. This is to forbid all persons trusting said boy on my account. I will pay no debts of his contracting after this date. Whoever will take up and return said boy shall have the above reward but no charges." At whatever time John Knapp left Danbury, he settled at Salisbury Mills, Orange County, New York, and for the rest of his life engaged in farming. He was about seventy-five years old when he died and he was buried at Goodwill Cemetery, Orange County, New York. He married, but the name of his wife remains unrecorded. Children, all born in Orange county: 1. Alexander. 2. Nelson. 3. Elijah. 4. William. 5. James, mentioned below. 6. Sophronia. 7. Hannah. (VI) James, fifth son of John Knapp, was born at Salisbury Mills, Orange County, New York, and died at the age of seventy-three years. He was a farmer, his place being at Goodwill, Orange County. He married Harriet, daughter of John nelson Knapp. Children: 1. William H., married Rachel Smith, children: i. Charles, ii. George, iii. Lewis, iv. Hattie, and v. Mamie, all born at Newburg, New York. 2. Helen M., married Samuel Highy, of Crawford, now living at Pine Bush, children: i. James K., ii. Newton, iii. Elsworth, and iv. Laura. 3. Walter H., married Martha Dixon, of Newburg; children; i. Nelson, and ii. Mary. 4. James F., married Mary Duffy, of Newburg, New York; one son, born in Newburg, where the family still resides. 5. Lavina M., married Benjamin downs, of Montgomery, New York, children: i. John, ii. Benjamin, iii. George, iv. William, v. Hannah, vi. Frank, vii. Nelson, viii, Hattie, ix. Eliza. 6. John N. 7. Emily F., married William Carvey, of Kaisertown, children: i. John, ii. Helen, iii. Charles, and iv. Edwin, all born at Montgomery. 8. Edwin, mentioned below. 9. Hanford. (VII) Edwin, fifth son of James and Harriet (Knapp) Knapp, was born at goodwill, Orange county, New York. He was for a number of years a farmer, wagon maker, and general blacksmith and was in business in those capacities for thirty-three years at Coldenham, New York. He is now engaged at the Walden Knife Works, and has been there for the last eight years. Previous to his going to Walden he was one year in Newburg and three years in Goshen. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for forty-four years, and has held the office of trustee and steward for many years. He still takes a keen interest in church work and has been a leader in the church choir for twenty years, having been a superintendent of the Methodist episcopal Sunday School at the same time. He has held various other positions. For twenty years he was drum major of the Montgomery Band, and for twelve years a director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association. he was postmaster at Coldenham for fifteen years, but was for some years also school clerk and collector. In politics he has always been a Republican. He married Thomasena Armstrong, of New York City. Children: 1. James E., mentioned below. 2. Mary E., born at Coldenham, New York, married Nelson K. downs, and now living at Haverstraw, New York. (VIII) James E., only son of Edwin and Thomasena (Armstrong) Knapp, was born at Newburg, New York. He now lives at Cornwall, New York. He married Emma Baildon. Children, all born at Cornwall, New York: 1. Emma B. 2. Bessie a., married Charles M. Ireland, of Cornwall, new York; children: i. Charles Raymond, and ii. Margaret P., both born at Cornwall, New York, where the family resides. 3. Florence M. 4. Edwin. 5. Mary E., 6. Walter C. 7. Bertha Rebbecca. All are living at Cornwall, New York. Transcribed by Holice B. Young Html by D. J. Coover
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