General Notes

(Research):BIOGRAPHY: Source of Notes:
Family of German Immigrant Johann Jost Klapp (John Joseph C
lapp)
Entries: 2623 Updated: Sat Sep 14 03:31:01 2002 Contact: Cl
audia Cameron Home Page: German Clapp Genealogy, Family o
f Johann Jost Clapp
BIOGRAPHY: First German Clapp Generation in America:
BIOGRAPHY: Joseph ("Jost") Clapp, was baptized August 29, 1
669, in Istha (aka: Iste), west of Kassel, in Hesse, German
y. For lack of other records, this date has been used as hi
s birth date. He is also known by other variations of his n
ame which include Johann Jost Klapp. He used an initial whe
n he signed his name "Joseph K. Clap" in Philadelphia in 17
27. This is a guess, but the use of the initial "K" could h
ave been the result of some variation old style naming whic
h would have been his given name, then the surname of his f
ather, and then the name of the clan or neighborhood of hi
s family heritage. In his case, his heritage was the neighb
orhood of Bingen and the Klopp castle (Schloss Klopp). He a
pparently spent his early years in Istha and he was confirm
ed in the German Reformed faith in Istha in 1682, at abou
t age 13.
Sometime before the birth of his children, Jost moved to We
isenheim (aka: Weistheim) am Berg, in Pfalz, Bavaria. The a
rea's name became Rheinland-Pfalz in 1948, at the close o
f World War II when Germany was reorganized. Jost married A
nna Margaretha, last name unknown, and the marriage was def
initely not in Istha, but it could have been either befor
e or at the time he moved to Weisenheim. All of the birth
s of Jost's children were in Weisenheim.
In 1704, in Weisenheim, the church recorded the birth of Jo
st's son Jurg (George Valentine) and the municipality note
d Jost paid a new resident registration fee in the fiscal y
ear 1704-1705. Until then it's possible he was a resident o
f the area without the rights of citizenship, but the fact
s are not known. In the fiscal year 1707-08, the municipali
ty bought corn from Jost, reimbursed him for food and drin
k expenses when they had him dispatch a wagon to Kallstadt
, and noted Jost's sale of barley to the schoolmaster. In 1
708-09, Jost sold oats to the clergyman, and in 1710-11, h
e sold 200 liters of wine. Jost was charged for his share o
f the watchman fee in 1715-16, and in then 1716-17, Jost pa
id the municipality for the value of fruit instead of deliv
ering it. In 1721-22, Jost received compenstaion and reimbu
rsement because the master baker died in his house.
Throughout Jost's life, the Thirty Years War was in progres
s. The country was devastated and over the years many, man
y thousands of Jost's fellow Palatinates left Germany. At t
he time when his oldest children began to marry, and the ne
xt oldest were apparently betrothed, Jost transported the
m all to America. Except when Jost's younger son, Ludwig, w
as in nearby Dackenheim, noted in the church entry, "for th
e first time to the Lord's table: Nr. 1, Johann Ludwig Klap
p von Weisenheim am Berg", on June 5, 1726, persons of th
e name were in Weisenheim as late as April 6, 1727, when th
e last Klapp entry was placed in the church record.
The family group of fourteen persons made their way to Rott
erdam, and from there took passage on the ship James Goodwi
ll with David Crockett as ship's master. The captain mad
e a stop in Falmouth, England before continuing across th
e Atlantic and landing in Philadelphia. On Sept 27, 1727
, a total of 53 Palatine men, age 16 or over, took the Oat
h and signed their names signifying their subscription to T
he Declaration of Freedom. Six of those who swore were me
n from our family group, and they were: Joseph Clap, Joha
n Adam Philple, Jorg Valentin Clap, Johann Ludowigh Clap, C
hristian Miller, and Jurg Coch. The other passengers woul
d have been Joseph's wife, his four daughters, George's wif
e and infant daughter, and probably an infant child of th
e Miller couple. After leaving