General Notes

Late one autumn evening in the year 1748, three emigrant fa
milies from Berks County, Pennsylvania, came upon a small
, clear spring, deep in the Carolina woods, and being wear
y from their long day's Journey, decided to make camp at th
is place for the night.
Nearby lived an old German, and the sound of the campers' a
xes as they chopped wood for the campfire, soon attracted t
he settler to their camp. Great was the old man's surpris
e when he discovered that the travellers were not only fro
m the north, but that they were his former neighbors- Geor
g and Ludwig Klapp, and their brother-in-law, whose name wa
s Hunter.
The following day was the Sabbath, and the Klapps and Hunte
rs and their host spent it in exchanging stories about th
e country which they had left behind them and the beautiful
, forest land into which God had mysteriously led them. O
n Monday, Herr Hunter and his family bade their kinsmen goo
dbye and headed their wagon westward, but the Klapp brother
s and their families remained behind.
A short time later, the Klapps bought a tract of land alon
g Beaver Creek, and within a few months after their arriva
l in the wilderness they had erected homes and had settle
d down to a new life.
These two families, and the other "Pennsylvania Deutsch" fa
milies who were to follow them, built the first Lutheran an
d Reformed churches in what is today Guilford and Alamanc
e Counties.
Like their Quaker and Presbyterian neighbors, these pionee
r Germans had brought their Bibles with them, and since the
re were no ministers among them, they were obliged to rea
d the Word for themselves, and to worship privately in thei
r homes.
(Research):FirstCommunion: In the Churchbook Dackenheim, fo
r the date June 5, 1726, the following entry was found: "fo
r the first time to the Lords table: Nr. 1 Johann Ludwig Kl
app von Weisenheim am Berg.
Emigration: traveled with his family on the ship JAMES GOOD
WILL from Europe to America.
Oath: Upon arrival in Philadelphia, men at the age of 16 ye
ars or older were required to take the Oath of Fidelity, sw
earing they would not be involved in aggressive or seditiou
s acts against the English Crown. On Sept. 27, 1727, Ludwi
g was included as one of the six men in the family group wh
o took the Oath and signed his name "Johann Ludwig Clap".
BIOGRAPHY: Source of the notes appearing below:
BIOGRAPHY: Family of German Immigrant Johann Jost Klapp (Jo
hn Joseph Clapp)
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: On Sept. 27, 1727, Ludwig was included as one o
f the six men in the family group who took the Oath and sig
ned his name "Johann Ludwig Clap".
He married Anna Margaret Strader about 1734 in Oley, Berks
, PA. Proof of her last name has not been found, but Strade
r has been generally accepted. She was born Aug 16, 1718, i
n Germany, and she was known as Margaret. All but the las
t two children, John and Esther, were born in Pennsylvania
. In 1745, Ludwig's brother Valentine and others moved to N
orth Carolina and sent word back encouraging Ludwig to foll
ow. As noted in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly
, June 1979, p. 136, Ludwig sold his property in the Oley V
alley of Pennsylvania to Jacob Easterly on August 17, 1751.
The Fred Hughes map of the current Guilford County, NC, sho
ws a 1751 acquisition by will or deed within the McCulloc
h Tract #11 in the name of "Barned" Clapp. The tract was lo
cated near Beaver Creek, at a latitude west of Low's Church
, and a longitude corresponding to about the middle of th
e current Guilford County. Tradition says the family firs
t settled in the Beaver Creek section. Low's Church is loca
ted at the intersection of North Carolina State Routes 61 a
nd 62, south of Interstate 40.
On Mar 25, 1752, Ludwig had a purchase of land approved i
n the Granville Grant, "conveying 640 a