596327

[3104.ftw]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 22, Ed. 1, Tree #3104, Date of Import: Dec 9, 1998]

The Milwaukee Journal,Sun.28 Mar 1976. Hist.of family.

One of Wauwatosa's olderst and most historic houses is scheduled for demolition or removal this summer and its lot, at 1828 Wauwatosa Ave., is to become part of a physical education teaching facility for the nearby high school. Built in 1856, this was the residence of the Rev. Luther Clapp, the most
loved and respected clergyman in that area's history.
When his house was new it stood in open farmland and faced what is now Milwaukee Ave. a block and a half to the south. What now looks like a side porch was once the front veranda. The door which now opens to the street was cut into the side wall at a later date. In a remarkable photograph taken in the 1870s, this house is one of only a few buildings in the vicinity. In the foreground is a pile of stones probably gathered from the field and stacked there for removal by a farmer.
When Clapp arrived here, almost 30 years before this photogram was taken, there were only a few buildings in the village center. The rest was open fields dotted with farmhouses, many made of logs.
Clapp had been sent to the West by the American Home Missionary Society in July 1845. In the previous year he had become a licensed preacher in Worthington, MA, and was then married to Harriet Priscilla Stedman of the same state. He was a descendant of Roger Clapp, a member of the Massachusetts colony who settled in Dorchester.
The day after they arrived in Wauwatosa (20 Jul 1845) Clapp preached his first sermon in a log schoolhouse located at what is now North Ave. and Highway 100. The same afternoon he delivered a sermon in William Fisher's unfinished barn. Three years later Clapp, who was then described as a "youthful preacher, thin and pale," was installed as pastor of the First Congregational Church of
Wauwatosa. For a quarter of a century he served that church and became a strong factor in establishing the moral tone of the village. He was called "a strong temperance advocate" and, at the completion of their first church, Clapp was quoted as saying, "we further covenant with each other not to use intoxicating liquor as a beverage nor encourage its sale. We also withhold fellowship from those who hold slaves."........
But before the church was even contemplated, Clapp had purchased a lot and erected a dwelling. For $30 he acquired a 2 acre piece of the Arly B.Mower farm fronting on Section Line Road. No more than a rutted dirt track at the time.....Clapp's first house burned down in 1856 and was replaced by the present structure. It was in their own unfurnished parlor that Mr. & Mrs. Clapp established the first select school in Wauwatosa. They both taught more than 120 pupils there and Clapp prepared several boys for college by private tutoring. In addition to preaching and teaching, the Clapps were forced to supplement their meager income by growing small crops for sale.
In the first year of service, Clapp received only $150 from the Congregational Church. An additional $200 was contributed by the Home Mission Society. His small crop, which was expected to yield $50, only produced $5. During the hard times of the early years, the church members would announce a
"donation party." and people woul visit the pastor bringing money for his support.............
The Clapps lived there until they died (1894 and 1895 respectively). At least one of their 6 children, Hattie, was married in this house by her father. Among their fondest memories was the celebration of a double anniversary on 25 Jun 1870. That event, which marked 25 years as a preacher and 25 years married, rated 1 1/3 columns on the front page of of the Milwaukee Sentinel. Guests came from as far away as her native Massachusetts....
"Father Clapp" as he was known for years, retired from the Congregational Church in 1873 and took up missionary work for the Milwaukee Convention. In all he preached at 82 Churches in 62 towns and cities in Wisconsin as well as 22 towns in 7 other states. He spent as much as one to three years in some
locations and these included 7 different Protestant denominations.....

graduated 1841 Williams College, Williamstown, MA
from letter of Grace W. Spalding 25 Apr 1961. "Luther Clapp came from seminary (was 25 yrs old) and his wife, Harriet Priscilla Stedman Clapp (bride and groom) arrived via Erie Canal and then to Wauwatosa (men from Wauwatosa met them in Chigaco and drove them up on horrible Indian Path roads). The next day, 20 Jul 1845, he preached a short sermon in a log cabin and in the afternoon in an unfinished barn (where his manuscript - one of three) blew under the floor, but was rescued. On 5 Oct 1845 was a gala day for the church because the "young divine was to receive from a committee of the Convention, "the setting apart for holy things,'" This was in a school house near Hart's Mills, later called Wauwatosa. While he was having a house built on Wauwatosa Ave, they lived in the Damon House (built in 1844 and which is now a Museaum) Their oldest child, Harriet, was born here. My mother Emma Clapp(Watner) was the next child. She was born in the Clapp homestead. As a little child (your
grandmother was a 6 wk old baby), the house caught on fire and they barely rescued the children and escaped with half their clothes or less to a house about a block away at 24 degrees below zero. Their house was rebuilt and the house is still in fine condition.