John Knapp (name also recorded as Knappe and Knopp) was the second son of that name born to Robert Knapp and Margaret Poley.[1][2][3] He is referred to as "John the younger" to distinguish him from the earlier son, who has the epithet "John the elder".[1][2] John's birth date is uncertain. His father had property in Suffolk,[3] and he was probably born there.
He was named as a legatee in the 1552 will of his grandmother, Gelyan Aldham, and in the 1563 will of his father, Robert Knapp.[1][2]
He was a merchant at St. Peters, Ipswich, Suffolk.[1][2] He was
John married Martha Blosse[1][2] (also called Blois, Bloyse, and other variant spellings). They had four sons and eight daughters.[1][2] The eleven children named by Richardson are listed below.
John (first child of this name),[1][2] died young[3]
John (second child of this name), Gentleman[1][2][3]
John died on 2 May 1604 and was buried in St. Peters, Ipswich, Suffolk, England.[1][2] His wife Martha survived him; on April 1605 she was granted an annuity of 6 pounds by William Bloyse the younger, gentleman of Ipswich, in right of her dower.[1][2]
Research Notes
Disputed Biographical Details
Many contradictory details have been published about this man's life, both on the Internet and in print. Contradictory and confusing information is due in large part to the presence of multiple families of the same (or similar) name in England, including several individuals who emigrated to New England. It is not an easy task to determine which records belong to any particular person. This profile relies to the extent possible on the most recent scholarship, including Magna Carta Ancestry and Royal Ancestry by Douglas Richardson.
Some websites have a birth year of 1560, and his death date is listed in various places as 27 Nov 1592 and 21 Apr 1627. Some sources identify him as a resident of Bures St. Mary, Suffolk, but he is not recorded there.[6] Some sources list his death location as Connard Parva, Suffolk, England instead of Ipswich.
John is sometimes assumed to have been the father of Nicholas Knapp, immigrant to Watertown, Massachusetts, and Stamford, Connecticut. However, Robert C. Anderson in his Great Migration series, cautions that "The most recent investigation of William Knopp shows no evidence of Nicholas Knapp in the family, or even in Bures St. Mary, Suffolk [NEHGR 147:327-28]."[7] We do not know immigrant Nicholas Knapp's origin.
John has previously been shown as father of Stephen Knapp. No good source has been found for this and Stephen has been detached as his son.
↑ Nathaniel Bacon (ed. William H Richardson). The Annalls of Ipswiche, 1884, p. 386, Internet Archive
↑ Nathaniel Bacon, The Annalls of Ipswiche, pp. 391, and 397
↑ Clifford L. Stott, "English Origins of William and Judith (Tue) Knopp of Watertown, Massachusetts" in the New England Historical and Genealogical Record, vol. 147, 1993, pages 318-328
↑ Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volume II, G-O. (Boston: NEHGS, 1995). Online at
AmericanAncestors.org page 1145: William Knopp.
See also:
Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree's source page for ‘’Royal Ancestry’’.
Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for "Magna Carta Ancestry".
Visitation of Suffolk 1612, William Pollard, 1882, p. 149, Knapp, of Stoke juxta Ipswich; see also p. 114, Blosse
Stott, Clifford, L., (1993) "English Origins of William and Judith (Tue) Knopp of Watertown, Massachusetts", NEHGR, Vol. 147, 1993, pp. 327-328, AmericanAncestors.org
Hart, Craig. A Genealogy Of The Wives Of The American Presidents And Their First Two Generations of Descent, McFarland, 2004, page 167 (Ancestry of Jane Pierce)
Boddy, Maurice G. "Knapp", The Boddy Family website
Acknowledgments
Magna Carta Project
This profile was edited for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley in September 2020 and approved 5 Oct 2020 by Thiessen-117.
See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".
Magna Carta Trails
Badged Richardson-documented trail to Quincy (MCA II:504-508 KNAPP):
This profile is in a trail identified by Douglas Richardson from Gateway Ancestor Judith (Knapp) Hubbard to Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy. I am therefore adopting it on behalf of the Magna Carta Project. Any questions, please get in touch.
I have now finished the main work I currently intend on this profile. If anyone spots any typos etc, please either correct them or message me. Thanks. There is still some tidying up of children to do but it will not affect the bio.
Knapp-4509 and Knapp-21 appear to represent the same person because: Although there is a difference in birth date and place, the date and place he died is the same. They are also both married to a woman named Margaret/Martha Blois. These two profiles are duplicates please merge them.
Vanessa there is a very clear statement on the profile for Nicholas Knapp, that John Knapp and Margaret Bois are not his parents.
WikiTree takes the Honor Code you would have signed seriously, in this instance the codes related to sources and accuracy, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Special:Honor_Code so it is extremely important that you add credible sources to this profile to show evidence for Nicholas being his son.
Knopp-138 and Knapp-21 do not represent the same person because: Eek! I realized that the parents had two sons named John -- the elder and the younger. Let's use the Knopp-138 profile to represent the elder.
Knapp-1087 and Knapp-21 appear to represent the same person because: Same person. Knapp is the better spelling and Knapp-21 is the lowest-numbered profile. Bios need work.
Knopp-138 and Knapp-21 appear to represent the same person because: Same person. Knapp is the name used for him by Douglas Richardson in Magna Carta Ancestry. Son of Robert Knapp and Margaret Poley. Birth about 1543. Married Martha Blois. Bio will need to be fixed up.
These represent the same person, but there are many discrepancies and no real sources on either profile. Need to determine spelling of name Knapp vs Knopp first, then birth date, death date, marriage date. If differences still exist, then they can be defined in biography (with sources)
I plan to do some work on the profile shortly.
edited by Michael Cayley
WikiTree takes the Honor Code you would have signed seriously, in this instance the codes related to sources and accuracy, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Special:Honor_Code so it is extremely important that you add credible sources to this profile to show evidence for Nicholas being his son.
These represent the same person, but there are many discrepancies and no real sources on either profile. Need to determine spelling of name Knapp vs Knopp first, then birth date, death date, marriage date. If differences still exist, then they can be defined in biography (with sources)