Israel Knapp (1705 - abt. 1783)

Born 13 Dec 1705 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Lyon) Knapp — married 1729 in Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Husband of Amy (Marshall) Knapp — married Aug 1742 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died about 28 Jul 1783 at about age 77 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Loren Fay [send private message] and Sunny Clark [send private message]

Biography

Israel was born 13 December 1705 to Timothy Knapp and Elizabeth Seymour at Greenwich.^[1]

Israel married three times.

In 1729, Israel inherited the family home and farm from his father.

In 1731, Israel built a house on Boston Post Road in Greenwich, a few miles away from the farm. Today, it is a museum known as Knapp Tavern and Putnam Cottage. [1] [2] [3]

In about 1730, Israel married Mary Lyon, daughter of Thomas Lyon and Abigail Ogden. They had at least four children:^[1]

1. Timothy b ca 1730; mar Ruth Close
2. Mary b ca 1732; mar Stephen Mead
3. Elizabeth unmarried
4. Hannah b March 16, 1740, d Feb 16, 1825; mar Abraham Husted

On August 2, 1742, Israel married Amy Marshall, daughter of Joseph and Mary Marshall. They had at least three children:^[1]

1. Israel b May 1, 1743, d Aug 20, 1790; mar Margaret Hugerford
2. Amy b March 1, 1748, d young
3. Amy b April 1, 1752; mar Captain Jabez Fitch

In 1754, Israel converted his house into tavern known as the “Knapp's Tavern" that was in operation until 1790 [4] [5].

During the Revolutionary War, Israel served as a Captain.

On January 7, 1762, Israel married Elizabeth, widow of Dr. Thomas Hugerford.

In 1783, Israel died at age 77 at Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut.

In 1776, General George Washington stopped at Knapp's Tavern with his troops for lunch [6].

In 1779, General Israel Putnam made a famous escape from the British Troops a few miles away from the Tavern.[7] As a result, the Tavern became known as "Putnam Cottage" during the 1800s. In 1901, Putnam Cottage was purchased by a group of local preservationists who renovated it and then operated it as a museum. In preparation for the Nation's Bicentennial, it was extensively renovated to return it to its colonial state. In 1977, Knapp Tavern was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich, County of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, by Spencer P. Mead, 1911, page 172-176 [8]

It has, heretofore, been generally accepted as a fact, which the author has considered reliable until recently, that “among the most inveterate tories were a family by the name of Knapp, living in the place now called the Putnam Cottage.” This house during the Revolutionary War was owned by Captain Israel Knapp, and kept as a tavern by him. He had two sons, Timothy and Israel; and five daughters, Mary, who married Stephen Mead, a Revolutionary soldier; Elizabeth, never married; Hannah who married Abraham Husted, a Revolutionary soldier; Amy who died young; and Amy, who married Captain Jabez Fitch....

Captain Israel Knapp was born on the thirteenth day of December, 1705. His will was admitted to probate at Stamford on the twenty-eighth day of August, 1783, and by it he gave the bulk of his estate, which he remained in undisturbed possession of during the Revolutionary War, to his son Israel. There was, however, something the matter with his son Timothy, who was baptized as an adult on the seventeenth day of September, 1761, at Saint John's Episcopal Church at Stamford, because when his father, Captain Israel Knapp, drew his will on the seventh day of June, 1777, he cut Timothy off with only a life estate in a farm of forty acres, for him and his wife Ruth, and after their death to their children; after making bequests to his widow and his other children, he devised all the rest, residue, and remainder of his estate to his son Israel. The farm left to Timothy and his wife during their lives was located on the westerly side of the Round Hill Road near the Howe Monument at Pecksland. It is, therefore, evident that Timothy Knapp, who married Ruth, daughter of Thomas Close and Hannah Lyon, on the fourteenth day of September, 1757, by whom he had Mary, Thomas, Matthew, Ruth, Timothy, Israel, and Elizabeth, and his family were the tories, and the following incident related of his son Timothy, a lad of eighteen in 1777, corroborates this statement...

As near as can be ascertained, the land on which the Putnam Cottage now stands was granted by the Town of Greenwich to Nathan Whelpley, who sold the same to Israel Knapp in 1731. It is therefore probable that the Putnam Cottage was built about 1731, or soon after this purchase...

Israel Knapp was born on the thirteenth day of December, 1705, married, 1st, Mary, daughter of Thomas Lyon and Abigail Ogden, about 1730; 2nd, Amy, daughter of Joseph Marshall and Mary ____, in August, 1742; 3rd, Elizabeth, widow of Dr. Thomas Hugerford, on the seventh day of January, 1762.

The records of the County Court of Fairfield County, at Bridgeport, show that a license “to keep a public house of entertainment and retail strong drink in Greenwich” was granted to Israel Knapp in 1754, and his house was run as a tavern until the year 1790, and was known as the “Knapp Tavern.”

Captain Israel Knapp died in 1783…

Richard Seymour of Hartford and Norwalk, Conn., and Some of His Descendants by Seymour Morris in The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Boston, Mass., 1918, Vol. 72, p. 211 [9]. [formatting added]

viii. ELIZABETH [Seymour] b. in Dec 1673; d. at Greenwich, Conn., 17 June 1713; m. at Greenwich, 16 Mar 1699, TIMOTHY KNAPP³ in 1668, d. abt. 1737, s. of Joshua² (Nicholas¹ and Hannah (Close). He m. (2) 16 Feb 1713/14 Martha Weeks.

Children

1. Rebecca, b. 24 Sept. 1701.

2. Timothy, b. 9 Aug. 1703; d. 22 Apr 1706.

3. Israel, b. 13 Dec. 1705; m. (1) Mary Lyon; m. (2) in Aug. 1742 Anna Marshall; m. (3) 7 or 17 Jan. 1762 Elizabeth Hugford.

4. Mary, b. 16 Apr. 1708; m. Thomas Hoyt of Danbury, Conn.

5. Elizabeth, b. 22 Aug. 1710; m. Ebenezer Picket of Danbury, Conn,

6. Prudence, b. 26 Jan. 1712/13.

Disputed Origins

There are no sources to show that Israel was the son of Moses Knapp and Westcott-332. If Israel's birth was in about 1710 as it currently shows, his "parents" would have been 65 and 63 years old, respectively, when he was born. Additionally, his nearest "sibling" would have been born 34 years earlier. The previously mentioned "parents" are being deleted from his profile. Please do not add them back without quality sources.

One source shows Israel's wife, and possible children, and speculates on his parentage. The author says he was probably the son of Moses Knapp named among the trustees of the Royal Charter of White Plains, with the date of March, 1721.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Mead, Spencer P., Ye historie of ye town of Greenwich (Pages 598-99 & 175) New York, Knickerbocker: 1911, Web accessed May 26, 2014.
2. ↑ Knapp, Alfred Aver, Nicholas Knapp genealogy, published 1953. Reference page 17

• 1705 Connecticut Town Vital Records for birth of Israel Knapp to Timothie and Elizabeth Knapp in Greenwich [10] [11].
• 1762 Early Connecticut Marriages for Israel Knapp and Elizabeth Hugerford [12]
• FindAGrave

• Miller, Robert B. Lyon memorial : New York families descended from the immigrant Thomas Lyon, of Rye, with introductory chapter by Dr. G.W.A. Lyon on the English Lyon families. unknown: unknown, 1907, p. 58. [13]
• Richard Seymour of Hartford and Norwalk, Conn., and Some of His Descendants by Seymour Morris in The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Boston, Mass., 1918, Vol. 72, p. 211 [14].
• Morris, Seymour. Richard Seymour of Hartford and Norwalk, Conn., and Some of His Descendants, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1918) Vol. 72, [15].

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Loren Fay for starting this profile.