Peter KNAPP

Notes:

Name:
"Connecticut Ancestry": Peter married first at Stamford on 30 June 1726, Elizabeth Slason, daughter of John and Mary (Holmes) Slason, born at Stamford on 18 April 1703. She died on 12 Mary 1733 at Stamford, about a week after her fourth child, Mary, was born. On 24 April 1746, after the death of "my honored father John Slason late of Stamford deceased," John Slason (Jr.) referred to "my sister Elizabeth Knap deceased who was the former wife of Peter Knap" and her heirs Elizabeth, Hannah, Sarah and Mary Knapp. Her identity is further confirmed in a deed made by her daughter Sarah (Knapp) Smith with husband Austin Smith on 28 Mar 1753, n which they conveyed their right in Southern Common or Sequest Land in Stamford that "came down to us from the sd Sarah's grand father and grand mother John and Mary Slason late of sd tamford deceased & ye right was originally part of Old Mr. John Slason & George Slason & Old Mr. Stephen Holmes right a part of each of their lists in the year 1687."

He married second at Stamford on 21 March 1734, Mary Slason, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Waterbury Slason, born at Stamford on 20 June 1704. the Stamford record of this marriage is deficient in the original, spelling her surname "Sl_on". The recorder, probably town clerk Lt. Samuel Weed, left out the letter 's' in the middle of her name, and this recording peculiarity has spawned a series of misinterpretations of her identity. First, the Rev. Elijah Baldwin Huntington copied her name as "Mary Sloon," and left it at that, with no interpretation or suggestions as to her identity. The transcription used for the Barbour Collection gave her name as Mary "sloan," and cross-referenced the spelling "Sloon" given by Huntington. but except for this one instance no persons at all by the name of Slaon, Sloan, or Sloon are found in any other early Stamford records.

The author of the "Slason Genealogy" correctly detected that the bride was named Mary Sla(s)on, but picked the wrong Mary. The authors of "Stamford's Soldiers" called her Mary Slason, but without further information.

Fortunately a Stamford land record clarified the identity of Peter Knapp's second wife. On 9 January 1740/41 Peter Knapp and Mary his wife, Samuel Bishop and rebecca his wife, and David Scofied and Sarah his wife, all of Stamford, sold to "our loving brother David Slason of said Stamford" rights in the sequestered lands of Stamford that "formerly belonged unto our honored father Jonathan Slason late of Stamford deceased." Also on this same date, Peter Knapp and Mary his wife sold their rights in the estate of "our 'Brother' Jonathan Slason late of said Stamford" to Samuel Bishop.

the "Slason Geneaology" stated ERRONEOUSLY that this Mary Slason (the daughter of Jonathan Slason and Mary Waterbury) had "married Peter King," without giving a date or any other citation, and gives a date for her death as "15 Mar 1724/25 at Stamford". There is no such Peter King marriage or Mary King death, in the Stamford records. This error probably stemmed from S.P. Mead's earlier transcription of the distribution of the estate of Jonathan Slason (Junior) in 1750 to "his brothers and sisters viz: George, Silas, Nathan, Abigail Webb, alias Goolsbery, Mary, wife of Peter King (sic), Sarah Wife of David Scofield, and Rebecca wife of Samuel Bishop." This error has also been perpetuated in the Slason section of the Bedford genealogies, probably because of the same transcription problem.

Mary, wife of Peter Knapp, was admitted to full communion at the Stamford Congregational Church on 31 December 1746.

Peter Knapp apparently built his first home on his father's property, since on 5 February 1730/31, Capt. John Knapp gave his loving son Peter Knapp for good will and affection "ye new Dweling house and home Lot of about Eight acres be ye same more of Less where he my ad son now Lives." The father, now calling himself "John Knap Senr," also gave his loving son Peter a tract of land (size not mentioned) between the Mill River and the Mianus River on 31 January 1739/40.

At a town Meeting of 16 December 1736, the Town of Stamford voted that "ye town gives liberty to john Knap Junr, Peter Knap, and John Penoyre theirs heirs etc. all of Stamford for to build a grit mill, on ye mill river, so called, at ye upper end of ye Still water, neare Peter Knaps home lott, provided they build sd mill in tow years after this time, and also provided they damnify no one perticuler persons land by daming sd river and also that ye said John Knap etc. be hereby obliged when sd mill be build as aforesd to grind first for ye people of this town and befoer any person of any other town or place and for their service in grinding of any graine they shall take ye sixteenth part and no more. voted in ye afirmitive."

In a record not yet explained, Thankful Bullard of Stamford chose "her uncle Peter Knapp" to be her guardian on 6 december 1748.

Peter Knapp and his wife Mary sold 4 acres in the Roxbury district of Stamford to their son in law, Samuel Buxton Junior on 18 January 1757. the deed was witnessed by Abraham Davenport and the couple's daughter, still single, "Daborah Knap."

On 8 September 1764, Peter Knapp and mary his wife sold their 5 acre farm in the Roxbury district, with buildings and fruit trees thereon, to "our son Peter Knapp Junior of Stamford," for L40 New York money, reserving the use and improvement of the property for themselves during their lifetimes. This was the last mention of Peter Knapp in the land records, and he may have died not long afterwards. With his real estate disposed, and no other sons or unmarried daughters to provide for by this time, there were no probate proceedings recorded for him in Stamford.

Peter married Elizabeth SLASON on 30 Jun 1726 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of John SLASON, Jr. and Mary HOLMES) was born on 18 Apr 1703 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died on 12 May 1733 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Hannah KNAPP was born on 21 Apr 1727 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died before Mar 1756.
2. Elizabeth KNAPP was born on 14 Jun 1728 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA.
3. Sarah KNAPP was born on 5 Jun 1730 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died in 1817.
4. Mary KNAPP was born on 4 May 1733 in Stamford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut.

Peter married Mary SLASON on 21 Mar 1734 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Mary (daughter of Ensign Jonathan SLAWSON and Mary WATERBURY) was born on 20 Jun 1704 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died on 15 Mar 1724/5 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Abigail KNAPP was born between 04 Feb 1734 and 1735 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA.
2. Deborah KNAPP was born on 2 Sep 1739 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died on 18 Dec 1826.
3. Peter KNAPP was born about 1741 in Stamford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; died in 1811.

Notes:

Name:
"Connecticut Ancestry": John Knapp must have been quite a capable young man, since he was named co-administrator of the estate of his grandfather Henry Smith in 1687, when John would have been only about 23 years old and apparently not yet even married. This does raise the question, however, about the possibility of an earlier marriage for John Knapp (prior to 1692) that has not yet come to our attention.

Also, at the time of the death of Thomas Lawrence in the summer of 1691, John Knapp had "the custody of most of the effects of the deceased, and verified the inventory," again signifying a position of considerable trust in the family. Perhaps John Knapp was living with his stepfather Thomas Lawrence even though his mother had died several years earlier in 1685.

He accumulated a considerable amount of property in Stamford over a period of a dozen years from 1703/04 to 1715/16. Interestingly, he continued to hold a total of 12 deeds for these properties without recording, until some event convinced him to record them all in the Stamford Land Records on the last day of January, 1733/34. One of these deeds, dated 2 April 1712, was from Joseph Ferris and Peter Ferris (Jr.) "both sons of Peter Ferris deceased," and therefore his wife's brothers, for 3 acres "whereon standeth ye new dwelling house and barn of sd John Knap."

On 20 May 1730, Capt. John Knapp, Joseph Smith and Caleb Smith all of Stamford made an agreement to divide about 80 acres of land near Lawrences Farm, so called, that they "have a joynt right to ye fee of and ye same hold as Tenants in common." Joseph and Caleb Smith were both sons of Hannah (Smith) Knapp's brother Daniel Smith, and the genealogical significance of this deed is not immediately evident. John Knapp may have received his right in this property directly from the estate of Henry Smith, for which he was administrator.

He was appointed Ensign of the Stamford Trainband in May 1707, Lieutenant in October 1710, and Captain in October 1716, and he was also elected to the respected position of townsman (selectman) of Stamford for a one year term in 1716.

John married Hannah FERRIS on 10 Jun 1692 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Hannah (daughter of Peter FERRIS and Elizabeth REYNOLDS) was born in 1666 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died on 10 Sep 1724 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Death: 27 Sep 1724, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: Between 20 Jan 1635 and 1636, Watertown, Massachusetts
• Birth: 20 Nov 1636, Watertown, Massachusetts
• Death: Between 4 Mar 1674 and 1675, Stamford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut

Caleb married Hannah SMITH on 26 Mar 1660 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Hannah (daughter of Henry SMITH and Hannah UNKNOWN) was born about 1640 in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut; died in Jun 1685. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
"Connecticut Ancestry": Peter Ferris and his brother Joseph and brother-in-law Jonathan Reynolds were among the 12 Greenwich residents who decided to place themselves under the jurisdiction of the New Haven Colony on 6 October 1656. The exact nature of this transaction is not clear, since the Colony noted that "They are to fall in with Stamford, and be accepted a part thereof." Apparently there was some kind of a split within the Greenwich community, and it may be presumed that there wre others still resident in that town who preferred to remain under the prevailing Dutch control. No boundary changes seem to have resulted from this event.

It does appear, however, that Peter Ferris was a resident of Stamford for most of his career. He held several positions of responsibility in that town over the years, including being named deputy (representative) to Connecticut General Court (Assembly) in 1667. All other references to Peter Ferris in Greenwich appear to relate to his son, Peter Ferris Jr.

The names of the children in this family have been confusing for researchers, at least partly because of incompleteness in the records. One of the boundaries in determining Peter's children has been his father Jeffrey's mention in his will, made on 6 January 1664, of "my sonn Peter Fferris his three children." On the surface, this seems to include Joseph, Peter Jr., and either Mary or the second Elizabeth, who was only 4 years old when Jeffrey made his will. The first Elizabeth is known to have died in infancy.

Another boundary on the identification of Peter's children is his making of two deeds of gift to his loving grandson Jeremiah Jagger on 24 May 1698 and 27 September 1706 (the latter was on the day before Peter died.) this Jeremiah Jagger was not yet 21 years old in 1698, and was therefore the third generation Jeremiah Jagger, born to Jeremiah Jagger and a daughter of Peter Ferris. Peter Ferris and Abraham Ambler administered the estate of Jeremiah Jagger in 1690, and Elisha Holly, Daniel Scofield and Peter Ferris took the inventory. The estate's largest debt (L30) was to Peter Ferris, and Jagger's heirs were named as (his children) Sarah age 13, Elizabeth age 11, Mary age 7 and Jeremiah age 5. Therefore the grandson Jeremiah had been born in about 1684, and his oldest sister Sarah had been born in about 1676. Their mother must have been born before say 1656 or so, assuming she was at 20 when her first child was born. This means (on the basis of age) she could not have been either Mary, born in 1662 or the second Elizabeth, born in 1664. Paul Prindle could only resolve this situation by postulating an earlier, first child for Peter Ferris, born perhaps as early as 1655, and perhaps called Sarah, since she gave her eldest child that name. This daughter would have been living at least as late as 1684 (when Jeremiah Jagger was born) and was therefore very much alive when Jeffrey Ferris made his will (in 1664) numbering only 3 children for his son Peter. Prindle solved THIS problem by supposing that Elizabeth (b. 1664) was not the third child named in her grandfather's will after all, and that the discrepancy could be explained either by Jeffrey's being unaware of a new grandchild born just 4 days before he made his will, or more likely, that it was due to a specific effect of old style dating, and that Elizabeth had not yet been born. This compilation accepts that arrangement, since this specific case was in the direct line of Prindle's client's ancestry, and he would have been sure to place the highest importance on getting it right. Capt. Jim Ferris was apparently unaware of this line of reasoning, and did not consider a possible additional daughter for Peter Ferris, born say bout 1655. His solution was to place the second Elizabeth as the wife of Jeremiah jagger and make her the mother of the four jagger grandchildren, and in the process he actually telescoped the first two Jeremiah Jaggers into one person. In addition to its misunderstanding of the Jagger family, this proposal is not viable since it requires the improbable situation that Elizabeth (b. 1664/65) was only about 12 years old when the oldest Jagger grandchild was born.

We now turn to the Hannah Ferris who married Capt. John Knapp at Stamford on 10 June 1692. She must have been born before about 1674, assuming she was at least 18 years old when married. She was the subject of queries to the "Hartford Times" and the "Boston Transcript", but apparently no one has yet conclusively proven her identity. In the only positive answer to these newspaper inquiries, H.S.C. gave the following statement," Hannah Ferris, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Reynolds) Ferris, married John Knapp June 10, 1692. She died afterwards, leaving two children, Samuel and John." Actually she left at least 7 children, Samuel, John, Hannah, Peter, charles, Deborah, and Moses. But the real problem here is that S.P Mead's History does not give this identity for Hannah at all, and as a matter of fact does not even list a Hannah Ferris as a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth.

Other writers have also included Hannah as a daughter of Peter Ferris, but without any real support. Nevertheless, it does seem reasonable to place Hannah here in this family, probably born sometime after Jeffrey Ferris died in 1666/67. In another "Boston Transcript" query, M.S.R.S. put the issue quite clearly as follows," She (Hannah) must have been of the third generation of Jeffrey Ferris' family. Was she the daughter of Peter or of Joseph Ferris? Mead's "Greenwich" gives Joseph a daughter Hannah, but as wife of Jonathan Austin. John Ferris and his family lived too far fro Stamford, and James Ferris was married too late. This seems to leave Peter Ferris as the only possible father for (the) above Hannah." Capt. Jim Ferris also placed Hannah in this family, but again without any supporting documentation.

There is some important additional evidence that tends to confirm that Hannah Ferris, wife of John Knapp, belongs in this family. First, it is probably significant that they named a child Peter, since the name Peter does not appear earlier in the Knapp line and this may therefore have been in honor of her father. Secondly, on 2 April 1712, the brothers Joseph and Peter Ferris, "sons of Peter Ferris late of Stamford deceased" ( and therefore Hannah's brothers if she were indeed a part of this family) sold a three-acre home lot in Stamford to John Knapp. it is significant that this land was described as "...whereon Standeth ye new Dwelling house and barn of sd John Knap." the fact that John Knapp had built his new house and barn on this land while it was still owned by this branch of the Ferris family is strong circumstantial evidence that he had indeed married a daughter of Peter Ferris Sr.

A letter in the Edich Vicks Papers at the Stamford Historical Society claims that the late Virginia Olson (co-author of "Stamford's Soldiers" and former genealogist of the Stamford Genealogical Society) had told the writer that "Peter and Elizabeth were the parents of Hannah. She (Mrs Olson) states, 'Hannah proved by deeds as the daughter of Peter but birth not recorded; married John Knapp 10 June 1692. She died 27 Sep 1724.' Mrs. Olson also quotes the "Hartford Times 12/28/1940 as giving reference to the relationship."

Although an excellent circumstantial case may be made for Hannah's placement in this family, it is not yet felt to be conclusive, and she must be paced here in this present compilation want the qualifier, "probably".

Peter married Elizabeth REYNOLDS on 15 Jul 1654 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of John REYNOLDS and Sarah CHESTERFIELD) was born about 1636; died in 1703 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]