303
BIOGRAPHICAL SOUVENIR OF BUFFALO COUNTY of the latter are verging on to manhood and womanhood.
Mrs. Kesler, who bore the maiden name of Mary J. Weaver, daughter of Henry and Catherine Weaver, is a native of Lycoming county, Pa., and comes, like her husband, of old Pennsylvania stock. Her parents lived always in Lycoming county, being plain, substantial, well-to-do people of that county. Her father died there October 28, 1876, in his fifty-seventh year, having been born February 19, 1819; her mother died February, 9, 1889, in her sixty-ninth year, having been born May 17, 1820. Besides herself there were six other children in the family to which Mrs Kesler belonged, the full list being - Charles B., Mary J. (Mrs. Kesler), Jacob W., Sarah E., John B., Maggie A., and Harry L. Most of these reside in their native county of Lycoming, in Pa. Mrs. Kesler and her brother, Jacob W. ( who is a resident of Shelton, Buffalo county), being the only representatives of the family in this state. With her six children - Harry W., Annie H., Kate W., Sadie S., Rodney J. and Maggie A., Mrs. Kesler continues to reside on the old home-place, which she manages and which gives every evidence of the industry, order and thrift that prevail there. She has one of the handsomest residences in the township and within its walls friends and strangers are alike welcome.
BENJAMIN ASHTON, of Platte township, Buffalo county, is a comparatively old settler of his locality, a successful farmer and an old soldier of honorable distinction. He is a native of Bucks county, Pa., born in 1843, and comes of old Pennsylvania stock. His father, Samuel Ashton, lived most of his life in the Keystone State, being a farmer and leading the active, industrious and useful life common to his calling up to his death, which occurred in the fall of 1862, when he had attained the sixty-sixth year of his age. Mr. Ashton's mother bore the maiden name of Matilda Bryan. Ten children were born to these, only three of whom are now living - John, residing in St. Louis; Benjamin, our subject, and William H., in Lycoming county, Pa. Benjamin Ashton grew up on his father's farm and received the training common to his years and calling. He entered the Union army in May, 1862, enlisting in Company E, Fourteenth United States infantry, his regiment being assigned to the Fifth corps, Army of the Potomac. He was in the campaigns and engagements participated in by that army from the second Bull Run to Gettysburg, at which latter place he was disabled by a gun-shot wound in the left shoulder and compelled to retire from active field service. He continued on duty, however, being placed in the recruiting service and serving out his term of enlistment, being mustered out May 8, 1865. Settling down in Lycoming county after the close of the war he married and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits till 1878, when, seeing a family growing up around him and being desirous of getting into a new country where the opportunities were better for giving them a start in the world, he decided to move West, and accordingly, in October of that year, he came to Nebraska and settled on Elm Island in Platte township, Buffalo county, where he now
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lives, taking a soldier's homestead of one hundred and fifty four acres. He has been steadily engaged in farming and stock-raising since that time, and, having added other land by purchase, he now owns two hundred and thirty-four acres well stocked and well improved.
Mr. Ashton married, May 18, 1867, Miss Susan Siglin, a daughter of Frederick and Susan Siglin, naves of Monroe county, Pa., where also Mr. Ashton was born and reared. Her father died there, but her mother continues to reside there. Mr. and Mrs. Ashton have had born to them a family of eleven children, only four of whom, however, are now living, the full list being Walter, Matilda (deceased), Mabel (deceased), William (deceased), twins who died young, Samuel, Edgar P. and Flossie.
Mr. Ashton has filled the usual number of local offices, having been treasurer of his school district, justice of the peace of his township, township clerk, and moderator of his school board. Mr. Ashton is a pleasant gentleman, kind and accommodating, and to his home and family devotedly attached.
Photo of J. L. Parrotte J. L. PARROTTE. There are many men in Kearney who have lived here longer than the subject of this sketch; there are many who have figured more conspicuously in public life; many have made more money; but there are not many who have attained better success - who have achieved more solid results, in accordance with their means and opportunities, than he has, and who in so doing have better illustrated those sterling qualities of the successful business man: intelligence, industry, perseverence and upright, honorable dealing, on which all true and lasting success must be based. This sketch is not written to commemorate any special personal achievements of the subject; it is not written to flatter any supposed vanity he may have touching his record; it is simply written to place him in the category of Kearney's representative business men where he properly belongs, and to teach incidentally, as all such biographies must, the great value of self-help and the indispensable necessity of personal cbaracter in business as in al1 other things. Whatever of character Mr. Parrotte has established, like that of all others, has been the result of growth and development, he being indebted for the germs of it to heredity. "The child is father to the man." Fortunately he comes of stock noted for their strong qualities, fixed habits and settled convictions. He is of Welch French and English extraction, French and Welch on his father's side, and English on his mother's. To his father's line he is indebted for his chief characteristics. On that side he is of Huguenot stock. The name indicates the nationality, family tradition, and the history of the church settled the question of faith. There is a marked similarity between the name Parrotte and those of Garrotte and Tourette, names of honorable distinction among many of greater luster in French Protestantism, such as LeFever, DuBois, LaFountaine and others. It is not known when his first ancestors immigrated to this country or exactly where they settled. But inasmuch as the family has been traced back to Maryland, it is believed that
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his first ancestors on American soil came with the huge tide of Huguenot immigration which poured into this country by way of Holland after the revocation of the edict of Nantes and settled in Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas. His father, Josiah Parrotte, was a native of Maryland, born in the year 1800 He emigrated when a young man to Tennessee and Kentucky, and thence to Illinois, and settled in 1825 at Rushville, then the third town in size and commercial importance in the state. He was an honored citizen of that place for more than a half-century. He was a merchant of large means and extensive interests, owning at one time as many as six stores in Tennessee and Kentucky. He also had considerable farming interests, and altogether led an active, energetic and unusually successful life. He died in 1882. He was a type of his race, modified by local surroundings. The persevering industry and careful husbanding of resources that made the wild lands and waste places where the French Huguenots settled in this country "blossom as the rose," characterized, though in a different direction, all his life, and made a success of all his undertakings. He had the same love of home, the some conception of men's duties to one another, the same attachment to country and the same devout recognition of his Creator. He believed in the freest (sic) liberty of conscience, the largest independence of thought and action consistent with public good. He bore arms in the public defense during the early Indian and Mormon troubles in Illinois. But he never aspired to office. He had a proper appreciation of the lighter pleasures of life, and it is an admirable tribute to the qualities of his head and heart that his declining years were solaced with those genuine friendships and garnished with those ardent home-loves which should and do come to all who live uprightly, who maintain an abiding faith in their kind and who preserve the evenness of their temper to a serene old age.
J. L. Parrotte's mother bore the maiden name of Katherine A Scripps. She was a daughter of George Scrips, and was born in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Her father was a pioneer of Missouri from England, moving to Cape Girardeau in the early Indian days. He afterward moved to and settled at Rushville, Ill., where his daughter met and was married to Josiah Parrotte. She bore him twelve children, the subject of this sketch being next to the oldest son. She is still living and enjoys all her mental faculties. She is a devoted mother, and noted and beloved for her charity to the poor and afflicted.
One fact further in Mr. Parrotte's ancestral history is noteworthy: Both branches of his family had their origin in this country in the South, and left that section on account of slavery. His father and maternal grandfather were both slave-owners, actual and prospective. Yet such were their instinctive feelings of justice and their strong sense of personal liberty that they gave up all benefits they were entitled to under the institution, and rather than stay where they would be annoyed by its iniquities sought the far West.
J. L. Parrotte was born in Rushville, Ill., in November, 1844, and was reared and educated there. He was brought up to mercantile pursuits mainly. He enlisted in the Union army in May, 1864, as a member of Company K, One Hundred and
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Thirty-seventh Illinois volunteer infantry, and served in the Army of the Tennessee under Gen. A. J. Smith. He was commisary (sic) sergeant and was in the service till the general surrender. He married, December 12, 1866, Mary L., daughter of Dr. R. M. Worthington, a native of Kentucky who left that state on account of slavery and moved into the Illinois territory at an early date. Mrs. Parrotte was born and reared in Rushville, and is a descendent of President James Madison on the paternal side. Mr. Parrotte was engaged in business in Rushville from the close of the war till 1882, when, on account of a failure of health, he moved to New Mexico, near Las Vegas, residing there some time, coming thence in 1883 to Nebraska and locating in Kearney on the 31st day of July, that year. He was engaged for two years with Andrews & Grable in the law and collecting business. A stock company was then formed, of which he became a member, and he went into the hardware business, following this two years. Kearney having started on its career of prosperity in the meantime and the rise in real estate values having made the handling of real estate profitable, he embarked in that business. From his own investments and sales and exchanges made for others, he made considerable money. He is still interested in this line, but does not handle the volume of business he formerly did, owing to the increase of his other business. In April 1889 he, with others, organized the Midway Loan and Trust Company of Kearney, with a capital stock of $100.000. He assisted also in the organizing of the Kearney Savings Bank, which was started in April, 1889, with a capital of $100.000, being organized under the state banking laws. He is assistant cashier and director of the savings bank, a member of the exchange committee of the Midway Loan and Trust Company, and also a director and a stock holder in the Buffalo County National Bank, member of the board of directors and secretary of the board. He is also secretary and treasurer of the National Building and Loan Association, which has its home office at Minneapolis, Minn., and a branch office at Kearney. These institutions are among the heaviest of the kind in Kearney and are doing a large part of the legitimate banking and loan business of the city, of Buffalo county and of central Nebraska. They have good financial backing and are in the hands of men who are distinguished for their discriminating judgment, conservative business methods and unyielding integrity.
Mr. Parrotte's rise to the position he occupies with reference to the business interests of Kearney has been rapid and deserved. It has not come by accident nor by the aid of others. It is due to his own personal efforts. Fortunate by circumstances, he has been blessed with the insight to see and the energy to act. His success has not been phenomenal, but it (sic) been exceptional. It is deserving of this special reogonition (sic) by reason of the fact that is has been reached by patience, by perseverance, by industry and by the exercise of good judgment. It shows what men can do by using their hands and brains. To the man of average attainments and limited means it will give encouragement, it will be eminently helpful.
Mr. Parrotte is a zealous Mason, and he has been for some years. He is an active and consistent member of the Methodist
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church, and has been on the official board of this church twenty-seven years; was a delegate to the general conference in New York City, May, 1888. He is a liberal contributor to all charitable purposes. He and his family are leaders in the best society of Kearney. In all these respects he has developed to their full measure the inherited tendencies of his people. The fact of his Huguenot origin has almost passed out of the traditions of the family, yet he has preserved in his mental and moral make-up much of the distinguishing traits of his ancestors - their persevering industry, their tastes for the quiet pursuits of life, their attachment to home, their love of liberty, their broad humanity, their deep sense of religion; and these several traits, with their imperceptible shadings into one another, have entered into his daily life, have shaped his career, and have made him what he is. Mr. and Mrs. Parotte have one daughter - Miss Anna Katherine P. She is a most estimable young lady and a great worker in the Sunday-school, and a general favorite with old and young in society.
KNAPP FAMILY. The Knapp family were originally from Saxony, a province of Germany. By some they are regarded as Germans, by others as of Saxon origin; but their early history in England leads most of the descendants to fix their nationality as Anglo-Saxon or English.
In the fifteenth century they were people of wealth and position in Sussex county, England. The name Knapp is derived from the Saxon word, the root of which is spelled Cnoep, signifying a summit or hill top. John being the given name, and living on a hill, he was called John of the hill; and there being others of the same name on the hill and said John living on the summit or knob, he was called John of the Cnoep or Knob.
Subsequently the proposition was omitted, for convenience sake, and he was called John Cnoep, the German formation John Knopp. and in English John Knapp. The family arms, together with a full description, may be found in the Herald's college, London. These arms were granted to Roger de Knapp by Henry VIII, to commemorate his skill and success at a tournament held in Norfolk, England, 1540, in which he is said to have unseated three knights of great skill and bravery. By the descendants of his son John, these arms are still preserved as a precious memento of worthy ancestry.
The arms of a family are what a trade mark is to a merchant. It is his own private property. It is generally expressive of some important principle. The origin of the arms of the Knapp family is given in English heraldry. It describes the arms of the Knapp family as used by John Knapp and by his son John, in 1600.
It will be seen that this coat of arms is very expressive and full of meaning. The shield and the helmets, clad in mail, denote a preparation for war. The shield on which the arms are displayed is gold, expressive of worth and dignity; the arms in sable or black, denote antiquity; the three helmets on the shield are acknowledgments from high authorities of victories gained.
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the shield and crest, and rests upon the former, is an esquire in profile or steel, with visor closed and turned to the right side of the shield.
The wreath borne away by the victor, as represented on the sword, is positive proof of laurels won and honors bestowed. The lion passant on the shield denotes courage and consciousness of strength, and yet walking quietly when not provoked or forced to defense. The arm that bears the broken sword indicates the character of the family. Though, having fought in defense until the sword is broken, his courage does not fail him; his arm is still uplifted, grasping the broken sword, and in the heat of battle he exclaims: "In God we trust."
Tradition says, three brothers emigrated to this country from England in early days; if this be true, William, Nicholas and Roger Knapp of these records were brothers.
The earliest records we have in this country are in Bond's genealogies of the families and descendants of the early settlers of Watertown, Mass., including Waltham and Weston, in which it mentions William and Nicholas Knapp - Vol. II, page 815. It there appears that Nicholas Knapp had some connection with a case in court.
Later it states that Nicholas Knapp came with Winthrop and Salstanstall's fleet in 1630.
Then is given the name of his wife, Eleanor, and their children, as found in the Stamford (Conn.) town history. Sayage, in his Genealogical Dictionary, agrees with Bond as to Nicholas' immigration in the above named fleet. A former printed history of the Knapp family mentions Willlam Knapp, of Rye, N. Y., who immigrated from England with a family of children, though his wife never came. This is probably the same William Knapp, of Watertown, Mass., 1636 and 1658, who moved back to Watertown after living in Rye. In this century, a single "p" was used in spelling the name Knapp.
Nicholas Knapp, of Watertown, moved to Stamford, Conn., in 1648. His children by his first wife, Eleanor (who died August 16, 1658), were - Jonathan, born December 27, 1631; Timothy, born December 24, 1632; Joshua, born June 5, 1635; Caleb, born January 20, 1637; Sarah, born January 5, 1639; Ruth, born January 5, 1641; Hannah, born March 5, 1642. For his second wife, he married Unity, widow of Peter Brown, and by her his children were - Moses and Lydia, the dates or whose births are not recorded. He (Nicholas) died April 16. 1670.
Joshua, third son of Nicholas, was born in Watertown, Mass., January 5, 1635; moved to Stamford in 1648, and married Hannah Close, January 9, 1657. Their children were Hannah, born in Stamford, March 26, 1660; in 1663, he moved to Greenwich, which was then called Horse Neck, in which town Joseph was born in 1664; Ruth in 1666; Timothy in 1668; Benjamin in 1673; Caleb in 1677. and John in 1679.
Joshua, Jr., was born in Greenwich in 1662, and married Miss Close about 11682. They had one son - John, born March 1, 1708; and he had two sons - John, Jr., born in 1731, and Justus, born January 19, 1735.
Joshua Knapp, of Greenwich, 1670, son of Nicholas, married Hannah Close at Stamford, 1657; had a good estate inven-
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tory of 1685, though he died October 27, 1684, leaving eight children - Hannah, aged twenty-five; Joshua, twenty two; Joseph, twenty; Ruth, eighteen; Timothy, sixteen; Benjamin, ten; Caleb, seven; Jonathan, five. His widow married John Powers.
Moses Knapp, of Greenwich, 1670, brother of the preceding, probably youngest, but was probably only a land holder and never lived at Greenwich, but at Stamford as early as 1667, and there his father gave him land by his will; he married, about 1669, Abigail, daughter of Richard Westcott. Whether he bad children, I am not advised, but he was living certainly, at Stamford, up to 1701, perhaps later.
The following is from Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of the first settlers of .New England, etc., Vol. III, pp. 33 and 84:
Caleb Knapp, of Stamford, son of Nicholas, freeman, 1670, made his will December 11, 1674, and died soon afterwards. He names his wife Hannah, and children Caleb, who was born 1661; John. 1664, Moses, Samuel, Sarah and Hannah.
Timothy Knapp, deputy of Rye, N. Y., October, 1670; Joshua Knapp, of Greenwich, Conn., admitted freeman 1669; Caleb Knapp of Stamford, Conn., admitted freeman May, 1669; Moses Knapp, of Greenwich, Conn., admitted freeman May, 1670; Timothy Knapp, of Stamford, son, perhaps oldest, of Nicholas, representative for Rye, 1670, was of Greenwich, and was living in 1697. Roger Knapp, who was probably a hunter among Indians in 1639, relinquished all his right and claim on land in Branford to the New Haven Colony.
Roger Knapp, of New Haven, 1643-7; Fairfield, 1656-70 and probably later, had made his will March 21, 1673, naming his wife Elizabeth and children - Jonathan, Josiah, Lydia, Roger, John, Nathaniel, Eliza and Mary; some of whom were minors; his inventory is of September 20, 1675.
Roger Knapp, of Fairfield, son of the preceding, died 1691, but no account is found of the family. Jonathan Knapp, of Fairfield, son of the first Roger, died young, for his inventory is of February 1, 1676.
William Knapp, of Watertown, 1636, died August, 1658, aged about eighty years. He came with Nicholas and had in his will of 1655 not named any wife; referred to children, of whom several were brought by him from England -and grandchildren. His children were William, Mary, Elizabeth, John (born 1624), James, 1627; Ann and Judith.
Mary married Thomas Smith; Elizabeth married in England, a Butlery.
The will of Thomas Knapp, of Watertown, mentions William, John and James, and daughters Elizabeth Mary; Ann and Judith. Witnesses, Richard Beers and Nathaniel Salsbury.
Mid. Deeds, Vol. 2, page 201-2, says he died intestate and his estate was divided by order of the court.
Perhaps his will was set aside; because October 15, 1658, administration was granted to Ephraim Child, Richard Beers and Priscilla Knapp.
The next April she was released from the administration. December, 1658, the constable of Watertown was ordered by the court to deliver widow Knapp her chest and other things which John Knapp
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had detained from her by attachment. December 16, 1662, Ephraim Child and Sergeant Beers were discharged from administration of William Knapp, and John Coolidge and Henry Bright appointed in their place.
Willian Knapp, of Watertown, son of the preceding by his wife Mary, had probably Joseph, besides Priscilla, born November 10, 1642; and by wife Margaret had Judith, born March 2, 1653; Elizabeth, born July 23, 1657, and perhaps others. He left widow Priscilla, who had been widow of Thomas Akers, and son John. Widow Margaret Knapp died previous to January, 1703.
James Knapp, of Watertown, in 1652, son of William the first of Watertown, Mass., born in England, married Elizabeth, daughter of John Warren; had Elizabeth, born April 21, 1655; and James, born May 26, 1657, who died September 26, following. In autumn of 1671 he lived in Groton. He was one of the original proprietors of Groton; a sergeant, and was one of the four men to whom a grant was made to encourage the building of a mill at Groton.
Elizabeth Knapp, of Groton, wife of James, was one of the bewitched persons mentioned by Cotton Mather. This was probably the Elizabeth Knapp who lived in the family of Samuel Coles of Boston, in November, 1657. Thomas Knapp, of Sudbury, married at Watertown, September 19, 1688, Mary, daughter of John Grout, and died beyond sea, leaving widow and children - Sarah, aged nine years, and Mary, aged six years - when administration was issued May 28, 1697.
David Knapp settled in Spencer, Mass., in 1747. - Drapier History.
John Knapp, of Watertown, son of William the first, married Sarah Young May 5, 1660. They had John, born May 4, 1661; and Sarah, born September 5, 1662; and several others, for his will of January 22, 1696, proved the 27th of April following, though it names not either of these, who were perhaps dead, mentions Sarah and children - Henry, Isaac, John, Daniel and Abigail.
John Knapp, of Taunton, married Sarah Austin, October 7, 1685. He was probably a son of John Knapp, of Watertown.
Joshua Knapp, son of John, of Taunton, married and had one son, Samuel, born in Roxbury, June 12, 1716. Joshua Knapp and family of Rosbury, cautioned against settlement in Cambridge. Joshua Knapp married in Newton, 1727, Elizbeth, daughter of John and Bertha Prentiss.
Tradition says, Daniel Knapp was commissioned by the colonial government to survey and locate Danbury town, and was promised if he located a certain number of families there, in a given time, he would receive a tract of land for his services. He located them, and the land he received was located at the foot of Main street, Danbury, and that was the same piece of land on which Joshua Knapp, Sr., built a house, and his sons, Daniel and Frances, kept a hotel during the Revolutionary war. It was located directly opposite the Danbury meeting house, where were stored the American supplies, and which was burned with the town; and Knapp's tavern, as it was called, was the only house in the town saved, and is still standing, 1887. It is a two and a half-story frame building, with old-fashioned small windows and shingled sides. It is still one of the landmarks of Danbury.
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After a careful research I am satisfied this is true, and that he (Daniel) was the father of Joshua Knapp, Sr., and the son of John, and grandson of William, of Watertown, Mass.
Joshua Knapp, Jr., of Danbury Conn., 1762, after moving to Butternuts, moved back to Sherburn, N. Y., where he died July, 1829. Lodema, his wife, died at Cherokee, Logan county, Ohio, May 28, 1845, aged eighty years. Daniel, his brother, and son of Joshua, Sr., of Danbury, Conn., 1716, married Lucy Gray. They had children -Daniel Bostwick, Ezra G., Amie, Palmer, William, Harmon, Levi E. and Horace B. and six daughters besides. Part of his children were born in Danbury and part in Great Barrington, Mass. He died at Sherburn, N. Y. June 25, 1842. Lucy Gray, his wife, died at Sherburn, N. Y. March 8, 1834.
Francis Knapp, brother of Joshua J., and Daniel of Danbury, Conn., 1765, married Abigail ____, for his first wife, who died January 22, 1810, aged forty-five years. Their only daughter Lucy, and wife of Comfort S. Mygatt, died March 8, 1804, aged thirty-seven years, six months. His second wife was Betsey. Their children were Comfort, George, William, and seven daughters; they lived at Danbury, Conn.; Great Barrington, Mass.; and Sherburn, N.Y. He, Francis, died at ____, January 11, 1834, aged sixty eight years.
Levi Knapp, brother of the preceding, and son of Joshua, Sr., had three sons--Joshua G., who died at Danbury, Conn., 1883, aged about ninety; William A., and Levi S., of New Milford, Conn.
Archie W. Knapp, first son of Joshua, Jr., married Betsey Roberts, January 26, 1806--his sons were Alonzo and Joshua. Joshua died quite young, and Archie moved on the Western Reserve, and died at Ottokee, Fulton county, Ohio, January 22, 1852, aged sixty six years; and his wife died in Dover, Lucas county, Ohio, June 26, 1846, aged sixty-three years. His son Alonzo who was born in New Milford, Conn, November 7, 1806, died in Ottokee, Fulton county, Ohio, June 30, 1852, aged forty-six years. Levi P, second son of Joshua, of New Milford, Conn.,1789, married Ellis Brooks, August 25, 1808. They had two sons Royal Carlos, and Samuel B. Levi P. died in Canastota, N. Y., August 11 1824. Royal Carlos, son of Levi P., married in California, a Miss DeCoe. They lived in Rochester, N. Y., and had one son, John D. C., and a number of daughters. He (Royal Carlos) died in Rochester, N. y, 1883, aged about seventy years.
Edwin Joshua, first son of Edwin G., married Emily Cargill, May 6, 1840; had one child, who died quite young; and he, Edwin J., died in Catskill, April 16, 1853, aged fifty-eight years.
Urania Cornelia, his sister, married John R. Sylvester, of Catskill, N. Y., December 10, 1837, and died April 21, 1882, aged sixty-two years.
Revilo Wells, his brother, of Canastota, N. Y., 1826, married Elizabeth Millett, December 31, 1850. They had sons born at Catskill, N.Y. - Charles F., George E. and Frank R.
Joshua Knapp, Sr., was born in Danbury, Conn., February 5, 1716, O. S., and married Abigail Bostwick, a widow Dibble, who was born in Brookfield, Conn., September 28, 1725, and was the first white child born there.
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He (Joshua) died at Danbury, Conn., August 8, 1798, leaving children--Lucy Gray, born August 22, 1760; Joshua, Jr., born May 6, 1762; Daniel, born July 2, 1763; Francis, born June 16, 1765; Levi, born June 4, 1768.
Abigail Bostwick Knapp died at Danbury, Conn., October 7, 1812, aged eighty-seven years. Joshua Knapp, Jr., of Danbury, married Lodema Warner, October 26, 1785; had Archie Warner Knapp, born September 10, 1786. They then moved to New Milford, Conn., and there were born Levi P. March 4, 1789; Edwin Gavin, August 25, 1795; Sally Julia, December 31, 1800.
Edwin G. Knapp, of New Milford, Conn., married Marietta Ferris, November 29, 1815, who was granddaughter of Sarah Ferris, the first white child born in New Milford. Their children, Urania Cornelia, born in New Milford, Conn., April 18, 1820, and Edwin Joshua. Born in Greene county, N. Y., December 22, 1817. They, with Joshua Knapp, Jr., removed to the Butternuts, Iq. Y. Not liking it, they moved east to Canastota, N. Y., where was born Revilo Wells, May 2, 1826.
From Canastota, they moved to Louisville, Otsego county, N. Y., where was born Charles Ruggles, August 11, 1832.
The family then moved to Catskill, Greene county, N. Y., where Edwin Gavin died, November 1, 1853, aged fifty-eight years and his wife, Marietta Ferris, died December 3, 1881, aged eighty-one years and ten months.
Charles Ruggles Knapp, third son of Edwin Gavin Knapp, married Mary Elizabeth Shepard, of Cairo, Greene county, N., Y., February 8, 1860 and had two children, born at Catskill, N. Y. - Ella Augusta, November 21, 1860, and Charles R., Jr., February 10, 1863.
Charles R. Knapp, Sr., died at New Milford, Conn., June 1, 1St;g, aged twenty-nine years. He was buried at Catskill, N.Y.
Charles F. Knapp, first son of Revilo Wells Knapp, married Alice Perry, of Catskill, N. Y., March 27, 1876. They had six children--three boys and three girls.
Frank R., third son of Revilo Wells Knapp, married Kate Broadwick in September, 1878, and had four children - three girls and one boy. [By Chas. R. Knapp, Interlachan. Fla.
Photo of L. P. Woodworth LEONARD P. WOODWORTH, M. D., was born in Compton Center, Canada East, July 12, 1839, and is a son of Commodore Perry (who was a cousin of the great Commodore Perry) Woodworth. The father was born also in Canada; moved in 1847 to Indiana, and settled in LaGrange county, where he lived till 1859, when he moved to Columbia county, Wis., residing there until 1883, and thence moved to Iroquois county, Ill., where he died in 1887, aged seventy-five years. By trade he was a cabinet-maker, for many years was engaged in the furniture business, and towards the latter part of his life also in farming. Subject's mother was Drusilla Stearns, who was a native of Massachusetts, died in the fall of 1889, in Iroquois county, Ill., aged seventy-six.
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