My Families Stories

from Findagrave.com

Birth: Nov. 24, 1758

Haverstraw

Rockland County

New York, USA

Death: Jul. 22, 1846

Sycamore (Wyandot County)

Wyandot County

Ohio, USA

Revolutionary War veteran Samuel Knapp Sr. was born 24 Nov 1758 in Orange (Rockland) County, New York and died, a few years after relocating from Watertown, Jefferson County, New York, at Sycamore, in Crawford County (now Wyandot), Ohio on 22 July, 1846. He married Annatje Hannah Secor, daughter of John Secor and Marie Gerow, on 13 Jun 1778 in Haverstraw. She was born 18 Jul 1758 in Haverstraw, Orange (Rockland) County, NY (alternatively 18 Sep. 1758 and christened 10 Nov. 1758 in Clarkstown)and died on 06 Mar 1839 in Sycamore.

Children of Samuel and Hannah include

i. Polly Knapp bc 1779 Ballston Spa, NY; m. c. 1808 in Jefferson County to Samuel Rockwell.

ii. Rachel Knapp bc. 1784 Haverstraw, NY; m. 28 Mar 1801 at Berne, NY to John Persells.

iii. Samuel Knapp, Jr. b. 15 Mar 1786 in Ballston Spa, NY, m. Tirzah McIntire.

iv. Elizabeth Knapp b. 15 Mar 1787 at Ballston Spa.

v. Franklin Knapp b. New York

vi. Nancy Knapp bc. 1788 in Ballston Spa.

vii. Sarah Knapp bc. 1788, m. John Holbrook, pr. in Watertown, Jefferson County, New York.

viii. John Knapp b. 03 Apr 1790 in Albany County, NY, m. Nancy (?)on 20 Jan 1814 in Mayfield, Fulton County, NY.

ix. Benjamin Franklin Knapp b. 1794 in New York, m. Louis (?) abt. 1822 in New York.

x. Esther Knapp b. 3 Jul 1797 or 1798 in Watertown, Jefferson, NY, m. David I. Severance.

Descendants of Samuel Knapp, Sr. are eligible for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR Ancestor # A066289) and the SSAR.

Although Samuel was ultimately denied a pension (RWPA # R6014), the record is clear regarding his service to the cause of Liberty in the American Revolution. He initially enlisted in the summer of 1776 under the command of Captain Jacob Derunda and Lieutenant John Coe in Colonel Gilbert Cooper's regiment of militia. He was discharged in the winter of 1777 with a violent case of dysentery. In 1779, he enlisted as a boatman in the Water Services (battery defenses) in Captain Cooley's Company under Lieutenant John Ackerman, Col. Undly Hay's regiment at Stony Point, west Point, and Fishkill Landing on the Hudson River. Sadly, and in spite of numerous efforts, Samuel was never able to gain sufficient corroboration of the total length of his service to warrant a pension.

Samuel's brother Benjamin (RWPA # S34950) also served in the Revolutionary War as a private in Leonard Bleeker's Regiment of the Third New York. He was present in Fort Stanwix throughout the siege of 1777.

Samuel Knapp's grave is somewhat deteriorated, and currently rests at the top of a steep knoll about ten yards from of the edge of State Highway 231 at Old Sycamore Cemetery in Sycamore, Ohio. Wife Hannah's marker broke from its base some years ago, and rests against his. Efforts have been initiated to honor Samuel's service. A grave marking ceremony by the John Hancock Chapter, Society of Sons of the American Revolution, is planned for 22 July, 2012. If you are a descendant and would like to attend, please respond to TiffinPoetry@hotmail.com.

Samuel's grave is listed in Patricia Law Hatcher's "Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, Vol. 2" p. Serial: 11999; Volume: 8.

For an excellent account of the bateaux service and "Battoe Men" of New York, see http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/articles/bateau2.htm