It has been noted on this list on several occasions that the Nicholas Knapp Genealogy is excellent for many lines, but not for the descendents of Israel Knapp of Fishkill, Dutchess County, NY, especially those of his son Elijah -- I'm less certain of the accuracy of the liens of Elijah's siblings because I have done almost no research on them. My own ancestry derives from Elijah's eldest son, Isreal (1797-1880). A family Bible belonging to Mary (Knapp) Hill, daughter of Samuel and granddaughter of Elijah, lists eight children of Elijah Knapp and Rachel Weeks. That Bible remains in the possession of one of Mary's descendents, still living in Walden, Orange County, NY. Of those, the first six were sons, the last two were daughters. Isreal and Samuel both settled in Walden, Orange County, NY. Chauncey's children were baptized at New Hackensack Dutch Reformed Church in Dutchess County. His wife died in 1866 while a member of a Dutch Reformed congregation in Poughkeepsie. I know nothing of Henry beyond the entries in Mary Hill's Bible which say he lived from 1800 to 1880 and his wife was Harriet Bush. The same Bible record gives James H. Knapp's birth and death 1804-1882, but ALL other sources I've seen suggest he died much younger. His wife was shown in the Bible record as Miriam (or Mirriam) Fowler, who may have been a sister of Isreal's first wife, Sarah Emeline "Sally" Fowler. Gilbert married Ann Deerin in Poughkeepsie. They had eight sons, no daughters. In the 1850 cesnsus for Town of Sheridan, Calhoun County, MI, the family included both parents, seven sons and Anna C. Dearin, 10 -- probably a niece of Ann (Deerin) Knapp. The eighth son, James, had died in 1847 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Albion, Calhoun County. The seven reamining sons were listed as: John, 24; Chancey, 22; Edward, 18; Wm, 16; Matthew, 16; Robert, 13; Geo. F.H., 10. All are shown as New York born, but Gilbert purchased land in Sheridan township, Calhoun County, MI, on June 1, 1840, several months before George's reported September birth, so that may be in error. Some of the family moved to New Hudson, Lyon Township, Oakland County, MI, in the late 1850's (Robert's pension file says 1859). In the 1860 census, no children are listed at their parents's home, but "Chancy" lived next door with a wife, daughter, and brothers Robert and George. At least two of the sons, Edward and Robert, served in the Civil War. Robert's Certificate of Disability for Discharge describes him as "six feet three inches high, light complexion, hazle (sic) eyes, brown hair." His pension file also includes a statement from D.B. Crane, M.D., of "Sant Joseph, Mich," dated July 15th 1879 and certified by a Berrien County, MI, notary. It says: "This certifies that I the subscriber was the family physician for Gilbert Knapp, the father of Robert Knapp, the bearer of this paper and from the single fact that the family consisted of the father & mother and eight boys. They were [unreadable] robust healthy and sound in their makeup, every one of them -- and this one, Robert with twin mate (I think) were born under my supervision. It is very seldom one meets with such a large family, in which the physique of every one is so perfectly sound as they were. I was their only physician some sixteen or eighteen years, and they were all entirely sound the last I knew them." Regrettably, Dr. Crane's memory was flawed. Robert was younger than the twins, who were William and Matthew. Nonetheless, the clear implication is that the family of Gilbert Knapp consisted of young men who were strikingly large for their era. Robert moved to Traverse City, Grand Traverse County. MI. He had at least three children. Harry probably have died in 1884 as a child. The second son is listed by Robert as "Thomas D. Knapp" in an 1898 submission ot the Bureau of Pensions. The records of his 1889 divorce, however, list the same son as Homer D. Knapp, 7, and ask that custody be awarded to the mother. Daughter Georgia L. Knapp, 15 at the time of the divorce, later married Leon G. Van Liew and settled in Belleaire, Antrim County, MI. Robert died at her home in 1904. Robert's pension file says he was born in Cayuga County, NY. Edward's pension file never mentions children. He was a wanderer, who frequently moved in and among Tennesseee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Arkansas, dying -- apparently alone -- In Arlington, Carlisle County, KY, on July 15, 1916. His wife had died in 1899. Edward's birth in variously listed in his pension file as "near Auburn, NY," "Cayuga county, NY," "Cayuga County, NY, near Skinatlis (sic)," and simply "State of New York." There remain a lot of questions about this family and I would be very interested to know more about any of them. cmorrow@ix.netcom.com Duncan Morrow -----Original Message----- From: Kristan Aspen & Janna MacAuslan <musica@transport.com> To: KNAPP-L@rootsweb.com <KNAPP-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Monday, January 10, 2000 1:59 AM Subject: [KNAPP] Re:E.H. and Will Knapp, Calhoun Co. MI >Hello Lynn Crowder, >I noticed your Michigan inquiry and looked at my relatives in that area. In >the Nicholas Knapp Genealogy there are two brothers, William (b. 1835) and >Edward (b. 1832), who are sons of Gilbert Knapp and Ann Marie Deerin. >Gilbert's brother James Harvey was an ancestor of mine. His son, also named >James Harvey (b. 1826) eventually went West to Michigan where he met his >future wife. I wonder if he spent some time living with his uncle Gilbert. >He had been orphaned early and I believe he lived with his other uncle >Samuel in Walden, NY when he was a young teen. > >Gilbert, Samuel, and James Harvey Sr. were sons of Elijah Knapp and Rachel >Weeks of Fishkill, NY. > >I have also seen a Descendants of Israel Knapp Genealogy which lists Robert >B. Knapp (b. about 1837 in Cayuga Co. NY) as a son of Gilbert. He died Nov. >2, 1904 in Bellaire, Antrim Co. MI. Maybe looking for info on Robert would >lead you to William and Edward as well. It's just a thought... > >Good luck. Half the fun of it for me is the conjecture. The hard part is >tracking down the proof! >Kristan Knapp > >