Roger Clap - Soldier, Captain at Castle Island
Family Connection - 7th great-grandfather of Edward Elihu Hazen, Jr.
Note: This is a revision of a previous post. I discovered some more information about Roger and decided to repost with updates. The new information is in italics.
Roger Clap was born on April 12, 1609 in Sallcom, Devonshire, England. We know a lot about him, since he wrote his memoirs. When he was twenty or twenty-one, a Puritan minister from forty miles away from the Clap home asked Roger's father if he could come talk to Roger. The minister was Rev. John Maverick, and he was recruiting young men to relocate to the Massachusetts colony. After the talk, Roger agreed to go, with his father asking Rev. Maverick to look after him.
Rev. Maverick and his new parishioners left Plymouth, England on March 20, 1630, on the ship Mary and John, which arrived at Nantasket on May 30, 1630. They came ashore and began to build the town of Dorchester. They built their first meetinghouse when they arrived. This stone marks the location of that first meeting house. Remember these were Puritans, and there was no separation of church and state, so the meeting house was the church, town hall, and court all in one.
On Nov. 16, 1633, Roger married Joanna Ford, who also came over on the ship Mary and John along with her parents, Thomas Ford and Elizabeth Charde Ford.
Roger and Joanna had fourteen children:
Samuel b. 1634 d. 1708
William b. 1636 d. 1638
Elizabeth b. 1638 d. 1711
Experience b. 1640 d. 1640
Waitstill b. 1641 d. 1643
Preserved b. 1643 d. 1720
Experience b. 1645 d. unknown
Hopestill b. 1647 d. 1719
Wait b. 1648 d. 1717
Thanks b. 1650 d. unknown
Desire b. 1652 d. 1717
Thomas b. 1655 d. 1670
Unite b. 1656 d. 1663
Supply b. 1660 d. 1685
Roger was made Freeman on May 14, 1634. the status of Freeman was granted by the community to men who the community agrees are of good character. Only Freeman were allowed to vote and hold office.
Roger held many offices in his lifetime. He was the Deputy for Dorchester at the Massachusetts Bay Colony General Court - the legislature of the colony - eighteen times, the last time in 1671. He was appointed to several committees, including committees to regulate workmen's labor, lay out highways, and establishing the boundary between Dorchester and the new neighboring settlement of Roxbury.
He was elected to be a selectmen (town council member) for Dorchester fifteen times.
His main calling was to be a soldier. By December 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony required all towns to create their own militia. All able-bodied males between 16-60 were required to take part in training and prepare to be called up if needed. Roger had been active in recruiting a militia for Dorchester before it was required.
Old map showing Boston, Dorchester, and Castle Island
As early as 1630, there was a fortification built on Castle Island to protect Dorchester and Boston from attacks by sea. By 1641, there was a fort with a garrison - a captain, a gunner, and a small contingent of men who were paid 10 pounds per year. Roger was one of those men. In 1654, he was named Lieutenant under Captain Richard Davenport. He brought his wife and family to live at Fort William for the entire time he was stationed there.
Fort William on Castle Island - likely when it was rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1673
In 1665, Lt. Roger Clap became Captain Roger Clapp, when Richard Davenport was killed by lightning. Roger remained at that post until September 1686, when he resigned and moved to Boston. Roger resigned his position because he thought the colony governance was not operating under strict Puritan ideals.
Roger died on Feb. 2, 1690 in Boston, and was buried in King's Chapel Burying Ground. His body was given a military escort with a band to the cemetery. It was most likely his fellow members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company that provided this honor
His wife Joanna died on June 28, 1695, and was buried next to him.
Just a note - the tombstone at the beginning of the post is Roger Clap's tombstone, but we have no idea where in King's Chapel Burial Ground he is actually buried. After being used for many years the burying ground was disorganized, with tombstones and burials placed without any pattern. So, all the tombstones were taken up and placed in a more ordered fashion, in rows, with walking paths between. This was not uncommon - many other early graveyards did the same.
One other note - Roger Clap was an original member of the Ancient and Honorable Militia Company in Boston. For more information see my blog about Robert Keayne, posted on October 1st.
Roger Clap > Preserved Clapp > Wait Clapp > John Taylor > Betty Taylor > David Hurlburt > Elihu Hurlburt > Harriet Augusta Hurlburt > Edward Elihu Hazen > Edward Elihu Hazen, Jr.
Roger Clap is in the third ring from the outside of the top fan chart, in the blue section, right next to the green section. Betty Taylor, the center person of the top chart, is in the second ring from the outside of the second chart, in the blue section.
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