My Genealogy Hound

EGBERT J. CLAPP, City Clerk of Northampton, Mass., was born at Easthampton, January 15, 1843. His father, Luther Clapp, was a son of Thaddeus Clapp, a native of Easthampton, the latter having been a son of Joseph Clapp. The family are descendants of Major Jonathan Clapp. For a more extended account of the early ancestors the reader is referred to Lyman’s History of Easthampton.

Thaddeus Clapp, who was born March 31, 1770, died in the spring of 1861. He was a tavern keeper at Easthampton, and became prominent in public affairs, serving as a Representative to the General Court twelve years, and as Town Treasurer for a period of twenty years. He married a Miss Parsons, by whom he had ten children, three of whom died young, and four sons and three daughters lived to reach maturity. The sons were Theodore, Thornton, Thaddeus, and Luther. The latter and the daughters have passed away. Mr. Clapp’s grandmother died at the age of about sixty-five years during his boyhood; but he remembers distinctly her kind, genial face, the large gold beads about her neck, and, perhaps more particularly than anything else, her delicious pumpkin pies.

Luther Clapp and Lucy Pomeroy, of Northampton, daughter of Herman and Lucy (Parsons) Pomeroy, were married on September 7, 1830. Her father was for some years a button manufacturer and country merchant at Easthampton, and between the years 1870 and 1875 moved to Stoversville, N.Y., where he engaged in the wholesale silk and thread trade until 1890, in which time his wife died. His own decease occurred two years later while on a visit to Asheville, N.C. Of the thirteen children born to Luther Clapp, one son died in infancy and two daughters at the age of ten and twelve years. Augustus M. Pomeroy died from exposure while serving as a volunteer in the Civil War; Charles, a teacher, died in 1863, in the prime of life; Joseph Clapp, also a volunteer in the Civil War, died in service, and is buried at Nashville, Tenn.; Lucy P., widow of D. C. Dunfee, resides at Gloversville, N.Y.; Emma L. is the wife of Francis Clapp, of Deerfield; Luther H. resides at Pennington Gap, Va.; Egbert J. is in Northampton; Willis W. also is a resident of Northampton; Elizabeth H. is the wife of the Rev. William Slocum, a Presbyterian preacher of Iowa; and Leila J. married Edward Pollock, of Albany, N.Y. Luther Clapp died on February 18, 1888, his wife having passed away on June 13, 1886, aged seventy-four years.

Egbert J. Clapp abandoned the parental roof at the age of fourteen, and for three years was employed as a clerk in the store of Samuel Palmer at Feeding Hills. Returning then to Easthampton, he found employment in the same capacity at a store in which the post-office was located, and later worked in the suspender factory. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D, Twenty -first Massachusetts Volunteers, in which he served through the war, and was mustered out at Mobile, Ala., in 1865. His regiment was mounted for about two years and a half; and during the Red River campaign he was disabled by his horse falling upon him, thus causing a permanent injury to his spine, from the effects of which he is lame and obliged to use crutches. After coming back to Hampshire County, Mr. Clapp secured a position as cashier in the freight office of the Connecticut River Railroad at Northampton, and remained in charge of the office for eight years.

He went to St. Johnsbury, Vt., in 1874, and in company with Dr. George W. Roberts entered mercantile business, establishing two stores, one in that place and another in Montpelier, which were devoted to the sale of fancy goods. After disposing of these, in 1875 they established the same business in New York City; and in the autumn of that year Mr. Clapp went to Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S.C., for the purpose of opening branch stores in these cities. In 1876 he purchased his partner’s interest in these; and, closing up the Charleston branch, he devoted his attention to the business in Savannah, until compelled to relinquish trade there on account of the continued prevalence of yellow fever, and moved his business to Atlanta. His limbs were in such a crippled state that he was obliged to keep his bed a greater portion of the time, and was therefore unable to personally attend to business, which resulted in his losing the sum of six thousand dollars by the dishonesty of his partner. In 1877 he returned to Northampton, where he engaged in the dry-goods business from 1878 to 1884; at which time he was elected City Clerk, the position he now holds.

Mr. Clapp is a charter member of W. L. Baker Post, No. 86, Grand Army of the Republic, having served as its Quartermaster for some years, or until his resignation, and is a Republican in politics. In 1869 he wedded Miss Annie L. Pratt, of Northampton, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Clapp) Pratt, and has one daughter, Bessie P., aged twelve years. The family reside at 229 Elm Street.