ROSWELL J. CLAPP, successor to Clapp & Son, the well-known
iron and steel merchants of Hartford, was born in Hartford June 10, 1871.
He comes of a long line of ancestry, and in his office, handsomely framed,
is a genealogical chart of the family, giving all the facts connected with
them, from the first settler, Rodger, down to 1873. It is a complete and
authentic record of the family, and one of which any man might be justly
proud. This chart was prepared by a member of the Clapp family, being done
with a steel pen, and is a marvelous piece of penmanship.
Rodger Clapp, the pioneer, was born in Devonshire,
England, in 1609, son of Richard Clapp, and came to Dorchester, Mass. Preserved
Clapp, son of Rodger, was born in Dorchester in 1643. Thomas Clapp, the
next in the line of descent, settled in Hartford at an early date. Elijah
Clapp, son of Thomas, was born in Hartford. Norman Clapp, of Hartford,
was our subject's great-great-grandfather; his great-grandfather was John
Clapp, and his grandfather Daniel Clapp.
GEN. JOHN B. CLAPP, our subject's father,
was born July 4, 1842, in the town of Wethersfield, and received a common-school
and academic education. He enlisted in the 16th Conn. V. I. July 21, 1862,
entering the company of Capt. Henry L. Pasco, of that command. Capt. William
H. Lockwood, of Hartford, was the first lieutenant, and Charles A. Tennant,
who was fatally wounded on the Nansemond May 3, 1863, was the second lieutenant
of the company. Gen. Clapp was with the regiment at Antietam Sept. 17,
1862, and displayed marked gallantry on the field. He was at once advanced
to the first lieutenancy of Company D, his commission dating from the day
of the battle. He received the appointment of adjutant Jan. 9, 1803. and
at the siege of Plymouth, April 20, 1864, received the brevet rank of captain
for gallant and meritorious conduct. The capture of the 16th Regiment at
Plymouth resulted in his being imprisoned by the Rebels for nearly one
year, the time being spent at Macon, Savannah, Charleston and Columbia.
In March, 1865, he was released on parole at Wilmington, N. C., and he
soon afterward became post adjutant under Gen. F. D. Sewall, at Camp Parole,
Annapolis, Md. The war record of Gen. Clapp was an honorable one in all
respects. His courage in the field was unquestioned, and actuated by patriotic
impulses he gave himself entirely to the cause which he had espoused.
After returning from the war the General was
appointed to the captaincy of Company F, of Wethersfield, ist Regiment,
and held the position until he was appointed assistant adjutant-general
on the staff of Gen. C. H. Prentice, of the 1st Brigade. Subsequently he
resumed the command of Company F. In 1873 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel
of the regiment, and in 1874 became colonel, which latter position he retained
until 1876. He was appointed brigade inspector in 1878, on the staff of
Gen. Stephen R. Smith. Gen. Charles P. Graham, who succeeded Gen. Smith,
renewed the appointment, which was retained by Gen. Clapp until his promotion
to the staff of Gov. P. C. Lounsbury as commissary-general. Gen. Clapp
was a member of the Veteran City Guard of Hartford, and had been the commandant
of the organization. At the time of his death he was a member of the 1st
Company, Governor's Horse Guard, Hartford, holding the position of adjutant.
Gen. Clapp served three years in the court
of common council in Hartford, representing the old Second ward. He was
a member of the board of fire commissioners nine years, and a member of
the commission under the direction of which the Memorial Arch in Bushnell
Park was erected. He was also a member of the Camp Field Monument Association,
representing, with Col. Frank W. Cheney, the 16th Connecticut in that body.
He belonged to the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut, to the Society of
the Army of the Potomac, and was also a member of Robert O. Tyler Post,
G. A. R. Gen. Clapp was the life secretary of the 16th Regiment Association.
In January, 1899, he was elected secretary of the Connecticut Secre-taries'
Association, succeeding Judge E. E. Marvin, clerk of the United States
Court. Gen. Clapp was identified with the Union Prisoners Association in
the State, and was one of the most popular veterans of the Civil war in
this section of Con-necticut. He was commandant and foremost in the organization
of the Buck Engineer Corps, du-ing the two campaigns which resulted in
the election of the Hon. John R. Buck to Congress from this district.
The Masonic career of Gen. Clapp was one of
singular interest. He was a member of St. John's Lodge, and received the
degree of Knighthood in Washington Commandery, Knights Templar, Nov. 10,
1868, being knighted by Gov. Thomas H. Seymour; ex-Mayor John G. Root was
generalissimo of the commandery at that time. He first became captain-general
of the commandery in 1878, and held this position under different eminent
commanders, including two terms under Watson H. Bliss, until 1893, when
he started on an unbroken period of service in the office, holding it up
to the hour of his death. He was the recipient of a Knight Templar sword
from the commandery in November, 1897, the event being one of exceptional
interest in the order in the city. He was a brilliant officer in the commandery,
and won the admiration of his associates, wherever the organization appeared
in a public capacity.
From 1868 Gen. Clapp was engaged in the iron
trade, from 1868 until 1880 as a member of the firm of Blodgett & Clapp.
In 1880 the Blodgett & Clapp corporation was organized, the partnership
being dissolved, and he became secretary and manager. In recent years he
carried on business under the firm name of John B. Clapp & Son, his
only son, Roswell J. Clapp, being identified with him.
Gen. Clapp was married Sept. 17, 1867, to
Miss Leila F. Blodgett, of Hertford, daughter of Roswell Blodgett, and
the wedding took place on the anniversary of the battle of Antietam. The
services were conducted by Rev. William S. Colton, pastor of the Congregational
Church in Washington, but the General's pistor in the Wethersfield Church.
Mrs. Clapp died at Madison in May, 1893.
Gen. Clapp became a member of the Wethersfield
Congregational Church in 1865, after his return from the war. This action
was taken with Robert Hale Kellogg, now president of the 16th Regiment,
and the General's lifelong friend and associate. The late Judge Elisha
Carpenter, of the Supreme Court in this State, joined the church in the
same period. As soldier and Knight Templar Gen. Clapp possessed traits
of character that greatly endeared him to men. He was held in the sincerest
regard and friendship in the 16th Connecticut, having been on the executive
committee of the regimental association from the first, and for years its
secretary. He succeeded Major B. F. Blakeslee in the secretary ship, and
made the position one of importance to the veterans of that command. In
Washington Commandery he was held in equal admiration and esteem. For years
he had been identified with the highest interests of the commandery, serving
as captain-general under such members of the order as Past Eminent Commanders
Watson H. Bliss, Stephen Ball, H. LeRoy Woodward, of Springfield, Gen.
James H. Jarman, Edward Mahl, A. D. Newton. In 1894 he was at Pittsburg
with the commandery, attending the triennial conclave of the order, whose
interests were of the highest importance in his life.
Gen. Clapp was a man of genial impulses, and
companionable in all the surroundings and circumstances of life. His loss
will be felt as a lasting one in all circles, where men met and exchanged
courtesies with him. The following is a tribute by a comrade: John B. Clapp
was one of those fine Connecticut country boys whose soldierly qualities
were brought to appreciation and development by the Civil war. He had the
faculty to organize and lead. Hardly half a year from a country store,
he brought the records and accounts of a hastily gotten together regiment,
which was precipitated into battle when just armed and not at all instructed,
and was almost decimated at the first charge, into order and official semblance,
and. ably seconded Cols. Frank Beach and John H. Burnham in reforming this
half demoralized mass into a fine body, whose moral and soldierly standing
became the best. He was an officer of dashing appearance, full of life
and energy, prompt in his decisions, and skillful in carrying them out,
for he carried by winning the co-operation of the men. He was very sympathetic,
and the entire regiment heartily loved and trusted him. On several occasions
in battle he showed marked bravery, and at Plymouth he displayed exceptional
heroism. The long captivity in Southern prisons he bore, with the rest
of his comrades, courageously and manfully; and, when the fragments of
the regiment were released, he helped form it again into a good military
body.
As adjutant of the 16th Connecticut John B.
Clapp's service was eminently brilliant, and of advantage to his cause
and country; and the men of the 16th will always affectionately associate
him with the evolution and the war record of their regiment. The memory
of his dashing figure and fine mount, and his clear ringing voice, will
carry them back to the days of the struggle that made truer and stronger
men of all, and gave something to their life that endured beyond it. With
his more acute military quality there was true kindliness, warm sympathy
and great justness of appreciation. He knew each man of his regiment personally,
and knew him all around, so as to appreciate him at his best. And thus
he proved a leader whose leadership did not expire with his commission,
but endured through three decades of civil life. He passed away July 14,
1899, at the home of his son, in Hartford.
Roswell J. Clapp was married in 1894 to Miss
Mabel R. Lawrence, of Worcester, and they have one son, Lawrence John,
born in 1896.
(Photo attached.)
Commemorative
Biographical Record
of
Hartford County,
Connecticut
Illustrated
Chicago
J. H. Beers & Co.
1901
pgs 50 - 51
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