Lemuel Clapp, 1815-1883
American Series of Popular Biographies. Massachusetts Edition. Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (Boston: Graves & Steinbarger, 1891)
Lemuel Clapp, formerly a well-known and respected resident of Dorchester, a representative of an old Dorchester family, was born on the old Clapp homestead in that town, January 21, 1815, son of William and Elizabeth (Humphreys) Clapp.
His father, William Clapp, was born in Willow Court, Dorchester, March 3, 1779. He was a tanner, and owned the largest tanneries in Dorchester. He was also a farmer. He was a prominent man in town affairs, and served at one time for two years as Representative to the General Court. He was also Captain of the militia company of Dorchester and a prominent official of the church on Meeting House Hill. He and his wife Elizabeth Humphreys Clapp, were the parents of nine children, whose names with dates of birth and death were as follows: Elizabeth, March 2, 1808.– October 20, 1809; William, September 28, 1809,–May 2, 1825; Thaddeus, May 11, 1811–July 10, 1861; Frederick, January 6, 1813,–May 19, 1875; Lemuel, January 21, 1815–June 15, 1883; Elizabeth Humphreys, September 18, 1816–December 3,1845; Rebecca Dexter, December 26, 1817–November 13, 1838; James, December 28, 1819-November 17, 1838; Alexander, June 16, 1821–November 13, 1838.
Thaddeus Clapp, the third child and second son; received his elementary education in the public schools, and fitted for college in the academy of Hiram Manley in Dorchester. Entering Harvard College, he was graduated at that institution in 1834, with the second honors of his class, delivering the Latin oration. He then engaged in teaching school in Brookline and was secretary of the Dorchester School Board for several years, and also superintendent of the Sunday-school at Meeting House Hill. He was prevented only by ill health from engaging in a profession. In 1838 he received the degree of Master of Arts from Harvard University, and in the same year went to Franklin, La., where for six months he held the position of tutor in a private family. Coming home in the following year, he turned his attention to farming and fruit culture, in company with his brothers, Frederick and Lemuel, and in course of time became known as one of the leading pomologists of the day. In connection with his brothers he succeeded in raising from seed a new variety of pear, which received the name of Clapp’s Favorite. He was a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the Norfolk Agricultural Society, and the American . Pomological Society, and received many premiums for specimens of fine fruit that he exhibited. He was also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He was married August 11, I857, to Mary Hodges Dustin in Claremont, N.H., who died in 1890. His life after his return from the South was passed on the old homestead, where he died July 10, 1861, as above recorded.
Frederick Clapp the third son, born on the old Clapp homestead, was a tanner by trade, and was also engaged in farming and fruit-raising, which latter industry he followed extensively for many years. He was a life member of the Horticultural Society, and served on the Prize Committee. He married Martha M. Blake, daughter of Jonathan Blake, of Warwick, Mass., May 17, 1840, and they had five children, namely: Julia Elizabeth, born June 21, 1841; Frederick William, born October 10, 1843, died in infancy; Frederic Augustus, born October 11, 1845: died November 11, 1874; Edward Blake, born. March 11, 1851; Mary Louisa, born February 9, 1854. Mrs. Martha M. Clapp died January 28, 1895, having survived her husband twenty years. They both belonged to the Meeting House Hill Unitarian Church.
Lemuel Clapp, younger brother of Thaddeus and Frederick and the special subject of this biographical sketch, was educated in the public schools of Dorchester, and after leaving school became associated with his father in the management of the estate. Subsequently he engaged in fruit-growing, and he planted with his own hand the seed from which the “Clapp’s Favorite” pear was raised. He resided during his entire life in the house in which he was born, which was built by William Clapp in 1806, and stood on a part of the old Clapp estate. In connection with his brothers he laid out a number of streets in Dorchester, among them being Mount Vernon Street and Dorset Street. It was partly through his influence that the straightening of Boston Street in 1876 was accomplished. He was much interested in local history, and was well informed on the subject. The last survivor of the family of nine children, he died on June 15, 1883. He was united in marriage on June 9, 1840, with Charlotte Tuttle, daughter of Charles and Sarah Ann (Austin) Tuttle, of Boston, and a descendant of some of the early colonists, the founder of the Tuttle family coming to this country in 1635. Lemuel and Charlotte T. Clapp had five children, of whom the following” is a brief record:–
Rebecca Dexter Clapp, the eldest, born May 9, 1841, died March 6, 1865. William Channing Clapp, born August 31, 1843, is a member of the real estate firm of Holbrook & Co., Boston. He was married June 19, 1867, to Miss Martha A. Kingman, and has three children: Frank Lemuel, born June 2, 1871; Sidney Kingman, born January 8, 1873; and Arthur Channing, born May 20, 1879.
Elizabeth Humphreys Clapp, born November 16, 1845, died June 28, 1849.
Sarah Austin, born February 18, 1848, married on June 9, 1873, Mr. Samuel A. Cushing, Jr., a representative of the Hingham family of that name. They have two sons: Austin Andrews–born March 9,1874, who married Miss Inez Gray, and has one child, Matthew Cushing, born May 16, 1899– and Robert Parsons, born in June, 1877.
James Humphreys Clapp, the fifth child, born October 18, 1851, was educated in the public schools of Dorchester and graduated at the high school. He has given his time to the care of the estate, of which since his father’s death he has had charge. He is a member of the Channing Club of Boston, a life member of the Horticultural Society, and a member of the Massachusetts Forestry Association. He also belongs to the Dorchester Historical Society and the Dorchester Improvement Association. Politically, he is a Republican.
Mrs. Charlotte Tuttle Clapp is still living, and at the age of eighty-one years retains her mental and physical powers to a remarkable degree.