Thaddeus Clapp, 1811-1861
The Clapp Memorial. Record of the Clapp Family in America … Ebenezer Clapp, compiler. (Boston: David Clapp & Son, 1876)
No. 3627 Clapp’s Favorite from D.M. Dewey’s Series, American Fruits and Flowers
Thaddeus, b. May 11, 1811; d. July 10, 1861. Attended the public schools in Dorchester, and was fitted for College at the Academy of Hiram Manley, in Dorchester; he grad. at Harv. College in 1834 with the second honors of his class, and delivered the salutatory oration in Latin. He was engaged for a short time in teaching school; and was Secretary of the Board of School Committee of Dorchester for several years. Feeble health prevented his engaging in any profession. He took his degree of Master of Arts in 1838, and the same year went to Franklin, La., where for five or six months he was tutor in a private family. On his return, in 1839, he gave his attention to farming, and having a special taste for the cultivation of fruit, with abundance of land and suitable soil for the gratification of his taste, he eventually became celebrated as a horticulturist and one of the leading pomologists of the day. In connection “with his brothers, Frederick and Lemuel, he succeeded in raising from seed a new variety of pear—a cross between the “Flemish Beauty” and the “Bartlett”—to which was given the name of “Clapp’s Favorite,” now well known, and much prized by fruit growers. A representation of this pear is carved upon his tomb-stone at Forest Hills Cemetery. He was a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural, the Norfolk Agricultural and the American Pomological Societies, and obtained many premiums for choice varieties and fine specimens of fruit. He was also member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He was of a most amiable disposition, and led a life of unspotted integrity. He m. in Claremont, N.H., Aug. 11, 1857, Mary H. Dustin, daughter of Rev. Caleb, N.H., Aug. 11, 1857, Mary H. Dustin daughter of Rev. Caleb Dustin, but had no children. His wife survives him.
unknown source:
Clapp.—Thaddeus, Dorchester, July 10, a. 50. He was the second son and third child of Capt. William and Elizabeth (Humphreys) Clapp, grandson of Capt. Lemuel and Rebecca (Dexter) Clapp, and a descendant in the seventh generation from Nicholas and Sarah Clapp of Dorchester. He was born in Dorchester, May 11, 1811; was fitted for college at the academy of Hiram Manley in D. In college he attained a distinguished rank and graduated in 1834, with the second honors of his class, when he delivered the salutatory oratin in Latin being the first time commencement exercises were held in Rev. Dr. Newell’s church. After leaving college he taught, for a short time, a private school in Brookline. He was superintendent of the Sabbath school of the first church and society in Dorchester, from 1836 to 1841; he entered his name with Col. Loammi Baldwin of Charlestown, Mass., as a student in engineering, Feb. 16, 1837, but on account of ill health did not prosecute his studies. For a like reason he declined the Latin valedictory oration, proffered him the same year by Pres. Quincy. He took his degree of master of arts in 1838. He was secretary of the board of school committee in Dorchester several years, and wrote the annual reports for the years 1842 and 1843, which were printed. In the fall of 1838 he went to Franklin, La., where he was, for some six or seven months a tutor in the family of William T. Palfrey, brother of Hon. John G. Palfrey, postmaster of Boston. He returned to his home in the summer of 1839. About the year 1840 he engaged in horticultural and pomological pursuits, which he continued until the winter of 1860. He became quite celebrated among fruit growers for his theoretical and practical knowledge, and obtained many premiums for choice varieties and fine samples of fruit. He was a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Norfolk Agricultural Society. He was also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He was of a most amiable disposition and led a life of unspotted integrity. He m. in Clremont, N.H., Aug. 11, 1857, Mary H. Dustin, dau. Of Rev. Caleb Dustin, but had no children. His wife survives him.
Although the publication where this obituary appeared is unknown, the date is presumably in 1861.
The following is from:
http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com/2009/12/he-who-hybridized-clapps-favorite-pear.html
December 18, 2009
He Who Hybridized the Clapp’s Favorite Pear
Thaddeus Clapp (1811-1861) was the noted hybridizer of the “Clapp’s Favorite” pear, a cross breeding of the “Bartlett” pear and the “Flemish Beauty” pear. From 1840 until his death Clapp was “celebrated among fruit growers for his theoretical and practical knoweledge, and obtained many premiums for choice varities and fine samples of fruit.”
Born in Dorchester, the son of William Clapp (1779-1860) and Elizabeth Humphreys Clapp, he was educated at the academy of Hiram Manley before entering Harvard College, being graduated in 1834; he attained a distinguished rank with “the second honors of his class” and delivered the salutory oration in Latin. He was to receive his master of arts in 1838, and though he had taught at a private school in Brookline, his ill health precluded full time employment. During the 1840’s he served as a member and secretary of the Dorchester School Committee (Dorchester remained an independent town from Boston until 1870.) In 1838 he served as tutor to the family of William T. Palfrey in Franklin, Louisiana thinking that the warm climate might be beneficial to his health. The Palfreys were from Boston, and were probably acquainted with his family, but he returned shortly therafter. He returned to his family home in 1840, a large Federal house built by his parents at 195 Boston Street and called the “Mansion House.” His father was a well to do leather tanner with tanneries on his extensive estate that stretched back to South Bay and which had been in the family since the seventeenth century.
After his return to Dorchester, Thaddeus Clapp “engaged in horticultural and pomological persuits, which he continued until the winter of 1860.” During that time he and his brothers Lemuel and Frederick Clapp hybridized many pear seedlings which were quite successful and the names of which were given to new streets that were cut through the former Clapp Estate; the new streets were named Mayhew, Mount Vernon, Harvest, Dorset and Bellflower to perpetuate the early hybrid pears, but it was his pear seedling “Clapp’s Favorite” that became renowned as it was an early ripening fruit, in an age when fresh fruit was thought to ensure continued good health. So successful was this pear seedling that the the Clapp’s Favorite pear, was greatly desired by the Massachusetts Agricultural Club, which wished to name it after Marshall P. Wilder, and to disseminate it for general cultivation. They offered Mr. Clapp one thousand dollars for the control of it, but the offer was politely declined. For two decades Clapp continued his horticultural persuits and was an active member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Norfolk Agricultural Society. He was said to be of a “most amiable disposition and led a life of unspotted integrity. In 1873, over a decade after Clapp’s death, the “Clapp’s Favorite” pear was awarded the Wilder Medal in 1873; this medal is awarded to individuals or organizations for distinguished service and contributions to the advancement of pomological science and for outstanding fruit varieties.
When he died, his widow Mary H. Dustin Clapp buried him at Forest Hills Cemetery. His white marble headstone has a bas relief of the celebrated “Clapp’s Favorite” pear and that of his wife a shorn sheaf of wheat.