From The Settlement of Prince Edward County by Nick and Helma Mika. Transcribed here by Linda Herman

Pioneers of Prince Edward County 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

JOSEPH CLAPP

Died in New York state in 1776. 

One of Joseph Clapp's English ancestors was George Gilson Clapp, M.D., who travelled extensively in Europe and the Middle East, and spoke several languages. He crossed the ocean in 1666 to South Carolina, where he lived for a period of two years before going to New York. Due to his remarkable knowledge, he was considered to have supernatural powers.

Joseph Clapp, a descendant of George Gilson, married Mercy Carpenter, and also lived in New York State, where he died in 1776. Five of his children came to Canada, Joseph, Benjamin, James, Rhoda, and Ursula. Ursula married Sampson Striker, and she and her husband accompanied her eighteen-year-old brother Joseph to Ontario. The little group travelled in a horse-drawn sleigh in January, 1787. It took them twenty-eight days to reach Adolphustown from their former home in Dutchess County, New York.

Young Joseph lived with his sister and brother-in-law until he married Nancy Millar. Joseph had belonged to the Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, but his wife being Methodist, he freely contributed to the Methodist church building fund in 1792.

Joseph's brother Benjamin was appointed a fence viewer and overseer of highways in 1793. Joseph and Benjamin were both listed as inhabitants of Adolphustown in 1794. Joseph eventually settled on several hundred acres close to Milford and built the first lumber mill in the township. It is said that Joseph's mill was the origin of the name of Milford. His lumber was distributed as far away as Europe, being shipped from Quebec.

Among the descendants of the Clapp family are many distinguished personages.