CLAPP CLEGG

Rufus John Clegg

Our rich family heritage began with Rufus John  Clegg and Lucy Saphronia Letturloh Clegg  in the township of Pittsboro,  Chatham County,  North Carolina.

Lucy was born in 1871, no record was found of the year she died.  No record  was found of Rufus'  birthdate, he died February 2, 1933.

They lived their entire life in Chatham County where they owned a 100 acre farm.  They were also buried behind the old Home Church.

Rufus Clegg was a Holiness Preacher.  His favorite song was "In A Land Where We'll Never Grow Old".

Rufus and Lucy had seven children:

John Clegg  - May,  1887

Sarah Clegg  - 1889

Saphronia Clegg - Sept  1891

Amey  Clegg - May,  1893

George  Clegg - 1894

Della  Clegg - May  8, 1897

Maggie  Alberta -  Oct 5,  1899 

Mary Della Clegg Clapp

She was the sixth of seven children born to Rufus John Clegg and Lucy Saphronia Letturloh Clegg in Chatham County on May 8, 1897.

She was reared in Chatham County and later moved to Guilford County where she married Lemuel Elihu Clapp of Alamance  County.

To this union, eleven children  were born:

Mary Duvall (deceased)

William Elihu (deceased)

Margaret Louise (deceased)

Katherine (deceased)

Rufus Calvin (deceased)

Lillian Juanita

David (deceased)

Dorothy Lee (deceased)

Harold 

Edith Roundtree (deceased)

Charles Boyd

The name Clapp traces its origin back to the “KLOPP CASTLE” overlooking the small village Birgen, Germany.

The Germans came to America and settled all along the east coast. It is thought that the slave holders acquired slaves after their arrival.

I have been unable  to find any information on our Great Grandfather, Richard Clapp prior to the 1870 census.  I did find a “Dick” valued at $200 dollars in the will of one Tobias Clapp and a “Nancy,” thought to be the wife of Richard in the will of John Phillip Clapp, however there is no way to corroborate these findings.

I next found Richard Clapp in Alamance county, where I was told by a Holt descendant that he and Sam Holt erected what is now Springdale AME church.

Scant records show that Richard and Nancy had 5 children. They were: Jordan, Annika, Nelson, Nathan, and Elijah. I was unable to find any further evident of Elijah's existence.  Only Jordan, Annika and Nelson had children. Jordan heeded the call and with his wife Martha Ann, they had 12 children. There was a James Brown, grandson, and a Lillian Parks, granddaughter, listed with Jordan Clapp on the 1900 US Federal Census. They appear to be lost for all times. Annika married Calvin Woods and they had two girls; Cora married Andy Summers and that marriage produced 14 children. Emily married James Allen McAdoo and their married produce six children. Robert (Bob, professional basketball) McAdoo is the great grandson of this couple. Nelson married Arte Brime and they had nine children.  

Most of our relatives in Burlington are descendants of Nelson.

In his book “The Cleggs of Old Chatham”, Mr. W. Harold Broughton suggest the name Clegg is English by way of France. He states there was 3 migrations of Cleggs to America, the first as early as 1682.

It has been difficult to find information on our Great Grandfather, John Clegg. It is truly mind boggling that a man purchased 180 acres of land in 1874 and there are no other records that he ever existed in the county. I have been told that there were several fires at the Chatham county court house and several of the county record books some how came up missing. I know this to be true because I found the marriage record of my Grandfather and Grandmother,  Rufus Clegg and Lucy Lutterloh. But when I went back a short time later, the record book was missing.  I believe it is safe to assume that he was a slave and possibly the Master's son.  I find it hard to understand how he would have had $450 just nine years after slavery ended otherwise.

The land was divided in 1911 between his children by his widow, Mary Clegg as follows: Amy Sculock 49 acres, Robert H. Clegg 48 ½ , Thenia Harris 50 acres, Rufus Clegg 40 acres.  I learned that Thenia was the business mind of the group. She purchased the shares of Rufus and Robert.

We owe a large debt of gratitude to Louis and Delois Nunn for discovering the small Clegg cemetery where John Clegg is buried while in the process of building their beautiful home. Their home and cemetery is located on a set-back from the Pittsboro-Moncure road.

As with the Clapp family, the Cleggs have enriched the fields of Religion, Government, Education, Science, Military and Law.

Finally, you chicken lover, you might appreciate the fact that Col. Harland D. Sanders, Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, was the great grandson of Capt. Mathew Simpson Clegg. Let's all Clap.

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Gratefully Submitted By:  

CHARLES CLAPP