Part of an old map of the San Jacinto area from the Texas Revolution

Veteran Bio

Texian Location:  Participant

The Kemp Sketch

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CLAPP, ELISHA -- Arrived in Texas in 1822, as is shown in the Headright Certificate issued to him January 18, 1838, by the Houston County Board, for one labor of land. In Service Record No. 4902 it is certified that he enlisted in the army April 7; was left on detached service on the battlefield April 24 to guard prisoners, and was discharged May 28, 1836. He was a member of Captain William H. Smith's Company of Cavalry at San Jacinto and on August 17, 1839, was issued Donation Certificate No. 936 for 640 acres of land for having participated in the battle. In the Secret Journals of the Senate it is shown that on May 31, 1837, he was appointed Captain of a company, for duty in Nacogdoches County, in a regiment of Mounted Gun Men for the defense of the frontier by President Houston.

Captain Clapp was issued title to a league of land in Burnet's Colony, situated in the present County of Houston, January 14, 1835. He was a charter trustee of Trinity College at Alabama, Houston County, incorporated January 30, 1841.

Captain Clapp was married to Rebecca Robbins, daughter of William Robbins, who operated a ferry. He died in 1856 and Mrs. Clapp died in 1875. Husband and wife are buried in the Clapp family cemetery at Mustang Prairie in Houston County, about nine miles southwest of Crockett.

Children of Captain and Mrs. Clapp, in order of birth, were: Able, Jack, Elisha, William, Mary, Lucy and Vina Clapp.

Written by Louis W. Kemp, between 1930 and 1952. Please note that typographical and factual errors have not been corrected from the original sketches. The biographies have been scanned from the original typescripts, a process that sometimes allows for mistakes in the new text. Researchers should verify the accuracy of the texts' contents through other sources before quoting in publications. Additional information on the veteran may be available in the Herzstein Library.


Battle Statistics

  • Died in Battle: No
  • Rank: Private
  • Company: Capt. William H. Smith

Personal Statistics

  • Date of Birth: 1803?
  • Birthplace: Tennessee
  • Came to Texas: 1822
  • Date of Death: 1856
  • Burial Place: Clapp family cemetery, Mustang Prairie, Houston Co., Texas
  • Donation Certificate: 936
  • Wife: Rebecca Robbins
  • Children: Able Clapp; Jack Clapp; Elisha Clapp; William Clapp; Mary Clapp; Lucy Clapp; Vina Clapp
  • Family at San Jacinto: Brother-in-laws John and Thomas Robbins at San Jacinto