William Knapp (1578-1658)

Biography
William Knapp and his family arrived in New England in 1630. William was granted seven parcels of land in Watertown totalling 178 acres. His homestall of 16 acres was bounded south west by R. Lockwood, south east by N. Knapp, east by R. Browne, north east by R. Beers, north by Cambridge Road. William was indentured to Richard Saltonstall for the family's passage. He was obviously having a hard time paying Sir Richard, for in 1630, there is an order from the Court of Assistants that "whoedoeuer employeth Willm Knopp or his sonne in any work shall pay the one half of their wages to Sr Rich: Siltonstall, & whoeuer buyeth boards of them shall pay one halfe of the price to Sr Richard, till the money hee hath disbursed for them be satisfied." The debt stood at over 19 pounds.

William was frequently in trouble, for swearing, speaking against the governor and selling beer without a license. It is unknown when Judith died, but it was before 1650. In that year, he entered into a prenuptual agreement with widow Priscilla Aker. In 1655, William sold most of his land to his son John. In 1656, he applied for assistance to the Selectmen of Watertown, but they told him to place his estate in the hands of his children in exchange for support. The children balked, so during the last years of his life, the town leased out his lands and paid others for his upkeep. Until 1652, he performed work at the meeting hall and was poundkeeper. He is frequently referred to as "Ould Knop" or "Father Knop" in the records of Watertown.

William died in Watertown on August 30, 1658. William's will is dated July 5, 1655, but was never probated, possibly because of ambiguous language. There was a court battle between his widow and his children over his estate after his death. The place of his burial is not known, but the only cemetery in use in Watertown at the time of his death was The Old Burying Place, which was used starting in 1642. That is where William was probably buried, although there is no stone extant for him.

Watertown Founders Monument
He is listed on Watertown Founders Monument, commemorating the first settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts. The town was first known as Saltonstall Plantation, one of the earliest of the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlements. Founded in early 1630 by a group of settlers led by Richard Saltonstall and George Phillips, it was officially incorporated that same year. The alternate spelling "Waterton" is seen in some early documents.