This week’s Come Follow Me lesson was February 10–16: “That You May Come Off Conqueror, Doctrine and Covenants 10–11.” Section 10 was given to Hyrum Smith, who wanted to learn what he could do to assist with the work his brother, Joseph Smith Jr., was doing. To learn more about Hyrum, I thought it would be interesting to see if any of my relatives were related to Hyrum’s descendants. Unlike his brother, Joseph Smith Jr., who had few descendants due to six of his eleven children dying in infancy, Hyrum had many descendants, most of whom went west. Joseph’s descendants stayed in the east and didn’t migrate west to Utah.

I did find that several of my husband’s ancestors married into the Hyrum Smith family, and one of his Richards first cousins (five times removed) married Hyrum’s granddaughter, Emma Irene Walker. Emma was the daughter of Lovina Smith, who was the daughter of Hyrum Smith and Jerusha Barden.

For this post, however, I want to write about one of my own ancestors, who was related to Hyrum Smith’s wife, Jerusha Barden. My grandmother, Renee (Hollingsworth) Elder, is the third-great-granddaughter of Clarinda Knapp (1802-1862). Clarinda Knapp and Jerusha Barden were fourth cousins, making Jerusha my fourth cousin seven times removed. The Knapps were early settlers of Connecticut River Colony, which would become the state of Connecticut.

Knapp Ancestors

Clarinda Knapp and Jerusha Barden both third-great-granddaughters of Caleb Knapp and Hannah Smith.

Caleb was born in 1636/37 in Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony. [1] Caleb’s father was Nicholas Knapp, who came to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1630, probably with John Winthrop.[2] John Winthrop was an English Puritan lawyer and leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This was the second major settlement after the Plymouth Colony.[3]

Nicholas Knapp moved to Stamford, Connecticut in 1648.[4] The Connecticut River Colony was organized on 3 March 1636 for the followers of Thomas Hooker’s Puritan congregation from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Nicholas arrived there later after the original followers of Hooker had already been there for several years.

Dominion of New England in 1688, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tpwissaa, “Map of the Dominion of NE,” Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NE_Dominion.png : accessed 17 February 2025).

Nicholas Knapp wrote his will in 1670 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut.[5] He gave his son Caleb the land by the mill he owned in Stamford.[6]

Caleb Knapp had married Hannah Smith about 1660. They also lived in Stamford, where Caleb wrote his will on 11 October 1674, naming six children, including both Clarinda’s 2nd-great-grandfather, John Knapp, and Jerusha’s 2nd-great-grandfather, Samuel Knapp.[7]

“First Families Of America … from Compendium of American Genealogy,” added by “Columbia SC FamilySearch Center,” on 18 May 2021, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/126779157?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

Several authored sources, like the Compendium of American Genealogy imaged above, include the Knapp descending genealogy. However, more research should be done to verify some of the parent-child links.

Clarinda Knapp’s line from Caleb Knapp

John Knapp, the ancestor my line through Clarinda (Knapp) Allen, stayed in Stamford, where he died in 1749 and was buried in the Stamford Burying Ground.[8] John’s son Moses Knapp moved to another town in Fairfield County, called Danbury, where his estate was probated in 1739. His will mentioned his son, Moses Knapp Jr.[9] Moses Knapp Jr. and Margaret were the parents of Calvin Knapp, born 18 April 1770 in Salisbury, Litchfield, Connecticut.[10] Calvin was Clarinda’s father.[11]

Jerusha Barden’s line from Caleb Knapp

Samuel Knapp, the ancestor of Jerusha (Barden) Smith’s line, moved from Stamford to Danbury, where he died in 1739.[12] Samuel’s son, John Bushnell Knapp, was born  in 1700 in Danbury, Fairfield, Connecticut.[13] John Bushnell Knapp was the father of Ruth Taylor Knapp, born in May 1745 in Danbury; although more research should be done to document this relationship.[14] Ruth married Seth Barden in 1763 in Danbury, and they were the parents of Seth Barden Jr., [15]  who was the father of Jerusha Barden.[16] Jerusha was born in 1805 in Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut, but by 1820, her family had moved to Greene, Chenango County, New York.[17] She married Hyrum Smith on 2 November 1826 in Manchester, Ontario County, New York.[18]

Clarinda (Knapp) Allen

Clarinda Knapp was born on 10 August 1802 in Bethlehem, Litchfield, Connecticut, the daughter of Calvin Knapp and Deborah Hopkins.[19] Clarinda Knapp was a schoolteacher when she married Andrew Lee Allen, on 11 December 1824 in Burton, now called Allegany, in Cattaraugus County, New York.[20]

Andrew Lee Allen was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1833, but Clarinda didn’t get baptized until 1836, after they moved to Kirtland, Ohio.[21] She and her ten-year-old son, Elijah Allen, were baptized on the same day by Elder Roger Orton, possibly in the Chagrin River, and confirmed by Sidney Rigdon, first counselor in the first presidency, in the new Kirtland Temple.[22] The exact baptism date is unknown, but the temple was dedicated on 27 March 1836.[23] Clarinda and her husband may have attended the dedication ceremony.[24]

Clarinda had ten children in all, giving birth to her last in 1844, in Plymouth, Hancock County, Illinois, where they had moved to be closer to Nauvoo.  Carthage Jail, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed on 27 June 1844, was only ten miles north of Plymouth, Illinois.[25] The Allen family moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, where Clarinda and Andrew received their endowment in the Nauvoo Temple.[26]

Clarinda and her family crossed the plains and arrived in Salt Lake in 1852, settling in Provo. Several of her children settled in San Bernardino, California, so Clarinda joined them in 1855 while her husband, Andrew, stayed in Provo. In 1862, Clarinda returned to Utah to see her relatives and died there in 1862.[27]

Jerusha (Barden) Smith

Jerusha was Hyrum Smith’s wife when Hyrum’s younger brother, Joseph Smith Jr., began translating an ancient record in 1828 and beginning the religious movement that would become The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830. Jerusha was baptized into the new church by David Whitmer on about 98 June 1830 in Seneca Lake, New York.[28] Jerusha had six children from 1827-1837. She died on 13 October 1837, soon after her last child was born, while her husband, Hyrum, was gone serving a mission.[29] Some of her last words were to tell her children to tell their father that the Lord had taken their mother and left them for him to take care of.[30] Hyrum was very grieved at her passing and at his brother Joseph’s encouragement, married Mary Fielding soon after for the sake of the children.[31] In 1848, Mary (Fielding) Smith brought Jerusha’s surviving three children and her own two children which were born in 1838 and 1841 across the plains to Utah.[32]

Conclusion

Both Knapp descendants found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1830s and were baptized. Descended from Puritan ancestors who were early settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Clarinda and Jerusha followed a common migration path from Connecticut to New York. From there, they moved with the church to Kirtland, Ohio, where Jerusha died. Jerusha’s descendants and Clarinda’s descendants all moved west to Utah.

Future Research Suggestions

• Document the line of descent from Caleb Knapp to Jerusha Barden
  • Find a source for parent-child relationship of John Bushnell Knapp to daughter Ruth Taylor Knapp
  • Find a source for parent-child relationship of Ruth Taylor Knapp to Seth J. Barden Jr.
  • Find source for parent-child relationship of Seth J. Barden Jr. to Jerusha Barden
• Review biographies of Jerusha (Barden) Smith

 

Notes

[1] “History,” attached to Caleb Knapp, ID LZPF-5DG, contributed by RebeccaKnapp1, 3 January 2021, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/118750101?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[2] “Nicholas Knapp in North America, Family Histories,” added by user EskelsonJoAnn, 4 July 2020, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/109483044?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[3] “John Winthrop,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Winthrop : last edited on 28 January 2025, at 21:44 UTC).

[4] “Nicholas Knapp, d. 1670,” contributed by user kennetttoffill1, 13 July 2013, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/1712539?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[5] “Nicholas Knapp, d. 1670,” contributed by user kennetttoffill1, 13 July 2013, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/1712539?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[6] Ibid.

[7] “History,” attached to Caleb Knapp, ID LZPF-5DG, contributed by RebeccaKnapp1, 3 January 2021, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/118750101?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[8] Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/270116132 : accessed 17 February 2025), memorial 270116132, Capt. John Knap (1664–1749), Stamford Burying Ground, Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut; gravestone photo by user “77dodg.”

[9] Danbury District, Connecticut, Probate Packets, Moses Knap, will, 1789; image, “Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9049/records/3105040 : accessed 17 February 2025).

[10] “Connecticut, Births and Christenings, 1649-1906”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F73P-4X8 : 17 February 2025), Calvin Knap, 1770.

[11] “Clarinda Knapp Allen,” in Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude (Salt Lake City: International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1998), 36; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/11723767?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[12] Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/256014393 : accessed 17 February 2025), memorial 256014393, Samuel Knapp (1668–1739); maintained by “dawn knapp” (contributor 51325172).

[13] Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94348952 : accessed 17 February 2025), memorial 94348952, John Bushnell Knapp Sr. (1697–1758); maintained by Jennifer Wright Neilson (contributor 47909826).

[14] Capt. John Bushnell Knapp, ID LCVD-SPT, FamilySearch Family Tree (https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/LCVD-SPT : accessed 17 February 2025).

[15] Ruth Taylor Knapp, ID LH21-QB8, FamilySearch Family Tree (https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/sources/LH21-QB8 : accessed 27 February 2025).

[16] “Smith, Jerusha T. Barden,” The Joseph Smith Papers (https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/jerusha-t-barden-smith : accessed 17 February 2025).

[17] 1820 U.S. census, Chenango County, New York, population schedule, Greene, p. 179, Seth Barden; database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/532328:7734 : accessed 17 February 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication M33, roll 66.

[18] “Smith, Jerusha T. Barden,” The Joseph Smith Papers (https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/jerusha-t-barden-smith : accessed 17 February 2025); citing Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 32.

[19] “Clarinda Knapp Allen,” in Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude (Salt Lake City: International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1998), 36; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/11723767?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[20] Ibid.

[21] Michael Craig Allen, Elijah Allen Family Chronicles; image copy, part 1, contributed by user BurrisBonnieJean4 on 9 July 2019, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/88537339?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[22] Ibid.

[23] “Kirtland Temple,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtland_Temple : last edited on 6 February 2025, at 16:34 UTC).

[24] Michael Craig Allen, Elijah Allen Family Chronicles; image copy, part 1, contributed by user BurrisBonnieJean4 on 9 July 2019, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/88537339?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[25] Ibid.

[26] Ibid.

[27] “Clarinda Knapp Allen,” in Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude (Salt Lake City: International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1998), 36; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/11723767?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[28] “Smith, Jerusha T. Barden,” The Joseph Smith Papers (https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/jerusha-t-barden-smith : accessed 17 February 2025).

[29] “History of Jerusha Barden Smith,” contributed by user “lindaloualveystokes1,” on 12 December 2015, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/21179623?cid=mem_copy : accessed 17 February 2025).

[30] Ibid.

[31] Ibid.

[32] “Church History Biographical Database,” entry for Mary Fielding, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints  (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/chd/individual/mary-fielding-1801?lang=eng : accessed 17 February 2025).