The VanPelts of Uvalde County

Capt. T. M. G. (Malcolm) Van Pelt was one of the early settlers to the Frio Canyon, a long wide valley with the Frio River running through it's center. He was born in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in July of 1831. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the war of the revolution.

He came to Texas in 1853 and settled first at Gonzales, then moved to Prairie Lea in Caldwell County in 1854. He bought cattle there and drove them to the Hondo River in 1855. In 1860 he moved and settled in Frio Canyon, Uvalde County. He had a fine ranch and farm fronting the river. At this time, the area of the Frio Canyon was regularly raided by Indian war parties. Capt. Van Pelt was an experienced Indian fighter but was also said to have been always running over with fun and practical jokes.

T. M. G. VANPELT BORN JULY 15, 1831 DIED DEC. 10, 1910

C. E. VANPELT (California Elizabeth Elam VanPelt) BORN JAN. 1, 1836 DIED NOV. 21, 1914

Joseph M. Van Pelt, the son of Malcolm Van Pelt and California Elizabeth Elam, was born at Prairie Lea, Caldwell County, Texas, on the last day of May, 1857. That was a noted year to old Texans, and called by some of them the "starving year." It was a year of great drought, when no crops were made, and many families went without bread for weeks at a time.

When Joe was about 3 years old the Van Pelts moved to Frio Canyon. One of the first things Joe became familiar with as he grew up was moccasin tracks and the almost constant alarm of Indians in the settlement. Indian tracks were often seen in the field where they had stolen potatoes and roasting ears. He went on many dangerous scouting trips after Indians when quite young.

J. M. VANPELT MAY 31, 1857 AUG. 22, 1912 At Rest

This post is in memory of my childhood friend, Norman VanPelt, descendant of these Texas pioneers, who is now buried among them in the Concan Cemetery.

Source - Early Settlers and Indian fighters of Southwest Texas by Andrew Jackson Sowell, Pub. by Ben C. Jones & Company, 1900

The Brick Church

The Brick Church of current day Alamance County, North Carolina began as the German reform church known as "Der Klapp Kirche" (The Clapp Church). It was established by my 7th great grandfather Jorg Valentine Klapp and his brother John Ludwig, who with their parents and siblings left Rotterdam on the ship the James Goodwill arriving in Pennsylvania on September 27, 1727.

Living in Berks County, Pennsylvania until around 1745, Valentine moved south to North Carolina where he settled in the Beaver Creek section of Guilford County. John Ludwin Clapp and other family members soon followed.

The original wooden structure was replaced by a brick building in the 19th century. Some of the burials in the church cemetery date to the 18th century.

Sacred
to the Memory of

BARNEY CLAPP

who departed this life
Sept. 27, 1844

Aged 80 years 8 Ms and 10 days

A soldier of the Revolution

In Memory of

ELIZABETH CLAPP

Born January
the 24, 1811

and died October 22
1840

DANIEL FOUST

Born
Oct. 18, 1783

Died
Feb. 28, 1882

Aged 93 Ys 4 Mo & 15 Da