Josiah Clapham


Josiah Clapham (also spelled Josias; died 1803) was a colonial merchant, military officer, and politician in Virginia who served as a member of the House of Burgesses and later the Virginia General Assembly, representing Loudoun County.[1][2][3]

Biography

Born in Virginia, Clapham served as a lieutenant in the Virginia militia beginning in the 1750s.[4] Clapham had a variety of business ventures, including a water mill, warehouse, mercantile, and ferry.[5][6]

In 1757, Clapham was approved with a license to operate the Potomac Crossing Ferry. He convinced the government of Virginia to approve a less expensive toll.[7] He was one of the founding trustees of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia in 1758.[8] In 1776, Clapham was a delegate to the Fifth Virginia Convention which established its first constitution and the Virginia Declaration of Rights. In 1778, Clapham's ferry license was discontinued.[9][10] Clapham served as a member of the House of Burgesses from 1771 to 1779 and as a member of the Virginia General Assembly from 1779 to 1788.[11][2][12] During the American Revolutionary War, Clapham served as a colonel and member of the Loudoun County Committee of Safety.[13]

In 1779, Clapham purchased the 200-acre Chestnut Hill estate in Loudoun County, Virginia.[5] In 1790, Clapham was one of the first trustees of Matildaville, Virginia.[14] Clapham died in 1803.[5]

References
  1. "House History". history.house.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  2. "The Carolina Road – Today's Route 15 | History of Loudoun County, Virginia". Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  3. Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 89, 96, 98, 101
  4. Virginia County Records. Genealogical Association. 1905.
  5. "Northern Virginia History Notes". www.novahistory.org. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  6. "Local Lore The History of Camp Potomac Woods". www.camptagalong.org. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  7. "Lock 27, Spinks Ferry – C&O Canal Trust". Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  8. Neill, Edward Duffield (1868). The Fairfaxes of England and America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including letters from and to hon. W. Fairfax, and his sons.
  9. Fiedel, Stuart; Bedell, John; LeeDecker, Charles (December 2005). "Cohongorooto: The Potomac Above the Falls" (PDF). National Park Service History eLibrary. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  10. Edwards, David A.; Salmon, John S. (January 31, 1989). "Catoctin Rural Historic District NRHP Nomination" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  11. Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 98, 100, 103, 106
  12. Head, James William (1908). History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County, Virginia. Park view Press.
  13. Boogher, William Fletcher (1965). Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 978-0-8063-0048-1.
  14. Nan Netherton Netherton, Donald Sweig, Jancie Artemel, Patricia Hickin and Patrick Read, Fairfax County, Virginia: a History (Fairfax: Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, 1978) p. 206
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