A Castle On The Rhine

The tower on the right is what is left of Klopp Castle, this is in Bingen in Hesse Germany along the middle section of the Rhine River.  Our ancestor Elisabeth Clapp that married Henry or Heinrich Keck can trace her ancestry to Johann Joseph Klopp who was born in Bingen in Hesse in 1669. He came to America in 1727 along with his wife Anna Margarethe last name unknown, and their son George or Jurge Valentine Clapp he married Anna Barbara Stiess. They had a son George Tobias Clapp who married Anna Maria Glass and they were Elisabeth's parents. Johann Joseph Klopp or Hans Yost Clapp as he is also known arrived in Philadelphia on Sept 27th 1727 on the ship the James Goodwill, from Rotterdam via Falmouth. The captain was David Crockett.  Klopp Castle was destroyed several times during various wars including one Louis the 14th of France waged through the region. These wars were part of the reason so many left this area for America. The ships captain was obliged to keep lists of these immigrants and they swore oaths of allegiance to the crown shortly after arriving in America, lists of those who swore these oaths were also kept.   Klopp Castle was built in the mid 13th century, Bingen is the south boundary of the Unesco World Heritage site that comprises the Rhine Gorge. http://www.steveclapp.com/places/ClappMill.htm This takes you to a web page about a Revolutionary War battle fought on the property of George Valentine Clapp's brother John Ludwig Clapp called the Battle at Clapp's Mill. Below is a photo of a memorial marker where the Clapp Church was originally built and the Brick Church is now located in Alamance North Carolina.