Kapp to talk about Sheriff Griggs’s murder

NEW SCOTLAND — “Riot in Greenbush — the Anti-Rent War Renewed” is the name of the program that Jill Knapp will present at the New Scotland Historical Association meeting on Sunday, March 5, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Wyman Osterhout Community Center, off of Route 85 in New Salem.

Knapp will discuss the murder of Rensselaer County Deputy Sheriff Willard Griggs, a former anti-renter who was murdered during an eviction in 1869.  Her great-great-grandfather, William Witbeck, was the East Greenbush farmer who was tried for his murder.

Knapp grew up in the Capital District and now lives in Delmar. She is on the board of directors of the Greenbush Historical Society and has done much research on the murder of the sheriff and the involvement of William Witbeck. Deputy Griggs is the only Rensselaer County sheriff to have died in the line of duty.

The program is free and open to the public. For further information, call (518) 765-4212.

Editor’s note: Ethie Moak is the publicity chairwoman for the New Scotland Historical Association.

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