William James Knapp was the great-grandchild of Dinah Jackson, the last person enslaved at Historic Cherry Hill in Albany, NY. After his mother died in 1854, James became a ward in Richard van Rensselaer’s household and worked as a butler for the family on State Street. Throughout his life, James also worked as a musician, a sales clerk at Hidley’s Music Store, a hospital porter, and a nurse. James lived at Cherry Hill for about sixteen months between 1880 and 1884. He played the violin, piano, flute, and other instruments, and his sheet music collection included popular, classical, and parlor music from the Victorian Era.