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NOTE:
Researchers disagree about the fourth generation in our line of McClures.
This is one theory.
James McClure
(b. about 1772-d. about 1851)
Hanna [Cloud?]
(dates unknown)
James
McClure was born probably in Although no official documentation has been found, Hanna’s maiden name may have been Cloud, and she may have been half Cherokee Indian. This speculation is based on narratives of elderly relatives provided to me by Ronald Glen Wright, a descendant of James and Hanna’s daughter Catherine. He wrote “The old narratives describe ‘the old Indian’ (which may actually refer to Hanna’s mother, rather than her). The story I heard, backed up at least in part by the narratives, was that she sat on the floor of the hearth, facing the fire with her legs crossed, and smoked tobacco from a clay pipe. And, her children were absolutely terrified of Indians. I don’t know if she passed down stories of what happened to captives, or if stories of atrocities may have been passed down by the frontier McClures (which is likely, regardless of Hanna’s ancestry) but Catherine was especially terrified.”[3]
The names of James and Hanna are all the information the
Donegal book provides on James, but it does place him as the second
child in his family, after Catherine who was born in 1769 and before
John C. who was born in 1775.
Therefore, it seems reasonable to believe his birth date was
about 1772. Two other
sisters, Mary and Agnes, have no birth dates, and they could fit in
there as well. (However, it
should be noted that the first and only time we have an age for James in
the census, it is 1850 and he is 88, making his birth date 1762.)
James is the weakest link in the direct lineage from Halbert
McClure to Thomas Jefferson McClure.
From Donegal:
"James was Samuel's mysterious son.
There are no records in
I sent an email to Joe McClure, one of the authors of
Following the McClures--Donegal to Botetourt, asking why he chose to
include James as a son of Samuel and Hannah if the records didn't
support it. This is his
reply: From:
JWMcClure@aol.com Sent:
To:
janemcclure@worldnet.att.net Subject:
Book The reason I
consider James as a "mystery son" of Samuel is that I can find no record
to prove that he was. If
James had been a son of Samuel I think he would have been mentioned in
Samuel's will. The reason he
was included as a son was because of his identification as such that
appeared in the book "Haddon, McClure, Curry and Allied Families" by
Elizabeth Haddon Brevoort and Doris Bond Wheeler that was published in
Vincennes, Indiana in 1952.
That entry was based on family lore that I believe is flawed, but cannot
prove. Hope this
helps, let me know if you have any more questions. Joe McClure I was able to
obtain copies of pertinent pages in the
Haddon, McClure book.
Children of Samuel were listed as Catherine, b. 1769, d. 1837, m.
31 Jan 1797 Botetourt Co., VA, John Okiltree; John 1777-1819; Samuel (no
dates); James b. VA lived in Cynthiana, KY, m. Hannah; and Mary m.
Halbert McClure 1795. According to
Haddon, McClure, James and Hannah's other children were as follows:
2. Patsy born
3. Catherine (Kitty Ann) born Nov 11, 1800 in or near Cynthiana,
KY, died 30 July 1871; m. 30 Nov 1820 Vincennes, Knox County, IN to
William Neely Perry.
Kitty Ann went to live in
4. James born
5. T. Jefferson born
6. Susannah born
7. Samuel.
1850 census lived in Harrison Co., KY, had 4 children and 3
grandchildren in 1862.
8. Polly born
9. The
Haddon, McClure book quotes a
letter written in 1862 from Susan (Susannah) McClure to her sister
Catherine (Kitty Ann) in page 198 "Letter from Miss Susan
McClure to Catherine McClure Perry of direct you Crittenden
Grant Co. Ky Fbuary the 16 1862 or some of you
I hope the south will gain the day husa
I am still living with Nancy
She has not very good health but her children is all stout
her oldest is 18 years old and ways 182 and she is the bell of
Grant (county) Hannah is
well and has her helth ver well
we are a living together
Uncle Billie is dead and has ben dead 3 years
Mr McDaniel sends his love to you and all the Children
I tell tho how the teimes is hard thire is 25 wagons going up
every day has ben 250 gone
up and them hevy loded with pervision they are a fighting in kintucky
but on way near thire
is a good deal if siknes a bout hear
they have the measels and the smallpox is raging prtty bad.
nacy youngest is five years old Sam has 3 grand Children
Brother T Jefferson 16 grand Children
Cister Caty you spoke of hard times shere you live the times is
hard hearto we cant
get nothing for our labor
calco is 16.3 third a yards and cotton 25cts a yards coffie is
high and sugar to but one good consolation we can make our sugar and
that the best of all and molasas
I wish you had ritten more to
I want you to rite to me as soon as you get this
I must bring my lette to a closer
rite soon as you get this
I am your Dear cister untill death
Susan McClure
ritten by her
neace Miss Sue
McDaniel
(back
page Sue A. McDaniel)" NOTE: This data on
McDaniels is in agreement with 1850 Census.
Susan McClure was past 50 and Hannah was 64 at the time this
letter was written. Nancy
McDaniel’s children were Susan A., Wm. C., Nancy A., Maria K. and 3
others younger in 1862.
(As you might
imagine, the Spellcheck on my computer had a field day with that.) James grew up
on the Long Bottom with the sons of his grandfather John McClure, Sr.
Nathaniel and Moses McClure would have been uncles to James, but
they were all close together in age.
From Donegal:
"John's two youngest sons, Moses and Nathaniel, traveled together when
they commenced their journey west in the fall of 1795.
They would have joined a group, which was common practice, to
provide mutual protection and support over the long journey…. Moses and
Nathaniel had a much better road to travel through the wilderness than
did the members of their family that preceded them because when Kentucky
became a state in 1792 one of its first official acts was to improve the
Wilderness Road to encourage the movement of more settlers into the new
state, and by 1796 horse and wagon traffic commenced."
[5] The authors of
Donegal were not as interested in James McClure as we are, so we
will forgive them for writing him off as just a mystery son, not
mentioned in his father's will, and with no Botetourt County records to
evidence his marriage or the birth of his daughter.
The 1850 From
Donegal: "Moses and
Nathaniel eventually settled in close proximity to one another since
Moses married Eleanor McPherson in Boone County on 30 August 1804, a
county that Nathaniel settled next to some six years earlier [1798].
Nathaniel settled in the Lebanon Hills on Bullock Pen Creek which
was located about four miles south of Richwood Station, which is now
known as Richwood. There
Nathaniel built his cabin on the crest of a hill overlooking the creek
that flowed some two hundred feet below.
A spring on the slope, that still runs, provided the necessary
water. This location
provided a natural defense against Indian raids…. He built a two-story
log cabin with a massive fireplace and a very large living room, no
doubt with the idea of accommodating Sunday services.
The location and fortress-like structure worked as planned,
because soon thereafter the area was targeted by the From
Clasping Hands with Generations Past:
[7]
"Nathaniel and Jean Porter McClure, newly wed, came on horseback
with a party of young married people from Rockbridge County, Virginia,
in 1795, through the wilderness, crossing the river at a place called
Cumberland Canebrake…. This company consisted of the Andersons,
Carlisles, Kennedys, McClures (Nathaniel, his wife and two half
brothers, Alexander and Moses), McPhersons and McCullochs."
Mrs. Lloyd
also answered a question that had been in my mind:
"It is often difficult for the modern mind to grasp the reason
pioneers crossed the blue grass region of When Nathaniel and his wife Mary Jane arrived, there was no church in the
Lebanon Hills section, so they held meetings in their cabin. Nathaniel was a founder of the Lebanon Presbyterian Church and may have donated the land on which the church still stands. Nathaniel died in 1848 and is buried in the church's cemetery, very close to where Nathaniel settled along the Boone-Grant County line.[8]
From
Clasping Hands[9]
comes this poetic description of the old church:
"The present church is situated on a country road leading from
Crittenden to And about the
churchyard she wrote: "Back
of the church lies the churchyard, where sleep the pioneers of Lebanon
Hills. A beautiful,
myrtle-covered spot, the restful quietude broken only by Nature's
melodies, the tall old evergreens keeping ever a watchful vigil,
whispering and sighing the almost forgotten tales of the past.
Few there are sleeping in this spot who are not resting among
their kin. 'McClure Row' has
more than local renown.
Fortunate is he who sleeps beside his very own." We know that
the records of the
According to Donegal[10],
children of James McClure and Hanna are:
i.
Hannah McClure, b.
ii.
sister Nancy McDaniel in 1860
ii.
Patsy McClure, b. 14 Aug1798.
iii.
Catherine (Kitty Ann) McClure, b.
Harrison Co., KY, d.
m. William Neely Perry
iv.
James E. McClure II, b.
March 1878 Grant
Sept. 1807 Rockbridge Co., VA, d. 19 Mar 1884 Grant
v.
Thomas Jefferson
(Jeff) McClure, b. 20 May
1805 in KY, d. 27 Apr
1881 Grant (second)
buried in
vi.
Susannah McClure, b.
buried in
vii.
Polly (twin) McClure, b.
viii. Samuel (twin) McClure, b.
ix.
Nancy McClure, b.
McDaniel
Susannah were living with her in 1850 and 1860[15].)
Moved to Lewis Co., MO.
Fielding died before 1880;
James McClure is found in the Harrison County, KY census of 1810, 1820,
1830, and 1840.[16]
1850
James’ wife Hanna had died by 1850, and James died before 1860,
probably in
James’ youngest daughter Nancy and her husband Fielding McDaniel
moved to
Fielden McDaniel 40 farmer KY; Nancy 40, Susan A. 17, Nancy A.
14, Mariah 11, William C. 15, Mary S. 8, Lou Belle 6, Francis J. (f) 3,
Hannah McClure 62, Susan McClure 45 (these last two are Nancy's sisters
who remained unmarried).
Sometime after 1860 Fielding McDaniel, his wife Nancy and their
family headed out to
When the James McClure family arrived in |
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[1]
Tombstone of Thomas Jefferson McClure in Old Lebanon Presbyterian Church
Cemetery, Grant Co., KY gives names of his parents as James and Hanna. |
-- Any corrections, additions, and kind, constructive criticism are welcome. Full credit will be given for anything you submit. --
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© 2004 JANE MARIE HOPSON MCCLURE |