MICHAEL Mcclellan JANE HENRY

Descendan ts of MICHAEL McCLELLAN and JANE HENRY OF COLRAIN, MASS. by LOIS McCLELLAN PATRIE Copyright @ 1970 by Lois McClellan Patrie Printed in the United States of America iii FOREWORD This history of one branch of the McClellan family in America has been in preparation for many years, a fact which explains why many lines end in 1940. Much of the work on these lines was done at that time, and after a lapse of thirty years it is impossible to contact former correspondents and so to trace recent generations. It has not been my intention to bring all lines down to the present, even if that were possible, but rather to show the be ginnings of each branch, and to try to bring female lines down at least three generations from Michael and Jane Henry. The descendants of Joseph Thompson and Jennet McClel lan (in the male lines) may be found in a booklet by Col. Henry Joseph Amy of Eastchester, N. Y., published in 1958. There are several genealogies of the Severance family. The Millers, Smiths, Boltons, Wilsons and McGees will be found in this writer's HISTORY OF COLRAIN, MASS., now in preparation and to be published, hopefully, within two years from this date. It will be available in the libraries of Colrain and Green field, and probably several others. Although I have checked and rechecked the material in this book, I am sure mistakes will be found. I hope they are few. I apologize for them and hope my readers will forgive them. Lois M. Patrie Troy, N. Y. June 18, 1970 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Much of the material in this book was obtained by Q. Sleight McClellan from town histories, family genealogies and correspondence with other members of the family. Among these were: Mrs. George Mooers, Mrs. Mary Cole and Miss Cynthia McClellan. To Mrs. Cole goes grateful appreciation for providing many of the photographs. Besides Sleight McClellan, I have also to thank many other correspondents: foremost of whom is Mrs. Marion Sisler who has furnished most of the Joseph Thompson line; A. Roy Deal, who provided the Carrier line; Everett Johnson, who gave us the descendants of Miranda (McClellan) Johnson; Mrs. Rhoda Cressy, Mrs. Frederick Pierce, Miss Ruth Coombs, Hugh Wilson McClellan, and his daughter, Mrs. Paul Trahan. Material from Col. Henry Amy's DESCENDANTS OF JOSEPH THOMPSON AND JENNET McCLELLAN OF COLRAIN, MASS. has been used by special permission of Col. Amy. Especially do I want to thank Mrs. Ruby B. Austin for her invaluable ad vice and encouragement. To my father, the late Hugh Herbert McClellan, I dedi cate this work in appreciation of the long hours he spent check ing and correcting much of the material. I hope he knows that the work is finishedo V ORIGINS OF THE McCLELLAN FAMILY Material researched by Q. s. McClellan, edited by L. M. Patrie It has been well established that our family was first heard of among the 11 wild Scots of Galloway, " that region com prising the southwesternmost extremity of Scotland. The name, which has been, and is still spelled in many different ways, is believed to be of Gaelic or Celtic origin. It means "son of the servant of Saint Fillan. " The Ragman Roll of August 28, 1296, a document of fealty to King Edward I of England, contains names which for several reasons may be presumed to be those of early McClellans, and are apparently the first on record. They are those of Cuthbert Makelemwym, Johan de Bundeby (Bomby) and Johan de Gevel stone. The lands of Bomby and Gelston are proved to have be longed to McClellans from 1400 and 1416, respectively. Shortly thereafter, on March 3, 1305/6, we find the names of John de Gevelstone, Duncan de Gevelstone, and Pat rick, son of Gilbert M' Lolan with those of tvvelve other es quires and men-at-arms who seized the Castle of Dumfries from the men of Robert the Bruce. Gilbert MacLelan, on Feb ruary 15, 1320/21, became Bishop of Sodor and Man. His signature may be found on several documents in the years fol lowing. Cuthbert, mentioned above as signer of the Roll, was no doubt brother to the Bishop, who was probably a direct or collateral ancestor of those McClellans who followed him. (It must be remembered ~hat in those early days of the Church the clergy were permitted to marry.) We find record of our name in the place name Balmac lellan as early as Jan. 3, 1380. The Gaelic is Baile MacGille Fhaolain, which means "stead of the sons of St. Fillan's ser vant," and the Latin signature reads, "Gilbertum McLellane dominum de Balmaclellane." The parish and village of Bal maclellan are located a few miles north of Kirkcudbright, and undoubtedly were a place of early residence of the family, and in which they became so strong that the name was given to both the parish and town. It is located in the area known as the Glenkens, quite mountainous, and the people were heavily in- vi volved in the Covenant; Robert of Barscobti being one. Later, in 1452, we find Patrick Maclellan of Wigtown, Sheriff of Galloway, killed by his overlord, the Earl of Doug las, in a dispute over fealty to the Crown of Scotland. Patrick was tutor of Bomby, NOT, as has been incorrectly asserted, McClellan of Bomby, but pro0ably a well-born relative, un doubtedly McClellan of Gelston, who was chosen as guardian of McClellan of Bomby, who was then a minor. The family certainly originated in Kirkcudbright, but it has not been possible to identify them with any particular branch. At one time there were fourteen knights named McClellan who owned homes in the Stewartry, and as late as the 17th century there were quite a few McClellan families, and we could be descended from any one of them, perhaps from a younger son of a younger son of an early member of the Bomby or Gelston families-no one knows. In the fifteenth century the Bomby and Gelston branches emerged and continued to flourish for some time. The House of Bomby produced the first Lord Kirkcudbright, Robert McClellan. From here it is easy to trace this branch in Scot's Peerage. In 1610 Robert acquired extensive lands in Ireland, becoming one of the Adventurers for the Plantation. He was created Lord Kirkcudbright in 1633. He owned lands in Lon donderry, and his third wife was buried in the parish church of Coleraine. Our ancestor may have accompanied him to Ireland and remained there. However, it is impossible that we descend from the Lords Kirkcudbright, for the Peerage clearly indicates that there were no descendants in the male line. The McClellans both in Scotland and Ireland were zeal ous Presbyterians and Covenanters during the time of Crom well. Family tradition among the descendants of Michael McClellan and Jane Henry reports that Michael1s ancestors came to Ireland about one hundred years before Michael and his family removed to America. It also insists that members of the family married only into other Scottish Presbyterian families. vii References History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway by Peter Handyside McKerlie Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland The Hereditary Sheriffs of Galloway, by Sir Andrew Agnew Minute Book kept by the War Committee of the Covenanters in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in the years 1640-1641 The Manuscripts of the Duke of Hamilton, K. D. , published by Great Britain Historical Manuscripts Commission. 11th Re port, Appendix, Part VI. Descendants of Michael McClellan and Jane Henry of Colrain, Mass. Michael McClellan was born in the town or village of Maghera, parish ·of Curran, County Derry, Ireland, probably the son of Hugh McClellan, who died in that place in 1739. Michael came to America with his brother John and eight of his ten children in 17 49. The McClellan family had emigrated from Kirkcudbrightshire in Galloway, Scotland about a century earlier. John settled somewhere in Maine and no trace has yet been found of his descendants. Michael, his wife and their children spent some time in Woburn or Worcester, Mass. and soon settled in Colrain, where they had friends and relatives. Michael bought a fifty-acre lot from Andrew Smith and built a house on it. At the beginning of the French and Indian War in 17 50, when Indian attacks began to be made in the vicinity, he removed with his family and several others to Pelham, a less exposed town. His resources being soon exhausted, he secured work lumbering on the river. The exposure brought on pneu monia, from which he died in 1757. The whereabouts of his grave is unknown. Michael McClellan was said to have been slim, fair-haired and blue-eyed, and to have 11 been much on the water. 11 He had lived in comfortable circumstances and never had to labor. His wife, Jane Henry, was also born in Ireland about 1710. She was the daughter of David Henry, who is said to have fought in the army of William III at the Battle of the Boyne. 2 After the war, David is said to have settled near Londonderry, Ireland and to have married a Scotch-Irish girl. The Henry family is also said to be of Norman extraction and to have or iginated in Cumberland. Jane had four brothers who came to America a little before the McClellans: Hugh and John, who settled in Colrain, Robert, who went to Albany, N. Y. and is said to have been the first English speaking merchant there, and James, who settled in Deerfield.

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