The Mcclure Family in America
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in Clu.ra h^v^y^^K i MAIIlllAN rilOMI'SON M,(,l.riU.. Si<. i,s:!i (Takkn at Si;vi;nty-six.) THE McClure Family, f' BY JAMES ALEXANDRE McCLURE. LIMITED EDITION. .-> ^1 » ,,5 Presses of Frank A. Oweu, Petersburg, Virginia. 1914. p^ Tin- NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 784220 ASTOR, L^NOX AND TILOtN FOUNDATIONS R 1917 L • • • . • FOREWORD. This Book is an eifort to preserve the names and some- thing of the deeds of those who established the McClure family in America. While the result is fai- from satisfac- to in tory, I feel that I have rendered the name general, and to my own family in particular, a real service. The work is the product of vacation days and rare leisure nroments, thrown together lathei- than carefully arranged. It is the log cabin of our- early ancestors rather- than the modern mansion, to which I hope it will in time give place. While all with whom it has been my privilege t<i converse or coriespond have shown for the undertaking the gieatest interest and concern, to whom ] express my sincei-e appre- ciation, there are a number who have rendered special ser- vice and whose names T wish U) mention in particidar. intere>!t First, the late Col. Charles McCiure, of 111., Avhose in the subject moved me primarily to the undertaking; Prof. Geo. Eev. A. D. McClure, D. !>., Wilmington, N. C; M. McCIure, Danville, Ky.;Prof. C. F. W. McCIure, Prince- ton University; Rev. James W. McXUure, Cynthiaiui, Ky., Mr. Wallace M. McCIure, Knoxville, Tenn.; Mr. Hugh S. McCIure, New York City; Mr. Wm. A. Mc(0]ure, Fairfield, Va. Mrs. N. J. Mr. Edward ; Baker, Nace, Va., Frazer, Lexington, Ky.; Dr. .1. D. McCIure, London; Mr. John Wilfried McCIure, Dublin. The classitication of the material which covers ovei- two hundred years, seven generations, is as follows: The fii-st generation, born aVjout 1700, is undesignated. The second generation, born about 1733, is designated A, B, C, etc. The third generation, born about 1767, is designated I, 11, HI, etc. The fourth generation, born about 1800, is designated 1, 2, 3, etc. FOKKWOKM). lifth Ixtin The {general ion. mIjouL 1S;^;>, is tlcsignated (1), (2), (3), etc. The sixtli }i;enerali()ii. lioin alxuit lS(i7, is (Icsignuted a. h, c, etc. The sr\('i)th geiieiiitioii, lioiii nhoiil 1!)(>(). is dcsifjiiutert (II), ( b), (e), etc. There are tloubtU'ss (M-rors and omissions oIIkm- than typo- graphical, to wliich readei-s will kindly call i)i\ attention. It is my desire to have memhei-s from tlie \arioiis l)rauch- cs of the family send me from time to time all items of family interest, marriages, l)irtlis and deal lis, that they may be caivfully lilcd as a bjisis of information foi" any fu- ture family record. And may there be fiiUilled irnto irs the prophecy of .Jer- emiah, who said unto the house of the Kechabites, "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, Because you have obeyed the commandment of.lonachib your father and kept all his precepts and done according to aJI that he hath commanded you, Thereforv thus saith the Fjord of Hosts, the fxod of Israel, Jonadab the son of RechaV) shall not want a man to stand before me forever." .J, A. McC'I-L'KE. Petersburg, V^irgiuia, ^ <)ctol)ei- 15, 1914. INTRODUCTION. ORIGIN of the name McCluke has been frequently THEdiscussed in the genealogical literature of Great Britain. The following theories have been advanced: 1. The name (variously spelt McClure, McCluer, Mc- comes Clewer, Maclure, McLewer, McLure, and McLuir), from the Gaelic word MacLobhair, pronounced MacLour, and means ''son of the leper," 2. That it comes from the Gaelic MacGioUa-odhar (which contracted in the genitive is uidhar and pronounced ure), to Macllure and hence McLure or McClure, and means "son of the pale one." This theory is advocated by Rev. Edmund McClure, M. A., London, Secretary of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge. 3. That it is a derivation of the Gaelic MacLeabhair, (pronounced MacLour) and means "son of the book," i. e. they were the teachers in the Clan McLeod, just as the Mc- McRimmons (or McCrimmons) were the clan pipers. They were MacLeabhair McLeods, McLeabhair (McLour, Mc- Lure, McClure), eventually becoming the sir-name. Sev- eral Gaelic scholars deny this derivation of the name, tho' admitting the very ancient tradition of the McClure tutor- ship in the Clan McLeod. 4 That the name is identical with MacLir (or MacLur) the seagod of Ireland and the Isle of Man. This theory is advanced in an article published in the Dublin University Magazine on the late Sir Eobert McClure, the navigator. 5. The McClures were originally a Manx family, the first legendary king of the Island being a Mananuan McClure, is the tradition inherited by the McClures of Manchester, England, to which family belong the late Sir John W. Mc- Clure, M. P., and the Very Eev. Edward C. McClure, D. D,, Dean of Manchester. Held also by Sir Edwaid Stanley McClure, 2 INTRODUCTION. 6. That the name means "great bruiser." An ancient king of Scothmd was attacked by highwaymen. One of his attendants so distinguished himself by his prowess that he was called MacCIure, "Mac" signifying "great" as well as "son of." A blow from the fist is still known in Scot- land as a dure. 7. That it originated in the ancient sport of Falconry, in which the lure wjis used to recall the falcon. The crest of this family of McLures is a hand in armour holding a fal- coner's lure. 8. A soldier from the ancient town of Lure in Normandy crossed over with William the Conquerer. He Avas re- warded for his service by a grant of land in the Island of Skye and was known as DeLure, Mac being later substitu- ted for De, to harmonize with the Gaelic custom. J 9. The theory advocated by Rev. J. Campbell McClure, Minister of Marykirk, Kincardinshire, Scotland, is that the McClures are a sept of the Clan McLeod. In addition to extant records in Galloway of the McClure family, show- ing it to be of McLeod origin, Mr. McClure states that the family tradition handed down to him through a long line of long-lived ancestors is, "In early times a sept of the Mac- Leods left the Island of Skye for Ulster, where the north- ern Irish slurred the 'd' of MacLuide (as it was then pro into nouuced) 'r,' hence, MacLure. Later many of the name passed over from the northeast of Ireland to Galloway, thus to ^Yigtonshire and so on to Ayrshire. These dis- tricts to day contain many McClures." It is certain that McClures are in some way connected with the Clan McLeod, evidenced by the fact that the old- est traditions of the family in Scotland take them back to the Isle of Skye; the traditions of Skye link together the McClures and the McLeods; McClures have always had the same motto, crest and tartan as the McLeods, and their right to them has never been called in question. McClure history, then, properly begins with the Mc- Leods. INTEODUCTIOK. 3 Some authorities aver that they are of Irish descent. In an old volume of the Ulster Journal of Archaeology there is given a long pedigree of the McLeods, deducing them from various Scottish chieftains and princes, back to one Fergus Mor MacBarcha. The generally accepted theory is that they descended from Leod, one of the three sons of Olave the Black, King of Man and the Isles, tho' it is said that there is no documentary evidence extant to prove this claim. Leod, born early in the 13th century, married the daugh- ter of MacRailt Armuinn, a Norwegian chieftain, and by her acquired large possessions in Skye, including the fort- ress of Dunvegan, which is still in the possession of the family. They held mainland estates under the Crown as early as 1340, and island estates at the same time under the Lords of the Isles. When the final forfeiture of the Lords of the Isles took place at the end of the 15th century, the McLeods got charters of their island estates from the crown. Their name is conspicuous in Scottish history. They occupied the post of honor at the battle of Harlaw, 1411; they were at the battle of the Bloody Bay, 1485; they took part in the negotiations to transfer the allegiance of the Highland chiefs from the Scottish to the English king and signed the commission under which these negotiations were carried on. They took part in the battle of Worcester, 1661, led by Sir Norman McLeod of Bernera, where they lost 700 men. Treated by Charles II with the grossest ingratitude, they took no part in subsequent Stuart uprisings, tho' there is a letter extant from James II, dated Dublin, 1690, implor- ing McLeod to join Dundee. It is said that the name (Maklure) occurs in Scotland as early as the 12th century. A very old record is one of 1485, where Ewin MakLureand Gilbert MakLure witnessed a contract between Thomas Kennedy of Blaresguhan and Margaret Kessox, of Little Dunrod, Kirkcudbright. These McClures are supposed to have been friends (or relatives) 4 INTRODUCTION. of the Kennedy (Seneschal) of Carrick in Scotland and ca- dets of the Carrick family of McLures of Bennane. These are all Galloway folk. In the Acta Dom. Audit., published by the government in 1839, there is, under date of October 6, 1488, a decree that Johue Lord Kennydy, Johne of Montgomery and Michiell McLure shall devoid, &c., the lands of Barbeth to Janete Hamiltowu.