Pioneer Ancestor John McClure had "Ohio Fever"

Hubby's great-great-grandpa John McClure left Rockbridge County,
Virginia to settle in Ohio by 1810.

Another of my husband's ancestors had "Ohio Fever" as described in David McCollough's excellent book, The Pioneers. (I wrote about my husband's ancestor Job Denning in my previous post about Ohio Fever.)

The McClure Family from Donegal

John McClure was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia. His father, Alexander McClure (1717-1790), was one of the original journey-takers in the McClure family.

Alexander and a number of siblings and his father (Halbert McClure) were born in Donegal and sailed across the Atlantic during the 1730s. Landing in Philadelphia, they walked as a group to Virginia colony, where they purchased farmland for the family. (This detail is from the well-researched book, Following the McClures--Donegal to Botetourt).

Alexander lived about two miles from his father, Halbert, in Virginia, close to his brothers who had come with the family from Donegal. He himself purchased land from the Borden Grant during the 1740s. Like many men of that time and place Alexander served in the militia, from about 1742-1766.

Alexander married Martha Moore and their son John was born in Virginia in 1781, by that time a state, no longer a colony following the American Revolution.

John's "Ohio Fever"

John McClure married Ann McFall (1780-1815?) in Virginia in 1801. The next record I can find mentions the birth of their daughter Jane McClure in 1810 in Ohio. Their son Benjamin McClure was born in Adams county, Ohio, in 1812. This early 1800s-period coincides with "Ohio Fever" in the area.

Given the McClure family's long-standing desire for acquiring fresh, fertile farmland, it's not much of a leap to see John uprooting his growing family to settle more than 300 miles away in Ohio (see map at top). John McClure and Ann McFall McClure settled down in Ohio, but some of their descendants kept moving West to Indiana.

Life in the Land of The Trees

What was life like on the Ohio frontier during the "fever" period? David McCollough mentioned a book he remembers from when he was young, part of a trilogy by Conrad Richter. It's called The Trees and it's historical fiction, following the Luckett family as they leave western Pennsylvania at the end of the 1700s to settle north of the Ohio River.

At one point, the characters look out on what seems to be a veritable sea of trees. No cabins, no trails, no clearings. Just sturdy, majestic trees as far as the eye can see in Ohio. Trees that provided fuel, were good for cabins and furnishings, and needed to be cleared--by hand!--to create space for seedlings.

Daily life was most likely even more challenging than described in the book, but it's a good starting point for thinking about trying to feed and clothe a family on its own in the Ohio wilderness. I'm going to read the next two novels in the trilogy to see what happens to descendants of the Lucketts!

52 Ancestors #6: Train Was the Name--But Why?

This week's #52Ancestors challenge (thank you, Amy Johnson Crow), is "favorite name." My pick is Train. Actually, I'm interested in TWO men named Train. The original Train who caught my eye is Train C. McClure (1843-1934), the third son of Benjamin McClure and Sarah Denning (hubby's 2d great-grandparents). Born in Wabash county, Indiana, Train was my husband's 2d great uncle. Why, I wondered for a long time, was his name "Train," and what did the middle initial stand for?

Train C. McClure served nearly three years in the Civil War. As a teen, he enlisted in Company A, Indiana 89th Infantry Regiment on August 3, 1862 and was mustered out at age 21 on July 19, 1865 at Mobile, Alabama, far from his Indiana home. Two years after his military service, he married Gulia Swain and started a family. They had four children together. After Gulia died, Train remarried to Rebecca Abbott. He outlived all of his siblings and died at the age of 90.

After puzzling over Train's first name and middle initial for a while, I went over the McClure family tree with a finer-tooth comb. Then I discovered that Train's father Benjamin had a younger sister named Jane McClure, who married Train Caldwell on April 5, 1831.

Doesn't it seem reasonable to think that Benjamin named his son Train Caldwell McClure after his brother-in-law, Train Caldwell? In fact, as the 1850 Census at top indicates, the McClure and Caldwell families had a close enough relationship that a Mary A. McClure was living in Posey township, Indiana, with Train, Jane (nee McClure), and their children. Presumably this is one of Jane's relatives. To avoid getting derailed from the Train kinfolk, I haven't yet focused on little Mary McClure, but I will.

In tracking Jane's Train Caldwell, I learned more about his background, as you can see from the excerpt here, part of volume 3 of a book titled History of Northwest Missouri, edited by Walter Williams (1915).

Unfortunately, I don't agree with the book's assertion that Jane McClure, Train's wife, was the daughter of Samuel McClure, who lived in Indiana but was originally from Adams County. I've run into Samuel and the McClure confusion often during my Indiana research, because the Benjamin McClure in hubby's family tree was also from Adams County and later pioneered in Indiana. No connection with Samuel that I can find (yet), and I've actually discussed the possibility with Wabash history experts in the past.

The two Train men have provided endless hours of research and interest. Interestingly, Train was not an uncommon name in Indiana at that time. More research is clearly in my future as I stay on track with my McClure and Caldwell investigations.

Surname Saturday: Researching Sarah Denning's Origins

It was 173 years ago this month that hubby's 2d great-grandmother, Sarah Denning (1811-1888), settled in Wabash county, Indiana, with her husband, Benjamin McClure (1811-1896). This is according to the History of Wabash County, which also notes that the county wasn't formally formed until 1835. Other McClures had arrived in the Wabash area years earlier, including Samuel McClure, Sr. (apparently not a relative or at least, not a close relative).

Sarah's parents were Job Denning and Mary E. [maiden name unknown]. Proving Job's birth place and date is another challenge. His gravestone only says he died in 1836, aged 61, which implies a birth year of 1775. It's probable that Job Denning was from way back east--possibly Massachusetts--but so far, I have no hard evidence.

Sarah had at least 7 older siblings but just 1 younger brother. She told the US Census (in 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880) that she was born in Ohio. Possibly she was born in Adams County, Ohio, where her younger brother William Henry Harrison* Denning was born. Records are scarce for the early 1800s, haven't found her yet.

Sarah and her husband Benjamin were married in Ohio, according to their obits, and their two elder children were born in Ohio. Their other children were born in Indiana (according to Census data), beginning with third child Martha Jane McClure (1841-1916).

In the 1840 Census, Sarah and Benjamin were living in Harrison township, Fayette county, Indiana, with a total of "3 white persons under 20" years old. Most intriguing, they were living on a land division "allotted to Benjamin Caldwell." In other words, land allotted to Benjamin's brother-in-law's family, since his sister Jane McClure married Train Caldwell. Within four years, they were living about 100 miles northwest, in Noble township, Wabash county, Indiana.

Sarah, I'm on the lookout for more info about your origins!

*Yes, the family seems to taken inspiration for some given names from U.S. presidents. Benjamin McClure and his wife Sarah named one of their sons William Madison McClure, possibly honoring James Madison.

Those Places Thursday: Adams County, Ohio (Guarding Prisoners for 50 Cents a Night)

Hubby's McClure ancestors are mentioned several times in old transcriptions of abstracts from the Adams County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas--which I found while at the Allen County Public Library last month. Interesting insights into their lives as Ohio pioneers!

•  Alexander McClure and Halbert McClure, hubby's 4th and 5th great-granddads, respectively, were involved in a court case I don't understand. It was listed under "McKay vs Glasgow" (see right), which was "same vs Alexander McClure, same vs Andrew Kerr, same vs Halbert McClure, same vs E. McWright. Issue a fa et le fa in these five cases. Jesse McKay, 29 July 1823." What the heck is a fa et le fa when translated from legal terminology?

• John McClure, hubby's 3d great-grandpa, was paid 50 cents for guarding a prisoner named James J. Neil for one night. He was one of several guards in Ohio vs Neil who were paid, apparently on an ad hoc basis, for watching this Neil guy. Other guards paid 50 cents were: William Ellison, William K. Stewart, John Bratton, Samuel Doherty, and Charles M. Wilson. Interestingly, a few guards were paid 75 cents for "guarding prisoner to jail" (transporting him?): Benjamin Bowman, William R. Stewart, John Bratton, and Samuel Doherty.

• John McClure rented farm land from David Bradford, from the first of April 1822 to the first of April 1823. He agreed (in writing) to plant wheat and corn, pay as rent 1/3 of all grain he raises, cut the meadows, put up the hay and give 1/2 the proceeds as rent, and not to pasture the meadows. Presumably John lived up to his end of the bargain, since his name didn't appear as a defendant later in the court records...

This branch of the McClure family came up from Rockbridge County, Virginia, in the early 1800s to settle in Adams County...a distance of about 300 miles. Quite a ways to travel in those days! But then again, Halbert McClure had brought the family from Donegal to Philadelphia on a rough sea voyage, then they all walked from Pennsylvania to Virginia. So maybe Adams County didn't seem so far after all.

Surname Saturday: Denning (Lesson: Rule Names OUT)

One goal of the recent Midwest/FGS trip was to trace the family of Benjamin McClure's wife, Sarah D. McClure. Was her maiden name Deming or Denning? I've seen it both ways in various places.

Sitting in the ACPL and reading histories of Adams County, OH, where they met and married, I saw NO mention of any Deming family. But there was one prominent Denning family, that of Job Denning. So now I ruled Deming out and concentrated on Denning, at least for investigative purposes.

The first thing I did was plug "Job Denning" into Ancestry as Sarah's father. That turned up a green hint leaf with family trees to check out. It also led me to a Find-a-grave site, right place and right time. Now I had a death year (1836) and an approximate birth year (1775) to check, as well.

Also, I used my trusty search engine to find hits for "Job Denning" "Adams County Ohio" and found more than one solid reference to Job and Sarah. Above, the clipping of Job Denning listed as an associate judge in Adams county, OH, in 1820 (thank you, Google Books). Earlier, he was a court "cryer" [sic] and a constable. He successfully applied for a tavern license in 1797. On and on, his story unfolded from a bit of Internet searching. Quite a busy man, was this pioneer ancestor Job Denning.

Now comes the hard part: Checking everything and connecting Sarah Denning McClure to Job Denning through some real evidence. Stay tuned!