of Dunboe Parish, County Londonderry, Ireland and the Pennsylvania towns of Mauch Chunk, Summit Hill and Wilkes-Barre

Compiled by Dan Wilson

RESEARCH NOTES

The research notes here reflect gleanings from several sources, and references are given at the end of the document. The McLean family attended the same church in Ireland as the Wilsons, and are therefore of interest in connection with the Wilson family research.

About the Surname

The surname McLean is believed to have been introduced into Ireland as one of many groups of Scottish mercenaries brought to Ireland by the Irish nobility to assist in wars against England. Hayes-McCoy (1969, p. 107) implies that McLean or MacLean may have been a “galloglas” family. The original galloglases were of mixed Scottish-Norse blood, and were known as ferocious fighters. The word “galloglas” is a corruption of the Gaelic word galloglach, “gall” meaning “foreigner” and “oglach” meaning soldier. [Hayes-McCoy (1969)].

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

MCLEAN, GILBERT of Dunboe Parish, Co. Londonderry, Ireland

Gilbert McLean a Scottish Highlander, was the progenitor of this branch of the McLeans in Dunboe Parish. He was brought up among his clan in the Western Isles of Scotland. Gilbert McLean owned a large sailing vessel, but about the middle of the eighteenth century, when he was twenty-eight years of age, he quit the sea and settled in Ireland where he married. It is said the Gilbert McLean wore the kilt and tartan of his clan all his life, and he brought up his children in the fear of the Lord and the doctrines of the Presbyterian Church [Hayden and Hand (1906)]. Gilbert McLean’s name appears on the “First Dunboe Stypend List” of 1801 and on the 1796 Flax Seed (a.k.a “Spinning Wheel”) List for one spinning wheel. Gilbert McLean was a native of the Isle of Skye [HISTORY OF LUZERNE CO., by ___ Bradsby; in bio of William Swan McLean, pp. 1143, ]

McLEAN, JAMES Sr.

He was the son of Gilbert McLean of Dunboe Parish, Co. Derry, Ireland and the father of Alexander McLean of Summit Hill and Wilkes-Barre. [HISTORY OF LUZERNE CO., by ___ Bradsby; in bio of William Swan McLean, pp. 1143]. He was possibly the James McLean, 60 years old, who sailed on the Ship Bowditch from Liverpool to New York, arriving May 27, 1839. Also on the ship listed with James McLean Sr. was Martha Mclean, age 55. She may have been the wife of James McLean Sr., and the daughter of John Leslie of Dunboe.

McLEAN, ALEXANDER of Derry/Mauch Chunk/Summit Hill/Wilkes-Barre, grandson of Gilbert McLean.

Alexander McLean, son of James McLean Sr. [Bradsby, pp. 1143] and the grandson of Gilbert McLean of Dunboe Parish, was born in 1800 in the townland of Farrenlester, on the River Bann in Dunboe Parish, County Derry, Ireland. He emigrated to America in 1819, and settled in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania where he joined the First Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk, founded by Rev. Richard Webster in 1835. He may have lived in Summit Hill at this time because in 1839, he was instrumental, along with Robert Henry, in founding the Sabbath School at Summit Hill that became the 1st Presbyterian Church there.

He may have spent some time at Easton, Pennsylvania prior to settling in Mauch Chunk. Alexander McLean’s father and mother had strenuously objected to his leaving Ireland for America, and would never consent to his going, nor give him money to pay his passage. However, his maternal grandfather, John Leslie, a successful farmer in County Derry apparently thought otherwise and gave him a gift of about one hundred pounds sterling, which he used to finance the trip [Hayden and Hand (1906)].

Alexander McLean married Elizabeth Swan who was also born in Ireland, near Londonderry, County Derry. Elizabeth Swan came to America with her parents and two brothers when she was about ten years of age, and they settled at Mauch Chunk. Her father was James Swan of Co. Londonderry, Ireland who emigrated in 1817 and lived and died at Mauch Chunk [HISTORY OF LUZERNE CO., by ____ Bradsby, in bio sketch of Willam Swan McLean, pp. 1148].

Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan had ten children: James, Samuel, Martha, Leslie, Mary, Elizabeth, George, William Swan, John Montgomery and Margaret A. Shortly after he arrived in Mauch Chunk, Alexander McLean contracted with the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (LC&N) run by Josiah White and Erskine Hazard, to transport anthracite coal from the LC&N mines at Summit Hill to the Lehigh River at Mauch Chunk. There it was loaded in arks [flat-bottomed boats] and floated down the Lehigh River to markets south including Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and then down the Delaware River to Philadelphia. Mule teams and wagons were used to haul the coal in those days before railroads assumed the task. The mules and wagons necessary for the carriage of the coal were purchased with the money given Alexander McLean by his grandfather. These were primitive times, and Mr. McLean often told how he and his wagoners returning in the night upon their empty wagons from Mauch Chunk to the Mines, a distance of about nine miles, would hear the howl of wolves and the cry of panthers near the wagon road, in the then almost unbroken wilderness, and the wives of the wagoners often told how the night hungry bears would pounce down on their pigs and eat them, and then go back in the forest before the return of their husbands. [Hayden and Hand (1906)].

In 1827, when the gravity railroad was built from Mauch Chunk to the mines, transportation of coal in wagons was made obsolete, and at this time, McLean signed a contract with the LC&N to mine coal at Summit Hill. As it turned out, he was the first to sign such a contract with the company. He continued his mining contracts alone and with partners until 1848, when he moved to a farm he had bought in 1839 on the old Careytown Road, now in the city of Wilkes-Barre. There he built a “fine colonial mansion,” under the supervision of two skilled carpenters, both of whom had served their apprenticeship in Ireland.

The house was built with a Grecian portico and front finished in carved wood, and was painted in pure white with its large, old-fashioned window shutters painted in green. Standing alone with its large whitewashed barns, neat board fences, and green fields all around, it was a very attractive picture, and was greatly admired. It was a special favorite in the spring and summer time of visitors of the valley, particularly the guests of the old Phoenix Hotel frequently rode down the Old Careytown road to Inman’s Hill and back again. Here he lived with his family, in love with farming, an inherited taste, from his father and grandfather on both sides, who were sturdy and substantial farmers as ever had a furrow turned or a crop harvested in the North of Ireland. He invested his money in real estate and land. By the 1860s, he had become a major stockholder and a director of the First National Bank and the Wyoming Valley Coal Company, both controlled by members of the upper class. McLean’s wealth and his investments ranked him among the top twenty-five wealth holders in Wilkes-Barre in the years after 1850. During the next few years, he acquired all the attributes of a full fledged member of the upper class, except familial ties. He acquired these with the second generation.

He was a former member of the “Presbyterian Church at Articliff, Ireland.” [Records, Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk and Mark, James (1936), pp.24]. “Articliff” (Articlave). The people of the Bann Valley pronounce “Articlave” as “Articliff,” although such pronunciation is now discouraged, according to Rev. James A. McCaughan, minister of the First Dunboe Presbyterian Church in 1996 [private communication, 19 August, 1996].

Alexander McLean is credited along with Robert Henry, also of the First Dunboe Presbyterian Church in Articlave, with starting a bible class at Summit Hill that led to the founding of the Presbyterian Church there. [Mark, (1936), pp.24].

He and his sons founded the First National Bank of Wilkes-Barre where he was one of it’s first directors. His eldest son, James McLean, was elected the first president of the bank, but he served only a short time before being killed in a railroad accident on Saturday, January 29, 1864. He was succeeded by Alexander Gray of Wilkes-Barre, who also had coal interests [Harvey, (1930)].

The railroad on which the accident occured was the Mauch Chunk-Summit Hill Railroad [obituary in the Carbon Co. Democrat, Feb. 3(?), 1864.

Alexander McLean was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre, a director of the First National Bank and a director of the Wyoming Valley Coal Company. He was also for many years president of the Central Poor Board, headed by leading residents of the Wyoming Valley, and an institution in which he took a very great interest. Once a week he drove in his carriage to meetings of the directors held at the Retreat on the Susquehanna river, about twelve miles from his home [Davies, 1985, pp.56].

Alexander McLean remained in Wilkes-Barre until his death in 1868 at the age of 68. His wife died several years before him, and their remains lie on the brow of the hill overlooking the Susquehanna river, in Hollenback Cemetery. [Hayden & Hand, (1906); Harvey (1930), pp.538].

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SWAN, ELIZABETH – wife of Alexander McLean

Elizabeth Swan, was born in Ireland, near Londonderry, County Derry. She came to America with her parents and two brothers when she was about ten years of age, and the family settled at Mauch Chunk. She was too young to attend school in Ireland, and there was no school in Mauch Chunk in her girlhood days. Her mother, a very intelligent woman, taught her reading, writing and arithmetic. She had no longing for books. She loved the duties of housewife, green fields, the blue sky, the wild flowers, more than any volume ever written, except the Bible and the works of Burns. The sweetest and most consoling passages of the Bible and many of the songs of the poets ploughman she had committed to memory, and she loved to recite them in her own sweet, low voice to her children and house servants. She was a comely bride and a comely wife, with her black waving hair, large soft brown eyes and rosy cheeks. She reverenced God and kept his commandments. She was very kind to the needy and many a poor man and woman of the neighborhood whom she had befriended, stood around her coffin at her burial and wet her kind, honest face with their tears [Hayden, 1906 ].

Her father, James Swan, was the owner of quite a large freehold estate near Londonderry. His two elder brothers, Presbyterian Ministers, and himself were quite prominent in the movement of the United Irishmen, the members of which were principally dissenters from the Church of England. His elder brothers were arrested about the time of Emmett’s arrest, both were tried and convicted, one was hung, and the other would have been if he had lived to the day fixed for his execution. It is a tradition in the family that the youngest brother, several years after the execution of Emmett, received information that the government discovered that he was also engaged in the uprising, and intended to arrest him, when suddenly he and his family started for America, bringing with them all the loose money they had, clothing and a few articles of value easily carried [Hayden, 1906].

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McLEAN, JAMES L. – first son of Alexander McLean

He was the first child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan, and the first president of the First National Bank of Wilkes-Barre, PA. (His middle initial is given by F.C. Johnson (1886) in his compilation of newpaper articles from the BETHLEHEM TIMES). On June 1, 1863, James L. McLean was elected to the board of directors of the bank along with his father, Alexander McLean, Joseph Brown, Alexander Gray and Thomas Long, a son-in-law of Alexander McLean. The same day he was elected as president of the bank at the age of 38. [Note: this makes his year of birth as 1825]. At the time, he was extensively engaged in coal mining at Summit Hill, in which he had succeeded his father. James McLean died, Saturday, January 29, 1864 as the result of a railroad accident. [Harvey, (1930), pp.538]. See the transcripts of artciles from the Mauch Chunk Gazette, below.

He married Jane Simpson, the daughter of John Simpson, Esq., a native of the north of Ireland, a strong Presbyterian, a very intelligent man, whose beautiful, quaint and strong language was interwoven in his everyday talk. His house [Simpson or McLean?] at Summit Hill was the home of all early Presbyterian ministers who came there to preach. They were always sure to receive a warm welcome at his hands, and the best board and lodging.

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Mauch Chunk Gazette
November 5, 1863

Serious accident. On Monday morning last, as Mr. James McLean, with another gentleman, was coming down from Summit Hill on a truck, and as they neared the “five mile tree,” the truck jumped off the track, and was turned over, and the occupants thrown out very violently. Mr. McLean was very severely injured, one of his arms broken in two places, his head very badly bruised, and his tongue nearly cut off.

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Mauch Chunk Gazette
November 12, 1863

Amputated. We regret deeply to learn that Mr. McLean, whose accident on the Summit Hill Railroad we noticed in our last, had his left arm amputated. The bones were frightfully crushed, and all attempts to save his arm were of no avail. Mr. McLean has the heartfelt sympathies of all who know him, in his misfortune.

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Mauch Chunk Gazette
Dec 10, 1863

Recovering. We are very glad to learn that Mr. James McLean is at last in a very fair way of recovery. For weeks he has been in a very critical condition.

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Mauch Chunk Gazette (possibly the Carbon Co. Democrat)
Feb 4, 1864

James McLean, Jr. We are called upon today, with deep regret, to record the decease of our fellow citizen, James McLean, of Summit Hill, who died at his residence on Saturday, last, after a short illness, the fatal termination to which we were not prepared to expect, until its probability was announced by sorrowing friends a few hours before the event. It will be remembered by our readers, that a few weeks ago a short account of an accident to the subject of this notice, on the Mauch Chunk and Summit Hill Railroad, appeared in our columns. From the effects of the injuries received at that time it was greatly feared he would not recover; but through the Providence of God, the skill of his physicians, and the care and watchfulness of a devoted wife and sympathizing friends, he apparently recovered, and was able to attend to business, although maimed by the loss of his left hand, which it was found necessary to amputate.

The week previous to his decease he went to Wilkes-barre and attended to his duties as President of the “First National Bank” of that place, returning home on Saturday the 23rd. The same evening he was taken sick, as it is thought, from the effects of a slight cold or overexertion, but are informed that his friends did not consider it serious, until summoned to attend around his death-bed a short time before his final departure.

Before the accident above referred to he was of robust health, and, but for the lingering effects of his injures, it is probable that the slight immediate cause of his last sickness would not have terminated so fatally. Certain it is, that when his friends took him by the hand, some of them for the first time since the accident, when in town on his way home, on the Saturday previous to his death, they little expected that the would so soon be called upon to follow his remains to their last resting place. But “Who can tell what a day may bring forth?”

James McLean, Jr. Had for many years been intimately connected with the social and business relations of our county, and was well known by nearly every citizen. A thorough busines man; of strict integrity; of extraordinary kindness, sympathy and liberality, no man was ever respected and loved more than he. Prosperous in business, he was able to aid many who had been less favored; and no one deserving assistance, whether of low or high estate, went away from him empty-handed. “His good deeds live after him.” In the immediate circle of his home, he was a kind and loving husband and father, and to all, as a brother.

In the death of such a man the nation, the State, the county and the community in which he dwelt, lose one whose place is not soon supplied; while his bereaved wife andlittle ones have lost, until they meet him again, in that “Home beyond the skies,” a husband and father whose place in their hearts and household can never on earth be filled. These have our sincere and heartfelt sympathy, and they have also the consolation, better than human sympathy of that faith which teaches them that their loss is but a temporary separation, preparatory to a greater happiness hereafter.-Communicated.

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McLEAN, JANE SIMPSON, of Summit Hill, PA and Bethlehem, PA

Jane Simpson McLean was the wife of James L. McLean of Summit Hill, PA. and the daughter of John Simpson and possibly Hannah Salisbury, both of Mauch Chunk, PA. Jane Simpson McLean was born at Mauch Chunk Feb. 25, 1827, and following the death of James L. McLean, she moved to Bethlehem, PA where she remained until her death on Nov. 28, 1887. She had eight children, of which only a daughter, Mrs. Harry L. Reed of Montclair, NJ, survived beyond the death of her mother. Jane McLean had were five grandchildren in addition to her eight children. Her son, James L. McLean (Jr.?) died at Wilkes-Barre May 8, 1886, while her brother Thomas Simpson of Montclair, NJ died in July of 1887. One other brother, Matthew Simpson of Columbia, PA survived her. Another daughter was named Dollie McLean. The funeral was held in Bethlehem on Dec. 1, 1887, with interment in Mauch Chunk Pall bearers were: Robert H. Sayre, H. Stanley Goodwin, George H. Myers, J. B. Zimmele, C.E. Breder, Wm. C. Taylor, J. Upton Myers and Garrett L. Hoppes. [Bethlehem Times, in THE HISTORICAL RECORD, pp. 15, Vol 1, Sept. 1886 to Aug. 1887, F. C. Johnson, M.D. (ed.)].

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McLEAN, SAMUEL of Summit Hill, Pa., and Congressman from Montana.

He was born at Summit Hill, PA on August 7, 1826, the second son of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan. He attended the select schools of Wyoming Valley, PA and then Lafayette College in Easton, PA, where he studied law with Washington McCartney. [Hayden and Hand (1906)]. In 1849, he was the first Carbon County native to be admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar [Wolle (1963), pp. 61].

He went to California aboard the bark ALGOMA which sailed from Philadelphia on March 1, 1849, to establish a mercantile business. The details were recorded by Katharine Foster Thompson in her book CHAPTER AND VERSE: THE ANNOTATED DIARIES OF ASA LANSFORD FOSTER, p. 227. She says,

“The bark Algoma, 103′ long and 26′ wide, was purchased by sixteen men from Philadelphia, all of whom became passengers. They had formed the Algoma Holding Company to establish a mercantile house and engage in mining and possibly brick-making in California.”

“Another group, the Mauch Chunk Company, booked passage on the Algoma. The men of this company were Charles L. White, civil engineer; Thomas D. Kelley, superintendent; H.C. Burbank, clerk; B.R. Lippincott, wheelwright; Charles E. Foster, printer; P.H. Snyder, tobacconist; William E. Lyndal, watch maker and jeweler; F.A. Ramsey, clerk; Robert Nichol, machinist; Amos Lentz, candle manufacturer; Rees and John Leymon, mining contractors; William Protherd, miner and negro steward James Duncan, all of Mauch Chunk, Pa.”

“In the Company from Summit Hill, Pa were Samuel McLean, attorney; John McLean, clerk; Douglas McLean and George Kelse, contractors; Thomas and Owen Jones, Robert Hughes, Edward and John Roberts, William Lewis and John Evans, all miners… ”

“The Algoma, cheered on by a large number of spectators, left Philadelphia on March 1, 1849. The ship, with its 56 passengers and their considerable amount of supplies, arrived at San Francisco on September 26, 1849, after a passage of 210 days.”

Wolle says Samuel McLean was “among the very first adventurers to that newly discovered realm of gold” [Wolle (1963), pp. 61 says this was in 1852].

Samuel McLean returned in 1855 and married Miss Jane Gray Wilson, of Easton on January 23, 1855 [Records, First Presby. Ch. of Easton]. They settled in Mauch Chunk on November 27, 1857 after which he established a practice in Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe), PA. He read law in the offices of Andrew H. Reeder.

Jane Gray Wilson was the daughter of Alexander Wilson and Margaret McElroy, long time members of the First Presbyterian Church of Easton. Jane Wilson was baptized on 27 November 1825, presumably by Rev. John Gray, pastor of the church. See the biographical sketch on Jane Gray Wilson.

In 1855 he was elected as District Attorney for Carbon County, and served until 1857 after which he moved west. By 1859 he is found serving as a miners lawyer in the Gregory Mining District of Gilpin Co., Colorado. A meeting of the miners in Mountain City on Saturday evening, 29 October 1859, was held to discuss the efforts of some citizens of Denver and Auraria who were attempting to reduce the price of gold dust. A committee of three was formed to draft resolutions to express the sense of the meeting. The committee members selected were Geo. W. Brizee, Co. Samuel McLean and C.R. Bissell [Marshall, Thomas Maitland (1920), pp. 16]

In the year 1859, not only was Samuel McLean in Colorado, but so was Wilson E. (Bill) Sisty, a former Wilkes-Barre printer’s “devil” in the 1830s who in 1859 was the first marshall of Denver City. In 1846 he enlisted in the Army and fought in the Mexican War until 1848. He then lived in Hazelton where he operated a livery stable. In 1860 he moved from Denver to Idaho Springs, Colorado about 34 miles west of Denver, where he was an agent for the Fulton Gold Mining Company of Idaho, Clear Creek Co., CO. In 1861, he was elected the first president of the Northern Mining District. He filed numerous claims in the area, and in 1876 he was named the first fish commissioner of Colorado. His name is on the Clear Creek Co. tax rolls through 1884. He died 14 October 1889. Asa Lansford Foster purchased 1000 shares in the Fulton Gold Mining Co. on 18 May 1865. [Thompson, Katherine Foster (1992), pp. 96]

In 1861 he was appointed to a similar committee along with D.S. Parmalee and Charles Post and on 22 April 1861 at a meeting of the miners of Mountain City, Samuel McLean was appointed to a committee of thirteen on resolutions along with C. R. Bissell, W.H, Bates, D.S. Parmalee, Judge A. Wilson, all representing the Gregory district. The final entry on 18 July 1861, indicates that Col. Samuel McLean along with 6 others, was selected to serve as a delegate to the Territorial Convention in Denver, for the purpose of nominating a “people’s candidate” for delegate to the 37th Congress of the US. [Willard (19??), pp. 43,47]. From this we know that he was in Colorado as early as October 1859 and as late as July 1861 [Marshall, Thomas Maitland (1920)].

In 1860, Samuel McLean was the attorney-general of the provisional Territory of Jefferson (later Colorado). It is believed he resided in Denver [Wolle (1963), pp. 61]. In 1862, he moved to Bannack, Montana where he joined the Montana Territory gold rush. According to Wolle (1963), it was the discovery by John J. Healy and George Grigsby in 1861 of the placers on the Salmon River near Florence, Idaho Territory, that brought men to the area, including Samuel McLean, who at the time was in Denver, then part of the Jefferson Territory. He organized a party of men and set off for Idaho by way of the Overland Trail and Fort Hall. Another party, organized by Captain Jack Russell, also left Denver about the same time, and eventually met McLean’s party at Fort Hall. The two parties went together to Fort Lemhi, Idaho Territory, and while they were still more than 125 miles from Florence they discovered that the Salmon River was too wild to use to go downstream to the placers. Thus they joined about a thousand other miners who were also stranded in the Lemhi Valley. [Wolle, Muriel Sibell (1963), Montana Pay Dirt: Guide to the Mining Camps of the Treasure State. Denver: Sage Books].

When Montana entered statehood in 1864, Samuel McLean was elected as a Democrat to the 38th and 39th Congresses of the U.S. and served from January 6, 1865 to March 3, 1867. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1866. He was president of McLean Silver Mining Co. in 1870, and after expiration of his term in Congress, he returned to Easton, PA seeking local investors in his McLean Silver Mining Company. The company was incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania, and had offices at 429 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. Edward E. Jones was president and Hon. Samuel McLean was Vice President. Secretary-Treasurer was William M. Barlow and members of the Board of Directors included in addition to Jones and McLean, Jacob Hay, George H. Roberts, William Ledyard, J.G.Gill and J.C. Delacour. In 1865, a prospectus for 100,000 shares and $10 each was distributed in hopes of raising funds to finance the venture. The mine was located in Beaverhead Co., Montana near Rattlesnake Creek, about 15 miles from Bannack,and it consisted of two lodes: the Eaton lode and the Aurora lode. [Prospectus of 1865].

After living in Montana several years, Samuel McLean moved to Virginia ca. 1870 and settled on a plantation near Burkeville, Nottoway, Co. According to Turner (1932), in 1869 “Col. McLean” bought a plantation from Col. W.C. Knight of Inwood whose wife, Bettie Dickinson inherited the place from Robert Dickinson who was probably her father. The plantation, which McLean dubbed “Inverness” after the seat of Clan McLean in Scotland, was located half-way between Crewe and Burkeville, in Nottoway Co., VA. Turner also states that “Perkins Agnew, who married Helen McLean, later bought Inverness and passed it on to his son Stuart Agnew who married Elizabeth Bostick.

The 1870 census of Hatokah Township, Nottoway Co., VA (LDS film #553,168 pp. 173, line 34) shows the following:

McLean, Samuel – age 45, farmer. Land value: $12,000; personal: $2,000. Mclean, Jenny [Janie] 42, wife – keeping house
McLean, Helen 13 – at school [possibly married Perkins Agnew]
McLean, Samuel 12 – at school
McLean, Alexander 6
McLean, Jean [Janie/Jennie] 2
McLean, Lizzie 25 [sister who married Dr. Agnew?]
McLean, Maggie 18 [sister who married James B. Leath?]

Certainly the family was in Burkeville by 1870, yet the records of the Brainerd Presbyterian Church of Easton, PA note that Jane G. McLean was dismissed to the Burkeville, VA Presbyterian Church on 28 March 1874. So it may be that ties back home had not yet been completely broken. The records also show that she was admitted to the Brainerd church in 1869, the following the death of Rev. John Gray, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Easton who died January 12, 1868 [Records of the First Presbyterian Church of Easton, pp. 128]

The Brainerd records also list the birth of “Jennie” Wilson McLean on September 8, 1869 and her baptism on November 27, 1869. This is probably the one listed in the 1870 census of Hatokah Township as “Jean.” The First Presbyterian church records list the births of Helen Stewart McLean and Alexander McLean as April 12, 1855 and November 12, 1865, respectively. However, the records give the father of Helen as James McLean and mother as Jane G. McLean. Helen was baptized on July 23, 1856 while Alexander was baptized on September 29, 1866. Those dates would have made Helen 15 years old in 1870 and Alexander 5 years old.

Samuel McLean died in Burkeville, VA on July 16, 1877 at the age of 51 years, and was interred in the churchyard of the Presbyterian Church there. [U.S. Government Printing Office, House Document No. 442, (1961), Biographical Directory of The American Congress, 1774-1961, pp.1310- 1311; Lavelle, John P. (1996), The Hard Coal Docket, pp. 203].

A review of the map of Burkeville, VA shows a street named McLean as well as streets named Dimmick and Agnew. There is a Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe, PA where Samuel McLean practiced law, and Samuel’s sister Elizabeth married a Dr. Agnew of Virginia who served as a surgeon for the Confederate Army in the American Civil War. Elizabeth Agnew was living in Burkville, VA in 1906, as was her sister Margaret A. McLean who married Joseph B. Leath of Virginia [Hayden and Hand, 1906].

Turner (1932, pp. 81) mentions a Dr. James Agnew of Miller’s Hill near Burkeville, who married Martha Anne Miller, daughter of Anderson Perkins Miller. Turner also mentions (pp. 76) a Joseph Leath son of Mary J.C. Bacon and Jesse H. Leath of Bacon’s Hall. Bacon’s Hall was north of the town of Crewe, and in the general area of Burkeville. Joseph Leath was one of five brothers, all of whom served in Co. C, 18th Virginia, Pickett’s Division in the Civil War. Tyree Glenn Bacon Leath was lieutenant of the company. It may be that this is the Joseph B. Leath who married Margaret McLean.

As for the street named Dimmick in Burkeville, it may have been named for Dr. A. Dimmick of Pennsylvania, who soon after the end of the Civil War, accodring to Turner (1932, pp. 77), bought the Robertson home known as “Rock Castle” on the outskirts of Crewe, Nottoway Co., VA. Dr. Dimmick was a friend of a B. F. Williams, also of Pennsylvania, who moved to Nottoway Co. for his health at the urging of Dr. Dimmick. Williams went on to become an influential member of the Virginia State Senate.

While in Montana, Samuel McLean lived in Bannack and in Virginia City where he was known as “Colonel” McLean. James Knox Polk Miller, in his diary, edited by Andrew Rolle (1960), includes an entry for September 1, 1865: “For five hours last evening I wrote a copy of the Montana Territorial Laws Regulating Elections, without intermission finishing at one o’clock this morning, for which I received from Col. McLane [McLean], the Democratic candidate for Congress, 7th District, $7.00 in gold dust.” [Rolle, Andrew (1960) The Road to Virginia City: The Diary of James Knox Polk Miller, pp.80].

It may be that he acquired the title of colonel while in Denver from 1859-1862 where, according to Lavelle, he was appointed attorney general for the Jefferson Territory. Zamonski and Keller (1957, p. 78) mention in conjunction with discussion on Dr. James S. Stone, judge of the Miners’ Court at Mountain City, that ” Governor Steele had appointed Stone as Adjutant General with the rank of colonel in the Provisional Government.” If Samuel McLean had been appointed Attorney General, he may have also been appointed with the rank of colonel in the Provisional Government.

Spence (1889) claims that as a member of the 39th Congress, Samuel McLean was known as Montana’s “Talking Delegate,” a hard-drinking, fun- loving, and “gay old boy.” He was reported to weigh 300 pounds. [Spence, Clark C. (1975), Territorial Politics and Government in Montana, 18641889, pp. 41-42]. Dimsdale, in Chapter 12, in discussing the settlement of Virginia City and the discovery of gold at Alder Gulch says: “Colonel McLean brought the first vehicle to the Gulch.” He doesn’t say what kind of vehicle, however. Obituary of Samuel McLean The following obituary on Samuel McLean appeared in the Helena [Montana] Weekly Herald, May 29, 1879.

“Col. Samuel McLean, our Delegate in Congress from 1864- 68, died in Nodaway [Nottoway] County, Virginia, August 16, 1878. It is a strange comment on the mutability of human affairs and a striking example of the tireless whirl and restless activity of the American People, that the First Delegate from Montana, who represented it for three years in the Congress of the United States, should have passed so utterly out of the sight of our people in four or five years, and whose death ten or eleven years later should remain unknown to our _____[illegible] for months after that event occurred.”

“Col. McLean was a native of Pennsylvania, whence he came to Colorado, and in 1862 to what is now Montana. He was widely known among the early settlers of the mountains, was engaged in various mining enterprises, and by a fortunate turn in affairs was elected in 1864 and again in 1865 to Congress. Without great mental activity, he was nevertheless a genial, kindly man with a noble impulse(?) and his death will come to the knowledge of his old friends with sincere regret. He had become the owner of a considerable tract of land about thirty miles west of Richmond, where in recent years he resided, and where his estimable wife and children now are.”

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McLEAN, MARTHA – daughter of Alexander

McLean Martha, the third child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan, married Thomas Long, Esq., also a native of the north of Ireland, and of sturdy Presbyterian stock. Her husband was for many years an extensive coal operator in Carbon county. When he retired from the coal business he bought a lot on South Franklin street, Wilkes-Barre, built a substantial house on it, and lived there a number of years. He was a director in the First National and Wilkes-Barre Savings and Deposit Banks. Afterwards, he purchased a ranch in New Mexico and moved upon it with his family. On account of failing health, he was obliged to give up ranching, and in 1906 he and his wife lived in Denver Colorado. Their son, Leslie McLean Long, an able and experienced civil engineer, for several years a student at Lafayette College, a graduate of Troy Polytechnic School, and who assisted in the construction of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, was superintendent of public works of Colorado.

Their daughter Elizabeth Long, a graduate of Lawrenceville Seminary, New Jersey, married John F. Graff, Esq., of Philadelphia, for many years connected with the Philadelphia Press, and an intimate friend of John W. Forney, Esq., one of the brainiest and most accomplished editors of his day. Mr.Graff wrote articles under the pseudonym of “Graybeard” and was also the author of a very interesting and much read book called “Lay Sermons.”

McLEAN, LESLIE – son of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan.

The fourth child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan, was educated in the schools of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, completing his education at Dana’s Academy. He was a splendid specimen of physical manhood, six feet three inches tall, straight as an arrow, with black curly hair. When quite young he went to California in search of gold, afterwards to Australia for the same purpose, and died on his return home off the coast of Chile, and was buried at sea.

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McLEAN, MARY – daughter of Alexander McLean Mary, the fifth child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan.

She was educated in Wilkes-Barre, married Thomas Wilson, Esq., also a native of Ireland, and died at an early age, the mother of two children. Thomas H. and Leslie McLean Wilson, who were active aggressive businessmen in Binghamton, NY. Thomas Wilson, the father, was for many years, the cashier at the First National Bank of Wilkes-Barre, a man of probity and intelligence.

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McLEAN, ELIZABETH – daughter of Alexander McLean Elizabeth, the sixth child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan.

She was educated in the schools of Wilkes-Barre, completed her studies at the Young Ladies Moravian Seminary at Bethlehem, married Dr. Agnew of Virginia, a very able physician, who died a few years after his marriage, caused by disease contracted and exposure endured while performing his duties as brigade and afterwards as division surgeon in the Confederate Army. Elizabeth is living in Burkeville, Virginia [where her brother Samuel McLean lived after 1870].

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McLEAN, GEORGE – son of Alexander McLean George, the seventh child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan.

He was educated in the schools of Wilkes-Barre, and finished his studies at Dana’s Academy. He went to Colorado at the age of nineteen with his brother Samuel, and was among its first pioneers. The town of Georgetown, Colorado, was named for him. At the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted as a private in the cavalry, fought in many battles, and was wounded by bullet and saber eleven times, and was finally transferred to the Invalid Corps as orderly sergeant. At the end of the war he was highly recommended by the officers under whom he served, as a fit person for appointment in the regular army, but never made application. He was appointed receiver of public moneys in Helena, Montana, by President Johnson, and preferred living the life of frontiersman until a few years before he died. His most valued possessions were his gun, rod, pipe, and a good book. He loved the woods, whose murmur and moan, he often said, were to him the sweetest music on earth. He died in Wilkes-Barre on April 1, 1891, and was buried in the family plot in Hollenback cemetery.

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McLEAN, WILLIAM SWAN son of Alexander McLean William Swan McLean, the eighth child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan.

He was born at Summit Hill, PA, May 27, 1841 [Harvey (1930), pp.538]. He attended one of the local upper-class academies, Dana’s Academy, and subsequently attended Lafayette College in Easton, PA, where WilkesBarre’s wealthy often sent their sons. He was graduated from Lafayette College with honors in 1865, and was the class valedictorian. Three years later, on completion of his master’s degree (1888), he delivered the Master’s Oration, by election of the faculty. During the Civil War, he served in the Pennsylvania Militia in 1862, rising to the rank of corporal. Upon returning to the city in 1865, he began a legal apprenticeship under B. George Nicholson, a long-time member of the upper class and prominent figure in the local bar and the Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association, and in 1867 William S. McLean was admitted to the Luzerne County Bar. [Harvey, (1930), pp.538]

Using his family’s position and these skills, William made a successful career in banking, coal and politics. These assets also paved his way for his entry into the exclusive Malt Club and the First Presbyterian Church and, in the 1890s, made him one of the founding members of the Westmoreland Club, which became one of the premier social organizations in northeast Pennsylvania. The marriage of his sister into the Ricketts family, one of the most prestigious in the city, further strengthened these institutional and social ties. Two of his younger sisters also married board members of the First National Bank, where all the male members of the McLean family had been directors or officers since its founding [Davies, 1985, pp.56 ]. He was solicitor for the city of Wilkes-Barre for twenty-four consecutive years, and was solicitor of Luzerne County for three terms.

He was the Democratic candidate for law judge of Luzerne county in 1879 and 1895 but both times defeated, first because there was a split in his party, caused by the labor reform movement, second, caused by unparalleled apathy in his party, although he led his ticket about two thousand votes. He was a member of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society [Hayden and Hand, 1906]. He was a president of the Clearing House Association and a member of the Landmark Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; the Shekinah Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and the Dieu le Veut Commandery, Knights Templar. He was a member of the Westmoreland Club and a trustee of the Presbyterian Church. [Harvey, 1930, pp.538]

He married, November 21, 1871, Miss Annie Roberts, the daughter of George H. and Margaret B. Roberts of Philadelphia. Mr. Roberts was an old-time Philadelphia wholesale merchant, who perhaps during his active business life knew every merchant doing business from Towanda to Harrisburg and living within fifteen miles of the Susquehanna river. In his day the merchant went to the large commercial centers about twice a year to do business and otherwise enjoy himself. He was, during this stay, the guest of the merchants with whom he did business. They dined him, took him to the theaters where he saw and heard the great players, and to other places of interest, and on Sundays invited him to a seat in their pews to hear the great city minister preach.

Annie S. McLean died June 7, 1906. They had children [Harvey, 1930, pp.538; Hayden and Hand, 1906]

McLean, George Roberts – a leading member of the Luzerne Co. Bar
______, Elizabeth Swan – died in childhood
______, Margaret Swan – single living with her father in 1930.
______, William Swan, Jr. – associate justice of the Eleventh Penna. Judicial District; graduate of Lafayette College; lawyer.
______, Percy Craig – was a student at Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, in 1906.

William McLean’s middle name “Swan” is taken from his mother’s maiden name, and it was apparently a common practice among the Ulster Scots to use the maternal surname as a middle name. It turns out that there were Swans in Ballyrashane Parish, Co. Londonderry. Isaac Hezlett of Liffock (1796-1883) married Jane Swan (1805-1868). They had seven children, one of whom, Esther Hezlett, married in 1851 John Leslie of Farrenlester, the Irish home of the McLeans. Esther’s sister, Sarah Jane Hezlett married around 1860, John Wilson of Pottagh [Mullin, Rev. Thomas H., (1969) Families of Ballyrashane]. These last two are buried in the Downhill cemetery next to a Hazlett plot [Gerry Mulvenna site inspection, 1993].

In the 1831 Census of Dunboe, there were three Leslie households: Harry Leslie (3 males, 4 females), Samuel Leslie (1 male, 3 females), and Nancy Leslie (2 males, 1 female). There also was a Henry Swan who lived in Bannbrook, the townland adjacent to Farrenlester with 2 males, 5 females and 3 male servants.

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McLEAN, JOHN MONTGOMERY – the ninth child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan.

He bore a strong resemblance to his brother Leslie, while a student at Dana’s Academy, enlisted as a private in the Eighty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers, in Captain Harkness’ company, which had been recruited principally at the expense of Alexander McLean and his son James, who presented to the officers their swords and sashes. He was only eighteen when he enlisted, was in the battles of Antietam, Fredricksburg and Chancellorville. Shortly after his last battle he was taken sick with camp fever and died, and his remains were embalmed, brought home and buried in the family plot in Hollenback cemetery.

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McLEAN, MARGARET A. – the tenth and youngest child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan.

She was educated in the schools of Wilkes-Barre, and completed her studies at Lawrenceville Seminary, New Jersey, standing at the head of her class. She married Joseph B. Leath, Esq., a Virginia planter. She lived in Burkeville, Virginia and had one son and several daughters, all of them in appearance and disposition, of the McLean clan.

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McLEAN, GEORGE ROBERTS – eldest son of William Swan McLean

He was the eldest son of William S. and Annie S. and was born in Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania on January 24, 1873. He was educated in the Wilkes- Barre public schools, Harvey Hillman Military Academy, Cheltenham Military Academy, Ogontz, Pennsylvania, and Lafayette College, graduated in 1895. He read law with his father, and was associated with him in the practice until his election to the comptrollership of Luzerne county in 1902. He was aide-de-campe with the rank of Captain on the staff of General Andrews, U.S.A. during the Spanish-American War; was select councilman for the tenth ward in 1898, and resigned to take his present office; was president of the board of law examiners for Luzerne county, 1899 to 1902. He was Captain of Company F, Ninth Regiment of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, and is at present captain and quartermaster of the same regiment; a member of the Society of Foreign Wars, the Zeta Psi College fraternity, the Westmoreland Club, and the Wyoming Country Club. Mr. McLean married, April 2, 1902, Mary Barber, daughter of Col. Albert P. and Helen Frances (Jenkins) Barber. Captain and Mrs. McLean had one child, William Swan McLean (3rd) [Hayden and Hand, 1906].

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McLEAN, MARTHA of Mauch Chunk and Summit Hill: sister of Alexander McLean.

Among those who attended the Summit Hill Church were Charles Wilson and his wife Martha McClean. They were married on Thursday, 13 December 1838 in Summit Hill by Jacob Wallace, Esq. [MAUCH CHUNK COURIER, Dec. 17, 1838]. She was admitted to the First Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk by a certificate of transfer from the “Presbyterian Church at Articliff.” This is no doubt Articlave, location of the First Dunboe. Her admission to the Mauch Chunk Presbyterian Church is listed on line 29, page 9(?) of the records. Just beneath her name is listed that of James McClean. Between the two names is a note: ” married son of Rev. Mr. Lyle of Dunboe.” To whom does this apply? It can’t be James McClean because it says “son.” It can’t be Martha unless Charles Wilson died and Martha remarried. There was a John Lyle in the Church, who moved to Allen Twp. in 4/23/1840 with Robert McIntyre. This James McClean may be the son of Alexander McLean and the one who became the first president of the First National Bank of Wilkes-Barre. There was a note whose source is unknown at the moment stating that Charles Wilson died at Port Richmond near Philadelphia ca. 1850. If this is the same Charles Wilson, it may be then that Martha married John Lyle.

Martha McLean was not the Martha McLean, age 20, who sailed on the Ship Bowditch with James Wilson in May of 1839 because Martha McLean and Charles Wilson were married in Summit Hill on Dec. 13, 1838 according to the MAUCH CHUNK COURIER of Dec. 17, 1838.

Charles Wilson may be Charles Wilson of Pottagh who came to America in 1833. He was listed as 25 years old at that time [O.S. Memoirs]. Other McLeans listed in the Records of the First Presby Church of Mauch Chunk as McClean are:

McClean, Alexander of Articliff (Articlave), Ireland – to Summit Hill 4/18/1839.
_______, Elizabeth wife of Alexander – to Summit Hill
_______, Sarah Jane, wife of Alex Sampson – to Summit Hill
_______, Martha wife of Charles Wilson – to Summit Hill
_______, James – to Summit Hill 4/18/1839
_______, Hugh to the 9th Presby. Ch. of Philadelphia 10/8/1841.

Hugh McLean married Elizabeth Wilson, daughter of John Wilson of Co. Derry, on October 19, 1837. Bride and groom both of Summit Hill. Mrs. McClean died in Pittsburgh in June 1838 leaving an infant a few days old. Hugh was killed at work in May 1839, so he must not be the one who transferred to the 9th Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. There was a Hugh McLean mentioned in the church records who had been blinded in an accident, and this transferee may be him.

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MEMBERS OF THE MAUCH CHUNK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WHO JOINED THE SUMMIT HILL – TAMAQUA CHURCH

Rev. James Mark, in his book The First Dunboe, 1936, discusses on pp. 23-24 the special service for emigrants held by Rev. William Lyle during his tenure. After the benediction, disjunction certificates were issued. He then says:

“It was some of these very people who organized the Presbyterian Church at Summit Hill, PA. The record of the Church tells of a Bible Class which was formed by Robert Henry, an emigrant from Dunboe, and was the foundation of the First Presbyterian Church, Summit Hill. The record is – ‘ God wrought wonders in the earliest history of Presbyterianism in Summit Hill by the faithful labors of a private citizen, who had only a Bible and a Book of Psalms.’ That citizen was Robert Henry who, with his fellow-countryman Alexander McLean and Mrs. McLean, his wife, formed that famous Bible Class in the summer of 1835. That Class grew in numbers and influence, and memorialized the Presbytery at Newton to form a Church at Summit Hill, which was done in 1839. The record of the Congregation reads: ‘ At Summit Hill there is and has been for the last twelve years and more, a congregation consisting of 50 to 70 men of the age of twenty- one, natives of Ireland, and brought up nearly all of them under the ministry of the Rev. William Lyle of Dunboe.”

No doubt the Alexander McClain listed above is Alexander McLean of Farrenlester. Elsewhere in the records of the First Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk, his name is given as McClean rather than McClain. The McLeans aboard the Ship Bowditch that brought James Wilson of Articlave to New York in 1839, spelled their name the same as those at Dunboe.

Mark also gives in his book on pp.26, the various districts within the parish that were assigned to members of the session in 1842. Upper Ballywildrick was assigned to Leslie McLean and Pottagh, the town from which Charles Wilson emigrated, was assigned to S. M. Greer [Samuel McCurdy Greer?]. It is possible that Leslie McLean had been assigned Ballywildrick Upper in 1839 when James Wilson sailed on the ship Bowditch with the McLeans. If so, Leslie McLean may have been influential in having James Wilson sail with the McLeans, and may have influenced his decision to settle at Mauch Chunk. On pp.27, Mark indicates that Leslie McLean was a member of the Church Committee in 1838. In 1848, John Wilson was a member, and he later was listed as church treasurer in 1854.

The Summit Hill-Tamaqua Presbyterian Church was formed May 8, 1839. On that date the following persons were dismissed from the Mauch Chunk Church and instated in the Summit Hill-Tamaqua Church [records of Rev. Richard Webster, minister, Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk].

BILLINGHAM, John
BREWSTER, Alexander
BROWN, Joseph
CRAIG, Margaret wife of James
HARKIN, Andrew and wife Margaret
HENRY, Matthew
HYNDMAN, Rebekah wife of Samuel
KNOX, James
KNOX, William
McCLAIN, Alexander and wife Elizabeth
McCLEAN, James
MORRISON, Matthew
NICHOL, John and wife Sarah
SAMPSON, Sarah Jane, wife of Alexander
TAIT, John and wife Jane
WINTERSTEIN, Mary wife of John JOHNSON

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MCLEANS ABOARD THE SHIP BOWDITCH in 1839

On May 27, 1839, the ship Bowditch (of Boston) landed at New York bringing James Wilson of Articlave to America. He was 18 years old at the time, and traveled without any other Wilsons aboard. However, there was a large contingent of McLeans aboard, and it may be that James Wilson traveled with them. It is known that James Wilson made his way to Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania in Carbon County, where Alexander McLean had been successful in the emerging anthracite coal mining business. Below is a listing of the McLeans aboard the ship.

McLeans aboard the ship Bowditch, Liverpool-New York, May 27, 1839

year of birth

McLean, Alexander, age 50…………………. 1789
______, Elizabeth, age 50, his wife………… 1789
______, Robert, age 30……………………. 1809
______, Mary Jane, age 24…………………. 1815
______, Martha, age 20……………………. 1819
______, Elizabeth, age 18…………………. 1821
______, James, age 60…………………….. 1769
______, Martha, age 55……………………. 1774
______, Alexander, age 8 mos………………. 1838
______, Nancy, age 14…………………….. 1825

The James McLean here may be the father of Alexander McLean of Summit Hill and Wilkes-Barre. It is known that his father was named James McLean, and was a son of Gilbert McLean of Dunboe. [HISTORY OF LUZERNE CO., by H.C. Bradsby; in bio of William Swan McLean, pp. 1143]. It may be that the Martha McLean, age 55, listed with James McLean is the mother of Alexander McLean.

The Alexander McLean, age 50, listed here may be an uncle of Alexander McLean of Summit Hill and Wilkes-Barre, and Elizabeth McLean, also age 50, may be an aunt.

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NOTES FROM THE 1831 CENSUS OF IRELAND, DUNBOE PARISH

In the 1831 Census of Dunboe, the following McClean Families appear:

McClean, James of Farrenlester, Dunboe Parish:
1 family, 2 males, 5 females, 1 male servant, all Presbyterian

McClean, Mary of Farrenlester, Dunboe Parish:
1 family, 0 males, 1 female, 0 servants, all Presbyterian

McClean, Thomas of Ballany, Dunboe Parish:
1 family, 3 males, 4 females, 0 servants, all Presbyterian

McClean, Thompson of Mullinhead, Dunboe Parish:
1 family, 3 males, 2 females, no servants, all Presbyterian

It may be that Alexander McLean, having been born in Farrenlester, is from one of these families. These townlands are adjoining, with Mullinhead lying between Farrenlester on the north and Ballany on the south. Slightly northwest and separated from Farrenlester by the townland of Bann Brook Lower is Grange More, where the home of Cochrane Wilson is found in 1831. Adjacent to and southwest of Grange More is the townland of Pottagh, where John Wilson and Hodson Wilson lived in 1831. We note that Charles Wilson who emigrated in 1833 to Philadelphia, also was from Pottagh. We suspect that this is the Charles Wilson who married Martha McLean and moved to Summit Hill with Alexander McLean in May of 1839. Slightly to the southwest of Pottagh, separated by the townland of Ardina is Articlave Lower where Samuel Wilson is found in 1831. Directly south of Pottagh is the townland of Blakes Lower where Solomon Giffin is found. Hannah Giffin was an aunt of John A. Wilson’s children. See Thompson McLane below.

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NOTES FROM THE 1840 CENSUS OF EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA
McCLEAN, ALEXANDER of Easton, PA

He is listed in the 1840 census of Easton, PA on page 212. The head count by age group is shown as

MALES
age group:number 0-5 :1, 5-10:1, 10-15:2, 15-20:1, 20-30:8, 30-40:1, 60-70:1, total:15

FEMALES
age group:number 0-5: 1, 5-10:1, 10-15:1, 15-20:3, 20-30:0, 30-40:1, 60-70:1, total:8

Of these, 4 were involved in mining, 1 in agriculture, 4 in manufacturing or trade. This may be the Alexander McLean of the Bowditch who was 50 years old in 1839. Also on the Bowditch was James McLean, 60 years old.

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McCLANE, THOMPSON

He is listed in the 1840 census of Easton, PA, page 212 with the following:

males age 0-5:2, 5-10:1, 20-30:2, 30-40:2
females age 0-4:0, 5-10:1, 20-30:1

Of these 9 people, 4 were listed as involved in mining. He may be the Thompson McLane of 1850 Lehighton and Thompson McLean of Mullinhead. He may be listed in the records of the First Presby Ch. of Easton.

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McLANE, THOMPSON

He is listed in the 1850 census of Lehighton, Carbon Co., PA. He may be the Thompson McClane of 1840 Easton and Thompson McLean of Mullinhead. He may be listed in the records of the First Presby Ch. of Easton.

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McLANE, CPL THOMAS

He was a member of Company I, 46th Penna. Vols. This company was recruited in Luzerne Co., PA. [Bates (1869), pp.1144-1145] it is unknown if he is connected with the McLeans of Summit Hill/Wilkes-Barre.

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McLAIN, PVT JAMES A.

He was a member of Company I, 46th Penna. Vols. This company was recruited in Luzerne Co., PA. [Bates (1869), pp.1144-1145] It is unknown if he is connected with the McLeans of Summit Hill/Wilkes-Barre.

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WILSON, JANE GRAY – wife of Samuel McLean

Jane Wilson is listed in the church records as a daughter of Alexander Wilson and Margaret McElroy of Easton who had a large family and who were long time members of the First Presbyterian Church of Easton. She was baptized on 27 November 1825, presumably by Rev. John Gray, pastor of the church. It is likely that this is Jane Gray Wilson. It is unknown whether or not there is a family connection between the Wilsons and Rev. Gray, and Jane may have been given that middle name out of respect rather than family ties. However, it is worth noting that Rev. Gray’s wife was named Jane Gray, and it seems likely that Jane Gray Wilson was named for her.

Alexander Wilson was the brother of James and John Wilson of Easton, also members of the first Presbyterian Church there. James mentions both Alexander and John in his will [Will# 5534, Northampton Co, PA. Signed 2 April 1839] James is likely the James Wilson who for many years was an elder of the church. Alexander Wilson had in addition to Jane Wilson, daughters Mary, Sarah, Margaret, Ann, Martha and Harriet McKeen Wilson. Alexander’s brother, James Wilson, married Elizabeth McKeen and had children Mary Cathcart Wilson, Elizabeth McKeen Wilson, William Thomas Wilson and Anna Wilson [James Wilson’s will #5534, Northampton Co., PA]. The McKeen name was prominent in Easton through the name of Col. Thomas McKeen who served in the American Revolutionary War and was influential in the community following the War.

Rev. John Gray became pastor of the 1st Presby Church of Easton upon the death of Rev. David Bishop 19 May 1822. Rev. Gray remained at his post for 44 years, 7 months. She may also have been related to Rev. Thomas McKeen Gray who became pastor of the BridgeHampton Church. She may also have been related to Alexander Gray who was a director and later president of the First National Bank of WilkesBarre, founded by Alexander McLean, Samuel’s father.

Alexander Gray, second president of the First National Bank of Wilkes-Barre, may be connected with Rev. John Gray pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Easton 1822-1866, and of long time elder of the Church, James Wilson of Easton [Records of the First Presbyterian Church of Easton, PA]. She may also have been related to Rev. Thomas McKeen Gray, pastor of the Bridge-Hampton Church. Rev. Gray was also on the Board of Directors of the Thomas Iron Company, Hockendauqua, Lehigh Co., PA, and his picture appears in the official history of the company published in 1904.

Following the death of her husband Samuel McLean in 1877, Jane Gray Wilson married someone named Riley, according to the obituary for her sister Sarah (Sallie) who married Rev. John Fraser, pastor of the Chanceford Presbyterian Church, Lower Chanceford, York Co., PA. Rev. Farquhar was a graduate of Lafayette College (1841) and Princeton Theological Seminary (1846). He died in 1866 at the age of 41, after which Sarah moved back to Easton with her five children. At the age of 84, Sallie Wilson Farquhar died in Easton. An obituary for her reads:

“After an illness of a week, Mrs. Sarah Wilson Farquhar, widow of Rev. John Farquhar, died at 10:15 o’clock Wednesday evening, October 17, [1907] at her residence, No. South Eleventh St., Easton, Pa., in the 84th year of her age. Death was due to pneumonia.”

“Mrs. Farquhar was a native of Easton, and a daughter of Alexander and Margaret Wilson, deceased. She was born on July 24, 1823, and with the exception of twenty years spent at Lower Chanceford, York County, Pa., where Rev. Mr. Faruqhar was pastor of the Chanceford Presbyterian church, her whole life was passed in Easton, Pa. Rev. Mr. Farquhar was a graduate from Lafayette College in 1841, and subsequently from Princeton Theological Seminary. He was once moderator of the Philadelphia Synod. He died on September 18, 1866. He found a most valuable helpmate in his wife, whose exalted Christian character was of inestimable assistance in his work. This characteristic of Mrs. Farquhar made her life one of great benefit in the community, for while she was most retiring the atmosphere she shed about her home and in the circle of her firends produced an influence for good selodm vouchsafed to others, even those not often in her company feeling the benificient effect.”

“Mrs. Farquhar is survived by five children – Thomas M., of Bethlehem; Mrs. Harriet F. Norton and Miss Margaret C. Farquhar, of Easton; Joseph A. Farquhar, of Kansas City, Mo., and John W. Farquhar, of New York, city. Three sisters also survive her – Mrs. Jennie Riley, of Burkeville, Va.; Mrs. Jacob Hay and Mrs. William R. Wilson, of Easton. She was a member of the Brainerd Union Presbyterian church.” [Source: Karen A. Smith of Wilmington, DE, “The Farquhar Family”]

The Mrs. Jenny Riley mentioned, is Jane Gray Wilson, the wife of Samuel McLean.

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WILSON, THOMAS ESQ of Wilkes-Barre

Thomas Wilson was cashier of the First National Bank of Wilkes-Barre at the time James McLean was president ca. 1860-1864, and he continued in that position for many years [Harvey, (1930) History of Wilkes-Barre, vol.5, pp. 49]. He married Mary McLean, the fifth child of Alexander McLean and Elizabeth Swan. He was a native of Ireland. They had two children: Thomas H. and Leslie McLean Wilson, who were active aggressive businessmen in Binghamton, NY. Possibly he is connected with Charles Wilson who married Martha McLean, sister of Alexander McLean.

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WILSON, CHARLES of Pottagh and Summit Hill

Charles Wilson is listed as husband of Martha McLean in the records of Rev. Richard Webster, minister of the Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk, and she is listed at the sister of Alexander McLean. Charles and Martha Wilson were among those who transferred from the Mauch Chunk Presbyterian Church to the one at Summit Hill on April 18, 1839.

Charles Wilson and Martha McLean were married 13 December 1838 by Jacob Wallace, Esq. The announcement appeared in the MAUCH CHUNK COURIER of 17 December 1838.

A Charles Wilson of the townland of Pottagh, Dunboe Parish, Co. Londonderry, is listed in the O.S. Memoirs as having emigrated in 1833 or 1834 to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It may be that Charles Wilson of Pottagh is also the Charles Wilson who married Martha McLean. The records of the church mention that Charles Wilson died at Port Richmond “near Philadelphia” around 1857.

The MAUCH CHUNK COURIER of Dec. 17, 1838 mentions the marriage of Charles Wilson and Martha McLane (sic) that had taken place in Summit Hill on Dec. 13, 1838. Jacob Wallace, Esq., conducted the ceremony. Both bride and groom were listed as being from Summit Hill. Note that the 1838 marriage precludes the possibility that this Martha was the 20 year old Martha McLean that arrived on the ship Bowditch, May 27, 1839.

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REFERENCES

Bradsby, H. C.(Henry C.)(ed.)(1893) Biographical Sketch of William Swan McLean, pp. 1143 in HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SELECTIONS Chicago: S. B. Nelson.

Davies, Edward J.(1985). The Anthracite Aristocracy: Leadership and Social Change in the Hard Coal Regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, 1800-1930. DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois Univ. Press, pp.56.

Dimsdale, Vigilantes of Montana, pp.59, 63. Harvey, Oscar Jewell and Smith, Ernest Gray (1930). A History of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Vol vi.

Hayden, Rev. Horace Edward, M.A. and Hand, Hon. Alfred, M.A., (1906). Genealogical and Family History of the Wyoming and Lacakawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I. Lewis Publishing Company.

Hayes-McCoy, G. A. (1969) Irish Battles: a Military History of Ireland, Belfast: Appletree Press.

Hayes-McCoy, G. A. (1937) Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland.

Helena Montana Herald, obituaries, May 29, 1879.

Johnson, F. C. M.D. (ed.) Bethlehem Times, in THE HISTORICAL RECORD, pp.15, Vol. 1, Sept. 1886 to Aug. 1887.

Mark, Rev. James, B.A. (1936). The First Dunboe: an Historical Sketch. Coleraine: Chronicle Office, Abbey Street.

Marshall, Thomas Maitland (1920) EARLY RECORDS OF GILPIN CO. COLORADO 1859-1861 University of Colorado Historical Collections Vol. 2, Mining Series, Vol.1 Willard, James F. (series ed.). Boulder: University of Colorado.

McCaughan, Alison A. (1988). Heath, Hearth And Heart: The Story Of Dunboe and the Meetinghouse At Articlave. Castle Rock, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland: Dunceithern Publishing.

Rolle, Andrew (1960). The Road to Virginia City: The Diary of James Knox Polk Miller, pp.80. Norman, Oklahoma: The University of Oklahoma Press.

Spence, Clark C. (1975), Territorial Politics and Government in Montana, 1864-1889. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Stout, Tom (ed.)(1921), Montana Its Story and Biography. 3 vols., Chicago: Vol I pp. 207, 218-19, 281-82, 286;

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