John M. McClure
John M. McClure was born about 1826, in Clinton County, Illinois. Census records give his place of birth as Kentucky, but we found his family in Clinton County from 1825 through 1836/37. John was the son of Stephen McClure and Sarah Smith.
John appears on the 1830 Clinton County, Illinois, census as a male under the age of five years. He was about ten when his family moved to Arkansas in 1836/37.
John appears on the 1840 Conway County, Arkansas, census in Hardin Township, living in the Greenbrier area. He is listed as a male between the age of 10 and 15.
Conway County tax records show that John paid a poll tax in Conway County in 1847, probably when he turned 21 and was old enough to vote. We found record of John paying a poll tax again in 1852 in Conway County.
In 1849, John's father purchased land in Benton Township of Conway County, near Quitman, and moved his family there from the Greenbrier area where they had lived for several years.
The 1850 Conway County census, Benton Township, Quitman Post Office, shows John, age 25, single, living at home with his parents. The census lists his place of birth as Kentucky.
John may have married about 1851/52, possibly in Van Buren County, Arkansas, although we have found no record of that marriage. (We base this on the 1860 census that shows a son born about 1853. This may have been a step-son.)
Conway County tax records show that John paid taxes on a horse in 1855. In 1857, John purchased 160 acres of land in Van Buren County. (That area is now in Cleburne County, which was formed from part of Van Buren County in 1883.) John also paid a poll tax that year in Van Buren County. We only found record of John paying taxes on his land in 1857 and 1858.
By 1859, John had returned to Conway County. He paid a poll tax in Conway County in 1859. If John was married his wife may have died around 1858/59. That could be the reason John returned to Conway County.
John married Larrinora Russell on October 13, 1859, in Conway County. The marriage is recorded in Conway County Marriage Book 1, page 201. Larrinora Russell was born about 1836, in Tennessee, according to census records.
Conway County deed records show that John purchased 200 acres of land in 1859. Deed Book I, page 124, shows that 80 acres of that land was purchased from William M. Poe on December 29, 1859. Page 131 of the same book shows the sale of 40 acres of that land to James Carroll on April 17, 1860. (The property John bought is located about 4 or 5 miles from present day Woolly Hollow State Park in Faulkner County, Arkansas.) John paid taxes in 1860 on 200 acres of land in Conway County.
John appears on the 1860 Conway County census, in Benton Township. He is listed as 36, a farmer, born in Tennessee. (You will remember that on the 1850 census, John was listed as being born in Kentucky.) Listed with John on the 1860 census is his wife, Larrinora, age 24; a son whose name we could not read, age 7, born in Tennessee and a daughter, Salina C., age 3, born in Missouri. It is possible that the two children that appear on the 1860 census with John and Larrinora were her children from a prior marriage and they were using their step-father's name. The census indicates John's real estate property was valued at $300 and his personal property at $50.
Records show John paid taxes on 160 acres of land in Conway County in 1861.
On March 5, 1862, John enlisted in the Confederate 31st Arkansas Infantry, Co. G, in Conway County for a period of one year. The enlistment papers show his age at that time to be 43 years, born in Kentucky, and a farmer. Military papers show he carried the rank of a Sgt. 5 from March 5, 1862 through December 31, 1862. Apparently he was demoted for some reason at that time because other papers show he carried the rank of a Sgt. 4 from January 1, 1863 through February 28, 1863. John reenlisted in March of 1863, by which time he was demoted down to a private. At some time during his enlistment, John was moved from Co. G to Co. A of the 31st Arkansas Regiment. John's unit was engaged in heavy fighting in Tennessee. A muster card dated April 4, 1863, Shelbyville, Tennessee, shows John as being sick. (Sources tell us that disease killed at least two soldiers for every one that was killed in combat during the Civil War.) Records show that John died in service on April 20, 1863, at or near Shelbyville, Tennessee. We believe he is buried near Shelbyville.
John's military card states that his eyes were blue; his hair dark; his complexion was fair; his height was 5' 10"; he was born in Kentucky; and his occupation was a farmer.
We do not know what became of John's family after his death. We did not locate them again after the 1860 census and we found no record indicating that Larrinora ever filed for John's pension.
Possible Children of John M. McClure
1. (first name unknown) W. McClure, a son, b. about 1853, TN
2. Salina C. McClure, b. about 1856, MO