Our McClure family originated in Scotland and was of Scottish or Scots-Irish descent.
The ancient people of Scotland were of Celtic descent. They were given the name Pict by the Romans because of their custom of painting their skin. The fierce Pictish tribes fought the Romans for many years. Because Scotland and England shared an island, the Romans built a long wall on the English-Scottish border to control the Picts and keep them out of England. In the 500's a tribe of Celts, called the Scots from northern Ireland, settled in Scotland and eventually converted the fierce Picts to Christianity.
The Scottish Clans began around the year 1000. They grew out of a similar system formed in Celtic Ireland, from whence the Scots originated. The Clan system was an effective way of government in the Scottish Highlands. These clans were organized under the rule of a chief. The chief was head of the whole family or clan in Scotland. Chieftains were heads of branches of the family name. Each Clan had its own tartan, and members of each Clan were recognized by the tartan they wore.
In the late 1200's Scotland was again invaded by the English. The Scots suffered terrible oppression and brutality at the hands of the English. This gave rise to such famous leaders as William Wallace and Robert Bruce. Wars continued with England into the 1500's. When James V of Scotland died in 1542, his one week old daughter, Mary, was proclaimed Queen of Scotland. She was sent to France to be educated and did not return to Scotland until 1561.
Before 1560, the Roman Catholic Church was the official church of Scotland. Many Scottish leaders resented the power of the church and in the late 1550's drove out many Catholic officials and soldiers. When Mary Queen of Scots returned to Scotland in 1561, Scotland was in the process of establishing a Protestant Church. In 1567, Mary was forced to give up the throne, in part because she was Catholic. She escaped to England in 1568, but was captured and imprisoned. She was executed in 1587.
Mary Queen of Scots' infant son, James VI, was made King of Scotland in 1567. He was reared as a Protestant, and the Presbyterian Church became firmly established in Scotland. James inherited the English throne and ruled both England and Scotland as James I of England.
In the 1600's, Scotland and the border lands between England and Scotland were lawless lands filled with poor farmers constantly waging war with each other and engaging in clan fighting. The soil was poor and the working conditions were primitive. The people knew little about ways to improve their land and make their crops more productive. Scotland contained two distinct groups, the Highlanders, or Celtic stock, more racially akin to the Irish, and the Lowlanders and Borderers who were more racially akin to the British. To promote British influence in Ireland, King James, of Scotland, sent many Lowlander Scots to northern Ireland in the early 1600's, to form colonies. They became known as the Scots-Irish.
Surnames were not common until about the 1200's. Nobles first adopted the use of surnames to set them apart from the common people. Soon the common people also began using surnames. Surnames were selected in several ways in Scotland. Sometimes, as in our case, the surname was taken from the name of the landlord or clan. It did not necessarily denote kinship. The word mac (mc) meant son of.
Leod was the younger son of Olaf the Black. Olaf died around 1237, and Leod inherited the Islands of Lewis and Harris, with part of the Isle of Skye. The Clan MacLeod consisted of two main branches, the MacLeods of Lewis and the MacLeods of Harris.
Sources show the Clan MacClure (McClure) was a Sept of the Clan MacLeod of Harris, and entitled to clan rights including the use of the clan tartan. A sept was a family directly affiliated with another family. Another source indicates that part of the MacLeod's fled to Ireland in the 1500 and 1600's and changed the pronunciation of their surname from MacLeod to MacClure. According to Scots Kith and Kin, Clan MacClure was in Galway, Ireland, in the 16th Century. Many members of the MacClure clan returned to Scotland.
Records indicate that some members of the MacClure (McClure) family immigrated to America around 1700. These immigrants settled primarily in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the Piedmont Country of North Carolina, and along the eastern seaboard.
Our great-great grandfather, Stephen McClure, was born about 1798, in Kentucky, according to census records. We believe he had a brother named Valentine McClure who settled in Kentucky with his family in the mid 1800's.
Stephen migrated to Illinois prior to 1825. He married (first) our great-great grandmother, Sarah Smith, on April 6, 1825, in Clinton County. The marriage was performed by John Abbott, J.P. Sarah "Sally" Smith was born about 1800, in Kentucky, according to census records. We believe she was the daughter of John Smith, who was born between 1770 and 1780.
Stephen appears on the 1825 Clinton County, Illinois, census. Stephen is listed as residing in Gumridge Precinct. Also listed as residing in Gumridge Precinct is a Benjamin Smith, who may have been related to Sarah. Stephen is the only McClure we found listed in Clinton County on the 1825 census.
Stephen's family appears on the 1830 Clinton County census. The census shows one male age 20-30 (Stephen); one male age 10-15 (unidentified); 2 males under 5 years (John and Robert); one female age 20-30 (Sarah); one female 10-15 (unidentified); and 1 female under 5 years (Rachael). Also listed on the 1830 Clinton County census is John Smith, who we believe to be Sarah's father, William Smith, age 20-30 years, and Benjamin Smith. The two unidentified individuals living with Stephen and Sarah are probably siblings, or other family members.
About 1836/37, Stephen moved his family from Illinois to Arkansas. Stephen stopped in Searcy County, Arkansas, where he appears on the 1839 tax books. He is shown as owing taxes for 1838. The family moved to Conway County, Arkansas, between 1839 and early 1840. Stephen was a farmer.
Stephen's family appears on the 1840 Conway County census, living in Hardin Township, near Greenbrier. The census shows one male age 30-40 (Stephen); one male 10-15 (John); 2 males 5-10 (Robert and William); one male under 5 (Valentine); one female 30-40 (Sarah); 2 females 5-10 (Rachael and unknown); and 2 females under 5 (Melissa and Matilda).
Stephen's neighbors in Hardin Township included John McInturf; Henry, James and William Newell; Edward and D. B. Cargile; Berry Saunders; W. H. Lay; William Plant; and David McElmurry.
During the 1840's, Stephen owned no real estate property. He did, however pay taxes in Conway County on personal property during the years 1841 through 1849. That property included several head of cattle and horses. In 1849, Stephen purchased 160 acres of land in Benton Township of Conway County.
The family appears on the 1850 Conway County census in Benton Township, Quitman Post Office. Six sons and four daughters are listed.
On January 4, 1854, Stephen and Sarah sold 33 acres of land to Charles Plant. About the same time, they purchased additional land. Conway County tax records show that Stephen paid taxes on 320 acres of land in 1855. Records indicate that Stephen raised and sold cotton as a money crop.
Sarah died in 1855, or early 1856. She was only about 55 years old. Sarah was the mother of at least eleven children; ten of whom lived to adulthood.
Stephen married (second) Mary Allen on September 4, 1856, in Conway County. The marriage is recorded in Conway County Marriage Book 1, page 115. Nenion Elijah Cargile, J.P., who by that time was an in-law to Stephen, performed the marriage. We have no information on Mary Allen. It appears she either died or they divorced about 1857/58.
Stephen married (third) Mrs. Louisa (Chandler) Goff about 1857/58. Louisa "Eliza" Chandler was born about 1818, in Kentucky. She was one of at least four children born to Zachariah Chandler and Elizabeth Kelly. Louisa was the widow of Jesse Goff, who lived in Van Buren County, Arkansas. Jesse Goff was born about 1815, in Kentucky, and died about 1855, in Van Buren County, leaving a wife and at least 6 children.
In 1857, Stephen purchased 40 more acres of land adjacent to his other property in Conway County. This brought the total land he owned to 360 acres.
On October 14, 1859, Stephen applied for guardianship of the five youngest Goff children: Jesse M. Goff, Wilson Z. Goff, Nancy Goff, Elizabeth Goff and Emily Perline Goff. Guardianship was granted by the court. In the October term of the Van Buren County Probate Court, two older children of Jesse Goff filed their petition to be reinstated as executors of their fathers estate.
In 1861, when the call went out from President Lincoln for troops, Arkansas was quick to rally in support of the Confederacy. At least four of Stephen's six sons served in the Confederacy. We believe, however, that all six of them may have served. Two of them died in the war; two others were held as POW's.
In 1873, Conway County was divided, and Faulkner County was formed from a portion of Conway County. Benton Township, where Stephen lived for so many years, became part of the newly formed Faulkner County.
Stephen died in May or June 1873. Van Buren County Administration Book C shows that on July 28, 1873, James H. Frasier posted a bond of administration and was appointed administrator of Stephen's estate by the Court. In 1875, James Frasier returned to the Van Buren County Court asking that his bond be canceled.
Children of Stephen McClure and Sarah Smith
1. John M. McClure, b. 1826, Clinton Co, IL
2. Robert S. McClure, b. 1828/29, Clinton Co, IL
3. Rachael McClure, b. 1830, Clinton Co, IL
4. William Holliway S. McClure, b. 1832, Clinton Co, IL (our line)
5. Daughter McClure, b. about 1834, Clinton Co, IL; probably d. 1841-1849, Conway Co, AR
6. Valentine McClure, b. 1837, AR
7. Melissa McClure, b. 1837, AR
8. Matilda McClure, b. 1839, AR
9. Sarah McClure, b. 1841, Conway Co, AR
10. Stephen McClure, Jr., b. 1842, Conway Co, AR
11. James Orsen B. McClure, b. 1844, Conway Co, AR
Child of Stephen McClure and Louisa Chandler Goff
12. Alma McClure, b. 1857/58, Conway Co, AR
I am not a professional genealogist and although I have researched much of the information found at this site, some of it was given to me by other researchers and may not have been documented. Each bit of information found here should be carefully researched and proved or disproved by you, the researcher. Researchers may copy information found at this site for their own personal use and to share with other researchers or genealogical organizations. Any commercial use or distribution without the written consent of this author is prohibited.
If you would like to be listed as a McClure researcher, or if you find errors or have additional information to contribute, please contact roykat@cyberback.com
Others researching the McClure line:
Virginia
Rose (descendant of Rachel -- researching McClure, Moore,
Bradford, and Ramsey)
Jane
Hall Barfield (researching SC line)
Linda
Earls-Pereira (descendant of Martha Jane McClure, b. 1852, AR,
and Richard Lee Smith)