The McClure Family/McClures in Massachusetts
McCLURES IN MASSACHUSETTS.
Two sons of John McClure, of near Londonderry, Ireland, probably the John McClure, Ruling Elder in the Congregation of Burt, 1700, came to Boston in 1729.
A. David McClure removed to Brookfield, where he left a numerous posterity. Among them—
I. David McClure, Jr., (1735-1813). Surgeon in the Revolutionary War. He m. Lucy Kibbe. Two sons:
- 1. Dr. David McClure, Jr., physician, Stafford, New York.
- 2. Samuel McClure, m. Nancy Caroline Calhoun. Three children:
- (1). Augusta, m. George W. Archer.
- (2). Mary, m. Henry C. White.
- (3). Wm. H., m. Olive Merrill, dau. Olive C. McClure, b. Cedar Falls, Iowa, and m. Frederick Markley.
B. Samuel McClure, the other son, remained in Boston, and was the first Elder of the First Presbyterian church of Scotland in Boston, elected July 14, 1730. His children were: Jane, m. Rob't Fullerton; David, drowned at sea; Anna, m. Matthew Stewart; Samuel, m. Martha McClure; Margaret, m. Thomas Stinson; John, m. Aug. 5, 1740, Rachel, d. of William McClintock, of Londonderry, who came with the McClures to America. McClintock, with his parents, suffered the horrors of the siege of Londonderry.
John McClure d. Aug. 30, 1769.
Five children:
1. William, b. Sept. 3, 1741, m. first, Martha Weir; second, Tammy Burns, both of Boston. Was Lieut. of a Privateer, Boston, Revolutionary War. Captured and died at sea 1783, returning from England.
2. Samuel, b. July 6, 1743. Captain, Revolutionary War; commanded a company of militia at Ticonderoga 1777. Died July, 1815, at Concord, N. H. Married, first, 
REV. DAVID McCLURE, D. D.,
1718-1820.
3. John, b. March 3, 1745. Major, Revolutionary War, Ga. regiment, died, Boston, May 18, 1785. He m. first, a Davis, of Savannah, Ga. Second, Sarah Davis, dau. of Jas. Davis, of New Bern, N. C. He is mentioned in the New Bern records 1782. One son,
- (1). James Davis McClure, mar. a Smith, of Cape Cod, Mass. He died at sea, 1808. Two sons,
- a. Jesse McClure.
- b. James Henry McClure, b. in the first house built in Washington, N. C., June 4, 1808. He married Louise Ellis, of near Greenville, Pitt County, N. C. He died Nov., 1902. A highly respected citizen. Ten children, viz: Mary Lurana, Emma Felicia, Oliver Hunter, Susan Matilda, Louisa, George Ellis and John Frederick Latham. Three others, a daughter and two sons, died infants.
John Frederick Latham McClure was born July 8, 1855, m, Anna Katherine Habourn, of Washington, N. C., Jan. 29, 1890. They live in Washington, N. C.; members of the Presbyterian church. One child living, James Henry McClure. A second son, Charles Tilghman, d. i.
4. Rachel, b. Dec. 10, 1746, m. Capt. H. Hunter, a merchant in Boston. Died December, 1813.
5. Rev. David McClure, D. D., b. at Newport, R. I., Nov. 18, 1748, graduated at Yale College in 1769. Before graduating he formed a purpose to become a missionary to the Indians. The following letter from his mother and father bears on this early purpose:
Dear and Loving Son—You have greatly rejoiced all our hearts in expressing your zeal and resolution for the glory of God in the service of His Son, Jesus Christ, to carry His gospel among the aboriginal natives. It is the most honorable employment in the world. O, my son, I have given you up to God, soul and body. Many prayers I have put up to heaven for you. I hope God is answering them now. O, my son, go on in the strength of the Lord and in the power of His might. You may expect onsets from Satan, the World and the Flesh, but the more you find yourself assaulted by them be still more earnest at the Thorne of Grace. The Lord's promise stands sure, "They that seek Me early shall find Me." Give not way to discouragements. Your loving father and mother,
After four years spent among the Indians, he was compelled to abandon the mission on account of the Revolutionary War. He returned to New Hampshire, was installed pastor at New Hampton church 1776, and at East Windsor, Conn., 1786, where he died June 25, 1820. He wrote several books, among them a history of East Windsor. He is described as "a small man, well formed and with very attractive manners—a man of culture and scholarship." He was a trustee of Dartmouth College, from which he received his D. D. in 1800.
He m. first, 1780, Hannah, youngest d. of Rev. Benj. Pomeroy, D. D., of Hebron County, and secondly, Mrs. Elizabeth Martin, of Providence, R. I. His children were:
- (1). Abigail Wheelock, bap. Sept, 10, 1786; m. Dec., 1801, Oliver Tudor, of East Windsor. Five children.
- (2). Rachel McClintock, b. Oct. 29, 1783; m. Nov. 27, 1806, Elihu Wolcott, of East Windsor.
- (3). Mary Ann; died July 12, 1789.
- (4). Susannah Willys, bap. Nov. 16, 1788; d. s. aged about 35.
- (5). Hannah Pomeroy, bap. Aug. 28, 1791, died Aug. 25, 1804.
The Diary of Dr. David McClure, an exceedingly interesting book and containing an outline history of his family, was published 1899 by John P. and William R. Peters, of New York.
6. James, b. Feb. 25, 1750. Mar. Eliz. Randlet, of Exeter, N. H. Capt. and owner of a merchant ship. Died in Dublin, Ireland, March, 1791.
7. Daniel, b. March 13, 1753. Died in Savannah, Ga., Sept. 15. 1775.
8. Thomas, b. Nov. 21, 1754; m. first, Nancy Hunter, Bristol, Me. Second, Mary Wilson, of Boston. He, like his father and grandfather, was an Elder in the Federal Street, the first Presbyterian church of Boston. He left the church when it became Unitarian under Dr. Channing. Two greatgrand-sons now live in New York City, viz: Wm. E. Peters, a distinguished lawyer, and Rev. John P. Peters, rector St. Michael Protestant Episcopal church.
9. Jane, b. July 27, 1757. Married James Randlet, of Exeter. Died about 1805.
10. Nancy, b. Aug. 5, 1759. Died in Boston.
11. Joseph, b. Sept. 3, 1761. Farmer, married and lived in Bedford, Maine.
12. Benjamin, twin, b. Sept. 3, 1761. Sea captain. Died at Exeter Feb. 18, 1787.
13. Ruth, Dec. 26, 1763—Oct., 1765.
Doubtless belonging to this family was Rev. Alexander Wilson McClure, D. D., b. Boston May 8, 1808; educated at Yale and Amherst Colleges and Andover Theological Seminary, class 1830. Pastor and Editor, died Sept. 20, 1855. "Dr. McClure was truly a learned scholar, a genuine wit, keen dialectician and a practical controversialist. Ardent and honest as the sunlight, abounding in good feeling and simple in manners as a child, he was a man of positive convictions, fearless of consequences in the advocacy of truth and in assailing popular error. Yet with all his exuberant mirth and knowledge of the world. Dr. McClure was pre-eminently a devout and humble Christian minister."—Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. II, p. 7.
Another living member of this family, is Arthur G. McClure, of New York City.