Ancestors of My Maternal Great Grandmother Catherine McClenahan Our McClenachan Family-Scots-Irish From Scotland, to Ireland, to America Presented by Jeannine Schenewerk
MCCLENACHAN Arrival in America ABT: 1740
We begin in Ayrshire, Scotland,
with ( GRx6 Grandpa)John McClenachan.
Born in Ayrshire Scotland 16??. John married Agnes McChubit.
Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland
This couple moved into Antrium, Ireland, part
of the colonization effort, by England.
While in Ireland, they are recorded
as having four children:
Robert SR McClenachan
b. abt. 1698
Elijah McClenachan b. ?
Blair McClenachan b. ?
David McClenachan b. ?
The family left Ireland and sailed
to the Colonies of the New World, sometime around 1740, father and sons settling in Philadelphia and Virginia. Patriarch John McClenachan
is listed as owning a plantation at Spring Hill, Fauquier County, Virginia,
and residing on said plantation in 1777.
John McClenachan (at
Spring Hill, Fauquier County, Virginia)
‘General Bouquet decided he must
carry the war against the Shawnee into the Ohio territory. Accompanying
his army were two hundred Augusta County militiamen under Captain John
McClenachan.Â’
Elijah McClenachan
settled in Bath County, Virginia. There is a much-told story that his family
was captured in an Indian raid. His wife and youngest child were killed.
One child escaped and hid from the Indians. Elijah was tomahawked, but
his life was spared after the Indians found a quill pen in his hat and
that he could write a document for the Indians. The story states he was
rescued by the militia, but is recorded as suffering from a brain injury
the rest of his life. Chronicles of the Scotts-Irish in Virginia.
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) The 'Last of the Mohicans', excellent film on the era.
Before and during the French and Indian War, the Scots/Irish were among the first to suffer, and among those who suffered most because of their inhabitation of the frontier and their proximity to the various Indian tribes, many of whom couldnÂ’t get along with each other, let alone, with the white settlers. The Scots/Irish had fresh memories of the border raids from the days back in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The Augusta Stone Church and other dispersed meeting houses throughout the Shenandoah Valley became refuges against Indian attacks. During one such raid, the family of Col. Elijah and Ann Ewing McClanahan came under Indian attack and the lone survivor of that family was their young daughter Hannah (later the wife of John Greenlee, a son of James and Mary McDowell Greenlee) who hid under a log footbridge across the nearby creek. Many other Scots/Irish had been killed at Tickling Springs, 10 miles from Augusta. Joist Hite of Winchester, Frederick (old Orange) County, Virginia constructed a fort near his home of the Opecquon Creek, where the frontier families of that area, including the Hites, Woods, and McDowell families gathered for shelter during Indian raids. The song "Oh, Shenandoah" became almost a hymn in Virginia, commemorating these early Scots/Irish settlers and their land that they loved.
UPDATE 03/05/2007-Referrence to McClenachan From the book: William T. Price, Historical Sketches Of Pocahontas County WV,(Marlinton, W. Va., Price Brothers, Publishers, 1901 / Published 1990 by Heritage Books, Inc.). Page 107, Biographic. Section V. JACOB MARLIN AND STEPHEN SEWALL
"It is moreover interesting in this connection to recall the fact that on the banks of Marlin's Run is the burial place of a little child that was dashed to death by an Indian warrior in 1765, when overtaken by a party of Bath and Rockbridge men, seeking to rescue Mrs Mayse, her son Joseph, an unmarried woman with an infant in her arms, a Mr McClenachan, and some other captives. This burial place is a few rods diagonally from the east angle of Uriah Bird's barn on the margin of the rivulet. The infant corpse was buried at the foot of the tree where it had been found a few minutes after its death. The burial took place just a few hours later, before the pursuers act out on their return. The grave was dug with hunting kninves, hatchets, and naked fingers. The little body laid in its place very tenderly, and the grave partly filled with earth. The covering of the grave was completed with rather heavy stones, to prevent foxes or other animals from getting at the remains. Thus died and was buried the first white child known to history west of the Alleghany Mountains..."
Blair McCLENACHAN,
(Birthdate:
Unknown-Date of Death:1812)
A Representative
from Pennsylvania; born in Ireland, birth date unknown; immigrated to the
United States at an early age and settled in Philadelphia, Pa.; engaged
in mercantile pursuits and in banking and shipping; one of the founders
of and served with the First Troop of Philadelphia Cavalry during the Revolutionary
War; in 1780 he subscribed a large sum of money to help the American forces
and aided the Continental Congress with money and credit; member of the
State house of representatives, 1790-1795; elected as a Republican to the
Fifth Congress (March 4, 1797-March 3, 1799); died in Philadelphia, Pa.,
May 8, 1812; interment in a vault in St. PaulÂ’s Cemetery. Trenton Monument-Blair Mclenachan portrayed on right. Private Blair McClenachan
Source: Biographical Directory of the United
States Congress, 1771-Present
The Diaries of George Washington 'Sunday 19th. In company with Mr. Powell rode up to the white Marsh. Traversed my old Incampment, and contemplated on the dangers which threatned the American Army at that place. Dined at German town. Visited Mr. Blair McClenegan. Drank Tea at Mr. Peters's and returned to Philadelphia in the evening.
WHITE MARSH: about 12 miles north and west of Philadelphia, the last camp of GW's army (Nov.--Dec. 1777) before he moved his men to Valley Forge for the winter. See FREEMAN, 5: chap. 21. GERMAN TOWN: the scene of a confused
battle between the Continental Army and the British (3--4 Oct. 1777) a few miles north of Philadelphia on the east side of the Schuylkill River. Blair McClenachan, a Philadelphia merchant, had bought Cliveden, the Chew country home in Germantown, from Benjamin Chew in 1779, which is probably where GW is visiting this day. In the American attack on Germantown this house, stubbornly held by British troops, was the center of intense fighting and cannonading by GW's troops.
Nothing on David McClenachan
yet. I continue the search.
We are the direct descendents of
John and AgnesÂ’ son, Robert SR McClenachan.
Robert McClanahan born abt. 1698 ( It is the opinion of a few family researchers,
that Robert's birthdate is early in the 1700s.) antrim Ulster, died 1791,
Augusta County, Virginia.
(GRx5 Grandpa) Robert SR McClenachan,
abt. 1698, in Ireland. He is found living in Fincastle, Virginia in 1773.
He is recorded as owning land near Staunton, receiving a land patent in
1748. He as well, served as Sheriff of Augusta County, Virginia, first
qualified as sheriff August 27, 1751.
‘The Augusta Court was formed on
December 9, 1745, and John Madison was appointed as the first Clerk. Augusta
Co., VA. [Augusta Co., VA, Court Order Book I, page 1] The first
Augusta County, VA, reference of John Madison's wife, Agatha, was in a
Deed to Robert McClenachan, Gent., of 731 acres at the corner of Adam Thompson
and John Ramsey and John Harvey.Â’
Augusta Parish Vestry Book, page 179. 1756: Processioned in Capt. Israel Christian's Company by John Henderson and Wm. Baskins, viz: For Rev. John Craig, for Daniel Denniston, for James Wallace . . . for Mr. Shodder, for Wm. Bell, for Wm. Wallace, for Robert McClenachan, for Alex. Wright, for Samuel Wilson, for John Cunningham, for Alex. McNite, for John Black, for Nathan Gililand, for John Bigham . . . . [Chalkley's Chronicles, Volume 2, page 444.]
Folder 9: Promissory note for a sum
to be paid to Robert McClenachan by Wm. Preston and Robert Breckinridge.
Signed by Preston and Breckinridge. Augusta County; 26 June 1763.
Robert Sr married Sarah Breckenridge
b. about 1702. They had eight recorded children, all save one, born in
Augusta, Virginia:
1. Alexander McClenachan
b: ABT 1734 in Ireland
2. Jean McClenachan
b: ABT 1740 in Augusta County, Virginia
3. John McClenachan
b: ABT 1742 in Augusta County, Virginia
4. Mary McClenachan
b: 1743 in Augusta County, Virginia
5. Letitia McClenachan
b: ABT 1745 in Augusta County, Virginia
6. Robert
Jr McClanahan b: ABT 1747 in Augusta County,
Virginia
7. William McClenachan
b: ABT 1749 in Augusta County, Virginia
8. Agnes McClenachan
b: ABT 1745 in Augusta County, Virginia
SARAH BRECKENRIDGE'S FAMLY
SARAH BRECKENRIGE'S BROTHER JOHN JOHN BRCKENRIDGE-Early Life in Virginia
Born in Staunton, Virginia, John Breckinridge attended the prestigious William and Mary College. He was first elected to the Virginia legislature when he was only 19 years old and still a student, but because he was underage, he was not allowed to serve until his third term.
Breckinridge served in the Virginia Militia. Afterwards he studied law, and began a private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia . He was elected to the United States Congress, but resigned in 1792 before his term even began.
Kentucky and U.S. Politics
In 1793 he moved to Lexington, Kentucky and began to practice law there. He purchased 2,467 acres (10 km²) of land and established a horse breeding operation that would become Castleton Farm, one of the most famous names in American horse racing history. He ran for a seat in the United States Senate in 1794, but was not elected by the legislature. He was, however, appointed Attorney General in 1795, although he resigned this position as well in 1797. He then successfully ran for a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives and served for two years. During this time he became the Speaker of the House
In 1799, he served in Kentucky's constitutional convention. Afterwards he ran, this time as a Democratic-Republican, for a seat in the United States Senate, and he was elected. He served from March 4, 1801, until August 7, 1805, when he resigned again, this time to accept an appointment as the Attorney General of the United States under President Thomas Jefferson.
By many accounts, Breckinridge was an important adviser to Jefferson, and he sponsored Jefferson's Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. Breckinridge died in 1806, while still serving as Attorney General. He was buried in Lexington Cemetery.
According to Ethelbert Dudley Warfield's book "The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798: An Historical Study" Breckinridge was the major author of the Kentucky Resolutions.
(GRx4 GRANDPA)Robert JR McClenachan
married Catherine Madison in 1770 in Augusta Virginia. CathyÂ’s Father,
Humphrey Madison, served in the French and Indian War, died in 1756. His
father, Thomas Madison was Godfather to President James MadisonÂ’s father,
also named James. Chalkey's Chronicles Page 304.--15th May, 1770. John Madison's bond (with Thomas Madison) as guardian to Catherine Madison, orphan of Humphrey Madison.
Robert fought, and was killed, in what is now considered
the First Battle of the Revolutinary War,
The Battle of Point Pleasant. He left his
widow, Catherine, with one child, and pregnant with our Gr Gr Gr Grandpa,
John.
'Catherine 'Kitty' Madison was the only child of Ensign Humphrey Madison and Mary Dickinson. Catherine was niece of Bishop John Madison and Governor George Madison, and cousin to President James Madison. Her mother, Mary Dickinson, was a daughter of John Dickinson, one of the signers of the Constitution of the United States. Mary had been married once before to Mr. Brown and had two children. They were kidnapped by Indians. Their names were Adam Brown and William Brown. William
escaped, but Adam was raised by the Indians.
‘Colonel Andrew Lewis, in command of
about 1,100 men, was part of a planned two-pronged Virginian invasion of
the Shawnee Ohio Country. He anticipated linking up with another force
commanded by Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia. Cornstalk, the
Shawnee war leader, moved to intercept Lewis's army, hoping to prevent
the link up and thwart the invasion. Estimates of the size of Cornstalk's
force have varied over the years, but scholars now suspect Cornstalk was
greatly outnumbered, having around 300-500 warriors (mostly Shawnee, but
a few Mingos). Future notable Shawnee leader Blue Jacket probably took
part in the battle.Â’
The battle
CornstalkÂ’s forces attacked LewisÂ’s
camp where the Kanawha River flows into the Ohio River, hoping to trap
him along a bluff. The battle lasted for hours and was extremely intense;
the fighting eventually became hand-to-hand. CornstalkÂ’s voice was reportedly
heard over the din of the battle, repeatedly urging his warriors to “be
strong.” Lewis sent several companies along the Kanawha and up a nearby
creek in order to attack the Indians from the rear, reducing the intensity
of the Shawnee offensive. At nightfall, the Shawnees silently withdrew
back across the Ohio. The Virginians had held their ground, and so won
the day.
Aftermath
The Virginians suffered about 75
killed and 150 wounded. The Shawnees had perhaps 40 killed; precise casualty
figures for the Indians are uncertain, as they threw many of their dead
into the river to prevent the bodies from being mutilated. (Scalping was
routinely practiced by both sides in this era.) Among the dead was Pukeshinwa,
the father of Tecumseh.
The outcome of the Battle of Point
Pleasant forced Cornstalk to make peace with Dunmore at the Treaty of Camp
Charlotte, ceding Shawnee land claims south of the Ohio (modern Kentucky)
to Virginia.
In 1908 the United States Senate
passed a resolution declaring the Battle of Point Pleasant the first battle
of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is honored as the first battle
of the Revolution during "Battle Days", an annual festival celebrated in
modern Point Pleasant.Â’
‘Andrew Lewis was ordered by the
Earl of Dunmore (then Governor of Virginia) to march against them with
fifteen hundred volunteer militia, which army marched from Camp Union (now
Lewisburg), the 11th day of Septmr., 1774, two companys of the said army
being raised in Greenbrier and commanded by Capt. Robt. McClenachan and
myself, we were met by the Indians on the 10th day of October at the mouth
of the Kenawha and a very obstinate engagement ensured, the Indians were
defeated, thos with the loss of seventy-five officers and soldiers, amongst
the slain was Colo. Chas. Lewis, who commanded the Augusta militia and
my friend, Capt. Robt. McClenachan.Â’
'Captain Robert McClenahan's name engraved on Memorial Plaque Point Pleasant, West Virginia Battle.'
Robert JR McClenachan and Catherine
Madison had two recorded children:
Robert McClenachan b: 1771 in Augusta
or Botetourt County, Virginia
John McClenachan
b: DEC 1774 in Augusta County, Virginia
Death: Jul. 18, 1818 "In Memory of Kitty Died July 18, 1818 age 64 years"
[Catherine Madison Arbuckle was born in Virginia in 1754 - she was the wife of 1st husband Capt Robert McClanahan who she married 15 May 1770,and 2nd Husband William Arbuckle. Burial:
Craig-Douglas Cemetery
Grimms Landing
Mason County
West Virginia, USA
(GRx3 Grandpa)John McClenachan
b. Dec. 1774-Augusta, Viriginia-d.About April, 1847 in St. Genevieve County, Missouri.
Illinois country on the other side of the Mississippi was ceded to
the United States, many of the French settlers of Illinois moved into Upper
Louisiana. Anxious to make the territory self-supporting, the Spanish government
encouraged immigration from the United States, going so far as to offer
settlers Spanish citizenship and free land. Between 1795 and 1804, hundreds
of Kentuckians, Tennesseans, Virginians, and Carolinians took advantage
of the offer. Among them was the famed pioneer Daniel Boone, who lived
in the Femme Osage region of Saint Charles and served as a syndic, or frontier
judge.
In 1787 the Congress of the United
States passed the Northwest Ordinance, which provided for the organization
of territory ceded from Great Britain, including the Illinois country,
and prohibited slavery in these territories. However, west of the Mississippi,
the Spanish government welcomed slavery, thus inducing Southerners who
wanted to expand the institution of slavery to settle in Missouri.Â’
Battle of Point Pleasant-October 10, 1774
