My Genealogy Hound

WILLIAM McCLELLAND. No better representative of honorable manhood and prosperous agricultural life could be obtained in the bounds of Greene County, than is to be found in the gentleman above named, whose home is in Sugar Creek Township. His paternal grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, his father served with distinction throughout the War of 1812, and he himself bore his part in the preservation of the freedom which they had fought to promulgate. In the maternal line he descends from an equally honorable ancestry, his mother, in her girlhood Miss Martha McConnell, having been a native of Kentucky.

The father of our subject was Robert McClelland, a native of Forks of Yah, Pa., a farmer and a cooper. He came to Ohio in 1804 and settled on a farm which was solid timber, four miles west of Xenia. Upon this farm he lived forty-two years, his death taking place in 1847. He was twice married and each wife bore him twelve children; three of those borne by his second wife, the mother of our subject, are now living. Robert McClelland was a prominent man in his day. He was a captain in the War of 1812, and was especially noted for his bravery which amounted almost to rashness. At one time he was in command of Ft. McArthur, in what is now Hardin County (see Howe’s Ohio Historical Collections.) After honorably serving out his time he was discharged and had reached his home when he was ordered to report to St. Mary’s where he was stationed. He was also a captain under Gen. W. H. Harrison during the Black Hawk War. He was an Elder in what is now the United Presbyterian Church.

The subject of this sketch was born January 3, 1825, on his father’s farm in this county and received a limited education in the district schools. At the age of twenty-one years he began life for himself, and his father dying soon after, he assumed the responsibility of the head of the household and the care of a family which comprised fourteen members. His farm, which comprises one hundred and fourteen acres on the old Military Reservation, is a valuable one and is still carried on by himself. There are twenty acres of timber land on the estate, and the remainder is under excellent tillage and has brought to its owner a competence that insures to him the comforts of life should no unforeseen calamity overtake him. The residence now occupied by the family was built in 1863, at a cost of about $600, and that occupied by his tenant was erected in 1872. The barn which now adorns the estate was erected in 1858.

Mr. McClelland is a strong friend of temperance and was one of the first men in this community who stopped furnishing liquor to hands in the harvest field. This was in 1847, and the effort to combat the popular practice was quite difficult for a time. He has always taken an interest in politics, is an ardent Republican and has been a delegate to county conventions. He is now Land Appraiser for Sugar Creek Township, in which he formerly served as Supervisor. During a part of the Civil War he was a member of the One hundred Fifty-fourth Ohio Infantry and after serving the cause of the Union was honorably discharged. He is a member of the Agricultural Society. In the United Presbyterian Church he holds the office of Elder, and in the, local Sunday-school he has been Superintendent and a teacher. Stern integrity is ingrained in his character and no more scrupulously honest man can be found in the county, or indeed within the State or Nation.

The first marriage of Mr. McClelland was celebrated December 1, 1847, his bride being Miss Jane, daughter of George and Elizabeth Watt, who came from Ireland and settled in this locality in 1820. During the years in which Mr. McClelland was struggling to accumulate means and supply his home with the improvements and comforts that he desired, his wife stood by his side as a true companion and helpmate. On March 30, 1883, she was called from time to eternity, her otherwise happy union having been childless. The pleasant home is now presided over by one who bore the maiden name of Hannah Naughton, with whom Mr. McClelland was joined in holy wedlock July 3, 1884. She also is of Irish descent, being a daughter of James and Mary Naughton, natives of the Emerald Isle. She was taken into the family of David Brown who came to the Buckeye State in 1819, and she attended the district school near Jamestown. Like her husband she is a consistent member of the United Presbyterian Church, while her refined manners add a charm and favorably impress those whom she meets and pave the way for the friendship which follows their knowledge of her good qualities.