Biographical Sketch of Erskine McClean, Johnson County, Missouri, Bowmansville >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** Erskine McClean, manager of the McClean & Elliott Stock Farm, vice- president of the Johnson County Purebreds Breeders' Association, is one of the progressive stockmen of Johnson county. He was born in 1869 on the homestead of the McCleans in Johnson county, son of William and Mary Jane (Robinson) McClean. William McClean was born in Ross county, Ohio in 1827, the son of John and Sarah McClean. John McClean was a tanner by trade and he and his wife resided in Chillicothe, Ohio, their two sons, William and Samuel, having complete charge of the home farm in Ross county. Mary Jane (Robinson) McClean was the daughter of Joshua and Hanna Robinson, of Chillicothe, Ohio. William McClean and Mary J. Robinson were united in marriage in Ohio and to them were born the following children, who are now living, two having died in infancy: Henry, Los Angeles, California; Lucy, Warrensburg; Mary, wife of James B. Elliott, with whom Erskine McClean is associated in stock raising; William, Jr., of Etiwanda, California; Erskine R., the subject of this review; and Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Clark, Canon City, Colorado. William McClean came with his family to Johnson County, Missouri from Ohio in 1867. In the spring of 1868, he purchased the farm three and a half miles northwest of Warrensburg, which is now owned and conducted by his son, Erskine, and son-in-law, James B. Elliott. In that year from a very humble start with a pure-bred Shorthorn bull and cow, which he brought with him from Ohio, William McClean began the stock business, which has been continued since his death by McClean & Elliott and which has attained in recent years mammoth proportions. He was a breeder of pure-bred Shorthorns in Ohio and he brought to Missouri in 1868 "Cherokee," a registered bull, Numberr 6536, red, which was purchased from Morgan Hayes in February, 1868 at Jeffersonville, Fayette county, Ohio and brought to Johnson county in March of that year, and "Highland Belle" a pure bred red cow, which was purchased from Thomas Kirk at Washington Court House, Ohio. From the stockbook kept by William Mc- Clean, showing the name, date of purchase, place of purchase, and the record of each pure bred animal on his farm, from the time he bought the place in 1868 until his death in 1902, the following record was taken: In 1871, Mr. McClean purchased "Derby," a red roan bull, Number 9740, from Jesse Hagler, of Fayette county, Ohio; in May, 1871 "Kitty Clover," a roan cow; In September, 1881 "Blushing Maiden," a red cow and "Lelia Major" was purchased from C. E. Leonard, of Cooper county, Missouri; in April, 1883 two red and two roan cows were purchased, namely: "Angelica 28", "Rosamond of Rovenswood," "Blushing Beauty," and "British Girl." William McClean owned 550 acres of land in one tract, a portion of which is the present McClean estate. He was one of the very first successful breeders in Johnson county. He sold all his stock at private sales and in the early days of the seventies, when cattle sold at a low price, Mr. McClean suffered all the ill luck in common with the other stockmen of that time, but he never became dis- couraged or lost faith in high grade cattle. He believed firmly that Johnson county would be one of the best stock counties in the state and that to win a place for the county the quality of the stock must be kept up to the highest standard. He was a careful, conscientious, capable business man, one whose methods are well worth emulating. He did more, perhaps, than any other one man to place Johnson county in the front rank in stock raising. His death, which occurred in March, 1902, has long been lamented in this section of Missouri. Mrs. McClean joined her husband in death in July, 1915 and both were interred in the cemetery at Warrensburg. Erskine McClean attended the public schools of Warrensburg and later was a student in the Warrensburg State Normal School prior to 1891. He was reared on the farm and has from boyhood days been interested in stock raising. After his father died in 1902, the original herd of cattle, consisting of 45 head, was sold and Ersk- ine McClean and James B. Elliott formed a partnership and began the breeding of Scotch and Scotch Topped Shorthorns. They established the herd on the McClean estate, which comprises 430 acres of the original farm purchased by William McClean in 1867, by the purchase in 1905 of an "Orange Blossom Cruickshank: bull, "Orange Lad," three Scotch cows, two "Orange Blossoms" and "Marsh Violet," two Scotch Topped "Charming Rose" cows, and an 1800 pound Scotch Topped "Harriet," with a few of the cows left on the farm after the dispersion of the herd of Short- horns owned by the William McClean estate in the autumn of 1904. McClean & Elliott have had but one public sale and this was held only for the reason that the herd had outgrown the capacity of the farm. At the time of this writing in 1917, McClean & Elliott have 50 head of Shorthorns on the farm, the herd headed by "Our Red Choice," a purebred Scotch bull, Number 420533, which is considered the best that has ever been on the farm. The firm has had splendid and deserved success. They sold three carloads of stock in the spring of 1917, shipping cattle to Texas, New Mexico, Alabama, Kansas, Idaho, Montana, and even to Canada. Fifty years of straight, honorable business methods, as strictly adher- ed to by William McClean and continued by McClean & Elliott have given this firm an enviable reputation, which is country wide. October 1, 1902, Erskine McClean was united in marriage with Viola D. Drummond, the daughter of Albert and Eliza Drummond, of Warrensburg. To Erskine and Viola McClean has been born one son, Albert Erskine. Mr. McClean is a "booster" for purebreds. Probably two-thirds of the breeders of Shorthorn cattle in Johnson county obtained their foundation stock from the herd owned by McClean & Elliott. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: <> Penny Harrell ====================================================================