Clearfield-Cumberland-Perry County PA Archives Biographies.....McClure, Thomas September 2, 1762 - September 3, 1832 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Rita Turegano rita943@yahoo.com December 26, 2010, 8:30 pm Source: compiled from Caldwell's History of Clearfield Co.; Clearfield County's Centennial by J Frank Snyder; McClure Cemetery Unique in Clearfield County History by Harold V Smith Author: Rita McClure Turegano BIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS MCCLURE OF CUMBERLAND AND CLEARFIELD COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA By Rita McClure Turegano December 2010 The following biography is a compilation of information from several sources which can be found at the end of this report. I found that there was a little information here and a little there and decided to bring it all together in one place. I thank these sources because it helped me tremendously in my research of Thomas. Thomas and his brothers: Samuel, William, John, Wilson, David Jr., stayed in the area of Sherman’s Valley outside of Carlisle until the death of their father, David in 1796. Their brother, James moved out of the area to Newport, Kentucky. Visiting the courthouse and genealogical societies of Cumberland and Perry counties, allowed me to get a glimpse of their lives through deeds, church records and newspapers. Thomas and Wilson stayed on their father’s farm after he died. After three years, Thomas decided that because his family was growing that he might need to find a place of his own. He proceeded to buy out his sister Jane (Darlington) and his brothers their portion of the land that their father, David, received as a grant for his service in the Revolutionary War. This 586 acre farm stayed with the family until about 1985, when two of Thomas’s great great grandchildren sold it. According to Caldwell’s History of Clearfield County, Chapter 16; Clearfield County’s Centennial, 1804-1904 by J Frank Snyder, Esq. for the Raftsman Journal; and The McClure Cemetery Unique in Clearfield County History by Harold V. Smith of Curwensville, Pa.; Clearfield County: Or Reminiscences of the Past by S.B. Row in 1859; and my great uncle Thomas Rex McClure for giving Thomas more reality for me as a researcher. Thomas was the first McClure to come to the Clearfield, Pennsylvania area, then known as the settlement of Chinklacamoose. He was born on his father’s farm in Sherman’s Valley just north of Carlisle on September 2 , 1762. This area used to be part of Cumberland County but was separated later into Perry County. He came up the Susquehanna in 1799 by canoe to inspect the land and make some improvements. The next year he brought his wife Margaret (Byers) and five of his children: David, Nancy, and Sarah or “Sally”, John, and Jane. They managed to bring most of their possessions loaded onto a flatboat that they poled part of the way and whenever it became too shallow they had their horses help pull them along. They first settled onto an area that overlooked the West Branch of the Susquehanna and would later become the George Addleman farm. In a couple of years, about 1802, the farming was not giving him the financial support he needed for his large family and he noticed that many travelers were moving into the local area or traveling farther west so he established the first general store in Clearfield County. The store’s account ledgers were held by his grandson, Lafayette McClure, son of Thomas Ross McClure, and they showed not only almost every person who lived in the area ( until about 1814), but also a little bit of what the life was like for those living in this new community. Coffee sold for 25 cents a pound; calico went for 35 cents a yard, whiskey went for 35 cents a gallon. He also boarded many of the travelers for about 7 cents per meal. The account ledgers also showed that he paid any of his workers about 50 cents for a days work. Later on, Thomas donated some of his land to create a public burying ground (now the McClure Cemetery). This was situated on a hilltop above his store. It was a beautiful choice. Originally, it was a “broad acre” tract and enlarged later with the purchase of an additional acre from Reuben Whitaker’s farm. The McClure Cemetery Association has been in charge of the maintenance of the cemetery for many years. It has many of the original settlers buried there and many of them were Revolutionary soldiers. The DAR has also helped in maintaining the plaques that reside in this lovely cemetery. Thomas has a plaque for his tombstone also. Since education was an important part of Thomas McClure’s upbringing, it is no surprise that in 1804, he joined with some of the other neighbors in erecting the first school house in Clearfield County on part of the cemetery tract. It also served as a place of religious worship. No nails were used in its construction just logs placed on top of one another with the ends dovetailed (no sawmills yet). Historically, they used clay to chink the cracks. The roof was made of hand-hewed planks that were held in place by criss-crossing logs laid on top. There were few windows and those were covered with greased paper. I remember this building to this day because there was a picture of it in our high school history book and everyone in the class turned and looked at me when they read about this early log school house. I believe that picture along with my dad and his uncle, Thomas Rex McClure, were the reasons that I have spent over 30 years researching this family. Thomas was commissioned in 1806 to be one of the county’s first justices of the peace, and was known as “Squire” McClure from then on and served in this capacity for many years. Another first for this Clearfield settler was bringing the first church into being for the county by abandoning the old school house that had been the first place to worship and built a log meeting house within the cemetery. It was called the Union Church because of the many different religious faiths. It was later changed to the Pike Presbyterian church. Many of the settlers who worshipped at this church ended up marrying with each other because they all knew each so well and therefore contributed to the history not only of the county but to the little cemetery that contains so many of them. In 1818, he was commissioned Postmaster of Pikeville. This name given to the office located at his place. It was the second in the county, but the first to be located on the river above Lock Haven. From the Raftsman’s Journal, someone quoted that, ‘ Squire McClure has been described as a kind friend, one of the most obliging neighbors, who would at any time incommode himself to accommodate another, and when asked a favor, he stopped not inquire ‘what will it profit me’ but only ‘can I grant it’” Caldwell’s History of Clearfield County, Chapter 16 Clearfield County’s Centennial, 1804-1904 by J Frank Snyder, Esq. for the Raftsman Journal McClure Cemetery Unique in Clearfield County History by Harold V. Smith This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 7.4 Kb