Men of the River, The Other Clermont County
McClains
So much has been written about the McClains
of Clermont County that it literally filled the book called The Washington
Ancestry of the McClains, Johnsons and forty other
Colonial Families. The family of
that John McClain’s , a reverend of Clermont’s Monroe County
was well known by most of the area’s historians. The book, written in the
1930’s chronicles the lives and the complete family tree of this family of McClains. However, the story of Captain John McClain, who
is buried in the Forest Ave
cemetery in the village
of Neville, would not be
so easily told.
Census research shows that his story would begin with that
of his father, Hugh McClain who moved with his new wife from Pennsylvania
to Virginia, now West Virginia. This area was between Wheeling and Parkersburg on
the Ohio River. Hugh, who was born in Londonderry Ireland, would make the journey down the Ohio
River to Washington Township in Clermont County
between 1820 and 1830. Hugh McClain was a widower as listed in the 1830 census
and had five younger children. In 1833, he would marry Anna Higbee
Fletcher of Clermont County Ohio . His two older sons,
John and Alexander would be listed as heads of their own households nearby. It
is well documented that all eight of Hugh’s sons would become river men.
As reported in the Southern
Ohio History of the Underground Railroad by Beverly J. Gray, the younger
brother of Captain John McClain, Captain William McClain was a known conductor
on the Underground Railroad ferrying people to safe houses in Sciota County along the Ohio.
It was through Rachel’s own words that we learned of her parents’ hatred
for the evils of slavery. Although there
has never been a confirmation of the involvement of her grandfather, Captain
John McClain, in the Underground Railroad we are still searching for evidence
to corroborate what some feel to be true. As Rachel writes, “Mother often took trips with my father’s
boat, then running from Pittsburg to New Orleans and many is
the story she use to tell of slavery and its horrors.” More of the McClain legacy is found here
in excerpts from the autobiography of Rachel Smith Wheeler born 1852, died
1934. It was written in the late 1920’s.”One
day father was invited to the home of Captain John McClain who owned several
boats and had been Captain of a keel boat before steamers were invented. Grandfather McClain has seven brother and
they were all steamboat Captains, pilots or engineers, so you wonder that I am
fond of the water. …..Grandfather lived in a beautiful old colonial house with
an avenue of cedar trees leading to the landing. It was situated about
twenty-eight miles above Cincinnati,
Ohio. Here my father (Alexander
Smith) met my mother (Rachel McClain,
daughter of John) and fell in love with
the bright witty girl, ten years his junior. They were married October 12th
1842 when Mother was twenty-one years old. They lived at her father’s house (Captain
McClain’s)until they could build their
house on property father (Alexander Smith) had bought ten miles above the McClain homestead.”
His wife, Isabel and his daughter, Rachel through his
gravesite in the village
of Neville, would
remember Captain John McClain fondly. Rachel McClain would marry Alexander
Smith and Smith would be chosen by Isabel to oversee the Captain’s
monument. The Smith’s Landing was a
documented landing on early river charts and is signed as such on the Ohio
River Pike (now U.S. Route 52’s Ohio Scenic River Byway). It is located just
west of Utopia. It is through the words of the Captain’s granddaughter, Rachel
Ann that we have learned the most about his life and time. It is through her
recollections that we were able to estimate the location of McClain’s landing,
just a few miles outside the village
of Neville. The 1870 /
1891 county property maps helped to confirm it.
Both Rachel and Alexander would continue to own property
less than a mile outside the village
of Neville as noted in the 1891 atlas
for Washington Township. The map also confirms the
presence of the McClain’s school which was built along the Ohio River Pike. The
school was recently raised with the building of the new water treatment plant.
The 1830’s home of the Captain was recently discovered and still stands on the land once owned by the McClains. The house 2.3 miles west of Neville was vividly described by granddaughter Rachel's memoirs and that description helped lead to the discovery of this wonderful home. All of this has just recently
been uncovered thanks to the hard work of a few of the McClain family’s
researchers. After they discovered Isabel’s will they learned that she would
leave clear orders and funds to assure that the monument to Captain McClain
would be erected on the land he owned in Neville. Despite some minor vandalism,
this remembrance of the Captain and his wife would stand strong through the ages.
It would be this very monument that would stir up his story once again.
As stated in the Captain’s will, the Ohio River McClains’ were major stockholders in the Cincinnati,
Maysville and Portsmouth Packet Company and were actively involved in the local
river commerce for over 70 years. Although only the remnants of what once was
remains on the property, the impact that John McClain’s family had on the
development of this Ohio River region will continued to be measured as each of
their stories are uncovered. Unfortunately, what the river once brought to this
valley, the river would take away. The strength of the emerging railroads and
the increased dangers of steamboat fires would have a major impact on the
decline of the great riverboat saga. However, the great floods of the Ohio River in 1883 and again in 1884 would literally wipe
out much of the early history of many of the small river villages. Some
families would try to rebuild but in 1913 and again in 1937 the river would win
again. This is why telling the stories
of pioneer river families, like the McClains is such
an important part of telling Neville’s history.
Listed below are the names of all of Hugh McClain’s children
and their spouses. Thanks to the information gathered and saved by the those who treasure our history, the local historical and genealogical societies of
Clermont County and the members of the McClain family we are able to include
this story in Neville’s bicentennial booklet. We applaud the great, great,
great, great granddaughter, Tara Musselwhite of
Humble Texas, her first cousin Rachel Farley of Tacoma
Washington and Donna
Stinson of Los
Angeles California
for sharing all of this. Donna is a relative of John’s brother, Alexander
McClain and the Fletcher family of Moscow.
The sources for the information included were the 1810, 1820, 1830, 1860
censuses, granddaughter Rachel’s partial autobiography circa 1920, the wills of
John and Isabel McClain, Clermont County atlases from 1870 and 1891 and the
family bible of John McClain. Photos show the gravesite on Forest Ave in Neville and the Captain and Isabell who are buried there. You can also connect to the 1830's home built by the Captain for his wife, Isabell. The house is now owned by Bill and Mary Thompson who graciously planned an Open House for the Captain's family during the Neville Bicentennial. The Friends of Jennie Wade hope to tell more stories of Pioneer river families in the seasons to come.
1830's Home of the Captain
Father:
Hugh McClain
Married:
Spouse:
Married: October 31,1833 in Clermont Co Ohio
Spouse: Anna Higbee Fletcher
Born: Abt. 1765 in:
Londonderry Ireland
Died 1: Aft. 1833 in: Clermont Co Ohio
Died 2: in: Moscow
Clermont Co Ohio
Father: McClain
Mother: Stuart
CHILDREN
1
Name: John McClain
Born: 20 Mar 1798 in: Pennsylvania
Died: 07 Oct. 1853 in: Franklin Twp Clermont Co
Ohio
Married:
Second Spouse: Isabell Massey
Married:
First Spouse: Sarah
-
Name: Alexander McClain
Born: 1800 in: Wood Co Virginia
Died: 1869 in Washington Twp Clermont Co Ohio
Married:
Spouse: Lettia Lewis
Married: Dec 1824 in: Tyler Co Virginia
Spouse: Mahala Massey
3
Name: Allen McClain
Born: abt
1804 in: Wood Co Virginia
4
Name: Elizabeth McClain
Born: 1807 in: Pennsylvania
Died: in:
Washington Twp Clermont Co Ohio
5.
Name: William McClain
Born:
1807 in: Virginia
Died: 10 Sept 1867 in: Portsmouth, Sciota Co Ohio
Married: 09 Oct. 1831
in: Wheeling, Ohio Co Virginia
Spouse: Sarah
Ann Thompson
6
Name: Mary McClain
Born: 1810 in: Virginia
Died: 1848 in: Shawneetown,
Gallatin Co Ill
Married:
Spouse: William
Fletcher
7
Name:
Levi McClain
Born: Abt.
1816 in: Virginia
8.
Name: Jesse McClain
Born: 1819 in : Virginia
Died: 28 Mar 1891
in: Washington Twp Clermont Co Ohio
Married:
Spouse:
Eleanor Sargent
