Mr. McLean Ran Off and Left Them

When I began researching my McLean ancestors, a second cousin, who had interviewed several older family members in the 1970's, told me our ancestor, Maxa Ann Hadden [a surname that later proved to be incorrect], "married an Englishman who ran off." No one could recall his given name, so he was referred to only as "Mr. McLean". He sounded like a ne'er-do-well, and I worried I'd never find anything more about my McLean ancestors.

 Consequently, when I found Maxey McClean in the 1850 Federal Census of Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, I was surprised to see her husband, James, was a "Justice of the Peace."  Not only was he an elected official, but he had property valued at $800, an evaluation equivalent to more than $15,000 in today's money; he didn't appear to be a "ne'er-do-well". James McLean disappeared before the 1860 census, and Maxa, listed as "widow", was living in Newton Township, Muskingum County, Ohio with her children: Eliza, Martha, Warren, James, and Caroline. (Supposedly there was another son, Legrand, but no record of him could be found, which is another story.)

It appeared that James McLean, a man of some position in Uniontown, Pennsylvania had simply died, and the desertion story just a family fiction. Since the youngest child, Caroline, was born in 1853, and Maxa was a widow in 1860, I reasoned James died between those two dates, most likely in Uniontown, Pennsylvania where he had property and position. There was no death record, as Pennsylvania didn't require that until 1907, so even though "Mr. McLean" now had a first name, finding his parents and ancestors seemed like...well...a dead end. 

I had noticed in the 1850 census that James and his family lived one residence away from Joseph and Catherine McClean. They were the right ages to have a son the age of James. Joseph, according to the census, was wealthy; name, wealth, proximity made him a good candidate to be James' father. Then one day, surfing the internet, I turned up an abstract of the will of Joseph McClean of Uniontown, Pennsylvania (Will Book 4, Page 509) which suggested I could be right about James being Joseph's son:

 …I JOSEPH McCLAIN of Uniontown, Fayette Co. Pa…do make publish and ordain this my Last Will and testament in the following manner viz:...The remaining two thirds of all my estate…unto...the heirs or children of my son JAMES McCLEAN, deceased…each of my said children…to have one fifth part…the share or portion thereby willed to the heirs of my son JAMES be …placed permanently at interest…which interest or proceeds shall be paid and go to the widow of said JAMES for the benefit of herself and his children so long as she shall remain his widow....

Without specific names for James' widow and heirs, this abstract could not provide proof of James' parentage, but the date of the will, May 15, 1855, fit into my guess as to the time of James' death.   

Assuming that Joseph and Catherine McClean were James's parents, it was possible (relying on other genealogists' work) to trace my paternal line back to the immigrant ancestors William McClean of the Isle of Mull, Scotland and his wife, Jeannette Hart, of Londonderry, Ireland.  I began to say that while I would never be able to absolutely prove James was the son of Joseph, I felt ninety-nine percent certain he was.  Then an extraordinary thing happened.

Caroline (McLean) Mauk (rt.), youngest child
of James McLean and Maxa Ann Lenhart
with her daughter, Stella Mauk

The cousin who had interviewed descendants in the 1970s was browsing among old books at an antique show in Columbus, Ohio. He was drawn to pick a green book off the shelf. (He said he had no idea why he picked that book, except he likes the color green!)  On opening it, he saw it was titled The Family Register, a book published in 1870 intended to record family history. Following that title page was a  handwritten record with two names he immediately recognized: "John W. Mauk married Caroline McLean on…." He turned the next page, and found Caroline's parents, James McLean and Maxa A. Lenhart (not Hadden!).  Another turn of the page confirmed that James' parents were Joseph and Catherine Hoover McLean of Uniontown.

In addition to confirming James' parentage, the handwritten record provided James' occupation (lawyer), birth date, marriage date, and death date (April 24, 1855). It says James had brown hair, blue eyes, and was of medium build; politically, he was a Democrat. Although the record doesn't say this, I would guess that because he was an elected official, he would have been a man of some ambition, persuasiveness, ability, and "charm."  Certainly he was an educated man, and part of a prominent and well-to-do family. The big surprise, however, was that James had died not in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, but in Boonville, Cooper County, Missouri.  Why there? We'll never know, but it lends credence to the desertion story.

I contacted a researcher in Cooper County, Missouri regarding the possibility of finding any record relating to James' death. She reported that no newspapers exist for the time of James' death. However, she did find a court item that possibly refers to his death. On Sunday, May 8, 1855, the May Term of the court was convened. Among the items was the following:

Ordered by the Court that a warrant issue[d] in favor of Jesse Ogden and against this county for cost of inquest held over the body of an unknown man as follows viz

Justice's fee (Jesse Odgen)...............................  $5.40

Constable's fee (C. M. Carson).......................... $2.00

Witness fee (Walter Leith) .............................        .50

Jury fee.............................................................$3.00

O. Vaughn for riding to Boonville for coroner ....1.50

Walter Leith for his trouble.................................1.50

Funeral Expenses...............................................5.00

                                                                       $18.90

Although this court record refers to "an unknown man", the researcher pointed out there was a "funeral" rather than a "burial", suggesting an identity had been established. She wondered if  "unknown" referred to someone who was a stranger as opposed to "unidentified". Unfortunately, no records of inquest testimonies and conclusions prior to 1875 survive, so we'll never know if this accounting of costs has to do with James McLean's death and burial. We do know that this accounting occurred twelve days after James' death, and that Joseph McLean revised his will to provide for his deceased son James' widow and children  seven days after this accounting. The timing of death, court hearing, and will revision seems more than pure coincidence.

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