The Daniel McLean Line

Bob McLean (Robert MacRay McLean Jr) is the 9th generations of this line in America.

Bob McLean of Maryland

Bob is descended from Daniel McLean of Elk Shoals Creek, Iredell-Alexander County, North Carolina. His line goes like this:

• Daniel McLean 1769-1829 & Sophia 1770-1845
• Hugh McLean 1794-1850 & Sarah Cloer 1798-
• Andrew Jackson McLean 1818-1907 & Margaret Ann Correll 1823-1882
• Hugh Franklin McLean 1843-1916 & Nancy Caroline Harmon 1846-1918
• David Baxter McLean 1869-1942 & Martha Caroline Crow 1870-1950
• Charles Henry McLean 1891-1976 & Leah Mae Shoemaker 1892-1986
• Ray Henry McLean 1914-2002 & Laura Vivian Church 1917-2002
• Robert MacRay McLean Sr 1937 & Barbara Joyce Burkhardt 1940
• Robert 'Bob' MacRay McLean Jr 1960

                                                                        

Y-DNA - Sorting the various branches of McLean's

We can use Y-DNA information to evaluate several branches of McLean's that were present in Iredell and Rowan Counties, North Carolina in the late 1700's and early 1800's.

Branches of these McLean's that we know something about are:

• John McLean, Silversmith b1755 d1829, lived on Buffalo Shoals Creek, Iredell-Alexander Co, NC
• John McLean Sr. b1755 d1817 , lived near the Yadkin River, Vashti, Iredell-Alexander Co, NC
• John McLean, Planter b1746 d1818, lived on Buffalo Shoals Creek, Iredell-Alexander Co, NC
• Daniel McLean, b1769 d1829 , lived on Elk Shoals Creek, Iredell-Alexander Co, NC
• John McLean Jr b1789 Coddle Creek, Rowan Co, lived NW of Mooresville, Iredell Co, NC d1865
• William McLean b~1794 d1863, lived on Coddle Creek, Rowan Co, NC

Y- DNA results are separated into Haplogroups - groups of people from a distinct branch of the human genetic tree.  FTDNA's (Family Tree DNA Co) lists 191 McLean's in their "Clan McLean" group.  These McLean's fall into one of ten Haplogroups:

• A             African           1      1%
• E1b          Semitic           5      3%
• I1             Nordic            12    6%
• I2a           Slavic              4      2%
• I2b           Nordic            10    5%
• J2             Semitic           12    6%
• R1a          E. European   10    5%
• R1b1        W. European  4      2%
• R1b1b2    Celtic             112   59%
• R1b1b2a   Niall              21    11%
•                          
• Total                               191  100%

If we group these into the main branches:

• A       1                                   1%   
• E        5                                   3%
• I         26                                14%
• J        12                                 5%
• R       147                               77%

So, the distribution of McLean Y-DNA is:

• 77%      R haplogroup
• 14%      I  haplogroup
• 9%        Other haplogroups

Here is what we found out by testing Y-DNA from descendants of some of these McLean's:

• John McLean, Silversmith - Descendant Gene McLean of Santa Barbara, CA - R1b1a2 Celtic
• John McLean Sr - Vashti - Descendant Marvin A McLean of Oroville, CA - R1b12 Celtic
• Daniel McLean of Elk Shoals Creek - Descendant Bob McLean of Maryland - I2b1a1 Nordic Isles-Scot
• John McLean Jr of Mooresville - Descendant Bob McLean of Sonoma - I2b1a1 Nordic Isles-Scot
• William McLean of Coddle Creek, Rowan Co - Stephen Wade McLean of SC - R1b1b2 Celtic
• John McLean, Planter - no descendant found.

So the Silversmith, John McLean Sr of Vashit and William McLean of Coddle Creek, Rowan Co lines are from the dominant haplogroup R, and the Daniel and John McLean Jr lines are from the secondary haplogroup I.

Janet Kathleen (McLean) Edwards

Janet Kathleen McLean was born 11 Jan 1933.  Parents Baron and Marion McLean.  Her middle name is from her grandmother Katie Emma (Griffin) McLean who liked to be known as Kathleen.

Janet 1936 Clovis, CA

Janet 1936 Clovis, CA

Four Generations 1937 - Janet, her mother Marion Josephine (Jackson) McLean, her grandmother Josephine (Lauer) Jackson, her great grandmother Mary Louisa (Mockbee) Lauer

1937 Janet with Mom and Dave

1937 Clovis Jan & Dave in the Ghirardellis Chockolate Box

1941 Seattle - Dave, Mom, Bob, Baron, Janet

1941 Seattle - Dave, Mom, Bob, Janet

1942 Jan in the background watching her grandfather FCR (Francis Chester Rockwell Jackson) with his new bride Beatrice (Jackson) Dupree Jackson

About 1942 Dave, Bob and Janet - Seattle Beach

About 1944 Janet, Marion, Bob, Dave at North Beach, San Francisco

About 1945 Janet and kitten, San Francisco

1947 Sequoia National Park - Dave, Bob, Baron, Jan

About 1947 Margarete McLean (Dearnol's), Sharon McLean (Lowell's), Janet McLean (Baron's)  Not the best photo, but the only one with these three cousins together.

July 4th 1948

July 4th 1948 Seal Beach McLean - Jackson Reunion (back row) Dave (Marion's), Margaret McLean (Dearnol's), Floyd Jackson (Perry's), Janet (Marion's) (front row) Bob (Marion's), Dorothy Delight (Perry's), Ed (Dorothy's), Joanne (Perry's), Loraine (Francis'), Myrna Lyne (Francis')

About 1951

About 1951 Dave, Mom, Jan, Bob Sierra High Country

1954 Merced River, Yosemite Jan, Bob, Dave

Marcus Leroy McLean - Youngest son of John McLean Jr.

Larry E McLean is the gg grandson of John McLean Jr. and g grandson of Marcus Leroy McLean of Iredell County, North Carolina.
 

Here with his two nieces Leilah and Lacey.

This part of the McLean Line goes as follows:

• John McLean Jr 1789-1865 & Mary E. (Crawford) McLean 1793-1873
• Marcus Leroy McLean 1834-1910 & Sarah Kerpatrick 1854-1906
• Henry Ernest McLean 1892-1950 & Alice Ona Collins 1893-1988
• Henry Ernest McLean 1915-1980 & Margaret Ruth Senter 1924-1996
• Larry Ernest McLean 1951

                                                                       

McLean Y-DNA - The search for a ggg Grandfather

My involvement in McLean genealogy started February 18, 2008 when my brother-in-law, Fred Edwards asked if I would do a Y-DNA test.  He had been contacted by Bob McLean of Maryland who was researching his McLean genealogy using Y-DNA.  He was looking for a male descendant of John McLean , Silversmith whom we thought was my ggg grandfather.  He wanted to determine if his line and my line were related.  His 6g grandfather was Daniel McLean who settled in the same Iredell County North Carolina area as John McLean, Silversmith in the late 1700's.

I did the test and my 67YDNA matched exactly that of Bob McLean of Maryland which meant that we were very closely related.

At the time the information we had was from research my uncle Dearnol McLean did in North Carolina.  We knew that his father Robert Baron McLean's father was Quincy Adolphus McLean, and his father was John McLean Jr. who was born 1789 and died 1865.

Dearnol thought that John McLean Jr's  father was John McLean, Silversmith who had a plantation on Buffalo Shoals Creek, Iredell County, NC.

By June of 2008 based on information from Karen Richmond and her uncle Kenneth Richmond, a descendant of John McLean, Silversmith we learned that John McLean, Silversmith did have a son named John McLean Jr born in 1789, however he had a well documented family tree with a different wife and children.

Now we were in trouble.  Yes, our line was closely related to Daniel McLean's line.  No, John McLean, Silversmith was not our ggg grandfather.

We concluded we need to find a descendant of John McLean, Silversmith for DNA testing.  And we needed to research which of the John McLean's in the area at the time could have been the father of my gg grandfather, John McLean Jr.

A John McLean, Sr born 1755 in Antrim, Ireland settled on the Yadkin River near Vashti, Iredell - later Alexander County, North Carolina.  He had a son John McLean reportedly born 1789.  I thought this could by my ggg grandfather.

In October 2008 Karen Richmond suggested Gene McLean, a Silversmith descendant for Y-DNA testing, by January 2009 he agreed to test, and by April 2009 test results were in.  Silversmith's Y-DNA was completely different from the Daniel McLean and my Y-DNA. 
           

Gene McLean's family - Silversmith Descendants

By August 2009 we had contacted Marvin A McLain a descendant of John McLain Sr of Yadkin River, Vashti. Marvin had been doing his McLean genealogy for more than 50 years.

Marvin A. McLain - John McLain Sr of Vashti Descendant

Marvin agreed to test his Y-DNA. By October 2009 his test results were in. Marvin's Y-DNA was completely different from mine. This and some other information convinced me that his ancestor, John McLean Sr b 1755 Antrim, Ireland was not my ggg grandfather.


Next was John McLean, Planter.  He and his family also lived on Buffalo Shoals and attended the New Sterling ARP Church near there.  His family is mentioned in the church roles.  He and members of his family are burried in the Cemetery there.  We were unable to find male descendants for DNA testing.  However, his will indicates that he did not have a son named John.   John McLean, Planter not my ggg grandfather.


According to family tradition, Daniel McLean had a cousin or uncle, John McLean Sr. who lived nearby when he settled on the Elk Shoals Creek, Iredell, North Carolina in the late 1700's.  By my calculations based on census records and children's ages, Daniel would have been born in about 1763.

A John McLean purchased land on Coddle Creek, Rowan County, North Carolina in 1787.  By census records he was born in about 1753.  The Coddle Creek location is some 30 miles from Daniel's Elk Shoals Creek location - perhaps 'nearby'.  This John McLean would be about 16 years older than Daniel - perhaps an uncle.  If this were the case, then Bob McLean of Maryland and I would be 6th Cousins 3 times removed.

Bob McLean of Maryland - 6C3R

                                                                       
Census records for this John McLean for 1790, 1800 and 1810 show a family that could include my gg grandfather, John McLean Jr. All these census are from the same Coddle Creek location with the same neighbors.  The census for 1820 shows John McLean in the same Coddle Creek location, but at the younger age - John McLean Jr.  This census also accounts for John Jr's son Quincy.

Although not proven, I believe this information gives good evidence that John McLean Sr of Coddle Creek 1787-1815 is my ggg grandfather.

                                                           

John McLean Sr. of Coddle Creek, Rowan County, North Carolina

John McLean Sr. first shows up when he purchases 268 acres of land on Coddle Creek, Rowan County, North Carolina.

This deed indicates that John McLean Sr was living in Rowan County before he purchased this land.

Next we find him listed in the 1790, 1800 and 1810 census.

By the 1820 Census a John McLean is shown in the same area with the same neighbors, but a much younger age so this would be John McLean Jr.

No other direct information has been found yet as to John McLean Sr's year or place of birth or death. No will has been found.

However, there is a John McLean listed on the Rowan County 1778 Tax List.

And there is a property in Rowan County purchased by John McLean in 1783 (Book 10 page 284?) and then sold to William Wilson on Feb 3rd 1787 (book 10 page 552).

I have a copy of the 3 Feb 1787 deed selling this parcel, but it is a very bad copy and mostly unreadable. In that deed it mentions John McLean and Elsa McLean selling he parcel.


I am still searching for a copy of the 1783 deed.

                                                             

John McLean Jr - His Silver Watch

This silver watch was given to me by my grandmother, Katie Emma (Griffin) McLean in about 1955.

• The watch belonged to my gg grandfather, John McLean Jr. and was deeded to his widow Mary E (Crawford) McLean at the division of his property in 1866.
• Mary pass it on to to her eldest son, Quincy at her death in 1873.
• Quincy passed on to his wife Sarah at his death in 1885.
• Sarah passed it on to her son Robert Baron McLean at her death in 1889.
• Robert Baron passed it on to his wife Katie at his death in 1954.
• My grandmother Katie Emma gave me the watch in 1955.

I had the watch evaluated by the antique expert, Erik Iskin at Olde Towne Jewlers in Santa Rosa, California.  He describes the watch:

• The movement was made in England in about 1820 plus or minus about 6 years by T. Bolton of 49 Gray's Inn Lane, London, England.
• The watch case is stamped with a capital T which means a manufacture date of 1814.
• The watch is a chain driven verge fusee movement with porcelain dial and sterling silver case.
• The case inscription was likely done in America by a silversmith.

I believe that John Jr ordered this watch from John McLean, Silversmith (no relative) and that Silversmith would have done the ingraving.

This is the current home of the Condor Cycles shop.

So now this watch is 191 years old and has passed through six generations of McLeans. To me this makes these ancestors I've never met come to life.

John McLean Jr - Distribution of Estate

My gg grandfather John McLean Jr. died 2 May 1865.  During the year that followed Quincy worked with all the surviving members of the family to lay out an equitable division of estate property.  Here are the two deeds describing the distribution of land and personal property.

John McLean Jr

My gg grandfather, John McLean Jr. was born 8 Feb 1789 at his father's plantation on Coddle Creek, Rowan County, North Carolina.  The first census where he is listed as head of household is 1820 in Rowan County with neighbors indicating Coddle Creek area.  The census records for 1790, 1800, and 1810 from the same location show John McLean Sr (by age).

The census of 1830 and 1840 show John McLean Jr in Iredell County, Davidson Township area.

The distance from John Mclean Sr's Coddle Creek, Rowan County plantation and John McLean Jr's plantation northwest of Mooresville is less than ten miles.

                                                                               

By the census of 1850 amd 1860 John Jr and his family had purchased land northwest of Mooresville.

This family group chart shows details of the 1790-1860 census records.

In about 1819 John Jr. married Mary E. Crawford. Mary was born 16 Jul 1793. Her father was probably David Crawford 1865-1811. David Crawford held Iredell County land. Deed G-508. This land was sold 28 Sep 1811 by the estate.

John Jr and Mary had nine children:

• Quincy Adolphus              My g grandfather married Sarah A Alexander
• Mary C.                             Not married died 11 May 1895
• Nancy Caroline                 Married Thomas G Christie 1873, died 1901
• Joseph A.                          Confederate Army, died 5 Dec 1862
• Julius Hugh                       School Teacher died about 1881
• John Rodney                     Confederate Army, died 31 Oct 1862
• Ephraim T.                        Confederate Army, died Dec 1862
• Marcus Leroy                    Married Sarah Francis Kirpatrick, died 5 Dec 1910.  Line continues.
• Margaret Mary                  Non married, died after 1868

So what a tragic year 1862 was for this McLean family to loose three sons to the Civil War.

John McLean died 2 May 1865.  Mary E (Crawford) McLean died 9 July 1873.  They are both burried at the Centre Presbyterian Church Cemetery near Mooresville, NC.