JOHN McCLURE

View Portrait of Mrs. Ellen McClure

John McClure is numbered among Tipton’s pioneer settlers and for half a century was a resident of this city. He was widely known here and was numbered among the loyal sons that the county sent to the defense of the Union in the dark days of the Civil war. He was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, April 30, 1821, and was the son of James and Ruth (McClelland) McClure, who were also natives of the Keystone state, spending their entire lives in Westmoreland county, where they reared their family of six children: William, now deceased; Mrs. Violet Welch, who has also passed away; James, deceased; John; Mrs. Susan Elliott, deceased; and Samuel, who is living in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania.

John McClure was a resident of his native county until coming to Tipton, Iowa, in 1858. He was reared upon a farm and his youth was a period of earnest and unremitting toil. He worked as a laborer until the removal to the west, and, thinking that he might have better opportunities in this section of the country, he came to Iowa and continued a resident of Tipton until his demise, which occurred on the 29th of December, 1898. At the time of the Civil war he espoused the cause of the Union, enlisting at Tipton in the spring of 1861 as a member of Company A, Fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He served for twenty-three months and was then honorably discharged owing to physical disability. After he had recovered his health he spent several months in the employ of the government, caring for the horses in the corrals. After the war he followed various occupations, leading a busy and active life.

Mr. McClure was married in Tipton, May 26, 1875, to Mrs. Ellen (Lett) Smith, who was born in Richland county, Ohio, March 9, 1837. When four years of age she was brought to Tipton by her parents who came to Iowa in 1841. She has since made her home here and is now the oldest resident of Tipton. Her early education was acquired in select schools and when public schools were organized, she continued her studies through that medium of education.

Her parents were Abraham and Elizabeth (Barnhart) Lett. The former was born in Virginia in 1791 and the latter in Pennsylvania. They were married in Ohio and the mother died when her daughter Ellen was but four years of age, after which Mr. Lett wedded Elizabeth Southern in Tipton. His death occurred in 1865, while the stepmother of Mrs. McClure passed away on the 9th of October, 1891. In the family were five children: Mrs. Elizabeth Tuthill, now deceased; Mrs. Margaret Highsmith, who has also passed away; Mrs. McClure; Alvin, deceased, and John, who is living in York county, Nebraska. When the Lett family arrived in Tipton, they were accompanied by Samuel Aker and his family, who came from Ohio, and both families lived in a one-room log house until Mr. Aker could build him a home. There were fifteen in one room. It was in that cabin that Mrs. McClure’s mother passed away. At that time there were only seven buildings in Tipton, so that Mrs. McClure has been a witness of the growth and development of the town. She has been a member of the Old Settlers Association of Cedar County since its organization and served as its president for one year.

Mr. McClure was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and gave his political allegiance to the republican party. In his passing the county lost one of its well known early settlers. Mrs. McClure has a vivid recollection of the early days and recounts many interesting incidents concerning Cedar county when the work of progress and civilization had scarcely been begun here. She is very widely and favorably known throughout this part of the state and her retentive memory makes her word authority upon many questions of local history.