The McClure family for which this page is posted is for the Broome County, New York and Rockingham County, New Hampshire McClures. I have some data on other New England McClure lines, that of John & Samuel (of NH & Ma.), Richard (of NH), William (of Merrimac, NH and of Ma., not the William of the line below), David (of Ma.) and David (of NH). It is believed they are somehow all related to each other and to James McClure of Chester/Candia, NH., but that has not been proven yet. David lived in Chester and Candia, NH and is most likely a brother to James. In fact they had abutting lots in Chester, NH in 1736. John is the father of Samuel, David (of Ma.) and most likely Richard. One or two of the decendants of the Samuel line went South to NC.
William McClure (MacClure) was born in 1725 and settled the town of McClure's Settlement in Broome County NY. He spent some time in Goshen, Orange County, NY and in Ct (unknown location) as a teacher. He was also a pioneer and surveyor for much of the Broome County area. He married 1st Sarah Farnham (Farnum, Farnam, etc.) and fathered 9 children and 2nd Lydia Austin from Ct. His parents are James McClure (MacClure) and Jean Andrews of Chester NH. They arrived with the great Ulster Scot migration in 1720 (put together by Rev. McGregor) from Northern Ireland into Boston or even Casco Bay, Me. They arrived in Boston on the Ship "Joseph", Philip Bass, Captain. The McClure name is Scots prior to Ireland, but no work has been done overseas. I have very little on James and Jean and it is the focus of my work. William MacClure had brothers and sisters but there is little known of the sisters. They were: Thomas, Alexander, Frances, Mary and Isabel. There is some hint of another named David.
William's brother Thomas has been recently found as an early settler in Wilkes-Barre Pa. He was at Tioga Point (later called Athens) and ended up in Catharinestown (Havanah) NY. He lost his two oldest sons at the start of the Wyoming Massacre 3 July 1778. A surving son John Married Sarah Crosby. This line of Thomas was closly associated with the Bennett family.
For the early years of Broome County, the McClures stayed there, but many pushed west and can be found in Ks. and Ill. Some dropped down into Pa. and others ended up in Wa.
Surnames working on are McClure, Andrews, Farnum (Farnham), Alexander, Hempstead, Killiam (Kilum, Kilham), Bennett, Springsteen, Austin, Allen, Russell, Terrell, Moffitt (Moffatt), LaFave (Lefebvre), Wilson, Nesmith, Dinsmore, Stewart, Lyon, Dickey, Rogers, Goodrich, Doolittle, Glen, McKeen, Bidwell, Whitaker, Jennings, Hewitt, Bensel, Dotts, Tracy, Crimmins, Patten, Simpson, Post, Stinson, Underwood, Wheeler and too many more to note them all.
Although my direct line is through the Broome County, NY line, I found that many hours of work on the other New England McClure lines were required just to keep them straight. Several researchers are involved. They are Louise Belsby, Ardell Lynds, Jean Mahoney, James Stevenson, and many more.
Variation spellings found of the McClure name are many, McCluer, MacClure, McLure, McCleur, MacLure, McClur, McClare, etc.
Most of the McClure lines are represented in the Federal Street Church in Boston, which was set up by Rev. John Moorhead who also arrived from Northern Ireland. Many a McClure was baptised there and some married in this church.
Any help on the McClure (MacClure) branches is welcome and if you connect to the other names, feel free to contact me.
I encourage all McClure researchers (not just New England) to input their Patriarch Pedigree on the Family Tree DNA McClure project. The link for that is:
http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/m/mcclure/
You are not required to have your DNA tested to input your personal pedigree back to your oldest known McClure Patriarch ancestor although sometime in the future you may want to have it tested.
Contact me at; mcclured AT Charter.net
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The McClure Family of Broome Co. NY and Rockingham Co. NH