Alexander McClure facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alexander Kelly McClure
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
In office 1858–1859, 1865-1866
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 18th district
In office 1861-1862
Preceded by	George W. Brewer
Succeeded by	George Hough Bucher
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 4th district
In office 1873-1874
Preceded by	Henry Wolf Gray
Succeeded by	Horatio Gates Jones
Personal details
Born	(1828-01-09)January 9, 1828 Sherman's Valley, Pennsylvania
Died	June 6, 1909(1909-06-06) (aged 81) Wallingford, Pennsylvania
Resting place	Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Other political affiliations	Whig (before 1856)
Signature

Alexander Kelly McClure (born January 9, 1828 – died June 6, 1909) was an important American politician, newspaper editor, and writer from Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Republican Party.

McClure served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania State Senate. He was a strong supporter and friend of President Abraham Lincoln. He also edited two newspapers, the Franklin Repository and the Philadelphia Times. The town of McClure, Pennsylvania, and a school in Philadelphia are named after him.

Early Life and Learning

Alexander Kelly McClure was born on January 9, 1828. His family lived in Sherman's Valley, Perry County, Pennsylvania. He grew up on a farm and did not go to school for very long.

When he was fourteen, he moved to Philadelphia. There, he learned how to be a tanner, someone who prepares animal hides. He traveled west to Iowa but came back to Pennsylvania when his tannery business didn't work out.

McClure then started working as a printer. He worked for newspapers like the Perry County Freeman and the Juniata Sentinel. In 1846, he became the editor and publisher of the Sentinel. He became known for his political ideas, which were part of the Whig Party.

He was given an honorary rank of colonel by Pennsylvania's first Whig governor, William F. Johnston. Later, in 1850, he became a deputy United States Marshal for Juniata County, Pennsylvania. In 1852, he moved to Chambersburg and bought the Franklin Repository newspaper. He also studied law and became a lawyer in 1856.

McClure in 1860

Political and Newspaper Career

McClure joined the new Republican Party and spoke out against slavery. In 1857, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was re-elected in 1858 and 1859.

At the 1860 Republican National Convention, McClure became well-known. He helped convince Pennsylvania to support Abraham Lincoln for president. After Lincoln won, McClure helped elect Andrew G. Curtin as governor of Pennsylvania.

McClure also served in the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1861 and again in 1873.

The Civil War Years

When the Civil War started, McClure strongly supported the war effort. He led the Senate Committee of Military Affairs. He helped Governor Curtin organize a meeting of fourteen Northern governors. This meeting was held in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to make sure they kept supporting the war.

President Lincoln made McClure an assistant adjutant general in 1862. His job was to help raise seventeen Pennsylvania regiments for the U.S. Army. He served until 1863.

During the war, Confederate soldiers often threatened McClure's home in Chambersburg.

• In October 1862, he was captured by Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart but was soon released.
• In July 1863, Confederates destroyed railroad property in Chambersburg. They even visited McClure's home before the Battle of Gettysburg.
• McClure personally met with Confederate General Robert E. Lee during another time the Confederates were in Chambersburg.

In 1864, Confederates burned down McClure's home, Norland, and much of Chambersburg. This happened because the town could not pay a ransom demanded by General Jubal Early. McClure's newspaper office was also destroyed. His home was later rebuilt and sold to Wilson College.

After the War

In 1864, McClure moved to Philadelphia. He opened a law office and helped Lincoln win Pennsylvania again in the election. In 1865, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives once more.

After the war, McClure traveled a lot in the Western United States. He invested in mining and oil companies to rebuild his wealth. He also wrote a book in 1867 called Three Thousand Miles Through the Rocky Mountains. This book helped many people who wanted to travel West.

He returned to Philadelphia in 1868. By the time of President Ulysses S. Grant's re-election, McClure had left the Republican Party. He then supported Horace Greeley and the Liberal Republican Party.

In 1874, he ran for mayor of Philadelphia but lost by a very small number of votes.

McClure went back to newspaper editing in 1875. He started The Philadelphia Times newspaper. He was the editor until 1901, when he sold it. He lost a lot of money in the stock market but then got a job as a prothonotary (a court official) for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

He also worked to bring people together after the Civil War. He wrote a book in 1886 called The South: Its Industrial, Financial, and Political Condition. This book talked about race relations in the South. McClure believed that integration, where people of all races live and work together, was important.

Personal Life

Alexander Kelly McClure married Cora M. Gratz in 1879. They had at least one son together.

Death and Legacy

McClure passed away on June 6, 1909, in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. He was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

The town of McClure, Pennsylvania, and the Alexander K. McClure School in Philadelphia are named in his honor.

Images for kids

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  Library in McClure, Pennsylvania

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  McClure School Philadelphia

Published Works

• Three Thousand Miles Through the Rocky Mountains. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co, 1869.
• The Annals of the Civil War. 1878. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994.
• The South: Its Industrial, Financial, and Political Condition. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1886.
• Abraham Lincoln and Men of War Times: Some Personal Recollections of War and Politics during the Lincoln Administration. Philadelphia, The Times Publishing Company 1892
• The Life and Services of Andrew G. Curtin. Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch, 1895.
• Addresses, Literary, Political, Legal & Miscellaneous, Volume 2. Philadelphia: The Times Publishing Company, 1895.
• Lincoln's Yarns and Stories: A Complete Collection of the Funny and Witty Anecdotes That Made Abraham Lincoln Famous as America's Greatest Story Teller. Philadelphia: The J.C. Winston Company, 1900.
• The Authentic Life of William McKinley Our Third Martyr President: Together with a Life Sketch of Theodore Roosevelt. Washington, DC: W.E. Scull, 1901.
• To the Pacific & Mexico. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1901.
• Famous American Statesmen & Orators, Past and Present: With Biographical Sketches and Their Famous Orations. New York: F.F. Lovell, 1902.
• Our Presidents and How We Make Them. New York: Harper, 1902.
• Colonel Alexander K. McClure's Recollections of Half a Century, The Salem Press Company, 1902. His recollections regarding the Harpers Ferry raid appeared first in a newspaper.
• Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Company, 1905.