MCCLEARN Family History
James Arthur 'Art' Casper and Carrie A. McClearn on Wedding day, 1917
Our history begins with James (1729) and Isabella (1733) McClearn who left Ulster, Northern Ireland in 1761 to sail for Nova Scotia under Capt. Alexander McNutt who brought with a said 500 or so other Northern Ireland protestants to Liverpool, Queens County, NS. James and Isabelle brought over a son Robert who was born 15 June, 1755. The rest of the children to follow were all born in Queens County. The 2nd child James born 1762 continues the direct line that this branch of the family descends. Nothing is known about the ancestors of James and Isabella or their life before setting foot on the banks of Liverpool, but they did leave a legacy of many many descendants.
According to the Queens County Historical Centre at Liverpool and of old public documents held within, the spelling of the surname has been spelled a variety of ways: McLarn, Maclaren, Mc(C)Learn, McClearnen and Maclarren. Descendants of the family still living in NS claimed the name was originally McLaren, however a majority of the materials held in the Centre used the spelling Mclearn/McClearn most often. The name is also found quite a few times in the Simon Perkins Diary which covered a period between the mid 1700's thru about 1830 when he died. The diary has mention of birth, marriage and death. Also found are are vessel notes and events of all sorts of happenings. If you have ancestors that lived in the Liverpool area during this time frame then it is a must that you read the wealth of information.
A great deal of the settlers in Nova Scotia were planters that came from the New England colonies. Many of the people of Liverpool married into families that were Mayflower descendants. So was the case of my own branch beginning with Mary Freeman (1802) who married James McClearn (111) on 04 December, 1821 at Liverpool. Mary's father was Robert Freeman who was the great-great grandson of John Freeman and Mercy Prence. Mercy was the daughter of Gov. Thomas Prence of Plymouth and Patience Brewster; daughter of the Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower. Much reference to these two and their descendants can be gleaned from many early compiled resources on Plymouth colony. Mary's mother was Catharine Fraser the daughter of Hugh and Mary Fraser of Scotland to Shelbourne, NS. Robert and Catharine were married 25 March, 1801 in Liverpool.
James McClearn and Mary Freeman eventually moved to the Roxbury-Boston area of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. James died in Roxbury in 1863 and Mary died in Boston 13 March, 1861. Their son Robert Freeman McClearn born 04 December, 1824 Port Mounton, Queens County, NS was married to Adeline White 07 October, 1854 in Webster, Maine. Adeline, born 1830, was the daughter of Charles White and Bethiah Ellis of Webster, Androscroggin County, ME.
Adeline's brother Charles White in search of gold, sailed in 1854 via the Panama de Isthma. The ship left the east coast and then made it's way around South America in route to San Francisco. Charles did find his gold and in 1856 he left San Francisco with a friend who was on his way back to Iowa. Charles decided to check out the land and found it that he liked it well enough. He returned to Maine and persuaded his brother Daniel and brother-in-law, Robert F. McClearn to move back to Iowa with him. All three of them settled in Ellis township, Hardin County and can be found in the Iowa State Census of 1856. Once Robert was settled he sent for his wife Adeline. There they raised their children: Roberta, James, Mary, Alice and Charles Robert McClearn in both Ellis and Iowa Falls, Hardin County. Robert served in the Civil War at a late age of 41 years in Company A, 13th Regiment of the Iowa Infantry. He died in Iowa Falls in 1901 and Adeline followed him in 1915.
Charles Robert McClearn born 1872 Hardin County, married in 1897 to Mae Smith born 1874. Her parents have still not been identified, but we know according to census records that she was born in Iowa and her parents in Indiana. I suspect her father is an Oliver Smith who was living in Hardin County in 1880; was born in Indiana and did have a daughter May.
Charles and and Mae were divorced around 1917 and she re-married and moved to Bismarck, Burleigh County, ND. It is not known if she died there or if she came back to Iowa. Their children were: Carrie Adeline, Minnie, Milton and Robert. In 1917 Carrie was married to James Arthur 'Art' Casper in Bismarck, ND and they eventually moved back to Iowa were they raised their family. Art and Carrie were my great grandparents.
Early Liverpool, Queens County, NS Notes
Obituary and Cemetery Photos, Iowa Falls, Iowa