Alexander Kelly McClure (January 9, 1828 – June 6, 1909) was an American politician, newspaper editor, and writer from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1858 to 1859, the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 18th district in 1861, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1865 to 1866, and the Pennsylvania Senate,

4th district Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

from 1873 to 1874. He was a prominent supporter, correspondent, and biographer of President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. He was the editor of the ''Franklin Repository'' newspaper in

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the ...

and of the ''

Philadelphia Times ''The Times'' was a daily newspaper published from March 13, 1875, to August 11, 1902, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The paper was founded by Alexander McClure and Frank McLaughlin as an independent voice against party machine politics and corru ...

''. The

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

McClure, Pennsylvania McClure is a borough in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 889 at the 2020 census. The town is named for the 19th century Pennsylvania politician and journalist Alexander Kelly McClure. McClure owes its origin to the ...

, and the Alexander K. McClure School in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, are named in his honor.

Early life and education

McClure was born on January 9, 1828, in Sherman's Valley,

Perry County, Pennsylvania Perry County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,842. The county seat is New Bloomfield. The county was created on March 22, 1820, and was named for Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the ...

, to Alexander and Isabella Anderson McClure. He grew up on a farm and received little formal education. At the age of fourteen, he traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and apprenticed as a tanner. He traveled west as far as

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

but returned to Pennsylvania after failing in the tannery business. He worked as a printer at the ''Perry County Freeman'' and the ''Juniata Sentinel'' in

Mifflintown, Pennsylvania Mifflintown is a borough in and the county seat of Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 842 at the 2020 census. Geography Mifflintown is located at (40.570728, -77.395488). According to the United States Census Bur ...

. He became editor and publisher of the ''Sentinel'' in 1846, and became known for his Whig political views. McClure was appointed to the staff of the first Whig governor of Pennsylvania, William F. Johnston, with the honorary rank of colonel. In 1850,

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

appointed McClure deputy

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforc ...

for Juniata County. He moved to Chambersburg in 1852 and purchased the ''Franklin Repository'' newspaper. He studied law and was admitted to the

Franklin County, Pennsylvania Franklin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,932 Its county seat is Chambersburg. Franklin County comprises the Chambersburg–Waynesboro, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

, bar in 1856. Alexander Kelly McClure (cropped)

Career

McClure became active in the newly formed Republican Party and was an outspoken

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. In 1857, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and re-elected in 1858 and 1859. At the 1860 Republican National Convention McClure became a well-known political figure, opposing fellow Pennsylvanian

Simon Cameron Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...

's bid for the Republican nomination for the presidency. McClure and Andrew G. Curtin helped swing the state's vote away from Cameron and

William Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined oppon ...

to Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln's election, McClure became chairman of the Republican state committee and helped to elect Curtin governor of Pennsylvania. He served in the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ...

for the 18th district in 1861 and for the

in 1873. When the Civil War began, McClure rallied support for the war as Chairman of the Senate Committee of Military Affairs. He assisted Governor Curtin in planning a meeting of fourteen Northern state governors known as the "Loyal War Governors of the North", in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. T ...

, in order to secure their continued support of the war. McClure was commissioned by President Lincoln as an assistant adjutant general with the rank of major on September 6, 1862. He was tasked with raising seventeen Pennsylvania regiments for induction into the U.S. Army and served until he resigned his commission on February 27, 1863. During the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states t ...

, Confederate forces threatened McClure's home in Chambersburg several times. McClure was captured but released when General

J.E.B. Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials of ...

entered Chambersburg on his raid around McClellan's army in October 1862. The following July, Confederates under then Colonel

Eppa Hunton Eppa Hunton II (September 24, 1822October 11, 1908) was a Virginia lawyer and soldier who rose to become a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he served as a Democrat in both the United States ...

crossed the Potomac River and destroyed railroad property in Chambersburg en route to the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, but noted McClure's hospitality. Days before the

battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, Confederate General Albert Jenkins was a guest at McClure's house. McClure personally met with Robert E. Lee during the second occupancy of Chambersburg by the Confederate army. In 1864, during the Confederacy's third occupation of Chambersburg, when the town was unable to pay ransom demanded by General

Jubal Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate States of America, Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early r ...

, Confederates burned McClure's home, ''Norland'' along with much of the rest of the town, The home was rebuilt and sold to Wilson College. The building that housed the Franklin Repository newspaper operations was also destroyed in the blaze. In 1864, McClure moved to Philadelphia, opened a law office and helped Lincoln carry Pennsylvania again in the general election. In 1865, McClure was elected again to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as a Union Party member. After the war, McClure traveled extensively in the Western United States to recoup personal wealth lost during the war. He became an investor and officer of the Philadelphia-based Montana Gold and Silver Mining Company and was superintendent of one of the company's mills at the Oro Cache vein in the

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

. He also collaborated with former Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin as an incorporator of the McClure-Curtin Oil Company in

Venango County, Pennsylvania Venango County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,454. Its county seat is Franklin. The county was created in 1800 and later organized in 1805. Venango County comprises the Oil Cit ...

. He returned to Philadelphia in 1868 after supporting

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

at the Republican National Convention. By the time of Grant's reelection bid, McClure had left the Republican Party and threw his support to Horace Greeley and the Liberal Republican Party. In 1867, McClure published ''Three Thousand Miles Through the Rocky Mountains'' and it became a resource by many interested in traveling in the West. In 1873, McClure was elected to the

for the

. In 1874, he ran for mayor of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

but lost by only 900 votes. McClure returned to newspaper editing by founding the ''

'' in 1875. He continued as ''The Philadelphia Times editor until 1901, when he sold the newspaper to Adolph Ochs. He lost much of his fortune in the stock market but was able to obtain an appointment as a law clerk of the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...

. He also worked to heal sectional divisions between Union and former Confederate forces, including participating at the unveiling of the monument to Confederate General

George Pickett George Edward Pickett (January 16,Military records cited by Eicher, p. 428, and Warner, p. 239, list January 28. The memorial that marks his gravesite in Hollywood Cemetery lists his birthday as January 25. Thclaims to have accessed the baptism ...

at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. In 1886 McClure wrote ''The South: Its Industrial, Financial, and Political Condition'', which included material on race relations in the South. McClure recognized that integration was necessary.

Personal life

McClure married Cora M. Gratz in 1879 after his first wife's apparent death. Together they had at least one son.

Death and legacy

McClure died on June 6, 1909, in

Wallingford, Pennsylvania Wallingford is an unincorporated community in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County in Pennsylvanias. Founded in 1687, it is named for Wallingford, England. In 2007, Wallingford was named by ''Money Magazine'' as the 9th best place to li ...

and was buried at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

in Philadelphia. The town of

, and the Alexander K. McClure School in Philadelphia are named in his honor. File:McClure PA Library.jpg, Library in McClure, Pennsylvania File:McClure School Philly.JPG, McClure School Philadelphia

Works by Alexander McClure

*''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. *
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.

References

External links

Dickinson College. 2004.

* ttp://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/personalpapers/collections/franklin/mcclure.html Valley of the Shadow: Alexander K. McClureat valley.vcdh.Virginia.edu

The Valley of the Shadow The Valley of the Shadow is a digital history project about the American Civil War, launched in 1993 and hosted by the University of Virginia. It details the experiences of Confederate soldiers from Augusta County, Virginia and Union soldiers f ...

Mr. Lincoln's White HousePennsylvania State Senate
- Alexander Kelly McClure * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McClure, Alexander Kelly 1828 births 1909 deaths 19th-century American newspaper editors 19th-century American politicians American abolitionists Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Editors of Pennsylvania newspapers Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania Liberal Republicans Pennsylvania Republicans Pennsylvania state senators Pennsylvania Whigs People from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania People from Perry County, Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War United States Marshals