The Claflin family are a

Scottish American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (; ) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster Scots, and communities emphasize and ce ...

family of 17th century

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

origins. The descendants of Robert Maclachlan of

Wenham, Massachusetts Wenham () is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,979 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town of Wenham was settled in 1635 and incorporated in 164 ...

, a Scottish soldier and

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

from the

Battle of Dunbar (1650) The Battle of Dunbar was fought between the English New Model Army, under Oliver Cromwell, and a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie, 1st Lord Newark, David Leslie on 3 September 1650 near Dunbar, Scotland. The battle resulted in a d ...

assumed to have belonged to the Clan Maclachlan, and his wife Joanna Warner, members of the family have distinguished themselves in various occupations and regions of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Revolutionary War

Although not of great means in the early generations, a considerable number of the Claflin family, twenty four in all, fought as militiamen and soldiers on the American side in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, including at

Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Colonies. Day-long running battl ...

(many), the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...

(several), the

Battle of White Plains The Battle of White Plains took place during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War on October 28, 1776, near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward from N ...

(one), and finally in the

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of a British army, which historian Edmund M ...

(two, possibly more), with Nathaniel Claflin being present at the Surrender of Burgoyne. Their length of service varied from only eight days to several months and years, with a few serving as junior officers. In addition, three more members served as drummers, and two more as pipers. Earlier in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

several Claflins joined in the Crown Point Expedition.

People

Adelaide Avery Claflin Adelaide Avery Claflin (July 28, 1846 – May 31, 1931) was an American woman suffragist and ordained minister. She became an ordained Unitarian minister at Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1897. She preached in Connecticut, Canada and the West. She ...

, suffragist, born Adelaide Avery * Avery Claflin, composer and banker * Bruce Claflin, businessman * Edith Claflin, linguist and scholar * Horace Brigham Claflin, businessman, H.B. Claflin & Company * Increase Claflin, pioneer, first white settler of

Door County, Wisconsin Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,066. Its seat of government is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. ...

* Ira W. Claflin, Civil War officer * Lee Claflin, philanthropist *

Tennessee Celeste Claflin Tennessee Celeste Claflin, Viscountess of Montserrat (October 26, 1844 – January 18, 1923), also known as Tennie C., was an American suffragist best known as the first woman, along with her sister Victoria Woodhull, to open a Wall Street b ...

, suffragist, broker, and rumoured mistress of

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

. Later became Lady Cook, Viscountess of Montserrat. *

Victoria Woodhull Victoria Claflin Woodhull (born Victoria California Claflin; September 23, 1838 – June 9, 1927), later Victoria Woodhull Martin, was an American leader of the women's suffrage movement who ran for president of the United States in the 187 ...

née Claflin, suffragist, broker, and presidential candidate. Subject of '' Onward Victoria''. *

William Claflin William Claflin (March 6, 1818 – January 5, 1905) was an American politician, industrialist, and philanthropist from Massachusetts. He served as the 27th governor of Massachusetts from 1869 to 1872 and as a member of the United States Congre ...

, Governor of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and philanthropist * William Henry Claflin Jr., businessman and amateur archaeologist Female line: * Harvey Claflin Mansfield Jr., Professor of Government at Harvard University. Grandmother was Adelaide Claflin daughter of Harvey Thatcher Claflin.Wight, p. 326

Places and institutions

* Adams Claflin House *

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, co-founded by Lee Claflin, charter signed by son William Claflin *

Claflin, Kansas Claflin is a city in Barton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 562. History Prior to American expansion and occupation, the region was controlled by Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Kiowa tribes. The Sa ...

* Claflin-Richards House, home of Robert Mackclothlan * Claflin School *

Claflin University Claflin University is a private historically black university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1869 after the American Civil War by northern missionaries for the education of freedmen and their children, it offers bachelo ...

, land donated by William and Lee Claflin * ''

Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly ''Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly'' was an American weekly newspaper first published on May 14, 1870, by sisters Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin. It was among the first publications to be published by women. It lasted until June 10, 1876. ...

Notes

References

* Gerrard et al., ''Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650''. Oxford: Oxbow Books. 2018. * Wight, Charles Henry, ''Genealogy of the Claflin Family, 1661–1898''. New York: Press of William Green. 1903
Full scan
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. {{Refend

External