Biography

01/09/1828 - 06/06/1909

Major Alexander Kelly McClure (R18) Adams, Franklin, Fulton Counties 1861-1862 (R4) Philadelphia Counties 1873-1874

Early Life:

Alexander Kelly McClure, born, January 9, 1828, Sherman’s Dale, Perry County, Pennsylvania; son of Alexander and Isabella Anderson McClure; commissioned, major, assistant adjutant general, United States Army, Civil War, 1862-1863; tanner; teacher; proprietor, editor, Juniata Sentinel, 1846-1852; appointed, deputy United States Marshall, Juniata County, 1850; married, Matilda S. Gray, children, Margaret Markley, Elizabeth Markley, William Anderson McClure, Gerald Fitzgerald McClure; married Cora M. Gratz, 1879; unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania Auditor General, 1853; publisher and editor, Franklin Repository and Whig, 1853-1855; gubernatorial appointee, superintendent of public printing, 1855; studied law, admitted, Franklin County bar, attorney, 1855-1909; gubernatorial appointee, superintendent, public printing, 1855; gubernatorial appointee, superintendent, Erie and Northeast Railroad, 1856; elected, delegate, Republican National Conventional, 1856, 1864, 1869; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1857-1858; not a candidate for reelection, 1859; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1861-1862; publisher, editor, Franklin Repository, 1863-1867; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1865; not a candidate for reelection, 1865; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1873-1874; unsuccessful campaign, mayor, Philadelphia, 1873; investor, officer, Philadelphia-based Montana Gold and Silver Mining Company; incorporator, Curtin-McClure Oil Company, Venango County; author; publisher, editor-in-chief, Philadelphia Times, 1875-1902; prothonotary, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1903; died, June 6, 1909, Wallingford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania; interment, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

Early Career: 

Commissioned, Major, United States Volunteers, United States Army Adjutant General Department, September 5, 1862, mustered out, February 27, 1863.

Tanner; teacher; proprietor and editor, Juniata Sentinel, 1846-1852; publisher and editor, Franklin Repository and Whig, 1853-1855; publisher and editor, Franklin Repository, 1863-1867; author; publisher and editor-in-chief, Philadelphia Times, 1875-1902; attorney, 1855-1909; investor, officer, Philadelphia-based Montana Gold and Silver Mining Company; collaborated, Governor Andrew Curtin, incorporator, Curtin-McClure Oil Company, Venango County.

Authored: 

McClure, Alexander K.  Three Thousand Miles Through the Rocky Mountains. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1869.

McClure, Alexander K.  Bohemia: Official Publication of the International League of Press Clubs for the Building and Endowment of the Journalists Home.  Vol I.  Philadelphia: The International League of Press Clubs, 1904.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Appointed, President Millard Fillmore, deputy United States Marshall, Juniata County, 1850. 

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania Auditor General, 1853. 

Gubernatorial appointee, Governor James Pollock, superintendent, public printing, 1855.

Gubernatorial appointee, Governor James Pollock, superintendent, Erie and Northeast Railroad, 1856. 

Elected, delegate, Republican National Conventional, 1856, 1864, 1869. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Franklin and Fulton Counties, 1857-1858; not a candidate for reelection, 1859.

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate 18th district, Adams, Franklin, Fulton Counties, chair, Military Affairs Committee, 1861-1862.

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Franklin and Perry Counties, 1865; not a candidate for reelection, 1865. 

Elected, Pennsylvania State Senate 4th district, Philadelphia County, 1873-1874; committee assignments,Constitutional Reform Sub - committee No. 3,Finance, Retrenchment And Reform, Municipal Affairs (Chairman).

Unsuccessful campaign, mayor, Philadelphia, 1873. 

Prothonotary, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1903. 

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website (state.pa.us)

Legacy: 

During the United States Civil War, Confederate forces threatened McClure's home in Chambersburg several times. McClure was captured but released when General J.E.B. Stuart entered Chambersburg on his raid around General George McClellan's army in October 1862. The following July, Confederates under then Colonel Eppa Hunton crossed the Potomac River and destroyed railroad property in Chambersburg en route to the Battle of Gettysburg but noted McClure's hospitality. Days before the battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General Albert Jenkins was a guest at McClure's house. McClure personally met with General 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, 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. July 30, 1864.

Named in his honor, is Alexander K. McClure School, historic elementary school located, Hunting Park neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. McClure, borough, Snyder County, Pennsylvania. McClure was founded in 1867. 

Law partner, Pennsylvania State Senator John Stewart, Franklin and Huntingdon Counties 1881-1884; elected, President Judge, 39th Judicial District, Franklin County 1889-1905, Associate justice, State Supreme Court, 1905-1920.

John Stewart  - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

Danville News, reported, last survivor of President Abraham Lincoln’s personal friends, singlehandedly responsible for his election, chairman of State Committee of Pennsylvania, at the time it was pivotal state, management of the campaign swung it into line and thus assured the success of the ticket. 

Cited: 

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members M". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Smull’s Legislative Handbook, (1874). Smull, J.A., (Editor) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 519, 521, 525-527.

The Danville News (Danville, Pennsylvania) Saturday, June 12, 1909, Page 2. 

Maj Alexander Kelly McClure (1828-1909) - Find a Grave Memorial