Robert McClellan (1747 - 1817)

Born 16 Jan 1747 in Maghera, Londonderry, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Jane (Williams) McClellan — married 29 Apr 1771 in Albany, Albany County, New York

Descendants

Died 8 Oct 1817 at age 70 in Albany, Albany, New York

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Biography

Robert's date of birth of 5 January 1747 is O. S. (old style) in Maghera, Ireland. I would appreciate anyone knowing how to convert this to the current style calendar date to do so. Thanks.

The family came to New England from Ireland when Robert was still a child. He was 10 years old when his father died (1757). At the close of the French and Indian War his brother Hugh took him through the forest and over the mountains to Albany, New York where he became a merchant and was placed in the care of their uncle Robert Henry, their mother's brother who was also a merchant in that city. He later went into business with his uncle [Robert Henry] and at one time Robert McClellan was a merchant in Troy. Apparently Robert McClellan never returned to Colrain.

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775, he supported the revolutionary cause financially. In 1776, he became a member of the Albany Committee of Correspondence.

Beginning in 1780, he was elected to the Albany City Council, first as assistant, then as alderman. In 1798 he was appointed New York State Treasurer, a post he held until his resignation on January 31, 1803, after the discovery of a shortage of $33,000 in the Treasury account.

Sources

• Descendants of Michael McClellan and Jane Henry of Colrain, Massachusetts by Lois McClellan Patrie, 1970, 141 pp.
• www.Wikipedia.org