John M'Clellan (also spelled M'Lellan, M'Clelland, Mackleland, Makclellan, and Macleland; 1609–1650) was a seventeenth century teacher and minister. Educated in Scotland he started work as a schoolmaster at

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

. He also began to preach there initially with the sanction of the church. He took part in an unsuccessful attempt to sail to America on board the

Eagle Wing Eagle Wing (otherwise known as Thirteen Down) is a Patience game which is played with a deck of 52 playing cards. The game takes its name from the tableau which depicts an eagle-like bird spreading its wings in flight. It is somewhat related to ...

in 1636. After this he returned to Scotland where he became a minister where he served from 1638 until his death in 1650.

Life

M'Clellan was born in

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of C ...

in 1609. He was the son of Michael M'Clellan who was a burgess of Kirkcudbright. John was educated at

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, graduating with an M.A. in 1629. After this he was employed as a schoolmaster at

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. He was licensed to be a preacher in Ireland, but later deposed and excommunicated by the episcopalian authorities. Nevertheless he continued to preach, but being obliged to flee, returned to Scotland in 1638. In September 1636 he and other Scots and English puritans to the number of 140 sailed for New England in a ship called the

, which they had built for the purpose. They were chiefly Presbyterians, but some of them inclined to Independency and others to Brownism. Including M'Clellan here were four Scots ministers on board: Robert Blair, their leader, John Livingstone, James Hamilton, and John M'Clellan. Meeting with a great storm halfway across the Atlantic, they were obliged to put back, and returned to Lochfergus, where they had embarked nearly two months before. Returning to Scotland M'Clellan was admitted to the united parish of Kirkcudbright, Galtway and Dunrod in 1638. M'Clellan was a member of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

that year, and of the Commission for 1642, 1648, 1649. In 1642 and 1643. He was appointed to go to Ireland for periods of four and three months respectively. He declined the Professorship of Divinity at Edinburgh. He died in the early part of 1650.

Family

He married *(1) Marion, daughter of Bartholomew Fleming, merchant, Edinburgh, who died without issue about 1640 *(2) Isobel M'Clellan, who survived him, and married secondly, Thomas Hall, minister at Larne, Ireland

Works

*Description of Galloway

n Latin N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

(Bleau's Atlas Scotice, 1662) *A Letter to John, Lord Kirkcudbright . . . with a Sermon (1720)

Bibliography

*War Committee of Kirkcudbright *Reid's Ireland, i., ii., 42 *Stevenson's Hist. *Baillie's Letters *Acts of Pari., v. *Murray's Hist, of Galloway *G. R. Inhib., 8 July 1663

References

;Citations ;Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:M'Clellan, John Covenanters 1609 births 1650 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from Kirkcudbright Ulster Scots people Evangelicals from Northern Ireland