McClun, John E. (McClure)

Born: 1812-02-19 Frederick County, Virginia

Died: 1888-07-30 Bloomington, Illinois

Flourished: 1854-12-10 Bloomington, Illinois

Alternate name: McClure

McClun grew up in relative poverty but began attending the Middletown common school when he was eighteen, which led to a three-year teaching career. He moved to Springfield, Illinois, in 1835. After some failed business ventures, McClun secured employment as a store clerk in Waynesville in 1836. The following year, he settled in Bloomington to become a merchant. In 1839, he married Hannah Harkness, with whom he had eleven children. McClun held the mail contracts for Bloomington from 1842 to 1846, which established him as a public figure and helped lead to his election as county judge in 1849. He held the position until 1852, when he won a seat in the Illinois General Assembly as a Whig, where he remained until 1857. He later became a Republican and an anti-slavery advocate.

E. Duis, The Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois (Bloomington, IL: Leader, 1874), 338-348; Gravestone, Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Bloomington, IL.