R. J. McLelland was born in Saratoga County, N.Y., June 3, 1802. In 1804 his parents moved to Herkimer County, N.Y., and from there to Niagara County, in 1822. Our subject was married in 1822 to Anna Newland, who was born in Oneida County, N.Y., in 1803. Of six children born of this union three are living-Stephen, now of Kansas City; Charles, of Chicago, and Webster, engaged in farming with his father. One son, Seward, died in 1879. Mr. McLelland has been a resident of Clayton County since 1856. The first year of his residence here was spent on the farm now owned by Judge Williams. His father, who had come here with him from New York, died on that farm, Nov. 2, 1856, being over eighty years old. In 1857 Mr. McLelland purchased his present farm consisting of the northeast quarter of section 16. He has been County Surveyor for the past twenty years. He served as Justice of the Peace in New York, fourteen years, and in this county twenty-four years. In politics he adheres to the principles of the Republican party. He has been active in every movement tending to the improvement of Clayton County, and is one of her most prominent and popular citizens. source: History of Clayton County, Iowa, 1882, p. 830-831 |