Page:The McClure Family.djvu/49

Rh the Knoxville and Bristol "stage" road. Here in a large log house he kept a tavern, and in addition to his farming operations ran a tan-yard. About 1847 he built a large brick house on the hill top, a noble monument for that part of the country in ante-bellum days.

The advent of the railroad put an end to stage coach travel and the need of a tavern. Giving all his attention to his farm he became, according to universal agreement, the best farmer in Hawkins county. He was especially noted for his excellent fences with painted gates, which he required all passers to use. His motto was "Good fences make good neighbors," and consequently keep his in excellent repair.

In personal appearance he was large and muscular, with the characteristic McClure voice that could be heard across his farm. In politics he was a Jackson Democrat; in religion both he and his wife were "blue stocking" Presbyterians, and tho' in his latter years he rarely ever attended services, having become totally deaf, he saw that his family went in the "carry all" to Rogersville every Sabbath.

His letters above are written in a neat, bold hand showing that while his spelling and grammar are not up to the present day standards, he excelled in penmanship, evidently having had considerable early training. He was a man of superior intelligence, well posted and a great reader.

He is remembered as a man of bold independence of action as well as of thought, for despite his deafness he always insisted upon walking in the middle of the road. It was this independence that caused his death, being run over and seriously injured by a company of Union Cavalry, from which he never fully recovered. He and his wife are buried in the family plot near his home.

He married November 28, 1815, Susan Montgomery, (May 17, 1791—March 22, 1876), of Washington County, Va., Rev. Edward Crawford, of the Augusta family, then pastor in Washington Co., officiating. She was possibly a granddaughter of William Montgomery, who emigrated from Augusta to Washington Co. in 1769. Tall and handsome