Surname Saturday: McLALLIN

My paternal surname,McLALLIN, is interchangeable, spelling-wise, with McCLELLAN and other variations. The meaning appears to be Scottish and Irish. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic "Mac Gille Fhaolain" (Scottish) and "Mac Giolla Fhaoláin" (Irish), which means "son of the servant of (Saint) Faolá. The pronunciation of "Fhaolain" is similar to the English "Whelan."

This line has been incredibly difficult for me to research for several reasons. Besides the many, many spelling and pronunciation variables, this is my paternal grandmother's biological line. She was an adoptee. Also, early deaths of adults left orphans in the family, and there seems to have been a low literacy rate in this line. As a result, there were no stories, documents, or photos passed down to the present generations.


Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #188 - William McLALLIN (d. bef. 1850) - my earliest known ancestor; he married Rachel [--?--], born about 1797 in Ohio.

Ahnentafel #94 - Levi Edward McLALLIN (c. 1823 - 1882) - probably born in Montgomery Co., New York. He married first to my ancestor, Clarissa Mary CLEVELAND (c. 1832 - 1877), in 1848 in Cottrellville Twp., St. Clair Co., Michigan. They had at least four children: William, Cornelia, Edmund, and Ira. Levi was a farmer and a carpenter, and served in Company C, 27th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War. He was promoted to corporal during his service. After Clarissa's death, he married Mary C. FORD (c. 1831 - 1894). Levi died of consumption related to a wartime bullet lodged in his lower chest cavity. His body is supposed to be buried at Chesterfield and Lennox Union Burying Ground, Macomb Co., Michigan; however, inquiries to the cemetery have yielded no record or apparent tombstone.

Ahnentafel #47 - Cornelia McCLELLAN (1856 - 1919) - born in St. Clair, St. Clair Co., Michigan, Cornelia married my ancestor and Civil War veteran, Sylvester FREDENBURG (1844 - 1879), in 1872 in Ridgeway, Lenawee Co., Michigan. Sylvester was a widower with two small daughters. He and Cornelia had three more children: George, Mary Jane, and William. Sylvester died of disease contracted during the war. Cornelia then married another Civil War veteran, Washington Foster JUDD, also known as Charles F. KING (c. 1830 - 1896). They married in 1893 in Lapeer, Lapeer Co., Michigan. After Washington's death, Cornelia's third and final marriage was to Clark CRAWFORD (b. 1854) in 1897 in Leonard, Oakland Co., Michigan. Cornelia was illiterate and poor. She probably had to keep marrying to support herself and her children. She died in Lake Orion, Oakland County of cerebral thrombosis, and was buried in the Orion Cemetery.

Ahnentafel #23 - Mary Jane FREDENBURG (1875 - 1962) - born in Chesterfield Twp., Macomb Co., Michgan. Married four times; her first marriage was to my ancestor, Orlando BARBER (1868 - 1910). She died in Lapeer, Lapeer Co., Michigan (obituary).

Ahnentafel #11 - Mary Jane BARBER (1909 - 1975) - read her AnceStory here. She also married at least four times. I don't have one of her husbands listed in her biography yet. Again, I descend from the first husband, Howard Merkel YORK (1898 - 1945).

Ahnentafel #5 - Jane Marie YORK (a.k.a. Jeanne Marie HOLST) (1924 - 2012) - my paternal grandmother, an adoptee. She was born Jane Marie YORK and her name was changed at adoption. She married Robert Louis ROBBINS (1920 - 2003) in 1940.

Ahnentafel #2 - my father (living)

Ahnentafel # - myself


More About the McLALLIN Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): McLALLIN and McCLELLAN ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Posts about McLALLIN and McCLELLAN ancestors and relatives on this blog


My McLALLIN Immigration Trail:

Montgomery Co., NY > St. Clair Co., MI > Macomb Co., MI > St. Clair Co., MI > Lapeer Co., MI > Genesee Co., MI > Ottawa Co., MI > Alaska > Stevens Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA