An early pioneer family of Fayette County is the McCLUNG family. They first settled in this county two or three miles from the present community of Bluff [see map].
The McCLUNG's are of Scotch descent. The earliest record of any McCLUNGs is found in Galloway, Scotland. It was there, around 1690, three McCLUNG brothers left because of religious persecution.
These brothers went to the providence of Ulster in Ireland. By 1890, there were 313 McCLUNG households in Ulster.
The first McCLUNG to emigrate to America was a Thomas McCLUNG who settled in Christiana, Penn. He was from Moate in the county of Meath in Ireland. His arrival in America was in 1729.
The earliest known direct ancestor of the Fayette County McCLUNGs came to America around 1780 from Ireland. He settled first in Virginia and then Georgia.
This Mr. McCLUNG had eight children including a son, Jonas.
Jonas McCLUNG was born in 1787 in Georgia. He married [01 Dec 1808 in Jackson Co., GA] Rebecca REED who was born in South Carolina around 1792.
Shortly after 1813, Jonas and family moved from their Georgia home to Giles County, Tenn. There they settled on Richland Creek which was nine miles from the town of Pulaski.
In the late 1820's, the McCLUNGs moved to Marion County, Alabama. There they remained until the mid 1830's when they moved once again. This final move for Jonas was to Fayette County.
The 1840 census of Fayette County includes three McCLUNG household[s]. Listed as heads of these households were Jonas, Francis [McCLUNG] and N.E. McCLUNG.
In 1850, the first McCLUNG to receive a government land grant in Fayette County was a William E. McCLUNG. He received others in 1855 and 1859.
Other grants issued in 1855 were to another William [McCLUNG], Nathaniel [McCLUNG] and John M. McCLUNG.
In 1856, Littleton M. McCLUNG received a grant. In 1859, John M. and Jonas B. McCLUNG received grants.
Jonas and Rebecca lived the remainder of their life in Fayette County where she died in the 1850's. Jonas died in the mid 1860's.
Jonas and Rebecca were the parents of five sons and five daughters.
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The oldest child was Levica "Vicey" McCLUNG who was born about 1812.
Levica married by 1830 and was living with her husband Wesley DODSON, in Marion County. A few years later they moved on to Fayette County.
Levica and Wesley had eight sons and four daughters born between 1831 and 1857.
Levica died prior to 1867. Wesley moved to Mississippi as did most of his children. Wesley married twice more and died in Chickasaw [County], Mississippi.
Among Levica's children were several sons who fought in the Confederate Army. One of these was Wesley John DODSON, Jr. who was born February 11, 1841 and died October 21, 1915. Wesley John enlisted in the Confederate Army as a Private in March of 1862 and served until April of 1865.
Wesley John married Sarah M. FOSTER and they remained in Fayette and Lamar Counties and raised four sons and five daughters. / Wesley John has a great-grandson who today is very interested in his heritage. He is Richard OWENS, a native of Kennedy, who presently lives in Columbus. Richard has spent much time researching his McCLUNG, DODSON and other ancestors.
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The second child of Jonas and Rebecca's was Meaks McCLUNG who was born about 1813. Meak's whole name was possibly Littleton Meaks.
Meaks is known to have been married at least twice. One wife was Sarah TATE. The other's name is not known.
Among Meaks' children by both marriages were Jonas Nathaniel, Jim, Mary, Rebecca and Rhonda.
Jim McCLUNG became a well known man in the south. He was a famed outlaw who rode with Rube BURROW, the FORD Brothers and probably Jessie JAMES.
Meaks and Sarah's son, Jonas Nathaniel [McCLUNG] was born January 4, 1865. He married Mary Harriett SEVILLA. / Jonas and Mary raised seven children and lost three others. This family included a set of twins. / The seven children included: John, who married Bessie WHITE; William Franklin, who married Julia HARRISON; James, who married Minnie JONES; Lurie, who married Shirley BLACK; Pearlie, who married Dewey HARRIS; Biddie, who married James WOODS; and Epsie, who married Verdo DUBOSE. Most of these lived in the Crossville Area.
A granddaughter of William Franklin McCLUNG is very interested in her family history. She has helped me on many occasions with her dedicated research. She is Mrs. Will DUBOSE who was the former Linda LAWRENCE.
Working with people like Linda and Richard, as well as some others, is why I enjoy researching the McCLUNG Family so much.
(to be continued)
(Part II)
The third, fourth and fifth children of Jonas and Rebecca McCLUNG were Elias, Temperance and Rebecca. These three were born in unknown order from 1815 to 1820. All three married, had children and died while in young adulthood. [Also in this age range was William Edington McCLUNG, b. 1818 - see below]
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Elias McCLUNG married Frances POWELL who was born in 1811. She was the daughter of Ezekiel POWELL and his wife, Peggy ROSAMOND. These POWELLs were also early Bluff settlers. / Elias and Frances had at least five children.
After Elias' death his widow married Edwin HARRIS who died in 1862. Therefore Elias' death occurred in the late 1840's or 1850's.
The will of Jonas McCLUNG, dated September, 1867, lists children of deceased son, Elias, as four which lived in Fayette County and one in Marion County. / These children were Caroline who married a Mr. CHILES, Margaret who married Robert DAVIS, Adaline who married George MOSS, Frances Ann who married a Mr. BERRYHILL and another whose name was not readable.
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Temperance McCLUNG, who was known as Tempsie, married in Fayette County in the mid 1830's to Ballanger W. STREET.
B.W STREET was born in Franklin County, Tennessee, on February 24, 1812. He moved to Alabama around 1833 and soon married Tempsie.
Tempsie and B.W. had seven children which included three sons and four daughters. They were: Sarah, William, Alene, Rebecca, Elizabeth, George M.V., and LeRoy. These children were born between 1837 and 1848, all in Fayette County. / The seven children and their descendants lived in Mississippi and Arkansas.
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Rebecca [McCLUNG] married a Mr. NEAL and probably lived in Lamar County which was then known as Jones County.
She and her husband had at least six children which all lived in Fayette and Lamar Counties. / Rebecca's four sons were Jonas M., Eli, Meeks and Joseph. The two daughters were Jerita and Sally Ann Rainwater.
Jonas and Rebecca's next two children were Elizabeth and Phebe Jane. These two married LANGSTON brothers.
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Elizabeth McCLUNG was born in 1822. Her husband was Jesse LANGSTON.
Elizabeth and Jesse had at least two sons and three daughters. They were Samuel, John W., Rebecca, Malinda and Margaret. / In 1867, these five children were all living in Fayette and Lamar Counties.
Samuel [LANGSTON] married Margaret MOSLEY and John W. [LANGSTON] married on July 2, 1866, to Mary Ann MILLER. John and Mary Ann never had any children. / On December 19, 1866, Margaret [LANGSTON] married G. Chesley GASTIN (or GASKINS). / Malinda [LANGSTON] married George GODFREY and Rebecca [LANGSTON] married George MORROW.
A great-granddaughter of Elizabeth McCLUNG LANGSTON through her son, Samuel, is Mrs. Cecil WHITE who lives in Fayette.
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Phebe Jane McCLUNG was born about 1824 and thus was the seventh of the McCLUNG children.
Phebe married in the early 1840's to John B. LANGSTON who was born around 1818-1820 in South Carolina. / Phebe and John raised a very large family and remained around Bluff. / Phebe and John rest today at the Springhill Cemetery at Bluff in unmarked graves. Most of their children also are buried there.
Phebe and John's family consisted of two sons and nine daughters. Among these were a set of twins whom both were deaf and dumb. Also the youngest son was deaf and dumb.
(Next week's column will introduce Phebe's large family)
(Part III)
Phebe McCLUNG and her husband, John B. LANGSTON, raised a family of eleven. This family was probably the largest of all the different sets of old Jonas McCLUNG's grandchildren.
Phebe's oldest child was Rebecca Mary "Polly" [LANGSTON], who was born around 1842. Polly never married.
Next was Luvica Jeridia "Vicey" [LANGSTON], who was born around 1844. She married Samuel Houston HANKINS. Vicey's only child was Thomas Jefferson HANKINS, who was born August 20, 1884. / Mr. HANKINS is living today near Crossville at the age of 94 years. / He is very alert and has a good memory. He told me many details regarding the McCLUNG family.
Phebe's third child was Sarah "Sally" [LANGSTON], who married J.W. BYERS.
Fourth was Marjan [Margaret Ann LANGSTON] who married John [Riley] TAYLOR and moved to Arkansas. [1]
Next was Jane [LANGSTON] who married Dan SORRELS, who was a preacher.
Caroline and Adaline, who were twins, were the next two children. Both were deaf and dumb and, because of this, neither ever married.
The eighth child of Phebe's was Jesse J. LANGSTON who was born July 12, 1855. Jesse married on July 13, 1876 to Jerusha A. SOUTH. / Among Jesse's children is a daughter, Maybelle, who married Fenton MOORE. Mrs, MOORE is 83 years old. She lives near Bluff today not too far from her father's and grandfather's old home-places. / Mrs. MOORE has an excellent memory and she provided me with lots of information regarding the McCLUNGs.
Phebe's ninth child was John William [LANGSTON] who, like the twins, was deaf and dumb. He was briefly married to a Miss DYER.
Last were two more girls. They were Amanda [LANGSTON], who married Thadus ROWLAND, and the youngest, Frances "Fannie" [LANGSTON]. Fannie was born in 1865 and she married John BARTON and moved to Jasper.
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Omitted from last week's column was one of Jonas and Rebecca's older children. He was William Edington McCLUNG who was born in 1818.
William married about 1838 to Chelsea LANGSTON who is thought to have been a sister to Jesse and John LANGSTON who married two of William's sisters. / William was a Primitive Baptist preacher. / In 1860, William moved his family to Tippah County, Mississippi. / In 1877 they moved to Hardeman County, Tennessee, and remained there until 1884 when they moved to Boone County, Arkansas. William died the following year.
William and Chelsea had four sons and two daughters. Their oldest three sons fought in the Confederate Army. The two oldest died while in the service, one from measles and the other from a lung ailment.
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The ninth of Jonas and Rebecca's family was Jonas B. McCLUNG who was born June 12, 1831.
Jonas B. became the most prominent of all the older McCLUNGs. / He ran a mercantile business at Wayside for many years. / He served as Fayette County's Tax Assessor for 18 years. / While serving in the Confederate Army Jonas lost his right arm in a battle near Richmond, Virginia.
Jonas married Jane DODSON who was the daughter of Nimrod DODSON and his wife, Polly STEWART. They were among Bluff's early settlers. / Jonas and Jane raised a family of two boys and two girls. Also there was another boy who drowned while young.
Jonas' children were: Abner, who married Frances HOLLIMAN; John, who married Annie BERRY; Adaline, who married Thomas KENNUM and Elzada, who married Jerimiarh TRIMM.
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The tenth son of Jonas and Rebecca was Nathaniel McCLUNG who was born about 1833. Very little is known about him. In 1867, he was living in Lamar County.
This concludes the list of Jonas and Rebecca's children and grandchildren. One source indicated that perhaps there also was another son Joseph [McCLUNG], but if so, he died prior to his father's death and nothing is known about him.
The McCLUNG name is gone today from Fayette County but the old McCLUNGs left their mark on the Bluff and Wayside area. There among today's residents the McCLUNG blood still flows mingled among many other families over the last 140 years.
Source:
Sharlene McGee Stough, "Winding Trails," Fayette County Broadcaster, circa 1978.
Article submitted by Sharon Taylor (received from Thelia Taylor) and posted here with the author's permission.
