A Comprehensive Listing of the Descendants of

William Mc Claughry and Katherine Reid

County Longford, Ireland

with Narrative Tales

Missing a page - will add later

Meanwhile back in County Longford, Matthew repurchased his home and farm from the relatives who had bought it, He and Margaret, his wife, died with their feet on Irish soil.

Not content to stay at home, his son, Thomas and family landed in New York City Harbor "on the day they burned the Governor's effigy" (November 1765). This Thomas and his family wintered "In Rock Tavern with cousins" and in New Paltz, NY, perhaps with a son-n-law named Edwards Riggs. As soon as winter began to lose its grip on Upstate NY. Thomas and son Matthew headed North to claim territory on Black Creek, Washington (Then Charlotte County) NY.

They joined up with a band of previous immigrants who had migrated in 1761 or 1762. At the time, a whole congregation of Scots Presbyterians led by Rev. Dr Thomas Clark broke ground in Charlotte (later Washington) County, NY. It was a congenial if not comfortable life, as the Mc Claughry's mingled with Dr Clark' s congregation and family. Most of the Mc Claughry's in this book are descended from this migration and are called "The Salem Line".

Out of Dublin sailed, in April 1729, the "George and Ann", Captained by Captain Rymer, crowded with emigrants bound for their land of dreams, America. ... after they should have reached it, they were still being buffeted about on the Atlantic, prey of an epidemic, of continued head winds and short rations. The death of over 100 of their number including 42 children had meant almost daily burials at sea. At one time even mutiny raised its ugly head for there were those who whispered that the captain was intentionally prolonging the voyage until all had died and a quick passage home with their money and luggage might then come within his grasp. But they kept on in a perishing condition, finally making landfall at Chatham (Cape Cod), six months crossing done nowadays in less than six days.

Captain Lathrop in his packet plying between Boston and Martha's Vineyard sighted the emigrants, answered their signals of distress and piloted them around the point of Monomon to Wreck Cove where he turned them over to the ministrations of Joe Stewart who had long conducted a refuge tavern there for castaway seaman. As soon as they could be moved the 90 survivors were distributed among the villagers and hospitably cared for during the winter. In the Spring they settled in Ulster County, New York. Chatham never did a more gracious act nor one fraught with such notable consequences.

For the meat of this story is that the leader of this forlorn company was Charles Clinton, founder of the Clinton family of New York. One son became a distinguished general in the Revolutionary War. Another son was New York's Governor for 18 years. Vice President of the United States De Witt built the Erie Canal. A son was governor of New York State, mayor of New York City and a United States Senator.

October 26, 1881 is recorded in Western History with distortion and mystery. On that day, at Third and Fremont, in Tombstone, Arizona, a U S Marshall in his declining years, his brother and friends shot and killed Billy Clanton and, Tom and Frank Mc Laury. When television picked up Ned Buntline's romanticized story of misguided hero worship and turned Wyatt Earp into a 50s cult hero, one branch of the Mc Claughry family in particular, relived a most painful and difficult time.

Tom and Frank were part of a large family, born and raised first in East Meredith, New York, then Iowa. Their grandfather and father had read law and practiced it. Some of the descendants of that line are still practicing law today. The Tombstone branch has made a positive mark in the history of America, not because it was compensating for a pair of black sheep in the family; but because they were adventurous and interested in making a positive impact on their community.

The brothers had embarked on an adventure to Arizona territory where they planned to launch a dream of cattle ranching. When Earp and his men snuffed out their lives, they silenced true history.

Jim Christy, in his magazine article, tells of Earp in a different light. Born in Monmouth, IL, Wyatt's life trail led first to California and then Lamar, Missouri where he was elected sheriff. "...in those days a job as sheriff or marshall was quite literally a license to steal. When Wyatt had taken all he could from Lamar, he supported himself killing buffalo in Kansas. Arriving n Wichita in 1874, he earned a living as a card sharp until gaining and losing employment as a cop. In Dodge he City, Wyatt was arrested for beating up a dance hall girl and in the next week became assistant deacon of the United Church." Subsequent adventures led him to Tombstone where the Earp gang had planned to take over the town, with badges and gambling.

"A Wells Fargo stage was robbed of $25,000 in silver. A posse comitatus of Wyatt, Virgil, Morgan and other Earp gang members tracked the gang down... Word began circulating that Doc Holliday had been with the robbers and that it was he who had shot and killed Bud Philpot, the driver of the stage. Another accomplice, Bill Leonard, was a close friend of Holliday. It was well known that Wyatt had worked for Wells Fargo and knew about silver shipments." Wyatt spent a lot of time trying to kill off the gang before they could be caught and urged to talk. Somebody else killed them before Wyatt got to the fleeing band.

After the patriarch of the Clanton gang had been killed, Wyatt tried to bribe another member into staging a fake robbery, offering him $2000 to spend a few Clanton people to clear the Earp name. When Clanton said no, the Gunfight became inevitable. These are some of the facts collected by Christy.

"On October 25 and 26^th, 1881, Ike Clanton and Tom Mc Laury went into town to collect a debt from Bauer's Meat Market and to get supplies. When the owner was not to be found, they checked into separate rooms and went out on the town. Ike got into a poker game with Sheriff Behan and Virgil Earp. Bad words were exchanged. In the morning Virgil found Ike packing his guns and arrested him. After taking away his revolver, Virgil hit Ike over the head several times with the barrel of his rifle. At about the same time Wyatt accosted the unarmed Tom Mc Laury and gave him the butt of his rifle in the face."

"After paying a $25 fine, Ike Clanton collected his money at the meat market and readied himself to leave Tombstone. Ike and Tom Mc Laury were 20 steps from the shop when Billy Clanton and Frank Mc Laury rode up. They had come from the ranch to find out why the men hadn't returned. Sheriff Behan appeared to tell them trouble was brewing and to either hand over their guns or get out of town. They replied they were about to leave and didn't want any trouble. Behan went back to the Earp faction and told them to keep away. As Behan would later testify, "they paid no attention to what I said.'"

"Morgan, Virgil, Wyatt and Doc pushed Behan aside and headed into history by cutting through the alleyway between the OK Corral and Fly's Photography Studio, stepping out into the cold wind whipping down Fremont Street. Neither Tom Mc Laury nor Ike Clanton were armed. Frank Mc Laury was holding the bridle of is horse and Billy Clanton had his hands in his pockets. Virgil, Wyatt and Morgan came out of the alley with their revolvers drawn and Doc produced a sawed off shotgun from under his sheepskin coat. Upon seeing them, Tom held aside the flaps of his coat to show he was unarmed, Billy put his hands in the air. Frank continued to hold the reins of his horse. Wyatt, standing three feet away from Billy, threw a curse at the,. Virgil hollered, "you've been looking for a fight!" Instantaneously Morgan and Doc started shooting. A split second later Virgil and Wyatt opened fire. Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank Mc Laury were killed instantly. Ike Clanton managed to stumble into Fly's Photography Studio and out the back door onto Allen Street unharmed.

This testimony was gathered by local witnesses - many of whom had not even liked the Clantons and their cohorts. I is interesting to note, with Christy, that even Clanton enemies disagreed with the Earp version of the story.

We know the family was devastated by the news reaching them later. Brother Robert, a lawyer in Texas tried to find out more facts. Others made efforts to redeem the family name. Even with sworn testimony by impartial and anti Clanton people heaping up against the Earp movement, Earp go away without a scrape. He drifted on through his declining years, being courted by writers in search of a romantic story. Now, a century later, the truth comes to light, One more "hero" falls to the truth. And the family who suffered continues to contribute its own way to the ongoing life of America at its best.