Alexander McClure

Alexander Kelly McClure (January 9, 1828 – June 6, 1909) was a journalist, editor, writer, politician, and historian, active in Pennsylvania Republican Party politics, especially in the 1860s, and a prominent supporter, correspondent, and biographer of President Abraham Lincoln. He was the editor of the Franklin Repository, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and of the Philadelphia Times. The borough of McClure, Pennsylvania - located in Snyder County - is named in his honor.

McClure was born on January 9, 1828 in Sherman's Valley,Perry County, Pennsylvania to Alexander and Isabella Anderson McClure. He grew up on a farm, with little formal education. At fourteen, he apprenticed to a tanner. Later, he worked as a printer at the Perry County Freeman and the Juniata Sentinel, in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania. He became editor and publisher of the Sentinel in 1846, and became known for his Whig political views.

McClure was appointed to the staff of the first Whig governor of Pennsylvania, William F. Johnson, with the honorary rank of colonel. In 1850, Millard Fillmore appointed McClure deputy United States Marshal for Juniata County. He moved to Chambersburg in 1852, buying Franklin Repository newspaper, and marrying Matilda S. Gray.

McClure became interested in the newly formed Republican Party. He was an outspoken abolitionist. In 1857, he was elected to Pennsylvania's House of Representatives and re-elected in 1858 and 1859. He was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate in 1860.

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