Charles McClain
Born:   September 15, 1855 in Beragh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Died: January 22, 1918 in San Francisco, CA. Buried in Cypress Lawn Cemetery, San Francisco.
Father: Joseph McClain, b & d. Tyrone Cty, Ireland
Mother: Jane Ellison, b. Ireland d. Bellaire, Ohio
Spouse: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Virginia Peters,   b. Oct 1850 Wheeling, WV     d. April 2, 1885 Wheeling, WV
   2 Children :
           *  Charles Chester                             b. 4/13/1880   in Bellaire, Ohio
           *   Ella                                                    b. 9/25/1884  in Bellaire, Ohio

2nd wife: Mary Catherine Moffett (Lizzie's first cousin) - no children
Other Information:
Charles McClain was the sixth of nine children born to Joseph McClain and Jane Ellison of Beragh, County Tyrone,
Ireland. Things were very bad in Ireland at the time with famine and no prospects, so the older siblings immigrated to
America. Later Charles followed them about 1871. The McClain siblings settled in/around Bellaire, Ohio starting
their own village named McClainsville. They became prominent in the area. Older bother William J. McClain,
originally a stone mason like his father,  became a leading contractor/builder. He owned a stone quarry and built
some of the finest buildings in Bellaire and the surrounding towns, including the Belmont County Courthouse and
Jail, the Orphan’s Home, Jail and Sherriff’s Residence for Monroe County, and the Broad Street Methodist
Episcopal Church of Columbus. These are beautiful and ornate stone gothic buildings.

Charles was listed as age 25, laborer, in the 1880 US Census Record: Bellaire, Belmont, Ohio (Family History
Library # 1254994, NA Film # T9-0994, Page # 294C.). Charles married Elizabeth Virginia Peters from Wheeling,
West Virginia, which was just across the Ohio River from Bellaire about 1878. Their first child, a son named Charles
Chester was born 4/13/1880 in Bellaire, Ohio. Daughter Ella, was born in Bellaire, OH, on 9/251884. Elizabeth died
4/2/1885 in Wheeling, WV, possibly from complications after the birth of Ella.

Elizabeth died leaving  Charles with a 4 year old son and a 6 month old baby daughter. Charles married Elizabethâ
€™s first cousin, Mary Moffett, shortly thereafter. Eventually the family decided to leave Bellaire. They first moved to
Butte, Montana, but eventually relocated to San Francisco, California, where Mary had Moffett relatives. Charlesâ
€™ father was a stonemason back in Ireland and Charles also worked as a mason when in San Francisco.
Charles must have returned to Bellaire for at least one reunion with his bothers. Above is a photo that documents the
event but it is undated. From the clothing of the ladies it was likely about 1900. We think that Charles McClain is the
man in the front in the light gray overcoat standing just to the left of the stairs. The woman to his right with the fur muff
looks very much like Mary Moffet (his second wife).

Charles' family lived through the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 in San Francisco.
(see family pictures of the Quake on Carrie Guthrie's page)

Charles' son Charles Chester married Carrie Guthrie and had 3 children (William Guthrie, Flora Janet and David
Peters). Charles' daughter Ella married Harvey A. Gaspar in California and had 3 children (Virginia, Jack M. and Louis
J.). She died 2/25/57 in SF, CA.

Charles died 1/22/1918 in California as result of injuries from a fall from scaffolding (likely while working as a
sronemason). He is buried at Cypress Lawn Cemetery, San Francisco, CA.
Ella McClain and father Charles in
San Francisco about 1917
3 Generations of McClains.
B-F: Charles, Charles Chester and William
Guthrie in San Francisco in 1910
If you are a related to this family tree by blood, you may keep a copy of any of the photos and information on this webpage for your genealogy
research. HOWEVER, you may NOT share with others nor post copies of the photos or information to other repositories
(such as  Ancestry.com or similar) or post them on other webpages without my express written permission.