John Wesley McCLAIN, Sr., who died on the 7th of February, 1906, was for over six decades a resident of Iowa and for forty-six years made his home in Marion county, where he was widely known and greatly respected. He was born on the eigth of July, 1834, in Hendricks county, Indiana, a son of Phillip and Rachel (JENKINS) McCLAIN, who removed to Wapello county, Iowa, when their son John Wesley was but eight years of age. Some years later the family came to this county [Marion], locating in Knoxville township, west of the city of Knoxville. Phillip McCLAIN owned a farm and resided thereon until his death, which occurred on the 6th of July, 1873, when he was about seventy-two years of age. His wife died in Wapello county, leaving ten children, all of whom are deceased.

John W. McCLAIN grew to manhood in this state [Iowa] and here acquired his education. A great deal of his training for the duties of life was of a practical nature and gained by work in the fields, as he early began to assist in the cultivation of the homestead. When he reached manhood he decided to follow the occupation to which he had been reared as it was both profitable and congenial, and in time he purchased the home farm, five miles west of Knoxville. He lived there in all for forty-six years. At one time he owned a quarter section and as he was efficient in the management of his interests and energetic in the cultivation of his land he received a good income from his farm.

On the 18th of March, 1855, Mr. McCLAIN was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda SAHA [SHAHA], a native of Jackson county, Ohio, born on the 6th of August, 1837. Her parents, John and Hannah (RICKABAUGH) SAHA [SHAHA], died in the Buckeye state when comparatively young. The father was a native of Ireland and the mother of Virginia. She was a Methodist in her religious faith. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. McCLAIN, Reuben RICHABAUGH (sic), served in the Revolutionary army. Mrs. McCLAIN came to Knoxville in 1853 with her brothers, Jackson and James SAHA (sic), both of whom died when about eighty years of age, while a younger brother, Franklin, who enlisted from Ohio and served under SHERMAN in the Civil war, died at Nashville, Tennessee, of typhoid fever and was buried there.

Mr. and Mrs. McCLAIN became the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters. Richard T., born on the 2d of October, 1856, resides at Carlisle, Iowa. He married Miss Mary COURTNEY, by whom he has had four children, two sons and a daughter who are still living, and a daughter, deceased. William J., born April 9, 1860, owns and operates a farm in Polk county, Iowa. He married Miss Fannie CHAFTEY and they have a daughter and two sons. Flora E., who was born on the 3d of December, 1862, is the widow of Edward DERRICKSON and resides at Swan, this county [Marion]. She has four daughters and two sons. Lydia Ann, born July 29, 1868, is the wife of William HYER, a farmer living in Minnesota, and they have five sons and two daughters. A sketch of John Wesley, Jr., the next in order of birth, appears elsewhere in this work [below]. Charles P., born February 7, 1874, resides in Omaha, Nebraska, and is successfully engaged in the grain business. He married Miss Dora MURPHY and they have one son. Mettie A., who was born December 10, 1876, resides with her widowed mother at No. 803 Robinson street, Knoxville. Both are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. McCLAIN exercised his right of franchise in support of the democratic party and manifests a citizen's interest in public affairs. His boyhood was passed amid pioneer conditions in Iowa but at the time of his death the state had become one of the most prosperous of the Union and villages and cities existed where in the early days there was nothing but the prairie covered with wild grass. He was not only an interested witness of the many and swift changes which have wrought this transformation but did his share to bring it about, aiding in the agricultural development of his county and seeking always to advance those phases of civilization represented by the schools, church and state.

John Wesley McCLAIN, Jr., owns and operates a finely improved farm of eighty acres on section 5, Knoxville township, where he has resided since 1902. He was born on a farm just south of his present home on the 4th of April, 1872, a son of John Wesley and Lucinda (SAHA - SHAHA) McCLAIN, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work [above]. They had seven children, all of whom are still living.

John W. McCLAIN, Jr., was reared in Knoxville township and attended the Lincoln school in the acquirement of an education. During the years of his boyhood and youth he also gained a practical knowledge of agriculture through assisting his father with the work of the homestead and by the time that he was grown he had become an efficient farmer. He has never seen any reason to change his occupation and is today recognized as one of the successful agriculturists of his township. He not only raises grain but also feeds considerable stock annually and finds both branches of his work profitable. His present farm has been in his possession since 1902 and is in a high state of cultivation, while everything upon the place is kept in a fine condition.

On the 19th of February, 1896, Mr. McCLAIN was united in marriage with Miss Cora PITMAN, who is a representative of a pioneer family of the county and was reared near Pleasantville. They have a daughter, Lorene, born February i, 1899, and is attending St. Joseph's Academy at Des Moines.

The family attend the Eden Methodist Episcopal church, of which the daughter is a member. Mr. McCLAIN is a democrat and has held various local offices, including that of member of the school board. Socially he belongs to the Masonic order and has attained the Knight Templar degree therein, being a charter member of the commandery at Knoxville. Both he and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. He was formerly identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, but is not now a member of that organization. His father was one of those pioneers who laid the foundation for the development of the county and he is just as efficiently performing the work that it is given to the present generation to do in advancing the interests of his locality. All who know him hold him in high esteem and his friends are many.

NOTES: Lucinda (SHAHA) McCLAIN died at the age of 85 years, on September 8, 1922, Knoxville, Marion County, Iowa. Her father John SAHA was born in 1810, Ohio, and died at the age of 43 years in 1853, Ohio. Her mother Hannah (RICKABAUGH) SAHA, the daughter of Reuben RICKABAUGH (1786-1844) and Mary (MARTIN) RICKABAUGH (1795-?), was born on April 22, 1810 in Virginia, and died at the age of 43 years in 1853, Ohio.

Lucinda's brothers were:
Andrew Jackson SHAH, born Aug 1830, Ohio; died in Missouri
James W. SHAHA, born Jan. 10, 1833, Ohio; died Feb 26, 1910
    interrred Shaha Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
Franklin SHAHA, born 1835, Ohio; died of typhoid fever while serving in Civil War, Nashville, TN

John Wesley McCLAIN was the son of Phillip McCLAIN (1799-1873) and Rachel (JENKINS) McCLAIN (1810-1841). John Wesley and Lucinda (SHAHA) McCLAIN's 7 children were:
1. Richard T. McCLAIN, b. 02 Oct 1856; d. 1920, Carlisle IA
2. William J. McCLAIN, b. 09 Apr 1860; d. 1915, aged 55 years
3. Flora Etta McCLAIN, b. 03 Dec 1862; d. aged 65, 21 Sep 1928, Swan IA
    married 1880 Edward Charles DERRICKSON, b. 1854 IA; d. 13 May 1907, Swan IA
4. Lydia Ann McCLAIN, b. 29 Jul 1868; d. 1915, aged 45 years
    married William HYER, b. circa 1868 IA
5. John Wesley McCLAIN, Jr., b. 04 Apr 1872, Marion Co. IA; d. aged 71 years, 06 Nov 1943
    married 1896 Cora Jane PITMAN, b. 23 Feb 1869, Pleasntville IA; d. 28 Jun 1946
6. Charles P. McCLAIN, b. 07 Feb 1874; d. aged 41 years, 1915
7. Mettie A. McCLAIN, b. 10 Dec 1876

SOURCES: YOUNG, William A.; WRIGHT, John W., ed. History of Marion County, Iowa, and Its People Vol. 2. Pp. 203-04, 344-46. S.J. Clarke Publ. Co. Chicago. 1915

WPA Graves Survey

Submission by the Shaha family, March of 2010

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2010