Submitted by Descendants: Elizabeth Louise McClellan SKILLMAN and Linda Colleen SKILLMAN-MITCHELL
Charles McClellan was both a man of the cloth and a man of the soil. Originally from either North or South Carolina, probably the Barnwell district, Charles migrated from southwestern Georgia to Jefferson County. Indeed, the 1830 census of Hamilton County lists Charles, his wife Elizabeth and their three minor children. According to a published genealogy, Kissin’ Cousins, documentation places Charles, a deacon of the Methodist-Episcopal Church, as performing four marriages in Jefferson County before 1828.
His connections to Jefferson County are solidified when Charles purchased 39 acres of land in Jefferson County for $49.97 August 4, 1830. When Charles paid tax on this land, with an additional 41 acres added, he added 20 cents to the coffers of Jefferson County.
Within nine years, Charles McClellan is once again documented in the records of Jefferson County, this time with his will, dated March 25th, 1839. In a handwritten and eloquent will, he not only provides for his own funeral expenses but also for his two minor children, Samuel and Adeline. Less than a year later, in December 1839 Charles has died. His will was filed for probate on March 9, 1939.
Just as Charles had asked, his real and personal property were divided between Samuel and Adeline. Like his father, Samuel became a farmer, settling down initially in Jefferson County and then moving on to Columbia and Marion Counties.
Charles McClellan was first identified as a Florida Pioneer by Margaret Ann Callon Lyons and her sister, Eleanor Belle Callon in 1995. Another cousin, John McClellan Wallace, as well as my uncle, Hearst McClellan was recognized as descendants of Charles and as Florida Pioneers in 1997.
Charles McClellan was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1995